Thr 102 Play Analysis
Syllabus
Theatre 102 Play Analysis
Fall 2011 Professor Richard Kalinoski
Meeting time and place : Tuesday/Thursday 8 to 9:30 AM AC North 213
“The Educated differ from the Uneducated as much as the living from the dead.” Aristotle
Theatre as a part of the Liberal Arts
The liberal arts engage students in the study of the human condition by exploring the disciplines broadly defined by the sciences, the arts, culture, literature and history. THEATRE is a small component of these human endeavors but its reach is ambitious. Theatre has been historically dedicated to the act of imitating, replicating and representing our lives. In many ways it is the ultimate “liberal” art if one understands the word “liberal” to mean generous or broadly encompassing. In the Western world theatre evolved from religious practice and story telling….and was afforded a place of reverence and respect by early civilizations: The Greeks, the Romans, the Egyptians.
Theatre’s mandate is to explore any and all facets of our lives. It demands intellectual rigor and multifarious artistic inspiration because theatre is primarily interested in uncovering the truth about how we live. It is this search for truth that puts theatre into the very core of liberal pursuits. Theatre is a genuine liberal art.
Office Hours
Tuesday and Thursday 1:30 to 3 PM 218 ACW (arts communication west) and by appointment:
920 424 0937 e-mail: kalinosk@uwosh.edu
Students are encouraged to speak to me during office hours to discuss their progress in the course. The office hours are for you… make use of them.
Texts:
1. Compact Bedford Intro. to Drama. Jacobus Bedford/St.Martin’s Press Isbn: 0-312-39733-x
The Plays: The Rising of the Moon, Oedipus Rex, Othello, Tartuffe, The Shining City
2. Two main stage plays: The Thousand Pound Marriage by Richard Kalinoski September 28, 29, 30 Oct. 1at 7:30 PM and October 2 at 2 PM in the Fredric March Theatre;
The Children’s Hour by Lillian Hellman directed by Richard Kalinoski, November 9,10,11, 12 at 7:30 PM and November 13 at 2 PM.
On play analysis in general: The act of reading plays is an act of the imagination—there is more to a play than what is suggested on the printed page. There is performance.
Performance of a play causes the play to come into its intended existence. Merely reading a play is always going to be insufficient for realizing the play’s potential. A script of a play is in some ways a plan for it. Not until actors motivate, move and speak the lines (and actions) of a play can a play be said to be realized. Our work in this class fortunately combines both reading plays and witnessing them. The plays presented by the theatre department this semester will be critical to our ANALYSIS of what a play is. We will also be addressing how a play may look in performance and what challenges an artistic team may face in presenting it.
OBJECTIVES OF THE CLASS:
In simple language the most important objective of this class is to help students improve and increase their understanding of the way a play works—how it communicates. In educational terms this can be expressed as follows:
a. students will be able to articulate the meaning of plot, character, thought, spectacle, diction and music—the essential components of a play.
b. students will be able to write thoughtfully about the components of a performance of a play by attending two main stage productions, thinking about them, discussing them and completing an essay about them.
c. students will be able to demonstrate (by speaking and writing) an understanding of the implications of the interpreters of the playwright’s craft---actors, directors and designers.
SPECIAL PROJECT: You will be expected to identify a play from the accepted canon of plays (of the world) and present an analysis of that play to the overall class. You must have your play approved by your professor on or before October 30, 2011 (the absolute final deadline is November 3—after which you may not change the play you wish to analyze). Part of your presentation will be a picture you will draw of your main character (you must determine who your main character is). You will reveal to the class the motivation of your main character and describe (with your visual aid) the personality of the main character.
Extra credit: You may earn extra points (to be added to your test/quiz grades) if you volunteer for either of the main stage productions this semester—this includes if you are cast in The Children’s Hour. Depending on the number of hours you devote to a production (crew for Thousand Pound Marriage or cast/crew for The Children’s Hour you may earn up to 50 extra points: examples follow.
Crew position (make-up, costume, run crew, running light or sound board) = 30 points
Cast in play= 50 points
Grading :
The breakdown of grades in this class.
Class participation 15%
Quizzes 20%
Tests 25%
Written responses 25%
Oral presentation 15%
100 %
Note: particular emphasis is given to written responses to the plays you will see because performance is a key ingredient in the class. Note below that you can earn a 59 on a given quiz or test and still pass.
Percentages:
93 to 100 = A
90 to 92= A-
87-89 = B+
83-86 = B
80-82 = B-
77-79 = C+
73-76 = C
70-72 = C-
65-69 = D+
59-64 = D
Below 59 = F
ESSAY RESPONSES TO PLAYS:
You will earn a letter grade on your responses to the performed plays. The letter grade will be shaped by both your insights and the mechanics of your written communication with approximately 60% insights and 40% mechanics (spelling, proofreading, usage, diction etc.). Understand that diction refers to your choice of words in your essay response. Do not rely entirely on your computer to proofread for you.
Attendance: This is an 8 AM class. A class which starts so early in the day is a challenge to some students. I urge you to accept the challenge and come on time. If you are ill don’t come to class. If you accrue more than 3 unexcused absences your entire grade will be lowered by one increment (an a turns into a b, a b turns into a c…..). Come to class.
THE SCHEDULE OF CLASSES :
September 8th Introduction to the class. Student profiles ( a set of questions).
Discussion of syllabus. Introduction to the text—elements of a play. No formal assignment yet. Auditions and open house coming.
September 13 Lecture on the nature of play analysis—the Aristotelean concept of a play; the component parts. What is a play? (as opposed to a film and other). Theatre in America today. Assign The Rising of the Moon—pages 24-29
September 15 Reading The Rising of the Moon; discussion of 20th century Irish history. How would this play be on stage? What are the challenges? Assign pages 1 thru 5 in main text. Lecture and discussion regarding the viewing of a play. Reading a play as opposed to seeing a play.
September 20 (Tuesday) Quiz on Rising of the Moon : some questions from the quiz.
Discussion of pages 1 thru 5 Assign Oedipus Rex intro material—pages 30-44 Thoughts about the illusion of reality.
September 22 Discussion of intro to Oedipus Reading from Oedipus Rex—the prologue.
Assign pages 46-48 in Oedipus. Hand out of guidelines for responding to The Thousand
Pound Marriage
September 27 (The Thousand Pound Marriage opens on the 28th.) Reading from Oedipus Rex (46-48) Assign: oral presentation project for December. Assign: Pages
48-55 in Oedipus Rex.
September 29 (Thursday) Quiz on Oedipus Rex (thru pages 55) Discussion
of quiz. Reading from Oedipus Rex. Assign: 55-63.
October 4 Essay responses to Thousand due. Discussion of the play/performance.
Reading from Oedipus Rex. Assign pages 63-66. Assign pages 209 thru 213—Othello.
Guidelines distributed for oral presentation project.
October 6 Test on Rising and Oedipus Rex—essay and short answer.
October 11 (Tuesday) Lecture about Shakespeare. Reading from Othello. Assign: 213—219; discussion of length of time studying Othello/pace of reading.
October 13 Reading from Othello. Assign pages 220—225 in Othello.
October 18 Reading from Othello. Assign pages 225 thru 232.
October 20 (Thursday) Quiz on Othello thru 232 . Reading from Othello. Assign pages 232-235.
October 25 Reading from Othello; Assign pages 235 thru 240.
October 27 Reading from Othello. Assign pages 240-245
November 1 (Tuesday) Reading from Othello. Assign pages 245-250.
November 3 Final deadline for choosing a play. Guidelines for seeing and responding to THE CHILDREN’S HOUR. Reading from Othello. Assign pages 250 thru 254.
November 8 Finish reading Othello. Reading from Vaughan’s essay—follows the play.
The Children’s Hour opens on the 9th. Assign pages 286 thru 293 re: Tartuffe.
November 10 (Thursday) Test on Othello. Assign pages 294-300, Tartuffe.
November 15 (responses due re: The Children’s Hour.) Discussion of THE CHILDREN’S HOUR. Reading from Tartuffe. Assign pages 301 thru 307 in Tartuffe.
November 17 Reading from Tartuffe. Assign pages 308 thru 314 (the end of the play).
November 22 Quiz on Tartuffe. Discussion of the whole of Tartuffe. Assign The Shining City—964—986.
November 24 (off—Thanksgiving) NO CLASS
November 29 ( Tuesday) Screening of SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE.
December 1 Screening of Shakespeare in Love. Discussion of same.
December 6 Quiz on The Shining City; discussion of the plays
December 8 ORAL PRESENTATIONS ON CHOSEN PLAYS.
December 13 ORAL PRESENTATIONS
December 15 ORAL PRESENTATIONS/ last class
