Welcome to the wonderful world of theatre and performance studies! I am so proud to teach this course and to share with you my passion for one of humankind’s oldest and most complicated art forms. This course is a general survey of theater history from 500 BC to the present which includes exploring dramatic literature, theory, and criticism. In addition, the course aims to teach students the ability to recognize and classify general theatrical production skills and techniques. The course demands good reading and writing skills to interpret, analyze, and describe plays that students will both read or view as an audience member. Students are required to attend two Austin-area theater productions to witness the professional execution of concepts as introduced in the class. Theater is an ancient and modern art that involves all other arts in its process (writing, dance, painting, design, music, etc.); indeed, theater could be considered one of the highest forms of human art due to this intricate collaborative process.
Much emphasis will be placed on Western theatre traditions, but we will also review performance styles of Asia, Africa, Indonesia, and the Americas. You are expected to use the textbook as your primary resource for readings. Do read carefully and take notes. You may use the Study Guides and Glossary on the Blackboard course page to assist you with focus and definitions. In addition, you will be required to read assigned plays and other course handouts to actively appreciate and learn the textual and theoretical foundations of various theatre practices. To further assist you, I will offer other guides and media links for examples during the semester. Most of the course is structured along a chronological timeline, however there are instances when we may jump from one time/era/movement to another to compare and contrast styles, innovations, influences and significant persons of interest.
Did you know that theatre has historical origins in ritual performance and the art of tribal storytelling? Did you know that Western theatre traditions greatly influenced what we now know as stadium entertainment, such as what happens in American football arenas? Did you know that audiences used to be unruly and loud during performances for much of the 18th and 19th centuries? Did you know that theatre has been made for/by/ and with specific audiences and races and cultures in mind? Did you know that early silent films took their inspiration from theatre melodramas? Did you know that only men played women’s roles in Shakespeare’s theatre? Did you know that puppets were once revered as more relevant players of the human experience in performance than human actors…? Plus, so much more…!