Theatre

Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12

Full Year Course (5 Credits)

This is the recommended first course for all students interested in any aspect of theater.  This course serves as an introduction to all phases of theater. As a general survey course, it exposes the student to dramatic literature, theatrical terminology, and basic acting terminology. Students will study improvisation and character development. Technical theater is also introduced as students study construction of scenery, lighting, costume, and other design techniques. Throughout the course the students will engage in activities which will broaden their creativity and will have opportunities to exercise self expression.

Grades: 10, 11, 12

Semester Course (2.5 Credits)

Prerequisite: It is recommended that student has taken Living Theatre

Actors Studio I is a course in drama which is divided into two areas of study: the practical and the theoretical. The practical phase involves training in the fundamentals of voice production, the effect of costumes on body movement, and a variety of acting techniques. The theoretical area includes a study of character analysis and interpretation and fundamentals of dramatic criticism.  Students will also collaborate with the Filmmaking Course by acting in student written and student directed films.

Grades: 10, 11, 12

Semester Course (2.5 Credits)

Prerequisite: Successful completion of Actors Studio I and Living Theatre

Actors Studio II includes a unit in Stage Management which prepares the student for the organizational aspects of production. It is primarily a course designed for the student who is a more serious actor and anticipates auditioning for a college theater program or expects to pursue acting beyond high school. This course offers intensive exercises in characterization, concentration, dialects, imagination, and emotional recall. Close examination of Stanislavsky’s “method acting” prepares the student for practical application of the art of acting through the performance of a full-length play as the culminating activity of the course.  Students will also collaborate with the Filmmaking Course by acting in student written and student directed films.

Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12

Semester Course (2.5 Credits)

Play Production is a technical theater course.  Students will study set design, costume design, basic lighting & sound design, scenery construction and painting, props, basic stage rigging, and basic stage makeup.  The course will include discussion of the production of a play from auditions through performance as well as the various areas of production management, including stage management.

Grades: 11, 12

Semester Course (2.5 Credits)

Prerequisite: Successful completion of Actors Studio I and II and Living Theatre

In this course, students will gain insight into the purpose of a director and develop those skills which will enable them to direct a play artistically, create a concept for visual effect, establish an inner rhythm for performance, instruct actors, and fuse all contributing production elements into one harmonious whole. The students will direct scene projects and have the opportunity to apply to direct the all-school one-act plays.