Course Outline

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is an overview of the basics of Drama and Acting. Students will learn skills and have experiences that they can build on in subsequent levels of Theatre Arts. Daily participation is required, as skills are learned and practiced and accomplished. Culmination of the course is the production of a 10 minute or one act play.

Unit 1: Theatre Basics: Theatre Vocabulary, Theatre Etiquette

Unit 2: Pantomime and Mime: Students will explore how to effectively communicate with their bodies through facial expression, gesture, stance and movement. Students will practically explore pantomime/mime in a variety of performance tasks.

Unit 3: Voice: Students will identify the fundamental process of speaking and explore how to effectively communicate with loud, clear and expressive voices.

Unit 4: Acting Technique: Students will gain a basic understanding of essential skills and processes actors use in training, rehearsing and performing. Students will practically explore acting through a variety of simple scenes, both scripted and unscripted.

Unit 5: Technical Theatre/Design: Students will explore the basic technical resources and processes associated with play production. Topics may cover a range of technical specialties, such as scenery, lights, sound, make-up, props and costumes.

Unit 6: History: Students will learn about the origins and conventions of western theatre by looking at major topics, such as the attributes of tragedy and comedy, Aristotelian elements of theatre, Greek roots, the influence of commedia dell’arte and Shakespeare and the evolution and popularity of Musical Theatre in the American culture. In addition, students will learn about audience expectations and how to respond to a live performance.

Unit 7: Devising Theatre: Students will explore theatre through a wide variety of affirming developmental performance activities, such as improvisation, creative dramatics, playwriting, and ensemble tasks.

Unit 8: Theatre Production: Students will learn about the roles, such as director and producer, and processes, such as auditions and rehearsals, involved in theatre production. Students will practically explore theatre production through memorized monologues and/or scenes that have been rehearsed and will be performed for the class and will work in tandem with other units, such as technical theatre/design and acting techniques.

Textbooks Tanner, Fran Averett. Basic Drama Projects 8th Ed. Logan, Iowa. Perfection Learning Corporation, 2009. Print.

Schanker, Harry and Ommanney, Katherine Anne. The Stage and School, 9th ed. New York, New York. McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 2005. Print

Evaluation

60%: Major: Any scheduled performance for an audience; Presentations, in class performances, dress rehearsals, research presentations; Written Assessments: Essays, critiques, test

40%: Minor: Skills and formative assessments, participation, individual contribution on collaborative project, quiz, journal entries

Late Work: 10 points off per day, max of 60 if turned in by end of unit, max of 50 if turned in after the unit

Academic Honesty: All course work is to be authentic, based on the student’s individual and original ideas with the ideas and work of others fully acknowledged.

Grading Scale: A=100-90, B=89-80, C=79-70, D=69-60, F=59-0

Theatre Team communication is moving to Band!

Download the app & click the link if you want to be involved this year

https://band.us/n/a0a37fF0x831v