Theatre, Drama, and Performance
Mondays —Fall 2019
Oakhill Correctional Institution
Instructors: Claire Mason, Manon van de Water, Katherine Norman, Dong-Uk Kim, Katie Oliver
DESCRIPTION
Welcome to the theatre, drama, and performance class! This class aims to introduce participants to interpreting and performing dramatic scenes and plays. Dramatic literature, as opposed to novels and stories, are meant to be performed and are open to interpretation. We can relate the text and the performance to our own lives and experiences and show, rather than tell, what these plays and excerpts mean to us. A portion of this class will be preserved for rehearsing and performing a staged reading for others to attend. Details regarding the staged readings will be announced later.
No prior experience with drama, performance, or theatre classes is necessary to participate. All are welcome here!
GOALS
- To develop an understanding of the different interpretations and performance techniques of the same play and to be able to recognize how this affects the theatrical elements of a play: characters, themes, imagery, language, actions, motivations, descriptions, etc.
- To demonstrate this understanding through techniques and skills: voice, body language, self-expression, self-control in performance, creativity, flexibility and improvisation, teamwork, etc.
ATTENDANCE
We will meet Mondays from 6:15-8:15pm. We understand that you may have other obligations, but attendance is very important. Try to make it every week. If you need to be absent once, that’s all right; just know that if you miss more than two weeks, your name will have to be removed from the roster, and you’ll no longer be able to attend class during the current session.
READINGS
The texts we discuss will vary by session. Copies of books and/or readers will be provided at the beginning of the session when you sign up for the class, and they’re yours to use until the last week. Please take notes about the plays and your thoughts as you go along, but please do not mark in the readers. We hope to keep them clean and useable for future groups. When you have time, try to read each assignment twice; you’ll notice and remember much more for the discussions that way. If you choose not to participate in the class or are transferred in the middle of a session, please return your copy of the reader to the school office.
TEXTS
- Theatre and Drama Reader
- Drama and Performance Reader Vol 1 and 2
WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS
In addition to the readings we will also be exploring our own scripts. These exercises are designed to prompt further thinking and to refine your own interpretations and opinions.
CLASS SCHEDULE
Week One
- Introductions
- Class, syllabus, theatre glossary
- Starter activities
- Creating Characters, Improv, and Pantomime
Assignment: read Beckett shorts
Week Two
- Starter activities
- Introduction to blocking
- Rehearse/Perform Beckett shorts
Assignment: Write your own ten-line scene
Week Three
- Starter activities
- Ten line scenes
Assignment: Revise scene into a short play
Week Four
- Starter activities
- Short play
Assignment: Revise play
Week Five
- Starter activities
- Short plays
Assignment: Read play (TBD- class choice from textbook)
Week Six
- Starter activities
- Stage read play
Assignment: Think about final performance ideas
Week Seven
- Starter activities
- Start planning final performance
Week Eight
- Starter activities
- Rehearse
Week Nine
- Starter activities
- Perform