IB Theatre HL2008 - 2010

Instructor Information:Name: Mr. Stephen Coats

Web site: http://hrsbstaff.ednet.ns.ca/scoats

Email: scoats@staff.ednet.ns.ca Office Hours: By appointment

Course Description:

IB theatre students experience the art of theatre by participating in all aspects of the theatrical experience in very personal ways. Students will research, read, and analyze plays from a variety of historical and cultural traditions, develop conceptual interpretations for production, envision and design the technical elements, and direct actors and action for actual performance. Students will explore and practice the knowledge and skills needed to know and appreciate the full theatre experience. This class meets outside of the regular class day and requires significant commitment to participation in school productions.

Course Goals/Objectives:

The student will be able to:1. Use and understand theatre vocabulary.2. Demonstrate knowledge of the major developments in theatre

history.3. Demonstrate the ability to interpret, create and illuminate play

scripts and other theatrical texts analytically and imaginatively.4. Demonstrate an understanding of the principles of set design.5. Demonstrate an understanding of the principles of costume

design.6. Demonstrate an understanding of the principles of lighting

design.7. Demonstrate an understanding of the principles of sound design.8. Demonstrate an understanding of the principles of properties

design.9. Demonstrate an understanding of the art of the stage and

criticism in relation to it.10. Perform before an audience and demonstrate an

understanding of and skill in specific acting techniques.11. Demonstrate an ability to direct a theatrical scene.12. Demonstrate an ability to critically evaluate and judge

theatrical productions.

Instructional Methods:A variety of instructional methods including, but not limited to: (1) lecture, (2) workshops, (3) group work and activities, (4) guided reading, (5) teacher-evaluated class performances, (6) assignment of individual acting, directing, and design projects, (7) required theatre attendance, (8) theatrical criticism and post-show discussions

Materials for Course: 1 flexible 3 ring binder (may be ½” or 1” size) 1 package of loose leave paper (college ruled) 1 marble composition notebook Plenty of pencils and highlighters Teacher-designed handouts

Make-up Work Policy:It is imperative that students see the teacher the day they return to school. Do NOT wait until the next class to meet with me. I will not discuss missed work during class time. If students know of upcoming absences for the school year, students can request work before leave is taken.

Late homework will not be accepted unless the student has an excused absence. Quizzes and tests MUST be made up the day the student returns to school regardless of whether or not the student has Introduction to Theatre class that day. Papers, projects and other major assignments lose five points per day for every day they are late for two weeks. After two weeks these assignments will no longer be accepted.

Classroom Procedures/Policies:1. Respect others in the classroom. The study of theatre is (somewhat) subjective and everyone’s ideas are (most definitely) important. When other students or the teacher are speaking or sharing ideas listen with an open mind – and never interrupt. Raise your hand and hold your question or comment.

2. Each student must arrive to class on time, appropriately dressed and ready for all class activities. Students will receive a detention for using cell phones in class. Use of a watch is an acceptable method of time telling, cell phones are not.

3. Homework must be completed before class begins. In order to receive any credit, the homework must be at least 75% complete and must reflect thinking and effort that reflects positively on both the student and the task. Handing in mere writing or typing that fills up space on a page does not constitute a competed assignment. The quality of a project and of the student’s investment in the project is defined by the content, not by the mere expenditure of paper and ink. Students will not be permitted to leave the room to retrieve materials after the class has started.

4. In order to make all assignments easily accessible, homework will be posted on the teacher’s website. This website can be accessed through the Citadel High School general website or directly at the web address above. Call a friend for homework information if your computer is not working. Not knowing the homework assignment will not be accepted as an excuse for failure to complete assignments.

5. The teacher reserves the right to amend this syllabus at any time.

Evaluation Methods:

Description Percentage of GradeTotal Points (Internal & External Assessments)

100%

Everyone comes to the course with different interests, abilities, and backgrounds. Your grades are not assessments of your ideas or character, but rather a reflection of the quality of your work and your effort in the course. If you arrive at class regularly without the necessary tools, misuse class time dedicated to the rehearsal process, or do your written work at the last minute you will not earn a good class participation grade. I will act responsibly, respectfully, and compassionately as your teacher. I expect the same from you, each day we are together.

TOPICAL OUTLINE: A POSSIBLE PATH FOR IB Theatre HL

Topic Performance ObjectivesIntroduction to Course

Core Components, Assessments, and Requirements

Greek Theatre

Poetics, Aristotle

Antigone, Sophocles

Lysistrata, Aristophanes

1. Recognize, define, and explain the core components of the course:

a. Theatre in Performanceb. Theatre in the Makingc. Theatre in the Worldd. Independent Projecte. Student Journal

2. Recognize, define, and explain assessments:

a. Internal (50%): Independent Project

Portfolio (IPP) 25% Theatre

Performance & Production Presentation (TPPP) 25%

b. External (50%) Practical

Performance Proposal (PPP) 25%

Research Investigation (RI) 25%

3. Distinguish between HL (higher level) and SL (standard level) requirements

1. Define, identify, and recognize components of Aristotle’s dramatic theory and criticism: elements of writing, and the unities of time, place, and action

2. Recognize, identify, and explain elements of Greek drama: staging and performance, design, tragedy and comedy, plot, theme, characters, setting, conflict, and conflict resolution

3. Recognize, identify, and explain the dramatic structure of simple and complex plays: stasis, rising action, climax (anagnoresis, peripetia), falling action, and new stasis

4. Recognize and explain the cultural, historical, and political

Spanish and Latin American Theatre

Blood Wedding, Federico Garcia Lorca

Legislative Theatre, Augusto Boal

Theatre of the Oppressed, Augusto Boal

Video: Augusto Boal and Theatre of the Oppressed in Rio De Janeiro

Italian Traditions: Commedia Delle Arte, Puppetry

“Punch and Judy”

significance of Greek drama5. Paraphrase passages from

Sophocles’ Antigone6. Interpret, analyze, and perform

scenes from Sophocles’ Antigone. 7. Record personal growth and

understanding in student journal8. Use appropriate theatre

vocabulary in oral and written communications

1. Recognize and explain relevant dramatic theory and criticism

2. Recognize, identify and explain elements of Spanish and Latin American drama: text and non-text traditions, staging and performance, design, plot, theme, character, setting, conflict, and conflict resolution

3. Recognize, identify, and explain the dramatic structure of Spanish and Latin American text and non-text works: stasis, rising action, climax, falling action, and new stasis

4. Recognize and explain the cultural, historical, and political significance of Spanish and Latin American drama

5. Paraphrase passages from Federico Garcia Lorca’s Blood Wedding

6. Interpret, analyze, and perform scene from Federico Garcia Lorca’s Blood Wedding

7. Explain the genesis and principles of Augusto Boal’s “Legislative Theatre”

8. Explore the relationship between performer and audience through the creation and performance of a legislative theatre piece

9. Record personal growth and understanding in student journal

10.Use appropriate theatre vocabulary in oral and written communications

Elizabethan Theatre and Cultural Resonances

Othello, Shakespeare

Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet), Ann-Marie MacDonald

Desdemona, A Play About A Handkerchief, Paula Vogel

1. Recognize and explain relevant dramatic theory and criticism

2. Recognize, identify, and explain elements of Commedia Dell Arte: improvisation, lazzi, gesture, stock characters, masks, costumes, staging

3. Recognize, identify, and explain the dramatic structure of text and non-text Commedia scenarios

4. Recognize and explain the cultural, historical, and political significance of Commedia Dell Arte, and puppetry

5. Make puppets suitable for Commedia performance

6. Write and perform a Commedia scenario

7. Improvise and perform a Commedia scenario

8. Record personal growth and understanding in student journal

9. Use appropriate theatre vocabulary in oral and written communications

1. Recognize and explain relevant dramatic theory and criticism

2. Recognize, identify, and explain the elements of Elizabethan drama: staging and performance, design, tragedy (tragic hero, tragic flaw, downfall), monologue, soliloquy, aside, dramatic foil, theme, plot, characters, setting, conflict, and conflict resolution

3. Recognize, identify, and explain the dramatic structure of Elizabethan drama: typical 5 Act formula, stasis, rising action, climax, falling action, and new stasis

4. Recognize and explain the cultural, historical and political significance of Elizabethan theatre

5. Paraphrase passages from Shakespeare’s Othello

6. Explore the cultural resonances

Theatre of Asia and Ancient India

The Little Clay Cart, King Shudraka

Videos:The Theatre of Asia: An Introduction

Sagi Musume: Kabuki Dance

Existentialism

Waiting for Godot, Samuel Beckett

Rockaby, Samuel Beckett

and relevance of two modern plays inspired by Shakespeare’s Othello: Ann-Marie MacDonald’s Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet), Paula Vogel’s Desdemona, A Play About A Handkerchief

7. Interpret, analyze, and perform scenes from one or more of the following: Shakespeare’s Othello, Ann-Marie MacDonald’s Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet), Paula Vogel’s Desdemona, A Play About A Handkerchief

8. Record personal growth and understanding in student journal

9. Use appropriate theatre vocabulary in oral and written communications

1. Recognize and explain relevant dramatic theory and criticism

2. Recognize, identify, and explain elements of Asian an Ancient Indian drama: staging and performance, design, plot, theme, character, setting, conflict, and conflict resolution

3. Recognize, identify, and explain the dramatic structure of Asian and Ancient Indian drama

4. Recognize and explain the cultural, historical, and political significance of Asian and Ancient Indian drama

5. View, interpret, analyze, and criticize Sagi Musume

6. Interpret, analyze and perform scenes from King Shudraka’s The Little Clay Cart

7. Record personal growth and understanding in student journal

8. Use appropriate theatre vocabulary in oral and written communications

1. Recognize and explain relevant dramatic theory and criticism

2. Recognize, identify, and explain

Integrating the Course: Expanding Understanding of Core Components, Assessments

The Director’s Voice, Arthur Bartow

Videos:The Great Deviser—Devising Work

Creating Physical Theatre—The Body in Performance

Altered States: Theatre in a World of Social and Political Change—IRELAND

In Transit—Hidden Directions

elements of existential drama: staging and performance, design, plot, theme, character, setting, conflict, and conflict resolution

3. Recognize, identify, and explain the dramatic structure of seminal existentialist drama (Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot; Rockaby): stasis, rising action, climax, falling action, and new stasis

4. Interpret, analyze and perform scenes from Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot; Rockaby

5. Record personal growth and understanding in student journal

6. Use appropriate theatre vocabulary in oral and written communications

1. Explain the process and principles of a variety of directors through an examination of Arthur Bartow’s The Director’s Voice and In Transit—Hidden Directions2. Identify, understand, and incorporate ideas, strategies and methods that can be used in a professional and educational context to add physical dimensions to performance—Creating Physical Theatre—The Body in Performance3. Talk and write about the role of

theatreas: a means of exploring identity, values, and principles; a means ofproviding a mediated dialogue between communities within the context of a particular culture—AlteredStates: Theatre in a World of Social and Political Change—IRELAND

4. Integrate knowledge and

understanding of how performance companies from around the world devise theatre by creating an original piece of drama—The Great Deviser—Devising Work

5. Articulate connections between past units of study in oral and/or written form thereby demonstrating a nuanced understanding of the core components

6. Record personal growth and understanding in student journal

7. Use appropriate theatre vocabulary in oral and written communications