Picture of a tallman
Introduction to the Theatre
Theatre 100
Fall Semester 2001
3 Credit Hours
Section: 10035, meets 9:30am - 10:45 am TR, Campbell 325
Instructor: Keith W. Johnson, Campbell 204, phone: 622-1321
email: keith.johnson@eku.edu
Office/Shop Hours: Mon, Tues, Wed, Thur, Fri 2:30 - 4:30pm
 
Text: THE THEATRE EXPERIENCE, 7th Ed., by Edwin Wilson. 
Paperback plays:  "Hedda Gabler," "Oedipus Rex," 
"Death of a Salesman," and "She Stoops to Conquer" 
COURSE OBJECTIVES
  1. To create an understanding and appreciation of the art of theatre. 
  2. To provide an opportunity to become creatively involved in a theatrical production. 
  3. To study the various elements of contemporary theatrical practice. 
  4. To help one come to a realization of how art is a reflection on its society and how it may play a part in the development of societies, including past and present. 
ATTENDANCE POLICY
Failure is mandatory for students who are absent from class more than 10% of the regularly scheduled class meetings, (10% = 3 class meetings). If you have a major illness or complication which causes you to miss more than three times, don't just quit coming to class. Please contact me personally so we can try to work out the problem.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

  1. You will be called upon to give creative expression based upon personal values and feelings through class discussion and/or quizzes and/or essays on selected plays either seen or read as class assignments. 
  2. There will be approximately four (4) exams and he possibility of several quizzes totaling around 600 points. Grading will be based on a 10% scale. 
  3. All make-up exams will be given during class on the second class period after the exam is first given. One letter grade will be taken off your score without a written excuse attached to the make-up exam. Quizzes may not be made up! 
  4. Attendance will be taken every day. There will be days when points will be given is you are present and on time. These will total about 100 points for the term and will be averaged as the fifth exam. These points will be averaged as an exam and cannot be made up if absent or late. 
  5. One will be responsible for all reading assignments as listed on the syllabus and/or assigned in class. 
  6. Each student may earn extra credit points by participating in one of two technical areas of the theatre: Scenery of Costumes. Five (5) extra credit points may be earned for each completed hour in either the costume shop or scene shop up to a total of fifty (50) points for the semester. One may also audition for each play and if chosen for the cast of the show may earn up to fifty (50) extra credit points depending on the difficulty of the role. One may also earn extra credit points by working on the running crew. The maximum number of extra credit points will be fifty. 
  7. Each student is required to see the EKU Speech and Theatre Arts productions this semester. Songs for a New World, Sept 26  - Sept 29 and The Basset Table,     Nov  14 - 17. All performances will be in Gifford Theatre; curtain is at 8:00 pm. One may volunteer to usher for each production and attend the production that night free of charge. 
  8. Smoking, food, and/or drinks are not permitted in the classroom. 
THE 100
CLASS SYLLABUS
**
WEEK 1 
 
Orientation 
Read: 
The Theatre Experience 
Preface & Introduction 
* 
John Houseman Lecture 
What is Art? 
WEEKS 2 & 3 
The Audience 
Read: 
The Theatre Experience: Part 1 -- The Audience 
Ch.1: The Audience: Its Role and Imagination 
Ch.2: Background and Expectations of the Audience 
Ch.3: The Critic and The Audience 
* 
***** EXAM I ***** 
WEEKS 4, 5, 6, 7, & 8 
 
* 
* 
 
The Performers, Director, and Producer 
Read: 
The Theatre Experience: Part 2 -- The Performers and The Director 
Ch.4: Acting: Offstage and In the Past 
Ch.5: Stage Acting Today 
Ch.6: The Director and the Producer 
"Hedda Gabler" 
Handout: 
Stanislavski's Method 
Theatre Hierarchy 
Video: 
Stages: Houseman Directs Lear 
Stage: Les Miserables 
* 
***** EXAM II ***** 
WEEKS 9,10,11,12,13, & 14 
Theatrical Genres 
Read: 
The Theatre Experience: Part 3 -- Purpose & Perspective 
Ch.7: Subject, Purpose, and Point of View 
Ch.8: Tragedy and Other Serious Drama 
Ch.9: Comedy and Tragicomedy 
Ch.10: Musical Theatre 
Ch.13: Dramatic Structure: Theatre of the Absurd 
"Oedipus Rex," "Death of a Salesman" and "She Stoops to Conquer" 
Handout: 
Tragedy and the Common Man 
* 
***** EXAM III ***** 
WEEKS 15 & 16 
 
The Environment of the Theatre 
Read: 
The Theatre Experience: Part 5 -- The Designers 
Ch.15: Stage Spaces 
Ch.16: Scenery 
Ch.17: Stage Costumes 
Ch.18: Lighting and Sound 
Handout: 
The Stage House 
FINAL: EXAM IV  Tuesday, December 11,   9:00AM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If there is any student in this class who is in need of academic accommodations and who is registered with the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities, please make an individual appointment with the course instructor to discuss accommodations. Upon individual request, this syllabus can be made available in alternative forms. If any student who is not registered with the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities has need of academic accommodations, please contact the Office directly either in person on the first floor of the Turley House or by telephone at 622-1500.

I reserve the right to make last minute changes to the syllabus.

ATTENDANCE POLICY

 

Failure is mandatory for students who are absent from more than 10% of the regularly scheduled class meetings. (Note: If 10% of regularly scheduled class meetings results in a fraction, the number of absences allowed before mandatory failure shall be the next highest whole number.)

 

> The 10% absences are provided in case they are needed for emergencies or for participation in university-sponsored activities. Emergencies are defined as circumstances beyond the student’s control, such as personal illness or critical illness or death in the immediate family. The 10% absences are NOT free "skips." Students who use the absences for skips and then do not have them available to cover emergencies should not expect to be allowed to go over the 10% limit.

 

> Students who present the instructor with adequate and/or documented reasons for their absences will be allowed to make up missed work, if feasible. However, the presentation of an excuse does not mean that the absence did not occur or "does not count."

 

> Students who miss class are still responsible for in-class work, assignments on the syllabus, and suddenly announced homework.

 

> Students are responsible for initiating makeup work.

 

> Students who must be absent should notify the instructor in advance whenever possible.

 

> Students who arrive late for class will be counted as 1/2 absent; students who leave class before it is dismissed will be counted as absent for the entire period.

 

Research shows that the more students miss class, the greater their chances of failing. Students who cut simply because the class is "too early," "too boring," and/or "too inconvenient" rarely pass.