Drama 1 and Drama 1H: General Information
General
The first thing that you need to know is this: Drama is not a "blow-off" course. Expect a different kind of course from the usual English classes you have taken in high school, but expect to work. The work should be fun, but it will be at least as much as in any other course you might have taken.
There will be homework of some type almost every night in this course. Some of it will be scene work (researching, analyzing, memorizing, rehearsing, etc.). Some of it will be written work (see below). Some of it will be observation. Whatever it is, though, and whether or not it is actually collected and/or discussed the next day, you are expected to do it on time; the content of the course builds on what has come before.
Focus
The purpose of any acting class is to work on acting techniques, and this class will certainly do so, but Drama and Drama 2 also constitute the entire range of "drama" education at the school at this time; consequently, there are other areas that we will explore. While it is certainly possible that we will not get deeply into several of these areas, the objectives of the class are as follows:
· We will examine the history of theater so that we can more fully appreciate the place of modern drama and modern techniques in that history.
· We will begin to learn the terminology that applies to the theatre, both dramatic and technical, because serious actors as well as anyone with an interest in theatre should understand and be able to communicate with these phrases.
· We will study and focus on characterization as an extension of our understanding of the dramatic form, utilizing several different techniques for building character.
· We will utilize improvisation as a primary tool for developing our awareness of ourselves as actors and our relationships with others.
· We will explore stage movement and specific performance techniques.
· We will discuss and explore the structure of plays to better appreciate the importance of characterization.
· We will examine specific elements of theatre such as make-up, voice, and auditioning.
Projects
· Each student will be responsible for at least one 5-10 minute warm-up during the semester. In this warm-up, the student should focus on one of the following areas: Vocal, Physical, Mental, and Emotional. Students should be able to defend their warm-up selections and explain what actors might gain from them.
· Each honors student, along with a partner, will be responsible for one half-hour presentation connected to their research projects.
Performances
There will be a number of performances, both formal and informal, throughout the semester. In a way, every day will be full of performances. Improvs and group activities are counted toward your participation (and therefore your grade), so be sure to give them your all. Major performance grades always include effort and rehearsal. Honors students will be required to perform an additional monologue, taken from a play, accompanying their duet scenes at the end of the semester, and encompassing the same attention to technique.
Major performances include two projects that represent a culmination of work done for the course:
Quarter Presentation consists of two parts:
A. Brief (2-4 minute) preliminary duet scenes.
B. Group projects based on improvisation. Groups of students will create from scratch a series of scenes which illustrate acting in our lives. The scenes will be "scripted" and rehearsed and presented at the end of the first quarter.
· The final performance objective in this semester will be the performance of a completely realized duet scene. Actors will be required to read the plays their cuttings are from and relate their interpretations to the full play. All of the technique work we use during the semester will become a part of this presentation.
Peer Review
A large part of the focus in this course will be on what you say about each other. Learning to be good actors is a process, and part of the process is learning to give and accept criticism. We only grow through listening to others. It is imperative that each student become as open as possible both to giving and receiving criticism. This room is no place for egos; check them at the door.
Written Work
· Actor's Journal, which will include exercises, responses, concerns, and other daily written course work;
· Evaluations of both your own and your classmates' performances;
· Analysis of scenes, plays, and characters, applying concepts learned in class;
· Critiques of plays seen live by the class;
· Discussions of theatrical techniques in plays we have seen;
· (Honors only) Research Project about some element of theatre history.
Miscellaneous
· We will be attending and discussing several theatrical presentations during the semester. Most of these trips will be done jointly with International Thespian Society, and will not be official school field trips. You are not required to attend any of them, although it is highly recommended that you attend as many as possible. (Besides, they are a lot of fun.) You are, however, required to attend performances of school plays. I'm sure you'll know when they are coming up.
· Since auditions are one of the topics for this semester, and since there is a public performance requirement for this class, all students will be required to audition for at least one play at some point in the semester. (If you do not actually wish to be cast, you may designate to the director that you are only auditioning as a course requirement.)
Grades
Due to the nature of the course, its content will vary from year to year based on the needs of the individuals enrolled. Therefore, I do not exactly know how the course will end up being evaluated, so these percentages are likely to change. However, I am starting with the following ideas:
CP Honors
· General Performances (including rehearsal time) 25% 20%
· Quarter Project performances 25% 25%
· Written work, including journals, evaluations, quizzes, etc. 25% 20%
· Daily participation 25% 20%
· Honors Project 15%
Although they may well stand, the above numbers are very approximate; the actual weighting of grades will be determined by the actual content of the course this semester
Requirements for the Course
· The text for this course is Acting Onstage and Off by Robert Barton.
· Each student may be required to purchase a make-up kit from the bookstore, unless you already have your own theatrical makeup. (This requirement may be waived for those students who are only introducing themselves to theatre with this course, and have no real desire to perform theatrically.)
· Each student will need a journal to record exercises, thoughts and reactions. We will discuss the kind of journal that will work best.
· Attendance is required. This is a performance course which contains many group activities. Nothing that we do in class is easily made up. Students who are repeatedly tardy or absent will find that their grades necessarily suffer, due to a drop in their participation grades. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to find out what you missed and do whatever is best to catch up to the class.
Standards for Evaluation
A This student aggressively attacks the course, volunteers frequently, participates in class on a daily basis, performs all assigned work with consistent excellence*, grows in understanding of acting and drama during the semester, and does at least some extra credit work.
B This student consistently does assigned work well* and on time, volunteers frequently, grows noticeably as an actor during the semester, and participates in class on a daily basis.
C This student performs assigned work reasonably well, but lacks consistency in effort, volunteers some but infrequently, and participates in class on a nearly daily basis.
D This student is inconsistent in both attitude and performance, but gets most things done and manages to participate in class at least every few days.
F This student is probably brain-dead. Someone call the coroner.
*according to his or her abilities
NOTE:
Honors level students are expected to perform and do all work at a level consistent with an honors course. Talent and ability is not really a determining actor here, but effort is: honors students will be held to a higher standard of effort than college prep students.
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