Catalog Description
- Transfer Status
- CSU/UC
- Prerequisite
- DRAM 9
- Unit(s)
- 3.00
- Lecture: 51.00 Contact hours/102.00 Out of class hours/153.00 Total hours/3.00 Unit(s)
- Total: 51.00 Contact hours/102.00 Out of class hours/153.00 Total hours/3.00 Unit(s)
Course Description: Principles, theories and techniques of play script analysis for theatrical production.
Objectives
Upon successful completion of this course, the student should be able to:
- Obtain a greater comprehension and satisfaction when reading a play.
- Discover the patterns common to most, if not all, dramatic storytelling.
- Practice applying an analytical framework to several model plays.
- Write both personally and academically about drama.
- Undertake individually both a creative and analytical response to a chosen play.
Course Content
Topic Titles / Suggested Time Topic
Lecture
| Topics | Lec Hrs |
|---|---|
Fully explore an in-depth methodology of reading, analyzing and understanding play scripts in a variety of genres and styles intended for production. | 15.00 |
Investigate techniques used to determine how to read a play for its structure. | 12.00 |
Scrutinize the playwright's methods of creating theatre through plot, character and imagery. | 12.00 |
Understanding what scripts "mean" to the professional theatre artist and theatre-goer as distinct from other forms of literature. | 12.00 |
| Total Hours: | 51.00 |
Methods of Instruction
- Discussion
- Group Discussions
- Guest Speakers
- Homework: Students are required to complete two hours of outside-of-class homework for each hour of lecture
- Lecture
- Reading Assignments
Methods of Evaluation
- Exams/Tests
- Research Projects
- Portfolios
- Oral Presentation
- Homework
- Written Assignments
Examples of Assignments
Reading Assignments
- Read the section titled Working with a Partner in your text, "Acting: Onstage and Off." With your assigned scene partner prepare exercise (Partner Sharing).
- Read the chapter on "Establishing Yourself" in your textbook. Be prepared for class discussion of the following: Performers Unions, Resumes and Photographs, Agents and Agencies.
Writing Assignments
- Write a brief analysis (1-2 pages) of any character from Act I Scene I.
- With a scene partner, select a play from one of the following periods: Greco-Roman, Elizabethan, Restoration or Victorian. Choose a representative scene, write a 1-2 page detailed character analysis, prepare and perform a ten-minute scene from that play. Each presentation will be followed by a class critique.
Out-of-Class Assignments
- Prepare and perform a two-minute audition piece consisting of one classic and one contemporary monologue.
- Complete a detailed script analysis for a current Butte College production and present to the class.
Recommended Materials of Instruction
Michael Kostroff. (2022). The Stage Actor’s Handbook. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 1st. 978-1538160435.
Other Learning Materials
Instructor handouts; production scripts
Minimum Qualifications
Drama/Theater Arts (Masters Required)