Chabot College
Fall 2005
Course Outline for Theater Arts 10
THEATER HISTORY AND APPRECIATION
Catalog Description:
10 – Theater History and Appreciation
3 units
Basic components of the Theater, including its history and development over time and in various
cultural contexts. Theatrical texts and performance techniques from the Greeks to contemporary
American artists, with particular emphasis on multi-cultural theater of the 20th Century. Works
from at least three of the following categories will be considered: African-American, AsianAmerican, Latino-American, Pacific Islander-American, Native-American, Middle-Eastern
American theater artists. 3 hours.
[Typical contact hours: 52.5]
Prerequisite Skills:
None
Expected Outcomes for Students:
Upon completion of the course the student should be able to:
1. read plays aloud;
2. analyze dialogue in terms of characters, ideas, language, and pace;
3. identify European antecedents of American Theater, including Classical Greek, Renaissance
and Realistic texts and performance spaces;
4. identify multicultural influence on American Theater;
5. see the relationship of American cultural values and artistic expressions;
6. analyze contemporary, multi-cultural American playwrights’ work;
7. present analysis of American plays both orally and in writing.
Course Content:
1. Oral Interpretation
2. Analysis of dialogue
3. Antecedents of American Theater: Classical Greek Drama, the English Renaissance, and
19th Century Realism
5. Multi-cultural influences on American Theater
6. Seeing the relationship of cultural values and artistic expressions
7. Contemporary, multicultural American playwrights’ work
8. Presenting research and analysis of American artists in writing and/orally
Methods of Presentation:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Lecture/discussion
Film/video/DVD viewing and discussion
“Staging” scenes of various plays.
Guiding group work
Assignments and Methods of Evaluating Student Progress:
1. Typical Assignments
a. Write an essay that analyzes a character from a classical text and shows how this
character affects the main ideas in the play.
Chabot College
Course Outline for Theater Arts 10, page 2
Fall 2005
b. Research a contemporary American playwright and show how his/her cultural identity is
evident in his/her work, or NOT evident.
c. Compare and contrast the plays of an African American playwright with an Asian
American playwright.
2. Methods of Evaluating Student Progress
a. Grading of written work with letter grades and/or points
b. Written comments to accompany letter grades
c. Grading oral presentations and research presentations
d. Quizzes and/or exams, including a final exam.
Textbook(s) (Typical)
An Anthology of Drama, W.B. Worthen. University Press, 2003 or later
Editor of Multicultural Theatre II Contemporary Hispanic, Asian and African-American Plays,
Roger Ellis. Meriwether Publish Ltd., 1998
Editor of Asian American Drama 9 plays from the Multiethnic Landscape, Brian Nelson, Applause
Theatre Book Publishers, 1997.
Editors of Contemporary Plays by Women of Color, An Anthology, Kathy A. Perkins. Rouledge
Press, 1996.
World Drama: An Anthology, W. B. Worthen. Harcourt Brace and Company, 2003.
Individual playscripts
The Color of Theater: Race, Culture, and Contemporary Performance, Roberta Uno and Lucy
Mae San Pablo Burns, Continuum International Publishing Group, 2002.
Special Student Materials:
None
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Revised: dz 11/19/04