T. Thomas
Theatre I
Name___________________________________________________
Theater History Project
Students will research and present information on a particular theatre history time period or movement.
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Dawn of Theatre
Greek and Roman
Chinese, Japanese, and Hindu
Medieval
The Renaissance (Italian, French and Spanish)
Elizabethan and Restoration
19th century
20th century
21st century
The Presentation
The delivery of the presentation must be equally divided amongst your group. Each group is encouraged to
be as creative as possible!!! Your presentation should be engaging, enlightening, educational, and
entertaining!
The Oral Presentation must include the following:
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A brief history of your period: Relate world events to the theatrical developments of your period.
Example: In 396-264 BC, the Roman armies conquered the Greeks. This world event, led to
drastic changes in the Theatre as plays written by the Greeks were plagiarized and transformed to
incorporate Roman values. Tell your audience how theatrical events shaped world history and / or
how world history changed theatre.
Famous playwrights and plays of the period
Famous Actors/Actresses (include the sex and class)
Famous Theatres/Stages (where and how where things performed) (pictures or model)
Audience (include behavior and class)
Costuming (must include pictures and/or drawings)
Important themes (why was theater done? Entertainment? Religion?)
Language (what languages where the plays performed in?)
A minimum of three sensory aids
 Colorful visual aid examples: poster board (please include all relevant info.), costume
drawings, picture of theatre or stages, etc.
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PowerPoint : Outlines all the relevant information of your presentation
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Audio aid examples: music, recorded spoken word, sound effects, PowerPoint etc.
Recommendations
 Look at the requirements for this portion of the project and divide the work up so that everyone is
responsible for an equal amount.
 Spend class time on things that need to be done collaboratively.
 Do your research outside of class.
 Think of creative ways in which to present your project (PowerPoint, song, skit, etc.)
Re: Absences and Non-responsible Members
If one of the members of your group is ill or has not completed their portion of the project, the oral
presentation must still be given. Absent members of any group will lose points for their presentation. If no
members of the group are present, the instructor will present this period and the entire group will lose all
their presentation points.
T. Thomas
Theatre I
Name___________________________________________________
The Written Report
Each student is responsible for a written report. Type each item on a separate sheet of paper.
Page 1. A detailed outline of your oral presentation.
• include who was responsible for what & who speaks when
• indicate what sensory aides are being used and a brief explanation of why you chose
each item
Page 2. A list of Works Cited (minimum 1 Books, 2 Internet Web Sites, etc...)
• Use MLA format for Works Cited
Page 3. One well-written paragraph with a clear topic sentence that explains what you learned about
your period.
• Focus the paragraph on what you found interesting or useful in the understanding of
Theatre as an art form. Be sure to discuss how your period of Theatre History reflected
the world.
• Remember to follow MLA format, punctuate properly, use good grammar and proofread
for spelling and mechanical errors.
Page 4. Ten multiple choice questions (your group makes them up) based on the vocabulary (facts) in
your oral presentation.
Evaluation
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I will grade your written report based on English department standards.
The presentations will be given in chronological (approx) order. Those that go first will be evaluated
on a more lenient scale. Those that go last will be expected to have learned from example and used
their "extra time" to perfect their presentations.
Research/Rehearsal Days
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Your group will have class time to work together on your project and on your scene.
Each group should meet with me regularly to evaluate the group's progress and ask me questions.
Project Dates
Thursday, November 18- assign project and partners
Friday, November 19- work on dividing parts
Monday, November 29- Computer Lab Research (daily grade check)
Tuesday, November 30- Computer Lab Research
Wednesday, December 1- Work Day (bring supplies and materials)
Thursday, December 2- Work Day (Dawn of Theatre through Medieval conferences) (Daily Grade check)
Friday, December 3- Work Day (Renaissance through 21st century conferences) (Daily Grade check)
Monday, December 6-Work Day (bring supplies and materials)
Tuesday, December 7- Computer Lab (Daily Grade check)
Wednesday, December 8- Presentation Evaluations (5 minute mini-presentations) (Major Grade Check)
Thursday, December 9- Presentation Day! (Greek and Roman, Chinese/Japanese/Hindu) (Double Major
Grade Check)
Friday, December 10- Presentation Day! (Medieval, Renaissance, Elizabethan and Restoration) (Major
Grade Check)
Monday, December 13- Presentation Day! (19th, 20th, 21st centuries) (Major Grade Check)
Theatre Periods
Dawn of Theatre- Fire Circles, Theatre Roots, Requirements to Have “Theatre”, Ritualistic Drama,
Shamanism, Storytelling
Greek and Roman-Tragedy, Dionysus, Thespis, Sophocles' Oedipus, Antigone, Medea, Euripides' Trojan
Women, Aristophanes’ The Birds & Lysistrata, Hubris, Comedy, Violence Off Stage/Low Comedy,
Plautus, Terence, Satire Vs Satyr, Roman Comedies, Roman Pantomimes, Serious Roman Plays, Other
Types Of Theatrical Roman Entertainment, Violence On Stage
T. Thomas
Theatre I
Name___________________________________________________
Chinese, Japanese, and Hindu-Chalk circle, Tang Dynasty, Noh Drama, Kabuki Theatre, Sanskrit Drama
Medieval- Feast Of Fools, Morality Plays, Mystery Plays, Miracle Plays, Pageant Wagons, Allegory,
Liturgical Drama, Hroswitha and Hildegard
The Renaissance (Italian, French and Spanish) - Commedia Dell'arte, Stock Characters, Lazzi,
Intermezzi, Opera, Perspective Drawing, Verisimilitude, Patio / Cazuela, Corrales / Carros, Golden Age /
Siglo De Ora (Century Of Gold), Calderon, Cervantes, Religious / Secular Drama, Lope DeVega,
Treatment Of Actors, Court / Public Theater, King Louis XIV, Farce, Screen Scene, Moliere Comedy Of
Manners, Stock Characters: The Rake & The Fop, Female Actors, Raked Aprons
Elizabethan and Restoration- Christopher Marlowe, Ben Johnson, Private Theater / Public Theater: The
Renaissance, The Globe, Masques, Acting As A Profession, Shakespeare, Queen Elizabeth I, English
Pantomime, David Garrick, Dryden, Wycherly
19th century- Realism, Naturalism, Romanticism, Henrik Ibsen, Anton Chekov Stanislavsky & The
Method; Subtext; Moscow Art Theatre, A Doll’s House
20th century- Gas Lighting & Evolution Of Electricity, Melodrama, The Age Of The Actor: The
Bancrofts, Edmund Kean, Sarah Bernhardt, Eugene O’Neill, Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Clifford
Odets, Kaufman and Hart, Thorton Wilder, William Saroyan, Lillian Hellmann, Symbolism,
Expressionism, Bertoldt Brecht, Epic Theatre, Constructivism, Biomechanics, Era Of The Director: Max
Reinhardt, Orson Wells & Federal Theatre Project, Living Newspapers, World War I, Presentational Style,
Existentialism, Cyclical Repetition, Surrealism, Ionesco, World War II, 1929, Samuel Beckett, Waiting
For Godot
20th and 21st century (musical, African American, Contemporary Theatre)-The American Invention,
Vaudeville, Burlesque, Gilbert And Sullivan’s The Mikado & Madame Butterfly , Kern And
Hammerstein’s Show Boat, Gershwin’s Of Thee I Sing, Ziegfield’s Ziegfield Follies, Rodgers And
Hammerstein’s Oklahoma, Porter’s Kiss Me, Kate, Lerner And Loewe’s My Fair Lady, Bernstein’s West
Side Story, Wilson’s The Music Man, Gelbart’s A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum,
Styne’s Funny Girl, Block’s Fiddler On The Roof, Herman’s Hello, Dolly!, Kandor & Ebb’s Cabaret,
Wasserman’s Man Of La Mancha, Rado & Ragni’s Hair, Brown’s The Wiz, Kirkwood And Dante’s A
Chorus Line, Wheeler & Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, Rice’s Evita, Steward And Bramble’s 42nd Street,
Hugo’s Les Miserables, McNally’s Kiss Of The Spider Woman, Hampton& Webber’s Sunset Boulevard,
Disney's Beauty And The Beast, Larson’s Rent, Lorraine Hansberry, August Wilson, Ntozange Shange,
Wendy Wasserstein, Julie Taymor, Tony Kushner
Informative Websites: (suggestions, all of these sites have not been checked for accuracy; please make sure
to cross check references)
www.theatrelibrary.org/links/ActorsHistory.html
www.theatrehistory.com
http://www.theatredatabase.com/
http://www.cwu.edu/~robinsos/ppages/resources/Theatre_History/
http://www.videoccasions-nw.com/history/jack.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_theatre
http://www.musicals101.com/
http://www.theatredance.com/mainstage.html
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/japanese/noh/
http://vl-theatre.com/
http://www.collectorspost.com/medramalinks.htm
http://www.chinesetheatreworks.org/projects/operainfo.html
http://www.arlymasks.com/japanese_history_timeline.htm
http://www.theatrestrust.org.uk/resources/exploring-theatres/history-of-theatres/early-theatres