Theatre 103 & Psychology 107 Tandem course proposal
Description: Through the application of psychological and theatrical elements the student will learn
the steps of personal growth and how they parallel the process of the actor's personal awareness and
the development of a character onstage. The student will learn tools to help identify feelings and cope
with life issues. This will be learned from the psychological applications as well as the tools the actor
would use to dissect the issues of theatrical characters in order to bring them to life. The process quite
often is similar, it is the viewpoint that is different. What will be learned is that life mirrors art and art
mirrors life.
This is the first time a tandem of Psychology of Personal Growth and the Fundamentals of Theater will
be offered.
The syllabus integrates both of the courses:
Week One: Acquainting students with the courses and icebreaking activities that open the
students up to using their imagination (theater ) and sharing facts about themselves (psychology)
which is necessary to learning about themselves and working with each other.
Week Two: Introducing the use ofspace in theater and the building ofan ensemble through group
activities. These will also include activities that continue to get the students to share more about
themselves. Both of these-- the physical and psychological-- are necessary in building an ensemble.
Week Three: Discovering given circumstances and actions (theater). Students will examine their own
given circumstances and see how it affects their own actions (psychology). The concept of
existentialism is introduced-the sense ofbeing in the here and now and the transformation of personal
suffering. They will then apply these concepts to theatrical situations-improvisations/ scripted material.
,
Week Four: Contentless scenes using given circumstances (theater) and silent dialogue (psychology)
are performed. The five intentions of underlying response (psychological) is presented and the students
then
explore a script looking for the given circumstances (theater) and intentions of underlying
response-this is the Treasure Hunt activity .
Week Five: Life & Death exercise (theater) is performed which incorporates the given circumstances
and intentions (both theater and psychology). The students will then take part in the Life Boat and
Tavistock exercises which stresses group problem-solving and ensemble. Integration papers are due
and discussed this week.
Week Six: The Meisner technique (theater) and empathy (psychology) exercises are introduced.
Students are asked to reflect back what they receive from their partners. This is a valuable tool in
everyday life and essential on the stage.
Week Seven: Conflict is discussed in terms of blocking (theater) and conflict-resolution (psychology).
Students will learn to get in touch with identifying stress and how they carry it. This is done through
meditation exercises and "I" messages. This is then brought to the stage to determine how
movement/blocking is created through the interpretation of conflict. The differences are highlighted:
psychology seeks to solve conflict; theater seeks to heighten it.
Week Eight: The Enneagram/trait theory (psychology) is introduced and is used in working through
the fIrst performance of scenes (theater). Past concepts oflistening, empathy, blocking, and conflict are
reinforced.
Week Nine: Character work (theater) is approached two ways: internally through psychological traits
and externally through movement and the use of animal traits. A discussion of values touches on the
psychological traits. A joint assignment is given that requires developing two characters-one
based on a psychological trait and another based on an animal trait-in an improvised scene. This is
called the "In & Out" exercise. The second session of the week is the Psychology Mid-Term.
Week Ten: lung's typology theory is discussed and the second performance of scenes are done
and lung's theory is another layer added to the previous concepts that were used in constructing
the scenes up to this point. The Second Integration Paper is due and discussed.
Week Eleven: Values and morals awareness and the Rational Emotive Theory (psychology) is
presented and lip syncs (theater) are performed in
the television studio. Students are asked to identify the given circumstances, intentions, and
values of the character they are portraying in the song.
Week Twelve: The joint exercise "In & Out" is perfonned, critiqued and worked in class.
Week Thirteen: The first perfonnance ofa monologue is perfonned and workshopped using concepts
previous used in scenes with the layer of character development ( either internally or externally) added.
Week Fourteen: What is Acting? assignment due-this is a compilation of all the senses used to define
acting on a visceral level. The goal is to transcend language or logical thought. The second week is
focused on synergy and team-solving exercises.
Week Fifteen: The second performance of a monologue. The second week the Third Integration Paper
is due and discussed.
Week Sixteen: Perfonnance showcase-integrated perfonnance of the choices a character makes
based on psychological theories (Frankl, Jun, Peck, etc. ) and how it takes them to the actions
they perfonn (perfonnance of one of the scripted works previously perfonned).
Requested Allocation ofLHE's and explanation integration: Six LHEs are requested for each
faculty member because the course is highly integrated. This can be seen in the syllabus listed
above. Assignments serve a dual purpose. Both instructors will be looking at each work of the
student. For example, the integration papers will incorporate the psychological influences
learned in PSY 107 and the theater concepts in THE 103 because they are both an integral
thought process in learning about oneself as well as developing a character. The showcase will be
a performance piece that shows both the psychological influence and theatrical concepts on a
performed, scripted work.
Because the nature and the terminology is so similar for both classes it is beneficial for the
student to see them back-to-back, fully integrated. Each
of the major concepts or components explored in one class is seen from another
perspective in the other. More often than not, the concepts complement each other. The
instructors will be present and fully participating in the each other's course.
Reading and research: Students will read texts pertaining to psychology and theater, write
integration papers and character analyses and perform scenes from plays. Both instructors
need to know the content of the others class as concepts from both classes will impact the
evaluating, working and performing of scenes, exercises and improvisations. Our input
will be more valuable and harmonious if we have a good working knowledge of each
other's concepts. Because the theater student needs to learn about himselfbefore
developing a character and the psychology student needs to understand the analysis of a
character, assignments will serve a dual purpose.
Amount of Student Evaluation: Both teachers will read each paper and evaluate the work
presented in class using their distinct perspectives.
Number of major assignments: Three integration papers
Two character analysis papers. Two play reviews
Improvised scenes (2 or 3 )
Two performances (scene and/or monologue ) Showcase
Psychology Mid-term
Psychology and Theater Final
Grading: It is our thinking that because there are two of us with different perspectives the
students will be given two grades on their written work (the integration papers and the
character analyses). The performances are a fusion of the two perspectives and, at this
time, we are considering one joint grade.
Reading: Six texts (Maloney, Frankl, Peck, Powell, Krishnarnurti & Benedetti )
Level of Revision of Integration: Because this is our first attempt at putting these two
courses together, it is difficult to assess the level of revision of integration required every
time the package is taught. Judging from our ongoing discussions, the course becomes
more and more integrated. It is quite possible that the level of integration will only grow
as we begin and continue to teach this tandem.