theatre: a contemporary introduction
Jonathan Cole
305 Kresge
375.5305
jcole@willamette.edu
office hours by appointment
This course will acquaint you with the means by which theatre is made, and will provide you with the opportunity to experiment and stretch your boundaries as scholar and artist.
I believe the theatre is a collaborative art which is learned best through experimentation and practical experience, and have structured the course accordingly. We will start each voyage with scholarly analysis, but will ALWAYS come back to practical production. As we step into the varied worlds of each of the plays, remember to imagine how each of these worlds looks and sounds — relating your own experience to these works is your best key to each script.
A vigorous sense of curiosity is also a powerful (and necessary) asset in this course: please keep questioning, experimenting, and above all, sharing your experience of the work at hand with those around you.
To inform you about the means of writing and producing theatre.
To introduce critical and analytical tools necessary to intelligently evaluate playscripts and productions.
To challenge definitions of good or bad art.
To stimulate your deep involvement with playscripts.
To encourage a deeper understanding of the roles of the individual creative artists in the theatre.
To sharpen critical thinking through creative problem solving.
To catalyze creative development through a variety of production-centered exercises and projects.
All out-of-class assignments are to be typed and formatted in accordance with MLA guidelines, and are to be impeccably proofread and spell checked. MLA guidelines may be found in the Hacker manual or online.

You are required to attend class regularly, take part in class discussions, read and attend plays, write reviews and participate in a group project. Several quizzes, a midterm and a final examination will also be given.
ACTIVE PARTICIPATION
Theatre is a collaborative art. Since so much of the process of learning about theatre involves interacting with your peers in class, attendance is mandatory. After two absences (including conferences with instructor and/or coaching sessions), your grade will drop one full letter grade. Each additional absence will continue to lower your grade. Five absences will constitute an automatic failing grade of F.
QUIZZES
Several quizzes will be given that will cover the content of the plays read and other assigned readings. The quizzes will test your understanding of the plays and your ability to apply lecture and discussion information to the plays. Most quiz dates are listed on the course schedule. Quizzes may not be made up.
REVIEWS
Two play reviews of live theatre performances are required. It is suggested that you write one of your reviews on this semester’s Willamette University production of Twelfth Night ; however, you may choose to write reviews of any live theatre performance at the university or professional level (feel free to write them regarding any performance we see as a class, as well). Prior instructor approval is required. A separate handout detailing the precise requirements of the review paper will be handed out separately.
FIELD RESEARCH
As a class, we will attend several professional productions: Blackbird at Artists’ Repertory Theatre and
Vladmir Vladmir at Imago (both in Portland), and Art at Salem Repertory Theatre. We will also attend the
WU Theatre production of Twelfth Night . Attendance is mandatory. Scheduling details will be worked out in class. Tickets will run between $15-20 for each professional show; please plan accordingly.
GROUP PROJECT
You will participate in a group project in which you prepare a script as if it were an actual production.
Working as a collective director/production company, each group of 3-4 will select a script, choose a performance space, cast the show, and design settings, lights, costumes, sound and other artistic elements for the proposed production. A dramaturgy/final analysis summary will also accompany the project presentation. The final presentation of these projects will occur, gallery style, at the last formal class meeting. The projects will be chosen from these four texts: Equus by Peter Shaffer; Stop Kiss by Diana
Son; Blithe Spirit by Noel Coward or M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang.
EXAMINATIONS
There will be two major examinations, one at midterm and one during finals week. Both the midterm and final examinations will utilize a combination of objective and essay questions to test your understanding of basic elements of theatrical production, the plays read, textbook and lecture information and the critical tools utilized in the course. The final examination will be comprehensive. Study guides will be provided for each exam.
Important note: The essay questions on the final examination will largely test your ability to apply what you’ve learned in class to a play which is not discussed in class: Sam Shepard’s Buried Child . It may be found in the Arnold text. Please read it early and thoroughly so you can ask any clarification questions before the exam!

Active Participation
Quizzes
Play Reviews
Group Project
Exams
Midterm
Final
There is no curve.
10%
10%
10%
20%
20%
30%
A = Superior work, ability to integrate material and arrive at original conclusions
B = Good work, mastery of assigned materials
C = Satisfactory work, understanding of basic materials and concepts
D = Poor work, incorrect information or lack of understanding
F = Unsatisfactory, incomplete or inadequate work
Borderline grades will be raised at the discretion of the instructor.
This course is a survey of knowledge essential to theatre appreciation. As with any survey course, the content must remain flexible if it is to address the specific needs and abilities of the students; therefore, the syllabus and course schedule are subject to change at any time. These changes are at the sole discretion of the instructor, and whenever possible will be made in writing.

theatre: a contemporary introduction
WEEK
1
DUE
Sept 2 Introduction
Sept 4 Performance Ch. 1
WEEK
2
Sept 9 Theatre and Society
Sept 11 Dramatic Structure
Ch. 2
Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
WEEK
3
Sept 16 World of the Play
Sept 18 Dramatic Analysis
63-75
QUIZ
115-131
WEEK
4
Sept 23 Understanding Realism
Sept 25 Theatrical Realism
Ch. 8
And the Soul Shall Dance
WEEK
5
Sept 30 Theatrical Realism redux
Oct 2 Acting
265-271, 303-318
QUIZ
Ch. 4
WEEK
6
Oct 7
Oct 9
Directing
Scene & Lighting Design
Ch. 5
Ch. 6
WEEK
7
Oct 14 Costume Design
Oct 16 Staging a Classical text
FYI: Twelfth Night runs 10.16-11.1
409-412
Twelfth Night
QUIZ
WEEK
8
Oct 21 Twelfth Night discussion
Midterm Review
Oct 23 Midterm Examination
Twelfth Night supplementary material
WEEK
9
Oct 28 Theatricalism
Oct 30 Theatricalism
Angels in America: Millenium
Approaches
339-349, 398-406
QUIZ
WEEK
10
Nov 4
Nov 6
Isms
Isms Extended
Project script chosen
Play Review due: Twelfth Night
WEEK
11
Nov 11 Contemporary Theatre
Nov 13 Exploring Form
Art
Art supplementary material
QUIZ
WEEK
12
Nov 18 New forms
Nov 20 Workshop Smorgasbord!
Genre handouts

WEEK
13
Nov 25 Work Day
Nov 27 No Class - Thanksgiving
WEEK
14
Dec 2
Dec 4
WEEK
15
Musical Theatre
Work Day
Dec 9 Work Day
Dec 11 Project Gallery
FINAL
Tues
Dec 16
2-5 pm
Final Exam
Play Review due: play 2 (your choice)
Ch. 7
Buried Child