Hands-on-History 1000 points
You will lead an interactive station which the rest of your class will rotate
through in groups of 4-5. Your station will teach about a particular era in
Theatre History. All documents except for the station itself will be submitted via
your ePorfolio through Weebly.
Assignment Outline with Corresponding Grade:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Textbook Research (100)
One-on-One with Professor Taylor (50)
Online Research (50)
My Station (400)
Greek Chic? How are the Greek’s Still Relevant? (50)
Asian Theatre: East vs West (50)
Medieval: Theatre and Religion (100)
Renaissance, The Rebirth of Learning (100)
Realism and the 20th Century (100)
Grade Details:
1. Textbook Research (100)
You must read the corresponding chapter in the textbook as well as any
supplemental readings assigned to you by me. You will post your notes in
the Hands on History Blog in your ePortfolio.
50 points: Evidence of Notes. I will look at the notes you posted on the
ePortfolio and check for understanding rather than copy/paste. Your
notes must mostly (at least 50%) in your own words to get these points
50 points: Evidence of Understanding: This will be based on the
conversation we have during the one on one. I will check for your
understanding of the material.
2. One-on-One with Professor Taylor (50)
One week prior to your presentation (if you present on a Tuesday, you will
meet with me the Tuesday prior) you will have a small group session with
me. You must have already read your assigned chapter as I will be asking
you questions and guiding you to the next step of your research. This
session will last one hour. You will receive the points based on your
attendance and participation during the discussion.
3. Online Research (50)
After the one-on-one you will complete one hour of online research while
taking notes IN YOUR OWN WORDS. You will post your research with
citations as well as your research. You must have at least 3 open ended
questions about your material. And all your citations must be marked as
a)opinion b) academic research c) historical information. You must use
at least 2 of each.
4. My Station (400)
You will chose an era in History and create an INTERACTIVE 15 minute
presentation which students will rotate through in groups of 4-5.
Greek Chic: How are the Geeks still Relevant? Due Monday June 16th (+200pts)
 Station #1: Greek Society
o Build a model of a Greek Amphitheatre
 Station #2: The Chorus
o Make a Mask
 Station #3: Oedipus and Greek Ideology
o Create a Comic Book Cover
 Station #4: Greek Mythology
o Create a Fashion Show
Theatre and Religion Due Monday June 16th (+200pts)
 Station #1 Western Tradition: Medieval Society
o Fashion Show
 Station #2 Western Tradition: Corpus Christi Festival, Cycle Plays and
Theatrical Conventions
o Build a Model of a Cycle Play with a Mansion
 Station #3: Eastern Tradition: Shadow Puppet Theatre
o Improvise a shadow puppet play about the history of shadow
puppetry
 Station #4: Eastern Tradition: Indian Sanksrit and Kathakali
o Create a comic book cover
Renaissance, The Rebirth of Learning Due Tuesday June 19th (+100pts)
 Station #1: English Society and Shakespeare
o Build a model of The Globe Theatre
 Station #2: Commedia Dell’Arte Characters
o Create a Fashion Show
 Station #3: Theatrical Innovations and Italian Society
o Build a model of a Proscenium Opera House
 Station #4: The French Academy
o Comic Book
Realism and the 20th Century Teach-In Due Wednesday June 20th (+50pts)
 Station #1 Realism as seen in set design
o Build a model of The Doll’s House Set
 Station #2 Renaissance Theatre vs. Realism
o Comic Book
 Station #3: Realism as a response to the social issues brought about by
the Industrial Revolution.
o Write a song
 Station #4 How did Freud and Charles Darwin affect theatre?
o Fashion Show
Asian Theatre East vs. West Due Thursday June 19th
 Station #: Noh Theatre
o Make a Mask
 Station #2: Kabuki
o Create a Kabuki performance that teaches about what it is
 Station #3 Chinese Opera and visual communication in Eastern Theatre
o Create a fashion show
 Station #4 Butoh
o Create a Butoh performance that teaches about what it is
**You must arrive 15 minutes early on the day of your presentation to setup your
station and must be prepared with all materials you will need**
Grading Rubric:
 150 points: Knowledge of Information- To obtain these points you
must be teaching from knowledge with limited notes (reading off
of your notes or reading straight off of a wiki, will get you a 0) you
must be teaching in your own words and prove your deep
understanding of the material.
 100 points: Explanation of Information-You must provide a context
for your students’ understanding (for example, you can’t just go
right into explaining the set practices of a time period if they know
nothing about the time period) You must be clear and specific
and explain any terms or concepts that you are using that your
students are not familiar with
 75 points: Interactive Element- The level of interactivity of the
students. They shouldn’t just be listening to you speak. They should
be learning WHILE DOING!
 50 points: Handout for your students. It must include all the
information necessary for them to be able to answer the
homework questions and must provide an outline for the
information you present in your station. Students will be allowed to
answer the homework questions with “was not given this
information” You will not receive any of these points if the
information is not fully presented to the students.
 25 points: Creativitity- The amount of fun you have with your
presentation as well as the effort you put forth in making the
station fun for the participants
You will have an assignment after every presentation. Presenters-you must
ensure that your students can answer these questions. These will be blog entries
in your Hands on History tab (see mine for a full listing)
1. Greek Chic? How are the Greek’s still Relevant? (50)
a.
b.
c.
d.
Why were Greek amphitheaters so big?
How is the use and functions of a chorus connected to the birth of democracy?
What major shift in human thought is Classical Greece a result of?
How is Greek Mythology still relevant today?
2. Medieval: Theatre and Religion (50)
a. What questions would you ask to better understand the relevance of Medieval
Europe to our current modern realities?
b. Describe the Corpus Christi Festival. Why were cycle plays important and
necessary to this society? What are some stage innovations used at this time?
c. What were the conditions that caused the emergence of Shadow Puppetry?
What is the connection between this reason and the Western Medieval
Tradition? What does this tell us about theatre in general (not specific to east or
west)?
d. What are the defining characteristics of Kathakali and what is this art form’s
connection to religion and tradition?
3. Renaissance, The Rebirth of Learning (100)
a. Why is Shakespeare Important?
b. What is a stock Character? Why were they important in Commedia? What do
they tell us about acting during this time?
c. Describe why Perspective and the Proscenium were such important innovations.
d. Do you agree with the rules of The French Academy? Why or why not?
4. Asian Theatre: East vs West (100)
a. Compare and contrast eastern and western theatre. At least 3 for each
b. How does Kabuki compare with your pre-existing assumptions and ideas about
puppetry?
c. How does costume communicate character information in Chinese Opera? Do
you think this is unique to Chinese Theatre or is this something that also happens
in Western Theatre? Explain.
d. How is Butoh a response to WWII?
5. Realism and the 20th Century (100)
a. What is a realistic set? Why was it important at the time for sets to be realistic?
b. What issues did realism deal with? Why? How does this connect to the Industrial
Revolution.
c. What are 3 differences between renaissance theatre and realism theatre? How
did these differences develop?
d. Why are Sigmund Freud and Charles Darwin important in theatre?