TH100 online (class #20769) - summer session 1, 2011:

Photo: rehearsals for Dept. of Theater production of Dicken's A Christmas Carol, November, 2006

Visit the UMass Continuing Ed website page here to sign up for summer 2011.

Visit the SPIRE page here for textbook and other course information.

Instructor: Lianna Thompson, M.F.A. UMass Amherst 2009

Student evaluation comments from summer session evaluations, 2010:

• "Great Professor!"
• "A fun way to learn"
• "Great, informative posts that really expanded the learning process"
• "Professor Dean shared his passion for theater, and that made me more excited about the material and the subject"

TH100 introduces nonmajors to theater as a performing art in an on-line format, through a wide variety of theatrical viewings and attendance, interactive web modules, and collaborative projects. Topics include major styles of theater throughout history and the roles of director, actor, and designer in the contemporary theater. Recommended for first- and second-year students.  (Gen.Ed. AL).

Learning Outcomes:

TH100: Intro to Theater explores theater history across the ages, the plays themselves and play making, including live productions that you see in your communities, as well as using a number of excellent films of live theater productions as source material. The course explores religious origins of theater in ancient Greece as well as in Bali, how theater grew into secular entertainment that helped create new national identities in the Renaissance, and how theater practices evolved in tandem with the modern psychological and scientific discovery in the 19th century, concluding with student groups projects that research contemporary theater trends.  The summer session represents a busy and entertaining three weeks of online activity that will give students a broad understanding of where western theater traditions come from, and how theater art has helped society and civilizations through important turning points that in many ways define who we are today.

The TH100 online syllabus is subject to change, but will consist of some combination of the following:

Theater Scope:

TH100 will explore the form, content, and practices of the theater of:

• the ancient Greeks
• the Renaissance
• 19th century modern realist theater
• Contemporary theater

left: Theater at Epidaurus, circa 300 B.C.E. || right: Old Globe Theater (1599), reconstructed in 1997

left: Drury Lane Theater, London, mid-19th Century || right: Alley Theater, Houston, Texas, 1970's

Theater Content:

1) THEATER HISTORY: selected historical readings will be provided and discussed

2) THEATER PRODUCTIONS, FILMED & LIVE: we will read theater scripts, and view three full-length plays that have been filmed, using discussion boards to examine the productions and the choices that went into creating them from the bare scripts; each student will also report back on a live production that they go to see in their communities;

3) CONTEMPORARY THEATER PRACTICE: Exploring through discussion and supplementary materials how theater is made today, and the contributions of the practitioners who make up the creative team of any production, and

4) FINAL GROUP PROJECT: a culminating, collaborative online group project will explore a group’s chosen segment of the contemporary theater scene.

Course Grading:

Grading for TH100 online will consist of a combination of

• Participation in online discussion boards (approx. 20%),
• online quizzes (approx. 30%),
• Papers (2 individual 3-page papers, approx 30% of total grade), and
• the final group project (approx. 20%)

Course Materials and Approximate Costs:

Required Materials -- three scripts & 4 DVD’s of filmed versions of plays below (total cost = approx. $134 purchased new; many DVD's can be found alternatively for much less, through neighborhood, Amazon, or Netflix rental).

• DVD: Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! Book by Richard Rodgers, music by Oscar Hammerstein (London Stage Revival, with Hugh Jackman, directed by Trevor Nunn) (1999), Image Entertainment (released 11/18/2003, $21.49 at amazon.com)
• DVD: Raisin in the Sun, by Loraine Hansberry (1959), stage production filmed in 1961 by Daniel Petrie and Lloyd Richards with Sidney Poitier and Claudia O'Neill, from the Broadway Production (DVD released 2/22/2000, $23.99 at amazon.com
• SCRIPT: Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, ISBN 0679755330, released 11/29/2004, $7 at amazon.com.
• DVD: Taming of the Shrew, by William Shakespeare (circa 1587-92), American Conservatory Theater stage production starring Raye Birk and Earl Boen, directed by Kirk Browning and William Ball, filmed in 1976 (DVD released 6/30/2002, $19.99 at amazon.com).
• SCRIPT: Taming of the Shrew, by William Shakespeare, ISBN-10: 074347757X, released 1/1/2004, $5.99 at amazon.com, or at your local library.
• DVD: Antigone, by Sophocles (circa 442 B.C.E.), adapted by Jean Anouilh in1942, filmed by Broadway Theater Archive from the stage production by Gerald Freeman in 1974 starring Genevieve Bujold and Stacy Keach (DVD released 11/20/2001, $22.49 at amazon.com).
• SCRIPT: Five Plays, Vol. One: Antigone, Euridice, The Ermine, The Rehearsal, Romeo & Jeanette, by Jean Anouilh, ISBN-10: 0374522294, 9/28/1990, $12.04 at amazon.com.
• A ticket to a local, live theater production in your area (approx. $20, depending on theater and on your area).

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The Filmed plays for study and their scripts are:

The filmed plays and theater scripts we will focus on for viewings are (it is essential that these films be used and not other filmed productions of the same play! I prefer we use the same edition of the scripts, but more latitide is possible there, so long as it is the stage script and NOT the screenplay):

Contemporary:

Oklahoma!, by Richard Rogers & Oscar Hammersteil II (1943), stage production filmed by Trevor Nunn with High Jackman from the 1999 Royal National Theater production

DVD: Raisin in the Sun, by Loraine Hansberry (1959), stage production filmed in 1961 by Daniel Petrie and Lloyd Richards with Sidney Poitier and Claudia O'Neill, from the Broadway Production (DVD released 2/22/2000, $23.99 at amazon.com).

SCRIPT: Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, ISBN 0679755330, released 11/29/2004, $7 at amazon.com.

Renaissance:

DVD: Taming of the Shrew, by William Shakespeare (circa 1587-92), American Conservatory Theater stage production starring Raye Birk and Earl Boen, directed by Kirk Browning and William Ball, filmed in 1976 (DVDreleased 6/30/2002, $19.99 at amazon.com).

SCRIPT: Taming of the Shrew, by William Shakespeare, ISBN-10: 074347757X, released 1/1/2004, $5.99 at amazon.com, or at your local library.

Greeks:

DVD: Antigone, by Sophocles (circa 442 B.C.E.), adapted by Jean Anouilh in1942, filmed by Broadway Theater Archive from the stage production by Gerald Freeman in 1974 starring Genevieve Bujold and Stacy Keach (DVD released 11/20/2001, $22.49 at amazon.com).

SCRIPT: Five Plays, Vol. One: Antigone, Euridice, The Ermine, The Rehearsal, Romeo & Jeanette, by Jean Anouilh, ISBN-10: 0374522294, 9/28/1990, $12.04 at amazon.com.

Supplementary excerpts for viewing and reading (purchase not required):

Renaissance:

Winter’s Tale, by William Shakespeare (circa 1609-11), 1998/99 Royal Shakespeare production filmed by Greg Doran with Anthony Sher

Greeks:

The Gospel at Colonus, adapted by director Lee Breuer and composer Bob Telson for the stage with Morgan Freeman, and then filmed in 1985, from Oedipus at Colonus by Sophocles (circa 445 B.C.E.).

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