Time Schedule:
Lisa K. Jackson-Schebetta
DRAMA 201
Seattle Campus
Introduces theatre practitioners to the principles of play construction, to the process of reading and conceiving plays for production, and to the basic vocabulary of artistic styles through which plays are produced.
Class description
Play analysis is foundational for all theatre majors, as well as anyone interested in film, literature and the mass media (including popular culture! Think about it: why are some You-Tube videos better than others? Structure!). The course will also appeal to non-majors looking for a lively elective.
Class Description
In 17th Century France, did Molière intend his plays to be performed in outlandish outfits? Why, in 1899, did Sarah Bernhardt astound audiences when she played Hamlet? Under what production constraints was Frank Wedekind working when he wrote Spring Awakening, and what has the current Broadway musical done with those? What cultural performance practices has Teatro Campesino adapted and to what end?
The answers to these questions affect how we engage with and analyze plays as readers, audience members and artists. Historical theatre conventions, as well as social and cultural expectations, inform every text’s composition, structure and staging. A deep understanding of the specific circumstances surrounding a text’s origins helps us make informed and incisive production critiques and choices.
Student learning goals
We will address play structure across a variety of genres with special attention to the organizational aspects of plot. Script analysis will be rigorous and based on foundational texts in the field, such as Aristotle’s Poetics and David Ball’s Backwards and Forwards. Our analysis will also be informed by the historical practices and methodologies (theatre architecture, audience arrangement, acting techniques, design innovation, socio-cultural behavior, etc) that contributed to the play’s “style” of performance. We will investigate not only what the text means, but how it means: in its own time and after it, including our present moment.
General method of instruction
Discussion; small group work, including projects outside of class; “on-your feet” work; one to two required off-campus performances
Recommended preparation
Some practical or academic work in theater, English or film is helpful but not necessary: the more varied our backgrounds, the more energetic our discussions.
Class assignments and grading
