I. General Information

1. Course Title:
Honors Theatre Experience

2. Course Prefix & Number:
THTR 1483

3. Course Credits and Contact Hours:

Credits: 3

Lecture Hours: 3

4. Course Description:

This course is an immersion into the total theatre experience. Students will read and analyze play scripts, develop an aesthetic framework for the plays’ production. The class will then travel to a select number of theaters in Minnesota to see productions of the plays read, meet with the creative teams that produced the play, and tour the facilities where the productions take place. Emphasis will be placed on cultural, socioeconomic, political, and human diversity issues as they apply to the specific plays/productions. Comparative analysis will take the form of directed classroom discussion and/or analysis papers. Ticket fees for productions seen are extra. Courses in the Honors Program emphasize independent inquiry, informed discourse, and direct application within small, transformative, and seminar-style classes that embrace detailed examinations of the material and feature close working relationships with instructors. In addition, students learn to leverage course materials so that they can affect the world around them in positive ways.

5. Placement Tests Required:

Accuplacer (specify test):	Reading	Score:	100
Other (specify test):	ACT English	Score:	24

6. Prerequisite Courses:

There are no prerequisites for this course.

7. Other Prerequisites

OR permission from the instructor or Honors Coordinator, or high school GPA of 3.5 or greater.

9. Co-requisite Courses:

There are no corequisites for this course.

II. Transfer and Articulation

III. Course Purpose

1. Program-Applicable Courses – This course is required for the following program(s):

 

2. MN Transfer Curriculum (General Education) Courses - This course fulfills the following goal area(s) of the MN Transfer Curriculum:

• Goal 6 – Humanities and Fine Arts
• Goal 7 – Human Diversity

IV. Learning Outcomes

1. College-Wide Outcomes

College-Wide Outcomes/Competencies	Students will be able to:
Demonstrate oral communication skills	Discuss productions and scripts with peers in class and with creative teams at various theaters.
Apply abstract ideas to concrete situations	Conceptualize a physical production of the play script and discuss core elements of the production (e.g., lighting, costume, staging, etc.).
Discuss/compare characteristics of diverse cultures and environments	Identify and discuss socioeconomic, political, cultural, and diversity themes of the play and how they are realized within a stage production.

2. Course Specific Outcomes - Students will be able to achieve the following measurable goals upon completion of the course:

• Analyze a script for its theme, structure, and meaning (MnTC Goal 6);
• Analyze a script for its potential stage presentation (MnTC Goal 6);
• Attend a variety of productions in diverse theater settings/facilities (MnTC Goal 7);
• Apply a set of standards for judging the effectiveness of each element of a stage presentation (MnTC Goal 6);
• Compare the potential of a play script to a realized stage presentation (MnTC Goal 6);
• Conduct research about individual productions and producing organizations (MnTC Goal 6 & 7);
• Understand the various elements and artists necessary to create a theater production (MnTC Goal 7);
• Engage in analytical discussions with theatre professionals about the creation of a stage production (MnTC Goal 7); and
• Identify cultural, socioeconomic, political, and human diversity issues in a script and how those issues are presented in a stage production (MnTC Goal 7).

V. Topical Outline

Listed below are major areas of content typically covered in this course.

1. Lecture Sessions

1. Reading and analyzing a play script
• Stage directions
• Theatrical effect of sound and silence
• Effect movement, color, positions on stage
• Meaning behind dialogue
• Character, identity
• Structural elements
2. Aristotelean elements
• Plot
• Thought
• Character
• Diction
• Music
• Spectacle
3. Major contributors to theatrical production
• Actors
• Directors
• Designers
• Technicians
4. Physical theatre spaces and effect on production
• Proscenium
• Thrust
• Arena
• Black Box
• Environmental
5. Researching the play
• Reviews
• Critical analyses
6. Researching the producing theater
• Mission
• History
• Organizational structure
7. Etiquette/protocol for attending a live production
• Dress
• Purchasing tickets
• House rules
• Attending films vs. attending theater
• Protocol for addressing members of the production team
8. Interviewing/engaging the artists connected with the production
• What is the artist trying to do?
• How well has the artist done it?
• Is it worth doing?