THTR 1101 - Introduction to the Theatre

1. Articulate the ways in which theater has evolved and has been an integral part of culture and society throughout history, and how theater has been shaped by - and has shaped - the culture and society in which it was created.
2. Analyze, research and evaluate dramatic literature both by reading scripts and by viewing performances. Understand the influence each particular society has on the playwrights and the major themes within their work.
3. Define and analyze performance elements, different theater spaces, and the various collaborators needed for a theatrical production, including producers, directors, designers, actors, technicians, etc.
4. Evaluate and articulate an informed response to live theater productions, utilizing knowledge and skills gained.
5. Explain the nature of entertainment using psychological theories that explains the emotional involvement in theatre, including the role of illusion and suspension of disbelief.
6. Identify and analyze use of common dramatic conventions.
7. Identify examples for each of Aristotle’s six characteristics of drama and distinguish between various genres of theatre.
8. Explain the physical characteristics, staging practices, acting practices, and social and religious influences on audiences of Greek, Medieval, and Elizabethan Theatre.
9. Recognize typical dramatic structure in Greek drama.
10. Identify three Greek tragic playwrights and one comic playwright.
11. Identify Stanislavski’s theories of acting and explain how they influenced modern American acting.
12. Distinguish between proscenium, arena, thrust, and experimental stage.
13. Identify the characteristics of nonrealistic twentieth century styles of production (including expressionism, epic, and theatre of the absurd) and explain their influences on modern production practice.
14. Identify the functions of design and create an original response in design to text studied.
15. Identify themes and works created by playwrights from different cultural and racial backgrounds.
16. View a play and express an informed personal, critical reaction to particular elements of the specific production, including its classification of dramatic structure, style, and genre, as well as the ways in which the performers and designers may have interpreted the author’s intent.

1. The social and historical context of the theater, including exploration of the history and evolution of theater ritual performance, and other cultural expression
2. Dramatic text and literature and the analysis of such pieces
3. The elements of performance and of different theater spaces
4. Actor preparation and training
5. The roles and duties of different theater artists involved in a production
6. Functions of stage, lighting, and costume design
7. Theater criticism
8. Roles of the director, producer, and critic
9. Live theater, experiencing the theater arts in practice and engaging with theater artists