Performing Solo: From Stage to YouTube

Course Number: 07:965:222
Course Format: Lecture
Mode of Instruction: Online Asynchronous

This is a performance-based elective course designed for students of all disciplines who wish to persuasively communicate in person or on video. If you’re scared of public speaking, then this class is a great way to find your comfort zone, from the comfort of your own home. Students will try vlogging, stand-up, monologues, narration, and even multi-character dialogue, with the help of a supportive instructor and class. Students will study these formats through lectures and by watching videos. Students will have the freedom to write their own scripts on a variety of topics important to them. Performance experience is not required to take this course. These skills are not only used in entertainment, but also in video conferencing and marketing for any profession. No matter your major or future career, this course can help you be the person who is confident, comfortable, and stands out.

3 credits

Course Prerequisites and Corequisites: None
Learning Goals of Course:

Course Goal:

• Using theatrical performance language, students will learn to analyze the genre of solo performance in relation to the genre’s specific history and formats.
• Students will engage critically in the process of developing original creative solo performance material by writing in multiple solo performance styles and genres, as well as giving and receiving productive critiques.
• Students will develop communicative skills and self-awareness inherent in the process of performing their original work for the on-camera assignments.

Course Learning Objectives and Outcomes:

• The unit lectures combined with the unit quizzes will teach students the terminology, definitions, concepts, and methodology of the Solo Performance styles and genres.
• The performance video assignments will teach students how to verbally communicate, sort, and construct a personal speech, presentation, or performance.
• The unit discussion assignments will teach students to compare and solve issues and questions related to topical information.
• Giving and receiving classmate critiques on the video performances will teach students to sort and build their performance understanding and confidence.
• The writing assignments will teach students to write, identify, and construct their thoughts through written communication.

Policies for Exams, Assignments, Attendance, and Grading: ## Course Assignments

These are the types of assignments you will encounter in the course:

• Unit Lectures - lectures consist of reading the content and viewing the chosen videos within the lectures.
• Unit Quizzes - quizzes consist of multiple-choice questions based on the content of the lectures.
• Unit Video Assignments - the videos will be performed, recorded, edited, and uploaded by the students.
• Each video will be seen by the instructor and fellow students. Constructive criticism will be given. The Final
• Presentation assignment is a video assignment.
• Unit Discussion Assignments - discussion topics will be given to the class and students will be asked to respond to the topic and each other in an online forum.
• Unit Video Critiques - constructive criticism on fellow students' video assignments.
• Unit Writing Assignments - creative writing assignments that are designed to help the students choose their final presentation topic and solo performance style.

Course Grading

Final Grade Percentages

• Writing Assignments (5 total) 15%
• Performance Video Assignments excluding Final (6 total) 30%
• Unit Quizzes (4 total) 8%
• Discussions (5 total) 10%
• Presentation Pitch Research Paper (1 total) 5%
• Critique of Classmates (6 total) 12%
• Final Performance Presentation (1 total) 20%
• TOTAL 100%

Instructor: Raymond McAnally, raymonmc@mgsa.rutgers.edu

Creating Characters Onstage and Online

Course Number: 07:965:225
Course Format: Lecture
Mode of Instruction: Online Asynchronous

This is a performance-based elective course designed for students of all disciplines who wish to persuasively communicate in person or on video. If you’re scared of public speaking, then this class is a great way to find your comfort zone, from the comfort of your own home. Students will try vlogging, stand-up, monologues, narration, and even multi-character dialogue, with the help of a supportive instructor and class. Students will study these formats through lectures and by watching videos. Students will have the freedom to write their own scripts on a variety of topics important to them. Performance experience is not required to take this course. These skills are not only used in entertainment, but also in video conferencing and marketing for any profession. No matter your major or future career, this course can help you be the person who is confident, comfortable, and stands out.

3 credits

Course Prerequisites and Corequisites: None
Learning Goals of Course: The goal of this course is to analyze the craft of acting in relation to specific techniques and disciplines, in order to engage critically in the process of developing original characters and creative performance material. Each student will experience the benefits of creating, writing, and performing their character work on camera, as well as giving and receiving productive critiques.

The communicative skills, behavioral study, empathy, and self-awareness learned herein will aid students in their individual fields of study and future careers. The class will focus on critical analysis of performance, artistic research of human behavior, and the ability to express one’s thoughts coherently through both verbal and written communication skills.

Objectives

• Using theatrical performance language, students will learn to analyze a variety of acting techniques, in relation to the technique’s specific history and purpose for exploring characters.
• Students will engage critically in the process of developing original creative performance material by writing and performing various acting techniques to create new characters, as well as giving and receiving productive critiques.
• Students will develop communicative skills and self-awareness inherent in the process of performing their original work for the on-camera assignments.

Learning Outcomes
After participating in this course, the student will be able to:

• Understand and utilize the terminology, definitions, concepts, and methodology of the acting techniques covered in the Unit Lectures and reinforced by the Unit Quizzes.
• Verbally communicate, sort, and construct a personal speech, presentation, or performance as learned through their experience preparing for the video assignments.
• Compare and solve issues and questions related to topical information as learned through Unit Discussion assignments.
• Sort and build their performance understanding and confidence by giving and receiving constructive Classmate Critiques for the course video assignments.
• Write, identify, and construct their thoughts through writing assignments.

Policies for Exams, Assignments, Attendance, and Grading:

Course Assignments
These are the types of assignments you will encounter in the course:

• Unit Lectures - lectures consist of reading the content and viewing the chosen videos within the lectures.
• Unit Quizzes - quizzes consist of multiple-choice questions based on the content of the lectures.
• Unit Video Assignments - the videos will be performed, recorded, edited, and uploaded by the students. Each video will be seen by the instructor and fellow students. Constructive criticism will be given. The Final Presentation assignment is a video assignment.
• Unit Discussion Assignments - discussion topics will be given to the class and students will be asked to respond to the topic and each other in an online forum.
• Unit Video Critiques - constructive criticism on fellow students' video assignments.
• Unit Writing Assignments - creative writing assignments that are designed to help the students choose their final presentation topic and solo performance style.

Course Grading
Final Grade Percentages

• Writing Assignments (5 total)15%
• Performance Video Assignments excluding Final (6 total) 30%
• Unit Quizzes (4 total) 8%
• Discussions (5 total) 10%
• Character Research Paper (1 total) 5%
• Critique of Classmates (6 total) 12%
• Final Performance Presentation (1 total) 20%
• TOTAL 100%

Instructor: Raymond McAnally, raymonmc@mgsa.rutgers.edu

Students attend a wide spectrum of theater offerings including Broadway, off-Broadway, off-off-Broadway, regional, educational, and community events, and, through viewing those theatrical productions and online lectures, gain an appreciation of performance and everything that goes into producing theater.

3 Credits

Note: Students will not receive credit for both 07:965:230 and 07:965:211. This course does not fulfill any SAS core requirements.

Instructors:
Richie Call, rcall@mgsa.rutgers.edu
Raymond Mcanally, rmcanally@mgsa.rutgers.edu
Antu Yacob, ayacob@mgsa.rutgers.edu

Theater History I Online

Course Number: 07:965:231
Course Format: Lecture
Mode of Instruction: Online Asynchronous

The objective is to examine the traditions of primarily Western theater from its origins to the English Restoration, within the context of wider cultural and political developments.

The class focuses on the relationship of these dramatic traditions to current issues such as gender, race, power, and identity, as well as theater as a vital expression of universal human empathy.

3 credits

Course Prerequisites and Corequisites: None
Learning Goals of Course:

Learning Objectives

• Analyze the relationship of theater to ritual, ceremony, and performance in everyday life;
• Compare, contrast, and interrogate theater/performance traditions through such lenses as race, gender, class, and colonialism, with a particular emphasis on centering traditionally marginalized/ignored/oppressed voices;
• Identify shifting historical approaches to theater production and performance;
• Distinguish between different dramatic genres and styles, and identify their historical evolution.

Learning Outcomes

• Construct coherent, analytical, critical written arguments that synthesize course concepts;
• Demonstrate close engagement with course readings and comprehension of course concepts and facts;
• Critically and creatively engage with other students via select assignments.

Policies for Exams, Assignments, Attendance, and Grading:

Course Assignments
Over the semester, the student will submit:

• One video introduction
• Eleven weekly open-book quizzes on the readings (lecture plus any additional readings)
• One Visual Connections assignment
• One closed-book Overview Exam
• One Life Connections Assignment

Note: There are NO extra-credit assignments for this class.

Course Grading
Note: Please see the Assessment Rubrics page in the Course Essentials modules for further details.

Final Grade Calculation (Assignment Percentage)

• Life Connections 40%
• Overview Exam 25%
• Weekly Quizzes (11 total) 30% (2.72% each)
• Visual Connections 4%
• Introduction Video 1%

Instructors:
David Letwin, dpletwin@mgsa.rutgers.edu
Kate Douglas, kate.douglas@rutgers.edu

Theater History II Online

Course Number: 07:965:232
Course Format: Lecture
Mode of Instruction: Online Asynchronous

Theater II picks up where the first class leaves off and takes us to the present time.

A survey of key theater developments, concepts, and trends, primarily Western, from the 18th Century to the present, within the broader context of emergent modernity, the crises this radical change produced, and the range of artistic responses to this new — and destabilizing — reality.

3 credits

Course Prerequisites and Corequisites: None
Learning Goals of Course:

Learning Objectives

• Analyze the relationship of theater to ritual, ceremony, and performance in everyday life;
• Compare, contrast, and interrogate theater/performance traditions through such lenses as race, gender, class, modernity, and colonialism, with a particular emphasis on centering traditionally marginalized/ignored/oppressed voices;
• Identify shifting historical approaches to theater production and performance;
• Distinguish between different dramatic genres and styles, and identify their historical evolution.

Learning Outcomes

• Construct coherent, analytical, critical written arguments that synthesize course concepts;
• Demonstrate close engagement with course readings and comprehension of course concepts and facts;
• Critically and creatively engage with other students via select assignments.

Required and Recommended Course Materials: In addition to what is already posted on the Canvas course site (weekly lectures and links to some of the plays), you will need to pick up one book and several plays that are not in the public domain. Please see the "Weekly Supplemental Readings List" page in the "Course Essentials" module for details. 
Policies for Exams, Assignments, Attendance, and Grading:

Course Assignments
Over the semester, the student will:

• One video introduction
• Eleven weekly open-book quizzes on the readings (lecture plus any additional readings)
• One Visual Connection assignment
• Two discussions assignments
• One closed-book Overview Exam
• One Blog/Paper Assignment

Note: There are NO extra-credit assignments for this class.

Grading
Note: Please see the Assessment Rubrics page in the Course Essentials modules for further details.

Final Course Grade Calculation (Assignment Percentage)

• Blog/Paper 30%
• Discussion Threads (2 total) 30% (15% each)
• Overview Exam 21%
• Weekly Quizzes (11 total) 15% (1.36% each)
• Visual Connection 3%
• Introduction Video 1%

Instructor: David Letwin, dpletwin@mgsa.rutgers.edu

Staging Resistance: Theater, Protest, and Social Change Online

Course Number: 07:965:240
Course Format: Lecture
Mode of Instruction: Online Asynchronous

Through plays and other performance texts, videos, graphics, media accounts, and critical theory readings, this class will explore the vibrant tradition of the atricalized or staged resistance to the injustice and inequality endemic to contemporary culture. Sources include: plays and films that explicitly challenge embedded power hierarchies; radical performative disruptions such as Pussy Riot, Occupy Wall Street, and Take a Knee protests; and participatory community-engaged theater for social change.

3 credits

Course Prerequisites and Corequisites: None
Learning Goals of Course: This course is based on the principle of “Dual-Purpose Content,” in which the curriculum a) facilitates the acquisition of discipline-specific knowledge, and b) serves to develop critical, analytical, and creative thinking.

Learning Objectives

• Identify the historical development of “staged resistance,” beginning with the first-wave European avant-garde movements of the late nineteenth/early twentieth century, through to the present
• Identify how class, race, gender, nationality, sexuality — among other identity markers — intersect with “staged resistance.”
• Analyze the ways in which “staged resistance” overlaps with and breaks from the aesthetics/techniques of traditional theater.

Learning Outcomes

• Construct coherent, analytical, critical written arguments that synthesize course concepts.
• Demonstrate close engagement with course readings and comprehension of course concepts and facts.
• Critically, analytically, and creatively engage with other students via discussions assignments based on course material.
• Incorporate course concepts into creative final project.

Policies for Exams, Assignments, Attendance, and Grading:

Course Structure and Assignments
Note: Assignments subject to change

The course is organized around weekly modules/case studies. Over the semester, the student will:

• One video introduction
• Eleven weekly open-book quizzes on the readings (lecture plus any additional readings)
• Two Visual Connection assignments
• Two discussions assignments
• One closed-book Final Exam
• One Blog Assignment

Final Grade Calculation

• Blog Project 30%
• Discussion Threads (2 total) 32% (16% each)
• Final Exam 21%
• Weekly Quizzes (11 total) 16% (1.45% each)
• Introduction Video 1%

Instructor: David Letwin, dpletwin@mgsa.rutgers.edu