Final Project - Introduction to Theatre | DRAMA 101, Study Guides, Projects, Research of Theatre

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Drama 101 Final Project

Spring 2008 / J. Hutchison

An anonymous donor has offered funding for you to stage a play! However, the same invitation has been extended to several other groups, and only one will receive the funding. Each group must create a proposal that will convince this mysterious patron that their vision for the production is highly developed, and that their understanding of the play they wish to produce is full and deep. This wealthy person suggested a number of plays, but does not know exactly what he or she wants to see in the sponsored production, so the play, the style, and the design and theatre space itself are all up to your team. The donor’s only stipulation is that the production should have some significant contemporary relevance – that it, that it should have something important to say, something meaningful to offer its audience beyond mere entertainment. The rewards for having your proposal selected would be fame, prestige, and a paying job, not to mention a higher grade on your Drama 101 final project. The final project in this course is an opportunity to experience the collaborative nature of theatre while approximating the teamwork required to bring a full production “from page to stage.” The goal is to incorporate, as a group, separate elements of the process of theatre into a whole while engaging individually with specific design areas. This project is worth 25% of your grade (i.e. 250 points), split between the different parts of the project. Each person in your group of 4 will participate in each part of the project: everyone contributes to the directing and dramaturgy, everyone designs, and everyone acts.

• “Preview” (due 5/29; 10 points)
• Part 1: The Production Concept ( 75 points; rough draft due 5/20 )
• Part 2: Design Concepts ( 40 points)
• Presentation of Production and Design Concepts ( 25 points)
• Part 3: Acting Scenes (performed 6/3- 5 ; 100 points) The written and design portions of all parts will be assembled in the Production Notebook and turned in on Tuesday, 6/3. This means that all written work, all design work, and all character and scene analysis will be turned in on Tuesday 6/3. There are 5 weeks between now and then, so please pace your work accordingly! Please also note that some groups will be asked to present on Monday, 6/2, and will turn in their Production Notebook the following day.

Final Project “Preview”

Due 5/29. 10 points. The “Preview” day on 5/29 is a chance for you to create an informed audience for your presentations the following week, and to identify (and then fix) problems or questions that your class brings to your attention. Consider this both as a chance to discuss your project with your class and TA, and as a rehearsal for your presentation of your designs.

Part 1: The Production Concept

Rough draft due 5/20. Final draft due 6/3. 75 points. This document (approximately 5- 6 pages) is completed by the group as a whole, addressing some of the work of the director and dramaturg. Each of the numbered questions below should be answered in full, and each is worth a specific number of points.

1. What play (from the list of suggestions or as approved in advance by your TA) are you producing? Why do you want to produce this play? Why is this play relevant to the audience for whom it will be performed?
2. Craft a Production Statement for your production, which will influence your design concepts. Make sure your Production Statement includes a strong image (metaphor), incorporates action/movement and time, and is open to interpretation.
3. Identify the dramatic action in THREE sentences.
4. Identify the beginning stasis, the intrusion, the climax, and the ending stasis.
5. Decide on a central theme and support it with examples from the script (at least two). (Remember: theme is a statement that the play makes about the human experience. Not just a topic, and certainly not a moral.)
6. Decide on a theatre space and audience configuration. Support this choice by relating it to your theme and audience experience.
7. Determine the historical time and geographical place that your production is set in, as well as the specific location. The time and place may deviate from the playwright’s specification. Your production may be set in a world other than a historical period, in which case you must identify one (or more) historical time and place which influences your production. a. Build upon what you find in the script by finding a piece of historical information relevant to the story that supports the time period/setting. Cite your source. b. If you are setting your production in a period or locale other than what the play indicates, explain the ways in which the play’s ideas inform your choice. Ground your answers in both the play text and outside sources.
8. Research the playwright and this play. Include 1 - 2 short paragraphs which describe: a. A brief biography b. This playwright’s role in society and how s/he views his/her work c. The social context of this play
9. Given the theme, image, time period, setting, and theatrical space, what is the atmosphere that you want your design team to create? How can you guide them in using colors, patterns, shapes, shadows, sounds, smells, pace, space, levels, blocking, etc.? Explain how this atmosphere relates to your analysis.
10. Include a bibliography of PUBLISHED sources, including 2 sources used as inspiration for each design area (not technical guides). Magazines, art books, catalogs, books, slide collections, museum guides, etc. Briefly discuss their use in each area.
11. Determine who will be responsible for each design area (scenery, costume, lighting, and sound) and which scenes will be performed, as well as which role(s) each person will play.

• A breakdown of the scene into beats, explaining each transition (one breakdown per scene, not per actor)
• Objective and obstacle in the scene (at least 1, more if necessary)
• Tactics (at least 3), including an explanation of how or why the character shifts tactics for each
• Explanations of subtext (at least 3)
• A paragraph explaining how this interaction is of life or death importance to your character
• A paragraph describing how your character changes over the course of this scene and over the course of the play