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MARYVILLE UNIVERSITY COURSE SYLLABUS

SEMESTER/YEAR: Fall 2004
COURSE: FPAR 205.02
TITLE: WRITING AND PERFORMING THE 10-MINUTE PLAY
PREREQUISITE: HONORS STATUS COREQUISITES: NONE CREDITS: 4
MEETING DAYS/TIME: Fri 2:15-5:00p
MEETING PLACE: Aud 1423

INSTRUCTOR: Leah Schwartz, Ph.D.
OFFICE PHONE: 314-529-9409 OFFICE LOCATION: ABAC 3206
VOICEMAIL: 314-529-9201 + 9409# E-MAIL: lschwartz@maryville.edu
WEBSITE: http://accweb.itr.maryville.edu/schwartz
FAX: 314-529-9965
OFFICE HOURS 04/fa: TTh 9:10-10:45a and 12:10-3p

CATALOG DESCRIPTION:
A seminar course for students in the Bascom Honors Program which reaches an understanding of art from the perspective of those who make it. The seminar requires both individual and collaborative work. Students write play scripts and perform those plays.

CORE OBJECTIVES:

· to understand and to use the principles of playwriting

· to develop performance skills

COURSE CONTENT/TOPICS:

· understanding playwriting theory

· creating situation

· writing dialogue

· handling exposition, conflict, resolution, and character development

· evaluating plays

· rewriting plays

· creativity

· acting performance

ASSESSMENT:

· Writing and revising 10-minute plays that work well in performance

· Constructive participation in workshopping student plays

· Attending and evaluating a live professional play performance

· Creation of a character and ensemble acting in the 10-minute play productions

TEXTS:
Perfect 10: Writing and Producing the 10-Minute Play
Gary Garrison; Heinemann, 2001, ISBN 0-325-00312-2-51495

30 Ten-Minute Plays: 4,5,6 Actors
Michael Bigelow Dixon, Tanya Palmer, Brendan Healy, eds.; Smith and Kraus, 2001, ISBN 1-57525-279-1-90000

THIS SYLLABUS MAY BE ALTERED BY THE TEACHER TO MEET STUDENT OR INSTRUCTIONAL NEEDS.

CALENDAR:

Assignment: Sometime during the semester, view a live play production and write a 3-page essay or 15 substantive comments on the playwriting (language, dialogue, leitmotifs, plot, characterization, exposition, conflict, resolution, special effects, style, wit, humor) and aspects of production. Type your work. It is due 3 Dec or earlier. Hand in ticket and program with your written work.
See “Links to St. Louis Theatre Sites” at the end of this syllabus.

Aug 27
Reading 10-minute play scripts from 30 10-Minute Plays
Discussion of exposition, conflict, resolution, character, language, silence in the play scripts
Discussion of impetus for the play: character, situation, plot
Brainstorming to invent situations for plays, practice writing dialogue
Improvisation exercises

Sep 3
Assignment due: Read the text Perfect 10: Writing and Producing the 10-Minute Play
Discussion of Perfect 10: Writing and Producing the 10-Minute Play
Assignment due: Sample 6 plays in 30 10-Minute Plays. Read at least 3 of them, take notes about what you think is good, isn’t good, would work, wouldn’t work. Discuss your findings in class.
Assignment due: Record and transcribe 10 minutes of overheard dialogue. Read it to the class. Discuss how you might use it, edit it; discus any ideas for plays it suggests.
Brainstorming to invent situations; evaluating the situations
Practice writing dialogue

Sep 10
Assignment due: The 1st 10-minute play. Type the play. Bring copies for each person in the class.

For examples of plays written by students in this course, go to
http://accweb.itr.maryville.edu/schwartz/10-minute%20play%20scripts.htm

For clarity, follow this format in your play scripts:

Center the play title and your name.
List the characters and describe them briefly.

Describe the setting and situation briefly.
In the dialogue:
- Use Bold type for character names when you are designating that character’s lines.
- Use italic type for any stage directions within the text of the play, and put the stage directions in parentheses if they occur within a character’s line.
- Double space between units of dialogue (each character’s line).
- Number all pages.

Sep 17,24, Oct 1,8
Workshopping, revising, rehearsing, performing a selection of the first set of 10-minute plays

Oct 15
Evaluate the play performances.
Assignment due: Bring to class news clips (from newspaper, magazine, Internet) that suggest characters in conflict. Discuss how the words, characters, situation, or conflict might fuel an idea for a play.

Practice writing dialogue

Oct 22
Assignment due the 2^nd 10-minute play. Type the play. Bring copies for each person in the class.

Oct 29
Assignment due: the 3^rd 10-minute play. Type the play. Bring copies for each person in the class.

Nov 5,12,19
Revising, rehearsing, performing a selection from the second and third sets of 10-minute plays

Mon 22 Nov-Sun 28 Nov is Thanksgiving break.

Dec 3
Performance of the selection of 10-minute plays from the second and third sets
Assignment due: The 3-page essay or 15 substantive comments on a live play production. See note at the head of this “Calendar.”

Dec 10
Assignment due: Hand in your body of work: the workshopped version of all 3 plays and the revised version of 2 of the plays, clearly identified.

CRITERIA FOR LETTER GRADES:
The evaluation of each class assignment or listed portion of the course work will be specified by a letter grade. The letter grades indicate a judgment of the quality of the completed assignment. The letter grades used and their values are listed in the Maryville catalogue.

The highest grade “A,” for instance, marks work of exceptional quality which shows understanding of the assignment, the topic, the medium, the context, the background; which shows evidence of a thoughtful organization of ideas, drawing of relationships between ideas, presenting of concrete supporting evidence and discussion to illustrate ideas, knowledge of the appropriate broader context of the ideas; which uses effective and appropriate presentation techniques; which uses effective and appropriate standard language; which shows insight, inventiveness, creativity; which shows sensitivity to the current state of knowledge and information about the topic and contributes to the advancement of knowledge and understanding of the topic.

The other grades mark work showing lesser levels of mastery in the areas listed above. “B” work is superior, shows some exceptional quality but not in all areas listed. “C” work is average, may have some exceptional qualities and some deficiencies. “D” work is of insufficient quality in some of the areas listed and has little redeeming quality in those areas. “F” work is insufficient in more areas and has no sufficient redeeming quality.

LATE, INCOMPLETE, MISSING WORK:
Late or incomplete work will be graded lower than work that is complete and on time. Missing work will cause a minus grade for that portion of the course work (not zero percent, but minus whatever percentage is assigned to that item).

CLASS ATTENDANCE POLICY:
Students are expected to attend, completely, all class meetings.
Workshopping and rehearsing can’t be effective if some participants are missing.

Students who miss more than 1 class (for whatever reason) will receive a lower course grade than their work would otherwise merit.
***STUDENTS WHO MISS 3 OR MORE CLASSES WILL RECEIVE A COURSE GRADE OF F.***

PLAGIARISM POLICY (ZERO TOLERANCE):
*******ANY INSTANCE OF PLAGIARISM WILL RESULT IN A COURSE GRADE OF F.*********
All instances of plagiarism will be reported to the School dean, who forwards that information to appropriate University administrators.

ASSIGNMENTS AND PROPORTION OF COURSE GRADE:

Portfolio of 3 10-minute plays, 2 of them revised 50%
Acting in the 10-minute plays 20%
15 comments on playwriting based on a live performance 10%
Participation in workshopping and other class activities 20%

Grading of the assignments is based on fulfillment of the course objectives. Here, for each assignment, are additional details:

The plays – effectiveness of

dialogue
plot
action
characterization
exposition
conflict
resolution
language
feasibility of staging
ideas
wit, humor
et cetera!

Acting

willingness to experiment
concentration
credibility
appropriateness
effectiveness

Participation in workshopping and other class activities

frank, thoughtful, helpful suggestions to the playwrights
allowing other students to participate; not dominating the discussion
offering suggestions about class activities
taking part in class activities with spirit helpful to the group

3-page essay or 15 substantive comments on the playwriting (language, dialogue, leitmotifs, plot, characterization, exposition, conflict, resolution, special effects, style, wit, humor) and aspects of production of a live play performance.
The assignment must be typed.
Hand in ticket and program with your written work.
It is due 3 Dec or earlier.
See “Links to St. Louis Theatre Sites” at the end of this syllabus.
See the examples of inappropriate and appropriate comments below.

Here are examples of non-substantive comments on a play production:

The set was good.                  The costumes were good.       The directing was good.
The theme was interesting.   The set used red.                      The costumes were pretty.
The theme was pride.             I hated the theatre seats.          I liked the jokes.

And here are examples of substantive comments:

The playwright Harold Jacobs must have intimate knowledge of a troubled childhood. Both main characters, Trish and Lily, show evidence in their treatment of their own broods that they learned cruelty early and are determined to pass it on. The only optimistic character in the play, Uncle Henry, counters only feebly the play’s dominant theme: a dysfunctional family is the best perpetuator of evil yet invented.
The costumes in Henry Loses reinforce the play’s theme: that cruelty is contagious. The cast wore uniformly dull clothing: khakis for Tom and Winky, with worn and faded T-shirts or threadbare jackets; dowdy polyester dresses for Trish and Lily. Only with Uncle Henry did the costumer temper the earth tones with a splash of color: his green string tie, the old red Cardinals cap he wore even indoors. And Henry, appropriately, is also the only character to offer a spot of hope or vitality to his young nephews.
What was the director thinking to have a glass filled with brown liquid sitting near the edge of an end table during the entire production?? Nobody drank from it, nobody acknowledged it, nobody moved it. All the characters passed close to it several times, and during the fight scenes I was sure it was going to be knocked over. If a script calls for a gun to appear in Act 1, somebody has to get shot before the play ends. If a director puts something attention-getting on stage, it should be used. Otherwise, cut it!! Don’t waste my worry!!
Special effects should be special, and those in the Rep’s production of Stars Above certainly were. The clouds projected on the backdrop moved slowly across the stage, a beautiful natural background for the stark black, white, and gray costumes of the large cast. Appropriately, as the blue and white morphed into the reds of sunset and the overall level of light dimmed, the formerly warring families were silhouetted against a peaceful, gorgeous sky. The quarrel was over; peace was at hand: the technical support in this production certainly reinforced the action in the script.
Black box theatre should be experimental, adventurous. The student actors in Faraway Hills weren’t particularly suited for the roles of elderly brothers (too energetic, make-up lines on their faces rather than wrinkles), but the director made up for the shortcomings by using various levels on stage, using lights creatively (stark spotlights for the monologues); and seating the audience on all four sides of the small stage to let us feel as if we were in the middle of the carnival on stage.
Olivia’s diction was impeccable. I could distinguish every word. While what she said was always clear, she was also always true to character. Every word seemed to be a window to her emotions. I never dreamed any voice could put such variety and such suffering into a simple “No, no, no.”
Adam sat on the sofa upright; he sat sideways; he draped himself over the back and the seat with his head on the floor. His body was physical manifestation of his indecision and torment. He was such a whipping snake of thwarted hope that the audience couldn’t stop laughing—and couldn’t stop hoping he would come back on stage again and do it some more.
The lovers’ quarrel in Act 2 was the best scene in the play. They built and built until I thought they could go no higher, when they would suddenly drop back and make me believe that was logical—only to adopt an icy intensity that was even more threatening than their earlier noise. Neither one was ever alone in the scene. They fed off each other and made me think they meant it all—and that they were experiencing it for the first time.
Mamet’s characters talk and talk yet say nothing. Glengarry Glen Ross is a perfect example of people’s ability to overuse communication without once touching the other. Mamet’s talkiness has the same message as Harold Pinter’s silences: that we may be social creatures but we live each in our own void.
Seeing Front Page was a real treat because of the huge cast of characters. Contemporary plays avoid large casts because that almost assures the plays will never be professionally produced because of the expense. To see minor characters take stage for just a moment—and then have a dozen others do the same in their turn—was to find a delight in variety of character, voice, mannerism, that no 2-character play can match.

LINKS TO ST. LOUIS THEATRE SITES:

These links are more easily accessed by going to the on-line version of the syllabus at http://accweb.itr.maryville.edu/schwartz

URLs WITH LINKS TO MOST ST. LOUIS THEATRE SITES:

http://waxwing.westhost.com/stageleft/html/calendar.html
KDHX listing of current productions w/ length of their run; has links to sites of companies with current shows

http://www.geocities.com/newlinetheatre/stlouissites.html
Has links to various St. Louis Theatre sites – professional, amateur (including educational), dance

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

INDIVIDUAL THEATRE SITES FOR PROFESSIONAL COMPANIES:

http://www.cocastl.org/
COCA site; lists stage offerings

http://edisontheatre.wustl.edu/
Edison Theatre – lists the Ovations schedule but not the Wash U. Performing Arts productions

http://www.fabulousfox.com/
Fox Theatre

http://www.repstl.org/
Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

SMALLER PROFESSIONAL COMPANIES:

http://www.act-inc-stlouis.org/
Act, Inc.; does summer shows

http://www.geocities.com/artlofttheatre/
ArtLoft – has links to New Line Theatre, HotHouse Theatre, Magic Smoking Monkey Theatre, Washington Avenue Players Project

http://www.citytheatrestl.org/nowshowing.htm
City Theatre (formerly City Players, formerly George Williams Players); now at St. John’s United Methodist Church, 5000 Washington Place
July 2004 City Theatre and HotHouse Theatre joined as Hotcity Theatre but have not yet updated their contact info.

http://www.historyonics.org/
Historyonics Theatre Company; stages productions using only the words of historical documents, usually with music; in the History Museum in Forest Park

http://www.hothousetheatre.org/
HotHouse Theatre; a tricky site, I think—the main page does nothing, but wait for a smaller pop-up page that can get you to categories of information
July 2004 City Theatre and HotHouse Theatre joined as Hotcity Theatre but have not yet updated their contact info.

http://www.hydewaretheatre.com/links.html
Hydeware Theatre; performs at Soulard Theatre, 1921 Ninth Street

http://www.mhtheatre.com/
(Mostly) Harmless Theatre Company; site not updated when viewed 031111

http://www.geocities.com/newlinetheatre/
New Line Theatre; does mostly plays about gender issues but also mounts other shows

http://www.stlouisblackrep.com/
Saint Louis Black Repertory Company; does mostly plays by African-American authors but also mounts other shows

http://www.spotlighttheatrestlonline.org/
Spotlight Theatre; now performs in Soulard Theatre, 1921 S. Ninth Street

http://www.geocities.com/soulardtheatre/
Soulard Theatre Collective; Hydeware Theatre, Spotlight Theatre, Ecco Theatre Company; 1921 9^th Street in Soulard

http://www.uppityco.com/
That Uppity Theatre Company; espouses causes; cooperates w/ COCA on women’s series at COCA

EDUCATIONAL THEATRE SITES:

http://www.webster.edu/depts/finearts/theatre/
Webster University Conservatory of Theatre

http://www.slu.edu/departments/utheatre/
St. Louis University Theatre

http://artsci.wustl.edu/~pad/
Washington University Performing Arts Department

Some St. Louis theatre phone numbers

Edison Theatre 314-935-6543
Fox 314-534-1678
HotHouse 314-241-1517
Hydeware 314-368-7306
Kirkwood Theatre Guild 314-821-9956
New Line Theatre 314- 773-6526
Repertory Theatre of St. Louis 314-968-4925
Saint Louis University 314-977-2998
St. Charles Theatre Company 441-3586 (636 number?)
St. Louis Black Rep 314-534-3807
Theatre Guild of Webster Groves 314-962-0876
That Uppity Theatre Company 314-995-4600
Webster Conservatory Hotline 314-968-7128