Open Forum

Does anyone teach an intro class for Theatre Arts?  If so, is it a prerequisite to advance onto performance or tech classes?  I am struggling and looking for ideas for such a course that will set the basic groundwork for future theatre courses.. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

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Ken Ruffalo

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The first class in my department is a single semester intro level class. I use it to introduce the students to basic terminology, stage directions. improv, script writing, appropriate behavior in a theatre, basic scene work and monologues. I tell the students that the class is really about learning if theatre is interesting to them, can they comfortably get in from of other people and perform (or if they prefer to be backstage) and if they want to continue into the beginning level course where I really begin to introduce technique. What sort of specifics are you looking for?

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Shira Schwartz
Chandler Unified School District
Chandler AZ
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Original Message:
Sent: 10-16-2017 12:07
From: Ken Ruffalo
Subject: Intro Classes

Does anyone teach an intro class for Theatre Arts?  If so, is it a prerequisite to advance onto performance or tech classes?  I am struggling and looking for ideas for such a course that will set the basic groundwork for future theatre courses.. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

------------------------------
Ken Ruffalo

------------------------------

I used to teach a year-long weekly intro class to all of our first-year students. We spent a lot of time addressing rehearsal norms -- things that you and I would consider self-evident (like being ready for your cues, learning your lines, not talking during rehearsals, etc.) but that students needed consistently reinforced during the first few months.

Honestly, the best resources that I've had for my intro to theatre classes have been GCSE Drama study guides (the GCSEs being the British equivalent of AP exams). There's one by Edexcel that I used almost every single day in my classroom. I haven't bought the new edition, but my old edition had introductory breakdowns of devising exercises and the different technical components of theatre that were accessible and led to some really spectacular theatre by inexperienced students. I highly recommend searching "GCSE Drama" on Amazon; the books usually need to be bought second-hand since they're from a foreign country, but most of them are well worth the investment.

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Victoria Chatfield
Executive Director
National Theatre for Student Artists
www.nationalstudenttheatre.org
vchatfield@nationalstudenttheatre.org
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Original Message:
Sent: 10-16-2017 12:07
From: Ken Ruffalo
Subject: Intro Classes

Does anyone teach an intro class for Theatre Arts?  If so, is it a prerequisite to advance onto performance or tech classes?  I am struggling and looking for ideas for such a course that will set the basic groundwork for future theatre courses.. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

------------------------------
Ken Ruffalo

------------------------------

​I teach an Intro class, but it doesn't have much performance in it because I have a separate Studio Acting I class. Intro is more basic theatre history, terminology, practitioners, and dramatic literature. I'm happy to share syllabi if that would help, though I have another thread elsewhere about trying to make that class a little more challenging and interactive.

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Cassy Maxton-Whitacre
Theatre Department Coordinator
Fishersville VA
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Original Message:
Sent: 10-16-2017 12:07
From: Ken Ruffalo
Subject: Intro Classes

Does anyone teach an intro class for Theatre Arts?  If so, is it a prerequisite to advance onto performance or tech classes?  I am struggling and looking for ideas for such a course that will set the basic groundwork for future theatre courses.. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

------------------------------
Ken Ruffalo

------------------------------

Hello,
It can be a struggle to figure out what to teach, to whom, and when.  Each theatre teacher definitely has his/her own methods and course structures.  
At my school, I have four levels of theatre and each level is cloned with an MYP or IB theatre class.  So, I've attached my syllabus for each level.  Basically, in Drama I, we cover theatre histroy as well as read three plays in the first semester.  We do scenes from each of the plays we read.  Second semester, we delve into basic characterization, stage combat, intro to tech theatre, and script writing for their final projects.
Each level DOES build on the other, so it is VERY encouraged to take the courses in succession.
There are exceptions to the rule, though.  As, my Theatre I and II classes are hovering around 40 people each...so if there are upperclassmen who want to take Theatre for the first time, I'll look at their grades and see if they've done other performance stuff (show choir, marching band) and I'll move them up.  I address scheduling issues on a case-by-case basis.  I came up with this curriculum on my own, so I feel the structure of the courses build upon one another.  
Again, every school/district is unique, so you'll have to develop something that works for you :)

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Lisa Dyer
Henrico VA
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Original Message:
Sent: 10-17-2017 08:20
From: Cassy Maxton-Whitacre
Subject: Intro Classes

​I teach an Intro class, but it doesn't have much performance in it because I have a separate Studio Acting I class. Intro is more basic theatre history, terminology, practitioners, and dramatic literature. I'm happy to share syllabi if that would help, though I have another thread elsewhere about trying to make that class a little more challenging and interactive.

------------------------------
Cassy Maxton-Whitacre
Theatre Department Coordinator
Fishersville VA

Original Message:
Sent: 10-16-2017 12:07
From: Ken Ruffalo
Subject: Intro Classes

Does anyone teach an intro class for Theatre Arts?  If so, is it a prerequisite to advance onto performance or tech classes?  I am struggling and looking for ideas for such a course that will set the basic groundwork for future theatre courses.. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

------------------------------
Ken Ruffalo

------------------------------

I've actually just been notified that I've been accepted to present a panel on this very subject at BroadwayCon in New York, January 26-28! I am hoping to find 3-6 more teachers to serve on this panel with me. It's called "Different Classrooms, Different Styles." Anyone interested? Please say yes!


Original Message------

Hello,
It can be a struggle to figure out what to teach, to whom, and when.  Each theatre teacher definitely has his/her own methods and course structures.  
At my school, I have four levels of theatre and each level is cloned with an MYP or IB theatre class.  So, I've attached my syllabus for each level.  Basically, in Drama I, we cover theatre histroy as well as read three plays in the first semester.  We do scenes from each of the plays we read.  Second semester, we delve into basic characterization, stage combat, intro to tech theatre, and script writing for their final projects.
Each level DOES build on the other, so it is VERY encouraged to take the courses in succession.
There are exceptions to the rule, though.  As, my Theatre I and II classes are hovering around 40 people each...so if there are upperclassmen who want to take Theatre for the first time, I'll look at their grades and see if they've done other performance stuff (show choir, marching band) and I'll move them up.  I address scheduling issues on a case-by-case basis.  I came up with this curriculum on my own, so I feel the structure of the courses build upon one another.  
Again, every school/district is unique, so you'll have to develop something that works for you :)

------------------------------
Lisa Dyer
Henrico VA
------------------------------

I teach an intro class that is required to begin the theater track. It is project based- we read or watch a play, explore an element of theater, and do a project based on the play and the element.

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William Addis
Chair of Visual and Performing Arts
Westtown School
West Chester PA
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Original Message:
Sent: 10-16-2017 12:07
From: Ken Ruffalo
Subject: Intro Classes

Does anyone teach an intro class for Theatre Arts?  If so, is it a prerequisite to advance onto performance or tech classes?  I am struggling and looking for ideas for such a course that will set the basic groundwork for future theatre courses.. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

------------------------------
Ken Ruffalo

------------------------------