Theatre 366-0-22: Special Topics in History Chicago Theatre

Monday/Wednesday 2:30-3:50pm, Annenberg Hall G30 Instructor: Shannon K. Fitzsimons ([email protected]) Office Hours: Monday/Wednesday 1:15-2:15 pm, Library Café (or by appointment)

Course Description

This course will introduce students to the historic and contemporary landscape of Chicago professional theatre, encompassing both major regional theatres like Steppenwolf, the Goodman and Lookingglass and the wealth of smaller storefront companies. Readings will be drawn from representative plays to emerge from Chicago theatres in the past half-century, as well as supplemental historical articles and reviews. Guest speakers will include a range of theatre administrators and artists. Over the course of the quarter, students will be required to attend and review a number of productions currently playing in Chicago. Other assignments will include an in-class presentation on a storefront Chicago theatre and conducting a series of original interviews with current Chicago theatre professionals.

Assignments

Performance Responses

Over the course of the quarter, you will attend five plays and write a two-page response for each. These responses may be narrower in scope than a traditional review—if you are particularly interested in design, you may wish to focus on that, for example—but you should be sure to tie your analysis of the performance element 1) to the text/larger performance; and 2) to your understanding of the producing company’s mission, aesthetic, and organization (this may require a little research on your part—theatre websites and programs, as well as your own theatergoing history, are valuable sources for that kind of information).

Some guiding questions that are helpful to bear in mind: What choices were made? Why do you think those choices were made? Were those choices successful? Why or why not?

The additional following requirements apply:

1) The five plays you attend/write on must be produced by five different theatre companies. Choose from the list provided below or, if there's a company not on the list whose work you'd like to use for this assignment, send me an email with the names of the company and the production so I can approve it.

2) Only TWO of the five plays you see may be produced by the following companies: Goodman, Steppenwolf, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Next, Victory Gardens, or Lookingglass. Plays produced by other companies, but performed at those theatres (in the Steppenwolf Garage, the Owen Theatre at the Goodman, the upstairs studio at Victory Gardens, etc.) do NOT count towards the two-play limit.

3) At least ONE of the theatre companies should be new to you.

4) I realize that many of you will have intense periods of tech rehearsals/performances/major projects for other classes throughout the quarter, when it will be difficult to get off campus to see theatre, and that these times will vary among you. In order to accommodate this, you may turn in your responses at any point until Monday, December 3rd; you set your own schedule. I strongly urge you not to leave all (or the majority) of your reviews until December; getting them in earlier in the quarter will a) make your end-of-quarter less stressful, and b) give you more information about your grade for the course early on. Also, I would encourage you to write your responses within a week of seeing the performances, so that they are fresh in your mind.

List of Recommended Theatres:

About Face Theatre A Red Orchid Theatre American Blues Theatre American Theatre Company Bailiwick Chicago Barrel of Monkeys Black Ensemble Theatre Caffeine Theatre Chicago Children's Theatre Chicago Dramatists Chicago Opera Theatre Chicago Shakespeare Theatre City Lit Theatre Collaboraction Congo Square Theatre Company Court Theatre Dog & Pony Theatre Company Eclipse Theatre Company Filament Theatre Ensemble First Folio Theatre Goodman Theatre Griffin Theatre Company Jackalope Theatre Company Lifeline Theatre Lookingglass Theatre Company Museum of Contemporary Art Next Theatre Northlight Theatre Company Pavement Group Piven Theatre Workshop Profiles Theatre Raven Theatre Company Red Tape Theatre Company Redmoon Theater Redtwist Theatre Remy Bumppo Theatre Company Rivendell Theatre Ensemble Shattered Globe Theatre Sideshow Theatre Company Signal Ensemble Theatre Silk Road Rising Steep Theatre Company Steppenwolf Theatre Company Strawdog Theatre Company Teatro Luna Teatro Vista The Gift Theatre The House Theatre of Chicago The Hypocrites The Music Theatre Company The Neo-Futurists (Prime Time shows ONLY--NOT Too Much Light...) The New Colony The Plagarists The Side Project The Strange Tree Group Theatre Oobleck Theatre Wit Theatre Seven of Chicago Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre TimeLine Theatre Company Trap Door Theatre TUTA Theatre Chicago Urban Theater Company Victory Gardens Writers' Theatre

Storefront Theatre Presentation

On either Monday, October 29 or Wednesday, October 31 (see date assignments in class schedule below), you will give a 10-minute presentation to the class on a storefront theatre company of your choosing. While “storefront” is a difficult category to describe, for our purposes a “storefront” is 1) primarily non-union, 2) has an operating budget under $1 million, and 3) performs in spaces under 150 seats. These are inexact guidelines—if you have a question about whether a particular theatre counts for this assignment, please email me. The list of recommended companies for your performance responses is a good place to start for ideas.

Each student will present on a different company. By the end of the day on MONDAY, OCTOBER 8th, please email me with THREE choices of storefront companies you’d like to work on. I’ll confirm your choices/assignments in class on Wednesday, October 10th.

In your ten-minute presentation, you should: 1) Give a brief history of the company, including major productions 2) Outline the theatre’s mission and aesthetic 3) Describe the theatre’s organization—their staff (volunteer or paid), their performance space(s) and their location in the city, their budgets, etc.

Audio-visual elements are welcome, though you will not want to use video clips lasting longer than 2 minutes total.

Final Project: Interviews and Reflection

For your final project for this course, you will interview four Chicago theatre professionals about their experiences working in the city. The questions you ask in these approximately 30-minute interviews will be of your own devising, but some larger issues to bear in mind include: What makes Chicago distinctive as a theatre town? What are the challenges and opportunities of working in Chicago theatre? How is the working environment different among various theatres in the city?

You may choose to interview any type of theatre professional: actor, director, playwright, dramaturg, designer, managing director, fight choreographer, stage manager, critic—the list goes on. You should interview four of the same type of professional (four actors, for example) and you should aim to interview practitioners that have worked at a broad range of companies and are at different stages of their careers (for example, you’ll want to interview a designer who has worked at places like the Goodman and Steppenwolf—AND a designer who has worked with small, younger storefront companies). You will want to know what kind of theatre professional you want to interview by Wednesday, November 7 (the date of our in-class interviewing workshop).

You will want to begin searching for interviewees and sending interview requests as soon as possible. A good place to start is with your own social network (recent Northwestern alums, perhaps?) and with members of the Northwestern faculty—who may prove to be excellent interview subjects themselves, and may also be able to direct you towards other good people to speak with. If you have difficulties securing interview subjects, please contact me and I will do my best to help you establish connections. Also, in your inquiries to potential interviewees, feel free to provide them with my contact information if they have any questions or concerns about the assignment.

You should record your interviews (there are numerous smartphone apps!) and then transcribe them. On Wednesday, December 12th, you will submit your four transcribed interviews along with a 4-5 page reflection paper, which summarized what you learned from your interviewees about Chicago theatre and the specific profession you researched.

Assessment

Breakdown

Class Attendance/Participation: 20% Storefront Theatre Presentation: 25% Performance Reviews (5): 5% each (total 25%) Final Project: Interviews and Reflection: 30%

Assessment Standards

A Superior work demonstrating student’s ability to engage the materials in a stimulating, creative, and insightful manner; clearly written with no or minimal typographical or grammatical errors

B Completion of requirements demonstrating student’s understanding of materials and ability to apply knowledge; minor writing and/or conceptual problems

C Satisfactory completion of assignment requirements; lacks clear writing or has significant conceptual problems, and/or is inadequately proof-read

D Failure to meet majority of requirements of the assignment

F Failure to meet all requirements of the assignment

Grading Scale

A 93-100 C 73-76 A- 90-92 C- 70-72 B+ 87-89 D+ 67-69 B 83-86 D 63-66 B- 80-82 D- 60-62 C+ 77-79 F 59 and below

Course Policies

Formatting. All written work will be submitted by email to [email protected] by the time specified on the due date. Written work should always be submitted in the following format: 12 point font, Times New Roman, double-spaced in MLA style only, in .doc, .docx, or PDF format.

Attendance. Attendance is mandatory. Because of our limited time together, it is important that you make every effort to attend class and arrive on time. Note that being tardy three times will count as one absence. Appropriate proof is necessary in order for an absence to be excused (e.g. doctor’s note, letter from the Dean). You are allowed one unexcused absence, no questions asked. After that, your final grade for the course will drop one increment for each missed class (from an A- to a B+). Missing more than three classes is grounds for failure for the course.

Participation. The success of this course relies on your active participation. In addition to completing the readings and assignments, you are expected to engage regularly in class discussion. Come prepared to share your questions and insights. Active participation is equal parts listening and speaking. Not only do you earn a grade for participation, your ability to do well and achieve in this course is impacted greatly by the critical sharing of your ideas.

A note about electronic devices: You are welcome to use your laptop in class during your presentation and/or to take notes. However, checking your email, updating your Facebook status, and sending instant messages means that you are absent from class—you are specifically discouraged from keeping your e-mail or social networking sites on your screen behind your notes. These absences will have the same impact on your final grade as the absences outlined above.

Late Work: Late assignments will be lowered one letter grade increment per day (from an A- to a B if it is two days late). No extensions will be granted for in-class presentations. Missing class on the day of your presentation will result in a failing grade for that assignment. Note: It is a good idea to review your syllabi at the beginning of the quarter in order to identify any potential “train wrecks” and to address them accordingly! If you are having a problem with an assignment or deadline, always contact me sooner rather than later.

Weekly Schedule (please note that this schedule is subject to change)

Week 1

Monday, October 1: Introduction to Course/Review Syllabus

Wednesday, October 3: Early Chicago Theatre Megan Geigner, Guest Speaker Readings: A Theatre of Our Own, Introduction-Chapter 8

Week 2

Monday, October 8: Intro to Regional Theatre/Storefront Movement Readings: A Theatre of Our Own, remainder of book

Wednesday, October 10: The Goodman

Readings: Glengarry Glen Ross, Boy Gets Girl

Week 3

Monday, October 15: Steppenwolf

Readings: August: Osage County, The Grapes of Wrath

Wednesday, October 17: NO CLASS

Week 4

Monday, October 22: Victory Gardens Read: Beau Jest, The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity

Wednesday, October 24: Lookingglass Read: Metamorphoses, Hard Times

Week 5

Monday, October 29: Storefront Theatre presentations, Day One Presenters: Abigail Jenkins, Jacqueline Maize, Blake Paine, Alejandro Tey, William Wilhelm No Readings

Wednesday, October 31: Storefront Theatre presentations, Day Two Presenters: Sean Buckley, Iman Childs, Darcy Coussens, Juliana Del Prete, Jacob Devine No Readings

Week 6

Monday, November 5: Roundtable with Storefront Theatre Artists/Administrators No Readings

Wednesday, November 7: Interviewing Skills Workshop Readings: TBA

Week 7

Monday, November 12: The Neo-Futurists Readings: Roustabout, selections from Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind

Wednesday, November 14: Second City Readings: Mick Napier’s blog on Paradigm Lost (link on Blackboard) Viewings: Second to None (link to streaming video will be put on Blackboard)

Week 8

Monday, November 19: The Hypocrites

Readings: The Seven Sicknesses of Sophocles

Wednesday, November 21: NO CLASS

Week 9

Monday, November 26: Theatre Oobleck Readings: An Apology for the Course & Outcome of Certain Events Delivered by Doctor John Faustus on This His Final Evening, The Hunchback Variations

Wednesday, November 28: The House

Readings: Hatfield and McCoy, TBA

Week 10 Monday, December 3: Chicago Dramatists

Readings: A Steady Rain, Hope VI

Wednesday, December 5: Course wrap-up

Week 11: Finals

Wednesday, December 12: Finals Due by 5 pm via email to [email protected]

Other Policies Safety During the Study of Theatre and Dance: The study of Theatre and Dance involves intensive physical and emotional challenges. Every effort is made to provide a supportive and reasonably safe learning environment. To aid in this regard, students enrolled in Theatre and Dance courses are responsible for the following standards: (1) All members of the class, including the instructor, are to be treated with respect. No one may intentionally hurt themselves, another person or the physical space and its contents at any time. (2) Students have the right to egress from any class activity, to step out of work that they believe may compromise their well-being. (3) Students will not abuse the privilege of egress, a privilege that will be respected by the classroom community. (4) Students are responsible for informing faculty of anything that might limit their full participation in the class (injuries, restrictions, etc.) Appropriate physical contact, between student and student, as well as student and instructor, can be expected in the practice of Theatre and Dance. A student who does not wish to be touched, for whatever reason, is responsible for informing the instructor. Failure of students to meet these standards may result in disciplinary and academic consequences.

Students with Disabilities: In compliance with Northwestern University policy and equal access laws, I am available to discuss appropriate academic accommodations that you may require as a student with a disability. Request for academic accommodations need to be made during the first week of the quarter, except for unusual circumstances, so arrangements can be made. Students are required to register with Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) for disability verification and for determination of reasonable academic accommodations. For more information, visit: http://www.northwestern.edu/disability/

**In order to ensure a safe, respectful and honorable learning environment, the university maintains both an Academic Integrity Policy and a Sexual Harassment Policy. Students have an affirmative responsibility to familiarize themselves with these policies, which can be found at http://www.northwestern.edu/uacc/uniprin.html and http://www.northwestern.edu/sexual-harassment/policy/index.html respectively.

Academic Integrity at Northwestern: Students are expected to comply with University regulations regarding academic integrity. If you are in doubt about what constitutes academic dishonesty, speak to the instructor before the assignment is due and/or examine the University website. Academic dishonesty includes, bit is not limited to cheating on an exam (e.g., taking material from sources without citation, copying another student’s paper). Failure to maintain academic integrity on an assignment will result in a loss of credit for that assignment – at a minimum. Other penalties may also apply. The guidelines for determining academic dishonesty and procedures followed in a suspected incident of academic dishonesty are detailed on the university and school websites. For more information visit: http://www.communication.northwestern.edu/programs/undergraduate/policies_procedur es/academic_integrity/