Special Topics in History Chicago Theatre Monday/Wednesday 2:30-3
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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.