Musicals: Performing “America” Spring 2011, T/Th 2-3:30 Location: WIN 2.112 TD357T; Unique #26544

Instructor: Dr. Michelle Dvoskin TA: Natashia Lindsey Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Office: WIN 2.304; (562) 232-5341 Office Hours: W 10-11 am (at Tex Expresso) Office Hours: Th 3:30 – 4:30 pm (& by appt.)

Course Description For a genre often considered “uniquely American,” musicals have a lot of complicated, often conflicting ideas about just what “American” really means. From family to politics, from coming of age to history, this class will examine how musicals reflect – and construct – a range of American identities for their audiences. Focusing on several specific shows through a mix of reading, listening, watching, writing, discussing, and performing, we will address questions like: What does this show have to say about being “American”? How do issues of race, gender, sexuality, and class factor into its vision of America? How does this musical use the multiple languages of musical theatre – including music, lyrics, dialogue, dance and movement, and design – to tell its “American” story? And how might different production choices make for a different argument? You should leave this course with:  A basic understanding of musical theatre as a genre and its role in 20th and 21st century U.S. culture.  An increased understanding of how (and why) musicals from across the 20th and 21st centuries have created and reflected ideas about “America” and “American culture”  The ability to analyze musicals as both written texts and embodied performances  Awareness of the ways in which production elements contribute to a musical’s meanings, and an increased ability to use those elements in order to create your own arguments and analyses through musical performance

Required Texts Course Reader (CR), available at Abel’s Copies, 715 W 23rd St, (512) 472-5353 The following texts are available via online retailers like Amazon & Barnes and Noble. A copy of each will also be held on reserve at the Fine Arts Library. Edwards, Sherman and Peter Stone. 1776: A Musical Play. New York: Viking Press, 1970. Sondheim, Stephen and John Weidman. Assassins. New York: Theatre Communications Group, 1991. Stew. Passing Strange: The Complete Book and Lyrics of the Broadway Musical. New York: Applause, 2009. (optional unless you are performing) Larson, Jonathon. Rent: The Complete Book and Lyrics of the Broadway Musical. New York: Applause, 2008. (Another version includes additional material regarding production history, etc.: Larson, Jonathon. Rent. New York: Rob Weisbach Books, 1997. Both are acceptable – get whichever version you would prefer.)

General Course & University Policies Attendance Policy This is a seminar course; your attendance and active participation are required. Because emergencies occur, however, your first three absences will not affect your final grade. Each subsequent absence will result in the lowering of your final grade by one-third of a letter grade. For example, if you have four absences, an A- in the course would become a B+. Please note that there is no distinction here between excused and unexcused absences; except in extraordinary circumstances, ANY absence beyond the three permitted will lower your grade. Therefore, I encourage you to save your absences for occasions when you really need them – car trouble, illness, etc. If you arrive after 2:00pm and before 2:30pm, you will be marked as late (you will also be marked as late if you leave class early). Each lateness will count as one-third of an absence. In other words, if you are late three times, that will count as one absence. Students who arrive more than 30 minutes late or leave more than 30 minutes early may be counted as absent (although you should still make every effort to attend, both to engage with the material and because your participation grade can still benefit from your contributions). A Note on Religious Holy Days: By UT Austin policy, you must notify me of your pending absence at least fourteen days prior to the date of observance of a religious holy day. If you must miss a class, an examination, a work assignment, or a project in order to observe a religious holy day, I will give you an opportunity to complete the missed work within a reasonable time after the absence. Required Performance Attendance This class requires that you attend a performance of West Side Story at the Bass Concert Hall. We will attend as a class on Sunday, 4/3; further information on how to purchase tickets will be discussed in class. If for some reason you cannot attend with the group, you must make arrangements to attend the production on your own. Blackboard We will use the Blackboard program, an online website where you can read course announcements, check grades, chat with other students, and download lost syllabi or other course handouts. To access Blackboard: 1. Direct web browsers to http://courses.utexas.edu. Note: DO NOT type “www” before the address. 2. Use your EID and password to log in. 3. TD357T will be listed under “courses.” Click on “TD357T” to access the course site. See me or Natashia if difficulties arise in reaching or using Blackboard. You are responsible for class information posted on the announcements section of Blackboard – check it often! Use of E-mail for Official Correspondence to Students All students should become familiar with the University's official e-mail student notification policy. It is the student's responsibility to keep the University informed as to changes in his or her e-mail address. Students are expected to check e-mail on a frequent and regular basis in order to stay current with University-related communications, recognizing that certain communications may be time-critical. It is recommended that e-mail be checked daily, but at

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a minimum, twice per week. The complete text of this policy and instructions for updating your e-mail address are available at http://www.utexas.edu/its/policies/emailnotify.html. Scholastic Integrity University of Texas Honor Code: The core values of The University of Texas at Austin are learning, discovery, freedom, leadership, individual opportunity, and responsibility. Each member of the university is expected to uphold these values through integrity, honesty, trust, fairness, and respect toward peers and community. Students who violate University rules on scholastic integrity are subject to disciplinary penalties, including the possibility of failure in the course and/or dismissal from the University. Since such dishonesty harms the individual, all students, and the integrity of the University, policies on scholastic dishonesty will be strictly enforced. Please be advised that I take academic integrity extremely seriously, and expect you to do the same. If you ever have questions about whether or not something might be considered an act of scholastic dishonesty, please talk to me or Natashia immediately. Students with Disabilities Any student with a documented disability who requires academic accommodations should contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) at (512) 471-6259 (voice) or 1-866- 329-3986 (video phone). Behavior Concerns Advice Line (BCAL) If you are worried about someone who is acting differently, you may use the Behavior Concerns Advice Line to discuss by phone your concerns about another individual’s behavior. This service is provided through a partnership among the Office of the Dean of Students, the Counseling and Mental Health Center (CMHC), the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and The University of Texas Police Department (UTPD). Call 512-232- 5050 or visit http://www.utexas.edu/safety/bcal. Emergency Evacuation Policy Occupants of buildings on the UT Austin campus are required to evacuate and assemble outside when a fire alarm is activated or an announcement is made. Please be aware of the following policies regarding evacuation: . Familiarize yourself with all exit doors of the classroom and the building. Remember that the nearest exit door may not be the one you used when you entered the building. . If you require assistance to evacuate, inform me in writing during the first week of class. . In the event of an evacuation, follow my instructions or those of class instructors. Do not re-enter a building unless you’re given instructions by the Austin Fire Department, the UT Austin Police Department, or the Fire Prevention Services office.

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Grading Final grades will be calculated as follows: Assignment Points Percent Participation 150 15% Blackboard Posts (5@20 points each) 100 10% West Side Story Paper 100 10% Group Performance Project 150 15% Group Midterm Presentation 200 20% Final Project 300 30% TOTAL: 1000 100%

Total Points Grade Total Points Grade 930-1000 A 770-799 C+ 900-929 A- 730-769 C 870-899 B+ 700-729 C- 830-869 B 600-699 D 800-829 B- 0-599 F

Assignments Below are brief descriptions of the assignments for the course. Grading breakdowns and more complete instructions will be provided and discussed in class. Participation This class is a seminar, and your active, engaged participation is crucial to the success of the course as well as to your grade in it. Take notes on readings & viewings; bring questions and comments for us to consider; listen carefully to your classmates and engage with their ideas. I encourage you to check in with me and Natashia regarding your participation throughout the semester, either by coming to office hours or via email. If you find in-class discussions difficult or intimidating, please come see us early in the semester so we can strategize solutions for your concerns. Blackboard Posts Approximately one week before we begin each unit, I will post a brief prompt on Blackboard asking you to address a particular question or issue regarding the readings/viewings. I will let you know whether you need to post for the first or second day of our discussions. You will then write a brief (175-250 words, or approximately 3/4 - 1 page double spaced) response to this prompt and post it to Blackboard. The point of these responses is to give us a starting place for our in-class discussions, so I encourage you to read one another’s posts. Posts will be graded either check-plus (20 points), check (17 points), check-minus (12 points) or no credit. In general, a post will receive a “check” if it offers a thoughtful response to the prompt and is clearly written, without significant proofreading or grammatical errors. A check-plus will meet this standard and go a bit beyond in terms of effort, creativity, and/or the quality of the writing. A check-minus will be assigned to posts that don’t adequately address the prompt, that show a lack of thoughtfulness or effort, or where problems with the writing substantially obscure the ideas. Work that fails to meet even the most minimal standards of effort will receive no credit. Responses must be posted by 5pm the day before

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our in-class discussion. Work posted after 5pm, but before class, will drop one grade level; work posted after class begins will receive no credit. You will not post on the unit for which you are doing the group performance assignment or on West Side Story. There will therefore be six possible opportunities for each of you to post; you are required to post five times. If you do all six, any extra points will be added to your overall course total as extra credit. West Side Story Paper As a class, we will attend the touring production of the 2009 revival of West Side Story playing at the Bass Concert Hall on Sunday, April 3. After attending, you will write a short (2-3 pages) essay addressing the following questions: “What is one main argument this production seems to be making about American identities/culture? How does the production use specific staging and performance choices in order to make this argument?” In other words, you will analyze how performance elements other than the text and score (ie, design, blocking, choreography, acting) influence the show’s representations of “America.” Late Paper Policy: Your paper is due at the beginning of class on April 12. Assignments turned in after class, but on the due date, will lose 5 points; each additional day will cost an additional 10 points. For example, the highest possible grade for a paper turned in on April 13 would be an 85. Papers that are more than three days late will not be accepted and will receive a 0. Late assignments must either be handed directly to Natashia or myself or submitted to one (or both) of us via email. If you submit a late paper via email, you must bring a hard copy to the next class meeting. Please note that you may not submit papers by leaving them in our mailboxes or sliding them under my office door. Remember that computer and printer problems are not a valid excuse for turning in late work; neither is absence. If you know you will be absent on the day your paper is due, you must submit the paper (again, either by handing or emailing it to one of us) before 2pm on April 12 to avoid having it marked as late. Group Performance Project Throughout the semester, students will collaboratively prepare a performance in small groups of approximately five people. Each group will interrogate one of our musical case-studies, preparing a performance (no shorter than fifteen minutes, no longer than twenty-five minutes) that directly connects to one or more aspects of that musical’s representation of “America” and American identities. The purpose of this project is to investigate, from a practitioner’s perspective, how the production choices made available by musical theatre (for example, design, choreography, singing style, acting style, or blocking) might work with – or against – a musical’s text to create and/or critique particular ideas about American culture. The performance might be developed primarily from the original script of the musical; it might also incorporate other text, music, etc. (created by the group or derived from other sources) to comment upon the original. Each group will also be responsible for facilitating a discussion of their work and its relationship to the original musical for the remainder of the class period following their performance. Groups must meet with me or Natashia to discuss their plans at least one week before their performance date. We will not grade these performances on their aesthetic quality or the “talent” of the participants. Rather, they will be evaluated according to the thoughtfulness of the work, the creativity, clarity, and effectiveness of the choices made, and the general preparedness of the

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group. Within one week of the in-class performance and discussion, each member of the group will turn in a log reflecting time spent on the project (both individually and in the group) and the tasks she or he participated in. This log will be accompanied by a self- assessment of the collaborative process, the performance and class session overall, and your own participation in the performance and discussion (one to two pages, double spaced). It is possible to get a grade different from that of the group as a whole if the situation warrants it. Please note that performance projects cannot be made up except in extraordinary circumstances. Midterm Presentations (Group Project) In groups of approximately 5 people, you will prepare a presentation (approximately 30 minutes in length) on one of the following musicals: Caroline or Change, Chicago, Cradle Will Rock, or Hair (librettos for all four are on reserve at the Fine Arts Library). This presentation should offer background on the show, including its creators, plot, and major productions, but the primary focus will be on how the musical creates and communicates ideas about “America” for its audiences. By 5pm the day before the presentation, each group will post a handout to Blackboard with information for your classmates and a bibliography of the sources used to create the presentation. Final Project Each student will prepare a final project dealing with some aspect of musical theatre and its representation of “America.” The most common form for this project will be an approximately 8 page paper on a topic of your choosing. Students interested in another type of final project (a proposal for a production of a particular musical including a director’s concept statement, a website, a portfolio of shorter writing on a particular musical or production, etc.) should meet with me or Natashia prior to the project proposal to discuss the feasibility of the alternative. The final project includes the following steps: 1. Proposal (approx. 1 page, double spaced) – This proposal should lay out your project, explain how it relates to the course, offer several questions you plan to address through this work, and include a short preliminary list of sources. The proposal is worth 10 points and is due on 3/11. 2. Rough Draft – You will turn in a complete rough draft of your project on 4/21. You will receive written feedback on this draft, as well as the option to meet with one of us to discuss our feedback and your revision process. The rough draft is worth 50 points. 3. Presentation – You will have approximately 5 minutes to share your project with the class. This presentation is worth 40 points. 4. Final Draft – Due by 5pm on Wednesday, 5/11. We will not accept late projects. The final draft is worth 200 points, and must include a complete and correctly formatted bibliography (please use MLA guidelines). Please note that we expect that you will make significant revisions – not simply correct mechanics – between the rough draft and the final draft, and a failure to do so will negatively impact your grade on the final draft.

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Possible Musicals to Consider for the Final Project: The following are some examples of musicals we won’t be covering in class that also engage with ideas of “American-ness.” You are certainly welcome to consider other musicals as well, but hopefully this list will offer a starting place. Allegro Hairspray American Idiot How to Succeed in Business . . . Annie In the Heights Annie Get Your Gun Jelly’s Last Jam Anyone Can Whistle Little Shop of Horrors Avenue Q The Music Man Barnum Next to Normal The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas Pacific Overtures Big River Paint Your Wagon Bye, Bye Birdie Pajama Game Carousel Parade A Chorus Line Pins and Needles Chess Porgy and Bess Company Purlie Damn Yankees Ragtime Dreamgirls Show Boat Falsettos South Pacific Fiorello Strike Up the Band Flower Drum Song Tintypes Follies Unsinkable Molly Brown Guys and Dolls Urinetown Gypsy Wonderful Town

Extra Credit: In addition to completing the fifth Blackboard post, you can earn extra credit by attending up to two of the following productions and writing a short paper about the experience (more details on specific requirements for each written assignment will be provided as the performances approach). Each essay is worth 15 points, so you can earn up to 30 points total on your final course grade. The Threepenny Opera. UT Dept. of Theatre and Dance. 2/18-2/27, Oscar Brockett Theatre. http://www.finearts.utexas.edu/tad/productions. University Co-Op Presents the Cohen New Works Festival (only musicals can be used for extra credit – titles TBA). UT Dept. of Theatre and Dance. 3/28-4/2, Various locations. http://www.finearts.utexas.edu/tad/productions. I’ve Never Been So Happy. Rude Mechanicals. April 2011, The Off Center. www.rudemechs.com.

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Course Schedule Note: All readings are mandatory and must be completed prior to the day for which they are assigned. UNIT ONE: Introductions and Oklahoma! T 1/18 Introductions Th 1/20 Introductions, cont. Read: McMillin 1-30 (CR); Miller 191-195 (CR) T 1/25 Oklahoma! Read: Oklahoma! (CR); McMillin 31-43, 50-53 (CR) Th 1/27 Oklahoma! Read: Knapp 119-134 (CR) UNIT TWO: 1776 – (Re)Imagining the “Founding Fathers” T 2/1 1776 Read: 1776 (including the Historical Note) Th 2/3 1776 Read: Ostrow 41-57 (CR); Lewis (CR) UNIT THREE: Of Thee I Sing – Poking Fun at Politics T 2/8 Of Thee I Sing Read: Of Thee I Sing (CR); Bush Jones 79-83, 88-96 (CR) Th 2/10 Of Thee I Sing Read: At least 3 articles posted on Blackboard UNIT FOUR: Wicked – Questioning Community T 2/15 Wicked Read: Wicked (BB) Th 2/17 Wicked Read: Wolf, 1-21 (CR) T 2/22 Wicked Performance: Group 1 UNIT FIVE: Passing Strange -- Art, Authenticity, and Coming-of-Age Th 2/24 Passing Strange View: Passing Strange Read: Wollman (CR); Passing Strange (suggested) T 3/1 Passing Strange Read: Woolf 191-207 (CR) Due: Final Project Proposal Due: Threepenny Extra Credit Essays Th 3/3 Passing Strange Performance: Group 2 UNIT SIX: Midterm Presentations T 3/8 Midterm Presentations Th 3/10 Midterm Presentations, cont. T 3/15 SPRING BREAK Th 3/17 SPRING BREAK

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UNIT SEVEN: West Side Story – Staging Racial Conflict and Interracial Romance in the 1950s and Today T 3/22 West Side Story Read: West Side Story (CR); Bush Jones 191-196 (CR) Th 3/24 West Side Story Read: Knapp, 181-185, 204-215 (CR) T 3/29 NO CLASS – Attend the New Works Festival Th 3/31 NO CLASS – Attend the New Works Festival Sun 4/3 West Side Story at Bass Concert Hall T 4/5 West Side Story Read: Weinman (CR) UNIT EIGHT: Assassins – Exploring the Underside of the American Dream Th 4/7 Assassins Read: Assassins; Knapp, 162-176 (CR) Due: NWF Extra Credit Essays T 4/12 Assassins Read: Dvoskin, 42-50 (CR); “Something Just Broke,” etc. (BB); Rich, “Sondheim and Those Who Would Kill” and “At Last, 9/11 Has Its Own Musical” (CR) Due: West Side Story Critical Response Papers Th 4/14 Assassins Performance: Group 3 T 4/19 Final Project Workshop UNIT NINE: Rent – Community, Commerce, and Creativity “In America at the End of the Millennium” Th 4/21 Rent Read: Rent View: Rent (optional) Due: Final Project Rough Drafts T 4/26 Rent Read: Savran, 34-46; Román 268-284 Th 4/28 Rent Performance: Group 4 UNIT TEN: CONCLUSIONS T 5/3 Final Presentations Th 5/5 Final Presentations W 5/11 Final Project due by 5pm

Note: The Instructor reserves the right to make changes to this syllabus.

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