Theatre 365-1: American Theatre and Drama Eugene O’Neill and His Contemporaries Monday/Wednesday 9:30-10:50am, Parkes Hall 215 Instructor: Shannon K. Fitzsimons ([email protected]) Office Hours: By appointment Course Description This course will examine American drama and theatre history from 1915 to 1945 through the stylistically diverse career of Eugene O'Neill, the only American dramatist to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. Special emphasis will be placed on O'Neill's early career with the Provincetown Players, the expressionistic experiments of the 1920s, social dramas of the Depression years, and finally, the realist family dramas of the 1940s. Playwrights (besides O'Neill) to be studied include Susan Glaspell, Elmer Rice, Sophie Treadwell, Gertrude Stein, Marc Blitzstein, Clifford Odets, Tennessee Williams, and Arthur Miller. Assignments Discussion Questions Beginning with class on Wednesday, January 4, and continuing through class on Wednesday, February 29, students are required to post TWO discussion questions on the assigned reading(s) for each class on Blackboard. Discussion questions are due by 8 am on the day of class. Students are expected to post discussion questions for 15 of the 17 discussion days; in other words, you may opt to not write questions for two classes of your choice. The discussion questions for each class are worth 1% of your final grade, for a total of 15%. They will be marked on a complete/incomplete basis, with complete questions receiving an A and incomplete questions receiving a zero. Contextual Presentation and Summary/Bibliography Each student will be responsible for presenting one ten-minute in-class presentation on a topic related to the course material; topics for each class meeting are listed on the weekly schedule below and a sign-up sheet for these presentations will be circulated on the first day of class. Students are encouraged to meet with me as they are preparing their presentations to discuss possible approaches/sources. These presentations will be the product of independent research and should be succinct, rich in information, clearly organized, and well-rehearsed, both with regards to content and to time limit. Presentations that go over the ten-minute mark will be stopped; it is in your best interest to practice your presentation before class. Students are encouraged to use audio-visual aids (handouts, Powerpoint presentations, sound or video clips) to enhance their presentations as appropriate; please make arrangements in advance to have the proper equipment set up for your presentation. In addition to the oral presentation, each student is expected to prepare a written three-page summary of their findings, along with a bibliography of five sources. These sources may include: biographies, academic books/book chapters, academic journal articles, newspaper articles/reviews from original productions, plays (other than those assigned for class) and videorecordings of performances or film adaptations (with instructor’s approval). It may not include encyclopedia entries or material from popular websites (unless advance written permission is given by the instructor). The presenter should bring hard copies of their summary/bibliography for each course member and the instructor to class on the day of their presentation. Collectively, these summaries will provide an excellent set of contextual notes for each student to take away at the end of the course. The presentation, summary and bibliography are worth 25 percent of the final grade. Director’s Concept Presentation In Week 10 of the quarter, each student will present an 8-minute director’s concept presentation for a hypothetical production of one of the plays we have studied in the course (or another play by one of the playwrights we have studied, with instructor’s approval). Please email me with your choice of play by Monday, February 20th. The schedule for the presentations is included in the weekly schedule below. In the interests of getting everyone’s presentation done during the last week of class, and not using our final exam period the following week, each presentation will be limited to 8 minutes and those that run over will be interrupted. As with the contextual presentations, advance rehearsal is strongly encouraged. A successful presentation will address the following questions: What are the particular challenges and benefits of presenting this play now? What is the relationship between the present moment and the time when the play was originally produced (and, if markedly different, the time in which the play is set)? What choices in setting, staging, design, and performance style will you make to address those challenges/points of connection in your production? What story are you trying to tell/what ideas are you trying to express through your production? The use of visual materials (inspiration images/sketches for costumes, set, etc.) will be extremely helpful in communicating your ideas to the class; depending on your concept for your production, you may find audio aids helpful as well. The director’s concept presentation is worth 15% of your final grade. Director’s Concept Statement The director’s concept statement (5-7 pages) will address the same questions as the director’s presentation, but in greater depth than that allowed in eight minutes; it should not simply be a transcription of your presentation. You may find it helpful to draw on scholarly resources about/reviews of the play you are directing to support your ideas; the bibliographies from your peer’s contextual summaries may prove handy here! In addition, you should detail your interpretive, staging and design approach to TWO specific scenes in your play; in plays with long acts rather than short scenes, simply indicate the page numbers from the editions used in class and describe the major action of the scene (for example, “Biff and Willy’s fight on pages 47-51” for Death of a Salesman). You will want to provide scanned copies or photographs of your visual materials from the in-class presentation to accompany your statement. The statements are due via email on TUESDAY, MARCH 13 by 5 PM. They are worth 25% of your final grade. Assessment Breakdown Class Attendance/Participation: 20% Discussion Questions: 15% Contextual Presentation/Summary and Bibliography: 25% Director’s Concept Presentation: 15% Director’s Concept Statement: 25% 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 presentations 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). Students are allowed one extension of 24 hours to complete one written assignment. Inform the instructor by email on the day the assignment is due if you plan to take advantage of this policy; no questions will be asked. 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