Course Syllabus
Course: THEA 2140
Division: Fine Arts, Comm, and New Media
Department: Theater Arts
Title: Directing
Semester Approved: Spring 2022
Five-Year Review Semester: Fall 2026
End Semester: Fall 2027
Catalog Description: This course is an analysis and laboratory application of theories of stage direction. It examines directing as art and craft, with emphasis upon the director as an interpretive artist, acting coach, and administrator/manager for professional, civic, and educational settings.
Semesters Offered: Spring
Credit/Time Requirement: Credit: 3; Lecture: 3; Lab: 4
Prerequisites: THEA 2033 or THEA 2403 or instructor
Justification: This course satisfies a lower-division recommended core requirement for undergraduate theatre majors with equivalent courses at four-year institutions in Utah and elsewhere. It fills a major requirement for theatre arts majors and otherwise satisfies elective credit criteria.
Student Learning Outcomes:
Understand Composition, Picturization, Movement, Rhythm, and Pantomimic dramatization. Each student will be required to read the textbook and selected plays. Quizzes and exams may be given to test their knowledge and understanding of the subject matter. Students will demonstrate their understanding of fundamental blocking and staging concepts through in-class laboratory exercises following discussion.
Apply the theoretical, aesthetic, and practical tasks of a director as artist and craftsperson. Students will demonstrate their grasp on the role and responsibilities of a director (both practical and theoretical) through written responses of live performances produced by the theatre department, peer critiques, and self-assessment. These responses are based on criteria that will be examined in class lectures, in-class exercises, and textbook reading.
Apply acting theory and technique essential for the success of a director as an acting coach. Learners will demonstrate their facility with directing technique through instructor guided laboratory exercises/demonstrations, their practical application in 10-minute scenes, culminating in full class student directed work (either an evening of one-act plays, or a full length anthology).
Utilize and develop skills as a manager of people and apply the director's media through the application of the elements of time (schedules/deadlines); and space (proscenium, thrust, arena stages). Student's will demonstrate the proper application of their directors tools through both in class laboratory exercises and prompt books. Prompt books will include director's annotations, research, rehearsal calednards, daily schedules and goals, movement plans, ground plans, etc.
Synthesize and apply critical evaluation to performance tasks. Discussion, laboratory exercises, directing projects/exhibitions, and critiques allow for learners to demonstrate critical evaluation of directing choices through preparation; clear script analysis; casting; composition; picturization; and other fundamental tools at a directors disposal.
Content:
Through the weeks, this course will cover topics such as play selection, production concept, inspiration, approaches to material, collaboration, casting, working with actors, rehearsal management, scheduling etc. The following is a framework covered in the class:1. Script analysis: a. Circumstances (time, setting, locale) b. Plot (action: linear, circular, episodic) c. Character (background, motivation, relationships) d. Obstacles and Effects e. Language (poetry, prose, thought, interruption of silence) 2. Director-actor relationships and visual tools: a. Communicating b. Visual perception and visual coordination c. Ground plans, composition and picturization d. Gesture and improvisation e. Movement dynamics 3. Speaking a play: Oral and visual balance4. Designing and staging a play: a. Symbolization and synthesis b. Types of stage space c. Scenery, properties, lighting d. Costume, makeup, sound 5. Audience composition and dynamics6. Production styles: a. Actor b. Playwright c. Director d. Modern plays e. New works f. Musicals/Opera g. Historical plays Performance content in this course is flexible and student-selected. allowing for the exploration of scenes and plays by playwrights of all backgrounds. Directing examples used in the class include productions from around the world, by a diverse group of playwrights, directors, and companies.
Key Performance Indicators:
In-class laboratory exercises/demonstrations. 10 to 15%
Analysis and assignments. 10 to 20%
Quizzes and exams. 0 to 10%
Directing exhibitions. 25 to 35%
Director's prompt book(s). 15 to 25%
Performance critiques. 15 to 20%
Representative Text and/or Supplies:
Play Directing: Analysis, Communication, and Style by Francis Hodge. Prentice Hall. (current edition)
Pedagogy Statement:
Through round table discussion, in-class laboratory demonstrations and exercises, script and scene analysis assignments, and the practical application of directing work by means of performance exhibitions, this course endeavors to introduce students to the many roles and responsibilities a director encounters. As a director's work, from analysis through interpretation to creation, is unique to each director, this course welcomes all students. More voices and outlooks at the table serve to aid in understanding the many facets of the human experience a director may express.
Instructional Mediums:
Lecture/Lab
Maximum Class Size: 15
Optimum Class Size: 10
