COURSE SYLLABUS
MUSICAL THEATER
(INCLUDES CLASS EXPECTATIONS, THEATER RULES, AND CONTRACT)
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MR. LANCE BLANK
PERIOD 5
ROOM 2104
WWW.WBHSDRAMA.COM
Welcome to Musical Theater. This course is designed to stretch the student intellectually, philosophically, and performance ability. This class is not designed to be a class in which the student can do nothing and still get an “A.” This course is extremely rigorous and students are expected to perform and demonstrate skill at the highest level.
This is NOT an introduction course to drama. It will be assumed that students has some knowledge in the theater, performance, and singing/dancing. Students will learn music theory, acting fundamentals, choreography, and production techniques. This course is designed to challenge students to further their craft and go beyond the fundamental. In addition, this class is a traveling group that will perform throughout the year in the evenings and on weekends with limited day performances. It will be an extremely difficult course with a lot of work involved.
I expect that the student will be prepared every day for class with the correct materials and completed assignments. I also expect that each student will be respectful of the teacher, staff, and other students. This includes being a good listener and being on-task. I expect that students arrive on time and stay engaged until it is time to leave, which will be determined by me. Absences from both in class and after school rehearsals cause a major disruption and are strongly discouraged unless an emergency.
If this is a problem, the student will be asked to leave my class and/or call home to inform a parent
why he or she cannot meet the expectations stated above and below.
MATERIALS: Students must always have a pencil and paper in class. Students will also be required to purchase a BLACK, one-inch, three-ring binder. In addition, all students must a recording device at all vocal rehearsals. You will also need to have the appropriate attire for each day in class (this will be explained in class). In addition, each performer will be responsible for purchasing a performance polo(to be discussed in class)
Class Fees: There is a class fair share of $100.00 to help offset the cost of scripts, CDs, staff, and other necessary items. Checks can be made out to West Boca Drama Department or paid online at palmbeach.schoolcashonline.com
HOMEWORK: All homework is to be placed, according to its due date, into the homework box before the bell rings to start class. After the bell rings, all homework is considered late and will be dropped one letter grade each day after its due date. If a student is absent, he or she will have the exact amount of days absent from class to turn in all missed assignments. All homework will be posted on the board and should be written down on the assignment sheet. A student should never have to ask me what is for homework, and a parent should always know what homework is being assigned in class by looking at this sheet.
Unlike most other courses, the homework for this course will be demonstrated by the student’s performance in class. There will be a few outside projects and writings, but mostly the homework will be memorization, choreography and music practice.
PARTICIPATION: A major component of this class is classroom participation. There will be a point value awarded for each day the student is on-task and participating. Simply being in class is not enough to receive these participation points. A student must be actively engaged in the classroom activities in order to receive these points. There will be little to no written tests in this course. Most of the testing process will be done by performance and demonstration. Students will be required to demonstrate their knowledge through performance and projects.
EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES: This is an “advanced” course and as such there are extra requirements that must be met, that cannot be met during the school day. Students will be required to attend each of our mainstage productions. Also, students will be responsible for writing a play review each semester on a show of their choice. In addition Musical Theater will have evening rehearsal each week on Thursday from 6-8:30. Sometimes other rehearsal may be called outside of class as needed. Please be aware that a great deal of work for this class will not be completed during the 50 minutes of class time and will need to be finished after school. In addition, it is expected of all students to take part in Individual Events(performance or technical) and States in Tampa.
GRADING: This is an “advanced” course and as such there needs to be an understanding that the
grading for this course will be very strict and difficult. It is important for the student to understand that
teachers do not give grades; students earn them. A student is responsible for keeping track of his/her
grades, as the teacher may make mistakes. Exams, reports, projects, presentations, class and home assignments, essays, and class participation are all items that will factor into the final semester grade. A student’s grade-to-date will be posted on EDLINE, every two weeks. If all the assignments are completed, all performance days are attended, and all requirements are fulfilled a student will receive an “A.” A student’s accumulated points will be converted to its percentage to determine his/her letter grade using the Palm Beach County School District Grading Scale.
Looking forward a wonderful year,
Mr. Lance Blank
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Please take the time to also visit the West Boca Drama Department's Website (www.wbhsdrama.com) to read about other Theater news and details.