As you walk into a movie theater, extra Jumbo-popcorn in hand, or walk into a high school production of Bye, Bye, Birdie, do you ever wonder where it all began?

Well, let’s try to find out. While history is as vast as all recorded time and culture, and we clearly can’t cover it all, we can begin to get a sense of where this whole drama thing began, and how it’s brought us to where we are today. So, let’s open the curtains, get into some groups and begin our exploration.

Each of you will be assigned to a group with the responsibility of becoming experts in a particular era or aspect of drama history. Your challenge, as a group, is to provide our class with an overview, so that we can all have a firm foundation from which to build. Groups will be assigned to the following drama areas:

• Asian (Kabuki, Noh, etc.)

• Greek • Restoration/Neo-Classical

• Roman • 18th Century

• Medieval • 19th Century

• Renaissance • 20th Century

For each of these, your group is expected to provide a 10-minute presentation, highlighting the following areas:

√ Significant historical events

√ Cultural characteristics & philosophies of the era
√ Purpose of theatre to that society/audience expectations
√ How it evolved from previous era/how it evolves into next era
√ Specific characteristics of dramas

√ Some examples of major plays & playwrights

**NOTE: As with all history, specific eras are not easily compartmentalized; there is much overlap, and culture is fluid. However, certain significant elements can emerge.

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“Drama History” Project Evaluation

Oral Presentation:

√ Significant historical events _____ /10 points

√ Cultural characteristics & philosophies of the era _____ /10 points

√ Purpose of theatre to society/audience expectations _____ /10 points

√ How it evolved from previous era/ into next era _____ /10 points

√ Specific characteristics of dramas _____ /10 points

√ Some examples of major plays & playwrights _____ /10 points

√ Cohesiveness of presentation _____ /20 points

(participation, transitions, flow are well orchestrated)

Written Presentation:

√ Notes are well organized, typed, neat and complete _____ /20 points

(these can be PowerPoint notes, for example)

/ 100 points