COURSE SYLLABUS

THEATER 1

(INCLUDES CLASS EXPECTATIONS, STATE STANDARDS, AND CONTRACT)

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MR. LANCE BLANK

PERIOD 1 AND 2

ROOM 2104

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This course is designed to stretch the student intellectually and philosophically. Theater classes, at the high school level, are notorious for being, “easy classes;”however, this class is not designed to be a class in which the student can do nothing and still get an “A.”However, this class is designed that if you complete all assignments you cannot get lower than an “A”.

This is an introduction course to drama. Students will learn public speaking skills, stagecraft, acting models, theater vocab, improvisation and production techniques. This class is designed to give students an opportunity to perform and to learn about the backstage portion of a production.

I expect that the student will be prepared everyday for class with the correct materials and completed assignments. I also expect that each student will be respectful of the teacher and other students. This includes being a good listener and being on-task. I expect that students arrive on time and are engaged until it is time to leave, which will be determined by me. It is also expected that each student follow the rules instituted by West Boca High School in my classroom.

What you will do this year in Theater 1…

1. Basics of

•What is Drama –A look at how drama came about.

•Stage Fright –How to get over it.

•Terminology – Acting and Tech terms, stage and body positions, parts of a play.

•Using the body –How to use the body for performance.

2. Acting: Voice and Movement

•Mime/Pantomime –Perform in individual and group presentation.

•Improvisation –Theater games and scene presentations

•Oral Interpretation –A poetry reading with emphasis on vocal techniques

•Storytelling – Vocal and Physicalization of a story using a variety of character voices and body movements with props and costumes.(Memorized)

•Monologues- Performing solo monologues. (Memorized)

•Scenes – In class scenes and performances. (Memorized)

3. Writing and Theater/Television Projects

•Theater Reviews –Attending and writing one review of a live theatre performance per semester at an area theatre. This can be intermediate school, high school, college or professional theater. (Required)

•Reading and Written homework assignments will be given for each unit studied, quizzes will be given on the reading and notebooks will be checked twice a semester.

4. Directing and Producing

•The Production Team –The roles of Director, Producer, and Production Team will be

explored. Students in groups will create a fictional theater and create the theater season and budget

for the year.

5. Historical Profile

•History of the theater- Historical periods from Greeks to Modern Theater will be presented through discussion and class projects.

6. Technical Theater

•The Technical Crews –The stage, set, prop, lighting sound, costume and make-up crews

•Design for the stage – A study of the elements of effective production design. This unit includes set, costume, make-up, lighting, sound and props design. Projects will be assigned for each area including scrapbooks for costume, make-up and set design.

MATERIALS: Students must always have pencil, paper, highlighter and folder in class. I will provide a great number of scripts to the student that he or she will be responsible for keeping track of. You will also need to have the appropriate attire for each day in class (this will be explained in class).

Class Fees: There is a class fee of $10.00 to help offset the cost of scripts, CDs, 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.

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 no written tests in this course. The entire testing process will be done by performance and demonstration. Students will be required to demonstrate their knowledge through performance and projects.

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES: There will be very little outside-of-class requirements to fulfill. You must attend each main-stage production at West Boca High School. You will have to write a play review. Also, students can help staff one night of a main-stage production (which can also count as the student having seen that production). This year we will be putting on a production in November and March. In addition Marquee Theater(a professional theater group in our theater) will have four performances over the year for extra credit.

GRADING: It is important for the student to understand that teachers do not give grades; students earn them. Exams, projects, presentations, class and home assignments, and class participation are all items that will factor into the final semester grade. 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.

This class fulfills a requirement needed for graduation from high school. Please feel free to come and see me should any problems arise.

Looking forward a wonderful year.

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Please take the time to also visit the West Boca Drama Department's Website ( to read about other Theater news and details.

Please join us for an important informational meeting sponsored by the Theater Guild on September 3rdat 7:00 pm in the media center. Light refreshments will be served.