Performance Project THET 110: Introduction to Theatre Fall 2013 The Performance Project: This assignment is an opportunity for

each student to demonstrate his or her understanding of the concepts presented in lecture as well as a chance to get a taste of the collaborative skills and creativity required of theatre professionals. Students will work in groups of five and each student will assume a role: actor, director, designer, stage manager, or dramaturg. (There can be more than one actor or designer in the group). The group will then choose a play from the list below. Read the entire play carefully. Select a short scene from that play, and choose a production concept. If appropriate, you may adapt a scene from the play to support a strong concept. Finally, using the techniques of theatre addressed in class, the group will put together a 7-8 minute memorized performance and a 5 minute discussion in front of the class. Possible Plays for the Performance Project: Plays are limited to the options on this list In The Seagull Reader The Importance of Being Earnest and Fences On Canvas Lysistrata, Macbeth, The Cherry Orchard, Waiting for Godot, The Maids, A Streetcar Named Desire, Fat Pig, The Clean House Your scene should be a full production with a concept, blocking, memorized script, fully developed characters, set, and costume designs. Be resourceful. We do not expect your design choices to cost a lot of money. However, we do expect creativity and engagement with the project. Depending on the scene you choose, more than one person may need to act in addition to his or her other responsibilities. We should see each person's contributions to the scene. For example, a costume designer does not have to perform, but in the performance we should see his or her costumes, and in the postperformance discussion and in the paper, he or she should explain how the design choices supported the concept and explain what the costumes would have looked like if this had been a professional production with a budget. In addition to the performance, each student should be able to answer questions related to his or her role in the production process during a brief question and answer period. We recommend that the group first select a director and a stage manager. The stage manager is responsible for setting meeting and rehearsal schedules. The director is in charge of the production concept and ensuring cohesion and collaboration. Keep in mind that you will need a minimum of 1012 hours of rehearsal (working with lines, moving, blocking, and fine-tuning) to prepare for the performance. You will be given a very limited amount of class time to work on your projects, but you are responsible for organizing your own out-of-class rehearsals as well. The Research and Process Papers: As you have learned in class, all people involved in theatre do research before mounting a production. This performance is no exception. Your research will occur in a number of steps. On October 30, each student will turn in an annotated bibliography with five sources and the group will turn in a statement of the production concept and present this concept to the discussion section. *Concept Presentation: After determining a production concept for their scene, the group will turn in a one-page statement explaining their concept, how it applies to the play, and offer some preliminary thoughts as to how they will realize that concept in production. The statement will also outline the job responsibilities of each member of the group and a draft of a

rehearsal schedule. The group will also make a 5 minute presentation of their concept to the class, in which each group member will speak about his or her specific contributions to the performance project and present material from which they will draw inspiration. *Annotated Bibliography: These 5 sources should help the student prepare for his or her work in the performance. For example, an actor for Death of a Salesman might do research into how World War II affected job opportunities for men or what was expected of men in the post-war era. A set designer for Everyman might do research into medieval staging practices. A director for Top Girls might do research into Caryl Churchill and her views on feminist theatre. Your bibliography can be in MLA, APA or Chicago style, but it must consistently conform to one of these styles and be annotated. An example of an annotated bibliography is available on Canvas. Performances: On December 4, students will perform their scenes in discussion section. Process Papers: On December 4, each student will turn in a 2-3 page paper in which he or she describes how his or her research informed choices in the groups production. For example, if your group is doing Arthur Millers The Crucible, your group may want to use your scene to make a statement about the social consequences of the climate of fear present in America post-9/11. The director might do research into the War in Iraq, the Patriot Act, or the trial of Saddam Hussein. The costume designer might do research into American military uniforms to inform his or her ideas on costume. A dramaturg might do research into the Congressional battle over the extension of the Patriot Act, or the actions/motivations of President Bush in determining that war was necessary. This research may inform subtext. An actor may study important players in the war to inform his or her choices in creating a character. Or your group might choose to make such analogies more explicit. Perhaps your group has chosen to set A Dolls House in a Southern household during the 1960s so as to draw a connection between Noras struggle and the rise of the American feminist movement. The set designer would research into what an idealized middle-class household in the 1960s American South looked like. He or she could include relevant pictures and descriptions of typical homes they discovered in the course of their research in the paper, and describe how these images informed the scenic design. The actor playing Nora may choose to read feminist literature from the period in order to explain how that helped him or her interpret Noras actions and her fateful decision at the end of the play. A director might find it useful to research division of labor during the period to help the actors understand how they must interact with each other and to explore similarities and differences in gender roles during Ibsens time. In writing this paper, focus on the ways in which your research informed the choices you made when you put together the performance. Your paper must cite a minimum of four different sources. While you can (and should) cite lines from the play and ideas from class lecture, neither can count as one of your four sources. Only one source may be from the Internet. Sources found on online databases that could be found in hard copy do not count against your web source. Do not use blogs or Wikipedia or variants on "CliffsNotes" such as SparkNotes, Shmoop, etc. Look instead at book chapters, academic journals, newspaper reviews of professional productions, etc. You should also think of appending images (your own renderings or images from outside sources) to support your research. Be sure you cite all sources fully and accurately according to MLA, APA, or Chicago style.

The Group: It is vital that you be a strong and contributing member to your group. It is also important that you let your discussion leader know immediately if there are problems within the group. The group will turn in the attendance for all rehearsals and meetings. Students will use a peer evaluation form to distribute points to other group members. Rubric for THET 110 Performance Project There are a total of 125 points for this assignment. Group Evaluation The Production Concept _____/10 How clear is the groups concept? Was it appropriate to the play? Was it relevant? How clearly could the group discuss the production concept and their reasons for choosing it? Did the group thoughtfully and creatively use the production concept to inform choices in the performance? The Performance _____/30 Mechanical considerations Were the lines memorized? Did the scene seem to be well rehearsed? Were settings, lights, sound, and costumes reasonably well handled given the limited resources? Did the groups concept inform production choices? Did the scene meet the required time requirement? Individual Evaluation Annotated Bibliography _____/10 Were the guidelines followed? Was it clear how the sources related to the students research? Was the bibliography technically correct? The Performance _____/30 Was the student prepared for the performance? Was the students contribution to the performance clear? If the student was an actor, was his or her part memorized? Did the student (whether an actor, designer, or director) try to make choices that supported the concept? The Discussion _____/10 Were individual members prepared to discuss their own areas? Did the student respond to questions by presenting concrete evidence from his or her research? Was the student able to articulate his or her ideas clearly? The Paper _____/30 Did the paper demonstrate how the research informed the students production choices? Was the argument clear and thoughtful? Did it usefully incorporate research? Was the paper organized and free of errors? Did the paper address how the research affected the choices made in the collaborative process of creating the scene? The Group _____/5 You will receive this grade from your group mates based on the following criteria: Did the student contribute to the groups efforts? Did the student attend all meetings and rehearsals? Was he or she helpful and cooperative? Did the group work well together? Was everyone included? Was the work evenly divided? Were problems handled professionally? Although you will be graded collectively, your TA may adjust an individuals group and/or individual grade if a student does not pull his or her weight in the group.