The University of South Florida School of Theatre and Dance THE 4480001 Expressionism, Surrealism, and the Absurd

Syllabus Spring 2014 Instructor: Phone: C. David Frankel 813.974.2701 E-mail: Office Hours: frankel@arts.usf.edu MW 12:30-2:30 TR 3:30-5 or by appointment MW 11-12:15

Office:

TAR245

Class Time:

Course Description: An exploration of anti- and non-realism in the theatre from the late 19th to the mid-20th century and beyond, with an emphasis on the movements of Expressionism, Surrealism, and Theatre of the Absurd. Texts: The primary play texts for the class are: Ubu Roi; Spring Awakening; The Blind; The Mammaries of Tiresieas;The Ghost Sonata; Murderer, Hope of Women; From Morn to Midnight; Man and the Masses; The Son; The Hairy Ape; The Wedding on the Eiffel Tower; The Jet of Blood; The Mysteries of Love, Six Characters in Search of an Author; The Bald Soprano; The Lesson; The Balcony; Endgame; and The American Dream. In addition, we will watch, either inside or outside of class, several films or extracts of films. These plays can be found in the following texts at the bookstore: Three Pre-Surrealist Play, Spring Awakening, German Expressionist Plays, Six Characters in Search of an Author, The Bald Soprano and The Lesson, The Balcony, and Endgame. The others will be on available on Canvas. Note: These are the recommended translations. You may use others, but you will be at a disadvantabe. Learning Outcomes: Students who successfully complete this course will 1. develop and employ research skills relevant to theatre practitioners; 2. increase their ability to extract information relevant to production choices from a variety of scripts; 3. improve their ability to critique (including self-critique) theatrical work. Class Format: The class will engage in the reading and discussion of the plays and other critical materials as assigned. In addition, the class will create staged readings (some prepared, some ad hoc) of some of the plays. Students will be required to read and report on plays not included on the syllabus.

Assignments: Class Participation: Class participation must be active, productive, and (if online) timely. Participation includes, but is not limited to, discussions (both in-class and on Canvas), in-class exercises, and posting notes to the class wiki, among other things. Your participation grade will also include your general behavior in class (including attendance) and the way in which you collaborate on your group projects. Four Short Responses: Students will write a short response for each set of plays. These essays, between 600 and 900 words (approx. 3 pages), will respond to a specific prompt provided by the instructor. Final Group Project: The class will be divided into groups, and each group will select one of the plays and develop and rehearse a staged reading of that play. Each student will also select one of six possible production roles: director, actor, designer, dramaturg, audience, critic, and write an essay in response to a specific prompt supplied by the instructor. The final projects will take place on April 28th at 10am (and, possibly, on the last two class days of the semester). Each member of the group will also complete an individual and group assessment. (Note: if you do not turn in your assessment, your final project grade will be reduced on letter grade.) Reflective Essay: At the end of the semester, each student will submit a reflective essay which assesses what was learned during the semester, using as evidence the products (short responses, class exercise, discussions, etc.) produced during the semester. This self-assessment must be a formal essay of between 1000 and 1500 words. Grading: Class Participation Short Responses Reflective Essay Final Group Project Final Group Project Essay Individual and Group Assessment Grading Scale: 98-100 95-97 91-94 88-90 85-87 81-84 78-80 A+ A AB+ B BC+ 15% 40% 20% 10% 10% 5%

75-77 71-74 65-70 0-64

C CD F

Please note that the catalogue describes A grades as Excellent Performance, B grades as Good Performance, C grades as Average Performance, D grades as Poor Performance, and F as Failure. Attendance: Anyone can get sick or have a family emergency. In recognition of these facts, you may miss up to two classes without having those absences affect your grade. For each absence beyond two, however, your final grade will be lowered by five points. My advice, therefore, is to save your absences until you need them, because once you use them up, theyre gone. Chronic lateness will also affect your participation grade. Emergency University Closing: In the event of an emergency, it may be necessary for USF to suspend normal operations. During this time, USF may opt to continue delivery of instruction through methods that include but are not limited to: Blackboard, Elluminate, Skype, and email messaging and/or an alternate schedule. It is the responsibility of the student to monitor Blackboard site for each class for course specific communication, and the main USF, College, and department websites, emails, and MoBull messages for important general information. Religious Observance: In accordance with Florida Statutes 240.134, Religious observances, it is the policy of USF to reasonably accommodate the religious observances, practices and beliefs of individual students in regard to admissions, class attendance, and the scheduling of examinations and work assignments. Students who expect to miss any classes for reasons of religious observance must inform me by August 25th. Academic Dishonesty: Students attending USF are awarded degrees in recognition of successful completion of coursework in their chosen fields of study. Each individual is expected to earn his/her degree on the basis of personal effort. Consequently, any form of cheating on examinations or plagiarism on assigned papers constitutes unacceptable deceit and dishonesty. Disruption of the classroom or teaching environment is also unacceptable. This cannot be tolerated in the University community and will be punishable, according to the seriousness of the offense, in conformity with this rule. Please see the catalogue for complete description and policies concerning academic dishonesty. Electronic Devices: Cell phones, pagers, and other electronic devices (computers, PDAs, etc.) must be shut off during class, unless prior arrangement has been made with the instructor because of emergency needs or for notetaking. If you are texting, surfing, reading email, or doing anything not related to class, you will be marked as absent for that day. Anyone using a

cell phone, camera, or other imaging, recording, or text messaging device during a quiz or examination will automatically fail that quiz or examination. Disability: Students in need of academic accommodations for a disability may consult with the office of Services for Students with Disabilities to arrange appropriate accommodations. Students are required to give reasonable notice (typically 5 working days) prior to requesting an accommodation. Academic Policies: Students are responsible for knowing all academic policies, which may be found in the University catalogue, available online (http://www.ugs.usf.edu/catalogs.htm) or on CD ROM from the Registrar.