Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Theatre Appreciation is a course which includes attendance at live theatre presentations as well as in-class discussions of such productions. It may include the reading of plays as well as guest speakers, slides and video to supplement such discussions. This course is transferable to four year educational institutions and may be taken to satisfy a General Education requirement.
   Suggested Textbook:   Some instructors might  benefit from contacting a publisher to create a custom version of a book that they find useful from larger textsbooks used for longer Theatre Appreciation courses.

Upon successful completion students should be able to:
? Appreciate the experience of attending live theatre, and use it to enrich life experiences as well as further exposure to differing cultures and philosophies
? Relate historical themes and cultural ideas presented in production to real life problems and situations.
? Participate in the shared experience of a live theatrical production and recognize the uniqueness of it as distinguished from other art forms.

At the beginning of the course, the instructor will detail the methods used to evaluate student progress and the criteria for assigning a course grade. The methods may include one of more of the following tools: small group problem solving, oral presentations, written play critiques and evaluations, and/or homework assignments. Students are expected to complete several papers, detailing their evaluation of the productions following a format provided by the instructor. Class discussions will review the information and students will be asked to contribute to the discussions with their ideas based on the criteria given.
 

Theatre as a social and cultural event

• The concept of otherness
• The other world of the theatre

The styles of drama and their reflection in life

• Tragedy as it celebrates man's capacity to persevere
• Comedy as the absence of pain
• Tragicomedy as it reflects the most closely to life

Theatre as a collaborative art

• Playwright as the original artist
• Directors/Actors as interpreters
• Designers and the concept
• Technicians
• Audience as the final contributor

COMPETENCIES/SKILLS:

• Identify and describe basis theatrical terminology.
• Identify the various artists who contribute to the theatrical event.
• Apply understanding of live performance to live productions attended by written critiques and verbal discussion.
• Illustrate and demonstrate the job of the actor, playwright, director, technical designers.
• Apply understanding of the playwright's language by examining and explaining such language.
• Identify and explain the uses of various theatrical spaces.
• Illustrate the difference between comedy, tragedy, tragi-comedy and farce.
• Describe and identify the role of the audience in theatre.