INTRO TO THEATER FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES
MPAET-UE.1005-001 / MPAET-GE.2005-001
Fall 2011
Tuesdays 6.45 – 8.25
INSTRUCTOR: Jonathan Shmidt
[email protected]
[email protected]
Office Hours by Appointment
This dynamic course will explore the past, present and future of Theater for Young Audiences both
domestically and abroad. Students will engage with and assess the quality of TYA in script and in
performance through the lens of the artist, practitioner, educator, and producer.
During the fall semester, students will:
• Actively engage in script exploration and analysis, from J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan to the
Ontroerend Goed’s Once and For All We’re Gonna Tell You Who We Are So Shut Up and Listen.
Course readings will include scripts that are currently being produced throughout the world for
young audiences.
• Witness cutting edge Theater for Young Audience performances with a youth audience,
including two works playing at the New Victory Theater (New York’s premier theater for kids and
family programming).
• Dialogue with TYA professionals working in the field.
• Collaborate with peers on an original piece of work culminating in the workshop presentation of
an in-progress TYA performance.
Course Objectives
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To gain an overview of Theater for Young Audiences past and present.
To establish criteria for evaluating TYA on the page and on the stage.
To consider challenges to the field through investigative and reflective projects.
To understand the landscape of TYA producing and presenting organizations
nationally and internationally.
To develop individual principles/practices towards professional development and the
promotion of excellence in the field.
Course Requirements
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Regular attendance and active participation are vital for meaningful learning in this class. An
unexcused absence will affect grading. In addition, repeated late arrivals to class will be noted
and may influence your final grade.
Completion of all reading, group and individual assignments in a timely and comprehensive
manner.
Attendance to several live TYA performances around New York City.
Overview of Assignments/Projects
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Weekly reading of scripts, articles, and course texts
Attendance to at least (2) live TYA performances (outside of course hours) and response
papers on each production.
Mid-Term Research Paper – Organizational Case Study and Analysis
Final Group Project – New Work Development
Final Paper – Designing a TYA Company
If you are taking this course for 3 credits: You must complete all of the regular course
assignments noted here, attend (1) additional live TYA production, and submit an additional
performance analysis papers.
If you are taking this course for 4 credits: You must complete all of the regular course
assignments noted here, attend (2) additional live TYA productions, and submit two additional
performance analysis papers.
Course Core Texts
Required Texts
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Goldberg, Moses. TYA: Essays on the Theater for Young Audiences, Anchorage
Press, 2006.
Wood, David. Theatre for Children: Guide to Writing, Adapting, Directing, and Acting.
Ivan R. Dee,1999.
Scripts and articles posted on blackboard. (**Scripts subject to change)
Recommended Texts
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Reason, Matthew. The Young Audience.Trentham Books, 2010.
Course Schedule
I. AN INTRODUCTION TO TYA (Weeks 1-3) DATE
September 6, 2011
TOPIC
Introduction/ Goal-Setting
Introduction/Overview of the course
Goal-Setting for TYA Semester Investigations
Review of Live Performance
Requirements/Syllabus
September 13, 2011
History of TYA
READING DUE
(In Class)
Articles by: Philip Pullman, Tony Graham, Ken Davenport
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September 20, 2011
Striving for Quality
Reading of Selected Scenes from TYA
scripts
Creation of a rubric for evaluating live
performance
Peter Pan, J.M. Barrie
Wood, Part I: Theater for Children: A Unique Artform; Part II:
The Dynamics of a Child Audience
McCaslin, Nellie: Theatre for Children in the United States: A
History (Introduction)
Read ONE of the following four plays: Comet in Moominland, Jason
and the Argonauts, The Giver, Cranked
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Reason, Chapter 3: Quality in Theater for Children
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Danish Document
II: THE ART OF TYA: THE STAGE BY STAGES (Weeks 4-9)
DATE
September 27, 2011
October 4, 2011
TOPIC
Theater for the Very Young
READING DUE
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In-Class Video: My House, Songs From
Above, Egg and Spoon, Oily Cart
IN CLASS EXPLORATION:
STARCATCHERS REPORT
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Myths and Fairy Tales
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In-Class Video: The Tragical Life of
Cheeseboy
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October 11, 2011
NO CLASS
October 18, 2011
Adaptation
In-Class Video: Miss Ophelia
October 25, 2011
In-Class Collaboration Assignment
November 1, 2011
Theater and the Teen Audience
In-Class Video: Once and For All..., Past
Half Remembered
Egg and Spoon
Goldberg, Chapter 8-9: Aesthetic Development, The Stage,
By Stages
Wood, Part II: The Dynamics of a Child Audience
TYA USA Articles
Wood, Stories and Themes that Children Love: Ideas that
Work on the Stage
Finegan Kruckemeyer Essay
The Enchanted Pig
The Tragical Life of Cheeseboy
The Little Prince at the New Victory, October 11 at 11am
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Wood, “Adaptation” pp. 123 - 152
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Cummins and Scoullar’s The Little Prince
Ophelia's Shadow Theatre by Michael Ende
Het Fillal’s Miss Ophelia
White at the New Victory, Scheduled by Appointment
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Prom
Citizenship or 2011 Connections Festival Script TBD
III: THE TYA COMPANY: MISSION, GUIDING PRINCIPLES, BEST
PRACTICES (Weeks 10-12)
DATE
November 8, 2011
TOPIC
The TYA Company
READING DUE
In-Class Video: New Victory Institutional
Video
November 15, 2011
November 22, 2011
TYA, Education Outreach, and the
Pre-Show Workshop
TYA Companies Around the
Globe/ US vs. the World
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Goldberg, Chapter 16: The Chariot Driver
Wood, Part 7:The Business Side
McCaslin, Chapter XI: A Time for Assessment
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Goldberg: The 100% Audience
Schonmann 7: Theater for Young People as a School Event:
Advantages and Disadvantages of Children Attending a Play
en masse
Reason, Chapter 1: Theater for Children and Education
The Art and Education Conundrum
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ASSITEJ Research
Elephant
One of a Kind
Danish TYA Articles
IV: THE FUTURE OF TYA (Weeks 13-16)
DATE
TOPIC
November 29, 2011
Pushing the Boundaries: New
Trends in TYA
READING DUE
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Escape from Peligro Island
Articles TBD
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Goldberg, Chapter 20: The Next Wave
Articles TBD
In-Class Video: Hansel and Gretel, Crash of
the Elysium, REAL TV
December 6, 2011
Live from the Field
In class panel and workshop with TYA
professionals
December 13, 2011
December 20, 2011
Final Projects Presentation/The
Future of TYA
Final Projects
Presentation/Course Reflection
Final Paper Due
Projects/Assignments
I.
LIVE PERFORMANCE FIELD RESEARCH
All students are required to attend a minimum of 2 live TYA performances over the course of the
semester (Students taking the course for 3-4 credits must attend more performances, and provide written
response papers for each production attended).
Performance Response Papers must be submitted ONE WEEK following the performance date. The
paper should be your personal analysis of the production from one or more of the following viewpoints,
and you should reference class readings and/or other supporting materials in presenting your argument.
DO NOT just submit a summary of the plot or a recounting of your experience- you should write a
thoughtful response in asserting your opinion about the performance and your experience in relation to
class discussions and readings.
Categories for Live Performance Analysis:
-Audience Engagement
-Artistic Value/Production Value
-Marketability (Schools/Public Audiences)
-Educational Potential
II.
MID-TERM PAPER: ORGANIZATIONAL CASE STUDY AND ANALYSIS
Due October 25, 2011
Present a case study of a national or international TYA producing/presenting organization and its work.
Include as much detailed information about their programs/programming and associated projects as
possible. In addition, provide a thoughtful analysis on your understanding of the company's contribution to
the landscape of TYA. Refer to the course readings to support your argument.
Make sure to answer the following questions:
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What is the organization’s mission and specific artistic policy related to TYA?
How do the productions and associated programs serve that mission?
What defines this organization’s general vision of Theater for Young Audiences?
Do they serve families? Schools? Both? Where do they perform? What are their
marketing strategies? How much are their tickets?
What plays are they producing this season? What conclusions can you draw about them
based on their artistic choices? Education programs?
Do you believe that this organization is providing quality program? Why or why not?
IV.
FINAL GROUP PROJECT- NEW WORK DEVELOPMENT
Dear Applicant:
Congratulations! Your letter of intent was outstanding and as a result your company has been
invited to submit a full proposal to the Next Generation TYA New Work Development Project. If
selected, you will receive a $15,000 grant towards the development of your NEW WORK.
Previously produced scripts are not eligible. Special consideration will be given to projects
that challenge and further the current landscape of theater for young audiences by
demonstrating innovative and sophisticated concepts, storytelling and design.
Your original work can be an adaptation or a completely original concept. It should be targeted
at a specific audience age range that falls between 0-18 years. You will have the opportunity to
meet with a panel of grant advisors on either December 13 or 20 for a 20 minute presentation.
You MUST include the performance of at least one completed scene or excerpt of the piece in
your live presentation. In addition to the live work-in-progress, please make certain that the
viewpoints of producer, writer, director and audience are represented in your presentation.
Please come prepared with 30 copies of your project outline. These outlines must include either
a detailed script treatment or sample key scenes and must also include a proposed design
concept, supporting educational outreach plans, and sample marketing materials.
It would be of great benefit to consider the following:
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Present a clear and unified vision for the project.
Address any development and/or production challenges and potential solutions.
Propose casting, design and technical concepts.
Close with your artistic vision/motivation, clearly addressing the question,
Why this play, for this audience, at this theater, now?
We look forward to receiving your proposal.
V.
FINAL INDIVIDUAL ESSAY
What is the Future of Theater for Young Audiences?
Your final essay is your opportunity to create a vision and mission of your very own FANTASY TYA
COMPANY in the context of our course discussions and readings. Your essay MUST address the
following questions, the readings and our conversations in class. Please support your conclusions with
proper source citations, conforming to a style manual, such as MLA or APA.
Your essay/presentation must include the following:
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Mission Statement, including target audience/community, etc.
2) A description of organizational structure/resources, including marketing strategies, a list of
key staff positions and broad ideas re: fundraising, financial sustainability.
3) Your first season offerings of at least three works. These works can include but are not
limited to:
a. Original production concepts
b. Up to 1 script from the course readings
c. Up to 1 original work for development out of the group presentations
Be sure to answer the following questions:
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How do your company further the field of Theater for Young Audiences?
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How do the specific season choices embody this company’s vision of TYA? What will
your inaugural season tell the world about this new company?
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What additional activities – community outreach, teacher/parent materials, website and
workshops, classes, residencies etc. will you provide in order to support and enrich this
vision?
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What are your company’s marketing strategies, audience enrichment activities; tickets
prices, etc. and how do they reach/meet the needs of the audience you want to serve?