HUMANITIES DIVISION
THEATER
COURSE DATA SHEET
COURSE DEPARTMENT NUMBER:
TITLE:
THEA 1175
Script Analysis
CREDIT HOURS:
3
CONTACT HOURS: 3
COURSE DESCRIPTION: An introductory course designed to familiarize students with
the vocabulary, methods, and skills necessary for understanding how dramatic literature
is transformed from the printed page into a working play script.
EXIT REQUIREMENTS: D or better
PREREQUISITE OR COREQUISITE:
FREQUENCY OF OFFERING:
None
Spring
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES:
At the end of this class, the student will be able to:
1. Articulate the major motifs and themes of dramatic text.
2. Analyze the action-based beats of dramatic text.
3. Interpret character traits based on dramatic text.
4. Explain the historical context of dramatic text.
5. Demonstrate engagement with critical literature of the theatrical field.
6. Create directorial and design conceptualizations of dramatic text.
ASSESSMENT:
 Research-based Power Point Presentation (1,4,5)
 Directorial Concept Statement (1,2,3,4,5,6)
 Objective Reading Tests (1,2,3,5)
 Design Project (1,3,5,6)
 Character Analysis (2,3)
 Portfolio (5)
MINIMUM PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS:
1. One written script analysis outline.
2. One written character analysis or concept statement.
3. One performance or design/directorial project.
4. One Research paper or presentation.
5. Major Portfolio
COURSE GRADING POLICIES:
 Final grades will be calculated according to a weighted scale, with the completion
of the Major Portfolio not to exceed 10% of the final grade.
DEPARTMENTAL COURSE POLICIES:
1. Each Theatre major is required to maintain a portfolio demonstrating his/her
entire course of study. The portfolio counts for 10%of the final grade in each
Theatre course, with the exception of THEA 1100 and THEA 1000.
 Major Portfolio (in a loose leaf binder, containing the following)
a. Dated entry with class notes/exercises described for each class. Selfevaluation and reflection upon growth and development for each class
session, as well as observations made during class.
b. Copy of each monologue and scene script with annotations for
performance.
c. Reading Log of all plays, books, films from the essential texts list
(attached) for the semester. At minimum it must include the following for 5
plays/films/books. This may include the play chosen as source
material for the class, but it may not include the textbook.
i. Title and author
ii. Number of pages/DVD or live production
iii. Brief discussion of the value of reading/viewing the text.
d. Documentation of all Performance/Production Work (program at
minimum)
e. One page response to a live theatre performance as an audience member
following the Outline for Production Response (attached).
f. Scene Rehearsal Diary: date and record of accomplishments/problems for
each out of class rehearsal.
g. Concluding Statement: A reflection (250 word minimum) on the student’s
learning and growth during the course of the semester.
 Non Major Response Paper: Non-majors taking a Theatre course (with the
exception of THEA 1100 and THEA 1000) write a 3-5 page Live Production
Response paper, following an outline provided by the instructor in lieu of a
portfolio.
Theatre Major: Essential Texts List
**All Theatre Majors are expected to read or view a minimum of five texts from this list
per semester of enrollment, and to document their engagement with these essential
texts in their portfolios. Portfolios shall comprise 10% of final grades in all Theatre
classes, with the exception of THEA 1100**
Theorists/Acting Teachers/Directors. (Students should read works by or about
the following masters).
Stella Adler
Richard Boleslavsky
Peter Brook
Joseph Chaikin
Michael Chekhov
Harold Clurman
Uta Hagen
Keith Johnston
Sanford Meisner
Viola Spolin
Constantin Stanislavski
George C. Wolfe
Playwrights (Students should read or see plays by, or view films based on plays
by these authors—in some cases plays are listed as well)
Bertolt Brecht (Threepenny Opera, Mother Courage, Good Woman of Szechuan)
Anton Chekhov (The Seagull, The Three Sisters, The Cherry Orchard, Uncle Vanya)
Henrik Ibsen (A Doll House, Ghosts, Peer Gynt, Hedda Gabler, etc.)
Tony Kushner (Angels In America Part I and II ***warning*** Strong, Adult, Content)
Moliere (Tartuffe, etc.)
William Shakespeare
George Bernard Shaw (Pygmalion, St. Joan, Heartbreak House, Arms and the Man,
Androcles and the Lion, etc, etc.)
Sam Shepard (Buried Child, A Lie of the Mind, True West, Curse of the Starving Class,
Fool for Love, etc.)
Stephen Sondheim (Sweeny Todd, Gypsy, West Side Story, etc.)
August Strindberg (Miss Julie, The Dance of Death)
Tennessee Williams (A Streetcar Named Desire, The Glass Menagerie, Cat on a Hot
Tin Roof, etc.)
Eugene O’Neill (Long Day’s Journey Into Night, The Iceman Cometh, etc.)
Franz Wedekind (Spring Awakening, etc.)
Arthur Miller (The Crucible, Death of a Salesman, All My Sons, etc.)
August Wilson (Fences, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Two Trains Running, etc.)
Euripides (Medea)
Sophocles (Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone)
Aeschylus (The Oresteia, etc.)
Aristophanes (Lysistrata, The Frogs, etc.)
Plays (Or Film Versions of plays by authors other than listed above)
Proof
Doubt
Spinning into Butter
Shakespeare in Love
Elizabeth
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
The Other Boleyn Girl
All About Eve
Cradle Will Rock
Fires in the Mirror
Twilight: Los Angeles
Swimming to Cambodia
On the Waterfront
The Mahabharata (Peter Brook’s)
A Chorus Line
All That Jazz
Chicago
Our Town
*****The only exception to the texts listed above should be made if viewing live
theatre****