HUMANITIES DIVISION
THEATER
COURSE DATA SHEET
COURSE DEPARTMENT NUMBER: THEA 1105
TITLE: Acting
CREDIT HOURS:
3
CONTACT HOURS: 3
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Fundamental theories, principles, and techniques of acting
with training in pantomime, improvisation, stage movement, characterization, and
motivation. Eras of theatre and acting styles will also be explored
EXIT REQUIREMENTS: D or better
PREREQUISITE OR COREQUISITE: None
FREQUENCY OF OFFERING: Fall
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES: At the end of this class, the student will be able
to:
1. Analyze and interpret dramatic text.
2. Analyze and portray character traits based in dramatic text.
3. Articulate factual and conceptual knowledge concerning the history of acting
technique and training.
4. Assess and respond to performance.
5. Demonstrate engagement with seminal theatrical texts.
ASSESSMENT:
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Monologue Performance (1,2)
Reader Response Papers (3,5)
Scene Performance (1,2,5)
Class Journal (3,4)
Portfolio (3,4,5)
Character Analysis (2,3)
MINIMUM PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS:
1. One Monologue Performance
2. Two Character Analysis Papers
3. One Scene Performance
4. One Paper on Assigned Text
5. Major Portfolio or Non-Major Production Response Paper
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:
Makeup Work: In-class exercises and journals cannot be made up. In the event of an
excused absence, monologues and scenes will be made up by contacting the instructor
and determining an alternative time for presentation of the missed work, any other
exercises will be excused.
Late Work: Papers may be submitted late with a ten-point penalty. No written or make
up work will be accepted after the last class day of the semester. Journals, portfolios,
and production response papers are due the day of the Final and will not be accepted
late.
Attendance: This is a highly participatory class, and therefore regular attendance is
vital to success. If a student will be absent, he or she is expected to notify the instructor
and his or her scene partner(s) by email, preferably prior to the class period with an
explanation of the absence. All unexcused absences will negatively impact the
students’ final grade.
Portfolio Requirement: 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 Reponse 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****