Course Syllabus

THIS COURSE WILL BE CONDUCTED ENTIRELY ONLINE AND ASYNCHRONOUSLY 

Theatre 211/English 245/RC Hums 280

Introduction to Theatre and Performance

Dr. Jake Hooker

email: jakehook@umich.edu             

https://smtd.umich.edu/about/faculty-profiles/jake-hooker/

There are no required texts to purchase. All materials will be made available in weekly modules on Canvas.

Course Objectives 

  1. To determine what "theatre" and "drama" have meant at different times in history, across various cultures, and what they mean now, and to do so by examining plays and performances in their theatrical and social contexts.
  2. To gain a fundamental understanding of how each of the theatre's constituent arts (acting, directing, design, playwriting, stage management) contributes to the making of a theatrical whole.
  3. To develop a sense of how theatre is a discipline without clear boundaries and how other practices intersect with and shape theatrical performance.

Paths to Completing This Course Successfully

You may do a variety of things to earn points. Throughout the course you may choose various assignments to complete, including:

  • Play Reports
  • Performance reviews (live and on-video)
  • Weekly Quizzes
  • Weekly Reflections
  • Creative Projects
  • Formal Research Paper

About earning points:

There are 1700 points available for the term, but note that you only need to earn 1000 to get an A. In other words, you do not *need* to complete all of the assignments available to you. 

Point scale for 3 credits:

  • 1000 and above - A+
  • 1000 points - A
  • 950 points - A-
  • 925 points - B+
  • 900 points - B
  • 850 points - B-
  • 825 points - C+
  • 800 points - C
  • 750 points - C-
  • 725 points - D+
  • 700 points - D
  • Below 700 points - F

Point scale for 2 credits:

  • 900 and above - A+
  • 900 points - A
  • 850 points - A-
  • 825 points - B+
  • 800 points - B
  • 750 points - B-
  • 725 points - C+
  • 700 points - C
  • 650 points - C-
  • 625 points - D+
  • 600 points - D
  • Below 600 points - F

Here's the breakdown of assignment categories and points. 

Week 0 Introductions (10 points)
Weekly Quizzes (10 points for 13 weeks = 130)
Weekly Responses (10 points for 13 weeks = 130)
Working in the Theatre Responses (10 points for 13 weeks = 130)
Performance Reviews (2 possible at 100 points = 200)
Quarterly Reflections (4 at 50 points = 200)
End of term Creative Project (450 points)
End of term Research Paper (450 points)

So, that's a total of 1700 points. But you only need to earn 1000 points get get an A (that's a change from the original syllabus).

One possible version of that is:

1 Week Zero Introduction (10 points)
2 of the 3 weekly assignments (260 points)
1 performance review (100 points)
4 quarterly reflections (200 points)
1 end of term project (450 points) = 1020 points

But you could also do more of the bigger point assignments, if that's how you'd like to engage with the course. That would look like:

1 Week Zero Introduction (10 points)
1 of the 3 weekly assignments (130 points)
2 performance reviews (200 points)
4 quarterly reflections (200 points)
1 end of term project (450 points) = 980 (so you could throw in a couple more weekly assignments)

But there are other options that work too! The only caveat is that you can only do ONE  end-of-term project.

All assignments are "optional" in the sense that you can pick and choose how you want to accrue the points you would like to earn, based on the grade you would like to earn. (If you're an overachiever, be conscious of earning too many points!)  While there are many ways to earn points, it is difficult to earn an A without engaging with some, if not most, of the weekly assignments. 

While you can turn things in a little late (up to a week), you will not be able to make things up once they expire. If you do not get the points you want during one week, you need to make up the points by doing more of the work later. I cannot take late work because, if I do, it would affect my grading and not allow for me to give prompt grades and feedback. 

Many assignments are simple - follow the guidelines and you will get all the points. 

You may take the quizzes as many times as you like to get the points you desire. They are open book and not time limited. 

Because I am building this course for the first time, you will not be able to "work ahead" because I will only be able to post each module until the beginning of each week. The logic of this course is that it is organized by weeks and that a week is Monday through Sunday. Material for each week will be posted no later than Monday at 9 am and the work for that week will be due Sunday at midnight.