Theatre

For the Final Project/Paper Production, you doing some of the kinds of research, analysis and envisioning that theater artists do when producing a play for the stage.

You will choose a play from a list of options, read it, then complete the various requirements below and submit them in the appropriate Assignment on Sakai as one document (Google or Word Doc, .pdf, PowerPoint or Google Slides, etcwhatever as long as I can open it).

You are encouraged to research other productions of the play, but all of the work you submit for this assignment must be original to you (except for the SCENE).

Choose one of the following plays to work on. There are plays from many different periods of theater history, from Ancient Greece through the 1990s. All are available for download from the Intro Final Project Plays folder in the Resources section on the course Sakai Site.

Medea, Euripides
Tartuffe, Moliere
A Dolls House, Henrik Ibsen
Everyman, Anonymous
Zoot Suit, Luis Valdez
Caucasian Chalk Circle, Bertolt Brecht
Waiting for Godot, Samuel Beckett
Ma Rainey, August Wilson
Lysistrata, Aristophanes
For Colored Girls, Ntozake Shange
M. Butterfly, David Henry Hwang

Final Project requirements:

1. SCENE: You must include A link to a video of a scene from your assigned play, 3 min. max in length. Alternatively, a text copy of the scene you’ve selected may be included with your written submissions. Either way, your submission should include information about what act and scene in the play is being submitted, and

2. CASTING FILE: Imagine you are trying to cast 3 important roles in your play. You may cast any actor living or dead, or even someone who is not an actor whose background and personality you think would fit. For each of the 3 characters you are casting:

A. Include 1 image of an actor, familiar media figure, historical figure, or anyone you know that might be appropriate for the role.

B. A typed 1-paragraph statement describing the physical traits and personality of the character and why the person you’ve chosen to cast has the qualities necessary to play the character.

3. DIRECTORS CONCEPT: This section covers some of the kinds of research, analysis and envisioning a director would do prior to the start of rehearsals. This must include:

A. A one-sentence statement of your interpretation of the story of the play, starting with “This is a story about…”

B. A summary of the plot of the play as written (1 paragraph)

C. A brief overview of the original circumstances of the plays creation and performance–who wrote it and when? When & where was it first produced? How was it received then? How has it been received since? Have their been any major productions in your lifetime? (1 paragraph)

D. A description of the world of the play you want to create on stage, as you envision it, including: details of the setting (such a time & place), the ambience(s) and atmosphere(s) of the setting (what does the audience see & how does it make them feel), and the sounds and/or music used to support these elements. (3 paragraphs)

4.SET DESIGN: In this section, you will envision an original set for your assigned play and communicate visually through drawings or a 3-d model based on the Directors Concept (item d). Can be sketches, tracings, collages or any combination of the above. Models can be constructed from any materials you have available to you.

A. Must include settings for 2 key scenes in the piece. If your play is set all in one place (like a living room), show how actors would be placed on the set in at a key dramatic moment in each scene.

B. Each setting must be labeled with the name of the play, the Act/Scene number, and the names of the characters in the scene.

5. COSTUME DESIGNS: In this section you will create original costume design roughs or renderings for two significant characters in the play (these can overlap with your casting file, if you like). These designs will be in color, and:

A. Can be sketches, tracings, collages or any combination. Collages must include at least 5 images for each design.

B . Must include a written description of the costume design that explains the design choices (period, style, shape or cut of clothes, colors, materials) you made and why.(Minimum 1 paragraph per costume design).