CASPER COLLEGE COURSE SYLLABUS THEA 2490:01 MUSICAL THEATRE HISTORY & MUSIC/TEXT ANALYSIS Semester/Year:
Spring 2010
Lecture Hours: 3
Lab Hours: 0
Credit Hours:
(3L, 3CR)
Class Time: 9:00-10:50 a.m.
DAYS: T, TH
ROOM: KT 119
Instructor: James Olm
OFFICE: KT 125
Instructor’s Contact: Office Phone: 268-3716 E-mail:
[email protected] Information: It is best to contact me during office hours. Office Hours: COURSE DESCRIPTION: A further and advanced study of the analysis of musical theatre through the reading, listening, watching, and analyzing of specific groundbreaking musicals representative of the genre, and then how that information applies to each student’s professional craft. PREREQUISITES: THEA 2350 COURSE GOAL: The objective of this course is to further advance the student’s analytical skill when studying American Musical Theatre, through analyzing and understanding the structure and functions of its parts. The course will further investigate the musical by reading, listening, watching, and analyzing various groundplan musicals. The Primary Goal of the course is for students to become familiar with major representative works of Musical Theatre, as well as to understand their ground-plans and energies of each show. OUTCOMES: The student who completes this course should be able to do the following: 1. To further develop an appreciation of Musical Theatre as the most popular genre of 20th Century American Theatre. 2. To develop a working knowledge of the history and literature of musical theatre as a production and personal resource. 3. To further discover and comprehend the continually changing relationship between book, music and lyrics through the different possible groundplans of musical theatre. 4. To become familiar with the book and music of eight American musical theatre shows. 5. To be able to further understand and analyze specific ground-plans and energies of musicals. METHODOLOGY: 1. Musical Theatre is largely a lecture/discussion course designed to acquaint the student with various aspects of the American Musical. The class uses scripts, CD’s, and considerable video support for the material presented. The instructor encourages student questions and discussion.
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2. Students will be required to read scripts and listen to CD’s of a minimum of eight musicals throughout the semester. 3. Course lecture will be primarily from actual scripts and music of musicals, as well as supplementary material supplied by the instructor. 4. The course will cover the following units/subject matter. a. Reviewing and understanding the “Musical Machine.” b. Jesus Christ Superstar – 1970 c. Company – 1970 d. Les Mis – 1980 e. Titanic – 1997 f. Jekyll and Hyde – 1997 g. Last Five Years – 2002 h. Light in the Piazza – 2005 i. Spring Awakenings - 2006 5. The majority of class time will be spent in lecture/discussion analyzing the shows read, understanding how they work, and why. 6. Assignments of reading scripts and listening to the scores on CD are crucial in the understanding and follow-up discussions in class. EVALUATION CRITERIA: A. Grading will be based on the following: 1. Attendance: Students who register for this class will be expected to attend regularly. Class attendance should be rewarded. Therefore, each student will be allowed 200 points for the semester for attendance. No credit will be deducted for the first three classes missed by the student. Afterward, 25 points will be deducted for each period missed. When no attendance points remain the student will be automatically failed. (that is a maximum of ten absences or one-third of total classes). Please note that there is no such a thing as an excused absence at Casper College. Absences for any reason will be recorded. If a student misses class, no material will be repeated by the Instructor. It will be the student’s obligation to obtain the material elsewhere. 2.
Examinations: There will be three exams worth 200-300 points each. These exams must be completed on or before the scheduled due date. If the exam is not completed by the assigned date, the student may not be permitted to take the exam. There will also be a short quiz preceding each discussion/analysis of each musical worth 25-50 points each.
3. Outside reading and listening assignments. Students will read the script and listen to a tape of the music of each of the above musicals. DOING THESE ASSIGNMENTS ARE CRUCIAL TO YOUR SUCCESS IN THIS CLASS. There will be a quiz after each reading/listening assignment to test each student’s reading/listening work. Note: Watching a movie/video of a musical cannot be substituted for reading and listening due to changes in the work from the script to the movie. THEY WILL NOT MATCH. However, the class will be viewing each show AFTER the analysis process to then analyze the changes for the better or worse.
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B.
Grading will be distributed as follows: Attendance Exams Quizzes, class assignments, etc. Total
C.
200 points 600 points(total may vary as tests are constructed) 200 points(total may vary as Quizzes are constructed) 1000
Method of Grading – Grades will be assigned on the following percentage scale: 90 – 100% = A 80 – 89.9% = B 70 – 79.9% = C 60 – 69.9% = D 50 – 59.9% = F
At Midterm, and again at the end of the course, points for each student will be totaled and divided by the total possible. It is up to the student to keep track of points. You can determine your grade at any time in the semester simply by dividing the number of accumulated points by the total possible points at that time REQUIRED TEXT: You will receive a script for each show, but they must be returned at the end of that section of the class. You must purchase the scripts to: a. Company – by Sondheim and Furth b. Light in the Piazza – by Lucas, Craig , Guettel, Adam c. Spring Awakening – by Sater and Sheik d. Titanic - Story and Book by Peter Stone, Music and Lyrics by Maury Yeston Purchase them online through www.dramabookshop.com and www.amazon.com You can listen to the CD’s either in the conference room where we also hold class, or at the library. I encourage you to start your own musical CD library by purchasing all of the CD’s. a. Jesus Christ Superstar – 1970 Cast Recording – Murray Head, Yvonne Elliman b. Company – 1970 Original Broadway Cast c. Les Mis – 1980 Original Broadway Cast d. Titanic – 1997 Original Broadway Cast e. Jekyll and Hyde – 1997 Original Broadway Cast f. Last Five Years – 2002 Off-Broadway Cast g. Light in the Piazza – 2005 Original Broadway Cast h. Spring Awakenings – 2006 Original Broadway Cast Class Policies: 1. 2.
LATE WORK: Late work is not accepted. If the student is absent, any work due must be submitted the day the student returns to class. There will be no extra credit assignments.
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3. 4.
5. 7.
Assignments must be submitted at the beginning of the period. Students will be expected to take all three exams on or before the scheduled date including the final. Exception to this may be granted only by specific arrangement with the instructor. Classroom rules 1. Please do not eat during my class. Water bottles are okay. 2. Please turn off cell phones and beepers. REGISTRATION CHANGES: The Final Date for withdrawal from the course or to change to Audit Status will be March 24th as posted in the Official Semester Schedule. This date will be followed.
STUDENT RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES: A.
Please refer to the Casper College Student Conduct and Judicial Code for information concerning your rights and responsibilities as a Casper College Student.
B.
It is the policy of Casper College to provide appropriate accommodations to any student with a documented disability. If you have a need for accommodation in this course, please make an appointment to see the instructor at your earliest convenience. C.
Chain of Command: If you have any problems with this class, you should first contact the instructor in order to solve the problem. If you are not satisfied with the solution offered by the instructor, you should then take your problem through the appropriate chain of command starting with the department head, then the division chair, and lastly the vice president for academic affairs.
D.
Academic Dishonesty - Cheating & Plagiarism: Casper College demands intellectual honesty. Proven plagiarism or any form of dishonesty associated with the academic process can result in the offender failing the course in which the offense was committed or expulsion from school. See the Casper College Student Code of Conduct.
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SCHEDULE OF STUDY UNITS AND ASSIGNMENTS Spring 2010
T – Jan. 12:
Overview and expectations, Musical Machine, Review LF, N, Growth Moment, Design, Technique, Ground Plans
Th – Jan. 14: Finish up on the overview Assignment: Read, listen, and analyze Jesus Christ Superstar T – Jan. 19:
Quiz on Jesus Christ Superstar Analyze Jesus Christ Superstar Assignment: Read articles and reviews of Jesus Christ Superstar. Highlight using our terminology.
Th – Jan. 21: Analyze and discuss articles and reviews of Jesus Christ Superstar. T – Jan. 26:
Working with Arthur Giron
Th – Jan. 28: Working with Arthur Giron T – Feb. 2:
Watch DVD of Jesus Christ Superstar Assignment: Read, listen to, and analyze Company
Th – Feb. 4:
Quiz on Company Analyze Company Assignment: Read articles and reviews of Company. Highlight using our terminology.
T – Feb. 9:
Analyze and discuss articles and reviews of Company. Watch DVD of Company at 10:25 am.
Th – Feb. 11: Watch DVD of Company Assignment: Read, listen to, and analyze Les Mis T – Feb. 16:
Quiz on Les Mis Analyze Les Mis Assignment: Read articles and reviews of Les Mis. Highlight using our terminology.
Th – Feb. 18: Analyze and discuss articles and reviews of Les Mis. Watch DVD of Les Mis at 10:10 am.
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T – Feb. 23:
Watch DVD of Les Mis Assignment: First Exam next class
Th – Feb. 25: First exam on everything covered in and outside of class up to this point. Assignment: Read, listen to, and analyze Beauty and the Beast T – Mar. 2:
Quiz on Beauty and the Beast Analyze Beauty and the Beast Assignment: Read articles and reviews of Beauty and the Beast. Highlight using our terminology.
Th – Mar. 4:
Analyze and discuss articles and reviews of Beauty and the Beast
T/Th Mar. 8-12 – Spring Break – NO CLASSES T – Mar. 16:
Watch DVD of Broadway-The American Musical-1957-2004 (120 minutes)
Th – Mar. 18: Discussion of DVD – Broadway-The American Musical Assignment: Read, listen to, and analyze Titanic T – Mar. 23:
Quiz on Titanic Analyze Titanic Assignment: Read articles and reviews of Titanic. Highlight using our terminology.
Th – Mar. 25: Analyze and discuss articles and reviews of Titanic T – Mar. 30: Th – Apr. 1:
Quiz on Jekyll and Hyde Analyze Jekyll and Hyde Assignment: Read articles and reviews of Jekyll and Hyde. Highlight using our terminology.
T – Apr. 6:
Analyze and discuss articles and reviews of Jekyll and Hyde Assignment: Second exam next class
Th – Apr. 8:
Second exam on Beauty and the Beast, Titanic, Jekyll and Hyde, and discussions/readings Assignment: Read, listen to, and analyze Last Five Years
T – Apr. 13:
Quiz on Last Five Years Analyze Last Five Years Assignment: Read articles and reviews of Last Five Years. Highlight using our terminology.
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Th – Apr. 15: Analyze and discuss articles and reviews of Last Five Years Assignment: Read, listen to, and analyze Light in the Piazza T – Apr. 20:
Quiz on Light in the Piazza Analyze Light in the Piazza Assignment: Read articles and reviews of Light in the Piazza. Highlight using our terminology.
Th – Apr. 22: Analyze and discuss articles and reviews of Light in the Piazza. T – Apr. 27:
Watch DVD Show Business: The Road to Broadway – 104 minutes
Th – Apr. 29: Discussion of DVD Show Business: The Road to Broadway Assignment: Read, listen to, and analyze Spring Awakenings T – May 4:
Quiz on Spring Awakenings Analyze Spring Awakenings Assignment: Read articles and reviews of Spring Awakenings. Highlight using our terminology.
Th – May 6:
Analyze and discuss articles and reviews of Spring Awakenings
May 10-13:
Final Exams
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