THEATRE PRODUCTION
Mrs. Jo Lane, teacher, jolane@pps.k12.or.us, 503.916.5260 ext. 71424

Course Description:
Students learn the facets of theatre production from seminal idea to how to write and develop a short play to basic staging and characterization to stage management and technical work, ultimately through performance, both on stage and off. Students are required to participate in the production of the fall production and spring Senior Shorts one-act play festival. They also will learn acting including dialectical work, directing, technical theatre techniques, advanced monologue and scene analysis, and study theatre history. Students are expected to participate in the ACTing Showcase, Oregon Thespians Northwest Regional Acting Competition, and potentially attend State Thespian Conference (*see additional details below).

Textbook and Resources Available: Theatre: Art in Action © 1999 and classroom theatre library

Classroom Expectations (Show your Rider PRIDE!):
Personal Responsibility: Bring supplies to class daily: PENCILS, ERASER, pens, paper, theatre notebook, and any other materials required for each class. Wear clothing that is comfortable and in which you are able to move.
Respect: Treat fellow students, teachers, and others with respect. THEATRE IS A COLLABORATIVE ART THAT REQUIRES TEAMWORK. Without respect, the classroom team fails. With respect, it flourishes.
Integrity: Push yourself to work hard and cooperate in groups. Put your best work forward and be proud of what you share. THEATRE IS AN ACTIVE PARTICIPATION CLASS. Effort, cooperation, and participation will be rewarded. Attitude and cooperation warrants additional participation in showcases.
Discipline/Diligence: Be present and ON TIME daily, ready to learn. Rehearsals are not effective when you are late or absent.
Empathy: Cooperation in group activities and willingness to share work. Encourage others to share. Give and receive constructive criticism for all to become better artists.

Attendance Policy:
This course meets Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. It is imperative and expected that students attend every class, every week. If students are absent, whether excused or unexcused, during any pre-planned performances or tests, students may not be able to retake or makeup the performances or tests. Teacher discretion will be used to determine any credit awarded and makeup options. See ACT attendance policy.

Homework and Grading:
Theatre does require homework! Complete and turn in all assignments on time. All students will be scored for their performances using the same judging rubrics for Regionals. All work is scored with a point system and/or with rubrics to be distributed in class. Assessments include daily attendance, on task rehearsal, memorization by deadlines, completion of theatre arts notebook, discussion and cooperation, in class performances, and analyses of characters and scenes. No late work can or will be accepted. Any late work credit, if any, is at the teacher’s discretion. Bonus points can be earned for attending additional crew days or theatre performances.

*Required and Strongly Recommended Events:
All students enrolled are required to participate in the events listed below noted * outside of the class in order to complete the course and the hours necessary to receive full credit.
• *Fall production. Additional after school rehearsal are required prior to evening performances. See separate rehearsal schedule for details.
• ACTing Showcase the Thursday before Regionals. Family and friends are invited to the ACTing Showcase to see the students perform their audition/competition pieces prior to the NW Regional competition. This is the only opportunity for family and friends to see the audition/competition performances.
• Oregon Thespians NW Regional Acting Competition on the first Saturday of February. A per event entry fee is charged for Regionals. Details provided for entry, deadlines, and fees. Scholarships available. Sorry, only competitors and their Theatre Directors are able to attend Regionals.
• *Senior Shorts is the spring senior-directed one-act play festival in May. Additional after school rehearsal are required prior to evening performances. See separate rehearsal schedule for details.

Non-participation in required performances, such as the fall one-act and Senior Shorts will result in a full letter grade drop per event missed. No exceptions. (i.e. If you earned an A, but miss one performance of the fall one-act, you will receive a B. If you then miss another performance, you’ll have a C and so on.) Recommended and expected participation, if possible, in ACTing Showcase, NW Regional Acting Competition, and State Thespian Conference.

Additional Theatrical Opportunities (examples):
• Evening Performances (optional performance opportunities will be announced)
• Field trips (optional trips to community and/or school theatre productions)
• Participation in Drama Club/Thespians (optional club/earned membership)
Please note: You must attend school at least one half day in order to participate in any after school opportunities. No pass, no play policy applies, too.

Tentative Theatre Production Calendar
The following units of study are approximate and correspond with after school theatrical events.

September-November: Fall production (fall one-act; 8-10 weeks) and character study

December-January: Monologue and Scene Study (4-6 weeks); Regionals; Final Exam

February-March: Technical Theatre and Production Crews (5-6 weeks)

March-May: (State; usually the first weekend in April) Senior Shorts (senior-directed one-act play festival; 8-10 weeks); accents and dialects training

May-June: Readers' Theatre piece for Final Exam (2-3 weeks)