Introduction to Theatre History - DSU-191

Course Description: This introductory, six-week online course explores theatre history from it’s roots in classical Greece to the modern, global theatre. Students will discuss trends in theatre conventions, such as staging, costumes, scenery, as well as acting, playwriting and the cultural environments that influenced theatre artists.

Prerequisite: None

Course Credit: 3 Credit Hours

Major Course Topics & Course Outcomes

As a result of the group and individual activities included in this course, the student will acquire the following knowledge and skills that can be applied to the workplace:

Greek Theatre

• Identify the origins of theatre and drama in Greece.
• Compare and contrast Greek tragic plays
• Identify the role of the chorus in Greek plays.
• Discuss Aristotle’s six elements of drama.
• Compare and contrast old and new comedy.
• Identify the major elements of Greek Theater.
• Describe changes to theatrical production and architecture in the Hellenistic Age.

Roman Theatre

• Identify major writers and conventions of Roman comedy.
• Identify tragic playwrights and the role of tragedy in Roman theatre.
• Compare and contrast popular entertainment and theatre.
• Identify the role of the actor in Roman theatre.
• Identify the characteristics of the theatre building and scenic elements in Roman theatre.

Asian Theatre

• Identify the conventions of Sanskrit drama.
• Compare and contrast theatre in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties in China
• Compare and contrast noh and kabuki.
• Identify the conventions of bunraku.
• Identify the conventions of shadow plays in Southeast Asia.

Medieval Theatre in Europe

• Describe the development and production of liturgical drama..
• Describe the development of religious, vernacular drama.
• Compare and contrast mystery and morality plays.
• Describe secular theatre of the Middle Ages.
• Trace the decline of religious theatre in the Middle Ages.

Theatre of the Italian Renaissance

• Compare and contrast the different types of Renaissance drama in Italy.
• Identify the conventions of the commedia dell'arte.
• Identify the neoclassical ideals, including decorum, verisimilitude, and the unities of time, place and action.
• Differentiate between descriptive and prescriptive criticism.
• Identify the prominent theater buildings and innovative scenic elements in Renaissance Italy.

Theatre of the English Renaissance

• Identify major Elizabethan playwrights.
• Compare and contrast the public and private theaters.
• Describe the scenery and costumes in use during the English Renaissance.
• Describe the organization and practices of acting companies in the English Renaissance.
• Describe Jacobean and Caroline drama, playwrights, and designers.

Theatre of the Spanish Golden Age

• Identify the playwrights and conventions of religious drama in the Spanish Golden Age.
• Identify the playwrights and conventions of secular drama in the Spanish Golden Age.
• Identify the production elements of corrales, including scenery, stages, and costumes.
• Identify the organization and composition of acting companies in the Spanish Golden Age.
• Describe Spanish popular entertainment during the Renaissance.

French Neoclassical Theatre

• Identify the tenets of French neoclassical doctrine.
• Identify significant playwrights of the French neoclassical drama.
• Identify the production practices of Neoclassical France, including scenery and technology.
• Identify the major theater buildings of Neoclassical France.
• Identify the organization and composition of acting companies.

Theatre of the English Restoration

• Compare and contrast heroic and Restoration tragedy.
• Differentiate among various Restoration comedies.
• Describe the organization of acting companies during the Restoration.
• Describe the relationship between government and the Restoration Theater.
• Describe theatre architecture, scenery, costumes and lighting.

Theatres in the Eighteenth Century

• Differentiate among middle class tragedy, opera, sentimental comedy, and commedia dell'arte.
• Identify major playwrights from the eighteenth century.
• Identify major Restoration Theater buildings.
• Describe the development of theatre in America.
• Describe costume, scenic, and lighting practices in the eighteenth century.

Theatre from 1800-1975

• Differentiate among forms of popular entertainment.
• Differentiate among romanticism, melodrama, and the well-made play.
• Identify major actor-managers and playwright-managers.
• Discuss the development of the modern director in the nineteenth century.
• Identify changes in theater architecture and technology. 

Theatre from 1875-1915

• Trace the emergence of realism.
• Compare and contrast realism and naturalism.
• Identify the major playwrights of the period.
• Identify significant theorists and practitioners of the anti-realist movement.
• Trace the development of the African-American Theatre.

Theatre from 1915-1945

• Articulate the influence of politics and world events on the theatre between and during the World Wars.
• Compare and contrast expressionism, futurism, dada, and surrealism.
• Compare and contrast the theaters of France, Spain, Italy, and Great Britain during and between the wars.
• Compare and contrast commercial and noncommercial theaters in the United States during the first half of the twentieth century.
• Identify the contributions made by African-American theatre artists in the first half of the twentieth century. Identify the major artists active with the postwar experimental theatre.

Theatre from 1945-1975

• Compare and contrast significant postwar realistic playwrights.
• Discuss postwar developments in American musical theatre.
• Trace the development of off-Broadway, off-off-Broadway, and regional theaters.
• Discuss the continued growth of African-American Theatre in the postwar era.

Theatre in the United States from 1975-Present

• Discuss major theatre artists whose work reflects the diversity of contemporary American life and theatrical styles.
• Discuss the work of major American playwrights, including Sam Shepard and David Mamet.
• Discuss the developments in contemporary musical theatre.
• Compare and contrast alternative theaters and practitioners in the United States.
• Discuss the growth of American regional theaters.

Global Theatre

• Identify how political issues affect contemporary theatre in various countries around the world.
• Describe how traditional African forms have merged with Western dramatic forms.
• Identify postmodernist sensibilities in the work of contemporary European directors.
• Describe the transformation of government-subsidized European theaters in the past thirty years.
• Describe how Asian and Western theatres influenced each other in the past one hundred years.

 

 

Course Texts:

There is one textbook required for this course. You can obtain it through your favorite bookstore.

History of the Theatre: Living History, 5th Edition
Edwin Wilson & Alan Goldfarb
McGraw Hill Publishers
ISBN: 978-0-07-351412-3

 

Please note that textbooks are subject to change. Please contact your advisor before purchasing the textbook for your class to confirm.