Sarah McCarroll, MFA, PhD

THEA 1250: Introduction to Production Concepts

 

Catalog Description: Students will be introduced to script analysis for the development of directing and design concepts and will explore the collaborative process of production concept development.

 

Course Objectives: Students in the course will:

• Demonstrate a knowledge of the fundamental terms and concepts of script analysis and accurately apply those terms and concepts to texts,

• Utilize script analysis to develop concept-based design and directing approaches that address the thematic meaning of a play for production,

• Gain the experience of working in “design” teams to develop a unified approach to production, and

• Demonstrate research and citation skills to support concept presentations.

 

 

Expanded course description (adapted from David Foster Wallace): One of the major goals of this course is to help you develop a critical approach to both the theatre you see and the theatre you create. “Critical” means having smart, sophisticated reasons for liking whatever theatre you like and making the artistic decisions you make, and being able to articulate those reasons, both in writing and in discussion. It is central to the idea of “critical” evaluation that you be able to “interpret” a piece of theatre, which basically means coming up with a well-reasoned, interesting account of what a production or script means, what it’s trying to do to/for an audience member, what technical choices the author/director/designers/actors have made in order to achieve the desired effect, and so on. As you might imagine, the whole thing gets very complicated and abstract and hard, which is why entire college departments are devoted to studying and interpreting theatre, and why we’re going to break all of this down into its component parts before we try to put it back together again.