London Theatre Mayterm 2011, Delaney syllabus, p. 4
ENG 186: British and Irish Theatre I (4 units)
ENG 187: British and Irish Theatre II (4 units)
London Theatre Mayterm 2011 Syllabus Dr. Paul Delaney
Office Hours: along the banks of the Thames in cafés, most afternoons
Overview: From the earliest moments of human history, people have represented the joys and vicissitudes of human life through story, poetry, theatre, dance, painting, sculpture, and music. Though the various arts have many purposes, they have always deepened and enlivened people’s understanding of what it means to be human, and offered distinctive insights regarding how people formulate, make sense of, and at times challenge the nature and shape of reality. The study of dramatic literature and theatrical production is a way to become more lively, sensitive, and expressive individuals, while becoming conversant in the varying modes of theatrical performance. Finally – but significantly – aesthetic enjoyment is one way that people participate in the ongoing process of Creation, and receive the innumerable gifts that stream from God.
Introducing students to a diverse array of theatrical possibilities, this course is taught off-campus because London, Stratford, and Dublin offer a concentration of serious theatre—from traditional Shakespearean productions to modern theatre classics, from post-modern Shakespearean adaptation to contemporary plays—not available elsewhere in the world. London also offers a global, cosmopolitan venue for cross-cultural and transnational experiences and educational opportunities, which is a great advantage as the curriculum is geared to works available in live production. We will be centrally concerned with enriching our understanding of the unique approach to performance each text, genre, and style demands through theatre-going, play readings, theoretical discussions, and practical exercises. Students will develop a larger capacity to respond to the dramatic text and performance event in tandem, and develop a critical sensibility to express themselves through both oral discussions and written performance responses as they are exposed to some of the highest level professional theatre available anywhere through works in live production.
Description: During a week of instruction on-campus and five weeks of residence in London, Stratford, and Dublin, students will study dramatic productions at the National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and various West End theatres. We will read and discuss the plays, write reviews of the performances, participate in talk-back sessions with actors and directors, and tour the theatres.
Objectives: Undergirding our study is the belief that dramatic literature cannot be fully comprehended without studying the nature of theatrical performance, and theatrical performance cannot be fully understood without an understanding of dramatic writing. Further, the course affirms the stance that the appreciation of both text and performance is enhanced by knowledge of the principles that guide the creative process, both in literary creation and in theatrical production. Finally, knowledge of texts in performance is incomplete apart from the individual’s own creative process of interpreting a text for performance, and so you will not only appreciate Shakespeare on the London stage, you will create Shakespeare on your own stage. All of these facets of study will be undertaken with the goals of helping you to:
v encounter some of the finest drama in the English language in some of the best theatrical productions in the English-speaking world.
v develop your critical sensibilities in responding both to dramatic texts and to theatrical performance.
v locate your own theatrical traditions within a broad performance landscape, while acquiring an appreciation of diverse approaches to story, culture and art.
v work on your descriptive and analytical writing skills as you craft play reviews of productions we see.
v explore the moral, ethical and spiritual implications of performance.
Writing Intensive: A writing-intensive experience, this course seeks to contribute to your development as a writer. Writing in a variety of modes throughout your college career will, we hope, equip you to
v express yourself clearly, cogently, and grammatically
v develop the ability to distinguish information from opinion
v marshal evidence in support of points you wish to make
v structure your presentation of ideas in ways that prove persuasive
v use words skillfully, craft sentences forcefully, and develop paragraphs robustly
Course Requirements:
v attending productions of 25 plays (ca. 13 for students taking 4 units) ranging from Shakespeare to world premieres.
v posting online responses of a half-page to a page (150-300 words) for 20 of those productions
v reading the text of ten of those plays and assigned articles and participating in discussion of those texts
v participating in class discussion, quizzes and exercises
v attending workshops and talkback sessions with theatrical practitioners
v writing seven play reviews, analytical in nature (not just plot summary or performance summary) of 2½–3½ pages each (typed, double-spaced equivalent). Writing will be evaluated on both form and content.
v performing a Shakespearean scene with accompanying actor approach work
Reading: We will read the texts of each of the following works. For the Shakespeare plays, you may use any edition that has line numbers and footnotes. For the other plays you need to have the edition indicated. You will need to have all of the following texts both for our class sessions in the U.S. and for our class sessions in the U.K.:
Shakespeare Much Ado About Nothing RSC Shakespeare Modern Library Classics
Shakespeare Merchant of Venice RSC Shakespeare Modern Library Classics
Shakespeare Macbeth RSC Shakespeare Modern Library Classics
Shakespeare All’s Well That Ends Well Folger Shakespeare
Shakespeare Richard III RSC Shakespeare Modern Library Classics
Chekhov The Cherry Orchard Grove Press
Sheridan The School for Scandal Methuen
Pinter Moonlight Grove Press
Albee A Delicate Balance Plume
Williams Cat on a Hot Tin Roof New Directions
Reading Packet 1: In addition to the above plays, each student will be responsible for reading various assigned articles and essays exploring the relationship between theatre and the Christian faith, which will serve as jumping off points for in class discussion and inquiry. In 2011, the packet contains articles written by Mitchell Thomas, Arthur Miller, and Lewis Hyde.
Reading Packet 2: Students will also be responsible for reading various assigned articles, chapters, and essays of critical literature surrounding the areas of theatre and performance which will help us to interact more deeply with the dramatic texts and plays in performance. In 2011, the packet contains articles written by Patsy Rodenburg and John Barton.
Class Participation: In a seminar-style class we are all engaged in teaching and learning together. You are responsible to participate in this process by contributing your perceptions, questions, energy, and vision to the work we do, both analytically and creatively. To this end, you are responsible for coming to class prepared to speak up frequently. You are encouraged to ask questions freely, express your opinions frankly, and think creatively about the texts we are reading and the productions we are seeing. Your own contribution to the class will not be measured quantitatively. But saying nothing is a problem. When Lear says “Nothing will come of nothing, speak again,” he’s right at one level. What matters in class discussion is that you raise questions about the plays and make intelligent, creative attempts to handle the questions of others. You are responsible to consider thoughtfully and seriously the remarks of your fellow students and synthesize the best of what we all have to offer in coming to an informed critical position of your own.
Attendance: Students are allowed three absences. For each absence beyond three, the final grade will be lowered by 1/3 of a letter grade (e.g. A- to B+). Expected attendance includes on-campus classes (2 classes per day totaling 4 hours), class sessions while abroad, productions, and sessions with theatre practitioners (including workshops, question-and-answer occasions, and National Theatre “Platforms”). Plan on arriving at the theatre 30 minutes prior to curtain. Students must be at the box office in front of the theatre a minimum of 15 minutes prior to curtain to pick up your ticket. Being late three times will count as one absence. If an absence will be used to miss a performance, please let us know beforehand so we do not wait outside the theatre.
Written Work: You’ll be writing reviews on only about a fourth of the productions we see. And sometimes we won’t have the opportunity for a classroom discussion of a production until we’ve already seen two or three other plays. So we’re going to establish an online written communal resource that we will be able to draw on during subsequent discussion. To make that happen you will post to our group website
v half-page or one-page responses (150-300 words) on each of 20 productions within 24 hours of seeing the performance. If you want to provide posts on the first 20 productions we see, that’s OK, but plan on posting responses for at least two of the first three productions we see (and four of the first six, etc.). Your writing doesn’t need to be polished (but aim for complete sentences). Your comments don’t need to be comprehensive. Think of your posts as a journal you’re keeping while we see the productions. It’s a place to jot down what most struck you about the production—and a place to record questions the production raised for you. But it’s a communal journal (it’s on Facebook, after all) where you can respond to what others have posted if you wish.
In addition to the above 10-20 pages of informal writing, you will also
v write seven play reviews of 2½–3½ pages (double-spaced typed equivalent).
Play Reviews: If your online posts are a rehearsal, your reviews are a performance. Think of a review as writing that’s ready for publication in the Horizon rather than for texting. Your presumed audience is not other Mayterm students who have seen the production. Your presumed audience might be other Westmont students who are interested in theatre but will only get to see two or three plays when they pass through London later in the summer. You need to be eyes and ears for prospective audience members who have not yet seen the production and who want to make informed decisions about which tickets to book.
So focus on the London production we actually see. If you have seen other productions of the play previously, or read it before, or have an insight related to our class discussion, by all means feel free to use those perceptions in your review. But be sure that you tell us not only how a play might be performed but how it was performed in the production you witnessed. Sample reviews will be available.
Play reviews are due by the dates listed on the itinerary, but no more than 48 hours after attending a production (so if a student chooses to write on a production viewed 72 hours before the deadline, the essay would be turned in 24 hours before the due date on the itinerary). One exception to the 48-hour rule is that work is never due on Sunday. So if you review a play you saw Friday evening, the review is not due until Monday night.
All reviews are to be submitted electronically. Reviews submitted after the due date will be lowered one-third of a letter grade for each day they are late.
Naming of Files: Please save each review as a Word file (preferably .doc format rather than .docx) . using a filename that consists of
v your surname
v the number of your review (first, second, etc.)
v a short title of the play you’re reviewing.
So, for example, if you’re Blaine Eldredge and you’re writing your first play review on Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, the filename might be:
Eldredge-1-Merchant.doc
Quizzes: You may expect unannounced quizzes on any play we read and in-class paraphrasing of Shakespearean passages. Although missed quizzes may not be made up, you may drop one quiz grade for every five we have.
Controlled Substances: Food, gum and baseball caps are for outside class.
Scene Performance: Together with 1-4 other students, you are to memorize and perform a Shakespeare scene or a portion of a scene. Each person in the group should have 25-35 lines. If you want to stage a longer scene and learn more lines, feel free. If your passage includes poetry, you should scan those lines and be prepared to discuss your scansion choices with your scene partners. Choose an apt location for the performance of your scene, and please add costumes, props, music, or special effects in ways that you see fit, provided that they will not risk damage to life, limb, or property. Through the creation of this performance, we will have the opportunity to experience the theatrical directly by participating in the very processes of enactment that characterize the art of the theatre.
ACADEMIC HONESTY: Plagiarism consists in taking the words or the ideas of someone else and presenting them as if they were your own. Copying someone else’s paper is an obvious form of plagiarism. But finding ideas online (or in a printed source) and paraphrasing them in your own words as if the ideas were your own is an equally serious form of plagiarism. You are plagiarizing when you copy three or more consecutive words from another source or when you “borrow” someone else’s ideas or verbal structure without properly documenting the source. All writing must be written exclusively by you and exclusively for this course. Any work guilty of plagiarism will receive a grade of zero. (A zero is to an “F” as 0% is to 50%). Repeated incidents of plagiarism will result in a failing grade for the course. In addition, any act of plagiarism will be reported to the Provost. For a full statement of Westmont’s policy on plagiarism please see the webpage: