THTR-365, PLAYWRITING 2,
Thursday —3-5:50pm
THH110 –- Class FINAL is MAY 8.
Instructor: Playwright/Director Elizabeth Wong
Office Hours: By Appointment, 24 –hr cancellation via email or text required.
Contact Info:
Contact Info: (626) 627-8663 (cell)
Syllabus for Playwriting 1 THR365, Page 2 of 4
Course Description and Overview
This is an intensive writing workout for new playwrights. Students will learn essentials of playwriting and build confidence in the intuitive aspects of creative expression by creating a body of work via timed in-class writing exercises. Classroom discussion will be sparked by weekly in-class assignments and any homework will be based on your in-class writing, and will support a lively engagement with the writing mind of your fellow students.
Learning Objectives
Students will find the stories they were meant to tell by writing THREE ten-minute plays and ONE thirty-minute one-act play based on their in-class writings. The timed writings will be read in class for student feedback, and may provide the basis for further impromptu in-class writing exercises. Students will learn how to create unique and engaging characters. Students will learn how to give constructive feedback and how to format a production script. Students will also receive guidance and advice regarding the business of being a playwright, including marketing strategies and possibly competition/production opportunities.
Recommended Preparation: Please bring “normal” (8 1/2 X 11) writing paper or paper that can be removed from a pad or notebook. Please bring a pen to class each week. Computers or notebooks can be used, but you need to be able to send a copy to your classmates, in real time. Otherwise, go old school with paper and pen.
Syllabus for Playwriting 1 THR365, Page 2 of 4
Syllabus for Playwriting 1 THR365, Page 2 of 4
Required Readings and Supplementary Materials
No required textbooks. We learn from your writing and your writing issues not vis-à-vis critical analyses of published plays. Students will engage with their own ideas and the ideas generated by classmates. There may be s “field trips,” special assignments meant to excite and inform your writing. Also, guest artist visitations. At Instructor’s discretion.
Suggested Readings
· Economics Explained by Robert Heilbroner
· One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
· On Death and Dying by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
· Chaos by James Gleick
· Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
(MORE)
Suggested Readings (Cont’d)
· The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell
· Orientalism by Edward Said
· The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
· The Complete Stories of Flannery O’Connor
· Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
· The Art of War by Sun Tzu
· The Koran: A Very Short Introduction by Michael Cook
· The Essential Rumi by Coleman Barks
· The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
· Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Godwin
· The Dream of a Common Language by Adrienne Rich
· Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee by Dee Brown
Suggested Books on Writing:
· Playwriting Master Class, edited by Michael Wright, 2nd edition, Focus Publishing
· The Playwrights Handbook, edited by Michael Bigelow Dixon, Smith & Kraus
· Adventures in the Screen Trade by James Goldman
Description of Grading Criteria and Assessment of Assignments
Meeting course requirements does not necessarily equal excellence. Students will be evaluated based on individual progress, on engagement with the writing of their fellow students, and on a willingness to bravely pursue and reveal their authentic writer’s voice.
FOR SDA Assignments: No Late Work Accepted. Exceptions made for excused absences by prior arrangement and/or emergencies. This work must be emailed to the Instructor by end of class (4:50 pm day of excused absence.) Midterm and Final Projects are mandatory and cannot be missed or made up at a later date.
Grading Scale for SDA: A indicates work of excellent quality; B of good quality; C of average quality; D of below average quality; and F indicates inadequate work.
Grading Breakdown:
Participation: 15%
Weekly Grade: 30%
Midterm: 25%
Final: 40 %
The School of Dramatic Arts uses the University’s grading scale:
96-100% = A 95-91% = A- 88-90% = B+ 85-87 = B
81-84% = B- 78-80% = C+ 75-77% = C 66-64% = D
71-74% = C- 67-70% = D+ 61-63% = D-
Attendance:
While you are not graded on attendance, you are graded on participation. TWO absences, excused or not, the THIRD absence will affect your grade. THREE tardies will count as an unexcused absence. BE ON TIME. If TEN minutes late, you will be considered tardy.
Weekly Writing Assignments:
These are given both in-class and as homework at the discretion of the instructor. Students must be prepared to read aloud their work in class for peer review.
1. ALL at-home assignments must be presented in HARD COPY to the instructor at the BEGINNING of class. Copies to be delivered to fellow classmates by email attachment via Blackboard or by mutual arrangement.
2. Students will be assigned a “writing buddy or writing buddies” by the Instructor. Students, paired or grouped, are responsible for reading and providing feedback for their buddy/buddies only. New writing groups will be formed as the semester progresses, so students will have an opportunity to work with different classmates. Students will provide written constructive feedback to be returned to the Author on MONDAY BY 5 PM. Students not receiving any written feedback must report this to the Instructor. Everyone will give letter grades (F to A) for the quality/timeliness of buddy feedback at the end of each rotation.
3. ALL at-home assignments must be typed in a PRODUCTION format style. Courier New, 12-point font. **See sample provided by Professor. You will be expected to adhere to the format. Final Draft formatting also acceptable.
4. MANDATORY SHOAH FOUNDATION PROJECT. Writing a ten-minute play based on video testimony from survivors of the Holocaust. DUE FEB 22.
DEADLINES:
· FEB 1 – Ten-Minute Play Due – Current Event.
· FEB 22 – Ten-Minute Play Due – Refugees (SHOAH Archive Response)
· MARCH 8 – Ten-Minute Play Due – Your Choice, or Love Lost/Love Found.
· MARCH 22 – First 10 pages of one-act play.
· MARCH 29 – Pages 11 to 21. (Your Act Break should be on Page 15.)
· APRIL 5 -- One Act Play Due!!!
· APRIL 12 – Adjudication Panels formed. Each panel will read a group of plays and select a play for a play for a reading. Each reader will fill out an evaluation form per play to justify their choice DUE APRIL 26 by end of class.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT FINAL:
The final selection will be made by the Instructor, and announced on the day of the FINAL.
· The WINNING PLAYS will be read on MAY 8, 2 to 4 pm. Location TBA.
· The play will be cast cold by the Instructor.
· ATTENDANCE AT THE FINAL IS MANDATORY.
· Refreshments will be provided.
Statement on Academic Conduct and Support Systems
Academic Conduct
Plagiarism – presenting someone else’s ideas as your own, either verbatim or recast in your own words – is a serious academic offense with serious consequences. Please familiarize yourself with the discussion of plagiarism in SCampus in Section 11, Behavior Violating University Standardshttps://scampus.usc.edu/1100-behavior-violating-university-standards-and-appropriate-sanctions/. Other forms of academic dishonesty are equally unacceptable. See additional information in SCampus and university policies on scientific misconduct, http://policy.usc.edu/scientific-misconduct/.
Discrimination, sexual assault, and harassment are not tolerated by the university. You are encouraged to report any incidents to the Office of Equity and Diversity http://equity.usc.edu/ or to the Department of Public Safety http://capsnet.usc.edu/department/department-public-safety/online-forms/contact-us. This is important for the safety whole USC community. Another member of the university community – such as a friend, classmate, advisor, or faculty member – can help initiate the report, or can initiate the report on behalf of another person. The Center for Women and Men http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/cwm/ provides 24/7 confidential support, and the sexual assault resource center webpage describes reporting options and other resources.
Support Systems
A number of USC’s schools provide support for students who need help with scholarly writing. Check with your advisor or program staff to find out more. Students whose primary language is not English should check with the American Language Institute http://dornsife.usc.edu/ali, which sponsors courses and workshops specifically for international graduate students.
The Office of Disability Services and Programs http://sait.usc.edu/academicsupport/centerprograms/dsp/home_index.htmlprovides certification for students with disabilities and helps arrange the relevant accommodations. If an officially declared emergency makes travel to campus infeasible, USC Emergency Information http://emergency.usc.edu/will provide safety and other updates, including ways in which instruction will be continued by means of blackboard, teleconferencing, and other technology.
Syllabus for Playwriting 1 THR365, Page 2 of 4