THA 195a: Topics in Theatre and Drama: Advanced Stage Management
Evolving Syllabus – Spring 2016 – Tues/Fri., 12:30-1:20pm, Spingold 111
Jennifer Cleary, Senior Lecturer – Office Hours: Thu., 1:30-4:30pm and by appointment
Hi gang! I am excited for us to evolve the class together.
I have read and seen all of your personal goals for the class, and many of them overlap. Here’s a fun list to capture most of what you are all feeling and hoping for – yes, this syllabus was written with your words as inspiration:
“What is the professional world like?”
“How do I get a JOB in this, i.e., resumes, interviews, aahhhh!”
“How do these skills translate to other potential careers?”
“Seeing Shows!”
“Meeting Professional Stage Managers!”
“Continuing to develop skills – blocking, calling shows!”
“More in-depth knowledge of tech and running a show!”
“Practicing real-life situations.”
“Stage-managing other mediums – dance, devised, events!”
“Specific differences between academic and professional theatre in the way we work.”
My plan is to cover as many of these things as possible and in as much depth as possible, through in-class discussions, exercises, and out-of-class experiences in the professional world of Boston, Providence, and (maybe) NYC!
The schedule will be fluid, as you know I can be. I have created a structure to give us a jumping-off point and to see how much we can hope (realistically) to cover – and my goal isn’t to skim over anything, but to give you the depth that an advanced course would demand. Some topics may be more interesting to you than others, since you are all here for similar but also different reasons, but my hope is that you will be able to apply ALL aspects and topics to your own personal learning goals throughout, and I am happy to help you make those connections whenever you need help doing so.
I have decided upon some concrete class requirements and assignments. As an advanced-level course, you should note that these are supposed to be advanced-level assignments, meaning that they have your own interests in mind, but also your own responsibilities are very much present in the creation of the work.
Many of these projects warrant a level of self-starting and networking, which is CRUCIAL to getting work and keeping work. You have to know how to approach and talk to strangers about professional issues and requests. These projects will give you the confidence to do things on your own, without a teacher, advisor, or mentor to get the ball rolling for you. Great for seniors, but also awesome for first-year students to get this skill set started now!!!
The specifics of these will be discussed more in class.
Practical Application Experiences – all are due by final day of class.
You will be required to report on our LATTE page (you will see where to do so – each will be labeled as a separate forum for each experience) on 5 different “Practical Application Experiences” this semester.
The RULES are:
You can only use a show you are working on ONCE – you cannot use 5 rehearsals from the same show, for instance. Pick one moment from that show and discuss that practical experience for us – what happened, what you did, and what you learned (specific prompt on LATTE).
2 of the 5 Practical Application Experiences MUST come from OUTSIDE a theatre/stage management experience – apply this work in your real life and to something outside of theatre and stage management.
Each must be an actual experience you DO and not an observation of another’s experience.
Your LATTE posts should be done soon after the experience, so as to keep your reflection fresh.
In addition to your own posts, you are required to write TWO responses on LATTE to TWO of your classmates’ experiences (choose two different classmates, and post where others have not already – share the responses across the class).
Overall, this assignment will require 7 LATTE posts of about a paragraph each over the course of the semester.
Working auditions for the dance show with me and Jess Star can be one of this applications!!!
Career Biography and Video Presentation (Mid-April).
There is no “text” in this class, but you will be reading about life - find your book and start reading now. You must choose ONE biography or autobiography. This can be about anyone with a career you admire – can be a theater artist –an actor, director, playwright, producer, or stage-manager-turned-director-producer (Joe Papp) – OR someone not involved in theater at all (Steve Jobs, for example, or an artist of a different medium, etc. Options are endless.) There is much to be learned from reading about someone’s path while thinking and reflecting on your own. I personally recommend an autobiography/memoir to a biography, because reading someone’s journey written by their own hand tends to have a less-journalistic and more open truth to it (and is, by nature, authorized at least by the author!!!)
Instead of an oral presentation in class, I am going to ask you to deliver an oral presentation that you capture with video and send to me. It will feel weird, but this will actually be great practice for potential Skype interviewing and seeing yourself/talking on screen. Also, stage managers are communicators and consistent public and professional speakers; so, instead of having you write an academic paper, I am going to ask for you to orally connect the reading to your own life, your own story, your own memoir-thus-far and to use a very important stage management skill to do it - TALKING. What could your own path look like? Do you relate to the path taken in the book?
The video assignment also allows for us to use our class-time more efficiently, since it would take a week of class to do presentations.
Book decisions must be made by Friday, January 22 – bring your decisions to class!
Final Project: SM Interview Analysis
You will each secure on your own an interview with a working professional stage manager.
You will learn in this assignment how to network, contact a professional without any previous connections, advocate for yourself, and secure an opportunity for this interview all on your own.
You will generate 10 questions on your own (a draft will be due in early March) that are specific to your own interests, curiosities, and learning. These questions may change, but a strong starting structure for any interview is key.
Your actual interview must be either on the phone, in person, or via Skype. E-mailed interview questions and answers are NOT accepted.
You will then take your notes from your conversation and write up a final analysis of the conversation, the questions you asked, the answers you expected and got, the unexpected answers, the questions you still have, and where you can go from here with this information. More specific guidelines will be discussed in class and posted on LATTE.
The Rules:
You cannot secure a professional working for Brandeis, or with whom you have already worked.
You cannot secure a professional who has come to talk to us or is on a panel for the class.
You cannot secure a professional with whom we talk to while seeing a show in Boston.
This professional can be from ANYWHERE in the United States.
Your questions drafts will be edited with suggestions and returned to you. If an additional draft of questions is needed, I will request this of you, based on your first draft – it is important that YOU write your own questions. These have to come from you.
Resumes, Cover Letters, Mock Interviews
As an assignment, you will be working on your resumes and cover letters in this class using templates and will have the chance to get them into top condition. I am also fine with using this opportunity for you to work on non-theatre resumes as well. We will also spend time on interviewing techniques and preparation. Over the course of the semester, you will sign up for a mock interview outside of class. More details to come.
Reading Plays
As a student and professional of the theater, we (myself included) should be reading plays throughout our careers. I will assign plays for us to read and use (or not use) in a variety of ways. The first play is Intimate Apparel (handed out in class). You will have more practice in doing some important SM paperwork again using these plays.
Professional Show Requirement and LATTE Reflections on our Professional Show Experiences
You will post on LATTE after each professional show experience. I will post a specific forum and question for each experience.
I know that you may not be able to go to all of the shows planned by me/our class, based on individual schedules. Everyone is required to see at least TWO professional shows this semester, whether it is with the class or on your own.
SM SHADOW: My hope is to try and secure opportunities for each of you to shadow a professional SM during a preshow/production. More to come on this.
Seeing all shows in the Dept. of Theater Arts – Required.
Intimate Apparelby Lynn Nottage, Directed by Jacqui Parker, March 3-6, Laurie Theater.
Senior Festival, March 15-20, Laurie Theater. (See at least 2 of the 4 student productions. If you are working on one, it cannot count as “seeing” that one. You need to be in the audience as a consumer of the arts in this assignment).
Shoes On/Shoes Off, Choreographed and Directed by Susan Dibble, April 15-17, Mainstage.
Grading
Attendance, participation, and effort are all number one for me.
In this advanced-level course, attendance is mandatory. If you must miss a class, you should communicate with me in advance. Not all absences will be excused.
Percentages:
- Class Participation (includes seeing all required productions): 50%
- Class Assignments (SM paperwork, etc.): 10%
- Mock Interview: 5%
- LATTE posts/reflections: 5%
- Practical Application Experiences/LATTE explanations: 10%
- BiographyVideo Presentation: 10%
- SM Interview Analysis: 10%
Suggested Resources
Find and read online SM forums/social media communities. Start with
Theater Communications Group ( Home of ArtSearch job postings.
**Potential Plays for us:
An Octoroon, with Brandon Green (MFA '14)!
Friday, February 5th at 8pm (bus leaves at 7pm)
Thanks to a generous award from the Brandeis Arts Council, tickets for Brandeis students, faculty and staff are $5! $10 for a non-Brandeis companion. Two tickets per ID.
Violet
Speakeasy Stage, Boston
Now until Feb. 6
Disgraced
The Huntington, Boston
Now until Feb. 6
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