Author: Christina Neubrand

Good Afternoon,

I am enjoying your Set Designs. Remember to include some sort of rendering or drawing so you are clear with where you want the set pieces on the stage and what type of stage you will be designing for. Don’t forget to look at the sample work in the Student Showcase section of Open Lab.

Up next…

Week 6 The American Musical

Please Read:

Chapter 9 The American Musical

Please Watch:

The American Musical

Find a musical that looks interesting to you that you can stream and watch it.

Check Out a BMCC produced musical:

https://www.bmcc.cuny.edu/event/womens-herstory-month-the-life-of-mary-rogers-an-incredible-plausible-entirely-made-up-true-story-from-1841/

Take a look at what performances The Public has to offer:

https://publictheater.org/playnow?utm_source=wordfly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=3.2What%27sOnSTB&utm_content=version_A&source_no=110612

Playbill:

https://www.playbill.com/article/16-broadway-plays-and-musicals-you-can-watch-on-stage-from-home

Broadway HD:

https://www.broadwayhd.com/categories/musicals (Free 7-day trial)

or Amazon Prime, Disney Plus, PBS, HULU and Netflix are also good sources if you have a subscription.

Discussion Board: Musical Review

Once you have watched the performance you are going to review it. Reviews come in a variety of formats, written articles, video segments, podcasts… Choose the modality of your preference and review what you saw. Be sure to include a clear beginning, middle and end. Tell us…

Intro: What you saw on stage. You should also give context for the play, such as the playwright or composer of the play and where the play is being staged.

Point 1: Briefly summarize the plot of the play.

Point 2: Discuss the acting and directing. React to the performers playing the characters in the play.

Point 3: Describe the design elements of the production, such as the lighting, sound, costumes, make up, and set and props.

Conclusion: React to the play as a whole. Would you recommend the play to potential audience members? You can also include a recommendation, like a star rating or a thumbs up/thumbs down.

 Offer details, examples, names…sum up with the conclusion. 2-3 pages written or 2-3 minutes if a performance format used. 

Take a look at the sample for ideas.

Sample Critique.pdf 

 Be well,

Prof. Christina 

Good Evening,,

The Director’s Gallery Part 2 Presentations are really solid. Some of you have gotten very creative with the use of image, music and sound to really bring your concepts to life. The use of video or simply recording in Power Point really helps makes these professional.

This weeks focus is Set Design

Please Read

Chapter 4 Set Design

Please Listen

Be sure you have finished the “Richard II” Podcast if you have not already.

https://publictheater.org/productions/season/1920/richard-ii/

Please Watch

(Set Design Video)

Discussion Board

Set Design (10 Points) 

 Go back to the scene you are working with from Richard II. Create a set design that will support the scene, the characters’, and the story. What set pieces will be necessary? What might you add?  Think back to your “concept” and be specific. You can create the design by hand and take and post a pic, create on the computer, set it up the best you can using what you have and record yourself explaining your choices…  Be sure you watch the video to get some examples for what a set design should look like. Also, Google “Set Design” for plenty of ideas.

Check out The Student Showcase on Open Lab for some wonderful examples.

Please review and respond to at least 2 of your ensemble members posts. Please offer one I appreciate… (something that worked well) and one I wonder… (something that is not clear or that you have a helpful hint for) 

Let me know if you have questions. I am looking forward to your designs.

Have a great weekend.

Prof. Christina 

I hope you are all having a good week. I am enjoying your directing ideas for Richard II and am looking forward to your “pitch” next week.

Be sure you are detailed, specific and really paint the picture for the production. Remember, you have to convince me, the producer to invest in your production. I have to feel confident you have a clear and well thought out concept that will sell tickets so I don’t lose money. 

I created a sample using Romeo and Juliet to try to clarify what I mean by detailed and specific. Click on the link below, I recorded a narration so if you select play from beginning you should hear my narration which includes most of the details that align with the images. You can use this format or any other program that you think will best showcase your ideas and work best for you, this is just one option. 

Up next…

Week 4 Mon 9/14-Fri 9/18 Knowing Your Audience

Please Read

Chapter 8 The World of Shakespeare

Please Listen

Richard II Episode 4

https://publictheater.org/productions/season/1920/richard-ii/

Please Complete

QUIZ 4 Please be sure you are answering in paragraph form with a clear intro, body and conclusion. Use the intro to restate the question, generate 3-4 sentences to answer the question with examples from the play you are exploring and reference to the text to support your ideas. Sum up your thoughts with a conclusion. See the sample below.

As stated by Jenn Q. Goddu, author of “Listening Effectively”, the difference between hearing and listening is that “Hearing is unintentional, whereas listening requires you to pay conscious attention.” I understand what she means by this because I often find myself hearing someone speak, but not fully internalizing what they are saying because I haven’t given them my full attention. We all have the ability to hear and “Hearing is something most everyone does without even trying” but to choose to absorb the meaning of the words requires intent. According to the author of “Critical Thinking and Reasoning”, Terri Russ J.D., critical thinking is to “evaluate the arguments presented and determine if their logic is sound or if they rely on fallacies to build this case.” Listening is the first component of practicing critical thinking and helps analyze and evaluate information better. Without really understanding the information one cannot evaluate it. Listening with fully undivided attention and without judgment will make you more open-minded. I think the barriers can be hard to avoid as we all like to jump to conclusions and assume, but learning to not do these things can make us better listeners and critical thinkers.

Please Post 

Discussion Board 4-Director’s Gallery Part 2: Create a slide show that uses images, reference to text and audio/music to present your ideas regarding Richard II, communicate your “pitch”. Convince me to fund your production.  Feel free to add yourself presenting via audio, video, or both. 2-3 minutes, at least 5 slides.

Please review and respond to at least 2 of your ensemble members posts. Please offer one I appreciate… (something that worked well) and one I wonder… (something that is not clear or that you have a helpful hint for)

Be well,

Prof. Christina 

Happy Monday,

I hope you have had a great first week. I am really enjoying your Intro videos and you are all doing a great job with specific responses to your classmates posts as well as asking some really good questions. 

This week we will jump into “Acting”

Week 2  Acting

 Complete work by 12 midnight on Sunday 2/14/2021

To Read

Ch. 2 Acting

To Watch/Listen

Acting Video:

Richard II Episode 2

https://publictheater.org/productions/season/1920/richard-ii/

Due

Chapter 1

Richard II Episode 1

 QUIZ 1  Via BB

DB 2: Character Analysis: Identify a character from Richard II by William Shakespeare you might want to play.

What is their name?

How old are they?

Who is there best friend?

What is their favorite color?

Where do they want to be in 5 years? Would you play this realistically or not? How might your put the character in your body, posture, walk… Would they take up space or use very little space based on their characters personality?

(These answers may or may not be specifically offered in the play, but use the information given to make these choices, use quotes/examples from the play to support your choices. A huge part of an actor’s job is to fill in their characters details)

You may choose how you create your Character Analysis, use of video, collage, paragraph, music, poetry… the response is your choice, but must include the details outlined. 

Please review and respond to at least 2 of your ensemble members posts. Please offer one I appreciate… (something that worked well) and one I wonder… (something that is not clear or that you have a helpful hint for)

(10 Points)

Have a great weekend,

Prof. Christina

Happy Monday,

Breath, Relax and take a moment for yourself. We will make this a great semester. 

I hope you have had a chance to make sure you are up and running on Blackboard and can consistently check your BMCC email.

I have had a few questions about when this course meets, you have signed up for a FULLY ONLINE course which means we do not have consistent meetings. Everything you need is on BB (Blackboard) or The Open Lab site. The Course Guide is your life line, it details each week what you need to do. All assignments are submitted via BB either in the form of a quiz of through the DB (Discussion Board). Assignments  are due each week by 12midnight on Sundays. 

Be sure you complete the E-Learning Orientation to make sure you are clear. There is a link on the left side column of BB that will take you there. Also, https://www.bmcc.cuny.edu/academics/elearning/

I will send out a reminder announcement at the beginning of each week reviewing the weeks focus and expectations as well. 

For this week,

To Do

Introductions: Please use your phone or other recording device to record a brief introduction addressing the following…

 My name is…and one thing I know about theatre is… and one curiosity I have is…. 

 Upload to YouTube “Unlisted” and share the link in the body of the DB. 

To Read

Ch. 1 An Intro to Theatre (Link to Text on BB and in Syllabus)

Theatrical Worlds

To Watch/Listen

Welcome Video

How to use BB and Open Lab

Richard II Episode 1

https://publictheater.org/productions/season/1920/richard-ii/

DB 1: Introductions

(10 points)

Please review and respond to at least 2 of your ensemble members posts. Please offer one I appreciate… (something that worked well) and one I wonder… (something that is not clear or that you have a helpful hint for)

Be well,

Prof. Christina 

Hello,

Welcome to Theatre 100 Online. I am very much looking forward to working with you.

Please take a moment to watch the Welcome Video. 

Be sure you are up and running on Blackboard and checking your BMCC email regularly. 

We have an Open Lab site for the course as well. Take a look and get familiar.  We will be adding and updating to make the site more comprehensive and student centered throughout the semester.

THEATRICAL WORLDS

Be sure to review the Course Guide which will explain all weekly requirements.

Review the following for some strategies to make sure you get the most from the course.

Strategies-for-Success

I am looking forward to meeting you.

Be well,

Prof. Christina 

Happy Monday,

Good start with your Character Analysis work. A key component missing from many submissions is reference to the lines in the play to support your choices. This will hold true for most of your assignments. Make bold choices, be creative and have fun, but you must be able to support the “why” behind the choice. How did you come to your conclusion?

Also, please be sure you review at least 2 of your classmates submissions via The Discussion Board each week and offer feedback. If we were meeting in person we would have these discussions in class, the Discussion Board is a place to keep a dialog going, learn from one another, challenge one another, ask clarifying questions and offer support. These responses are part of your grade.

For next week we will explore Directing.

Week 3 Tu 9/8- Fri 9/11 Directing “Choice & Interpretation”

 Complete work by 12 midnight Sunday

Please Read:

Chapter 3 Directing

Please Complete:

Quiz 3

Please Watch/Listen:

Directing Video

 Richard II Episode 3

https://publictheater.org/productions/season/1920/richard-ii/

DB 3: Director’s Gallery Part 1

(5 Points)

Director’s Gallery Part 1: Choose a scene from Richard II that you would like to direct. Who are the characters? What do they want? Why? What is the conflict? How would you direct the scene? What is your “Concept”? A Concept is a director’s vision for the production after analyzing the text, they will choose specific themes, characters, environment, goals… to focus on and use to tell the story and make it relevant for their particular audience. Why is this production needed now for your community? You can choose the location, the time-period, the relationship…make it relevant for your community and your audience.

Here is the script to help you choose your scene. 

richard-ii-conceived-for-the-radio-by-saheem-ali-july-13-2020

You may choose how you share your ideas, use of video, collage, paragraph, music, poetry… the response is your choice, but must include the details outlined. Take a look at the Student Showcase for examples.

Please review and respond to at least 2 of your ensemble members posts. Please offer one I appreciate… (something that worked well) and one I wonder… (something that is not clear or that you have a helpful hint for) 

Remember, there is no right or wrong in theatre or the arts, there is choice. Some choices may be more effective than others, but be bold, take risks and get creative. 

Have a great week,

Prof. Christina