Course Description
A theatre appreciation course for non-theatre majors who have
an interest in sports. This course will investigate
representations of athletes and/or athletic events and will
also discuss the ways in which sports are a form of live
performance/theatre.
Athena Title
Athletes and Artists
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
- Students will understand how to effectively write response papers to department production in which they demonstrate critical thinking.
- Students will understand how to experience sports more critically as an important expression of American culture.
- Students will understand their own study and learning habits and how to improve upon them.
Topical Outline
- A. Theatre Spaces: A look at the theoretical aesthetic and physical architecture of both entertainment and sports
- B. Dramatic structure: The Expectations of a Script, The Expectations of a Game, including thoughts on protagonists and antagonists and how these character “types” relate to favorite home teams vs. rivals
- C. Writing on Theatre: How to write a basic theatrical review
- D. Performance: From an Acting Standpoint: techniques, theories, and history of the primary dramatic agent. For the sports figure: this includes performance on the field, as well as behaviors in the public eye. We will also consider modes and definitions of performance using the performance studies paradigm(s).
- E. Direction: Techniques, theories, and history of the director as an artist, in relation to those who execute the playbook
- F. The Playwright: Methods, theories, and the people who write the script, in relation to those who create a playbook
- G. Multimedia: The current trends involving live performers, live performances, and live theatre and sports events, and how technology shapes the reception of a performance
- H. Lighting Design: The art of lighting in entertainment, including theatre spaces, nontraditional spaces, and sports venues (indoors and outdoors)
- I. Costume Design: The aesthetics and practical aspects of what the performer wears – including both the actor as well as the team colors and jerseys that codify a home team.
- J. Scenic Design: The physical environment of the sports and entertainment experience.
- K. The Craftspeople: Technicians, trade unions, and the profession of the technical production of a live performance event (theatre, concerts, fashion shows, operas, and sports events)
- L. Today's Athletes and Artists: Current trends in live theatre and how various sports are represented by twenty-first century plays and productions
