Foundations of Drama I

DRAMA 54-177 (Fall)

Tue/Thur 9:00-10:20 (Section A) PH 226A
Tue/Thur 1:30-2:50 (Section B) PCA 103
Instructor: Dr. Kristi Good (she/her) Email: kagood@andrew.cmu.edu
Office Hours: Tue/Thur 10:30-1:00 PCA 344

COURSE DESCRIPTION
The Foundations of Drama sequence develops the ability to read, understand, and write critically about
plays and performances from a variety of critical perspectives as an essential step in preparation of an
artistic product. In Foundations I and II, the student will learn various techniques for “close reading” and
in-depth critical analysis of plays from a wide variety of historical and cultural contexts, and within
different theoretical models of interpretation.

The focus of Foundations I is on helping students develop skills in two critical areas: script analysis and
dramaturgical research. The first half of the course teaches close reading skills for the theatre
practitioner, while the second half of the course involves hands-on work doing the kind of dramaturgical
research that leads to a more critically engaged and engaging theatrical production.

COURSE OBJECTIVES
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to
 Identify the structural elements that make up a dramatic text.
 Apply script analysis techniques to both realistic and nonrealistic plays.
 Interpret dramatic texts both on the page and with an eye toward the stage.
 Create a dramaturgical file that is suitable for use on a theatrical production.

REQUIRED TEXTS
Order Online
Backwards & Forwards by David Ball
Ubu and the Truth Commission by Jane Taylor

Available on Canvas
Script Analysis for Actors, Directors, and Designers by James Thomas
The Poetics by Aristotle, trans. S.H. Butcher
Oedipus the King by Sophocles, trans. Ian Johnston
Le Cid by Pierre Corneille, trans. unknown
Trifles by Susan Glaspell
“The Modern Theatre is the Epic Theatre” by Bertolt Brecht, trans. John Willett
“The Theatre of Cruelty” by Antonin Artaud, trans. Victor Corti
Mother Courage and Her Children by Bertolt Brecht, trans. Eric Bentley
Hamletmachine by Heiner Müller, trans. Carl Weber

COURSE REQUIREMENTS
College of Fine Arts: Professional and Community Standards
As a condition of enrollment in the College of Fine Arts, we expect you to positively contribute to the
community in order to fully engage in the intellectual life at CFA. Classrooms, studios, rehearsal and
performance spaces, exhibition venues, and off-campus curricular destinations are safe spaces for
This syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor.
expression and self-identification. Students are expected to treat everyone with respect, regardless of
race, country of origin, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical
appearance, age, religion, political affiliation, or marital status. Lack of respect and harassment includes
offensive comments related to any protected personal characteristic, deliberate intimidation, sustained
disruption of speech, inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual attention. Violations of this
agreement are subject to a response to be determined by the Heads of School and Associate Deans.

Participation
Theatre’s special nature as a collaborative art means that everyone has a chance for their voice to be
heard. As such, your active participation is a requirement for this course; read the assigned materials,
prepare questions and insights for class, and engage meaningfully during exercises and discussion. You
are not required to excel at these skills, but you are required to practice them diligently.

Attendance—Absences and Tardies

Absences will be excused for university obligation, religious observation, or illness if the student
provides documentation (in advance, if possible). Special accommodations can of course be made in
extreme cases, such as ER visits or bereavement; be sure to contact the instructor as soon as you are
able. Students are permitted two “free” unexcused absences during the semester. Each additional
unexcused absence will reduce your final grade by 5%. Because arriving late is disruptive and
disrespectful to me and to your peers, each tardy equals half of an absence NO MATTER HOW LATE YOU
ARE.

YOU MUST BE ACCOUNTABLE FOR YOUR TARDIES AND ABSENCES. If you arrive after the official start
time of class (ie. once the classroom door is closed), your attendance record will show an absence unless
you see me after class to change it to a tardy. If you are absent, you are responsible for finding out what
you missed and what your assignments are.

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

If you have a disability and have an accommodations letter from the Disability Resources office, I
encourage you to discuss your accommodations and needs with me as early in the semester as possible.
I will work with you to ensure that accommodations are provided as appropriate. If you suspect that you
may have a disability and would benefit from accommodations but are not yet registered with the Office
of Disability Resources, I encourage you to contact them at access@andrew.cmu.edu.

Challenging Content
One of the central goals of theatre education is to produce socially conscious artists—artists who are
aware of and capable of participating in challenging dialogues about social injustice and inequality. This
means that our courses, public events, and productions often grapple with difficult subject matter,
including sex, violence, terror, and illness (among other topics). While these presentations will no doubt
provoke strong emotions and cause discomfort, we feel that the diverse experiences they bring about
are also essential to the development of our students’ critical faculties, empathy, and understanding of
the world. Your instructor will strive to provide legitimate trigger warnings, but also encourages you to
meet potentially uncomfortable topics head on in the classroom, in rehearsals, and performances, and
to engage in civil and compassionate debate about the possibilities and effects of staging difficult
knowledge.

This syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor.

Wellness
Do your best to maintain a healthy lifestyle this semester by eating well, exercising, avoiding drugs and
alcohol, getting enough sleep, and taking some time to relax. This will help you achieve your goals and
cope with stress. All of us benefit from support during times of struggle. You are not alone. There are
many helpful resources available on campus and an important part of the college experience is learning
how to ask for help. Asking for support sooner rather than later is often helpful. If you or anyone you
know experiences any academic stress, difficult life events, or feelings like anxiety or depression, we
strongly encourage you to seek support. Counseling and Psychological Services (CaPS) is here to help:
call 412-268-2922 and visit their website at http://www.cmu.edu/counseling/. Consider reaching out to
a friend, faculty, or family member you trust for help getting connected to the support that can help.

Academic Integrity
As exemplified by the Carnegie Mellon Code, the university holds its students to the highest possible
academic standards. Violations of these standards and accompanying consequences are outlined in the
university policies of cheating, plagiarism, inappropriate collaboration, and research misconduct here:
http://www.cmu.edu/academic-integrity/defining/index.html. If you find yourself in a situation where
you are tempted to cheat, plagiarize, or engage in other types of misconduct, please remember that
your instructor is much happier to help you through your difficulties than to fail you or be responsible
for your expulsion from the university.

FAQs
What’s my grade?
You can access your grade at any time on Canvas and should check it frequently. This is the best way to
keep from being surprised at the end of the semester. If you check your grade regularly, you will be
more likely to catch any potential mistakes that I make when entering point values. If you notice
something amiss, tell me! If you wait until the end of the semester, it is very unlikely that either of us
still has the original assignment for reference, and I will have to rely on the current entry to be fair to
everyone. Points deducted for absences/tardies will not be subtracted until the end of the semester.
Check in with me at any time to see how many absences/tardies you have.

Will you accept an assignment late?

Your training here is for the professional world, and there are consequences in the professional world
when you do not meet your deadlines (you can lose money for your project, you can be demoted, you
can even be FIRED). For every day you are late in handing in an assignment, your grade will drop one
letter grade (an A paper becomes a B paper, a B paper becomes a C paper, etc.), even if you have a very
good excuse. If you email it to me the same day it is due, you will only lose half a letter grade. Printers
and computers fail often and when you need them the most. Plan ahead.

ASSIGNMENTS
Text Assignments
Specific instructions for each assignment can be found in the day-to-day class schedule. These are low-
stakes assignments to help you practice the concepts you are reading about. You will be graded on the
effort you made to understand the readings and apply what you learned. You will not be graded on
whether or not you have mastered the content or gotten all the right answers. Submit your assignment
via Canvas by class time on the day it is due. Because we will use these assignments to fuel our class
discussion, no late text assignments will be accepted under any circumstances.

This syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor.

Dramatic Structure
Students will identify the structural elements of Corneille’s Le Cid. Further instructions will be given.

Midterm Paper—Play Analysis

There will be one play analysis paper to assess the students’ proficiency in applying script analysis
concepts covered in the first part of the course. Students will complete the midterm outside of class in
two parts, but there will be the opportunity for in-class work and team collaboration. Further
instructions will be given.

Dramaturgical File Play Responses

On the day that we discuss each of the dramaturgical file plays, each member of the class must bring in a
printed paper that contains two items for presentation to the group: A) one question they have about
the text that can help the team members focus their research, and B) one piece of imagery that spoke to
them about the play (this can be a photograph, a song, a painting, poetry; it can be anachronistic,
historical, literal, conceptual, etc.). Make sure that item B is in a format that can be shared with the
group. Assignments that are not printed or handed in at the end of class will automatically be marked
down by 20%.

Pitch
On November 20th, each team will pitch their play to the class and make a case for their play’s inclusion
in the next School of Drama season. The task here is to explain why your play is timely and necessary,
what interests you about it, and why your play “fits” with the CMU audience and the School of Drama’s
mission statement. Be professional and organized, imagining that you are pitching your idea to a
selection committee. The pitch must be scripted and rehearsed and last 10-15 minutes. I will cut you off
at 15 minutes, and you will hand in the script of your pitch at that time. It can be a detailed outline or a
formal script, but should be clearly understood by someone who did not see the live pitch itself.

Final Project—Dramaturgical File Website & Presentation

The final group project in the course consists of building a dramaturgical website and use the content to
provide a dramaturgical experience for the class. One of the complaints theatre artists have about
dramaturgs is that they frequently overwhelm actors and directors with reading. Your job is to collect,
digest, and filter. Dramaturgs should know a great deal more than they tell. Your research in each
category should be as comprehensive as possible, and you should collect and organize the material; but
you then must go one step further and provide summaries and guides, pulling out the material that is
most relevant and useful. Your grade will be based only partly on how comprehensively you gather
material; more weight will be given to how successfully you digest and re-present the information for
your director/designers/actors.

The World of the Play/Historical Context

 Your research into the World of the Play should be based on the Given Circumstances you
identify in your play.
 This section also contains a glossary/encyclopedia that illuminates references and allusions
that may not be immediately apparent to the director/actors/designers.
 The focus of your Historical Context research should be on the biography of the playwright
and the historical conditions under which the play was written and first produced. If
possible, identify any political, theoretical, cultural, or social issues the play addresses in an

This syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor.

 effort to identify why the play was important in its own time (and why it may possibly be
relevant today).

Imagery
This section contains visual, verbal, and/or aural imagery that can feed, complement, and challenge
the work of the director and other artists on the project.

Program Note
Think about what an audience member needs to know about the play, but also what they want to
read in the ten minutes before a production begins.

The Presentation
The purpose of the presentation is to tantalize your actors/director/designers with the research you
have done. On the day of your team’s presentation, you will have 60 minutes of the class period to
transform the space and transport the class to the world of the play in whatever way you choose.
Presentations can take the form of lecture, video/audio presentation, interactive activities, or
whatever else you can imagine. Food and drink are allowed (but no alcohol, illegal substances, or
fire).

GRADING BREAKDOWN
Text Assignment 20 pts.(5@4 pts) Grading Scale
Dramatic Structure 40 pts. A = 94-100% C+ = 79-81%
Midterm Paper 80 pts. A- = 91-93% C = 74-79%
Pitch 40 pts. B+ = 89-91% C- = 72-73%
D-File Play Response 40 pts. (4@10 pts) B = 84-89% D = 64-71%
D-File Final Project 140 pts. B- = 81-83% R = Below 64%
Participation 140 pts. (4@35 pts)
Total 500 pts.

DAY-TO-DAY SCHEDULE

WEEK 1
8.28 Review Syllabus; Introductions
For Next Class:
Read: Ball “Intro,” “Part Three: Tricks of the Trade”; Thomas “Given Circumstances”

8.30 In-Class Writing; Discuss Reading

For Next Class:
Read: Oedipus the King, Aristotle’s Poetics
Assignment: Give 3 specific examples from Oedipus the King (include quotes from the text
with line/page numbers) that relate to 3 separate topics from the “Given Circumstances”
reading in Thomas.

This syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor.

WEEK 2
9.4 Discuss Oedipus and Poetics
For Next Class:
Read: Ball Ch. 8; Thomas “Background Story”
Assignment: Create a chronological timeline using ALL of the background information that
you learn throughout Oedipus the King. Include any references that apply to events BEFORE
the curtain rises on the action of the play.

9.6 Discuss Readings; Neoclassical Theatre

For Next Class:
Read: Le Cid

WEEK 3
9.11 Discuss Le Cid
For Next Class:
Read: Ball “Part One: Shape” & Ch. 9; Thomas “Progressions & Structure”

9.13 Discuss Readings; Discuss Dramatic Structure Assignment

For Next Class:
Assignment: Dramatic Structure (see prompt on Canvas for instructions)

WEEK 4
9.18 Dramatic Structure Due; Form Dramaturgy Teams
For Next Class:
Skim Trifles

9.20 Trifles In-Class Reading Activity; Discuss Midterm Paper

For Next Class:
Read: Ball Ch. 10; Thomas “Character”
Dramaturgy Play Scripts Due
Assignment: You will be assigned a character from Trifles. Identify the following 3 attributes
of that character using Thomas “Character”: Will Power, Values, Personality Traits. Use
examples from the text where applicable to support your claims.

WEEK 5
9.25 Discuss “Character”; Dramaturgy Play Scripts Due
For Next Class:
Read: Thomas “Nonrealistic Plays” (PDF); Brecht’s “Epic Theatre”; Artaud’s “Theatre of
Cruelty”

9.27 Discuss Nonrealistic Plays, Brecht, and Artaud

For Next Class:
Midterm Part 1 Due (see prompt on Canvas for instructions)

This syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor.

WEEK 6
10.2 In-Class Midterm Prep
For Next Class:
Read: Mother Courage and Her Children

10.4 Discuss Mother Courage

For Next Class:
Midterm Part 2 Due (see prompt on Canvas for instructions)

WEEK 7
10.9 Midterm Paper Due; Visual Landscaping
For Next Class:
Read: Hamletmachine; Ball Chs. 11 & 12; Thomas “Idea”
Assignment: Make a list of every allusion (see Thomas “Idea”) you can find in
Hamletmachine. No need to do further research, just make a list.

10.11 Discuss Hamletmachine and Readings

For Next Class:
Read: Ubu and the Truth Commission
Assignment: Identify 3 repeating images in Ubu and the Truth Commission and explain what
you think they each symbolize. Then give 3 examples of things that came to your mind while
you were reading (a song, a painting, a feeling, a smell, a memory from your life, etc.) and
why you think you associated this with the play.

WEEK 8
10.16 Discuss Ubu and the Truth Commission
For Next Class:
Dramaturgical Final Project Q&A

10.18 Dramaturgical Final Project Q&A

For Next Class:
Read: Play 1
Assignment: D-File Play Response

WEEK 9
10.23 Discuss Play 1
For Next Class:
Read Play 2
Assignment: D-File Play Response

10.25 Discuss Play 2

For Next Class:
Read Play 3
Assignment: D-File Play Response

This syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor.

WEEK 10
10.30 Discuss Play 3
For Next Class:
Work Day on Your Own

11.1 Work Day on Your Own

For Next Class:
Read: Play 4
Assignment: D-File Play Response

WEEK 11
11.6 Discuss Play 4
For Next Class:
Preliminary “World of the Play/Historical Context” Due

11.8 Group Meetings: Preliminary “World of the Play/Historical Context” Due

For Next Class:
Preliminary “Imagery” Due

WEEK 12
11.13 Group Meetings: Preliminary “Imagery” Due
For Next Class:
Preliminary D-File Website & Program Note Due

11.15 Group Meetings: Preliminary D-File Website & Program Note Due
In-Class Work Day (Website, Brainstorming, Pitch Rehearsal, etc.)
For Next Class:
Pitch Day—All Teams

WEEK 13
11.20 Pitch Day—All Teams

11.22 THANKSGIVING—NO CLASSES!

WEEK 14
11.27 Dramaturgy Team 1 Presentation

11.29 Dramaturgy Team 2 Presentation

WEEK 15
12.4 Dramaturgy Team 3 Presentation

12.6 Dramaturgy Team 4 Presentation

NO MEETING DURING FINALS WEEK! HAVE A GREAT BREAK!

This syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor.