The research guide is a companion source to the Honors First Year Seminar "Drama in Chicago". It offers resources, recommendations and research tips that focus on the content and the assignments of the course.
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Library Hours
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created by Ursula Zyzik/2014
As the course’s final project, each student will select one of the plays we have studied and create a production book that outlines how s/he would produce one of our texts. The assignment will be distributed to students by the third week of class. Each production book will include the selected play, the selected theater and rationale for it, the era, the script and directions, actor selections, music, blocking, costuming, and other materials necessary for its performance. On the day of our final exam, students will not only submit the production book to Canvas, but they will also give a brief in-class presentation on what they have submitted.
Each student will be a member of an ensemble group, where they will select one of our plays and re-write and re-imagine it so the group may perform the play for a new and contemporary audience. In the group, each member must participate and all members will share the grade. In terms of the final grade, I will determine it based on the shared evaluations of the class, the ensemble group, and my evaluation. What is critical here is not an evaluation of an ensemble’s acting ability; rather, I will ask us to pay close attention to the ways in which the group has adapted the play for a contemporary audience, showcasing the theatrical nature and value for this audience.