Tuesday 1st February
Essay (8-10 pages) due in my mailbox in English office (A487 Robinson)(see below)

Requirements and Assignments

• Conscientious participation in our discussions and lectures: At our regular discussions, I will expect each student to be prepared to contribute. Each of you will be asked for occasional brief reports on your observations and reading, and your ready participation in these frequent meetings will be an integral part of your grade. Similarly, I will expect you to participate actively in the discussions during and following the lectures by our three eminent guests: Patricia Doyle, Benedict Nightingale, and Es Devlin (20% of course grade for participation).
• Presentation/leading discussion: Each student will lead all or part of one discussion, either on a reading, a play production, or another event. Leading the discussion will mean giving a well-organized, well-informed  5-10 minutes of your observations and critical analysis, followed by your asking analytical questions to provoke good discussion. I will set up a schedule of presentations on the day we arrive, and I will expect you to prepare by reading play texts, online sources, and other pertinent materials. (20% of course grade)
• Play reviews: 500-word reviews of the plays we see, following the advice provided by the text Writing about Theatre by Thaiss and Davis. I will give feedback on your first review, to help you understand my expectations. Your first full draft of each review must be written in time for our post-discussion of that play. (30% of course grade). These reviews are informal, in that I don't expect polished presentations; but I do expect critical analysis, as demonstrated in Thaiss/Davis, Ch. 4, not a "thumbs up/thumbs down" judgment such as you might read in the Washington Post or hear on TV/radio (although if you like Bob Mondello's, Jane Horwitz's, or Nelson Presley's reviews, I won't be unhappy if you emulate their critical seriousness and style) .  All reviews must be given to me in a two-pocket folder by Jan. 21.
  
•  An 8-10 page (2000-2500 words) essay, due by February 1, that focuses on a theme, a playwriting technique, or an aspect of staging in at least three of the plays we see. (Two of the plays must be from our list, but you may add a third that you see on your own time while we are in London.) The mode will be comparative: how is the theme, the technique, or the staging embodied in the plays, both text (if available) and production? How does the comparison illuminate the concepts you are studying? I will ask you to think about this assignment during the trip, and to give me a brief proposal for the essay no later than January 17. Appropriate chapters of Writing about Theatre will also help in completion of this assignment (30% of course grade).

Readings 

Shakespeare, William. Julius Caesar (Folger Library paperback edition, 1999).

Thaiss, Christopher and Rick Davis. Writing about Theatre. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1999.

Some Suggested Online Readings:

    Professor Jack Wolcott's "Theatre History on the Web" (http://www.videoccasions-nw.com/history/jack.html)

     London Mimefest 2005 

     Current plays, reviews, and tickets: www.whatsonwhen.com   www.londontheatre.co.uk 
 
     Other London travel sites of interest:  www.londontown.com  (travel, entertainment, sightseeing, etc.)
                                                                    www. metro.co.uk  (news, entertainment)
                                                                    www.ticket-on-line.co.uk  (London Underground) 

Grading

As with almost all GMU undergraduate courses, grades for this course will range from A to F, with pluses and minuses possible from A- to C-.

Grading standards are as follows (grades to be determined at the discretion of the
            instructor):

            A = outstanding work: among the specific virtues, full, active, cooperative, and imaginative participation in all activities, exercises, and projects of the course; prose
            that consistently demonstrates the characteristics of effective critical writing about drama and theatre, as described and demonstrated in our readings 

            B = very good work: full, active, and cooperative participation in all activities, exercises and projects; prose that almost always demonstrates the characteristics of
            effective critical writing about drama and theatre;

            C = satisfactory work: full, cooperative participation in all activities, exercises, and projects; prose that usually demonstrates the principles of
            effective critical writing;

            D = almost satisfactory work: almost full, usually cooperative participation in all activities, exercises, and projects: prose that often demonstrates the
            principles of effective critical writing;

            F = unsatisfactory work: inconsistent participation in activities, exercises, and projects; or prose that usually fails to demonstrate consistent application of
            the principles of effective critical writing.