Academic Catalog

THTR 7: INTRODUCTION TO DIRECTING

Foothill College Course Outline of Record

Foothill College Course Outline of Record
Heading Value
Effective Term: Summer 2024
Units: 4
Hours: 3 lecture, 3 laboratory per week (72 total per quarter)
Advisory: THTR 20A or equivalent beginning-level acting course; not open to students with credit in DRAM 7 or 52.
Degree & Credit Status: Degree-Applicable Credit Course
Foothill GE: Non-GE
Transferable: CSU/UC
Grade Type: Letter Grade (Request for Pass/No Pass)
Repeatability: Not Repeatable

Student Learning Outcomes

  • A successful student can demonstrate an understanding of the relationship of the director to the total theatrical production.
  • A successful student will analyze and prepare a script for production.
  • A successful student will assemble actors for production through the audition and casting process.
  • A successful student will dramatize a theatrical scene utilizing the fundamentals of composition, movement, business and characterization.

Description

This course is a comprehensive overview of the breadth of responsibilities expected of a theatrical director and how to prepare for said responsibilities, including: conceptualizing a production; working collaboratively as dictated by industry norms; play selection; auditions and methods of casting; preparation of the play script; building the rehearsal and production schedule; fundamentals of composition, movement, stage business, and characterization, as applied to the directing of plays.

Course Objectives

The student will be able to:

  1. Compare and contrast the role and responsibilities of the director to the other production members, including actors, designers, and technicians, offering guidance, insight, and effective stage direction.
  2. Survey and identify plays to direct that are appropriate for a given space and a multicultural world.
  3. Develop and prepare a script for the direction of a production.
  4. Organize an audition and assemble the cast of a play.
  5. Demonstrate the direction of a play through recognizing and applying all necessary procedures and requirements from rehearsal to production.

Course Content

  1. Identify and define the role of a director in a theatrical production
    1. Study the historical development of the director, analyzing how the role has changed from past to present
    2. Interpretation and vision
    3. Responsibilities to the production team in the overall process
    4. Communication tactics and effective, constructive collaboration
    5. Individuality of style
  2. Develop criteria for choosing a play for production
    1. Analyze elements of technical complications
    2. Casting demands and community standards
    3. Emphasis in the importance of selecting scripts that represent a wide range of cultural, social, racial, and sexual backgrounds
  3. Study script analysis and develop the process of script preparation for rehearsal and performance
    1. Structure, plot, theme interpretation
    2. Character
    3. Language and dialogue structure
    4. Notation and building a prompt book
  4. Understand efficient audition and casting processes
    1. Casting of type vs. talent
    2. Process of auditioning, callbacks, and final casting
    3. Awareness of non-traditional casting (multi-ethnic, cross-age, etc.)
  5. Direct scenes with a focus on the communication of script elements
    1. Communicate cohesive directorial concept and how it translates into production
    2. Stage composition
    3. Stage movement and business
    4. Unity and style
    5. Characterization
    6. Develop and use rehearsal schedules
    7. Rehearse from a prompt book
    8. Acquire production experience

Lab Content

  1. Field research through attending live performance and video archive productions
  2. Development, preparation, and rehearsal of student performance presentation projects

Special Facilities and/or Equipment

1. Large flat rehearsal area such as the auditorium stage.
2. Appropriate rehearsal furniture, including chairs and tables.
3. When taught online/virtual or hybrid, ongoing access to a computer with email address, software and hardware, and internet access.

Method(s) of Evaluation

Methods of Evaluation may include but are not limited to the following:

Directing projects will be observed and graded
Auditions, casting, blocking, laboratory rehearsals, and performances will be observed and graded
Lighting, settings, costumes, sound, and other technical aspects will be observed and graded
A midterm and final examination will also be given

Method(s) of Instruction

Methods of Instruction may include but are not limited to the following:

Lecture and presentation of directorial precepts, concepts, and expectations
Discussion of class project observation, as well as assigned textbook segments for broadened comprehension and application of tenets discussed
Cooperative learning exercises in the form of performance preparation assignments
Oral presentations of prepared concept and performance ideas as they pertain to performance preparation assignments
Laboratory observation of peer projects and archive video for application into practice
Demonstration of directing techniques for application into practice
Field trips as a means of example research

Representative Text(s) and Other Materials

Burgess, Jean. Collaborative Stage Direction. 2019.

Ball, William. A Sense of Direction. 2003.

Although one or more of these texts are older than the suggested "5 years or newer" standard, they remain seminal texts in this area of study.

Types and/or Examples of Required Reading, Writing, and Outside of Class Assignments

  1. Noted director research oral presentations with supporting written analysis
  2. Reading quizzes and discussion presentations
  3. Post performance analysis and summation
  4. Live performance critique

Discipline(s)

Theater Arts