| Classes concentrate on physical and vocal exercises, improvisation and theater games designed to develop the basic tools of acting: the imagination, the body, the voice, and the capacity to listen and respond. Scene study & text interpretation, history & theory, and basic production skills and design techniques facilitate students’ abilities to interpret and develop dramatic texts using the language of theater: through character analysis, set, costume, sound, and lighting design, and by outlining an overall directorial concept. Through this process students learn to make bold and specific aesthetic choices.
Each class is organized as a theater company with class members collaborating, training, rehearsing, and performing together. Under the guidance of the theater director, students will train in a variety of theatrical styles or approaches to. Students may also act as directors, designers, and technicians in support of the program’s work. Students will present their work at performances at the end of both semesters. The MSA Spring Musical and Theater Productions will serve as MSA Theater’s “living classroom,” with each class forming the cast and the creative core for its own show. Each class will require additional meetings during after-school times during the final stages of production.
All students in the MSA Theater and Musical Theater classes will need to fulfill a technical credit requirement in order to pass each year. This means they will need to work in a technical capacity (lighting, stage management, set construction, sound, front of house, etc) on at least one public performance. Plenty of opportunities for fulfilling the technical credit will arise throughout the year!
During the course of a student’s years in MSA Theater, s/he will have the opportunity to participate in a variety of works, including dramas, comedies, and musicals. Students may also have the opportunity to collaborate with the theater director(s) in the creation of new and original works.
MSA Theater Program Performance Opportunities:
Fall Semester
Arts Festivals (in conjunction with other MSA classes)
Soirees
Improv Tournament
Musical Theater Revue or One-Act
Project Showcases
Community Presentations of students’ works
Spring Semester
Major Drama Production (Theater Arts Class)
Major Musical Production (Musical Theater Class)
Soirees
Lenea Theatre Festival
Project Showcases
Absurd/Commedia Theatre Festival
Community Presentations of students’ works
Clubs and Activities
Improv. Club
Audition Workshops
Theatre Outings
Field trips
Theater Arts Program
MSA, students in the Theater Arts class will be enrolled in Theater Arts 1, 2, 3, and 4 according to their academic year and/or previous high school Theater Arts classes that they have passed. The class will follow a set curriculum throughout the year, but projects will provide different levels of challenges for students according to the level that they are enrolled in.
Practical Training
The Theater Arts class is a comprehensive class where students will learn the many skills required to become successful theatre practitioners. In Theater Arts 1 and 2, students will acquire and hone skills in acting, voice, movement, improvisation, and theatre crafts and production techniques. In Theater Arts 3 and 4, students continue to hone and develop the skills they acquired in Theater Arts 1 and 2, as well as directing, writing and theater design. Theater Arts 4 students will also choose areas of advanced specialization.
Theory
In addition to the practical work, students will study theater history, beginning with the theater of ancient Greece and continuing up to the present. They may also learn the dramatic theories of important theater innovators such as Bertolt Brecht, Konstantin Stanislavski, and Peter Brook. Critical discussions in both verbal and written form are an important component of the course. Students will study important plays by playwrights who have helped to shape our theater tradition.
Theater Arts 1
In Theater Arts 1 students will apply the styles and theories of the periods, theater movements, and artists we study to in-class performances. Each semester will include a project showcase. Theater Arts 1 students will learn basic theater production skills, including use and operation of theatrical lighting equipment, set and costume construction, and stage management.
Theater Arts 2
Theater Arts 2 students will apply the styles and theories of the periods, theater movements, and artists we study to in-class performances. Each semester will include a project showcase. Theater Arts 2 students will hone the production skills, and explore the basics of theater design technique, including: lighting, set, costume, and sound design.
Theater Arts 3 & 4
In Theater Arts 3 an area of specialization is chosen by each student, each semester, out of the following options: acting; directing; movement and mime; design; scriptwriting. Students will complete a large assignment in their area of specialization, which will be viewed by the public. Theater Arts 4 students will have the option of one or two areas of specialization per year and will be involved in designing their own major projects. The specialist work is in addition to the regular course work.
Theater Arts 4 Internships & Specialization
In Theater Arts 4 each student chooses an area of specialization to be studied in depth, and practiced through the development of a project. Examples of areas of specialization may include: acting; directing; design; scriptwriting, dramaturgy, etc. The specialist work is in addition to the regular course work.
Theater Arts 4 students may participate in internships at Bay Area theatre companies. They will also play leadership roles in class activities; directing group projects, facilitating warm-ups, conducting voice tutorials, presenting seminars, etc. |
MSA Theater Arts - Four Year Sequence
Year 1
Movement Training: 2-4 classes/week
Voice & Speech Training: 2-4 classes/week
Acting & Performance Skills: 3-5 classes per week
(including Basic Improvisation, History, Theory, & Production) Open Workshops, Student Projects, Showcases, Major Productions
Year 2
Movement Training: 2-4 classes/week
Voice & Speech Training: 2-4 classes/week
Acting & Performance Skills: 3-5 classes per week
(including Intermediate Improvisation, History, Theory, & Design)
Open Workshops, Student Projects, Showcases, Musical Productions
Year 3
Movement Training: 2-4 classes/week
Voice & Speech Training: 2-4 classes/week
Acting & Performance Skills: 3-5 classes per week
(including History, Theory, Production, Design, Directing)
Open Workshops, Student Projects, Showcases, Musical Productions
Year 4
Movement Training: 2-4 classes/week
Voice & Speech Training: 2-4 classes/week
Acting & Performance Skills: 3-5 classes per week
(including Advanced Improvisation, History, Theory, Specialization)
Audition Prep & Internships Open Workshops, Student Projects, Showcases, Musical Productions
Theater Arts Class Rules
1. Be respectful.
a. No teasing or belittling anyone at any time. The stage needs to be a safe place to take risks and to both succeed and fail. What’s easy for you may be extremely difficult for someone else. b. Listen to your instructors. In return, I promise to be respectful of you and your contributions to this class.
2. Be safe.
a. No unscripted stage fighting
b. Obey all rules to games (i.e. hat game) In return, I promise to always let you know what you need do to be safe within a game or scene, and to protect you by occasionally stopping the action in a scene when it is unsafe.
3. The class begins when the teacher calls you to order, and ends when you are dismissed by the teacher (not when the bell rings).
a. Sometimes a scene may not be finished from the class before, or we may be in the middle of a scene when the bell rings. In return, I promise to do our best to not make you late for your next class, or make you wait an unreasonable amount of time outside for class to begin.
4. Wear or bring appropriate clothes for being active onstage.
a. Comfortable shoes and pants, jeans or sweats are appropriate. You need to be able to run, fall down, and jump up and down comfortably.
b. You will be allowed an extra 5 minutes at the beginning of class while we are doing our warm-up exercises if you need to change your clothes.
c. If you do not have appropriate clothing to be active onstage safely, you will be asked to sit out during the active parts of class and your participation grade for the day will be reduced by at least 50%. In return, I will never ask you to exert yourself onstage in any way that makes you uncomfortable or hurts you physically. Your actions are up to YOU.
5. Have fun!
a. Your participation and good humor are essential to this class.
b. Learn to take risks, fail good-naturedly, and be gracious to your classmates. In return, I will try to infuse as much fun & games into this class as I can!
State Visual and Performing Arts
Content Standards for California Public Schools
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