https://courses.vccs.edu/colleges/gcc/courses/CST130-IntroductiontotheTheatre

Effective: 2025-05-01

Course Description

Surveys theatre history and the development and participants in the theatrical process. Considers history, process, style and genres, organization, written drama, and performed drama. This is a Passport and UCGS transfer course.
Lecture 3 hours. Total 3 hours per week.
3 credits

The course outline below was developed as part of a statewide standardization process.

General Course Purpose

Provides students with a preliminary overview of the elements that enter into the collective art of theatre, from the play to the actor, styles of production, organization of the company, and its artistry and craft.

Course Objectives

  • Communication
    • Effectively communicate theatrical observations through written and/or oral communication.
  • Critical Thinking
    • Identify and explain how theatrical movement contributes to personal perception.
    • Evaluate a theatrical performance (peer, live or video) by analyzing various components that influence viewpoint.
  • Civic Engagement
    • Demonstrate knowledge of the role of theatrical movements in society and how theatrical movements influence individuals and/or society.
    • Recognize/describe how individual and societal factors influence theatrical creation.
    • Articulate the challenges and opportunities theatre artists face in producing plays and musicals in today's world and the value of the work in today's society
  • Professional Readiness
    • Augment theatrical skills through assignments/assessments designed to measure performance goals.
    • Cultivate professional goals related to theatre viewing, production experience, or performance attendance.
  • Course Outcomes:
  • Theatre History
    • Identify and analyze the origins of dramatic activity and the major historical periods of theatre.
    • Describe the role of theatre in society from its origins to present day.
    • Identify the various genres, styles and components of plays throughout history.
    • Articulate the importance of theatrical conventions, theatrical spaces and theatrical movements in the formation of the modern theatre.
  • Theatrical Elements and Performance
    • Demonstrate knowledge of the parts of a stage space and various types of theatre spaces.
    • Identify and discuss elements of drama and theatre and the roles of the major participants, training and economic models (playwrights, actors, producers, technicians, designers, dramaturgs, directors, etc.)
    • Analyze the unique elements of a live theatrical production (as opposed to film or other art forms) and the choices made when bringing it from the page to the stage.