| Office | CSPAC Room 2817 |
| Office hours | W 12-1 or by appointment |
| Phone | 301/405-6686 |
| sr98@umail.umd.edu | |
| Classmate: | Tel#:
E-mail: |
Playwrights to be discussed include William Wells Brown, Angelina Grimke, Georgia Douglas Johnson, Zora Neale Hurston, Marita Bonner, Langston Hughes, Lorraine Hansberry, Amiri Baraka, DouglasTurner Ward, and Ed Bullins.
Students will be expected to: a) participate in discussions and debates
of the material; b) perform monologues, poems, and scenes; c) present a
research project d) write a final paper that assesses the reception of
a specific topic or aspect of a playwrightâs oeuvre and delineates
directions for future inquiry or present a final project or performance.
Evaluation of your work will be individualized and based upon your
own demonstrated effort and improvement. Your grade will be based on your
in-class discipline and contribution, class projects, performances, quizzes,
midterm, and final paper or project/performance.
| Active and excellent participation, frequently volunteers to participate in class, contributes positively in group work, comes prepared for class everyday with all assigned readings completed. | 10 points |
| Good participation, volunteers to participate in class, usually participates in group work, usually prepared for class. | 8 points |
| Average participation, occasionally volunteers to participate in class, sometimes distracted in group work, not always prepared for class. | 6 points |
| Poor participation, rarely volunteers to participate in class, does not contribute to group work. | 4 points |
| Very poor participation rarely volunteers to participate in class | 0 points |
There will be NO make-ups for unexcused absences during quizzes, exams, research projects, scenes, and in-class assignments. Such absences will result in a grade of 0.
For an absence to be excused a dated doctor's note, hospital bill, or insurance form must be provided on the FIRST day you return to class. I must clear any other causes of absence prior to a missed quiz, project, exam, etc. Students are responsible for informing me of any intended absences for religious observances in advance. Pursuant to university policy, notice should be provided as soon as possible but no later than the end of the schedule adjustment period.
Note:There will be NO make-up exam time scheduled
for the final exam. As indicated in the Schedule of Classes, it is your
responsibility to make sure you do not have any final exam conflicts. The
final exam for this course will be held on
. Before continuing with this course, you should make sure that you
have no other final examsscheduled at that time and especially that yourtravel
plans do not conflict with the final exam.
REQUIRED TEXTS
James V. Hatch, Black Theatre U.S.A. Volumes I & II
READING LIST
(all plays are found in Black Theatre U.S.A.)
William Wells Brown, The Escape; or, A Leap For Freedom
Angelina Weld Grimke, Rachel
Georgia Douglas, A Sunday Morning in the South
Marita Bonner, The Purple Flower
Langston Hughes, Mulatto
Zora Neale Hurston, The First One
Lorraine Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun
Amiri Baraka, Dutchman
Ben Caldwell, Prayer Meeting: Or, The First Militant Preacher
Douglas Turner Ward, Day of Absence
Ed Bullins, Goin' A Buffalo
ESSAYS
Montgomery Gregory, "The Drama of Negro Life."
Margaret B. Wilkerson, "The Sighted Eyes and Feeling Heart of Lorraine
Hansberry."
LeRoi Jones,"The Revolutionary Theatre."
| Quizzes (8 @ 50 pts) | 400 points |
| Midterm | 100 points |
| Final | 200 points |
| Participation | 60 points |
| Research Project | 100 points |
| Scene I | 60 points |
| Scene II | 80 points |
| Total | 1000 points |
| A | 896-1000 points |
| B | 796-895 points |
| C | 696-795 points |
| D | 600-695 points |
| F | 0-599 points |
A note on the required work:
Scene I-- Staged Reading. I will assign a 5 to 10 minute scene from one of the plays before week 7. You will meet with your scene partners and director for one 2-hour rehearsal before presenting the scene in class. Although this does not have to be memorized, you should have worked sufficiently on the text so you are not simply reading the script. You will be responsible for setting up the scene and being able to speak about place, character relationship, and event.
Scene II-- You will rehearse and prepare a scene from material we cover in weeks 9-14. Again, you will be able to use your script for this. The selection does not have to be memorized but you should have worked on it sufficiently so that you are not married to your script. You will be working on place, character, relationship, event, and action (motivation, objective, etc.) You will rehearse this scene three hours outside of class.
Research Project -- You will research a subject that will help the class to better understand a specific period in the history of Black theatre and performance. You will then give a brief 5 minute summary of your research from an outline that you will hand in. Part of this project includes handing in a 3-5 page essay (with bibliography) on what was uncovered or recovered, your analysis of the findings, and how it relates to the play and playwrightcovered that week.
Final Paper -- You will write a 5-8 page final paper that assesses the reception of a specific topic or aspect of a playwrightâs oeuvre and delineates directions for future inquiry. You may write on a topic you propose or from a topic I suggest.
Final Performance -- You will present a memorized performance. A solo
piece should be 5-10 minutes in length and a scene should be 10-15 minutes
in length.