Category: uncategorised

American Conservatory Theatre of San Franciscos (ACT)

The Taming of the Shrew

Production Response Guidelines

Task — You are to consider yourself a theatre critic (not a reviewer) and set about to understand (describe) and appraise (evaluate) a theatre production. It is important that you develop a thesis to answer the following topic question: Does the ACT production of The Taming of the Shrew have Artistic Value?

As you reflect on the argument of your thesis, you should be prepared to consider:

1. The aesthetics of theatre production: how the elements of theatre including the text, actors, audience, director, space, costumes, scenery, sound and/or lighting elementsare blended into a form that is expressive of the human condition.

2. Support your thesis with research of theatre history (to provide context for choices made in the production). Specifically, use information found in the text pp. 69 (pp 71 10th Ed.; pp 73 11th Ed.) (Stock Characters), 83-86 (pp 87-91 10th ed.; pp pp 89-93 11th ed) (Forms of Comedy), 141-146 (pp 170-175 10th ed.; 172-177 11thed.) (History and Characteristics of the Thrust Stage), 274-281 (pp 326-331 10th ed.; pp 327-337 11th ed.)(Elizabethan Theatre), 223-225 (pp 270-273 10th ed.; pp 275-278 11th ed.) (Roman Comedy), 266-268 (pp 312-315 10th ed.; pp 318-321 11th ed.) (Commedia dellarte). Also, use Chapters 3-9, (Chapters 3-10 10th and 11th ed.)as appropriate.

You may also find it useful to consider the three questions the critic should ask as articulated on pp. 41-42 (pp 43-44 10th ed.; pp 45-46 11th ed.) of your text:

1. What are the playwright and the production attempting to do? (What is being attempted? – 10th-11th ed)

2. How well has it been done? (Have the intentions been achieved? – 10th-11th ed)

3. Is it worth doing? (Was the attempt worthwhile? – 10th-11th ed.)

Format for paper:

1. MLA guidelines for name, date, professor, name of class and title.

2. Papers typed and double spaced. Font size of 12 Times New Roman.

3. Use What is an Essay? handout to write a persuasive essay that is designed to help the reader to understand your appraisal of the production. This includes:

a. 5 paragraph minimum, including introduction, development of at least three paragraphs, and conclusion. Paper should be a minimum of three pages, which is approximately 1,000 words.

b. Place your thesis statement prominently near the end of your introduction.

c. Use topic sentences at the top of each paragraph of the development.

d. DO NOT USE FIRST OR THIRD PERSON VOICE (I, WE,

YOU, IN MY OPINION. State your arguments authoritatively, as if they are FACT.

e. AI Writing tools are not permitted for any stage or phase of work in this class. If you use these tools, your actions would be considered academically dishonest and a violation of Hansens Academic Honesty Policy.

f. Use examples of the three types of evidence:

1. Authority: 3 examples minimum from textbook research and classroom instruction. Cite sources in body of paragraph. Works cited page is not necessary, UNLESS you use an online or other source.

2. Example: 3 examples minimum from the ACT performance and use your Shrew text to identify the specific part of the play to which you are referring.

3. Logic: Logic involves the organization of your ideas within the paper.

The following is a list of possible topics for your development include:

1. The play: (See chapter 3 and 4 for more information): brief synopsis of the story, genre, point of view, or intent of the playwright.

2. The actor (see chapter 5 for more information: how they project character and action through acting style)

3. The director (see chapter 6 for information on unifying vision/concept, casting, staging and blocking)

4. Design elements (see chapter 8 for information on set and costumes (Chapter 9 10th-11th ed), and see chapter 10 for information on lighting and sound).

NOTE: THE LIST ABOVE IS NOT PRESCRIPTIVE. IN OTHER WORDS, YOU MAY USE THIS LIST TO GATHER IDEAS FOR YOUR PAPER. BY NO MEANS SHOULD YOU ATTEMPT TO ADDRESS THESE TOPICS SEQUENTIALLY, LIKE SO MANY ITEMS ON A LAUNDRY LIST. I EXPECT YOU TO GAIN KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE ELEMENTS OF THEATRE THROUGH CHAPTER READING AND CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION, THEN APPLY YOUR KNOWLEDGE TO YOUR RESPONSE TO THE PRODUCTION. THIS REQUIRES THAT YOU MUST CITE THE TEXTBOOK AND/OR CONTENT FROM VIDEOS AS SUPPORTING EVIDENCE FOR YOUR ARGUMENTS. AI USE IS PROHIBITED.

IMPORTANT DATES for this assignment:

1. DATE ASSIGNMENT GIVEN: Thursday, January 22.

2. DATE CLASS CONTENT FOR THIS PAPER COMPLETED: February 8.

3. Final revision submitted to Canvas by Sunday, March 8.

Grading Criterion A rubric for grading is available on Canvas.