A good portion of the class is devoted to following the historical progression of music, ancient to modern. There is also time given to jazz, rock, and other popular idioms. This course is designed to prepare students to take the AP exam. A large portion of the class is devoted to a survey of musical form and analysis. This course is designed to introduce students to theater as an art form and to train them in the acting techniques of voice control and physical communication through character development.
Classes are workshop in style and rely on active class participation.
It is also the intention of this course to help students improve concentration and memorization skills and develop self-confidence. This course is designed to make selected plays and sonnets of William Shakespeare accessible to the student. An appreciation of the playwright's style, rhetoric, and genius is fostered. Students analyze four major plays in their entirety as well as individual scenes and monologues. To provide a true appreciation of these plays, they are approached from an actor's perspective as dialogue.