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. Classes are workshop in format. This course makes each student aware of the art of communication and helps her improve her process of communication through speech and body language. It also approaches the skill of quickly organizing thoughts and communicating them cohesively.