Download Theatre III

Theatre III
Playwright Project
Your task:
In small groups, you will research a playwright to research
and present to the class. Since this is a theatre class, a
creative presentation with props, costumes, and an engaging
presentation style is expected! Your presentation should be
engaging, enlightening, educational, and entertaining.
Requirements:
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Brief (250 word) biography on your playwright. (Graded
using the attached rubric.)
A theatre timeline, which shows important theatre
events/styles/playwrights, and your playwright’s place
within that timeline (should contain at least 15
references).
Music that represents your playwright (to be used
during your presentation). This music should be eraappropriate.
For your presentation, you must use at least two of
the following visual aides: video clip, posters,
models, paintings, collage, drawings, costumes,
sculpture, objects or props.
A brief scene selected from one of the playwright’s
most well known plays.
The Presentation:
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1st: Share with us your biography. You are turning in
the short essay, but how you present it to the class
is up to you! Act it out, have the “playwright”
interviewed by a reporter…you decide!
2nd: Show us where your playwright fits on the theatre
timelines—explain to us how/why they are important to
the world of theatre, what contributions they have
made. Basically—why am I asking you to research this
person? They must be important….why? (And again, find
how you want to present this information! Don’t
lecture…be creative!)
3rd: Share your scene, explaining what play it comes
from, what happens before and after it, etc. Give us
some context!
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NOTE: Make sure that you incorporate the music that
you chose, as well as at least two of the visual aide
choices.
Schedule:
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Presentations will begin Thursday, May 6th (four weeks
from today).
You will be provided with computer lab time, as well
as time to create and prepare all aspects of your
presentation.
Prop/costume collecting CAN NOT be done on the day of
your presentation. If you want to borrow something
from the theatre costume department, you must ask at
least one week in advance.
Grading:
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Biography will be graded using the attached rubric.
Presentation will be graded on the following elements:
o Complete biography presented
o Complete timeline presented
o Music element present
o Two visual aides present
o Creative, interesting presentation
o Information presented was organized well and all
students in group were well-informed
o All students in group contributed equally
o Students are using good performance habits
throughout—cheating out, projecting, not
upstaging, etc.
Suggestions:
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Find ways to fairly break up the work, so that all
group members are contributing equally. If at any
point you feel that there is great inequality, meet as
a group to discuss it, or inform the teacher.
Use class time wisely, but also consider finding time
to meet outside of class to work. A well-done project
will require time and effort, and relying solely on
class time will likely be insufficient to create a
truly outstanding performance.