Information Literacy

Theatre

What Should Theatre Majors Know?

By the time they graduate all majors in Theatre should:

1. Be able to think conceptually and critically about text, performance and production.
2. Have an understanding of the history of stage practices, the relationship of theatre to the cultures which produce it, and an acquaintance with a wide selection of theatre repertory across major historical eras, principal styles and world cultures.
3. Be conversant with basic approaches to acting, directing and design.
4. Have advanced knowledge in a specific area within Theatre as a result of her concentration within the major.
5. Have a working facility with stage and performance practices.
6. Understand how theatre scholars conduct research and access information, and have the ability to develop and articulate informed judgments about theatre.

Students of Theatre will gradually familiarize themselves with major works, links to search engines, libraries, archives, institutes, and other information literacy resources and the wide body of resources available to scholars in the field.

Writing Intensive Classes

Students who have fulfilled the writing intensive requirement should already have learned basic information literacy skills prior to entering the major in Theatre. Such skills are likely to include:

• The ability to know how and when to acknowledge and cite a source in the proper scholarly format
• The ability to evaluate with confidence the reliability of a source
• Familiarity with the reference resources of the library
• An understanding of how scholars identify the kinds of information they need and where to find it
• Be able to identify a variety of sources for information beyond basic web search engines
• Apply criteria for evaluating information sources; distinguish between popular and scholarly materials in various formats (books, periodicals, web sites)

Information Literacy Objectives for Theatre Students

1. Defining information needs: Understand how information is organized for research purposes; what types of information can be obtained from online sources; familiarity with formats that contain performance works and ability to access them; understand the differences between formats and how they may or may not suit research needs.
2. Accessing information: Know where to find basic reference sources for performing arts; how to find reviews of live performances and recordings; how to find journal databases for performing arts subjects; know search strategies for locating non-text materials; be able to identify and access full-content multi-media materials online.
3. Evaluating information: Awareness of and ability to recognize bias (in critical reviews, for example); recognize differences between original and interpretive work; understand what constitutes a primary source in performing arts.
4. Presenting information: Selecting the most appropriate types of media to best convey information or illustrate a point; knowing how to prepare and present excerpts of recorded work, and methods of copying portions of recorded work to another medium.
5. Ethical use: Awareness of fair use, when to get permission and knowledge of when royalty fees are required; recognize the differences between legal and illegal methods of obtaining multimedia clips via the Internet; how to use citation guides for media and for electronic source materials.

Students in Theatre History classes and First-Year Seminars taught in the Theatre Department will become familiar with the stylistic rules for writing papers, bibliographies, notes, citing of sources. Students should consult Smith Handbook of Style for specific information regarding the preparation of papers. The Jacobson Center has the Smith Writing Papers Handbook and a summary of the MLA documentation guide online.

The library offers students a great deal of guidance in how to find information and conduct research. Though the information above highlights some of the general resources in Theatre, our students would also benefit greatly from familiarizing themselves with general search engines that often include articles of interest to Theatre.

These skills are to be understood as a basis for all further study in Theatre.

Competencies for Beginning Theatre Majors

Students completing THE198 AND THE199 will:

• Understand the major areas of theatre performances
• Appreciate world theatre and global theatre practices
• Establish skills in close reading and critical inquiry.

Students in these courses may consult:

Students studying Acting will:

• Become familiar with standard methodologies and styles of actor training; develop and be able to articulate a flexible vocabulary of acting methods; demonstrate familiarity with procedures and approaches to performing a variety of theatre styles.
• Develop competencies in aspects of performance (basic acting work to include: scoring a role, building a character, analyzing a text; voice production; physical expressiveness; improvisation; heightened language) appropriate to individual needs and interests, and consistent with the goals and objectives of a liberal arts curriculum.
• Pursue opportunities for performance in classroom, workshop, laboratory and/or in fully staged productions, as a means of developing intermediate to advanced competence as actors.
• Skills will be taught in THE141, THE142, THE242, THE313, THE346.

Students studying Directing will:

• Be able to read and analyze plays from different periods, representing a wide range of genres, cultures and styles, with an ability to articulate the central action and dramatic structure.
• Be conversant with means of conducting artistic research on dramatic texts; be able to access and use information resources effectively and ethically.
• Be able to recognize and discuss the elements of design in theatrical productions; and to communicate effectively with designers.
• Understand how to develop character through action and intention; how to break down a script; how to develop rehearsal processes and procedures; how to collaborate with designers and actors.
• Skills will be taught in THE344, THE345.

Students studying Design will familiarize themselves with:

THE252: Set Design I: Image Research
Most of the information listed is sources for digital image research. There is also an important tab explaining fair use of copyrighted material - especially concerning image research. Some of the best data services are listed on the digital image tab. Skills will be taught in THE252, THE253, THE254, THE317, THE318, THE352, THE353, and THE354.

Students studying Theatre History, Literature, and Criticism will:

• Investigate theatre of past eras as well as contemporary theatre from a multiplicity of cultures and aesthetic/stylistic approaches. 
• Develop skills in close reading and critical inquiry
• Examine writers, texts, approaches, and productions in their particular cultural and historical context
• Skills will be taught in THE213, THE215, THE217, THE218, THE220, THE240, THE313, THE316, THE317, THE319.

Students studying Playwriting will focus on:

• Thinking dramatically—transforming ideas into actions, ideas into plot/story
• Creating character through action and interaction
• Using language as action
• Conjuring an audience in the theatre
• Developing the habit of writing
• Creating texts that allow for the creativity of other collaborating artists
• Skills will be taught in THE261, THE262, THE361, THE362

Additional Library Web Pages and Online Resources for Theatre Courses

Intermediate and Advanced Courses

Since Theatre includes the study of ACTING, DIRECTING, DESIGN, PLAYWRITING, SCRIPT ANALYSIS, THEATRE HISTORY, and many other disciplines students must consult relevant information literacy resources for those disciplines.

Students in Intermediate and Advanced Theatre courses should familiarize themselves with the following search engines:

300 Level Courses and Research-Based Special Studies

Students in advanced research courses should be able to:

• Identify a compelling research topic that forces them to engage with primary and secondary materials at an advanced level;
• locate and effectively use scholarly sources that allow them to demonstrate a familiarity with the secondary literature and stake out a position in relation to it.

In What Classes Will Skills be Taught?

ETHICAL ISSUES

Using someone else’s words, ideas , or arguments without acknowledgement is plagiarism. This is a serious violation of the College’s Honor Code. Students should learn to distinguish between “received knowledge” and original work, between ideas that have often been repeated and ideas that are new. They must always identify and acknowledge their sources for everything except “received knowledge,” such as dates and facts found in many encyclopedias and dictionaries.

November 30, 2009