THE
MANHATTANVILLE COLLEGE MUSIC DEPARTMENT
Spring 2007
MUA/DTH 2227: ACTING
FOR MUSICAL THEATRE: FROM SCENE TO SONG
INSTRUCTOR
Tom
Wojtunik
tomwojtunik@gmail.com
ACCOMPANIST
Diane Guernsey
REQUIRED COURSE TEXT
On
Singing Onstage by David Craig
The
Musical: A Look at the American Musical Theatre by Richard Kislan
“Broadway
– The American Musical,” PBS Documentary Series (available in library for
viewing)
ADDITIONAL COURSE TEXT (available in the library):
Auditioning
for Musical Theatre by Fred Silver
A
Performer Prepares by David Craig
American
Musical Theatre: A Chronicle by Gerald Martin Bordman
Broadway
Musicals: Show by Show by Stanley Green
Not
Since Carrie by Ken Mandelbaum
The purpose of this course is to explore and improve
individual students’ acting techniques, in relation to the musical theatre.
Emphasis will be placed on learning how to listen and react to one’s scene
partner on a moment-to-moment basis with honest emotional responses, and how to
translate these techniques into the world of musical theatre. We will also study
the history of the American musical theatre, celebrating its place as the
original American art form.
WEEK #1
- Students
must come to the first class prepared to sing a musical theatre song for the
professor. This will be set up like a professional “audition” situation.
Students should bring their sheet music with them.
- Assignment
#1: Scene + Song from the “Golden Age of Musical Theatre,” the
period from
Oklahoma
! to Hair. Students should bring tape recorders and blank cassette
tapes, to record the accompaniment for their material.
WEEK #2
- Discussion
of Ch’s 1 & 2 from On Singing
Onstage (Words as Script, Music – The Other Script).
- Work-thru
Assignment #1 (text analysis).
WEEK #3
- Work-thru
Assignment #1 (off-book).
WEEK #4
WEEK #5
- Discussion
of Ch’s 3 & 5 from On Singing
Onstage (Phrasing, The Song as it Reflects You).
- Work-thru
Assignment #1.
WEEK #6
WEEK #7
- Assignment
#1: Final presentations.
- DUE:
5-page paper exploring the character you are playing, the action (and
dramaturgical purpose) of the song you are performing, and how this musical
fits in to the history of the musical theatre. Additionally, you must write
about your process working on the material, and to rate your success.
WEEK #8
- DUE:
Watch the PBS Documentary Series “Broadway – The American Musical,”
available in the library, by today, to prepare for discussion.
WEEK #9
- DUE:
10-page reaction paper to the documentary, focusing on a specific and
significant change to happen to the musical theatre in the past 50 years.
- Assignment
#2: Scene + Song from the contemporary musical theatre (Hair
to the present-day). Students should bring tape recorders and blank cassette
tapes, to record the accompaniment for their material.
WEEK #10
- Work-thru
Assignment #2 (off-book).
WEEK #11
WEEK #12
- Discussion
of remaining chapters of On Singing
Onstage.
- Work-thru
Assignment #2.
WEEK #13
WEEK #14
- Assignment
#2: Final presentations.
- DUE:
5-page paper exploring the character you are playing, the action (and
dramaturgical purpose) of the song you are performing, and how this musical
fits in to the history of the musical theatre. Additionally, you must write
about your process working on the material, and to rate your success.
EXAM WEEK
- Final
presentation of all material presented in class for faculty and fellow
students.
*******************
Grades will be comprised as follows:
Assignment
#1 (Final Presentation)
20%
Assignment
#2 (Final Presentation)
20%
PBS
Series Reaction Paper
15%
Exam
Week Presentation
15%
Assignment
#1 (Evaluation Paper)
10%
Assignment
#2 (Evaluation Paper)
10%
Attendance,
Class Participation & Effort
10%
Presentation grades will not be based solely on
performance, but also on the amount of work the student has put into the piece
and their growth during the class.