VOICE AND MOVEMENT

TH 2201

This course explores the use of the voice and the body as means for expression in performance and everyday communication. Focus is on expansion and enhancement of vocal and physical skills through release of tension, posture, vocal exercises and muscle extension. The objectives are for you to examine various techniques for body/voice training, to acquire knowledge about your instrument, to engage in a variety of exercises to help you expand your physical and vocal capabilities, and to develop an appreciation for the interactive relationship between mind, body and will in performance.

TEXTS: Movement from Person to Actor to Character Mitchell
Note: You WILL incur material costs in this course
(videotape, copies, presentation material, etc.)

REQUIREMENTS:
1. Class attendance, discussion, and participation.
2. Quizzes.
3. Projects.
4. Production attendance and activity.
5. Observation and growth paper.
6. Readings in texts, handouts, and library material

GRADING:
1. Class attendance, discussion, and participation. 50 pts
2. Quizzes (2 @ 20) 40 pts
3. Projects (2 @ 10) (1 @ 20) (2 @ 25) (1 @ 30) 120 pts
4. Production attendance and activity 15 pts
5. Observation Journal and Growth Paper 25 pts

GRADING SCALE:
250-225 =A
224-199 =B
198-173 =C
172-147 =D
146-0 =F

Students taking the course S/N must receive a C in order to pass.

Class Attendance/Participation: Attendance in class is mandatory. Participation is an essential part of this course. You are required to be prepared for and be an active participant in class. Much of the class relies on student involvement. If you are not volunteering, you will be volunteered. Students who are not in class cannot participate. Students who are late to class disrupt participation. Three lates are equivalent to one absence. Chancellor excuses will be accepted but the student remains responsible for the work missed, including notes, rescheduling of projects, make-up quizzes, etc. Health excuses will not accepted unless you have the official Doctor approved heath excuse. Once you have reached 6 absences total whether excused or not you will FAIL the class. You get two absences before your grade is affected. After two absences, each absence is worth 5 points.

Quizzes: The quizzes are on the schedule. The quizzes can/will consist of matching answers, identifications, short answers, true/false, essays and/or multiple choice questions. If you are absent of the day of a quiz, you will receive a ‘0’ for that test. THERE WILL BE NO MAKE-UP EXAMS OR QUIZZES GIVEN without proper Chancellor’s excuse. IF excused, you must make-up the quiz the next day class meets to receive full credit.

Projects: There are (6) major projects in this class; Explore your Voice (10 points), Haiku Abstraction (10 points), A warm-up plan (20 points), Walking/posture/gesture Observation (25 points), Choreography (30 points), Body/Voice Donor Study (25 points). Each project will include a short paper on preparation, the performance and a statement of strengths and areas for improvement. Minimal class time will be devoted to these projects. Additional information will be provided.

Production Attendance/Activity: You are required to attend the University Theatre Production Sylvia. Performance Dates are February 13-15 at 7:30 pm and February 15 at 2pm. Discount tickets are available for students. You will be asked to respond orally to the production in class and to determine a physical and/or vocal exercise that would work well to help the actors develop their characters for this specific production. Additional information will be provided.

Observation and Growth Paper: You are required to develop a 3-5 page paper that explores your physical and vocal growth during the 15 week course. You are to keep a notebook that chronicles exercises that work for you, observations you’ve made in and outside of class and your weekly (daily?) progress. That becomes the basis for you paper. This notebook serves two purposes: it is an invaluable resource for your use in the future AND it provides a venue for sharing your ideas, thoughts, and questions directly with me. I will collect the notebook several times during the semester – UNANNOUNCED. Your notebook must be neat, legible, well-organized and brought to class EVERYDAY. Additional information will be provided.

Assigned/Written Work: ALL ASSIGNED WORK MUST BE HANDED IN ON TIME OR IT WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. With the exception of the notebook, all written work MUST BE TYPED (12pt font, 1 inch margin, use header for titles) or IT WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. All papers should be free of spelling, grammatical and typographical errors. Your grade will suffer if it is not properly proofread. For your own protection, be sure to make copies of everything you turn in. NOTE: Your observation notebook does NOT need to be typed.

Academic Honesty: Any student found guilty of cheating on a quiz will forfeit the grade for that quiz. Any student found guilty of plagiarism, passing off someone else’s ideas, work, or words as your own, will receive an F in this course. All incidents of academic dishonesty will be reported and acted upon.

Extra Credit: No extra credit will be given to any student.
Incomplete: There will be no incompletes given in this course.

Policy: No smoking, eating, or gum chewing is allowed in class. A water bottle is strongly suggested. Comfortable, loose clothing should be worn for class.