BART 97A14 - Collaborative Process Through the Lens of Theatre Making

To create is the act of making something that did not previously exist in the world. To create in collaboration – using the collective intelligence, varied experiences and skills of a group – has the potential to generate a wider spectrum of ideas, resulting in content that delves deeper into the topic at hand.

Most enterprises in the 21st century rely heavily on collaboration at every turn, yet we rarely take the time to understand what collaboration actually entails. The theatre, being one of the ultimate models of collaboration, proves to be an ideal petri dish to analyze this group-centered process. This course will serve as a laboratory to examine the dynamics of collaboration – how it works, when it works, when it doesn't work – through the lens of theatre and the theatrical formats of improvisation, games and composition.

Utilizing a series of exercises and techniques, students will build practical skills in communication, cooperation, critical thinking and observation, while examining the nature of collaboration and the challenges faced in different aspects of teamwork. Using theatrical models students will dissect group dynamics and critically examine social and political structures through weekly collaborative laboratories.

The course will look at ways to build consensus, solve problems and make decisions using models influenced by improvisation, theatre games and the work of theatre activist and reformer Augusto Boal.

Each class will consist of on your feet "games" modeling small group behavior, followed by verbal and written assessments. If necessary, activities will be adapted towards online participation.

Students are required to keep a journal in order to further analyze ideas, experiments, process and outcome of the weekly collaborative laboratories. The purpose of the journal is not to just log information, but to have an opportunity to analyze and scrutinize it further.

As the course final, students are required to participate in a 5-10 minute original work created in collaboration by small teams.

Learning Outcomes (Course Goals & Objectives): Through lectures, improvisations, theatre games, and class exercises the following objectives will be achieved:

● Through lectures and class activities the students will be introduced to definitions and models of collaborative components in the theatre and daily/work environments. ● By participating in and analyzing outcomes of improvisation, theatre games, group experiments and class assignments students will begin to recognize benefits and setbacks of collaborative experiences and utilize tools of collaboration in daily life.

● Through participation in group experiments and class exercises students will effectively utilize methods of collaborative actions, developed skills in consensus building, collaborative problem solving and process facilitation.

● Through group assignments students will learn the importance of building will and ownership in team processes.

● As a final project students will create a short collaborative work as a practical application of the course study.

● Through the preparation and execution of the final project students will practice methods of collaboration, decision-making and leadership.

● Students will engage each other weekly in conversations, debate and critical analysis of the process and benefits of collaboration.

● By the end of the course students will have attended performances, keep a class journal, participated in numerous experiments and created a unique work of performance for the theatre.

You do not need any knowledge about the material prior to taking this course.

Through lectures, improvisations, theatre games, and class exercises the following objectives will be achieved:

● Through lectures and class activities the students will be introduced to definitions and models of

collaborative components in the theatre and daily/work environments.

● By participating in and analyzing outcomes of improvisation, theatre games, group experiments and

class assignments students will begin to recognize benefits and setbacks of collaborative experiences

and utilize tools of collaboration in daily life.

● Through participation in group experiments and class exercises students will effectively utilize methods

of collaborative actions, developed skills in consensus building, collaborative problem solving and

process facilitation.

● Through group assignments students will learn the importance of building will and ownership in team

processes.

● As a final project students will create a short collaborative work as a practical application of the course

study.

● Through the preparation and execution of the final project students will practice methods of

collaboration, decision-making and leadership.

● Students will engage each other weekly in conversations, debate and critical analysis of the process and

benefits of collaboration.

● By the end of the course students will have attended performances, keep a class journal, participated in

numerous experiments and created a unique work of performance for the theatre.

Final Project 30% ________________

10 0%

Course Requirements:

Students are required to participate weekly in classroom assignments, improvisations, experiments and the final assignment. Participation grade will be assessed based on:

• Participation in discussions - In all online classes it’s essential for your camera to be turned on at all times. Your participation portion of the grade will be impacted if the camera is off.
• Participation in improvisation and group laboratories
• Demonstration of collaboration skills Students are required to keep a journal documenting and analyzing experiences and outcomes of classroom exercises, improvisations and discussions. The journal can be approximately half of a page. Journals should contain:
• If you focus your journal entry on what happened in class, you can include:

○ A summary of class content that identifies the topic, process and resulting outcome of class exercises, improvisation, lecture and discussions – NO MORE than 3 sentences.

○ A student’s personal subjective response to class content and discussions, and a reflection on how the material relates to facets of the student’s life outside of the class.

• If you focus on an external prompt, then no need to include a class summary and just use the journal entry as a reflection on the experience. Deadlines and Format for submissions: All work that is turned in is to be typed and must include the writer’s name, the date and title. Please use Times New Roman font in size 11. Students will be expected to hand in a total of 10 entries in the requested format on April 22nd.

Attendance and Lateness Policy: Students are expected to arrive on time, participate actively and be prepared to engage both intellectually and physically in all assignments, improvisations and experiments.

Absence Policy: If a student misses 2 sessions, their grade will be lowered by one grade letter. If a student misses 3 sessions, they will be considered to be in “default” (see below).

Tardy Policy: Three late arrivals equate to one absence. If the student is more than 30 minutes late to class, it will count as an absence. When a class is canceled, it will be rescheduled at a later date. Attendance at this make-up session is mandatory, except in the event of a schedule conflict with another required class. Student Default After more than two absences, including justified absences, from a course spanning 24 hours or more, or after one absence from a course spanning less than 24 hours, a student will be considered to be in “default”, whatever the reason for the absences. The same applies if a student fails to comply with the evaluation procedures for a course. The grade “default” will be recorded on the student’s transcript.

Intellectual integrity (from Academic Rules & Regulations) Any failure to conform to basic standards of honesty and integrity constitutes non-compliance with the duties and obligations of academic study.

Students suspected of cheating during an exam will be allowed to complete the exam. A report will then be submitted, signed by the director’s representative and countersigned by the proctor who observed the alleged cheating.

Teachers suspecting students of plagiarism must inform the Office of the Dean of Academic Affairs, providing all available evidence. Plagiarism is deemed to have occurred when a student’s ideas as expressed in his or her work cannot be distinguished from those of other authors. It may be constituted by any of the following: clusters of consecutive words (five or more) without citation, paraphrasing, translation and verbatim copying.

A document about plagiarism is distributed to all students upon arrival at Sciences Po, in an effort to prevent it from occurring. Anti-plagiarism software is in use by the Office of the Dean of Academic Affairs. Any student may be requested to submit his or her work in digital format.

In the event that cheating or plagiarism can be demonstrated, the student concerned will be given a grade of 0/20 for the course. The Director of Sciences Po may also refer cases to the disciplinary committee.

Behavior in class: Collaborations aren’t always easy, but the expectation of respect is never negotiable. There will be zero tolerance of sexist, racist or derogatory comments, even if they are done in a humorous way.

Cell phones: The use of cellphones in class or in the hallways outside classrooms is disruptive and diminishes the quality of class time. Please do not use your cell phones in class. If you have an emergency and need to keep your phone on you, please let the instructor know in advance.