Drama

Drama was a CAA course where students learned all about their writing skills in the dramatic setting of both theatrical and literature works. It was offered at Bethlehem and Frederick.

Course Description

From the CTY Course Catalog (1999):

The playwright's task of both entertaining and enlightening an audience is a difficult one. In both comedies and tragedies, a play must first engage its audience before revealing deeper truths about human nature. In this course, students experience dramatic production not only from the audience's point of view, but also from the perspectives of actors, playwrights, directors, and set designers. The historical and cultural contexts in which plays are written and produced receive particular attention throughout the course. For example, students learn about women's roles during the late 19th century in order to gain perspective on the social issue of divorce, a central concept in Ibsen's A Doll's House. At the same time, students ascertain how performances of particular scenes can highlight or temper playwright's message. Conscious of how small decisions can influence an audience and even a society's reception of a performed play, students learn the approaches actors and directors use to develop a script into a production, exploring texts through improvisations, group discussions, and analytical writing exercises.

In this course, students strengthen their writing and critical thinking skills and increase their understanding of drama as an art form. Students also offer dramatic interpretations of various scenes, and, as a concluding effort, stage a selection of scenes for an audience of students from other classes.