Hosted by / Sponsored by: The Open University

Course of Study: Theater Arts: Plays

Course Link: Take this Course

Description: This unit is an in-depth intermediate study of literary plays. Available through The Open University, the course provides a deeper understanding of basic technical terms and methods for approaching and interpreting text and performance of plays.

There are several pieces to the course:

• Approaching Plays: How the text of a performance play differs from a poem, short story or novel.
• Dialogue: Tension and structure of dialogue.
• Stage directions: Interpreting the possibilities of stage direction in a text.
• Blank verse: Analyzing and marking up a text to recognize patterns, rhythms and themes in blank verse.
• Play Structure: Understanding exposition, climax and denouement along with other modern structural theory. Examines delivery, movement and  staging in relation to audience.
• From Text to Performance: Looks at possibilities of translating dramatic language to stage, as well as spatial relationships with audience.
• Dramatic Conventions: Soliloquy, Asides, Masks and Disguises, and Doubling of actors.

The self-paced fifteen-hour course is designed with readings, recommended texts and resources, activities, lecture discussions  and discussion forums.

Hosted by / Sponsored by: MIT

Course of Study: Theater Arts

Course Link: Take this course.

Description: This course is designed to introduce students to the tools and techniques of theatrical productions. In the physical course, students don’t necessarily focus on design alone, but the course involves them creating stage props or setting pieces at the school’s shops.

While you can’t engage directly in the practical side of this course, course materials have been made available online to help you better understanding theatrical production in theory.

Free online course materials for this class include assignments and study materials.