The university has asked each department to verify that students who graduate from the department are proficient in communication skills - writing and speaking. Students majoring in theatre must demonstrate this proficiency in one of the two ways listed below. This is a graduation requirement and you must pass it in order to graduate; you may repeat it until you do pass.
Method One
Writing proficiency can be shown by achieving a grade of “B” or better and approval by the instructor on a term paper in a selected course. These may include Theatre History, Literature, and Criticism II, Theatre History, Literature, and Criticism I or Theatre History, Literature, and Criticism III.
Speech proficiency can be shown by achieving a grade of “B” or better and approval by the instructor on an oral report in a selected course. These may include Theatre History, Literature, and Criticism II, Theatre History, Literature, and Criticism I or Theatre History, Literature, and Criticism III.
Receiving an appropriate grade does not automatically fulfill this requirement. The student should consult with the instructor of these classes regarding the application of their grade toward this requirement.
Method Two
If the student fails to achieve the required approval on one or both parts of the requirement, then he or she will prepare a formal senior presentation that will include one or both parts of the following. The senior presentation will take place in the next to last semester during which the student is on campus.
Writing: Submit a 4 - 5 page essay describing a creative or academic theatre project. The paper will be read for content and the use of correct rules of grammar, spelling, syntax, and structure. Students are expected to prepare this on a computer and proof read it carefully. The essay will be due two weeks prior to the oral presentation.
Speech: Make a 10-minute oral presentation on the same project. This is an extemporaneous speech not a reading of the essay. Students will be expected to utilize good oral and organizational skills and speak from notes or an outline not a manuscript.
The essay and oral presentation should focus on what the project consisted of, the research that the student undertook for the project, and an evaluation of the results and what was learned in the process.
