This paper is intended to be a chronicle of the process you experienced with one of your projects this semester. It should be 3-5 pages long, but regardless of length, the content should be necessary, not padding. For those of you who've been assigned more than one project this semester, pick the project that provides the most substance to write about. If in doubt, come see me. If you were assigned to work with a partner, each of you need to write a paper, though you can certainly share research and imagery.
Should you wish, take a look at this sample paper from a previous semester, but don't hesitate to think that you can do better.
Please write this paper as though it will be read by someone who did not see the show. In other words, assume nothing of your reader. I reserve the right to post your papers online at any point in the future. If I do, it is likely that your readers will not be familiar with your project or the show in any way.
Your paper must be broken down into six sections covering the following topics (please include these titles at the beginning of each section):
Throughout the paper, include relevant stagecraft terms whenever possible. "I hung the toy car with some hard-to-see stringy stuff off one of the moving things in the theater" doesn't sound like you've learned very much when you could have said "The toy car was rigged to fly by suspending it with 40-pound test monofilament from an upstage batten and secured with two fisherman's knots tied in succession to insure that it would safely stay under the control of the stagehands. Even with a safety factor of 10, the two-pound car represented no threat to the safe working load of the monofilament. We could have used a 20-pound test monofilament, but with the front row of seating in the house being 30 feet away (measured parallel to the deck) and the shutters on the Source Four E.R.S.'s tightly cropped around the car, we were unable to see any of the lift lines during the early tech rehearsals. As a result, we opted to stay with the 40-pound line as it was already in stock and essentially free." (For those of you keeping score at home, the preceding four sentences contained no less than 18 unique terms that were taught this semester, the original sentence contained none.)
Your final document must be handed in electronically as an e-mail attachment, typed using Microsoft Word. If you need to use different software, send me a test document prior to the last day of classes and I will let you know if it is acceptable. Similarly, if you are including any imagery, send me a test document prior to the last day of classes and I will let you know if everything is working. This is especially important for Mac users since I have a Windows-based computer. Solving any problems with electronic submission will be your responsibility and will not be allowed as an excuse to hand the paper in late.
Papers must be received by me no later than 5:00pm on Tuesday May 13th,
2008.
Late papers will not be accepted.
Remember that this paper counts as 10% of your overall grade.
While this is not an English class, it is a college class. Grammar, spelling,
writing style, through-line, and collegial thinking will be expected and considered.
The more properly used terminology you include, the better your grade will be.
However, gratuitous overuse of terms without relevance or need will be
considered padding and detract from your grade.
"A's" will be reserved for students whose papers have little or no
room for improvement; for exceptional work only.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask. If you can't find me, call my cell and I'll let you know where I am.