Assessment Design and
Framework

Field 048: Theater

The assessment design below describes general assessment information. The framework that follows is a detailed outline that explains the knowledge and skills that this assessment measures.

Assessment Design

Format Computer-based test (CBT)
Number of Questions 100 multiple-choice questions (80% of score)
2 constructed-response assignments:
  • Constructed-Response Assignment #1 (10% of score)
  • Constructed-Response Assignment #2 (10% of score)
Time* 180 minutes
Passing Score 220

*Does not include 15-minute CBT tutorial

Framework

 



Domain Range of Competencies Approximate Percentage of Assessment Score
I Playwriting, Performance, and Direction of Dramatic Works 0001–0003 30%
II Design, Production, and Management of Dramatic Works 0004–0005 15%
III Theater History and Dramatic Literature 0006–0009 25%
IV Theater Education 0010–0011 10%
V Integration of Knowledge and Understanding 0012 20%
Domain I–Playwriting, Performance, and Direction of Dramatic Works

0001 Understand principles of playwriting and dramatic structure.

Includes:

  1. Principles and skills involved in writing and adapting a stage play.
  2. Use of various techniques (e.g., multiple methods of research/information gathering, playmaking, self-scripting, improvisation) for generating ideas for stories, actions, characters, and dramatic environments.
  3. Ways of structuring a script to communicate ideas and feelings (e.g., plot, characters, setting, theme, mood).
  4. Use of various dramatic styles, forms, and genres.

0002 Understand principles of acting.

Includes:

  1. Characteristics associated with historical styles of acting.
  2. Methods and characteristics associated with modern and contemporary actor training.
  3. Techniques for developing actors' tools (i.e., voice, body, and mind).
  4. Characterization techniques.
  5. Uses and techniques of improvisation.

0003 Understand principles of directing.

Includes:

  1. The roles and functions of the director.
  2. Script selection.
  3. Methods for audition and casting.
  4. Concept and design decisions.
  5. Script analysis.
  6. Staging a production.
  7. Effective collaboration with cast, production staff, and community.
Domain II–Design, Production, and Management of Dramatic Works

0004 Understand principles of producing and managing theatrical performances.

Includes:

  1. Roles and responsibilities of individuals involved in theatrical management (e.g., producer, stage manager, technical director).
  2. Factors and considerations involved in selecting a play for theatrical production.
  3. Legal issues (e.g., royalties, copyrights, liability, contracts, safety) related to theatrical producing.
  4. Procedures for selecting artistic and technical staff.
  5. Procedures for scheduling, budgeting, planning, promoting, and managing theatrical productions.

0005 Understand set, costume, and lighting design and execution.

Includes:

  1. Essential design principles and elements as they relate to theater (e.g., space, color, line, shape, texture, repetition, balance, emphasis, contrast, unity).
  2. Historical periods and styles.
  3. Fundamentals of stagecraft (e.g., set, costume, property, and mask construction; hang/focus of lighting instruments; sound production; makeup; safety).
  4. The application of principles of design and production in various situations.
Domain III–Theater History and Dramatic Literature

0006 Understand the history of drama and theater.

Includes:

  1. The various purposes of theater throughout history.
  2. Basic elements of a theatrical performance.
  3. Types and characteristics of various dramatic forms.
  4. The relationship of cultural, economic, political, and other factors to theater.

0007 Understand British and other European dramatic literature from ancient times through the present.

Includes:

  1. Characteristics of European theater and dramatic literature from the classical age through the present.
  2. Major playwrights (e.g., Euripides, Molière, Chekhov, Beckett, Churchill) and their works.
  3. Prominent developments in European theatrical performance and production.
  4. Major themes, characteristics, and developments in British and other European drama of different periods.

0008 Understand the dramatic literature of the United States.

Includes:

  1. Characteristics of American theater and dramatic literature.
  2. Major American playwrights (e.g., O'Neill, Miller, A. Wilson, Hansberry, Mamet) and their works.
  3. Prominent individuals and developments in American theatrical performance and production.
  4. Themes, characteristics, and developments in American drama through the present.

0009 Understand dramatic literature from other cultural traditions.

Includes:

  1. Characteristics of theater and dramatic literature of Africa, Asia, Australia, and the Americas.
  2. Major playwrights (e.g., Zeami, Boal, Fugard, Soyinka, Gambaro) and their works.
  3. Prominent individuals.
  4. Major themes, characteristics, and developments in drama.
Domain IV–Theater Education

0010 Understand principles of theater education for children and adolescents.

Includes:

  1. Teaching methods and approaches in drama/theater education.
  2. The artistic development of children and adolescents in drama/theater.
  3. Criteria for evaluating acting, theatrical performance, and theater crafts at different age levels.

0011 Understand the interdisciplinary nature of theater.

Includes:

  1. Theater in connection to related arts (e.g., opera, puppetry, mime, music, dance, visual arts, radio, television, video, film, digital media) and other academic disciplines.
  2. Theater in relation to the humanities.
Domain V–Integration of Knowledge and Understanding

0012 Prepare an organized, developed analysis on a given topic related to one or more of the following: playwriting, performance, direction, design, production, or management of dramatic works; theater history; dramatic literature; and theater education.

Includes:

  1. Principles of playwriting and dramatic structure.
  2. Principles of acting.
  3. Principles of directing.
  4. Principles of producing and managing theatrical performances.
  5. Set, costume, and lighting design and execution.
  6. Dramatic literature of the United States and other theater traditions.
  7. Principles of theater education for children and adolescents.
  8. The interdisciplinary nature of theater.