An entry level theatrical course designed to develop skills in acting, dramatic performance and other forms of theatre craft is being added to the high school curriculum for the next school year.

The course outline was presented to the Ripon Unified School District Board of Trustees Monday night and will cover many domains of theatre that will require students to apply skills such a performance etiquette, voice projection, stage movement, character development, use of props and costumes, improvisation, pantomime and puppetry.

Students will be expected to learn theatre terminology in order to articulate viewpoints on theatrical performances both verbally and in writing. Methods by which a playwright communicates the culture of time and place will be analyzed by Ripon students in a variety of theatre genres.

The students will also be expected to analyze documentary, historical and contemporary fiction, commercial and educational forms.  They will be required to create a movie as a group for their final project selecting a story, narrative or subject themselves.

An evaluation journal will also be required by recording and evaluating each performance in class during the course of the year. The journals will be judged quarterly and be due for a final grade at the end of the year.