COMMENTS ONPROCESS Teaching Introduction to Theatre Today: An Analysis of Current Syllabi Alicia Kae Koger Introduction to Theatre has become a topic of considerable interest among faculty in American university and college theatre departments. These courses frequently provide "bread and butter" by attracting large numbers of non-theatre majors to departments. Increasingly, Intro to Theatre is included among "general education" or "arts core" requirements, providing a service to the university community. In addition, many colleges use Intro to Theatre to acclimate new drama majors to the aesthetics and process of creating theatre on the university level. In the fall of 1991, the Theatre History Focus Group of ATHE instituted a Syllabus Exchange which invited Intro to Theatre professors to contribute their syllabi to a collection which would be made available to the ATHE membership.1 Twenty-two faculty members responded to the call. This essay analyzes those syllabi in order to determine how Introduction to Theatre is currently taught in American colleges and universities. I investigated four major questions: 1) What are the primary goals of teachers of Introduction to Theatre? 2) What assignments do these professors use in their courses? 3) What teaching strategies do they employ? 4) What specific organizations of course material do they use? Finally, I examined the kinds of plays students see and read in order to determine the role multiculturalism currently plays in the teaching of Intro to Theatre courses. The syllabi evaluated in this article do not represent a scientific sample; they were sent by professors from a variety of institutions. Although some outlined the circumstances under which their courses were taught, most did not include such information. Thus data about the size and types of enrollments, the number of graduate teaching assistants, or the amount of resources available was not given in every case. The schools range from Miami Dade Community College, an urban campus with a culturally-diverse student body, to middle-America's largest institution of higher learning, The Ohio State University at Columbus. The smallest enrollment for a class was five students at 59 60 Alicia Kae Koger Millikin University, while the largest was over 750 per quarter at Ohio State. The majority of the institutions included in the sample are moderately-sized or larger state universities.2 In addition, the syllabi do not follow a standardized format but reflect each professor's unique style and approach. The amount of information presented in each syllabus varies widely as well, making strict comparisons almost impossible. Thus the following analysis is informal and, for the most part, non-statistical. It does nevertheless indicate current trends in the teaching of Intro to Theatre. In his 1991 Theatre Topics article, "Introduction to Theatre—Who Does It Serve? What Does It Contain?," Ronald A. Willis argues that Introduction to Theatre courses should address the non-theatre major's needs and "focus on developing behaviors, attitudes, skills, and knowledge necessary to be a discerning and intellectually active audience member" (145). He reminds us that the study of "theatre spectatorship" involves observing "the operation of theatre stimuli" and reflecting on "personally held paradigms" (146). He asserts that one of our goals in teaching Intro to Theatre should be "to enable the student to access alternate paradigms" and to "seek ways to keep students open to 'otherness'" (146). He concludes that "the knowledge base most useful to a theatre spectator details theatre's communicative means and the level of significance they promote" (147). Willis' essay represents the most recentlypublished consideration of the Intro to Theatre question and, as such, provides a significant point of departure for my analysis. An evaluation of the syllabi reveals that some Introduction to Theatre courses reflect Professor Willis' goals while others deviate widely from the model he suggests. Despite the wide range of institutions and circumstances, all the Intro professors surveyed share Willis' goal of developing informed and appreciative audience members. Other frequently-stated goals are for students to gain familiarity with several types of dramatic literature and to learn about the basic aesthetics and operations of the theatre and roles of its constituent artists. This second objective coincides with Willis' "knowledge base"; if they are successful , Intro professors will acquaint students...