1. Cultural Event Report: A Companion to Ballet and Dance
Below are prompts to help you identify and analyze different
aspects of a dance performance and
the context from which the dance (or dances) emerge.
Make a copy of this sheet and bring along to refer to for your
notes. From them you can either
develop the required Humanities Report - 2.5 to 4 pages, or an
optional Extra Credit Report (1.5
to 3 pages. The required report usually focuses on reporting
overall impressions, careful
descriptions, and comments on interesting details about the full
range of dance elements as noted
here in the prompts. It should include a comparison of dances, if
there are sets of them. It should
discuss different dancers. An Extra Credit Report is 1.5 to 3
pages, and is a reduced version of the
regular report. It should cover the main categories here, but
with fewer details.
Company
Date of Performance
Location (describe the space, the audience, the atmosphere)
The Dance program:
Overall impressions and comments on these aspects:
Subjects of the dance
Choreography

2. Types of Music
Is there an obvious theme (driving idea)
A less obvious one?
Compare what you expected to your actual experience of the
dances (what you saw and heard):
Type(s) of Dances. Describe and comment on dances that stood
out for you and why (strengths,
weaknesses, surprises).
The Dancers. Soloists and their roles. What kind of ways do the
dancers perform singly and
together (physically, theatrically. . .)? Be specific.
Choreography (the art of creating and arranging dance patterns)
Music
The Staging (lighting, costumes, and set design) The style,
period, or national tradition
The larger Context (from program notes/ reviews? other
resources—may require some research)
Philosophical (greater wisdom from dance)
Historical influence
Social and/or Religious meanings
Your Response (what you like, what you think, what you feel)

3. H101 Musical Theater Assignment
Worksheet
Answer all the questions on this worksheet. Use your answers to
develop an organized, informed, critically
aware, insightful and well-written essay to post in Blackboard.
Correct punctuation, capitalization, and
sentence structure will also be part of your grade. Title your
file: MusThea_ YourName_Sect#_year/term.
A. BASIC INFORMATION:
Record the production title, day and date you attended, where
the production took place, length of
performance, time of intermission, main performers. Describe
your impressions of the theater, the
composition and general “mood” of the audience.
B. RESPOND TO THE PERFORMANCE; ANSWER
THEATRICAL SPECIFICS:
1. Name the main characters and briefly describe them. Did
their costumes suit the time/locale of the
performance? Did colors or style suggest anything about the
characters?
2. Describe the plot in your own words (200 or less; do not copy
a synopsis). Focus on organization,
pivotal scenes.
3. Who composed the music for this musical? Who wrote the
lyrics?

4. 4. Choose a song from the show. Describe what you can
remember about it. What made it memorable?
Be sure to include information about the music also, not just the
lyrics.
5. What was the sound and period “style” of the music in
general? Explain (distinctive instruments, ways
of playing them, etc.).
6. Were there dances in the musical? If so, who choreographed
them? Describe and comment on what
stood out for you about the choreography. Why?
7. What exactly did see on that stage? Can you detect designer
choices? Are they true to type?
- The set(s): Describe them. Are they realistic, fantastic, or
abstract?
How did they contribute to (or detract from) the overall impact
of the show?
- The lighting: How is the lighting used to increase the impact?
Colors? Angles?
- Sounds: How are they used? Effects?
- The Plot. How is it staged? What devices helped you to
follow the story? Enjoy the experience?
What did not work for you? Why?
- The actors. How did the actors move and speak? Did they
seem like “real” people? Which character
was most developed? How demonstrated? Did you prefer this
one over the others? Why?
Visually, musically, and dance-wise: What was the overall
style and impact of the production?
8. Interpretation, by the director. Why do you think the
playwright wrote this musical? Based on a book?
A controversy?

5. 9. Your expectations. Why did you select this production?
What did you expect?
10. Your assessment. How was this experience different from
other theater productions that you have
seen? When did the playwright’s choice of character,
environment, story, language, music, song, or
dance create a mood and have meaning for you? Why? Did the
visual impact, and the music reinforce or
weaken the theme of the production? How? What do think the
theme of the production was?
11. What did you take away from the theater? Pleasantly
entertained without having to think? A
sobering comment on life that did not entertain? A plea or call
to action that over-stated its case? Insight
into one’s own problems? A determination to do something
about the problems?
12. Expansion. Reflecting back, what connections or
comparisons can you make to examples and
ideas in our studies? Implications: What conflicts of cultural
values does this performance suggest?
How might this production apply to life situations today?
C. Then, write up your report! Follow General Instructions for
a Performance Report in the
Humanities Report folder. Before the essay starts, list proof(s)
of attendance you submitted or posted in
BB9 (signed Ticket, dated “selfie” in venue, or other
indubitable proof).
Carterf/HUMANITIES Art Music Concert Guidelines

6. General approach: Note treatment of basic elements, describe
overall impressions, focus on 2 pieces
in detail, compare, interpret, and assess them.
A. Basic information:
1. Record date you attended, where production took place.
Describe the environment and audience.
2. Record the name of the company performing, production title,
length of performance, intermissions.
3. Explain the order of the program (is it laid out in historical,
narrative, thematic manner?).
4. Take notes on the program pamphlet. Note key elements of
the performance and how they worked.
B. Respond to the performance and to the pertinent music
concert questions below.
1. Describe, generally, the type of production you attended
(symphony, quartet, etc.).
a. What kind of space was it performed in? What was the
audience like?
b. Was there a theme to the concert?
c. Summarize the composers and the types of pieces performed
( no more than 150 words).
2. Focus works: Which two stood out for you?
a. When were the pieces written? If there are no dates, guess,
then look it up later.
b. What kinds of instruments and/or voices were used? What
was most outstanding?
c. What cultural styles did you encounter? (classical, gospel,
jazz, folk or ethnic music, etc.).
d. What key formal style(s), key musical elements, and

7. compositional forms did you notice?
e. What kind of musical patterns did you notice? (rhythm,
melody, harmony, dynamics, etc. . . ).
f. If there was a story, costumes, movement, lyrics describe
them and their relation to music.
3. Were there soloists?
What instruments were featured? What was the relation
between the solo instrument and the
rest of the group? Like a conversation? Call and response?
Soloist starts theme, then joins the
group? Solo instrument with other instruments as
accompaniment?) Please explain.
4. Interpretation:
List some adjectives to describe the mood this music created in
you and the thoughts you
experienced during the performance or in retrospect. What did
you hear in the music that
suggested these moods and ideas?
5. Expectations and Assessment: Why did you choose to
attend this production? What did you
expect? Describe anything you liked or enjoyed. Use musical
terms and ideas from the
questions above. Describe anything you disliked or did not
enjoy. Did the music suggest a
situation you could recognize or to which you could relate?
Compare to other forms of music
you know.
6. Expansion: Reflecting back, what connections or comparisons
would you make to arts and ideas
related to our studies? For example, if you could illustrate this
music with a work of art from our text,
what would it be? Why? Who do you think would appreciate a

8. performance of this piece of music (your
friends, adults, children, dancers, musicians, etc.). Why?
Implications: What cultural values does this
performance suggest?
C. Write up your Report! Follow General Instructions of the
Performance Report.
NOTE: Before you start the project and once again before you
finish your final draft, consult the
Criteria and Grading Rubric. Proofread for spelling, grammar,
clarity of meaning before you turn it in.
Visual and Plastic Arts - Architecture observation.
1. For a work of architecture, a building created as a work of
art, you need to
consider three things and how they go together:
- its aesthetic functions (the looks and style of a building),
- its practical functions and
- its symbolism. For example, for a public building, a museum,
place of
worship, a school, or residence the aesthetic function must serve
its practical
structural design, symbolic, and aesthetic functions.
Here are some more important questions to answer for a
building (some of this
may involve background research).
2. Structure and materials. How is it put together? What kind of

9. materials?
How are they assembled? How is the building supported? Is the
building or set
of buildings laid out in a pattern? Is it symmetrical or
asymmetrical? Pre-
planned or add-on? Explain.
3. Scale and proportion. How does the size relate to the human
form? What
emotional sensations result from scale?
4. Formal Context (inside). What do you think of the layout?
How do the
shapes and spaces serve the purposes of the building? (consider
the rituals and
other activities that are done there). Do the spaces assist or slow
down smooth
traffic of people? Where is the flow? Where are the stopping
points?
5. Formal Context (outside). How does the building relate to its
environment?
Does it reflect or compete with its surroundings? Does it blend
in? Does it
dominate? Where is it located in relation to the town? Was
climate a factor in the
design?
6. Symbolism. Does the shape of the building have a symbolic
meaning? Do the decorative elements contribute to the function
and symbolism
of the building (painting, sculpture, etc.)
7. Looks and Style. Describe its overall aesthetic appeal and
stylistic
appearance and details that support it. Is there a name for the
style of this
building? Is this building unique, or is it a type? Where did the
style come from?
8. Historical context and extension: What is the history the
building—the who,

10. what, when, where, why of it? Who commissioned it? Who
designed it? Where
is it located? What is its purpose? From your observations, to
who does it seem
to appeal to? What messages does it seem to send about itself?
8. Important—Your Informed Reaction. How do the previous
elements
combine to create a reaction in you? In other words, what
draws your attention?
What is your emotional and intellectual response to the
architecture, and what
causes that response? In other words, what kind of mood or
thoughts does it
convey to you? What in the building suggests this? What kind
of impact do you
think the building itself has on its function?
Things that might contribute include visual elements and
composition (structure,
color, textures, focus point, patterns, strong contrasts, diagonal
lines, suggested
movement), materials, historical or psychological, or symbolic
context, your own
preferences and associations.
CENTRAL VALLEY ART MUSEUMS (check days + hours
before visiting)
Haggin Museum, Stockton
1201 N Pershing Ave, Stockton, CA 95203
(209) 940-6300. www.hagginmuseum.org/ (focus on art, not
historical artifacts).
Sat & Sun, 12:00 to 5:00 pm. Wed thru Fri, 1:30 to 5:00 p.m.
(last admission 4:40 p.m.)

11. Click 1st & 3rd Thursdays, 1:30 to 9:00 p.m. Special events
(last admission 8:40 p.m.)
FREE Day: 1st Saturday of the month
Fresno Art Museum.
2233 North First Street Fresno, CA 93703 | 559-441-4221
Hours: Thurs – Sun, 11am – 5 pm web:
http://fresnotartmuseum.org
LOCAL and REGIONAL ART CENTERS and GALLERIES:
MJC Art Gallery, E. Campus 10am – 5 pm M-Th (check MJC
Homepage)
Modesto and regional Art Galleries (check Modesto Bee
entertainment section)
Mistlin Gallery (CCA Art Association) 1015 J St Modesto
http://ccaagallery.org/
Turlock: Carnegie Arts Center. 250 N. Broadway
www.carnegieartsturlock.org/ Turlock: CSU Stanislaus
Art Gallery https://www.csustan.edu/art-gallery
San Francisco and Bay Area ART MUSEUMS
(For shows, click on
http://www.sfbayareagalleryguide.com/specialinterest.html
For Free Days at Museums, click here:
http://freemuseumday.org/sf.html
(Remember: look for ART museum and/or ART galleries).
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art ‧ (415) 357-4000 ‧
151 Third Street San Francisco, CA 94103 Hours:10 a.m.–5
p.m. and Th til 9 p.m.
Plan ahead: Purchase tickets online. web: sfmoma.org/
de Young Museum
50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, San Francisco, 94118 ‧ (415)
750-3600 ‧

12. T-Sun 9:30-5:15, Fri 9:30-8:45 web: famsf.org/deyoung/
Legion of Honor
Lincoln Park, San Francisco, 94121 ‧
(415) 750-3600 ‧ T-Sun 9:30-5:15 web:
famsf.org/legion/index.asp
Asian Art Museum
200 Larkin Street, San Francisco, 94102 ‧
(415) 581-3500 ‧ T-Sun 10-5 web: asianart.org
Oakland Museum of California
1000 Oak Street, Oakland, 94607
(510) 238-2200 ‧ W-Sun 11-5, Th/Fr 11-8 web: museumca.org
University of California Berkeley Art Museum
2155 Center Street, Berkeley. Wednesday–Sunday, 11 AM to 9
PM
(510) 642-0808 ‧ web: bampfa.berkeley.edu
San Jose Museum of Art
110 So. Market Street, San Jose, 95113
(408) 271-6840 ‧ T-Sun 11-5
web:sjmusart.org/
OTHER AREA CALIFORNIA ART MUSEUMS and ARTS
CENTERS
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Wed 12-6, Th-Sat 12-8, Sun
12-6
701 Mission Street, SF, 94103 • (415) 978-2728
www.ybca.org/
The Museum of Performance & Design W-Sat12:30-5:30, Th
12:30-7:30

13. 893-B Folsom Street, SF 94107 • (415) 255-4800
www.mpdsf.org/
Cantor Visual Arts Center at Stanford University W-Mon 11-5,
Th 11-8
328 Lomita Drive, Stanford 94305 • (650) 732-4177
https://museum.stanford.edu
Crocker Art Museum T-Sun 10-5, Th 10-9
http://www.crockerartmuseum.org
216 “O” Street, Sacramento 95814 • (916) 808-7000
Exploratorium T-Sun 10-5 (focus on Art in galleries)
Pier #15, SF 94111 • (415) 528-4444 www.exploratorium.edu/
Marin Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) W-Fri 11-4
500 Palm Drive, Novato 94949 • (415) 506-0137
https://www.marinmoca.org/
Monterey Museum of Art Th-Mon 11-5
559 Pacific, Monterey 93940 • (831) 372-5477
www.montereyart.org/
The Museum of Art & History at the McPherson Center
705 Front Street, Santa Cruz 95060
T-Sun 11-5 • (831) 429-1964 https://santacruzmah.org
San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art T-Fri 10-5, Sat 12-5
560 South First Street, San Jose 95113 • (408) 283-8155
http://sjica.org/
San Jose Museum of Art
110 S Market St, San Jose, CA 95110
(408) 271-6840http://sjmusart.org
Triton Museum of Art Tue-Sat 11-5, Th 11-9

14. 1505 Warburton Avenue, Santa Clara 95050
(408) 247-2438 www.tritonmuseum.org/
Theater Companion
This topic set can be used for Any Type of Play. (Musical
Theater - theatrical narrative with
song and other musical numbers – has a separate Companion.
A. Basic Information:
1. Record the date you attended, where the production took
place; describe the
environment, audience, atmosphere.
2. Record the name of the company performing, title of the
production, length of
performance, intermissions.
3. Summarize your impressions of the order of the program (Is
it laid out in historical,
narrative, thematic manner?).
4. Take notes on the program pamphlet. Mention important
elements of the
performance and how they worked. Think of Aristotle’s
components of a play to help
you consider various elements (plot, character, theme, dialogue,
spectacle, sound).
B. Respond to the performance and answer pertinent Theatrical
Specifics:

15. 1. Context Background: When was the play written? If dates
are not given in the
playbill, make an educated guess and explain your reasoning.
For what kind of space
and audience was this piece originally intended? What leads you
to this conclusion?
2. Content of the play: List main characters. BRIEFLY,
summarize the story (plot) -
one short paragraph, about 1/2 page at the most. Focus on
organization, pivotal scenes.
3. What exactly do you see on that stage (spectacle)? Can you
detect Designer Choices;
Are they true to type?
a. The set. Is it realistic? Surrealistic? Abstract? How does this
contribute to (or detract
from) the overall impact?
b. The lighting. How is lighting used to increase the impact?
Colors? To what effect?
Sounds: How are they used? Effects?
c. Costumes. Do they suit the time and locale of the play? Do
colors or shapes suggest
anything about the characters?
d. The plot. How the plot is staged? What visual and other
devices -- e.g. dialogue,
actions) enabled you to follow the story? What ones did not
work for you? Why?
e. The actors/characters. How did the actors move + speak? Do
they seem like “real”
people? What character was most developed? How was this
accomplished? Did you
prefer this character over the others?
f. Visually, describe the overall style and impact of the

16. production.
4. Your thoughts on this Interpretation, by the director: Why do
you suppose the playwright
wrote this play? Why did the director and producer choose to
produce the play now?
5. Your expectations. Why did you select this production? What
did you expect?
6. Your assessment. How was this event different from other
theater productions you have
seen in the past? When did the playwright’s choice of character,
environment, story, or
language create a mood and have meaning for you? Why? Did
the visual impact reinforce or
weaken the theme of the production? How?
What did you take away from the theater? Pleasantly
entertained, with or without having to
think? A sobering comment on life that did not entertain? A
plea for or call to action that
overstated its case? Insight into one’s own, or others’ problems?
A determination to do
something about the problems?
7. Expansion.
- Reflecting back, make connections or comparisons to
examples and ideas in our studies.
- Implications: What cultural values does this performance
suggest? How might this
production apply to social or life situations today?