Honors Theatre Course Immerses Students in the World of Plays

When it comes to some classes, all college students know the drill; we take notes during long lectures, attend class discussions on reading materials, and are often confused about what goes on during lab sessions. But for Honors College students, Honors courses are different, and a HON 142 surely proves that!

For my spring semester 2022, I signed up for the in-person class HON 142, Play With a Purpose, which is taught by Professor Richard Corley. I did not know what to expect. From the title of the class, I anticipated we would be reading and analyzing prominent plays in literature.

To my surprise, on the first day of class we did an acting exercise. This is when I realized HON 142 was going to be a lot different from the rest of my courses, and according to Professor Corley, that wasn’t an accident.

“I conceived this course as an Introduction to Theatre class, but with one main difference: this class is experiential,” Professor Corley said. “We don’t just talk about theatre and read plays: instead, I want the Honors students to actively experience what it means to act, write, direct, and design theatre.”

As a student of the course, I have experienced this firsthand. I’ve been able to do everything, from acting in scenes, to writing and directing my own plays. It is a lot more hands-on than what you would typically expect from a college course, which makes it unique.

Another unique part of HON 142, and Honors courses in general, is the small class size. This allows us to have gotten to know each other and our work very well. Something about having only a few classmates gives it a charm I don’t usually find in my larger lectures, where we barely get to know the professor and the people around us.

In this class, we also get to learn about theatre from someone who has been intimately involved in the field.

“When I was a child, growing up in South Carolina, we had a middle school Christmas play.  I auditioned for that and got in,” Professor Corley said. “The director of that play worked with the local community theatre, and I auditioned for their children’s theatre production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  Once I began to do Shakespeare – the language, the playfulness, the magic of theatre opened up to me and I was hooked.”

From there, he began to direct plays in high school and eventually obtained a Master’s Degree in Directing from Illinois State University. He has directed plays all over the United States and overseas in Italy and Russia. Currently, he is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Theatre in the School of Theatre and Music, teaching acting, directing, and theatre history.

“I want the Honors students to achieve a detailed and in-depth understanding and respect for the work that theatre practitioners do.  I also want them to be surprised by their own creativeness,” Professor Corley said. “I hope this class continues to grow and that I can introduce more Honors students to the joy and skill and creativity that is theatre.”