Malkin, Michael  

After taking Dr. Malkin's class I thought to myself, "What have I learned?" I then realized that I learned nothing! Doc's teaching style is boring, scattered and as far as public speaking is concerned Doc would NOT recieve a passing grade from me. If you are not a theatre major be prepared for this class. Doc will constantly talk to the Theatre majors. Maybe he forgets that this is a GE for many of us students. Also be prepared for only 2 tests! I just can't understand why only two tests are given, better not do bad on even one or you have no chance for a decent grade in the class. This class is a lot of reading of plays and all the questions on his tests are recall questions, but be prepared for Dr. Malkin to pull up the most insignificant parts of plays. This class was frustrating and a waiste of time.

An excellent professor and a first class director. Clear and straighfroward lecture style. One of the few profs that still makes learning fun. In all truth it was a real pleasure to be in his class

Doc. is AWESOME! He teaches with passion and demands the best from his students. You WILL learn a lot in his class, not just about the class, but about life. I have not had a better teacher at Cal Poly!

Doc rules. I always looked forward to going to theater, it was always a thoroughly enjoyable experience. He presented materials and ideas in a way that captivated me and kept me enjoying class. I recommend taking a course taught by him for whatever reason you can find.

I am writing this letter to warn everyone in the same situation as me who is not planning on pursuing a career in the theatrical arts upon graduation from Poly. Though the majority of his evaluations are good, and I am in no way saying that he is a bad teacher, his TH 210 class is much more difficult than Alvin Schnupp. More reading is required and the tests are way more difficult. I first took Malkin's class and got a D in it. I then took Schnupp's class and received an A. I'm a Business major and could give a shit about what I learn in this class, I just want a decent grade. So if you're like me then I urge you to take Schnupp's TH 210 class over M Malkin's. By the way they are both arrogant asses who have no reason to be cocky being theatre professors at a polytechnic university.

I did okay in his class because I learned from the plays I read, not him. Dr. Malkin is an arrogant man who yells at you if you don't call him Doctor. He says that you can only call him Mr. when you yourself achieve his doctoral status. He is passionate though, and berates you if you don't share his passion for theatre.

Dr. Malkin means well in his classes, but he just plain can't teach. I did well because I memorized everything that we read. This is a theatre class which is a visual art, but all we did was read. The only person who was able act was him. I guess he was acting like a professor.

Jerk. Dr. Malkin is some man who wishes he could be a big time director in theatre, but just couldn't cut it, so he teaches theatre not at a good liberal arts college, but a polytechnic one? He definitely has passion on his job, but his tests are overly difficult. I heard that the other Th 210 teacher is easier.

Doc Malkin is an excellent teacher who, at first comes across as a mean, and arrogant teacher. But this is not the case. I was very scared the first day of his class. But after I went to a few office hours, I realized that this guy puts on this attitude, as a way to get people's attention. Once you get to know him, and understand his type of humor, he really is a great guy to talk to. His knowledge of theatre rivals that of his wife, Pam, and presents the subject in an easy, understandable way. If you read the plays, go to class take good lecture notes, and TALK to him in his office, you'll find it easy to get an A.

Dr. Malkin is really not that great of a teacher. He is passionate about theatre no doubt, but he just can't put his passion into meaningful lectures that explain his ideas to his students. I learned very little during lecture, I managed to do okay by reading the book and studying the plays that we read.

Mr. Malkin's class is not easy. It's a course where you have to force yourself to think like him to get a good grade. He is very much into theater and he seems like a great actor/director. However, he stresses visual art rather than mental, and sometimes it doesn't work that way. He doesn't realize that knowing where the play is coming from and the symbols in it, you can learn so much more. If you can understand his visual perspective on the plays you read, you'll do great, but if it never clicks, you'll do horribly.

It is apparent that Dr. Malkin understands that most of the students in his 210 class are taking it as a GE, not because they want to. BEWARE: this does not add sympathy and understanding in his grading style. His tests are fair, but very difficult to get an A on. A lot of the grade has to do with how good of a writer you are. If you're not a good writer, don't take doc. Otherwise, he IS an interesting teacher and his lectures can be fun if youre at all interested in theatre. If you're not, be prepared to fall asleep. Overall, Dr. Malkin is a good teacher when it comes to theatre, and I recommend him if you can write well.

Arrogant, horrible, fat man. Take Schnupp for TH 210. Though the class is larger, he is a better prof. for TH 210, especially if someone is considering a career in Theatre.

Michael Malkin made me change my major out of Theatre. He fails to realize that Theatre, being a form of art can have multiple interpretations. Come test time, if you want to pass the class, you'd better agree with his interpretation or he will attack you in as passionate a matter as he bullshits his way through the plays we studied.

I hope classes like this aren't going to be similar to those in the future at Cal Poly. Mr. Malkin (he doesn't deserve the Ph.D) forces you to believe what he says during lecture and communicate his beliefs on the test to get a decent grade. I did sell myself short by following his orders and yes I did got an A, but I really hope I don't have to take classes such as this where the Prof. is almighty again.

Doc is awesome. Plain and simple. The man is amazing. He has an obvious flair for the subject and enjoys teaching people about it. For those of you that are not majors or minors, don't worry. Doc, tries hard as hell the first day to get someone to drop the first day, but that's only the first day. After the first day he's reverts to his normal self. He's ACTING on the first day. That alone tells you how talented he is. It's also a sign on how good his class is.

The freak is obsessed with puppets and is just about as arrogant and self absorbed as I have ever seen. I'm in a class with about 240 people and the only ones that I've spoken to that can even stand him are the other pretentious theater people. He's made two documentaries on puppets and speakes about it as much as he can while still covering the required material. He also has a HUGE chip on his shoulder about the importance of theater. Avoid him if at all possible.

Asshole of the first degree. I got a decent grade in the class but regretted every lecture that I went to. This guy is remarkably arrogant and self-righteous. He talks to you as if you don't even have a mild form of intelligence. Avoid this guy like fucking Ebola.

Dr. Malkin is without a doubt THE WORST professor I have ever had...and will probably continue to be (I can't imagine it getting much worse). His lectures are about nothing in praticular...mostly his own accomplishments. He really likes puppetry, especially the documenteries HE made. His tests are no big deal...don't waste more than five minutes studying for them (as long as you've read the plays). If you take the class, do yourself a favor and never go to lecture because you'll come out of it EVERYTIME knowing you just wasted an hour and half of your life (and you can never have it back).

Dr. Malkin is the most arrogant self centered professor I have had in four years at poly. All he care to do is talk about himself and make himself feel important. Never take this arrogant ass hole for a class he could care less about the students and what they learn

A good majority of the evaluations i read for this guy have made the claim that he is an arrogant pain in the ass, that's because he is. Malkin is thouroughly full of himself and one of the worst teachers I've had here. His lectures are often pointless and disoriented, supplemented with the occassional guest lectures (from friends of his) that also fail to teach ANYTHING. Another thing you should be aware of: Malkin uses his position to promote his own work. We had to watch a 2 hour video on puppets that, frankly, was just a waste of everyone's time, and it was HIS production--he and various members of his immediate family made it! This GE class is supposed to increase the students interest in the topic and give them a general appreciation for the subject matter. It failed on both counts for me, for three other people in the class that i talked with, and for the majority of the class according to the evaluations. Probably the worst aspect of this class was his tests, all two of them. The first one was reasonably fair and i got an A- on it. In the lecture after the first test he announced that it was too easy, so for the final he designed a test that focused on irrelevant details such as where and when certain playwrights were born, when a certain event took place in a play, etc... The questions did not cover themes or significant events in the plays, they centered around all the stupid shit that no intelligent student would bother to remember. We spent weeks studying Arthur Miller and there were TWO questions concerning him and his plays on the final. I generally get good grades so when my 4.0 got fucked up for fall quarter I was pretty pissed off. I had just wasted four hours a week for 10 weeks so I could listen to some pretentious asshole give me his unwanted opinions. He was so arrogant that he actually believed that he, DOC malkin, was some kind of spiritual leader into the world of theatre. He always attempted to convey life lessons to us, but they were never as profound as he thought. They only served to make him more of an ass in everyone's eyes. Except for the few pricks in the class (and I mean "few" in the most literal sense) that actually liked him. Those same few pricks are responsible for the only positive evaluations for malkin. And thats just the beginning, there are volumes that could be written about him but I think the basic concepts were covered. Bottom line: AVOID AT ALL COSTS. For gods sake take dance if you have to. Anything would be better than having him as a teacher.

Avoid taking Doc Malkin at all costs! He is by far the worst teacher I've had at poly. Before taking TH 210- I had a small interest in theatre arts, that is now completely gone! If you find yourself in my position- with not other classes to take . . . read all the plays (which make up most of the tests) and try (although it's VERY hard) not to fall asleep in class. There are only two tests, which are weighted the same. The first test was fairly easy, if you had read the plays (not very many questions from lecture). The final was difficult, which was made more difficult because the pages of my test weren't in order!. Anyway, just do yourself (and your GPA a favor and stay away from this professor)

To be objective, Malkin's class is strait forward. Expect to read two of the 5 assigned plays, and show up to class everyday to pass. To be informative, Malkin has a small man's complex. He continually be-littles students and and talks himself, his production company, and his experience up through the roof. He is arrogant and does not teach the class so students learn, but to get an even grade distribution. He prides himself on being a hard-a@@. What really got me was when we got our first test back and the class average was around a 77%. Instead on commending us on our understanding of the subject, he be-littles us and says that the exam must have been too easy and not to expect the same on the second midterm. Also, before a midterm he offers a "review" session where we can ask him questions. When asked what type of questions to expect from the reading material, his reply was,"I'm not going to tell you this. It is part of the game." What game? However, he does have a nice wife who guest lectured, he take his teaching seriously and the lectures are fairly strait forward. Show up to class every day, take good notes, and stay awake for more than 75% of the time and you guarantee yourself a C. I took notes for a friend who never showed up except for test days and they passed with a D.

Malkin is a boring professor who is too into himself and his lame jokes. He gives too many plays to read. He expects too much from his students, especially considering that the class is only a 200 level art GE class at a Polytechnic university!!!

Mike Malkin likes to imagine he is above everyone, lecturing to the "inferior" students. He seems to think he knows everything, yet all he does is either say a synopsis of the play or rain down insults. About %20 of his entire lecture actually consists of substantive analysis of the work. About the only good thing about his class, is that his tests are easy - but expect a good %25 of the questions to be trivia or identifying character speeches that anyone would agree are minor and insignificant. I would warn anyone that if there is another option to choose from, DON'T take Malkin.

Wow, I do not understand the hate towards Dr. Malkin. Unless he has changed since I last took him, I felt he was a great teacher. He is a cool guy, and you can tell he is very passionate about the material. The work load for this class was very light and the tests were not extremely difficult. His lectures are usually pretty intense. Not writing-intense, but you can tell he's up there having a good time teaching. This class really sparked my interest in the arts (in truth I thought it would be very boring) and I would most definitely take "Doc" again. Also, don't trust anyone who doesn't know where to put a percent sign.

A good, simple GE class. You MUST read all the plays assigned to be able to pass his tests and it helps a lot if you come to class and take good notes. If you don't plan on doing those things you will be taking this class over. Doc is an interesting character who has a real love for what he teaches. I know a lot of people who found him weird or haughty but if you keep an open mind, get into the material and give him a chance I think you will find yourself enjoying his class. There is no homework other then reading so your whole grade is dependent on the midterm and final. I aced the midterm but didn't read one of the 4 plays assigned before the final so I got a B in the class. READ THE PLAYS!

I feel sorry for all the brainless foe who gave Doc a bad rating. I'd heard horrible things about Mr. Malkin - both on his polyratings and from other students. I took his class so I could fill my 4 unit gap and found him to be a really awesome instructor. Most of his lectures were very clear. There might have been one or two that failed to keep my attention span alive but he seemed better prepared than other instructors that I've had. More discussion on the plays would have been a nice addition to the course. All you have to do for the course is attend lectures and read 8 plays. I would also read the sparknotes for each play to help with the finer details. Most of them turned out to be really interesting. Only two things are graded in the course: the midterm and the final. Each are worth an equal amount and are about as difficult as the PSY 202 tests. The tricky multiple choice questions may throw you but not if you study hard. Thanks Doc

I don't care what you say about his performance in other classes. In his last TH 210 class, he was a dick. He did not care about the students like he did in other classes. He lied about the final and never was prepared during lectures. His other classes are great, but he just didn't care in TH 210.

Although Professor Malkin is excited about theater and teaching it to students, he is usually overzealous, which drives him off course and into many tangents. It seems that many people that like theater enjoy the sound of their own voice, and Malkin is no exception, He revels in telling personal stories that have no connection to theater or the day's lecture. Attending every lecture is certainly not essentail for earning a decent grade in his class as long as you have some sort of prior knowledge of the plays he assigns. I suggest not purchasing any of the plays, as the answers to the questions he asks on the midterm and final can be found on sparknotes.com. Save your money. This class is easy, and therefore a bit of a waste of time, but a plus for the GPA nonetheless.

I'm not sure why so many kids seem to dislike Dr. Malkin. He is a nice guy who really seems to love theatre. There are only two tests in the quarter so that makes it rough, but as long as you read the plays you'll be fine. If you want to get an A in the class you need to go to the lectures as well. The exams are 2- 50 mulitple choice exams. So if you miss 11 questions the whole quarter you're at a B. But honestly, his exams are not hard. I made flashcards and the lectures and then just took notes on the play which i went over the day before the exam. Really don't sweat this course. It's interesting and he picks good plays to read.

I'm gonna be pretty honest here. I don't hate him but i do think that he was a horrible teacher. Although he does seem passionate about the theatre and what he's teaching, he ends up only talking about himself. I didn't learn very much at all in this class. He goes on SO MANY tangents talking about his own accomplishments and how important he is. The thing that sucks is that only TWO THINGS COUNT TOWARD YOUR GRADE! The mid-term and Final and that is it!!! So you really need to go to the lectures and force yourself to take notes. If you pay attention and take notes then you will for sure get a good grade. Its not that hard of a class, its just that its EXTREMELY BORING. This guy is really a horrible teacher and it really reflects poorly on Cal Poly.

there are two tests which account for your entire grade in this class. You can basically not go to class if you read all 8 plays. We are supposed to get better at outlining a play by the end but really he doesnt teach us anything to make us better at it. there were a few people who enjoyed this class because they were lovers of the theatre but i even knew theatre majors who hated this class!...very boring just read the plays and you will probably be fine.

This Professor is one of the most amazing human beings I have ever met. He is energetic and fun. The only reasson I got a C in the class is that your grade is heavily reliant on the reading material. but the clas is trully amazing, even for CPE major.

Straightfoward class. Go to lectures, read plays, take 2 exams. its really really tough because there are only 2 exams, so you fail or pass based on 2 100 point exams... which is good and bad. bad because you have no other way or classifying whether or not you did learn something. but good because its your own marker of where you are at. its a 150 person lecture so it can be boring. but its only a GE.

I didn't have a bad experience at all with him. I enjoyed the class and actually found it interesting. You do have to read the plays, as everyone warns. Most of the questions come from the plays so don't slack. I did and my grade on the final wasn't as good as the other tests. Pretty easy class.

Yes, the man loves theater, and all those associated with theater, but for us Ag majors out there who need to take the GE course, he is horrible. He knows we aren't interested in theater, and he makes sure we know he isn't interested in teaching such a basic, low-level class. I came to college to learn and hopefully expand my intrests, and I approached the class with excitment, which quickly fizzeled as I sat there in the lecture hall as this man proceeded to chatter aimlessly about his "other" career, his political and religious views, all the while berating the non-theater majors and attempting to make us feel stupider than him. Ugggg. Good luck if you get stuck with him, just read the plays and don't go to class.

Professor Malkin is one of the most long-winded teachers you will ever meet. He will take up half the class period talking about his friends in high places, time spent in the industry, and ultra successful kids. I love theatre and discussing the plays was informative, but it happened so rarely. At 9:30 no one wants to show up to be an anonymous student listening to him ramble. Your entire grade is based on a midterm and final so do not screw up. Read all the plays he assigns and review Greek and current theatre structural terminology. The tests are manageable, if not easy. Enjoy!

I enjoyed the class because I could just sit back, relax, take some notes, and never really have to worry about doing outside work. There are eight plays that you have to read during the quarter, with four of them being for the midterm, and four on the final. I actually recommned that you wait until the last minute to read them all. Most of them are one hundred pages or less, and if you read them right before the tests, you will be surprised by how clearly you remember details once you have to answer relatively easy questions about them. A word of advise- take decent notes, and make sure you study them rigorously before the tests. The material is not very hard to remember, and if you study hard, you will be shocked by how easy the questions are. Also, you watch a lot of videos in the class, and dont really need to take notes, so it is pretty chill. The subject matter is kind of interesting, but this is definetely a great GE class to fulfill your arts requirement, because it is easy and not a lot of work. I dont know if this professor is gonna be back though, he may have been in his last quarter when I took his class, so this rating may be useless.

I really disliked this class, which shouldn't be the case because I love theatre. The class was horrible. The material was boring and half of what he talked about didn't really matter for the final. I would say take this class with a different teacher and it may be much better. Malkin was dry, boring and very biased. His wife walked in the last day of class and gave a lecture and that was the first day I felt like I learned something.

Let's start with his lectures... boring! I dreaded going to class! You take a midterm and a final, so just hope you don't do bad on one of them, that's what happened to me. You need to read all the books because he asks random detailed questions on the tests. So basically find a different teacher, or get ready to fall asleep during class.

i thought this teacher was tight. From what i remember, i think we only had 1 midterm, a final, and 2 small quizzes. The quizzes were extremely short, just 3 easy ass questions based on the plays he assigns u to read. The midterm and final were easy, only a few tricky questions. All u have to do is read the plays (1 play every 1-2 weeks i think), they're not hard to read, and take some good notes, because his midterm and final are based soley on the lectures. Trust me, this class was easy (interesting to me but maybe not to others). Plus on some days u watch films and get out early. it was awesome.

LUCKILY FOR EVERYONE, IT WAS MALIN'S LAST QUARTER THIS QUARTER!!!! I fell asleep for half of the 2hour lecture at least once a week. My friend went to class once this entire quarter and still earned the same grade as me. Going to class didn't matter, it was reading a bunch of random, depressing plays and he would ask questions like "What is the first line in the book?" Nothing made sense in any of his lectures. He was the most arrogant and yet boring man I've ever come across.

this guy is an absolute joke. all he could talk about was how stoked he was to get out of poly and get back in the "industry". He ranted about how underappreciated the arts are and how many actors he has turned into stars. A midterm and a final about whatever he decided to pull out of his ass that day for two hours. Worst professor ive ever had. I hope he enjoys getting back into the "industry", probably the porn industry. go suck a fat dick

worst teacher ever.

i had a long and successful career in the professional theater (200+ productions) During a hiatus many years ago, i returned to school for post graduate work in english literature as well. during that period, i had the opportunity to work with, study with, learn from dr. mike malkin. there is nobody better...anywhere..not at juilliard (where i attended, not at yale (where my wife attended). be grateful.

Doc is a wonderful man who brings a great business aspect into theatre courses. If u are into pursuing acting as a career I HIGHLY suggest that you take acting with him, he is knowledgeable and a great teacher...a lot of the comments I read about him in this were NOT true...he is not an arrogant ass, he seems like it for a day or so but IS FAR FROM! He is a like an uncle to his students, his class is an easy B but a way hard A- If you want a GE elective do not take any theatre classes they are not easy, but if you really want to know about theatre PAM AND DOC ARE WHERE IT IS AT! INTRO TO THEATRE IS A LOT OF READING and tougher than acting.

doc is very full of himself. as long as you can deal with that and you don't get on his bad side, you'll do fine in his class. he basically likes to hear himself talk and thinks that he's right on everything. so as long as you agree with him, he'll like you and you'll be fine. it's really annoying in this class that you have to choose to do scenes from the same two plays all quarter long. you'll see the same scenes over and over. just make sure you do a good character analysis and you'll get a good grade for the scene. lectures are boring, but again if you show up and smile and nod whenever he says something, he'll like you. but get on his bad side and you're screwed.

Ahhh...Doc Malkin, the ruler of Cal Poly Theatre. Ever notice the way he looks at you, as if he's staring at your ear and your left eye at the same time? You ever wonder if it gives him a headache? Maybe that's why he's so sore all the time, and maybe it's why he plays with puppets because growing up he didn't have any friends? I'm not a psych major, but if yer little and cock-eyed, it's bound to last out on someone somewhere. Let's just thank the stars that he didn't venture into the Police Force -- I think there would be many teenagers turned toward a life of crime, not for money, but for vengeance. As far as I see it, Mike Malkin is very talented, and extremely smart. I enjoyed his acting class, because it was the only acting class I took at Poly. Once I graduated, and got into the real acting world, I understood that what Doc is good at is theatrical interpretation, not acting. They way he directs is by asking you to extend your vowels and to clip your words, "I soun-duh angree!" Either way, he had it out for me because of personal reasons I'd rather not go into -- but even though I hated the man for the way he black-balled me, I still respect him greatly for his intelligence, insight, and passion. He will wake you up to the world of theater, he will bring fear to your heart about moving to LA or NY in "that" quest -- but he will NOT make you a great actor. He will not help you move forward in your career, because if he could, he'd be living in a different house. God Bless you, Doc, bless you for trying to bring me down. Thanks for trying to break my spirit. You didn't do a damn thing but make me work harder. Trust me, I remember everything...but do you? Let's just say it would make a helluva screenplay.

Doc is the man. This class is great and Doc is always there for help. Now, don't get me wrong, he does give a lot of critisim, but I really like that. I mean, come on. How else are you supposed to improve if you don't know what you are doing wrong? He is an awesome guy. He knows what he's talking about. And I am very sad that I wont see him teaching here for another year....but you can bet that when he comes back I'll be in his class.

OK, OK, obviously there's a lot of controversy here. I would like to give my opinion because I feel I walk the line between loving and hating Doc. First the good stuff: Doc is sweet guy who has a genuine love and appreciation for the art of theatre. He wants his students to share his exact same vision and thus his downfall because of his approach. He likes students who put forth the effort and talk to him after hours. You will excell in his class if you try hard and if you enjoy theatre. (and yes it doesn't hurt to be one of the favorites sometimes - sorry doc, but you know it's true). He does his best to make time for students if you're having trouble - but be carefule (this is where the negative comments start coming in) he will talk and talk and talk your ear off and often not come to the point - at least not the point you were going for. Or you might forget what the point was by the time he gets there. He does this in lecture too, often times telling you too much about his own personal life and accomplishments and not enough about the subject at hand. Many times instead of informing the class about something he lectures by posing several questions. Many times, his acting notes are done the same ways and very often when he asks you a question and tell you to make a correction based on your answer to that question (which he doesn't always ask you to answer out loud) you have NO IDEA what he's asking, but he assumes you do. He assumes a lot from the students and doesn't really give you a chance to prove him wrong. He does think a lot of himself and comes of arrogent whether he is or not. And despite his never-ending supply of bow ties he does mean well and love his students. I agree that the testing tends to be unfair as he asks a lot of questions about miniscule facts of a play that you wouldn't pick up unless you read the play 5 times. But, like I said, if you put forth the effort and have an after class conversation with him once in a while to let him know you give a damn about what he's saying or have additional imput you will do well. (I got an A in both classes I took with him.) I wouldn't tell you to avoid a class with him at all costs like some people here, there are many things to enjoy about it, however I won't recommend you take him either. I think he' just has one of those personalities that you either love or hate. (which I know doesn't explain my opinion on him - but go with me here, I'm trying to be objective) So my advice would be to read everyone's comments here and if you sign up for the class just be prepared.

I am not ripping Mr Malkin cuz he gave a C... he is an egotistical jerk who thinks it is his way or the highway. This class is supposed to be fun and it is like torture. He is so mean and grades so unfairly. I think he has favorites too.

This is the first C I have recieved in my entire life. I hope that says something to all of you out there watching their GPA. Do not take him--this class was a nightmare!