Sitko, Mark  

I came into this class expecting to hate it, but this class is by far my favorite class that I've taken so far at Cal Poly. I absolutely love Sitko and the way he runs this class. The very first thing he told our class was that he knows we probably don't give a shit about theatre, so he tried to make it enjoyable for that sake, and it worked. Don't get me wrong, this is not an easy, sit-back-and-relax kind of class. We have multiple essays (which are graded very fairly), many in-class essays (which are graded if you did them or not so basically a way to take roll), free answer quizzes, and a free answer midterm and final. There are also approximately 7 whole plays that we are expected to read on top of the curriculum discussed in class. We also had to get in groups and perform 10 minutes of a play of our choice at the end of the quarter. Now, while there was a lot of work expected of us, most of it was very entertaining and interesting. Sitko dislikes old plays, so you will read mostly modern ones except for a Shakespearean play in the beginning (which is the hardest one you will read all quarter). He goes very quickly in his lectures and the notes he writes up on the board are often illegible so taking notes was challenging, but he's so passionate for theatre that you kind of forgive him. If you miss something during his lecture, he is more than happy to discuss it with you after class or during his office hours. This guy is extremely approachable and passionate for teaching. He will constantly crack jokes and no topic is too inappropriate for conversation. Expect profanity and mildly disturbing info. This class is very liberal and progressive so if that turns you off, I do not recommend this class. Otherwise, I highly suggest it. I did every assignment, and got a B+ only because I had to miss a couple classes for personal reasons. Overall, this class is very doable and fun and you will wind up enjoying it even if you don't particularly like theatre.

In his Theatre History class, Sitko's curriculum is heavy at first, but he presents it in a very interesting and modern way, inviting discussion about topics like feminism in ancient Greece and having fun group activities or projects, which may not be relevant material but keep the class lively. The work is split between lectures about the general history of a nation's theatre, with some videos thrown in, but he mostly scrawls on the whiteboard while giving his excited spiels about Shakespeare, and assigned reading, about an hour per night, switching between plays and textbook excepts. The homework is laid out in the syllabus, and the tests are usually about discussions in class, so attending is necessary. Not a particularly hard class; albeit boring at some subjects, Sitko's enthusiasm and conversations with the class make it interesting and a class to look forward to and do well in.

Sitko is one of my favorite professors. He spends most of class lecturing and writing on the whiteboard, but he tries his best to stick to interesting topics and provide details and diagrams that make the information easier to remember. He usually assigns about an hour of homework twice a week. The course itself isn't too difficult, but attending class is absolutely necessary. Take this class if you can, you won't regret it!

This guy is the man. One of the funniest professors I have had at Cal Poly. Took a subject I was not passionate about and made it my favorite class of the quarter. There is nightly reading but this guy is worth it. Study your notes from lectures and you will be golden for the tests.

The class itself wasn't terrible but his lectures were hard to follow. I had an A going into the final but the final screwed me over even though I actually studied a lot for it and ended up with a B. The tests are difficult to study for since he doesn't give a study guide and just says random words and tells you to write them done. Sitko himself is a pretty cool guy though.