Claudia Orenstein - Hunter College, New York, NY

Professor: Claudia Orenstein

Department: Theater

College: Hunter College, New York, NY

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: INTRO101
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

If you like theatre you might enjoy this class but if not... stay as far away as possible. If you look around the lecture hall (if anyone even shows up) all you see is people playing on their phones/ computers. She just rambles the entire time and never actually gets to the point and her exams are INSANE for it being an intro class.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: THC760
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

I liked Prof. Orenstein, but for some reason she didn't seem to like me. Not sure why. She is very passionate, especially as regards Asian theatre and PUPPETRY. She brings in some great guests, too.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: THEA101
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Her lectures can be extremely boring, but as long as you read the textbook you will be fine on the tests. She goes the full time for the class and kind of reminds you of high school because she'll go, "I still have 1 minute left!" Overall, she's a really nice professor and it really depends on the TA you get because they will be the ones grading.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: THEA101
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

boring classes, VERY VERY hard test. if u want to get an easy A for a cor class do not take this class it dropped my GPA

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: THEA101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Shes not a horrible professor just very dismissive sometimes and doesnt care what you says. She also seems to be just interested in hearing her own voice and not anybody elses.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: THEA101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Whatever you do, DON'T take her class! As much as she likes theater, she is SO boring and talks too much! The TA's do most of the work anyways...there are a lot of guest speakers so that spices things up but overall it's not worth sitting in 90% of the lectures being bored. It's a lot of memorizing terms, so you don't really learn anything anyway.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: THEA101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

I am not a theatre major but I found this class extremelly interesting.Claudia is very knowledgable and professional.She invites a lot of theatre professionals to read lectures and provides great video materials for better understanding.Absolutely enjoyed the class

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: THEA101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

I found her class interesting and she has a very lovely personality. She is fantastic.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: THC752
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Professor Orenstein is excellent. Her knowledge of theatre is remarkable and her passion for theatre and teaching is outstanding. She is also very helpful to students and patient in her explanations. The text work load is considerable but seeing that you are learning about the history of world theatre, it's normal. Keep up with your weekly reading.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: THC11
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

The workload of this class would be fine if Orenstein's class were THE ONLY class you were taking all semester. This is never the case and so her class is overwhelming, unclear, and too much work, even for graduate students. She needs to choose a text book and not use every text ever written on the subject. Don't take her class if you can avoid.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: THEA213
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

She is very passionate about theater and a huge expert. The topics can be difficult, but she does her best to clarify everything and provides review sheets before exams. If you are not a theater major, though, you may find the classes uninteresting.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: THEA101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Most of the work/grading comes from the TA's in the discussion sections. The lecture section is pretty boring, and doesn't do much for exams, but the exams come straight from the text or discussed with the TA. I had Emily Clark-- TAKE HER! An easy A, as long as you just DO the assigned work, which is EASY. Good class to take for GER.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: THEAT101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

If you are not a theatre major and trying to fill in a GER requirement, this class is super boring! half her students are falling asleep or doing something else. She IS passionate for the subject but her guest speakers are a bit more interesting. unfortunately you do need the book for exams bc there are so many terms to remember

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: THEA101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

if you are into theater or its part of your major, you will enjoy this class and find it interesting. if you are taking this as a part of your GER and have no interest in it what so ever, you will find Orenstein very boring. She makes the class drag on. Guests speakers are interesting though. Its also not an easy A class, theres a lot of memorizing

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: THEA101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Lectures are clear and she is very passionate about theatre and has interesting guest speakers!! Easyyy midterm, 2 short reading responses, 2 production responses, a creative project, and a final. Everything is so easy, you just have to actually do it and not write total bologna. TA Emily Clark is amazing!! Easy class but you must do all work!

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: THEA101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

She is an excellent lecturer. She is a little obsessed with Eastern (Asian) theatre, but that is okay. She guests lectures all semester long so that can give us an insight on the different aspects of theatre like directing, acting, or producing. Definitely recommend her.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: THEA101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Decent class, you get a lot of work though. Her lectures can get boring but the guest lecturers are interesting.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: THEA101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Although I have a strong interest in Theatre, Orenstein ruined it for me. She drones on about one topic for 50 minutes, bores everyone, and is very obnoxious. Her guest speakers are extremely interesting, but her poor lecture skills makes everyone want to skip. TA Dan Venning is AMAZING though!

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: THEA101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

theatre 101 consist of a large body of students. since i have no interest in theatre, this is pretty boring. but for those who actually likes it, it's.. okay. but she gives review sheets before midterm & final & the TA are great. it isnt hard at all.. NOT AT ALL.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: THEATHEA
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

I love orenstein she actually keeps me interested in the class because of the love she has for the topic. She's a good teacher by my book