Courses in Theatre and Drama are listed in the Time Schedule under the School of Music in the subsection Theatre and Drama.
The following courses count as LS&A courses for LS&A degree credit.
101. Introduction to Acting
1. Permission of instructor. Open to non-concentrators.
(3). (CE).
This course is designed as a general introduction to the
fundamental skills of acting in the theatre. It involves discussion
and practical work, including theatre games, warm-up, monologue, and scene work. Some papers and selected reading. Brief, informal
interviews are required for admission to all sections. Further
details at Theatre Office, Room 2550, Frieze Building. Sign up
at the dep't office for an interview. Sign up sheets go up the
same time the Time Schedules come out. Cost:1
(001: Gwillim; 002: Jones)
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Times, Location, and Availability
102. Introduction to Acting
2. Permission of instructor. (3). (CE).
This course is designed to build on the experience of Theatre
101 or Theatre 236. An introduction to acting in the theatre, with particular attention to the fundamentals of dramatic action
and working up a part. Scene work is stressed with actor's score
and selected reading. Brief, informal interviews are required
for admission to all sections. Further details at Theatre Office, Room 2550, Frieze Building. Cost:1
(Schwiebert)
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Times, Location, and Availability
211/RC Hums. 280/English
245. Introduction to Drama and Theatre. No credit
granted to those who have completed or are enrolled in RC Hums.
281. (4). (HU).
What have "theater" and "drama" meant
at different times in history, what do they mean now, and what
else could they mean? What impulses and skills have gone and go
into the creation of theatrical events, and what needs do they
attempt to fulfill? What's meant by "performance," "stage,"
"audience," "director," "tragedy,"
"comedy," and a dozen other terms we tend nowadays to
use rather casually? In attempting to answer such questions we
will be examining certain key scripts in their theatrical and social contexts. The relevant playwrights are likely to include
Euripides, Shakespeare, Molière, Ibsen, Chekhov, Brecht, and Beckett. Students will also be introduced to some of the practical
requirements of theatre-making, as a further means of comprehending the complex enterprise which is "Theatre-and-drama."
Course requirements include participation in class discussion
and activities, written projects, and exams. The course functions
by lectures and sections, the second of which allows more detailed
discussion and some elementary scene-work. Cost:3
WL:4 (Cardullo)
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Times, Location, and Availability
222/CAAS 341. Introduction
to Black Theatre. (3). (HU).
A beginning course in Black theatre, acquainting students
with origins, developments, current trends and the significant
contributions of African-Americans to the theatre of Western civilization
and to the theatre of Black America. Cost:1
WL:2 (Dickerson)
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Times, Location, and Availability
245. Introduction to Stage
Management. Theatre 250. (2). (CE).
Class covers methods of stage management including rehearsal
coordination, prompt book preparation, record keeping, and director, cast, and crew relationships during rehearsal and performance.
Students will also be assigned as Assistant Stage Manager on a
School of Music production (theatre, opera, musical theatre).
Evaluation is based on class participation, occasional written
assignments, and execution of assigned stage management duties.
(Uffner)
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Times, Location, and Availability
250. Introduction to Technical
Theatre Practices. (3). (Excl).
Theatre 250 is a survey of theatrical production techniques.
The design and craft of scenery, lighting, properties, paint and costumes for the stage will be investigated. The course consists
of two parts; a lecture portion that is evaluated by written examination
and a production laboratory. Production faculty conduct labs in
costumes, lighting, paint, properties, and scenery for Theatre
250 students. Students learn basic theatre craft skills while
working on School of Music theatre, opera, and musical theatre
productions. (Decker)
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Times, Location, and Availability
251. Production Practicum
1. (1). (Excl).
Theatre Practicum. Students enrolled in this class perform
duties as stage scenery, lighting, sound, wardrobe, or stage properties
crews for School of Music Theatre, Dance, Opera, and Musical Theatre
Productions. No previous experience required. Evaluation based
on performance on crew and journal that is kept of crew experience.
No Text. WL:4 ,
Assignment meeting 5:00 PM Jan. 17 in Room 2518 Frieze. (Sullivan)
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Times, Location, and Availability
260. Introduction to Design.
Theatre 250. (3). (CE).
A practical and theoretical introduction to the ideas and process of set, light, and costume design. Class format includes
lectures, discussions, and demonstrations which frame a series
of visual projects that explore design principles, text analysis, and the collaborative process as applied to stage design. Students
will be evaluated on assigned projects and class participation.
Cost:2 WL:3 (Pasha)
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Times, Location, and Availability
262. Production Practicum
4. Theatre 261. (1). (Excl). May be repeated for
a total of three credits.
This course is a continuation of Theatre and Drama 252. It
will further explore the various crafts and skills that are associated
with the theatre as covered in Theatre and Drama 250. The student
will work closely with faculty and staff to pursue individual
projects in association with productions at the various university theatres. Cost:1
(Decker)
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Times, Location, and Availability
322/English 444. History
of Theatre II. (3). (HU).
This course will survey theatre in Western Europe and the
United States from the end of the 17th century to the present.
We will focus on the production of theatre in its historical, social, ideological, and material contexts. Students will also
study representative plays as sources and reflections of theatrical
and social history in the times in which the plays were first
produced, or in times in which important revivals of the plays
were mounted. We will examine periods and nations at first in
chronological order and, later in the semester, will focus on
trends and developments unfolding more generally during the 20th
century. Classes will consist of a mixture of lecture and discussion, and students will be encouraged to come to class with things to
talk about drawn from their reading, their thinking about theatre, and their practical experience as spectators and/or makers of theatre. (Walsh)
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Times, Location, and Availability
345. Stage Management Practicum:
Plays. Theatre 245 and permission of instructor.
(2-3). (Excl). May be repeated for a total of four credits.
Seminar class covers methods of stage management including
rehearsal and performance coordination, prompt book preparation, record keeping, and director, cast, and crew relationships. Students
will be assigned as Stage Manager on a Theatre Department production.
Evaluation is based on execution of assigned stage management
duties. WL:3 (Uffner)
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Times, Location, and Availability
353. Sound for the Theatre.
Theatre 250 and permission of instructor. (2). (Excl).
This is a introductory laboratory style course in Sound for the Theatre. The emphasis will be on how sound can reinforce and support the script, and enhance the overall production. Students
will work in the Frieze sound studio and in various theatres.
Topics will include creation of electronic and "live"
sound effects, script analysis, tape editing, and related work.
Student evaluation will be through individual projects and two
short discussion papers. Cost:2
WL:3 (Reynolds)
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Times, Location, and Availability
370. Costume Design I. Theatre
260. (3). (Excl).
This course is designed to familiarize students with the
art and process of costume design. There will be strong emphasis
on text and character analysis as well as methods of research.
An introduction to basic drawing skills will be combined with
other visual options in presenting design ideas. Grading will
be based on design presentations, attendance, attitude, and class
participation. Text: COSTUME DESIGN (Anderson) and (recommended)
DRAWING ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE BRAIN (Edwards). (Hahn)
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Times, Location, and Availability
399. Topics in Drama. (1-3).
(Excl).
Section 002 and 003 – Dynamically Speaking. (3 credits.)
This course is a "hands on" practical course designed
to improve the speaking abilities of any public speaker or lecturer.
Effective speaking techniques, both physical and vocal will be
explored. Various improvizational games will be used to encourage
risk-taking and creativity. Techniques to enhance audience contact
and personal engagement will be studied and rehearsed. Other tools
such as effective writing styles for spoken text and how to support
material with vivid images will be explored. Each student will
discover their own personal style and approach. Presentation skills
involving use of materials, overhead projectors, slides, and other
presentation tools will be discussed and practised. Rehearsed
and unrehearsed speeches will be recorded, critiqued, and evaluated.
Course Goals: expand understanding and awareness of basic speaking
techniques; ability to reproduce various exercises designed to
enhance the individual physical and vocal skills as needed for
speaking; increase the effective use of presentation tools and materials; develop writing skills that are specifically needed
for spoken text; Increase the ability to take "risks"
and cope with the "fears" of public speaking; Present
rehearsed and unrehearsed speeches for discussion and critique.
Text: I Can See You Naked by Ron Hoff. Grading Policy:
50% Class Participation, 30% Written Assignments, 20% Attendance.
Limited enrollment. Cost:1
WL:2 (Masson)
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Times, Location, and Availability
402. Ideas of Theatre: Dramatic
Theory and Criticism. Permission of instructor. (3).
(Excl).
The course will consist of a selection of major texts in
dramatic and theatrical theory, structured along broad lines (e.g.,
classical-romantic-modern), through which students will gain an
acquaintance with the dominant historical ideas concerning the
aesthetic and cultural offices of theatre and drama. The theoretical
readings will be augmented by a short list of pertinent plays; these will be part of a departmental "Essential Plays List,"
and students will be using this course (among others in the department)
to move towards completing the reading on this list. (Consultation
among all teachers requiring play-reading will head off any possible
duplication.) The method of "Ideas of Theatre" will
entail rigorous discussion of the readings, and requirements will
include a term paper on a particular theorist or critical topic
as well as several critical reviews (as opposed to journalistic
"notices") of local productions. Cost:3
WL:3 (Cardullo)
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Times, Location, and Availability
420. Playwriting Toward
Production. Permission of instructor. (3). (Excl).
This course is intended as a comprehensive introduction to the collaborative nature of preparing a play for production. Each
playwright must have a completed early or first draft of a full-length
or a one act play on which to work. Writers who want to be considered
must submit a play to OyamO in the Department of Theatre and Drama
by school's end in December. Depending on the availability of
actors, directors, and designers, each of the plays will go through
various phases of the collaborative process involving the above
designated collaborators. The instructors will act as dramaturges
for all the plays. Writers are expected to consider rewriting
based upon input from the various collaborators. Actors, directors, designers, and students generally interested in theatre arts are
welcome. OyamO will work with the writers and Kate Mendeloff with the directors, actors, and designers. Student directors in the
course are encouraged to enroll in a complementary two credit
mini-course, RC Humanities 485 "Directors Workshop"
to gain more additional directorial technique for their work.
Cost:2 WL:1 (OyamO and Mendeloff)
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Times, Location, and Availability
423/English 449. American
Theatre and Drama. (3). (HU).
Section 001. See English
449.001. (Hammond)
Section 002 – American Drama: Before O'Neill/After Shepard.
This survey course will examine the origin and development of
U.S. Drama in the twentieth century. Beginning with playwrights
like O'Neill, Glaspell, Rice, Odets, and Treadwell, the class
will focus on the interrelationship of U.S. culture in American
Drama and American Drama in U.S. culture, especially as it manifests
itself in the mid-century plays of Miller, Williams, and Hellman.
Topics of class discussion will include: the emergence of a nativist theater tradition, the role of ethnicity, the situation of the
female playwright, the conflict between commercial and artistic
values, and the move to a more pluralistic and inclusive theater, one in which previously marginalized voices move to center stage.
Additional playwrights on the reading list include Hansberry, Albee, Mamet, Shepard, Fornes, Lanford Wilson, Kushner, Wang, and August Wilson. This course satisfies the American Literature
requirement for English concentrators. Cost:3
(Brater)
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Times, Location, and Availability
460. Scene Design II. Theatre
360. (3). (Excl).
An advanced course for the study of scenic design. Course
work will include text analysis of play scripts, perspective sketching, drafting, model-building, and other skills related to the art
of stage design. Cost:3
WL:3 (Mountain)
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Times, Location, and Availability
464. Scene Painting for the Theatre. Theatre 250. (3). (Excl). Laboratory
fee ($30) required.
This lab course is designed to examine and practice the basic
techniques of theatrical scene painting. Students in the course
will learn, practice, and combine skills for layout, color mixing, basic painting techniques, and multi media techniques. A text, written by Crabtree, will be required. Suitable clothing and lab
fee required. Cost:2
WL:2 (Crabtree)
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Times, Location, and Availability
466. History of Decor. Theatre
260. (3). (Excl).
A chronological study of the decorative styles of interiors
and exteriors in Western architecture and their applications to the stage. (Decker)
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Times, Location, and Availability
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