Course

THTR 101   Introduction to Acting

Professor

Lynn Hawley

CRN

97318

 

Schedule

Mon Wed   10:30 - 11:50 am  Fisher Theater

Distribution

Practicing Arts

3 credits  This course, intended for prospective theater majors, focuses on accessing the beginning actor’s imagination and creative energy.  Using theater games, movement work, and improvisational techniques, the intent is to expand the boundaries of accepted logic and to encourage risk-taking in the actor.  Course work includes intensive classroom sessions, individual projects designed to promote self-discovery, and group projects focused on the process of collaborative work.

 

Course

THTR 101   Introduction to Acting

Professor

TBA

CRN

97333

 

Schedule

Tu        1:00 – 4:00 pm            Fisher P. Arts

Distribution

Practicing Arts

3 credits  This course, intended for prospective theater majors, focuses on accessing the beginning actor’s imagination and creative energy.  Using theater games, movement work, and improvisational techniques, the intent is to expand the boundaries of accepted logic and to encourage risk-taking in the actor.  Course work includes intensive classroom sessions, individual projects designed to promote self-discovery, and group projects focused on the process of collaborative work.

 

Course

THTR 101 NT  Introduction to Acting

Professor

Naomi Thornton

CRN

97332

 

Schedule

Th               3:20 -5:20 pm      Fisher P. Arts

Distribution

Practicing Arts

2 credits    Scene preparation and beginning scene technique.  Emphasis on relaxation, breathing, and concentration.  Teaching the actor to make choices and implement them using sense memory and to integrate this work with the text.  Group and individual exercises and improvisations. Continuous work on the acting instrument stressing freedom, spontaneity, and individual attention. Materials: poems, monologues, stories, and scenes.  Reading of American plays, 1930 to present.

 

Course

THTR 103   Acting Company

Professor

Jonathan Rosenberg

CRN

97334

 

Schedule

Tu  Th         1:30 -2:50 pm      Fisher P. Arts

Distribution

Practicing Arts

3 credits   Corresponding with Directing Seminar, actors work with student directors on scene work for in-class presentation.  Open to first year students.

 

Course

THTR 121 LL  Movement for Actors

Professor

Lenore Latimer

CRN

97306

 

Schedule

Wed            10:30 - 11:50 am  Fisher P. Arts

Distribution

Practicing Arts

1 credit Basic training in movement, rhythm, development of technique and confidence in space.

 

Course

THTR 131   Voice for Majors

Professor

Elizabeth Smith

CRN

97325

 

Schedule

Tu  Fr          9:20 - 10:20 am   Fisher Studio

Distribution

Practicing Arts

2 credits This course is designed to develop an awareness of the importance of physical relaxation, breath capacity and control, resonance and placement. There will also be an emphasis on clarity of articulation and the use of vocal range and inflection. This course is intended for moderated and prospective theater majors.

 

Course

THTR 132   Voice for Non-Majors

Professor

Elizabeth Smith

CRN

97326

 

Schedule

Tu Fr           10:30 - 11:30 am  Fisher Studio

Distribution

Practicing Arts

2 credits This course will concentrate on basic voice and speech work to enable the students to communicate with greater clarity and confidence. Some of the demands of speaking in public will also be addressed.

 

Course

THTR 141 A   Alexander Technique I

Professor

Judith Muir

CRN

97320

 

Schedule

Mon            9:00 - 10:20 am   Fisher Studio

Distribution

Practicing Arts

1 credit. A world-respected technique developed over 100 years ago; the Alexander Technique is a valuable tool for performers, writers, scholars, and artists. It is a simple and practical approach to improving balance, coordination and movement. During this course we will learn about habits of thinking and moving that cause stress and fatigue. This awareness will enable different choices to be made in ourselves and how we respond to the environment.

 

Course

THTR 141 B   Alexander Technique I

Professor

Judith Muir

CRN

97338

 

Schedule

Mon    10:30 – 11:50 am         Fisher Studio

Distribution

Practicing Arts

1 credit. A world-respected technique developed over 100 years ago; the Alexander Technique is a valuable tool for performers, writers, scholars, and artists. It is a simple and practical approach to improving balance, coordination and movement. During this course we will learn about habits of thinking and moving that cause stress and fatigue. This awareness will enable different choices to be made in ourselves and how we respond to the environment.

 

Course

THTR 206   History of Theater

Professor

Jean Wagner

CRN

97339

 

Schedule

Tu Th          10:30 - 11:50 am  RKC 200

Distribution

Practicing Arts

Cross-listed:  Classical Studies, Theology

4 credits   This course looks at the major periods and forms of Western dramatic literature from its primal roots, through Greek and Roman Tragedy and Comedy, Medieval Theater, Tudor Comedy, Renaissance Drama, Commedia dell-arte, Elizabethan Theater, and the Spanish Golden Age. We will read plays from each of these periods as well as theoretical and critical writings which will elucidate the social and aesthetic conditions of the day. This course will provide the student with an understanding of the development of theater as an art form, and explore how theater relates to and reflects the intellectual, social, political and spiritual climate of the broader culture. This course is open to all students, and is a requirement for moderation in Theater.

 

Course

THTR 207   Playwrighting I

Professor

Chiori Miyagawa

CRN

97340

 

Schedule

Th               1:30 -3:50 pm      Fisher P. Arts

Distribution

Practicing Arts

4 credits   An introductory course that focuses on discovering the writer’s voice. Through writing exercises based on dreams, visual images, poetry, social issues, found text, and music, each writer is encouraged to find his or her unique language, style, and vision.  A group project will explore the nature of collaborative works.  Students learn elements of playwriting through writing a one-act play, reading assignments, and class discussions.   This course is for sophomores and upper-college students only. 

 

Course

THTR 208   Playwrighting II

Professor

Chiori Miyagawa

CRN

97341

 

Schedule

Wed            1:30 -3:50 pm      Fisher P. Arts

Distribution

Practicing Arts

4 credits   This course will function as a writer’s workshop. Students focus on developing a full-length play, with sections of the work-in-progress presented in class for discussions.  Students grow as playwrights by developing characters and themes that are sustained through a full-length play.  The students will also read a wide range of dramatic literature and be exposed to diverse styles of playwriting. Prerequisite: Playwriting I or Theatrical Adaptations. 

 

Course

THTR 209   Scene Study

Professor

Lynn Hawley

CRN

97319

 

Schedule

Mon            1:00 -4:00 pm      Fisher Theater

Distribution

Practicing Arts

3 credits   A course intended for students who have taken one semester of Intro to Acting and would like to continue their study. The course deals with movement from a games oriented curriculum into work with theatrical texts and discovery of the processes of scene study.

 

Course

THTR 227   Neutral Masks

Professor

Shelley Wyant

CRN

97327

 

Schedule

Th               9:00 – 12 noon   Fisher Studio

Distribution

Practicing Arts

Cross-listed: Integrated Arts

2 credits   The roots of this work with the mask come from a diverse system of traditions including the Balinese, the great teachers and theorists Pierre LeFevre, Michel St. Denis, Jaques LeCoq and Francis Delsarte. Neutral Mask is an exploration of the world of the mask and all the freedom inherent to performers within that world. We discover the essence of transformation by using the tools of breath and focus. Students learn to identify the elements that contribute to physical freedom through the four stages of man and a study of mythological stories. 

 

Course

THTR 228   Character Mask

Professor

Shelley Wyant

CRN

97518

 

Schedule

Wed            1:00 – 4:00 pm    Fisher Studio

Distribution

Practicing Arts

2 credits  The character mask work builds on Neutral Mask classes with the addition of speech. Students will work with a new set of masks that have no mouths and which offer an assortment of diverse characters.  The liberation found behind the mask assists in the complete development of a wide variety of personalities. We meet and become familiar with these new characters through improvisation. Using voice and body skills, the stories of the masks are deeply explored and developed.  Prerequisite: THR 227, or by permission of the professor.  

 

Course

THTR 303   Directing Seminar

Professor

Jonathan Rosenberg

CRN

97323

 

Schedule

Tu               1:30 -4:30 pm      Fisher Theater

Distribution

Practicing Arts

4 credits This is a studio course that covers the practice of directing from text analysis, ‘table work’, imagining the world of the play, design, casting, space, rehearsal and blocking in different configurations. The work will proceed from scenes to a full-length work. By permission of the instructor.

 

Course

THTR 307   Advanced Acting

Professor

Jonathan Rosenberg

CRN

97322

 

Schedule

Tu Th          10:30 - 12 noon   Fisher Theater

Distribution

Practicing Arts

3 credits This is a studio acting class where students will explore scenes from challenging plays of varied styles. Extensive rehearsal time outside of class is required. Pre-requisites: Intro to Acting and Scene Study. Maximum enrollment: 12 students.

 

Course

THTR 307 NT  Advanced Acting

Professor

Naomi Thornton

CRN

97331

 

Schedule

Th               1:00  -3:00 pm      Fisher P. Arts

Distribution

Practicing Arts

3 credits This is a studio acting class where students will explore scenes from challenging plays of varied styles. Extensive rehearsal time outside of class is required. Pre-requisites: for acting majors,  Intro to Acting and Scene Study. For all others, Intro to Acting. Maximum enrollment: 12 students.

 

Course

THTR 310   Survey of Drama: Contemporary German Theater

Professor

Johanna McKeon

CRN

97321

 

Schedule

Mon            1:30 -3:50 pm      Fisher Studio

Distribution

Analysis of Art

This course will explore the rise of modernism in German Drama. After briefly grounding ourselves in the tradition of classical German theater with Goethe’s Faust, we will follow the trajectory of innovation and rebellion in major 19th century German playwrights, from Buechner’s radical (30 year) anticipation of the realistic dramatic school with Woyzeck to Hauptmann’s elimination of a single protagonist in his naturalistic masterpiece The Weavers to Wedekind’s graphic exploration of adolescent sexuality with Spring Awakening. These plays will be studied within the context of the vast cultural changes taking place in modern Europe, specifically the industrial revolution, the rise of Marxism, and the influence of the writings of Darwin, Nietzsche, Freud and Einstein.  As we move into the anti-realistic plays of the 20th century, we will focus extensively on German Expressionism and stage scenes from Georg Kaiser’s play From Morn to Midnight. The semester will conclude with a workshop on Brecht. We will read a new play each week as well as appropriate secondary material. Practical work will include oral reports, staged readings, visual artistic responses, a monologue project based on the writings of Hugo von Hoffmansthal, and a Kurt Weil song lab.  Papers will be assigned on crucial issues arising out of the seminar.

 

Course

THTR 310I   Survey of Drama: Blackface Minstrelsy in the Making of America

Professor

Zakiyyah Alexander

CRN

97328

 

Schedule

Wed            1:30 -3:50 pm      Fisher Theater

Distribution

Analysis of Arts/ Rethinking Difference

Blackface minstrelsy is recognized as America’s first original contribution to world theatre – a dubious honor certainly. This course will look at how this form of performance helped shape other entertainment forms such as popular song, vaudeville, burlesque, radio, film and television. We will examine the central location of this popular cultural medium in not only its theatrical site but also its historical location. The course will look at the originators and the imitators of this practice, and the ramifications on society’s perceptions of African-Americans or what it is to be an American. The readings will assay how this performance form helped construct national identity, policy-making and practices of social behavior. 

 

Course

THTR 340   Voice in Performance

Professor

Elizabeth Smith

CRN

97335

 

Schedule

Fr                1:30 - 3:30 pm      Fisher Theater

Distribution

Practicing Arts

2 credits This course is designed for those students who have  already had some training in voice and will concentrate on addressing demands which occur in performance such as speaking over underscoring, sustaining dialogue in fights or dances, and developing power and range. Technical exercises will be used to promote coordination of speech and movement.