Course |
THTR 101 Introduction to Acting |
|
Professor |
Naomi Thornton |
|
CRN |
18285 |
|
Schedule |
Th 3:20 -5:20 pm Fisher P. Arts THTR |
|
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 101 Introduction to Acting |
|
Professor |
Lynn Hawley |
|
CRN |
18438 |
|
Schedule |
Mon 1:00 -4:00 pm Fisher P. Arts THTR |
|
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 103CO Acting Company |
|
Professor |
JoAnne Akalaitis |
|
CRN |
18283 |
|
Schedule |
Wed 1:00 -2:20 pm Fisher P. Arts Th 10:30 - 11:50 am Fisher P. Arts |
|
Distribution |
Practicing Arts |
4 credits Corresponding with
Directing Seminar, actors work with student directors on scene work for
in-class presentation. Open to first year students.
Course |
THTR 131 Voice for Majors |
|
Professor |
Elizabeth Smith |
|
CRN |
18277 |
|
Schedule |
Tu
Fr 1:25 -2:25 pm Fisher P. Arts |
|
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 |
18278 |
|
Schedule |
Tu
Fr 2:55 -3:55 pm Fisher P. Arts |
|
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 |
18271 |
|
Schedule |
Mon 9:00 - 10:20 am Fisher P. Arts |
|
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 |
18272 |
|
Schedule |
Mon 10:30 - 11:50 am Fisher P. Arts STUD |
|
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 207 Playwrighting I |
|
Professor |
Chiori Miyagawa |
|
CRN |
18304 |
|
Schedule |
Wed 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. On-line registration
Course |
THTR 240 Theatrical Adaptation |
|
Professor |
Chiori Miyagawa |
|
CRN |
18288 |
|
Schedule |
Th 1:30 -3:50 pm Fisher P. Arts |
|
Distribution |
Practicing Arts |
Adapting classic and contemporary
fiction or biographies to a theatrical form is a creative process that
integrates the original intention of the material with the writer’s
imagination. It is an exciting collaboration between two writers, though only
one is writing the script. Adaptations have an important place in all
storytelling fields - musicals, plays, television shows and movies – and their
popularity is increasing. In this class
students will read examples of successfully adapted scripts and examine
different approaches and styles of writing.
They will adapt several short stories into short plays and choose a
significant person in history, research his or her biographical information,
and write a play based on his or her life.
The students will choose the subject matter for the final project.
Students who are interested in taking this course should have taken at least
one introductory writing workshop in any genre. Email Prof. Miyagawa at [email protected] a brief statement of interest
by December 1st. On-line registration
Course |
THTR 208 Playwrighting II |
|
Professor |
Zakiyyah Alexander |
|
CRN |
18305 |
|
Schedule |
Mon 12:00 – 2:20 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 |
Jonathan Rosenberg |
|
CRN |
18274 |
|
Schedule |
Tue
Th 10:30 - 11:50 am Fisher P. Arts THTR |
|
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. (register
with Prof. Rosenberg)
Course |
THTR 210 History of Theater II |
|
Professor |
Jean Wagner |
|
CRN |
18287 |
|
Schedule |
Tu
Th 10:30 - 11:50 am OLINLC 115 |
|
Distribution |
Analysis of Art |
4
credits This
course looks at the major periods of dramatic literature, from the renaissance
to the twentieth century. Plays will be read with particular reference to
historical context and dramatic convention informing theater practice during
these periods. Along with the plays, we’ll look at critical and theoretical
essays that elucidate these social and aesthetic conditions. Playwrights will include Moliere, Ibsen,
Chekhov, Brecht and Beckett. On-line registration
Course |
THTR 215 Physical Comedy |
|
Professor |
James Calder |
|
CRN |
18279 |
|
Schedule |
Wed 9:30 - 12:30 pm Fisher P. Arts THTR |
|
Distribution |
Practicing Arts |
2
credits Beginning
with exercises in broad physicality, balance, rhythm, discovery, physical mask and
surprise, this class explores what about the individual student is unique and funny. When we begin to forget
what is an appropriate response, and imagine what we would be like if we were
never socialized, we begin to discover “the clown” that lives in each of us. By
embracing the archetypes of childhood and reclaiming the “internal response”
without the diminishing filter of socialization, we start to lose the
inhibitions that block us from being purely expressive. This class encourages
openness, invention, playfulness, generosity, sensitivity, and courage
Prerequisite:
Introduction to Acting
Course |
THTR 227 Neutral Masks |
|
Professor |
Shelley Wyant |
|
CRN |
18275 |
|
Schedule |
Tue 9:00 - 12:00 pm Fisher P. Arts STUD |
|
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. On-line registration
Course |
THTR 231 Voice and Verse I |
|
Professor |
Elizabeth Smith |
|
CRN |
18284 |
|
Schedule |
Th 1:25 -2:25 pm Fisher P. Arts |
|
Distribution |
Practicing Arts |
2
credits Verse is a
significant part of drama and learning to interpret it and speak it is
essential for the performer. This course deals with verse from the great poets
and dramatists, with an emphasis on Shakespeare. Prerequisite: THTR 131
Course |
THTR 303 Directing Seminar |
|
Professor |
JoAnne Akalaitis |
|
CRN |
18282 |
|
Schedule |
Wed 1:00 -4:00 pm Fisher P. Arts THTR |
|
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 |
James Calder |
|
CRN |
18280 |
|
Schedule |
Wed 1:00 -4:00 pm Fisher P. Arts STUD |
|
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 Advanced Acting |
|
Professor |
Naomi Thornton |
|
CRN |
18286 |
|
Schedule |
Th 1:00 -3:00 pm Fisher P. Arts STUD |
|
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 A Survey of Drama: 20th Century Philosophies of Acting: Stanislavsky, Brecht and Grotowski |
|
Professor |
Jonathan Rosenberg |
|
CRN |
18276 |
|
Schedule |
Tue 1:30 -3:50 pm Fisher P. Arts |
|
Distribution |
Analysis of Art |
It is widely accepted that three predominant
philosophies of acting arose in Western theater in the 20th Century. These
were Konstantin Stanislavsky’s use of a detailed psychological analysis of
human behavior; Bertolt Brecht’s belief that an actor’s performance should contain
the awareness of his or her social and political circumstances; and Jerzy
Grotowski’s investigation of the personal and spiritual journey of the
performer. In this class we will examine their approaches, work and influence
from both a theoretical and a practical perspective. We will read from their
extensive writings as well as from the writings of theater artists such as
Stella Adler, Ariane Mnouchkine and Peter Brook who were influenced by them. We
will examine performances of actors working under them when available on video
as well as the performances of actors consciously or unconsciously influenced
by them. Finally the students in the class will undertake practical
explorations of their philosophies in projects to be presented in the class.
On-line registration
Course |
THTR 310 B Survey of Drama: Performance Art in Theory and Practice |
|
Professor |
Jean Wagner |
|
CRN |
18281 |
|
Schedule |
Wed 9:30 - 11:50 am Fisher P. Arts STUD |
|
Distribution |
Analysis of Art |
This course is intended to introduce students to
the field of performance studies, with an emphasis on how it relates to
contemporary theater studies and practice.
Theoretical readings will include work by Richard Schechner, Victor
Turner, Joseph Roach, Judith Butler, Roland Barthes, Jaques Derrida, Erving
Goffman, Walter Benjamin and others.
There will be a particular emphasis on applying this discipline to the
investigation of works by some of the leading avant garde, experimental and
performance artists of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Among the artists whose works we will read
and/or view on video are Laurie Anderson, Karen Finley, The Wooster Group, The
Performance Group, Mabou Mines, The Living Theater, JoAnne Akalaitis and Anna
Deveare Smith. Finally, we will
explore the concepts of global and intercultural performance and their social,
political and cultural implications. To
that end we will investigate the work of some of the influentional theorists
and practioners in this field, including Eugenio Barba, Antonin Artaud, Ariane
Mnouchkine and Guillermo Gómez-Peña.
Students will write a research paper on a performance artist or ensemble
of their choosing and create a performance work based on a specific technique,
tradition or theory examined in this course. On-line registration
Course |
THTR 318 Visual Imagination of the Modern Stage |
|
Professor |
Carol Bailey |
|
CRN |
18273 |
|
Schedule |
Mon 1:00 -4:00 pm Fisher P. Arts STUD |
|
Distribution |
Practicing Arts |
4
credits A
course taught by leading designers and directors in the field. It examines the
explosive prominence of visionary visual ideas on the stage in the past 30
years, the emergence of a new form of collaboration between directors and
designers and the inclusion of the new media on the stage. This course is
required for upper-college theater students.