Areas
of Study: The Theater
and Performance Program offers courses in Context, Technique, and
Creative Practice and Research, and students are required to take
classes in all three areas of study. Context courses include the history
of theater and performance, contemporary practice, theories of theater and
performance, dramatic literature, world theater. Technique courses
include skills-based classes in playwriting, directing, acting, voice,
movement, dramatic structure, performance, and composition. Creative
Practice and Research comprises productions, performance laboratories,
master classes and specialized workshops.
All courses carry 4 credits
except where otherwise indicated.
Moderation Requirements: The following 5 courses are
required for students wishing to moderate into the Theater and Performance
Program:
1.
THTR 145 Introduction to Theater and Performance: Revolutions in Time and Space
2.
THTR 110 Introduction to Acting: The Actor and the Moment
3.
THTR 107 Introduction to Playwriting: the Theatrical Voice
4.
THTR 244 Introduction to Theater Making (spring semester)
5.
THTR 146 Introduction to Theater
History
In
addition, students participate in the creation and performance of a
group-devised Moderation project.
TECHNIQUE:
|
16488 |
THTR 101
Acting for Non-Majors |
Naomi Thornton |
W 3:10 pm-5:10 pm |
FISHER RESNICK |
PART |
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. Class size: 12
|
16489 |
THTR 107
A Intro to Playwriting |
Zakiyyah Alexander |
Th 4:40 pm-7:40 pm |
FISHER STUDIO
NO. |
PART |
Cross-listed: Written Arts 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. All students
welcome, preference to Theater majors.
(No writing sample required.) Class size: 12
|
16490 |
THTR 107
B Intro to Playwriting |
Chiori Miyagawa |
F 1:30 pm-4:30 pm |
FISHER STUDIO
NO. |
PART |
See
above. Class size: 12
|
16491 |
THTR 110
The Actor & the Moment |
Jean Wagner |
T Th 1:30 pm-2:50 pm |
FISHER RESNICK |
PART |
In
this class we examine how an actor brings truth to the smallest unit of
performance. The richness of the moment is created by the imaginative,
physical, psychological, intellectual and emotional qualities that the actor
brings to it. We explore ways to gain access to richly layered authenticity
through games, improvisations, individual creations and exercises in given
circumstance. Students are given tools
to transcend accepted logic, embrace risk-taking, and live fully in the
present. Class size: 16
|
16492 |
THTR 209
Scene Study |
Jonathan Rosenberg |
T Th 10:10 am-11:30 am |
FISHER STUDIO
NO. |
PART |
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. Class size: 12
|
16493 |
THTR 243
Voice and Text |
Lindsey Liberatore |
M 1:30 pm-4:30 pm |
FISHER STUDIO
NO. |
PART |
This
course introduces actors and performers to the fundamentals of voice work and
text analysis. Students first develop
their vocal apparatus by applying a range of techniques (including Fitzmaurice
Voicework, Linklater, and yoga) to access greater range and variety of vocal
character and to rid the body of tension and free the authentic voice. We will learn safe warm ups and preparatory
exercises that can be used in rehearsals and in private practice. Students will be taught to approach text by
seeking out dynamic phasing, operative words, and arc, creating a profound
connection between body, breath, voice, and language. While the course is primarily intended for
Theater & Performance students, it may be of interest to others who which
to develop their public speaking skills.
This course fulfills a Technique
requirement in the Theater & Performance Program. Class
size: 15
|
16494 |
THTR 255
Physical Theater |
Jack Ferver |
Th 1:30 pm-4:30 pm |
FISHER STAGE
RIGHT |
PART |
Cross-listed: Dance This course gives
performers tools to find the truthful physical expression of their characters,
and to build strength and mobility as they create powerful and nuanced
performances. Our work will consist of
several parts: first we will slough off habitual behavior and postural “holds”
through a comprehensive warm-up using aspects of Graham, Alexander, and Release
Technique; once the body has been strengthened, we will use impulse-based
improvisation exercises to build kinetic awareness and hone intuitive prowess;
finally we will explore scene work to find a character through movement and to
remain present and fully invested at each moment of a performance. Students will be assessed on in-class
exercises and participation throughout the semester, as well as frequent
technical and practical assignments.
Pre-requisite: Introduction to Acting. Class size: 16
|
16497 |
THTR 307
Advanced Acting |
Lynn Hawley |
M 10:10 am-1:10 pm |
FISHER STUDIO
NO. |
PART |
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, or by permission of the
instructor. Class size: 12
|
16498 |
THTR 308
Advanced Scene Study |
Naomi Thornton |
Th 1:30 pm-3:30 pm |
FISHER STUDIO
NO. |
PART |
3 credits
Scene Technique with work on specific rehearsal tasks and practice of
their application. Continued work on the acting instrument, understanding the
actor as artist and deepening the physical, emotional, intellectual connection
and availability of each actor. Advanced individual exercises, scenes, and
monologues from all dramatic literature. Intended for Upper College students,
others by permission. Prerequisite: Introduction to Acting. Class
size: 12
|
16496 |
THTR 322
Dramaturgy in Action |
Gideon Lester |
W 10:10 am-1:10 pm |
FISHER RESNICK |
PART |
Dramaturgy,
the study of how plays are built, provides an invaluable toolkit for theater
artists of every kind. Unexpected
creative and theatrical insights can result from the rigorous analysis of
language and structure – for directors, actors, designers, or writers. In this advanced studio course, students
learn techniques for the detailed analysis of a play’s mechanics, then put
their discoveries to practical use through weekly staging exercises. We will
explore dramatic architecture at the macro and micro level, examining beats,
scenes, acts, and entire plays, and immediately test our theories in the
laboratory of the rehearsal studio. The
courses will mine dramatic texts from several genres and periods, from the
Greeks and Shakespeare to Gertrude Stein and Heiner Müller, and also look at
staging solutions from major contemporary directors. Ideally students will have already taken THTR 250: Dramatic Structure, although
this is not a requirement. Class size: 12
CONTEXT:
|
16246 |
THTR / HIST 236 Power and Performance in the Colonial Atlantic |
Christian Crouch Miriam Felton-Dansky |
M
W 11:50 am-1:10 pm |
OLINLC 115 |
HIST |
Cross-listed:
American Studies; Experimental Humanities; Historical
Studies Societies in different historical periods
have habitually used performance to stage, reinforce, and re-imagine the scope of
political and colonial power. The history of the theater, therefore, is
inextricably connected with the history of how societies have performed
conquest, colonialism, and cultural patrimony in different parts of the world.
This interdisciplinary course, covering performance and power of the early
modern period, will disrupt habitual assumptions about both the disciplines of
theater and history. Students will read baroque plays, study their historical
contexts, and experiment with staging scenes, to uncover the links between
imagined and actual Atlantic expansion and the impact of colonialism,
1492-1825. Artistic forms to be examined include the English court masque, the
Spanish auto sacramental, and spectacles of power and conversion staged in the
colonial
|
16535 |
THTR 260
Black American playwrights |
Zakiyyah Alexander |
F 10:10 am-1:10 pm |
FISHER STUDIO
NORTH |
AART |
Cross-listed:
American
Studies This seminar will
explore the work of contemporary black/African-American playwrights who have
helped to advance dramatic literature in the 21st century, but have sometimes
been marginalized by mainstream American theater. We will examine the
works of noted playwrights such as Adrienne Kennedy, Kia Corthron, and Brandon
Jacobs Jenkins as well as lesser known or less produced writers including
Marcus Gardley, Christina Anderson, and Daniel Alexander Jones. We
will discuss the social and political context of their plays, their
creative influences, dramaturgical strategies and critical reception.
Students will write papers and give research reports on design
aesthetics, production history, and dramaturgy. The course will culminate
in a group project, creating proposals for production of one of these
plays. Class size: 15
|
16536 |
THTR 336 CONTEMPORARY PERFORMANCE AND THEATER
BY WOMEN |
Jean Wagner |
W 1:30 pm-
3:50 pm |
FISHER CONFERENCE
|
AART |
Cross-listed:
Gender
& Sexuality Studies In this
course we will examine the complexity and diversity of contemporary theater and
performance by women. We will begin with an investigation into the roots of
feminist theater, and then explore contemporary practices through the lens of
gender and performance theories. We will then investigate how contemporary
women in theater and performance are changing, adapting and re-imagining
definitions of both gender and performance through their work. Students will
research contemporary writers and performers and engage with these works both
creatively and critically, through presentations and papers. Students will also
prepare scenes from selected plays and explore the theatrical techniques
suggested by the writers. Discussions will address how theatrical and
performance traditions initiated by women find expression in feminist
performance practices today. Writers and performers
whose works we will investigate include Virginia Woolf, Gertrude Stein,
Adrienne Kennedy, Maria Irene Fornes,
CREATIVE PRACTICE AND
RESEARCH:
|
16501 |
THTR 241
Performance Composition |
Jack Ferver |
F 10:10 am-1:10 pm |
FISHER RESNICK |
PART |
Cross-listed:
Dance A Creative Practice course in
which students develop original movement- and text-based performances, using a
series of exercises to locate and deepen self-expression. The semester begins
with stretch and placement techniques and core work to develop a neutral and ready
body, followed by a sequence of impulse-based improvisation techniques enabling
students to find authentic movement and push past their physical limitations.
These improvisations will lead into original phrase work, training students to
develop their own unique choreographic and performance styles. The second half of the semester is focused on
writing composition. Students will complete timed writing exercises
in class, designed to free the creative voice, and will then be given
individual guidance and dramaturgical assignments, leading to the development
and performance of an original text and movement score. Class size: 16
|
16502 |
THTR 244
A Intro to Theater Making |
Jean Wagner |
T Th 10:10 am-11:30 am |
FISHER RESNICK |
PART |
This
course follows “Introduction to Theater and Performance” as the second class in
a sequence exploring the intellectual and creative methods of making theater.
During the course of the semester all students will take turns working
collaboratively as performers, directors, writers, dramaturgs and designers.
The work created in this class will be presented at the end of the semester and
will serve as the moderation project for students intending to major in Theater
and Performance. Class size: 16
|
16503 |
THTR 244
B Intro to Theater Making |
Jonathan Rosenberg |
T Th 11:50 am-1:10 pm |
FISHER RESNICK |
PART |
See
above. Class size: 16
|
16500 |
THTR 248
WRITING PLAYS WHILE TIME-TRAVELING AROUND THE WORLD |
Chiori Miyagawa |
W 1:30 pm-4:30 pm |
FISHER STUDIO
NO. |
PART |
Cross-listed:
Victorian
Studies; Written Arts This is a playwriting workshop in which the
students will write time-traveling plays. They will explore the journeys of two
19th century journalists who raced around the world at the same time in
opposite directions competing to finish first, and by this act, changed the
face of journalism in the U.S. Students will write several short plays
following either Nellie Bly’s route (eastward starting by steamboat) or
Elizabeth Bishland’s route (westward starting by railway), and may set each
scene in any time period between 1889 and the present. Through this project,
students will encounter how world cultures were presented in the
Prerequisite: One creative writing class in any genre. Priorities will be given
to those who have taken a playwriting class. Class size: 10
|
16504 |
THTR 310
Survey of Drama: solo performance |
Nilaja Sun |
M 1:30 pm-4:30 pm |
FISHER RESNICK |
AART |
This
course introduces solo performance through the review and discussion of several
solo pieces, their unique structures and the performers such as Spalding Gray,
Anna Devere Smith, John Leguizamo and Mike Daisy who created them. Through
writing, theatre, and improvised exercises, students explore their own stories,
those which have been woven into the fabric of their lives and craft a
personalized solo piece. Pre-requisite: Intro to Acting: The Actor and the
Moment. Class size: 15
|
16495 |
THTR 338
World Puppetry |
Amy Trompetter |
M 10:10 am-1:10 pm |
FISHER RESNICK |
PART |
Cross-listed:
Dance The course offers an historic overview of puppetry
forms from many cultures, a study of their profound engagement with social
issues, and techniques for making puppet theater that is relevant in the 21st
century. Students will be given guidelines and materials to make their own
puppet shows and to perform in class on a bi-weekly basis. Assigned research
readings and video materials introduce: Aragouz, the 12th c.
Egyptian hand puppet that ridiculed the invading tyrant Mamlu; Mobarak, the
Persian Shia string puppet who criticized Ottoman Sunis and survived; Punch,
the hand puppet that mocked British Renaissance authorities and continues
today; Mamulengo, comic wooden puppets appearing on 16th c.
Brazilian sugar plantations to mitigate slave owner cruelty; and Syrian hand
puppet shows mocking President Assad’s repressive regime. Other recent mask and
puppetry research includes Peter Schumann’s Bread and Puppet Theater and Tadeuz
Kantor’s Crikot 2. The semester culminates with a group puppetry performance
inspired by the Sicilian marionette tradition.
Class size: 12
|
16505 |
THTR 405
Junior / Senior Colloquium |
Gideon Lester |
W 6:30 pm-8:00 pm |
FISHER RESNICK |
|
The
Zócalo is the bi-weekly colloquium for the Theater & Performance Program.
It is a forum in which students and faculty share news and ideas of relevance
to the field and the Program, and to meet visiting artists and other guests.
Several times each semester students present work-in-progress performances in the
Zócalo, and receive structured feedback from their faculty and peers. For students entering the College in or after
Fall 2015 only: Moderated students in Theater &
Performance are required to enroll in the course pass/fail for both semesters
of their Junior and Senior years, and to pass all four semesters of the course.
Students who have not moderated into Theater & Performance are also welcome
to enroll. The Zócalo carries 0 credits.
Class size: 30