Course | Description |
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TH 101 Introduction to Theater | As with any introductory course in any discipline, Introduction to Theatre seeks to present students with the overview of the principles and practices of the Western theatrical tradition. By the end of the semester, you will have a greater understanding of the history, structure and practice of theatre and see how the performing arts create and are created by our society. On a practical level, you will develop your own knowledge and skills in the various ways that theatre is created in our culture. You will expand your exposure to plays and performances, contribute creatively to the production process (your own and/or the Colleges), and learn the many facets of the collaborative theatrical craft through hands-on experience. Perhaps most importantly, by the end of the term you will hopefully begin to view theatre as a launching point for looking at your world and its representations in a different and more critical way. This course fulfills the Arts General Education requirement. |
TH 201 Acting I | This class will focus on allowing the beginning performer to gain vital knowledge and experience in the art of acting. The physical and psychological construction of a realistic character and its application in performance will be the cornerstone of the semester. Lectures on acting theory will be accompanied by plenty of hands on acting exercises and performances. Emphasis will be placed on Stanislavski, his method. and the way that his work has influenced American and European acting. From that foundation, students will explore the way that powerful, realistic performances can be created on the stage or screen through monologue, scene-work and full performance. |
TH 220 Play Production | Too often plays are viewed by students as written literature that is recited aloud. Such a reductive approach to theater does a terrible injustice to the symbolic richness and interdisciplinary complexity of drama. EN 320, therefore, is designed to enable the student to attain a more sophisticated appreciation of the theater, its possibilities, limitations, and its evolution. The course is divided into three parts: first, an historical overview of theater’s evolution; second, a study of the craft of production, with workshops in acting, pantomime, make-up, and set design; third, the actual production and performance of a one-act play. This course fulfills the Arts General Education requirement. |
TH 301 The Theatrical Revolution: Perspectives on Modern and Contemporary Dramatic Literature | The last 150 years has been an era of stunning theatrical developments, both in the dramatic text and in the ways in which those texts were performed. These developments were reactions to a period steeped in both wide-reaching intellectual achievements and in horrific human atrocities. How does artistic expression in general, and theatrical performance specifically, react and evolve in the wake of that (and our own) tumultuous era? Students who successfully complete this course will be able to trace the development of modern and postmodern drama, with a strong emphasis on the American and European artistic traditions. Through the reading of primary dramatic texts and the screening of specific productions of those texts (both from live performance and the cinema), the class will be asked to critically engage with the themes, techniques and socio-historical contexts of each work. The class will also engage with the material through class discussions and their own academic writings on specific figures and topics. |
TH 318 The History of Theater | The purpose of this course is to provide students with an in-depth understanding of the art, the evolution, and the craft of the theater. The course will cover such aesthetic issues as theater as art as well as theories of acting and directing. The course will trace the evolution of theater from that of ancient Greece and Rome to contemporary play productions. Throughout the course detailed attention will be given to stagecraft such as set design, lighting, costuming, and make-up. This course fulfills the Humanities General Education requirement. |
TH 320 Play Production | Too often plays are viewed by students as written literature that is recited aloud. Such a reductive approach to theater does a terrible injustice to the symbolic richness and interdisciplinary complexity of drama. EN 320, therefore, is designed to enable the student to attain a more sophisticated appreciation of the theater, its possibilities, limitations, and its evolution. The course is divided into three parts: first, an historical overview of theater’s evolution; second, a study of the craft of production, with workshops in acting, pantomime, make-up, and set design; third, the actual production and performance of a one-act play. This course fulfills the Arts General Education requirement. |
TH 321 Theory and Method of Play Production II | This class expands on the content and skills taught in TH 320 (Theory and Methods I). The class assumes a general knowledge of theater along with competence in basic theater skills in the areas of acting, set design, costume, and productions. By the end of the semester, the student will have a greater understanding of the history, structure and practice of theater and see how the performing arts create and are created by our society. On a practical level, the student will develop advanced skills in the many ways that theatre is created within our culture, having the opportunity to expand his/her experience in specific theatrical fields of interest through readings, in-class work and participation in a full theatrical production. Most important, by the end of this term the student will gain the skill by which he/she can use the discipline of theater as a lens through one can interpret the world and its representations critically. |
TH 367 Contemporary Theater | From the glamour of Broadway and West End productions of The Producers and Rent, to gritty protest Dramas and the avantgarde contemporary theatre is a vibrant and amazingly diverse art form. This class will examine an overview of the dramatic literature of the last 30 years, with an emphasis on the 21st Century. In so doing, students will be discussing a wide range of related issues, including the varying production styles and techniques involved with each script and the broader cultural and social framework that makes these works possible. As with any class that deals with the dramatic arts, our discussions of these plays will be framed by the viewing and analysis of many performances, both live and on video. This course fulfills the Humanities General Education requirement. |