Through weekly reading and discussion, this course explores plays and playwrights that are at the forefront of the American professional theatre repertory. Content is adjusted to reflect new plays in the expanding canon as well as older texts that are regularly revived for production. LA
This course examines and applies the fundamentals of play direction: play selection, casting, blocking, movement, interpretation, and production organization. Prerequisites: 225.
The focus of this advanced-level acting class is learning the play Shakespeare. Students will explore and strengthen the actors basic tools (body, voice and imagination) as they learn to analyze text for playable clues to character and circumstance. Specific attention will be given to understanding scansion and learning to identify basic figures of speech that will increase understanding, strengthen character development, and above all, help the actor play with clarity, purpose, and humanity. Prerequisites: 107, 121, 207.
This practical performance laboratory course continues exploring the physical and vocal foundations for the actor. Students will continue learning techniques for a healthy, effective, and expressive voice and body. Particular attention to expanded range and resonance will be applied to text. Prerequisite: 121. OC
This course will provide students an opportunity to explore theatrical design with special emphasis on the collaborative development of design solutions and the support that design elements provide to the theatrical narratives. Students will build skills in visual and verbal communication, design visualization, script analysis and creative idea development. Assigned projects will include activity in a multiple traditional fields of design (scenery, costumes, lighting, properties and/or sound). Prerequisites: 230. May be repeated once for credit with permission.
This course will provide students an opportunity to explore theatrical design with special emphasis on the collaborative development of design solutions and the support that design elements provide to the theatrical narratives. Students will build skills in visual and verbal communication, design visualization, script analysis and creative idea development. Assigned projects will include activity in a multiple traditional fields of design (scenery, costumes, lighting, properties and/or sound). Prerequisites: 230. May be repeated once for credit with permission.
This course focuses on the major painting mediums, styles of illustration, and techniques utilized in the visual presentation of scenic, costume, properties, and lighting designs for the theatre. AE
This course covers the basics of sound use in live performance venues. System design, assembly, and use are discussed, as well as some theory and applicable electrical principles.
Independent reading and/or research under the guidance of a theatre faculty member. Refer to the academic policy section for independent study policy. Independent study contract is required. May be repeated for credit.
This course is a continuation of THTR 281. It is a survey of theatre practice and dramatic texts focusing on the trends and playwrights that shaped the theatre from the turn of the 18th century to the present. Students examine, in addition to the dramatic texts of the period, the impact of performance spaces, aesthetic theories, religious beliefs, and the contemporary politicis of a given era on the development of drama. Prerequisite: 281. OC