THTR 107: Introduction to Theater

Through lectures, discussions, hands-on-experiences, master classes with visiting theater professionals, and performances outside of class, this course introduces students to significant texts, ideas, and crafts essential to the study of theater. Projects involve acting, directing, design, and theater criticism; writing assignments familiarize students with the analytic tools and accepted vocabulary of theater scholarship. Attendance at some evening performances required. H GM2

Prof. O’Neill TR 9:30-10:45 Pardee 102B

 

THTR 130: Acting I

This workshop style course will introduce students to various fundamental techniques of acting and improvisation, with special emphasis on sensory awareness, observation, concentration, body movement and vocal development. Students will develop their imaginations and creative processes through performance situations involving improvisation, scene study and monologue work. H

Prof. Lodge  MW 1:10-3:00p.m. WAC Studio Theater

 

THTR 201: Public Speaking

Public speaking is critical to giving the best possible representation of us. This course gives students the basic skills required to research, write, and perform speeches in a myriad of situations. Speaking for academic, business, and personal circumstances are part of the curriculum. Being a critical and rhetorically astute audience member will also be emphasized

Mr. Placke TR 11:00-12:15 Hugel 100

 

THTR 208: Theater and Diversity

This course focuses on plays that address issues of gender, race, class and ethnicity through the medium of live theater. In ancient Greece, Aristophanes’ Lysistrata suggested how the power of women might end wars. Shakespeare’s Othello and The Merchant of Venice enacted the behaviors of racism and anti-Semitism. In more recent times, Caryl Churchill has examined gender roles in Cloud Nine, and the costs of feminism in Top Girls. Tony Kushner’s Angels in America turned the spotlight to the AIDs crisis and homophobia, and Suzan Lori Park focuses on race, class, and gender in the context of American History. We will examine how cross-gender and cross-cultural casting (sometimes referred to as “color-blind” casting) affects theatrical reception and response. Field trips, workshops, and writing. [H, W, GM1, GM2, V pending]

Prof. Westfall MWF 9:00-9:50 WAC Studio Theater

 

THTR 221: Basic Stagecraft: Tech Theater

An introduction to the history, theory, and practice of entertainment technology including scenery construction, lighting, sound, and rigging systems for theater, music, and dance performances. Projects, labs, and production assignments ensure practical experience and hands-on exposure to a range of topics discussed in the classroom.

Mr. Owens TR 11:00-12:15 Buck 106

 

THTR 280: Topics: Speaking Power

This course will focus on effective speaking strategies for life and for professions, including: analyzing effective speeches; writing and delivering persuasive rhetoric; building confidence and authority; mastering argument techniques; fostering “presence” for public performances; and channeling anxiety to build focus. In this election year, we will examine the various strategies and performances that our candidates, newscasters, spin-doctors, and commentators use to create various images and to convince us to believe their visions of reality. [H, W, V pending]

Prof. Westfall MW 11:00-12:15 WAC Studio Theater

 

THTR 312: Plays in Performance: American Drama on Film

Through reading the texts of twentieth-century American plays and analyzing their film adaptations, the course will offer various approaches to understanding performance as both an ephemeral and permanent phenomenon. Students will learn to apply the methods of dramaturgy to studying and researching selected plays and films, comparing differently realized performances across genres and giving special attention to understanding the social significance of gender, sexuality, and class in hierarchical relation to one another presented on stage and in film. Plays and screenings include The Children’s Hour, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Gypsy, A Raisin in the Sun, Doubt, Inherit the Wind, and Long Day’s Journey Into Night.

H W [GM1 pending]

Prof. O’Neill TR 2:45-4:00 WAC Studio Theater