THTR 108: World Theater
A survey of plays from different eras and performance traditions in diverse cultures, the course introduces students to evaluating, discussing, and writing about theater from a global perspective. Readings will include The Little Clay Cart, The Subscription List, Tartuffe, The Chalk Circle, Death and the King’s Horseman, Ti-Jean and His Brothers, The Rez Sisters, and The Merchant of Venice. Students are required to attend evening productions on campus of Disgraced, Saint Joan, and The Importance of Being Earnest. Short assignments,quizzes, final. [H, GM1]
Michael O’Neill T/R 9:30-10:45am Pardee 102B
THTR/English 207: Theater History
In order to create theater, we must learn each other’s rituals, since all theatre emerges from ritual. One of humanity’s most ancient and ubiquitous arts, theater is cultural autoethnography, so understanding theater history in a global context enables us to examine a culture from the inside, as reflected by the writers and performers who attempt to communicate their cultures’ fundamental aesthetics, anxieties, and philosophies in movement, music, storytelling, visual design and language. Re-creation and recreation have always been fundamental human needs, and we will be studying how theatrical techniques, texts, and theories change from culture to culture and era to era, at times normative, at times reflective. We will explore historical contexts, gender and class issues, public/private binaries, theatrical genres, cultural conventions, styles, and architectures from their ancient origins through colonial and post-colonial confrontations, to the recombinant style of today’s performances. Required for Theater Majors and Minors [GM2, H]
Suzanne Westfall MWF 1:10-2pm Buck Hall 102
THTR/English 208: Theater and Diversity
Well before Shakespeare, through his character Hamlet, called players the “the abstract and brief chronicles of the time” theater has, with powerful binaries and dialectics, addressed important social and political issues. This course focuses on plays that address issues of gender, race, class and ethnicity through the medium of live theater. Aside from texts, we will also examine how cross gender and cross-cultural casting (sometimes referred to as “color-blind” casting) affects theatrical reception and response. Examining these issues in the context of performance allows us a ringside seat, as it were, to some of the most important ideological debates of our time. [GM1, V, W, H]
Suzanne Westfall MWF 9:00-9:50am Pardee 113
THTR 235 – Musical Theater
This broad-based examination of Musical Theater combines an exploration of the history and literature of this uniquely American art form with a practical introduction to performance techniques used in the field. Students will study the structure, terminology, practitioners, organization and history of the musical while exploring repertoire through the preparation and performance of scenes and songs from musicals. While this is a performance class, there is a musical theater research track for non-singing performers who wish to enroll.(Prerequisite: Introduction to Theater – THTH 107 and/or Acting I – THTR 130 or permission of the instructor)
Mary Jo Lodge MW 2:10-4:00 WAC Studio Theater
THTR 270: Topics: Arts Management
Arts Managers perform the work that is required to bring the arts and cultural programs to audiences, organizing programs such as festivals and exhibits, performing arts events and film screenings. This course will introduce you to the “business of the arts,” providing you with an overview of the careers in arts management, the types of work that arts managers do, and the current issues and trends now affecting arts management professionals.
Alex Owens TR 11:00-12:15 Buck Hall 102
THTR 314: Stage Direction
This course explores the role of the director in the theatrical process, including casting, rehearsal, and organizational procedures from script analysis through performance. Special attention will be given to analyzing scripts for performance, and classes will be devoted to understanding principles of composition, picturization, movement, and blocking by applying them to practical directing situations. Readings and assignments will introduce students to issues of research, style, concept, and stage spaces. Attendance at some evening performances is required, and each student will direct a short play for public performance at the end of the course. Midterm, journal, promptbook, quizzes, and annotated bibliography required. Prerequisites: THTR 207 or Permission of the Instructor
Michael O’Neill TR 1:15-2:30 WAC Studio Theater
THTR 330 – Acting III: Styles
This course introduces students to the literature and performance practices of a variety of theatrical periods and styles. Students will explore Ancient Greek theater, Elizabethan Theater and other theatrical movements. In addition, students will learn experimental theatre techniques including collective creation. Class projects will include performances of monologues and scenes, as well as more traditional papers and projects, so that, through learning by doing, students will be able broaden their experience of what theatre is and can be.(Prerequisite: THTR 130 – Acting I – or permission of instructor)
Mary Jo Lodge MW 10:00-11:50 WAC Studio Theater
Prerequisite: Permission of Theater Department Head:
THTR 120.01: Theater Performance Practicum THTR 120.02: Theater Performance Practicum
THTR 121.01: Theater Production Practicum THTR 121.01: Theater Production Practicum
THTR 391.01: Independent Study THTR 400.01: Senior Project