Students work on basic performance skills through individual and group exercises in acting, voice and speech and movement. Can be taken by non-Theatre School students.

This course is a continuation of PRF 290 and will allow students who have completed the introductory course further exploration in performance by applying basic acting skills to the presentation of short plays and scenes from modern dramatic literature.

Through the aesthetic analysis of plays and dramatists that were foundational in the development of dramatic literature, the student is encouraged to develop basic critical standards for the understanding and appreciation of dramatic production. Can be taken by non-Theatre School students.

Through lecture, discussion, projects and actual theatre attendance, students explore the human nature of the theatrical impulse and its evolution into theatrical form. Plays and readings deal with issues of gender identity, sexual orientation, and sexuality in performance. Students follow the process of specific drama productions from script to stage and examine the artistic process and the role that sexuality and gender play in performance and rehearsal.

A study of some of the main philosophical theories of tragedy together with readings of some of the most important ancient and modern tragedies. PREREQUISITE(S):PHL 100

A study of some of the main philosophical theories of comedy together with readings of some of the most important ancient and modern comedies. PREREQUISITE(S):PHL 100

This course is designed to introduce students to the director's craft. The focus is on the director's relationship to text through the analysis of playscripts and the use of that analysis to plan an interpretation of a play. Analysis will come from a variety of perspectives--personal, psychological, social, and historical. In addition to preparing and presenting their projects, students will attend performances and write papers in response. The class combines lecture, discussion, group exercises, and in-class activities.

This course is designed as an introduction to the process of playwriting. The emphasis on the exploration of a range of techniques and tools available to the playwright. Through the completion and discussion of a series of writing exercises, the class will examine the various elements of playwriting. Particular attention will be paid to the connections between form and meaning. Work for the course will include weekly exercises, written responses to plays in production, and the presentation of projects. Instructional methods will include lecture, discussion, group exercises, and in-class activities. The final project of the class will be the completion of a draft of a 10-minute play.

The course introduces the essential principles of designing for the stage. The art of stage design is explored through the analysis and interpretation of dramatic literature. Students will engage in script analysis, creative research, critical writing, model building and rendering to present visual and written work that represents their personal reflection on the plays examined in the class.

Seminars will offer intensive study of various areas of literature created for the theatre. The courses may be organized around specific playwrights, historical periods, styles or themes.

Seminars will offer intensive study of various areas of literature created for the theatre. The courses may be organized around specific playwrights, historical periods, styles or themes.

Seminars will offer intensive study of various areas of literature created for the theatre. The courses may be organized around specific playwrights, historical periods, styles or themes.

Live performances of sketch comedy present theatre in one of its most elemental forms. With a focus on actors and text rather than technical elements, stagings of sketch revues explore the relationship between audience and artist in a dynamic and revealing way. This course will explore both the theoretical underpinnings of comedy and the practical techniques for the creation of this work. The class will examine as literature this work that is often overlooked by critics and theorists because of its perception as a ?low? art form.

We're a funny people. We also like to watch others be funny. This course explores some aspects of American stage comedy, a genre that is as funny, but less studied, than film comedy.

It is almost always the case that audiences are introduced to the dramatic canon with cinematic translations of the great plays, rather than actual productions. In this course we will examine what elements theatre and film share as well as what elements one or the other medium possesses exclusively if any. What is lost or, indeed gained in cinematic translation? What is the notion of theatricality? What cannot be translated to the film? What societal elements come into play when translating a play for the screen? Socio-political and historical milieu of the original plays will be examined as well as those of the screen plays

Theme parks have become contemporary equivalents of the ancient Greek theatre festivals - places where the citizenry gather to revisit the myths and history of the community. While much has been written about theme parks from the perspective of cultural studies, urban planning, and commerce, little attention has been paid to their function as performance or theatre. In this class we will attempt to develop criteria for evaluating theme park attractions as works of art. How do theme parks fulfill or challenge traditional definitions of theatre? What is the relationship between audience and performer? Can/should theme parks aspire to do more than entertain? How are stories told physically and architecturally? How have theme parks influenced theatre and other art forms?

This course surveys political theatre from the ancient Greeks right up until today. Through an examination of the political contents of specific plays and of theoretical reading, such as manifestos, the course instructs students in critical thinking, the relationship between form and content, and between a society and one genre of art.

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) has left an indelible mark on both the history and culture of the world. While fear and loss can paralyze, they can also mobilize. In addition to destroying generations of artists, AIDS has become what some call "the great unifier," giving voice to a new generation of theatre artists. But what are these voices? Cries for social change? Political rants? Stories of remembrance? Lessons to educate? All of the above? What does AIDS mean when it appears onstage in a performance? By interpreting and analyzing plays from both national and global AIDS perspectives, reading critical and reflective essays, and through discussion, students in the course will discover how the ritual of theatre has been used to create the eclectic quilt of voices that is AIDS drama.

Over the past one hundred years or so, artists and educators in the United States have specifically dedicated themselves to sharing and creating aesthetic, creative experiences for young people. But what have been the impulses behind these plays and creations? Why specifically devise a theatre for young audiences (TYA)? Are children just little adult theatre goers or has an approach and methodology developed through the years to speak directly to young people? The goal of this introductory course is find some answers to these questions by surveying the history of dramatic literature for children in the United States from the beginning of the last century to the present day. Through readings, lectures, workshops, and discussions students will gain insight into the TYA theories, philosophies, styles, and practices that have accumulated over the years. By excavating the past and examining the present, students will achieve further appreciation and understanding of the spectrum of theatrical experiences written and improvised for children.

Born out of ACT UP and the AIDS militant movement of the late 1980s and early 1990s, Queer Nation concerned itself with the issue of gay and lesbian enfranchisement and power. They created the battle cry, "We're here, we're queer, we're fabulous, get used to it;" thereby granting the gay community ownership of the word "fabulous." Fabulousness not only became a new manifesto for queer politics and camp, but also became synonymous with irony, tragic history, defiance, gender-fuck, glitter, and drama. Currently, young playwrights have shifted the visor of gay drama from overtly politcal dramas to stories of identity and love. In replacing direct political messages with more personal appeals for social progress, is contemporary gay drama still fabulous? By interpreting and analyzing the most current queer plays, reading critical and reflective essays, and through discussion, students in the course will decide for themselves if "fabulous" is a thing of the past or stronger than ever in the present.

While writing and performing for their local communities, various international artists have made a global impact on the field of theatre for young audiences. This course is an investigation of the principles, procedures, and practices of theatre for young audiences playwrights and artists worldwide. Through analysis of readings, lectures, workshops, and discussions students will explore the skills and aesthetic techniques that theatre creators from around the globe use to communicate with their audiences. By examining historical, theoretical, and artistic intercontinental connections, students will hopefully gain further appreciation and understanding of the contemporary, global theatre for young audiences (TYA) field.

The Holocaust of the 20th Century perpetrated and executed by Nazi Germany, has both seared itself into people's consciousness and become very much a part of world culture. Theatre and performance have been created to try to understand this event and search for meaning. Created through multiple perspectives and styles - historical and political, philosophical and religious, realistic and surrealistic, using dark humor and the power of memory, focusing on gender relations -- there is no one method of presenting the Holocaust artistically. Through a close investigation of key theatre and performances, students will discover many works that were unknown to them and that will help to shed some light on these representations more deeply, reflecting the complexity of the Holocaust in a search for understanding and ultimately seeking to answer this imperative, "Can and should art be made from representations of genocidal atrocity?"

Over the years the abundance of artistic contributions from Jewish creators: playwrights, performers, composers and lyricists, acting teachers and producers - has helped to shape the American Theatre as we know it. Through a critical reading of the plays in their context and viewing performances on video this course will explore the unique synthesis and the long and colorful relationship between Jews and theatre in America. Critical questions to be asked are: How does the ethnic mosaic of America and American values and multi-culturalism act as an incubator? How did anti-Semitism and stereotypes play a role? Does the cultural memory of the Jew as the "outsider and survivor in history" provide a particular aesthetic?

This course examines ninety years of women's dramatic writing in America from the jazz age to today. We will look at plays written by women, theoretical essays about the plays, and playwrights? biographies, as well as historical materials illuminating plays? themes and forms. Identity has always been important to American dramaturgy and women have always occupied a unique place in the theatre?as actresses, as spectators, as icons, as demons and finally as creators. Women have been playwrights but they have also been producers and theatre adventurers.

Shakespeare's plays explore the scope and depth of the human experience. Using the visual elements of cinema, these epic stories translate effectively for modern audiences. Students will read four plays by Shakespeare, and explore their thematic and dramatic interpretations on film: two adapted from Shakespeare's themes and two cinematic versions of the plays themselves which will elucidate the 'ocular proof' of Shakespeare's influence on cinema.