An introduction to the collaborative process of creating theater by examining the roles of the producer, playwright, director, actor, and designer, and how aesthetic choices are made based on analysis and interpretation of play texts.

50:965:123 Voice for the Stage (3)

Training and development of the actor's voice to develop optimal pitch, vocal range, improved articulation, and the ability to use the voice as an instrument.

50:965:124 Movement For The Stage (3)

Training and development of the actor's body to develop optimal range of movement and creative potential for the actor. Elements of dance: use of time, space, and imagination will play a vital role in our view of movement theater.� Designed to free the body from its pedestrian contraints.

50:965:202 Play Reading and Analysis (3)

The fundamentals of script analysis as it relates to the work of the director, the actor, and the designer.

50:965:241 Stagecraft (3) An introduction to the behind-the-scenes elements of a theater production developed through theory and stage crew experiences. Subjects covered may include scenery construction and painting, drafting, sound, digital electronics, stage management, and production organization.

50:965:271 Acting I (3) A foundational course that introduces the basic concepts of characterization through improvisational exercises, text analysis, and scene study. This course may be taken as part of a minor in media studies.

50:965:301 Performance (2) Students are required to be involved in a minimum of three performances over a four-year period, through mainstage or workshop productions in acting, directing, playwriting, production staff, or technical design. Prerequisites: 50:965:271 and permission of instructor. May be repeated for up to a maximum of 6 credits.

50:965:302 Practicum/Crew Call in Technical Theater (BA) An extension of technical theater studies with an emphasis on our mainstage and small-stage productions; 1 or 2 credits. Prerequisites: 50:965:241 or other departmental courses relevant to the practicum or permission of instructor.

50:965:304 Performance Workshop (2) An extension of the theater practice courses. The collaborative process is broken down for closer examination. Original and student-generated theater projects will each receive a rigorous rehearsal process with particular attention to experimentation and detail.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.

50:965:308 American Musical Theater (3) This course will examine the development of one of the most quintessentially American performance forms--the musical--from its various origins in European operetta, vaudeville, minstrelsy, and melodrama, to its most contemporary incarnations in the current Broadway season.

50:965:309 American Theater (3) The development of the American theater as an artistic, literary, cultural, historical, political, and social phenomenon, including the study of plays, playwrights, actors, directors, designers, and theater companies in the United States from the colonial era to the present day.

50:965:310 Experimental Theater (3) A look at the American and European avant-garde in the 20th century, exploring how traditional patterns were and still are broken on all levels: artistic, political, and philosophical.

50:965:314 Scenic Design (3) Fundamentals of scenic design, including history, theory of design, drafting, rendering, modeling, and practical application.
Prerequisite: 50:965:241 or permission of instructor.

50:965:318 Playwriting I (3) Provides experience with fundamental skills and techniques essential to new play development and writing that is particular to the stage. Examines traditional conventions of the "well-made play" while also experimenting with writing for a theater that breaks with those conventions.

50:965:319 Playwriting II (3) Covers practical approaches to reshaping works-in-progress for staged readings and workshop productions. A workshop atmosphere will help students to develop a professional perspective on playwriting, rehearsal process, and production values. Prerequisite: 50:965:318 or permission of instructor.

50:965:320 Directing I (3) The fundamentals of stage directing, including composition, picturization, movement, stage business, tempo, script selection, analysis, casting, and rehearsal planning. This course may be taken as part of a minor in media studies. Prerequisite: 50:965:202 or permission of instructor.

50:965:321 Directing II (3) Advanced study of the principles and techniques of directing plays of various types and styles.
Prerequisite: 50:965:320. May be repeated for credit.

50:965:322 Directing for Film (3) A foundation course that introduces the basic concepts of directing for film and video. Students will learn by making short films. Emphasis is placed on a director's ability to implement basic uses of actors and practical aspects of technical production.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.

50:965:345 Theater and Film in Europe (3)

A study of 20th-century movements in European film, which ran parallel to the expanding world of wildly new theater. Examines content and performance style that are specific to European countries, cultures, and individuals. An emphasis on influences and sensibilities well apart from our general awareness of theater and cinema in the United States.

50:965:359 Senior Project (BA) Senior theater majors are required to register for this seminar. Guidance for final projects: performance, research, or internship; 2-3 credits.

50:965:362 Costume Design (3) Fundamentals of costume design, including history of costume and fashion, theory of design, research methods, rendering and practical application. Techniques in drawing the basic human form.

50:965:371 Acting II (3) Development of material introduced in Acting I, with more advanced emphasis on scene study, styles of acting, and various approaches to an actor's preparation.
Prerequisite: 50:965:271 or permission of instructor.

50:965:372 Acting for Film (3) A foundation course that introduces the basic concepts of acting for film and video.� Emphasis is placed on an actor's ability to understand technically, to artistically interpret, and to implement specific suggestions from the film director.

50:965:373 Improvisational Theater (3) Improvisational process is examined through a progression of choice-making exercises related to spontaneous composition for the stage. Work with impulse and imaginative freedom are featured elements in making theater from scratch.

50:965:380 History of Theater I (3) A survey from the classical period through the 17th century, with emphasis on the major periods, typical plays, performance theories, important personages, and major playhouses and forms of production. Western and non-Western traditions will be examined. The two courses in this series need not be taken in sequence.

50:965:381 History of Theater II (3) A survey from the 18th century to the present, with emphasis on the major periods, typical plays, performance theories, important personages, and major playhouses and forms of production.� Western and non-Western traditions will be examined.

50:965:382 Lighting Design (3) Fundamentals of lighting design, including history and theories of design and electricity, drafting, and practical application.
Prerequisite: 50:965:241 or permission of instructor.

50:965:471 Acting III (3) Advanced problems in acting theories and styles. Prerequisites: 50:965:271 and 371 or permission of instructor.