This class is an exploration of movement fundamentals for the purpose of developing and strengthening individual creativity and artistic expression in dance. Class work is designed to: 1) Give individuals a basic understanding of anatomical structure and kinesiological principles as a foundation for developing technical skills needed to create articulate and expressive movement; 2) Provide an embodied experience of time and energy principles as related to dance; 3) demystify dance as an art form and make it accessible and relevant to all.

Beginning theory and practice of scenography. Study of materials and techniques used in stage scenery. Also an introduction to the theories and equipment used in theater lighting and sound. Lab required. Fall.

Acting is everywhere. How you wait for the Link in the morning is acting. How you address your teacher in class in acting. How you talk with your parent on the phone is acting. Acting Out purposefully examines how we use our voice and body, mind and emotion, to create the person we present to the world. You can learn to present a more confident, self-assured you by studying acting. This class is designed to develop the student’s imagination, observation and concentration through theater games and text-based performances. Techniques will be introduced with the purpose of bringing the students verbal and non-verbal communication together to fully communicate choices through strong psychological and physical action. If you love theatre, this course is for you. If you want to be more comfortable in job interviews, this class is for you.

This course is an introduction to movement fundamentals and is designed for actors, athletes, musicians, visual artists, and anyone desiring to improve fine motor skills, flexibility, coordination, posture, or body image. The goal is for students to develop somatic awareness so that they can recognize their own habitual movement patterns and learn to explore new movement options, with an emphasis on decreasing effort and increasing sensitivity. The course uses somatic methodologies and modern dance techniques to enhance students' understanding of basic anatomical and kinesiological principles, expand their range and quality of movement, and improve individual performance skills. And the course also offers an experience of movement as a creative form without the perceived stereotypical definitions and limitations of dance.

Live performance is an experience. The lights, the sound, the collaborative storytelling all reach out and interact with the audience to create a singular, transitory moment. Theater Experience will cover all aspects of this moment, from the performers to the production aspects of theater, to you, the audience member. Students will attend productions on campus as well as take field trips to professional theatres to experience a variety of performances. The course seeks to enhance the student’s knowledge and appreciation of theater and dance through immersive learning and scholarly exploration.

This course builds on the basic physical preparation for the actor and explores different dance forms and styles which are commonly used in theatrical productions. A variety of dance techniques and somatic methodologies will be studied, including ballet, ballroom, jazz, yoga, martial arts.

This course will offer students the opportunity to develop technical skills to improve flexibility, coordination, and strength and to use those skills to increase their range of abilities in creating and performing dance. Modern dance techniques will serve as the foundation for students to build a movement vocabulary, and students will be expected to develop their own movement material in improvisation and composition exercises. Choreographic elements, form, and styles will be explored to guide students in the creative process and performance will be an on-going focus within the class. The goal is for the students to be able to clarify and fulfill all movement so they can physically express their ideas and emotions in movement which is authentic and meaningful, i.e., dance.

This course is a practical seminar for those intending to major in theater. Content includes the integration of various aspects of theatrical production, an introduction to theater as a profession, portfolio and résumé development, and assistance in application to the major. Spring of sophomore year.

You can get better at make believe! This course will help you learn the fundamental tools of improv through engaging exercises and group game play designed to bolster your soft skills and lay the foundation that will allow you to create without self-judgment. It provides experience in movement, voice, character study, spontaneity, presence, scene set-up, and collaboration utilizing these skills in free form improvisational exercises and in conflict resolution. The course provides a safe environment to explore your creative potential and experience the freedom and joy of improvisational play. The class is the perfect starting place for those with zero improv experience or for those wanting to refresh their improv fundamentals.

A minimum of 50 hours' work in acting or stagecraft involving a crew responsibility. Prerequisite: Instructor's permission. May be repeated for up to 6 credits. Topics: Acting, scenography, costume, stage management, dramaturgy, publicity/marketing, dance. Course offered for S/U grading only.

A minimum of 50 hours' work in acting or stagecraft involving a crew responsibility. Prerequisite: Instructor's permission. May be repeated for up to 6 credits. Topics: Acting, scenography, costume, stage management, dramaturgy, publicity/marketing, dance.

A minimum of 50 hours' work in acting or stagecraft involving a crew responsibility. Prerequisite: Instructor's permission. May be repeated for up to 6 credits. Topics: Acting, scenography, costume, stage management, dramaturgy, publicity/marketing, dance.

A minimum of 50 hours' work in acting or stagecraft involving a crew responsibility. Prerequisite: Instructor's permission. May be repeated for up to 6 credits. Topics: Acting, scenography, costume, stage management, dramaturgy, publicity/marketing, dance.

This skills-based course will teach a variety of methods used in the creation of textile arts which include clothing and costumes for the theater. The course will cover hand and machine sewing, embroidery techniques, fabric painting and dying techniques, synthetic and natural dyes. The class will culminate in a final project designed by the student using the techniques taught in the class to create a fashion or costume piece that demonstrates design and proficiency with the techniques learned in the class.

Introduction to basic concepts in theatre studies. Introduction to techniques and methods of textual analysis and interpretation through a study of selected plays in context as part of a survey of the history of the theatre and of theatre conventions and conditions of Western drama and theatre from the Greeks to Realism.

Supervised reading or research at the lower-division level. Permission of department chair required. Consult department for applicability towards minor requirements. Not available to first-year students.

Alternative Fashion Trends of the late 20th century: How politics and music helped shape the alternative fashions of the last century. This class will examine how the hippy and psychedelic fashions of the 1960’s, punk fashions of the 1970’s/1980’s, grunge/Goth fashions of the 1980’s/1990’s and rap/hip-hop fashions of the 1990’s were influenced by the music and politics of their time. The course will also relate these fashions to the mainstream clothing of the time period they originated in and how these fashion trends continue today in fashions of the 21st century. Course offered for A-F grading only.

Courses offered during summer term.

“I’m hip. I surf the web. I text. LOL: Laugh out loud. OMG: Oh my God. WTF: Why the face?” This line, spoken by Ty Burrell as the character Phil Dunphy on the sitcom Modern Family, embodies the content of this course. WTF will explore comedy, from its origins to today. We will examine texts, audio content, drawings, radio, television, film and the internet to determine what is funny, why is it funny, is it funny to everyone, are their rules about what is funny and who made those rules. We will focus on marginalized voices to determine if comedy is universal, or if it is cultural or gender specific. We will use the survey of comedy to reflect back onto ourselves and explore how we got our own sense of humor and how it shapes who we are as people.

This course explores social and popular dance forms in a cultural context, analyzing how elements of the dance form reflect the shared values and history of the culture from which it originated. We will also examine how dance forms evolve and develop over time and geographic location. This hybrid course will involve dance activities in the studio in addition to lecture and discussion in the classroom.

Continuation of THEA 210 Dance Studies for more advanced students, taught concurrently with THEA 210. Prerequisite: THEA 210 or permission of instructor. May be repeated for up to 6 credits.

Fashion is an integral part of our lives today but have you ever wondered who the fops, fashionistas and influencers of fashion were from the previous 400 years? What technologies changed the way clothing was made or influenced the colors and fabrics we wear? Why is clothing considered art? This course will investigate how cultural, social, economic, and political ideas and events swept across the globe and changed the way people thought about and wore their clothes. From the practical to the fashionable, clothing shows us the artistry and history of the people who inhabit this planet.

This course examines the principles, practices and technology of stage lighting and sound. Emphasis is on developing basic skills and a solid understanding of lighting and sound equipment and their use in theater production. Attendance at productions may be required.

A minimum of 50 hours' work in acting or stagecraft involving a crew responsibility. Prerequisite: Instructor's permission. May be repeated for up to 6 credits. Topics: Acting, scenography, costume, stage management, dramaturgy, publicity/marketing, dance.

A specialized program for the theater major to work in a theater situation away from the Saint Benedict's/Saint John's campus theaters. An internship program arranged with another college or professional company or a touring theater company. Arranged with the department chair the previous semester.

Advanced work in scenic materials which are useful to the theater practitioner. The course explores face casting and mask-making, painting techniques, sculpting, upholstering, and stage weapon construction. Attending Theater Performances may be required.

This course will study and interpret ancient Greek drama both in its original context and as it is adapted and performed around the world today. The course will examine the origins and cultural context of Greek drama, as well as the performative aspects of the plays: theatrical space, stagecraft, music, and dance. It will also focus on key issues that the plays are concerned with, especially gender conflict, personal and communal identity, human violence, human and divine justice, self-sacrifice, political ambition, and the roles of women, slaves, and foreigners. In addition to studying the ancient texts, students will explore the relevance of these plays in later times, from the renaissance to today and will examine contemporary adaptations and projects based on these plays, especially ones that focus on women, immigrants, veterans of war, and violence.

Athens is considered one of the most vibrant theatre scenes in Europe. We will focus on current practices in theatre and performance mainly in Greece, but also in Europe and the United States. We will undertake a critical, historical and creative overview of theatre and performance making in periods of crisis, in Europe and the United States, and examine how contemporary Greek artists address issues such as: theatre and society, the human body/the body politic, and the stage and the city. We will also perform a slight backtrack into the ancient past and the beginnings of theatre in its birthplace. “Exploring the City through Theatre and Performance” will include visits to different theatres and other performance spaces: a theatre in a train, a 19th century proscenium theatre, underground performance spaces, together with backstage tours and talks with artists. “Exploring the City through Theatre and Performance” course is for students in the Arts and Humanities and anyone interested in theatre and performance.

Did you know London has around one hundred theatres? Fifteen of which are occupied by subsidized companies. Large commercial theatres can be found in the West End offering a variety of light entertainment, musicals and comedies. However, London’s theatre scene is not just big budget productions of Billy Elliot and the Lion King. Off-West End productions feature plays with more individual themes. The most innovative and experimental work is usually found in the ‘fringe’ theatres. Students enrolled in this course will be offered a ‘taste’ of all these modes of production, and a consideration of state subsidy for theatre within a critical framework. Students course will be introduced to a variety of texts, performances and theatrical venues that reflect the vitality of contemporary British theatre. Upon completing the course, students will be able to show an understanding of the network of relationships that constitute contemporary British theatre and be able to critically evaluate theatrical performances with an appreciation of technical terminologically and theoretical perspectives, forming an appreciation of aesthetic, academic and political debates in contemporary British theatre. This course features a co-curricular study tour to Stratford-Upon-Avon.

Supervised reading or research at the upper-division level. Permission of department chair and completion and/or concurrent registration of 12 credits within the department required. Consult department for applicability towards major requirements. Not available to first-year students.

As in any industry, theaters use scores of raw and manufactured materials in producing a single show, from the programs in the lobby to repainting the stage after strike. Every choice made in theater production adds to or subtracts from our carbon footprint. This course examines problems faced and solutions taken on from the lobby to the loading dock with reducing, reusing, and recycling to lessen theater’s carbon footprint and grow a greener, sustainable arts community.

Working with a faculty advisor, the student plans and implements a creative project, a research project, or a thesis. This project might be in any area of theater including acting, playwriting, design, technical production, theater history, dramatic theory and criticism.

A full semester or summer placement in a variety of professional theater settings doing supervised work. The individual projects are tailored to student needs/career. Subject to approval of faculty advisor and department chair.