The Theatre and Performance BA Program:
The Junior Seminar and Senior Project

Students normally take the junior seminar (THP 3890) in the spring of their junior year, during which they develop and submit their senior project proposal for approval. The senior project (THP 4990) is normally completed during the fall and spring of the senior year (4 credits per semester, 8 credits total) in one of the following areas (or a combination of these areas):

• Directing
• Writing for the stage or performance composition
• Production (including stage managing or designing and executing the design for a production)
• Performance practice (including acting a major role in a faculty-supervised student production or a faculty-directed production)
• Alternative performance practices (e.g., solo or devised performance)
• Theatre history, theory, or criticism (an academic essay)
• Dramaturgy

All creative senior projects (in acting, directing, solo performance, design and writing for the stage) require a statement of artistic aims, a contextual research essay, and technical essay evaluating the process and results of the creative project.

Specific elective courses are prerequisites for each of these types of senior projects, as listed below. Students should consult closely with their faculty advisor to ensure that these courses have been completed by the end of the junior year.

In most cases, students must receive formal approval of their senior project proposal by the end of the junior seminar. Acceptance of proposals is not automatic—it is dependent on adequate student preparation and fulfillment of required courses, as well as faculty availability and expertise. Students may be asked to submit an alternate proposal or take additional courses before proceeding. The number of students pursuing a particular type of senior project may be limited, subject to approval by the theatre and performance faculty.

Advanced students who plan to explore the intersections of two or more areas in their senior project should consult with their faculty advisor well in advance to shape an acceptable course of study and senior project.

The following elective courses are prerequisites for (or strongly recommended prior to) the senior project. In most cases, courses taken to fulfill the upper-level electives requirement for the major also fulfill these senior project prerequisites.

Directing:

Prerequisites (12 credits):

1. THP 1800/Introduction to Theatre Design (4 credits)
2. THP 3680/Directing I (4 credits)
3. THP 3681/Directing II (4 credits)

Recommended:
Internship, dramaturge, or assistant director experience with acting productions in the Conservatory of Theatre Arts (junior or senior year)

Writing for the stage:

Prerequisites (8 credits):

1. THP 3590/Playwriting I (4 credits)
2. THP 3591/Playwriting II (4 credits) or
   an alternative, approved course in performance composition

Production:

Prerequisites (10 credits):*

1. THP 1800/Introduction to Theatre Design (4 credits)
2. THP 2800/Managing the Production (3 credits)
3. An additional design or management course (3 credits) †

† Students who successfully complete THP 1800 and 2895 may be allowed to enroll in one or more of the following theatre design/technology courses:

TDT 2080/Theatre Technology I

TDT 2200/Scene Design I

TDT 2300/Costume Design I

TDT 2400/Lighting Design I

† Students who successfully complete THP 2800 may be allowed to enroll in the following theatre design/technology course:

TDT 2600/Introduction to Stage Management

Performance practice:

Prerequisites (14 credits):

1. SOA 1750/Fundamentals of Acting (2 credits)
2. THP 2760/Movement for Actors (2 credits)
3. THP 3070/Acting Scene Study (3 credits)
4. THP 3315/Vocal Exploration for the Actor (3 credits)
5. One course in performance composition, directing, or writing for the stage (4 credits)

Alternative performance practices:

Prerequisites (10–11 credits):

1. SOA 1750/Fundamentals of Acting (2 credits)
2. THP 2760/Movement for Actors (2 credits)
3. THP 3315/Vocal Exploration for the Actor (3 credits)
4. THP —/One alternative performance-practices course in performance composition; for example:
   THP 3510/Solo Performance: Performing the Self in Society (4 credits) or
   THP 3685/Ensemble Creation (3 credits)

Theatre history, theory, or criticism:

Prerequisites (8 credits):

1. THP 3250/Theories of Drama and Performance (4 credits)
2. An upper-level course in dramatic literature (4 credits)

Students who are planning a senior project in performance studies should consult with their faculty advisor about additional course options.

Dramaturgy:

Prerequisites (8 credits):

1. THP 3000/Dramaturgy (4 credits)
2. THP 3500/Documentary Theatre: Performing Real Life (4 credits) or
   THP 3590/Playwriting I (4 credits) or
   THP 3680/Directing I (4 credits)

For updates during 2013–2015, please visit www.purchase.edu/
departments/AcademicPrograms/Arts/TAF/DramaStudies/Senior
Project.aspx.

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