Theatre & Performance | Academic Requirements | Minor | Courses
Faculty | Junior Seminar & Senior Projects | Production Options

The Theatre and Performance Program: Courses

THP 1000–1999 (lower level, freshman)
THP 2000–2999 (lower level, sophomore)
THP 3000–3999 (upper level, junior)
THP 4000–4999 (upper level, senior)

THP 1000–1999:

Fundamentals of Acting
SOA 1750 Refer to Theatre Arts SOA Courses for description.

Introduction to Theatre Design
SOA 1800 Refer to Theatre Arts SOA Courses for description.

Dramatic Shifts:
Drama in the West From the Ancient World Through the Middle Ages
THP 1200 / 4 credits / Fall
Drama and poetry are used to explore the development of Western civilization from the ancient world through the Middle Ages. The cultural context of each play and poem is found in the architecture, visual arts, philosophy, music, and history of the era. Topics include the lives, social roles, and interests of men and women; the relationship of human beings to God (or gods); issues of personal freedom and responsibility; concepts of justice; the passions; Nature; and gaining knowledge and wisdom (divine and human).

Dramatic Expression in Western Civilization:
From the Renaissance to the 20th Century
THP 1210 / 4 credits / Spring
In this survey of Western civilization from the Renaissance to the 20th century, works of dramatic literature are used to probe the cultural values of each historical period. The social and artistic background of each period provides the context for readings of works by Shakespeare, Jonson, Molière, Voltaire, Ibsen, Wilde, Chekhov, Brecht, and Wilson. Emphasis is placed on close reading of texts, writing, and class participation.

Modern Culture Onstage and in Life, 1880–1914
THP 1220 / 4 credits / Spring
Many scientific, technological, artistic, and literary advances that dominated the 20th century came to light between 1880 and 1914. During this period of great experimentation, dramatists were among those pushing European social and intellectual values in new directions. This course uses the plays of Ibsen, Strindberg, Wilde, Chekhov, Wedekind, Jarry, and Feydeau to investigate the cultural crosscurrents swirling throughout the Western world at the dawn of the modern age.

From Page to Stage
THP 1230 / 4 credits / Fall
Studies the relationship of dramatic texts and performance from the Greeks through Shakespeare to the present, using readings and performances on or near the campus, as well as film and video.

THP 2000–2999:

Acting the Classics
THP 2000 / 4 credits / Spring
Integrates discussions, readings, presentations, viewings, and exercises to teach students an appreciation of the elements of both classical and contemporary theatre and performing arts. The acting techniques of Stanislavsky and Uta Hagen, among others, are used to analyze and understand classic modern drama. Students develop dramatic tools for creating new realities via acting and directing in both solo and group performances. Readings include works by Chekhov, Ibsen, Lorca, and Havel.

Introduction to Theatre and Performance Studies
THP 2020 / 3 credits / Fall
An introduction to dramatic literature and theory and to seeing, writing about, and participating in theatre and performance.

Shakespeare Then and Now
THP 2205 / 3 credits / Spring
Selected plays spanning Shakespeare’s entire career. In addition to close reading and textual interpretation, students address questions and problems of performing, directing, lighting, costuming, and set designing Shakespeare’s plays. The course examines past and current trends in Shakespearean criticism, as well as the social and theatrical contexts in which the plays were first produced. Also offered as LIT 2205.

Performing Oral History and Poetry
THP 2380 / 4 credits / Alternate years
Students learn to transform poetry and personal stories into short plays and performance pieces. Poetry and movement are used to create choreopoems. Students also develop interview theatre pieces. Readings and/or video viewings include works by Ntozake Shange, Eve Ensler, and Anna Deavere Smith.

Voice and Speech for the Performer
THP 2400 / 3 credits / Every year
Focuses on the process and practice of breath, vocal production, and articulation.

American Drama: From O’Neill to Albee
THP 2600 / 4 credits / Alternate years
American drama considered primarily as a critique of American society, values, and life. Covers the period from 1916 to 1964, including plays by Susan Glaspell, Eugene O’Neill, Clifford Odets, Lillian Hellman, Gertrude Stein, Thornton Wilder, Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Lorraine Hansberry, Adrienne Kennedy, and Edward Albee. Also offered as LIT 2600.

Movement for Actors
SOA 2760 Refer to Theatre Arts SOA Courses for description.

Fundamentals of Stage Design
THP 2780 / 3 credits / Every year
An introduction to the materials and concepts of design, including color, texture, shape and line, as they apply to set, lighting, and costume design for the stage.

Managing the Production
THP 2800 / 3 credits / Every year
An introduction to stage management, production, and company management. Students who successfully complete this course may be allowed to take TDT 2600.

Performance and Culture in a Global World
THP 2860 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
Equips students with the tools to read performance in its myriad contexts, including Broadway musicals, “native” rituals, American drama, museums, modern dance, international arts festivals, and everyday life. Students read and occasionally view plays, ethnographies, and reviews and consider issues involved in their production. Issues may include tourism, gender, interculturalism, and cultural capital.

Performance of Dramatic Literature
THP 2870 / 4 credits / Fall
A performance course that covers rehearsal techniques, monologues, and short scenes, using classic, modern, and contemporary plays. Students critique campus productions in written essays and write character and play analyses.

Theatre Histories I
THP 2885 / 3 credits / Fall
Western and world theatre from ancient Greece to 1642, when the theatres of Shakespeare’s time were finally closed. What would now be called actors, playwrights, producers, directors, designers, and theatre architects are all considered. Also offered as LIT 2885.

Theatre Histories II
THP 2890 / 3 credits / Spring
Western and world theatre from the 17th to the 20th centuries. Playwrights, actors, directors, producers, and designers; neoclassicism, romanticism, realism, naturalism, expressionism. This course begins where THP 2885 leaves off, but either can be taken independently.

Production Practicum
THP 2895 / 4 credits / Every semester
Students receive training in lighting (hanging, focusing, and maintaining), the use of power tools, and basic set construction. Elements of lighting and set design are also discussed. Requirements include work on a minimum of two productions in the Humanities Theatre as crew and board operators. A lab section is required.
Prerequisite: Limited to freshman and sophomore majors in theatre and performance; others by permission of instructor

THP 3000–3999:

Dramaturgy
THP 3000 / 4 credits / Every year
Focuses on the relationships among text, social context, production history, and directorial concept in staging a production. Includes play analysis, theoretical readings, research, student presentations, and analysis and discussion of campus productions. Research, writing, and oral presentations required.

Acting Scene Study
TAC 3070 Refer to Acting Courses for description.

Commedia and Pantomime
THP 3110 / 3 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
An introduction to the history and contemporary practice of physical theatre and to the traditions of commedia and pantomime. Includes lectures, mask making, scenario creation, and instruction in and physical practice of the form.
Prerequisite: One acting course, preferably THP 2870 or SOA 1750

Gameplay and Performance
THP 3120 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
Explores the genre of alternate reality or pervasive gaming currently used as an alternative to traditional performance by contemporary theatrical and visual artists, dancers, and musicians. The blurring distinctions between game and narrative are examined, opening new possibilities for performance. Students design and stage their own live alternate-reality game as a means of storytelling or extend an existing narrative through transmedia. Also offered as NME 3120.

Medieval and Renaissance English Drama
THP 3140 / 4 credits / Alternate years
A study of the mystery plays, morality plays, interludes, masques, and entertainments of the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. Analysis of texts is combined with consideration of theatrical production in light of the ideological, religious, and historical contexts of the plays. Also offered as LIT 3141.

Theories of African Diaspora: African/Caribbean Performance
THP 3220 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
Theories of African diaspora are analyzed and applied to plays and performance traditions from the Caribbean and Africa. Students study Black Nationalist and pan-Africanist movements in different locations, as well as more contemporary theories of African diaspora like Gilroy’s The Black Atlantic. Students also conduct research projects on a play, playwright, or performance tradition within a theoretical framework studied in class.

African Theatre and Performance: History and Practice
THP 3226 / 4 credits / Alternate years
The performance traditions of Africa, specifically South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, and Ghana, are examined through the lens of the impact of colonialism on African performance traditions and on major playwrights from the region. Students read dramatic texts and learn about ritual performance, contemporary film, music, and dance.

20th-Century Italian Drama
DRA 3232 / 4 credits / Summer (offered in Italy)
Italian performance and plays from the 20th century are considered in their social and political contexts, including the works of Dario Fo, a performer and playwright who received the Nobel Prize in Literature. The course culminates in a student performance of selected scenes and excerpts, staged in an ancient piazza.

Theories of Drama and Performance
THP 3250 / 4 credits / Fall
Focuses on postmodern theory and performance. Historical and cross-cultural study of how theatre artists and critical thinkers have addressed issues of aesthetics, representation, style, space, and time.

Women in Performance
THP 3300 / 4 credits / Alternate years
This course considers 20th- and 21st-century performance work by women in dance, theatre, and the visual art world (performance art) from a historical and theoretical perspective. Critical and theoretical feminist essays and other writings are assigned. Students read original texts, view documentation, and analyze contemporary works by women writers, choreographers, performance artists, and theatre directors. Also offered as GND 3300.

Approaching Character Through Movement and Sound
THP 3305 / 3 credits / Alternate years
An introduction to Grotowski’s plastiques, Linklater voice work, and meditative practice as techniques for deepening artistic practice.
Prerequisite: SOA 1750 or THP 2870

Masks and Movement
THP 3310 / 3 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
Explores the neutral mask and commedia dell’arte, as informed by Lecoq technique. The neutral mask focuses on finding a bodily sense of calm and openness, helps build the actor’s presence on stage, and highlights physical habits that can hinder expression. Commedia dell’arte calls on the actor’s timing, ability to improvise, and humor, and requires big physical choices and delving into the idiosyncrasies of type.

Vocal Exploration for the Actor
THP 3315 / 3 credits / Every year
Explores the fundamental connection between voice and text, based on Linklater technique. Using technical and imagistic exercises, students find a free connection to breath, develop resonance and range, release jaw, tongue, and throat tensions, and build vocal strength.

Concepts in Costuming
THP 3320 / 3 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
An introduction to the fundamentals of designing costumes for theatre and dance productions. As they examine the design process, students explore how and why a designer makes certain choices. Emphasis is placed on how ideas are generated and communicated within the flux of the production process.

Advanced Movement for Performers
THP 3330 / 2 credits / Spring
Continued sensory-actualization technique to increase the physical awareness needed to create authentic theatre and characters. Classes include warm-up, technical exercises, improvisations, and monologues.
Prerequisite: Basic work in acting and/or movement, or permission of instructor

Contemporary British Drama
THP 3460 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
In 1956, a play called Look Back in Anger began a revolution in British drama. The class focuses primarily on the plays of the last 50 years, studying how British playwrights expressed the concerns of their changing society. Dramatists considered include Osborne, Pinter, Orton, Bond, Churchill, and Kane.

Black American Drama
THP 3495 / 4 credits / Alternate years
Examines the history of 20th-century black American theatre. Major representative plays are read as literature; playwrights include Richard Wright, James Baldwin, Amiri Baraka, Alice Childress, Adrienne Kennedy, August Wilson, Robert O’Hara, Suzan-Lori Parks, Lynn Nottage, Kia Corthron, and Lorraine Hansberry. Also offered as LIT 3495.

Documentary Theatre: Performing Real Life
THP 3500 / 4 credits / Spring
Students collect, assemble, and perform scripts based on “lore” (oral history, personal narratives). History is seen as a performative way to construct identity. Includes readings by documentary playwrights like Brecht, Emily Mann, and Caryl Churchill. Also offered as DWR 3500.

Theory and Drama
PHI 3510 Refer to Philosophy Courses (School of Humanities) for description.

Solo Performance: Performing the Self in Society
THP 3510 / 4 credits / Spring
Considers the history of performance art and offers a creative process for developing solo and group performances from memory, personal material, and issues in contemporary society. Requirements include both academic and creative projects.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor

Gay and Lesbian Theatre and Performance
THP 3520 / 4 credits / Alternate years
Historical, theoretical, and performative perspectives on the representation of same-sex relationships and issues on the stage. Topics include cross-dressing, camp, gender, parody, coming out, identity formation, and affirmation. Close reading and discussion of plays, mostly by contemporary American dramatists. Also offered as GND 3520.

Playwriting I
THP 3590 / 4 credits / Fall
Playwriting exercises and extensive reading and discussion of significant one-act plays. The focus is on exploring playwriting strategies and finding a voice. Students present scenes in class and revise them; the final assignment is a one-act play.
Prerequisite: A dramatic literature course and permission of instructor

Playwriting II
THP 3591 / 4 credits / Spring
Further development of the playwright’s craft, with attention to plot, character, and language. Students present scenes in class and revise them; the final assignment may be a one-act or full-length play.
Prerequisite: THP 3590 or permission of instructor

Women and Drama
THP 3600 / 4 credits / Fall
Explores female characters in plays by Ibsen, Chekhov, Shaw, and contemporary women playwrights (Mann, Fornes, Churchill, Shange). Theories of gender, language, and performance are addressed. Also offered as GND 3600.

Contemporary Performance
THP 3610 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
Students study, attend, and create contemporary performance works.

Shakespeare and Film
THP 3620 / 4 credits / Alternate years
Shakespeare goes to celluloid, Hollywood, Japan, TV, and elsewhere. On the one hand, this is a Shakespeare seminar, with emphasis on discussions of the plays themselves. On the other, it becomes a film course, focusing on analyses of screen adaptations. Also offered as LIT 3619.
Prerequisite: THP 2205

New Theatre and Performance
THP 3630 / 4 credits / Fall
Contemporary theatre encompasses a wide range of approaches, from the collective experiments in the 1960s (e.g., Living Theatre, Open Theatre) to Robert Wilson’s “operas” and the mixed-media performances of Ping Chong, Meredith Monk, Richard Foreman, and the Wooster Group. Students study the works of several contemporary theatre artists, attend performances, and meet selected artists working with new forms in New York theatre. Taught in New York City.

Directing I
THP 3680 / 4 credits / Fall
Introduction to staging. After a brief overview of directing history, students are introduced to elements of directing (including the Viewpoints) and strategies for working with actors, staging short scenes, and using a minimum of technical elements in a final scene. Required for students with a directing concentration; open to other majors with junior standing.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor

Directing II
THP 3681 / 4 credits / Spring
Theory and practice of directing, with lectures and practical focus on exercises. Required for theatre and performance majors who are considering production senior projects.
Prerequisite: THP 3680 or permission of instructor

Ensemble Creation
THP 3685 / 3 credits / Fall
In this introduction to strategies of collective creation, students are engaged in a process that culminates in an end-of-semester performance.

American Theatre in Our Time
THP 3690 / 4 credits / Alternate years
American theatre and society during the last 50 years. Plays by Jones (Baraka), Mamet, Shepard, Hwang, Kushner, Fornes, Marsha Norman, Sarah Ruhl, and August Wilson. Also offered as LIT 3690.
Prerequisite: Some knowledge of the American drama of O’Neill, Williams, and Miller

Theatre and Revolutions
THP 3700 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
A study of revolutions in theatre, and theatre at the time of historic revolutions. Students study plays (Beaumarchais’s Marriage of Figaro, Buchner’s Danton’s Death, Peter Brook’s Marat/Sade), and movements (guerrilla street theatre, Chicano theatre, Bread and Puppet, Living Theatre), focusing on theatre as an active, participatory art and on drama as a literary form.

Theatrical Representations of the Holocaust
THP 3709 Refer to JST 3709 in Jewish Studies Courses (School of Humanities) for description.

Modern Hispanic Theatre
THP 3715 Refer to SPA 3715 in Spanish Courses (School of Humanities) for description.

Performance of Narrative
THP 3720 / 4 credits / Alternate years
By scripting and performing oral traditions, short stories, and 19th- and 20th-century novels, students explore how narratives establish gender, ethnicity, region, and nation as indexes of identity. Solo and group work.

Adapting Literature for Performance
THP 3725 / 4 credits / Fall
A writing workshop on how to develop performance scripts from poetry, prose fiction, and nonfiction. Requires a background in literature, interest in theatrical form, and commitment to the scripting process. Also offered as LIT 3730 and LWR 3730.

Non-Western Theatre History and Practice
THP 3740 / 4 credits / Spring
An introduction to the history of world theatre, apart from the Western tradition, including discussion of theatre traditions in Japan, China, India, and Africa. Requirements include readings and viewings of live and videotaped performances. Whenever possible, practitioners of the form under discussion offer an on-campus lecture/demonstration/workshop, for which students enrolled in this course have priority. Limited to theatre and performance, acting, and theatre design/stage technology majors.

European Drama in Our Time
THP 3750 / 4 credits / Spring
Malaise, futility, despair, and, sometimes, hope in the plays of Pirandello, Brecht, Giraudoux, Beckett, Ionesco, Genet, Osborne, Pinter, Churchill, and others, from World War I to somewhere short of tomorrow. Also offered as LIT 3751.

Poetry in Performance
THP 3760 / 4 credits / Alternate years
Study and dramatic interpretation of 20th-century lyric poetry, including Eliot, Roethke, Sexton, Plath, Olds, Ginsberg, Rich, Stafford, and Giovanni. Workshop atmosphere; solo and group techniques of performance and script making; written analyses.

Criticism/Reviewing Workshop
THP 3780 / 4 credits / Alternate years
An introduction to styles of criticism and a practical course in writing short, critical essays (reviews) on the performing and visual arts. On-campus plays and films are assigned; students write about theatre, film, music, dance, painting, and other art forms. Also offered as JOU 3780.

Transmedia and Performance
SOA 3780 Refer to Theatre Arts SOA Courses for description.

Junior Seminar
THP 3890 / 3 credits / Spring
Focuses on the relation between text and production in the theatre through play analysis, theoretical readings, research, student presentations, and discussion of campus productions. A substantial research paper and senior project proposal with annotated bibliography are required. Required for all junior theatre and performance majors, and normally open only to them.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor or board-of-study coordinator

Performance Practicum
THP 3895 / 4 credits / Every semester
Students rehearse and perform a role or work on the production of a main-stage show directed by a faculty member or other professional director. Students may enroll only after they have been cast or assigned to the production.
Prerequisite: Audition or assignment by faculty

THP 4000–4999:

Shakespeare Seminar: Approaches to Shakespeare
DRA 4210 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
Explores the variety of ways in which readers, critics, actors, and directors have interpreted—and can interpret—Shakespeare’s plays and poetry. While written work and some research are required, there are also options for oral presentations and performance.
Prerequisite: THP 2205

Advanced Shakespeare Workshop
THP 4450 / 4 credits / Fall
Advanced study of one Shakespeare play that will be mounted in the spring by the acting program. Focuses on the performative, historical, and critical context of the play and provides an in-depth understanding of Shakespeare’s theatrical art. A folio acting version of the play, a modern critical edition, and required background material are used in a close study of the text. Requirements include group and individual research projects. Also offered as LIT 4451.
Prerequisite: Open to acting, literature, and theatre and performance majors with permission of instructor

Senior Project
THP 4990 / 4 credits (per semester) / Every semester
Two semesters required (8 credits total). Students have the option to either write or direct/perform. Writing option: An essay on theatre history, dramatic literature, film (history, criticism, or theory); an original play or adaptation from existing literature; a promptbook with critical essay for a production; or a screenplay. Directing/performing option: A play or performance piece or a combined project.

Updated July 11, 2011

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