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The courses listed herein have been approved by the faculty as authorized by the Board of Trustees. Prerequisites (if any) and the General Education Requirement(s) which each course fulfills (if any) are noted following each course description.
0.00-2.00 credit hours Theatre is studied through the staging, mounting, and production of a faculty-directed, all-College theatrical production. Students must hold major performance roles or take on major production positions to enroll. This course is repeatable up to a maximum of four credit hours earned. Students are expected to take this course for credit unless they will exceed 12 hours in the term.
1.50 credit hours (Same as: HPE 145.) An introductory course in jazz, ballet and tap techniques for the stage. The course includes instruction in the history and theory of musical theatre, dance and the basic building blocks of choreography. This course assumes no prior dance experience and is open to all students interested in dance training for performance. This course may be repeated for credit once.
3.00 credit hours A comprehensive overview of the process of creating theatre productions, this course explores theatre through criticism, history, design and aesthetic principles.
3.00 credit hours Stagecraft incorporates fundamental skills that are required to move a scenic design from inception to construction and completion. In this course, students will gain knowledge of basic construction and painting techniques for stage scenery. Tool use and stage/shop equipment will be mastered along with the safety rules that are essential and mandatory for running an effective scenic shop.
3.00 credit hours Designed for students with previous acting experience, including high school and/or community theatre, this course consists of exercises in voice, movement, improvisation and text study. The course seeks to give the student an awareness of what acting is in both theory and performance. Presentation of scenes and attendance at productions are required.
3.00 credit hours This course covers the fundamentals of the process of designing for the theatre. Students will work on developing a fully realized design from the initial textual analysis through the collaborative process of working with the director and other designers. Students will explore basic theories and design principles including script analysis, research methodology, conceptual development, color theory, balance and proportion, visual composition and other elements of design. Students will also learn practical skills including drawing techniques, figure drawing, drafting and modeling.
3.00 credit hours This course serves as an introduction to the administrative work of the stage manager, while exploring the relationship between the artistry and execution of producing plays and musicals. Students study production protocols, create a prompt book and learn the forms and formats needed to maintain professional standards while working with directors, actors, and the technical crew.
0.00-1.00 credit hours The relationships of music and drama studied through the staging, mounting and production of an all-College musical. This course is repeatable up to a maximum of six credit hours. Students are expected to take this course for credit unless they will exceed 12 hours in the term.
0.00-2.00 credit hours The relationship of music and drama studied through the staging, mounting and production of an all-College musical. Students must hold major performance roles or take on major production positions to enroll. This course is repeatable up to a maximum of four credit hours. Students are expected to take this course for credit unless they will exceed 12 hours in the term.
0.00, 0.50, 1.00 credit hours Available to all students. May be repeated. 1/2 hour lessons=0.50 credit; 1 hour lessons=1.00 credit; 0.00 credit option is only for students who have reached 12 credit hour full time limit.
3.00 credit hours This class focuses on the human voice and body as an instrument of communication both on stage and in everyday life. The course seeks to give the student an understanding of voice and movement and their use as expressive tools for the performance.
1.50 credit hours (Same as: HPE 245.) An extension of Musical Theatre Dance I. This course has its emphasis in jazz, tap and ballet techniques as applied to musical theatre at an intermediate level. This course also covers choreography in jazz and tap, and auditioning techniques. This course may be repeated for credit once.
0.00-1.50 credit hours (Same as HPE 246.) A concentration on jazz dance from an historical, theoretical and performance perspective. This course builds and expands upon the jazz dance portion of THE 245/HPE 245. Repeatable course.
0.00-1.50 credit hours (Same as HPE 249.) A study of classical modern dance techniques combined with modalities of yoga, pilates, taichi and post-modern techniques. Students will become equally proficient in traditional modern technique and the latest developments in contemporary dance. Repeatable course.
0.00-1.50 credit hours (Same as HPE 248.) A concentration on tap dance from an historical, theoretical and performance perspective. This course builds and expands upon the tap dance portion of THE 245/HPE 245. Repeatable course.
3.00 credit hours A practical application of the actor’s craft to musical theatre performance, with emphasis on transitioning from scene to song. Students will explore the acting methods used specifically for the musical stage. Students combine script analysis, character analysis, choreography and acting through the song itself for the purposes of both auditions and performances.
0.00-1.50 credit hours (Same as HPE 252.) A concentration on ballet from an historical, theoretical and performance perspective. This course builds and expands upon the ballet portion of THE 245/HPE 245. Repeatable course.
Prerequisite(s): THE 245/HPE 245 or consent of instructor.
1.50 credit hours A choreography workshop that explores the technique and skills required to create dance and movement for the stage. The course explores methods of approaching various types of work, from musical staging to dance numbers. Repeatable course.
3.00 credit hours A study of the history of Western theatrical dance from the first court ballets in the late 16th century through early 21st century Postmodernism. The course explores the dances, choreographers, dancers and theories in the cultural context of each period.
3.00 credit hours A study of the American musical theatre from the 19th century to present. Composers and librettists covered include George M. Cohan, Victor Herbert, Jerome Kerr, Rodgers and Hammerstein and Stephen Sondheim. Field trip to an area production is required.
3.00 credit hours The course serves as an introduction to the art of directing plays for the theatre. It utilizes background information and experience with acting, stagecraft and dramatic literature to provide the groundwork for discussion of various approaches to, and techniques of, play production. The course culminates in the public performance of student-directed short scenes and one acts.
3.00 credit hours This course builds on the ideas and work of THE 182. More advanced and intensive scene work is integrated with voice, movement and textual improvisation during the term.
3.00 credit hours The design and construction of costumes is an essential part of the creation of any theatrical production. It is critical that a costume designer be capable of understanding the needs and tone of a production and the characters that exist within that production. In addition, a designer must be able to clearly communicate his or her ideas in order to create a strong working relationship with the other members of a production team including the director and performers. This course aims to introduce students to the role of the costume designer in a production, as well as providing them with the basics knowledge and skills to be able to successful perform the tasks associated with that role.
3.00 credit hours The scenic designer is the person charged with the responsibility of finding the form of the physical world of the play. In order to accomplish this task, the designer must develop and call upon a number of skills. In this course students work with some of the problems scenic designers encounter in their attempts to find and develop form, and learn the process of developing design solutions.
3.00 credit hours This course builds on the improvisational skills introduced in THE 182 and THE 282. More advanced and intensive improvisational work is integrated with performance theory, research and advanced critical thinking during the term.
0.00-1.50 credit hours A continued study of jazz technique including more complex steps and sequences. Emphasis on technique and styling. This course is repeatable once for credit.
0.00-1.50 credit hours A continued study of tap dance technique with more complex steps, variations, sequences, rhythmic patterns, increased tempo and duration. Emphasis is on technique, musicality and styling, including an introduction to improvisation. Tap shoes are required. This course is repeatable once for credit.
THE 350 - Advanced Performance Styles/Musical Theatre
3.00 credit hours This courses examines the different vocal techniques and movement styles necessary for musical theatre. It focuses on a performer’s approach to developing a song in the context of contemporary musical theatre, examining the work in terms of structure and content. This course may be taken twice.
Prerequisite(s): Sophomore standing; one of THE 282, two terms of MUS 221 or instructor consent.
0.00-1.50 credit hours This course continues the development of all beginning areas of ballet, and expands the ballet vocabulary. This course may be repeated for credit once.
3.00 credit hours This course explores the acting methods used for film and television. Students are trained in camera techniques used for commercial, industrial, film and television auditions. Students work in front of the camera each week, utilizing actual copy from popular shows, commercials and movies. Students leave this course audition ready. The course includes extensive scene memorization, class discussions, performance critique writing and journal self-assessment writing.
3.00 credit hours This course explores the requirements for the business portion of theatre, from building a theatrical resume to selecting a head shot, to registering with an agent. The course includes several field trips to visit experts in specialized areas of theatrical business. The course includes establishing a small business for the actor.
3.00 credit hours A study of the theatre and its literature from its ancient beginnings through the English Restoration. The course explores the drama, productions, theories, personages and physical theatre in the cultural context of each period.
3.00 credit hours A study of the theatre and its literature from the 19th century Age of Romanticism to the present day. The course explores the drama, productions, theories, personages and physical theatre in the cultural context of each age.
3.00 credit hours A survey of classical Asian theatre traditions, including the Noh, Kabuki and Bunraku theatres of Japan; Beijing Opera and Yuan drama of China; Sanskrit and Kathakali dance dramas of India; Korean p’ansori dramas and mask dances; and the Balinese Dancers of Indonesia. The course explores the ways in which these performance traditions reflect each country’s heritage, religion and culture.
THE 365 - Design Skills - Drafting, Model Making and Rendering
3.00 credit hours This course aims to develop the skills required for the communication of designs for a theatrical environment. One third of the class will be spent on hand drafting, focusing on the creation of 2D drawings that give detailed information regarding the layout and look of a scenic design. The second third will be spent on model making techniques, providing 3D information on the design. The final third will focus on rendering techniques such as linear perspective, shade and shadow and watercolor rendering.
3.00 credit hours An advanced acting class focusing on period styles and an actor’s approach to the Classics. Scene study includes the plays of Ancient Greece, Shakespeare, Moliere and the Restoration.
3.00 credit hours This is the capstone course for Musical Theatre majors. Graduating seniors work with the faculty advisor to select the show, divide responsibilities for production, and present a fully mounted production on the stage.
Prerequisite(s): Musical Theatre major and Senior standing. ACR: Leadership, Ethics and Values.
3.00 credit hours Designed to give students a clearer, more mature understanding of the way in which members of a production team can work together to create a theatrical production. Designers, directors, performers and writers will have the opportunity to work together while developing processes for utilizing each other’s strengths to create imaginative and powerful works of theater. While students will present and critique these final performances, the focus of this course is the process by which those performances came to be. The aim is that students will leave this course with developed leadership skills, cooperative working relationships and more sophisticated creative processes.
THE 470 - Devising Theatre: Radical and Community-Based Performance
3.00 credit hours This course explores three overlapping subfields in theatre and performance studies: devised theatre (also referred to as collective creation), radical theatre and community-based theatre. The course begins with an exploration of the terms “devised,” “radical” and “community.” The remainder of the course proceeds with a case study model; it examines a variety of ways theatre practitioners have imagined relationships between radicality, community and performance. Students split their time equally between making performance and reading/writing about performance theory.
3.00 credit hours This course could be described as an integration of body, mind and voice techniques for the purpose of developing a way to conventionalized period acting. For the intermediate and advanced student actor, this course places primary emphasis on the development of characterization techniques, participation in physical and vocal acting exercises, and practical performance application through stylistic scene and monologue work. Period/Styles covered in this course include the following: Ancient Greek, Commedia, Restoration Comedy and Absurdism.
3.00 credit hours Interdisciplinary exploration of the cultural and sociological dimensions of metropolitan regions. The course is international in scope, explores both cities and their suburbs and provides the opportunity to examine leadership, ethics and values in a metropolitan context through the concept of social justice.
3.00 credit hours (Same as: LEV 325.) Leadership and Place traces the influence of home towns and home places on contemporary and historical leadership paradigms while considering such ethical questions as: What role does place play in forming a responsible and responsive leader? How does one lead responsibly and well far from home? How and where do rural, urban, and suburban ethical standards and value judgments converge and diverge? Where have the leaders of the past come from and where are they likely to be found in the future? Paying close attention to small communities and neighborhoods as key loci in the production of twentieth-century civic leaders and as ethical centers in a Jeffersonian republic, course texts, lectures and discussions feature real-life case studies designed to engage students in debates weighing ethical and moral positions viewed through the lens of place. Leadership and Place uniquely encourages students in the study of personal (inside-out) as well as cultural (outside-in) place-based, ethical perspectives while inviting them to consider the foundational role home communities play in ethical leadership on the local, regional and national level.
Prerequisite(s): Junior Standing. ACR: Leadership, Ethics and Values.
0.00-1.00 credit hours This short-term, topics-based course supports unique opportunities for student and faculty engagement in a special inquiry, activity or other initiative that fosters connected learning. Repeatable course, with varying topics. A maximum of four credit hours may be applied towards the 120 credit hours required for graduation. The course is graded on a Pass/No Pass basis.