Current Theatre Courses
Courses of Study for Spring 2010
THR 209 Stage Management
MWF 1-2:20, 4 credits
A good stage manager is as essential to a successful theatre production as a good director or actor. In fact, one could argue that the stage manager is the single most vital position in the entire production ensemble. This course covers the basic elements of stage management: the expectations, the work involved, and, more importantly, the techniques, habits, and personal qualities that make a successful stage manager. As far as possible, it includes actual production experience (which likely involves a commitment to attend evening rehearsals) and observation of a professional stage manager at work. The habits and techniques required of the stage manager can be taught; personal qualities such as patience, discipline, responsibility, initiative, and passion can be encouraged to flourish. Triad requirements: Artistic Expression
THR 211 Stage Lighting and Sound Design
MWF 11-12:20, 4 credits, Pre-req: THR 113 Technical Theatre
This course constitutes a study of the art, function, and process of stage lighting and sound design. It emphasizes current theatre lighting technology and design approaches with historical support from past stage lighting practices. Class time is divided between lecture, discussion, and hands-on demonstrations of lighting and sound concepts. Work includes observation/research, drafting, implementation, and discussion. Participation in the many demonstrations, discussions, and assigned projects is required. Triad Requirements: Artistic Expression.
THR 212 Basic Design for the Theatre
TTHS 1-2:20, 2 credits, Term 3 only
This course aims to awaken students to the visual experience of design found in usual and unusual places, to make students aware of the basic elements that produce good design, and to inspire students to tap their own creativity. The ability to "see" is basic to the art of doing; therefore students will be concerned with developing the eye as they learn to understand basic principles. These principles may be applied to all areas of visual art; however, this course is especially concerned with their application to the theatre. Line, form, value, color and composition will be explored. Students may want to consider taking THR 213 Design and Interpretation for the Theatre, a four-credit semester length course that includes the material from this course. Triad requirements: Partially satisfies Artistic Expression
THR 213 Design and Interpretation for the Theatre
TTHS 1-2:20, 4 credits, Pre-req: one prior THR course
This course combines study of basic design principles with a consideration of how to approach dramatic texts and theatrical events visually. Study of design principles aims to awaken students to the visual experience of design found in usual and unusual places, to make students aware of the basic elements that produce good design, and to inspire students to tap their own creativity. Line, form, value, color, and composition are explored. Students explore concepts related to the application of design principles in theatre through textual analysis, the study of important designers and theorists, and by creating their own design visions in a final project. Triad Requirements: Artistic Expression
THR 222 Butoh: Dance of Darkness
THS 2:30-3:50, 4 credits, REPEATABLE AS THR 221, or for students who took THR 221
This course will examine the revolutionary Japanese, post WWII, avant-garde dance theater phenomenon known as Butoh, founded by Tatsumi Hijikata and Kazuo Ohno in 1959. Butoh, like may other Japanese concepts, is defined by its very evasion of definition. It is both theater and dance, yet it follows no choreographic conventions. It is a subversive force, through which traditions are overturned. As such, it must exist somewhere on the social periphery. It is a popular spectacle, unlike the classical theater of Noh with its elaborate vocabulary of gesture. Yet it is esoteric. It is a force of liberation, especially within the conformist Japanese social structure, yet it is born out of extreme discipline. In the midst of a culture of exceptional visual harmony, it employs a vocabulary of ugliness. Triad Requirements: Artistic Expression
THR 280 Master Filmmakers
TH 2:30-5:50 4 credits
Through film analysis and film criticism literature, this course explores the personal vision of several master directors. Students conduct an in-depth study of several films of auteur directors, their cinematic style, their artistic aesthetic, and their contribution to film history. Different approaches to analysis, such as political, gender, philosophical, and genre are used to advance student analysis skills and an appreciation of cinematic aesthetics and meaning. Each semester different directors are chosen for study.
THR 297 Special Topics: Community Based Arts
Time TBA, 4 credits
How has the idea of Community changed in the new century? Are there values that endure? Are there lost patterns that are being rediscovered? How do students at a fairly isolated college connect to the community around them? Can art be used to honestly negotiate this relationship, to celebrate, strengthen, validate a community? What is the relationship between insiders and outsiders in an age of dying towns and gated communities? For thirty years, a growing group of artists from widely divergent disciplines has been using their talents for something more than personal expression. They have created art to support social change, political and environmental action, and to strengthen community. Community art is broad ranging, from solo presenters like Shepard Fairey and Anna Deavere Smith to collective expressions like the AIDS quilt and the Los Angeles Poverty Department. This class will survey a broad sampling of these artists and give students practical experience in working with a specific community to gather stories and then turn those stories into art. The final for this class is to present the art back to the community. Recent groups this class has worked with include the ex-mill workers form the Beacon Blanket Mill in Swannanoa, the Oakley community in Asheville, and the Warren Wilson family.
THR 358 Ensemble I: Rehearsal Dynamics
TTHS 11-12:20, 4 credits, Pre-req: THR 109 Introduction to Acting & Directing, or the old Acting I course.
This is an intermediate course in acting and directing, focusing on acting technique and the actor-director relationship. The course develops personal and collaborative creative impulses through in-depth exercises and discussion into the nature of action, presence, perception and self-expression. Students develop skills in textual analysis through work on scenes and monologues from the realistic and verse drama traditions. A variety of investigative reading supports the creation of a personal portfolio of writing to aid students in developing a personal relationship to their craft. Special emphasis is placed on ensemble collaboration culminating in a group project. Triad Requirements: Artistic Expression
THR 489 Senior Project
4 credits, Pre-req: Permission of the Theatre Department
In this course, Theatre/English majors elect to undertake a project of substantial scope and challenge. Senior Projects in performance, directing, design and production are given departmental resources and public performances. Students may choose to undertake a project in dramaturgical or performance studies research, or creative writing for the theatre. All projects require a written comprehensive self-evaluation and analysis. Students must submit a formal Senior Project Proposal in February in their junior year. Approved Senior Projects will be coordinated with other department productions, and seniors may be required to combine projects. Students should also plan to enroll in an Independent Study in the fall of senior year to prepare for spring project work.
Courses of Study for Fall 2009
THR 190 Modern Dance Technique
MTWTHFS
This course teaches basic concepts in modern dance technique. Students are introduced to basic theories of contact/release and fall/recovery. They develop relaxation techniques, control of center, alignment, balance, and flexibility, and they develop articulation of body parts with particular attention to the torso. Positions and sections of the body and transitions are explored. Foundation standing techniques are at the core of daily lessons. Dance elements (space, time, and energy or force) are explored and developed in class. The concepts of focus and performance are introduced. This course may be repeated once for credit using course number THR 190. Triad requirements: Artistic Expression
THR 109 Introduction to Acting and Directing
MWF 11-12:20
This course introduces the related disciplines of acting and directing for the stage and is appropriate for students with varying degrees of theatre experience, including none at all. Daily physical and vocal work, exercises in concentration, awareness, simple action, and representation comprise the bulk of classroom instruction. Emphasis is placed on collaborative relationships, ensemble building, and principles for fostering creative conditions in rehearsal as students work on storytelling exercises, contemporary scenes, and monologues; they will be expected to spend significant time rehearsing together outside of class. When possible, the class culminates in a publicly performed collaboration with students from the Playwriting course. Attending some live performance events in the community is required. Triad requirements: Artistic Expression
THR 113 Technical Theatre
TTHS 11-12:20
An introduction to several aspects of backstage work, this course includes set construction, working from scale drawings, scene painting techniques, prop construction, stage lighting, and stage sound equipment. Students learn how to safely use construction tools, lighting equipment, and stage rigging. Class work is divided between lecture, discussion, and hands-on demonstrations and projects. Triad requirements: Artistic Expression.
THR 203 Voice & Speech for the Actor
MWF 9:30-10:50
Speaking with expression, clarity, and vocal freedom is a vital skill for actors and others. In this course, students employ daily practice to learn new possibilities for the ways they speak. Additional assignments include reading and writing about voice. Students are given individual attention as they learn techniques to interpret text for speaking, improve the muscularity of their articulators, and free their breathing through methods meant to improve spontaneity and richness of vocal tone. This course involves regular physical exercises in breathing and stretching, and students are expected to spend additional time outside of scheduled class time in peer practice sessions. This course culminates in a short public performance of a memorized selection. Triad Requirements: Artistic Expression
THR 281 World Cinema
TH 2:30-5:50
Foreign films offer a window into different cinematic styles, artistic aesthetics, and different cultural perspectives. This course surveys significant cinematic movements and styles, such as Italian Neorealism and French New Wave. During the second part of the course, non-Western contemporary films are used as a vehicle to explore a central theme, such as "coming of age." Students advance their film analysis skills and develop an appreciation for international cultural and economic lifestyles. Students reflect on the shared experience of humanity from a non-American perspective.
Special Topics Courses for Fall 2009
THR 194 Special Topics: Art & Politics
W 5:30-8:50
This class will focus on the intersection of art, politics, and culture.
We will examine a wide variety of works from this perspective. We will look briefly and occasionally at ancient and classical art, but focus primarily on contemporary American works. We will try to cover most disciplines, but will concentrate on paintings, novels, films, music, and plays.
Though students may not realize it, they are members of the most art saturated culture in the history of the world. They (and we) have almost constant access to music, movies, television, graphic art and so on. Like water to fish, it is so ubiquitous, it’s hard to identify. Capital A “Art” to most people implies the
classical arts- painting, symphony, ballet, and opera, but pop art is the sea we swim in. The purpose of this class is to make students more conscious consumers of the art that surrounds them, and to realize art is driven by purpose, consciously or not (but more often with intent). The driving factor we will concern ourselves with in this class is the Political.
We will discuss how levels of power and privilege are imbedded in society and can be reflected in all works of art. We will examine how these levels operate for the artist, the audience, and the subjects of the various pieces of art. The thesis is that all art is political.
The primary work of this class will be group discussion. Students will do individual analyses in essay form. As a final project, students will create a work of art with a political component.
Required texts & sample works:
Uncle Tom’s Cabin My Year of Meats
Maus Barefoot Gen
Sophocles, Oedipus
Francisco Goya, The Third of May, 1808b et al.
Pablo Picasso, Guernica et al.
Degenerate Art The Cradle Will Rock
Faces of the Enemy Birth of a Nation
Do the Right Thing Amandla
AIDS Quilt Constant Gardener
Thomas Kinkade, Various Works
Bulworth
THR 297 Special Topics: Fencing in Paradise: Community in the 21st Century
TTHS 1-2:20
How has the idea of Community changed in the new century?
Are there values that endure? Are there lost patterns that are being rediscovered? How do students at a fairly isolated college connect to the community around them? Can art be used to honestly negotiate this relationship, to celebrate, strengthen, validate a community? What is the relationship between insiders and outsiders in an age of dying towns and gated communities?
For thirty years, a growing group of artists from widely divergent disciplines has been using their talents for something more than personal expression. They have created art to support social change, political and environmental action, and to strengthen community. Community art is broad ranging, from solo presenters like Shepard Fairey and Anna Deavere Smith to collective expressions like the AIDS quilt and the Los Angeles Poverty Department.
This class will survey a broad sampling of these artists and give students practical experience in working with a specific community to gather stories and then turn those stories into art. The final for this class is to present the art back to the community. Recent groups this class has worked with include the ex-mill workers form the Beacon Blanket Mill in Swannanoa, the Oakley community in Asheville, and the Warren Wilson family.
Required text and sample works:
The Citizen Artist: 20 years of Art in the Public Graffiti: Banksey & Shepard Fairey
Born Into Brothels The Exonerated
Lexington Avenue Mural
Theater Games Viola Spolin
Amandla Woody Guthrie & Pete Seger
Common Threads: Stories from the Aids Quilt
Theater of the Oppressed: Augusto Boal
Twilight Los Angeles: Anna Devere Smith
El Teatro Campesino Spiderwoman Theater
Levante : Theater for Social Change Student Action with Farmworkers
Andres Serrano Karen Finley
Los Angeles Poverty Department
Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy