Official Course Descriptions

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Supplemental Course Descriptions

DAA 2000 Theatre Dance Styles     2 credits
Development of technical skills in social and historical dance forms frequently stylized for use by dance choreographers. May be repeated once with permission of instructor.

DAA 2300 Ballroom/Social Dancing     2 credits
Development of technical skills in social/ballroom dance. May be repeated once with permission of instructor.

DAA 3684 Dance Theatre Lab     2 credits
Experience in dance ensemble and performance work. May be repeated once with permission of instructor.

THE 2020 Introduction to Theatre     3 credits
A survey of history, literature, forms, styles, and philosophies of theater from a humanist approach.

THE 2300 Survey of Dramatic Literature     3 credits
Survey of dramatic literature from ancient times to the present.

THE 2430 Performing Arts in a Culturally Diverse Society     3 credits
This course serves to introduce students to the interdisciplinary fields of the performing arts and critical multicultural studies. We will investigate performing arts as simultaneously coproduced with processes of identities: race, class, sexuality, gender.

THE 2925 Play Production     1 credit
Workshop to enhance specific professional skills.

THE 3503 Visuality/Performat/Textuality     3 credits
This course offers a concentrated experience in performing critical analysis of performance texts, performance events, and visual codes. The class is a necessary foundation to understanding dramatic material, the various codes of performance, and the possible texts of visual information.
Prerequisites: THE 2020 and THE 3511 and THE 3512

THE 3511 Theories: Theatre/Performance I    3 credits
Part one of two courses providing a historical and critical survey of theories related to theatre and performance. The focus of this course will begin with Aristotle, move through the Renaissance and Restoration, continue through Hegel and end with the early nineteenth century contributions of the Russians.
Prerequisites: THE 2020

THE 3512 Theories: Theatre/Performance II     3 credits
Part two of two courses providing a historical and critical survey of theories related to theatre and performance. The focus of this course will begin with the Germanic tradition of the late nineteenth century and conclude with an examination of contemporary theories of performance.
Prerequisites: THE 2020

THE 3540 Performing Communities     3 credits
Survey of theorists and performers who represent communities, both on the page and on the stage. The course examines the performing communities genre from Zora Neale Hurston's work on folklore to Anna Deavere Smith's performances of diverse communities in conflict.

THE 3560 Ecologies of Performance     3 credits
This seminar course introduces students to the interdiscipline of performance and the environment. We will investigate such intersections as Ann Bogart's understanding of architecture in performance, Gertrude Stein's description of a play as a landscape, and Uta Hagan's emphasis on the actor's familiar place.

THE 3943 Performing Communities: Field Methods     3 credits
A practicum in field research methods and performing community. Students participate in a service learning project to create performances that ethically represent their community engagement. Students will understand the power of performance to effect community dialog and awareness.
Prerequisites: THE 3540

THE 4110 Theatre History & Literature – Greeks to 1750     3 credits
Covers the development of theatre history and literature from its beginnings to 1750 (Part I of II).
Prerequisites: THE 2300

THE 4111 Theatre History & Literature – 1750 to present     3 credits
Surveys theatre history and literature from 1750 to the present (Part II of II).
Prerequisites: THE 4110

THE 4181 Transgression and Resistance     3 credits
Transgressive acts of protest have a substantial presence in the history of theatre. From the common trashing found in Fifth Century Greek Old Comedy to the sacreligious jabbing of the Feast of Fools celebrated in the Middle Ages, to street performance of radical acts performed in protest of war or globalism, theatre practitioners and activists have used spectacle and theatricality to interrogate positions of power.
Prerequisites: THE 2020 and THE 3511 and THE 3512

THE 4330 Shakespeare for the Theatre     3 credits
A close study of selected plays with special emphasis on their performance values. Upper division students.

THE 4905 Directed Study     1 to 4 credits
Independent, directed study in various areas of theater. Permission of instructor required.

THE 4930 Special Topics in Theatre     1 to 3 credits
Lecture, seminar, or studio sessions covering selected topics of interest in theater. May be repeated with a change of content for up to 9 hours. Permission of instructor required.

THE 4945 Summer Repertory Theatre     3 credits
Practical Experience in repertory theater with direct skills application in all areas of theater production. Consent of instructor. May be repeated with a change of content up to a maximum of 9 credits.

The 4959 Senior Project in Theatre     1 to 4 credits
Final Project presented in public performance demonstrating expertise in declared area of specialization in theater emphasis or major. Consent of the instructor and senior status required. May be repeated with change of content up a maximum of 6 credits.

THE 6720 Drama in the Elementary School     3 credits
Methods of using theatre and drama activities in elementary school, including use of drama and theatre for interdisciplinary, majors; no extra laboratory sections.     

TPA 2200 Creative Design for Theatre     3 credits

TPA 2210 Stagecraft     3 credits
Introduction to skills and crafts of technical theater. Knowledge of materials, techniques, tools and supplies basic to the execution of environment.
Prerequisites: TPA 2290
Fee Required

TPA 2214 Stage, Lighting and Sound     3 credits
Goes beyond the basics of lighting and sound design and application.
Prerequisites: TPA 2210

TPA 2248 Workshop in Stage Makeup     1 credit
Beginning theory and practice in makeup for stage.
Fee Required

TPA 2290 Technical Theatre Lab     1 credit
Lab for technical theater. Should be taken concurrently TPA 2210.
Corequisites: TPA 2210
Fee Required

TPA 4060 Principles of Scenic Design     3 credits
Beginning design techniques.
Prerequisites: TPA 2210
Fee Required

TPA 4930 Special Topics in Theatre Production/Ad min.     1 to 3 credits
Lecture, seminar or studio sessions covering selected topics of interest in theatre production and administration. May be repeated with a change of course content for up to 9 hours. Permission of the instructor required.

TPA 4940 Internship in Technical Theatre     1 to 6 credits
Resident internship in an approved professional theater, shop or enrichment center. Junior/Senior status, limited to theatre emphasis participants. Permission of instructor.
Prerequisites: TPA 4060

TPP 2100 Acting I     3 credits
An introduction to the discipline and creative process of acting with emphasis on formal and improvisational techniques for developing vocal, physical, and analytical skills.

TPP 2111 Acting II     3 credits
Scene study and basic characterization.
Prerequisites: TPP 2100      

TPP 2160 Physical Theatre I     3 credits
This course will combine a variety of physical exercises designed to integrate voice, movement and actor training. It will be physically challenging, vocally liberating, and mentally stimulating.

TPP 2190 Rehearsal and Performance I     1 credit
Production workshop for various areas of theater performance, including acting, directing, technical production, design, and theater management.

TPP 2191 Rehearsal and Performance II     3 credits
The student will build on skills acquired in Rehearsal and Performance I by participating in the rehearsal process and performance of a production.
Prerequisites: TPP 2190 with a minimum grade of C

TPP 2710 Voice for the Actor     3 credits
Fundamentals of the use of the voice for theatre performance.

TPP 3112 Acting III     3 credits
Experimentation with scripted material scene study, analysis, audition, and performance.
Prerequisites: TPP 2111

TPP 3143 Physical Theatre II     3 credits
Exploration of the Physical Theatre through various styles of acting continues. Included are the Greeks and Elizabethans, the Avant-Garde and Experimental (Grotowski and Artand). While doing this we rediscover a physical approach to the actor's task.
Prerequisites: TPP 2111

TPP 3192 Rehearsal and Performance III     3 credits
Assignment of specific role and/or responsibility. Opportunity for student to receive additional supervision and critique, as well as credit, for participation in rehearsal and performance.
Consent of instructor.
Prerequisites: TPP 2191 with a minimum grade of C

TPP 3193 Rehearsal and Performance IV     3 credits
Assignment of specific role and/or responsibility. Opportunity for student to receive additional supervision and critique, as well as credit, for participation in rehearsal and performance.
Prerequisites: TPP 3192 with a minimum grade of C

TPP 3242 Performance Art     3 credits
This performance seminar course introduces students to historical and contemporary performance art movements. We investigate the aesthetic theories that enabled such experimentation in the performance art world and explore these theories through practical application via embodied performances.

TPP 3292 Applied Studies in New Theatre Techniques     3 credits
The integration of theory and practice is the primary focus in this course that critically examines the current avant-garde of performance and live presentations. From this critical perspective, students will create a performance event that exists at the boundaries of current practice anticipating new forms of theatre and productions.
Prerequisites: THE 2020 and THE 3511 and THE 3512

TPP 3510 Movement for the Actor     3 credits
Fundamentals of the use of the body for theatre performance.

TPP 4155 Scene Study     3 credits
Basic scene study. Special problems in movement and speech to be integrated with character development, rehearsal techniques, and performance composition. Audition required.
Prerequisites: TPP 3112

TPP 4174 Transmedia Autoperformance     3 credits
An advanced course in the preparation of single-performer presentation based on a fictionalized fragment of the performer's life drawing upon and incorporating a multiple-layered performance presentation. This performance class requires that the student write, perform, design, and create multiple layers of visual and auditory information for public presentation.
Prerequisites: TPP 3511 and TPP 3512 and TPP 3292

TPP 4310 Play Directing     3 credits
Theoretical and practical approach to directing for the stage.
Prerequisites: TPP 2100

TPP 4923 Musical Theatre Workshop     3 credits
Provide students with the opportunity to learn the basics of musical theatre.

TPP 4930 Special Topics in Theatre Performance     1 to 3 credits
Lecture, seminar or studio sessions covering selected topics of interest in performance skills. May be repeated with a change of course content for up to 9 hours. Permission of the instructor required.

TPP 4940 Internship in Theater Performance     1 to 6 credits
Resident Internship in an approved professional theater, shop, or enrichment center. Limited to Junior and Senior Theater emphasis participants. Instructor approval.
Prerequisites: TPP 3112