Courses in Drama

The work of this course involves the realization in the theater of the efforts of an important playwright, as expressed in the text for a particular play. Problems in textual analysis, historical research and the creation of a production lead, by way of independent and cooperative activity involving acting, design and special problems, to public performance before an audience. Note: Students who, in the judgment of the instructional and directorial staff, have made significant creative contributions to the effectiveness of the production will have an audit indicated on their academic record.

This course examines how theater differs from other arts and how various theatrical artists bring a play to life. Through a series of creative assignments, we explore what a play is and how it's structured. Assignments consist of a series of playwriting projects and one acting project, which students perform while collaborating with their classmates. Students read at least five plays and a series of essays about the theory and practice of he theater. Each student writes, directs and presents a final short play and takes a final exam. Any student with an interest in the theater will find this a challenging course, regardless of previous experience. Because this course is an introduction to the vocabulary of the theater, it is a prerequisite to most other courses in the department. This counts toward the drama and film majors. No prerequisite. Offered every year.

A fully realized theatrical production of a play is a lengthy process that engages numerous artists of many disciplines in an extraordinary collaborative effort to help create "the world of the play" and, along with actors, to help bring to life the characters. The course aims to serve as a foundation for young theater artists by offering insight into how thorough script analysis, the examination of given circumstances and character analysis can be translated into visual and audible elements of the mise-en-scène. In addition, the course helps students develop a universal vocabulary of theater and design terminology and an understanding of theatrical venues and equipment. It also enables first-year students to successfully engage in being valued members of a production team in any capacity. This counts toward the elements requirement for the major. DRAM 111 is recommended. No prerequisite. Permission of instructor required. Offered every spring.

This course surveys the history of Western dramatic literature from Ancient Greece through the end of the English Restoration, roughly 1700. The emphasis is on critical reading for a theatrical understanding of these seminal texts. This course consists of lecture, discussion sessions and critical-writing assignments. This course is required for the major. Prerequisite: DRAM 111.

This course surveys the history of Western dramatic literature from 1700 through the 1980s. The emphasis is on critical reading for a theatrical understanding of these seminal texts. This course consists of lecture, discussion sessions and critical-writing assignments. This course is required for the major. Prerequisite: DRAM 111.

This course surveys the history of Western clothing and fashion from the ancient world to the present day. Work includes papers, oral presentations, lectures and discussion. This counts as an elective requirement for the major. Generally offered every other year.

Through the rehearsal and performance of various scenes, students explore the nature of the actor's contribution to the theater. Work includes performance exercises, readings and written assignments. This counts toward the elements of theatre art requirement for the major. Prerequisite: DRAM 111. Offered every year.

Students are given weekly exercises exploring dialogue, monologue, exposition, autobiography, process and history as inspiration. The class discusses the resulting short plays in a group critique, after which they are rewritten. In the first semester, students finish with a collection of short plays that can later be developed into longer works. In the second semester, students complete a one-act play, to be performed as a staged reading. Students keep a writer's notebook, do in-class exercises and read a variety of plays relevant to their weekly assignments, including plays by John Guare, Adam Bock, Martin McDonagh, Caryl Churchill and Tarell Alvin McCraney. Students enrolled in this course are automatically added to DRAM 232Y for the spring semester. This counts toward the elements of theater art requirement for the major. Prerequisite: DRAM 111. Offered every year.

Students are given weekly exercises exploring spoken action, autobiography, process, suspense and unsympathetic characters. The class discusses these original short plays in a group critique, after which the student playwright has an opportunity to rewrite. In the first semester, students finish with a collection of short plays that can later be developed into longer works. In the second semester, students complete a one-act play, to be performed as a final staged reading. Students will keep a writer's notebook, do in-class exercises and read a variety of play relevant to their weekly assignments. This counts toward the elements of theater art requirement for the major. Prerequisite: DRAM 111 and 231Y. Offered every year.

Students study the evolution of lyric writing for the American Musical Theatre from "Show Boat" to contemporary Broadway shows. Students analyze song lyrics as literature, with emphasis on song form and style, as well as rhyme, meter and scansion, and develop their own lyrics for original musical theatre songs. Students study mythic structure and place their original lyrics within outlines for original full-length musicals, culminating in the completion of a musical theatre song cycle. This counts toward the elements of theater art requirement for the major. Prerequisite: DRAM 111 or ENGL 200, 201, 205, 218 or MUSC 102, 122, 124 or 322. Offered every other year.

In our daily lives, we are affected by the spaces that we create and that others define for us. In the theater, scene designers shape theatrical space through time for a particular purpose. This course introduces students to the art of scene design for theater with an emphasis on the creative process and the role that scene design plays in supporting and shaping a dramatic narrative. The course is organized around a series of scene design projects for a variety of scripted plays. During these projects, students work through the process of analyzing a script, researching the material, developing a design approach and communicating the design through drawings, drafting, models and oral presentations. This counts toward the elements of theater art requirement for the major. Prerequisite: DRAM 111.

This course presents an introduction to the costume designer's creative process. Through a series of projects, students explore the relation of the costume to the character, the plot, the work of the director, the actor and the other designers. Projects involve drawing, painting, collage, writing and research. This counts toward the elements of theater art requirement for the major. DRAM 111 recommended. Permission of instructor required. Generally offered every year.

Light is essential to life and influences us continuously, often in subconscious ways. Therefore, light is a powerful but enigmatic medium for art. This course introduces students to the art of lighting design for theater and dance with an emphasis on the creative process and the role that lighting can play in supporting and shaping a performance. Students gain hands-on experience with lighting equipment in our theater spaces, completing short exercises and lighting designs for scripted theater scenes. Students also assist with the design of a piece for the department’s dance concert, working collaboratively with a choreographer. Throughout the semester, students practice developing, communicating and assessing design ideas through written assignments, research, CAD drafting, oral presentations and peer critiques. This counts toward the elements of theater art requirement for the major. Prerequisite: DRAM 111.

The face is the actor's most important tool in communicating the character's intent. This course teaches how the art and craft of theatrical makeup can be used to project students' facial features on stage and film, as well as how to visualize the determinants of a character's physical appearance. In addition to the assimilation and projection of the character in terms of age, environment and health, the course explores the psychological support makeup can give the actor. Students analyze the makeup design of characters in five to six plays and apply makeup to themselves during laboratory exercises and for project adjudication. Students are evaluated on how well they have prepared to do a daily exercise and on their progress and improvement at executing a technique once they have practiced it and received critical feedback. Students also evaluate their own and each other's designs and makeup applications. This counts toward the elements of theater art requirement for the major. No prerequisite. Permission of instructor is required. Generally offered every other year.

Students study the plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes and others. The emphasis is on reading for a theatrical understanding of these ancient texts. Work includes projects, lecture and discussion sessions and written assignments. This counts toward the stage and its plays requirement for the major. Prerequisite: DRAM 111.

In this course, students explore the plays and theatrical practice of the English Renaissance. Readings emphasize textual understanding for the stage and are drawn from the plays of Shakespeare, Marlowe, Jonson, Middleton, Webster and their contemporaries. This counts toward the stage and its plays requirement for the major. Prerequisite: DRAM 111 or sophomore standing. Generally offered every third year.

Students study the development of classicism in England and France in the 17th and 18th centuries. The focus is theater of England and France, covering texts of Corneille, Molière, Racine, Wycherley, Congreve, Dryden, Marivaux, Beaumarchais, Farquhar, Goldsmith and Sheridan. This counts toward the stage and its plays requirement for the major. Sophomore standing. Generally offered every third year.

This course studies the major theatrical movements of the first half of the 20th century, emphasizing plays as they were performed in the theater of the time. Work includes readings, discussions, written assignments, projects and lectures. This counts toward the stage and its plays requirement for the major. Sophomore standing. Generally offered every third year.

This course will focus on plays of the last 20 years by British and American playwrights, taught from the practitioner's perspective. Students will read plays by such writers as Antoinette Nwandu, Caryl Churchill, Jordan Harrison, Martin McDonagh, Bruce Norris, Annie Baker, David Lindsay-Abaire, Amy Herzog, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Matthew Lopez, Alice Birch, Jackie Sibbles Drury, and Sanaz Toossi. Assigned work will include papers, quizzes, reading scenes aloud in class, and an active presence in class discussion. This counts toward the Stage and its Plays requirement for the major. Sophomore standing. Prerequisite: DRAM 111. Generally offered every third year.

South Africa has a rich tradition of theater that reflects the diversity and history of the country, drawing influence from both indigenous African and Western storytelling traditions. Students investigate South African theater of the last half-century with an emphasis on textual understanding for the stage. Readings are drawn from the works of Todd Matshikiza, Pat Williams, Athol Fugard, Percy Mtwa, Mbongeni Ngema, Barney Simon, Zakes Mda, Pieter-Dirk Uys, Reza de Wet, Brett Bailey, Lara Foot Newton, William Kentridge and others. Work includes readings, discussions, written assignments and projects. This counts toward the stage and its plays requirement for the major. Prerequisite: DRAM 111 or sophomore standing.

This course examines the work of the director, starting with the visual aspects of storytelling and moving into the analysis of plays and how to make them legible on stage. Work includes directed scenes, exercises, written assignments, readings, discussion and lectures. This counts toward the elements of theater art requirement for the major. Prerequisite: DRAM 111. Generally offered every year.

This course presents a study of the actor's methods of analysis of a text and development of a completed characterization. Students rehearse and present a series of scenes in various stages of development, leading to a complete understanding of a major role from dramatic literature. This counts toward the elements of theater art requirement for the major. Prerequisite: DRAM 220. Generally offered every other year.

Students develop a full-length play while simultaneously presenting exercises that explore nontraditional narrative: solo performance, found text and site-specific plays. Students look at the work of such writers/performers as Bill Irwin, Jonny Donahoe and Anna Deavere Smith. Students analyze plays by contemporary playwrights such as Will Eno, Doug Wright, Conor McPherson, Paula Vogel, Braden Jacobs-Jenkins, Alice Birch and Caryl Churchill, and examine the reinvention of older plays by contemporary playwrights. The semester culminates in a staged reading of the completed first act of a full-length play. This counts toward the elements of theater art requirement for the major. Prerequisite: DRAM 231Y–232Y. Generally offered every other year.

This course focuses on the collaboration between directors and actors in the creation of live theater from dramatic texts. Students enroll in the course as either a director (DRAM 362A) or an actor (DRAM 362B), collaborating on scenes and excerpts from a broad range of texts including both realist and non-realist plays, verse plays and new works. We emphasize the role of collaboration and the creation of shared vocabularies and rehearsal processes, and consider other key relationships such as those with designers and playwrights. Work includes rehearsed projects, written assignments and reading. This counts toward the elements requirement for the major and an elective for the film major. Prerequisite: DRAM 261. Generally offered every other year.

This course focuses on the collaboration between directors and actors in the creation of live theater from dramatic texts. Students enroll in the course as either a director (DRAM 362A) or an actor (DRAM 362B), collaborating on scenes and excerpts from a broad range of texts including both realist and non-realist plays, verse plays and new works. We emphasize the role of collaboration and the creation of shared vocabularies and rehearsal processes, and consider other key relationships such as those with designers and playwrights. Work includes rehearsed projects, written assignments and reading. This counts toward the elements of theatre art requirement for the major and an elective for the film major. Prerequisite: DRAM 111. Generally offered every other year.

Individual study in drama is reserved for students exploring a topic not regularly offered in the department's curriculum. Typically, the course carries 0.5 unit of credit. To enroll in an individual study, a student must identify a member of the department willing to direct the project and, in consultation with him or her, write a proposal. The department chair must approve the proposal. The one- to two-page proposal should include a preliminary bibliography and/or set of specific problems, goals and tasks for the course; outline a schedule of reading and/or writing assignments or creative undertakings, and describe the methods of assessment (e.g., a journal to be submitted for evaluation weekly; a one-act play due at semester's end, with drafts due at given intervals; and so on). The student also should briefly describe prior coursework that qualifies him or her for this independent project. At a minimum, the department expects the student to meet regularly with the instructor one hour per week and to submit an amount of work equivalent to that required in 300-level dance and drama courses. Students are urged to begin discussion of their proposed individual study the semester before they hope to enroll, so that they can devise a proposal and seek departmental approval before the deadline.