Theater and Dance 252 - Performance in Place

Spring
2021
01
4.00
Wendy Woodson
TTH 11:50AM-01:10PM
Amherst College
THDA-252-01-2021S
WEBS 117
wwoodson@amherst.edu
THDA-252-01,MUSI-352-01,ARHA-252-01,FAMS-342-01

(Offered as THDA 352, ARHA 252, FAMS 342 and MUSI 352) This course is designed for students in dance, theater, film/video, art, music and creative writing who want to explore the challenges and potentials in creating performances and events outside of traditional "frames" or venues (e.g., the theater, the gallery, the concert halls, the lecture hall, the page). In the first part of the semester we will experiment with different techniques for working together and for developing responses to different spaces. We will conduct a series of informal performance actions in numerous sites that are available to us, working with different media according to student interest and experience.  A special emphasis will be placed on considering issues of access when we make choices about where and how to perform and create work.  How can we encourage inclusive events that foster interaction and response with communities both near and far? What are possible relationships between art and community? How can we integrate important social and cultural issues into our art making?  How might we collaborate with and make work for sites we are distanced from?  What are crucial limitations to consider in creating site specific events, and how do we allow these limitations to inspire?  The semester will culminate in a series of public final projects developed throughout the semester for online and live viewing.

This course will be conducted in a hybrid format.  We will work in site-specific locations, including live sessions on and off campus with students who are in residence, supported by appropriate technology for remote interactions as needed.  Online-only participation will be available for those students who are not in residence.

Requisite: Previous experience in improvisation and/or composition in dance, theater, performance, film/video, music/sound, installation, creative writing, and/or design is required. Limited to 8 students. Spring semester. Professor Wendy Woodson and Resident Lighting Designer Kathy Couch.

Permission is required for interchange registration during the add/drop period only.
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