A practical workshop, centered on a collaborative project, in which designers, dramaturgs and directors create a performance from scratch. The objective is to develop a shared vocabulary and common experiences in the basic process of transforming text or idea into performed event. All members of the studio may be asked to adopt the perspective of actor, director, designer, playwright, or critic.

The close reading of dramatic texts for contemporary production. Focus on finding original answers to directorial, design, and dramaturgical questions. Dramatic texts selected from a broad spectrum of world repertory.

This course will provide instruction of, and guided practice in, the basics of the art and craft of sound design for theater. It will explore the fundamental tools and processes essential to conceptualizing and implementing both the content of a sound design and the sound system for delivery of that content. At the end of the course, students will master the assembly and operation of simple sound systems, and an ability to interpret basic sound-system documentation.

Each student will be able by course end to design costumes for a performance piece. By completing this course all students will have a beginning grasp of costume history and the ability to research and complete a design project. This course will encourage creative thought and problem solving, collaborative experimentation and will stimulate the development of personal aesthetic, critical analysis, and an intelligent approach to performance design. Also, there will be specific training sessions for figure drawing, character rendering, so students without fine art background can also join.

Bold actor training, adapting classical language techniques for verbally adventurous contemporary plays, from Tom Stoppard to Suzan-Lori Parks. Students unleash the evocative power of the spoken word on stage.

This course explores the art of contemporary theater and the power of live performance through a series of shows the students attend in person, along with theater projects they create in a group. Through engagement with both longstanding and new ways of making theater, students will gain exposure to how live theater is being made in the world today -- an exciting moment of new frontiers and forms. (Gen. Ed. AT)

This graduate seminar in dramaturgy each semester goes in depth into a special topic. Topics to include: Multicultural Theater Practice, Performance Theory, Avant-Garde Theater, Production Dramaturgy, Translation, Adaptation, and Dramaturgical Writing. Please check at enrollment time to see what Special Topic is being offered for the coming semester.

Theory and practice of stage direction; attention to work with actors and stage space for conveying theatrical in-formation. Assigned scenes and exercises.

Training of the actor's voice using a progression of psycho-physical exercises developed by Kristin Linklater. Emphasis on freeing the body and voice from habitual tensions and patterns. Prerequisites: THEATER 140, consent of instructor.

This course provides the most intensive collaborative opportunity for actors and directors to work together in our department. Directors and actors have an equal voice in the collaborative process, with the goals of: Understanding and experiencing one another's roles; Being able to communicate personal perspectives in a group; and Respecting and integrating the perspectives of collaborators.