GRAMMR & STYLISTCS FOR WRITERS

How do writers exploit the structure of English? This course seeks to answer this question by examining the linguistic structure of English, various types of spoken and written texts (both formal and informal), and how grammar and style interact. We will explore what rules are inherent to the language and what rules have been imposed upon the language. We also discuss the beliefs people have about and the values associated with the English language in a variety of settings and the impact this has on writing. Enrollment limited to 40. (E)

Death in Film Video Media Arts

In this class, we will not only be looking at death as the "only absolute in life," that either "shadows or illuminates our lives," but also the way it is represented in contemporary film, video, and media. We could argue that death is the ultimate "media event" in contemporary society. When we are talking about cyborgs, vampires, terrorism, dead princesses, immortal artists, we are thinking about death.

Production Sketchbook

Video, still images and sound are used in this course to explore the fundamental character of storytelling, filmmaking and time-based art practices. Students perform all aspects of production with particular attention to developing ideas and building analytical and critical skills. We will read seminal written work and interviews with practicing avant-garde artists in order to expand our knowledge, understanding, and love for the medium. Through exercises that include in-class and weekly projects, students will produce sketches aimed at exploring video as an experimentation tool.

Production Studio

An advanced course in the production of Theater and Dance works. Primary focus will be on the integration of the individual student into a leadership role within the Department’s producing structure. Each student will accept a specific responsibility with a departmental production team testing his or her artistic, managerial, critical, and problem-solving skills. A half course.

Admission with consent of the instructor. Not open to first-year students. Professor Bashford.

Solo Performance

In this studio course, we will explore different skills and approaches towards creating solo performance. We will examine examples of historical and contemporary live solo performances in theater, dance, video, music, street, stand up and in political/social arenas to inform and ask what makes these effective (or not). We will use what we learn from these examples to inspire our own solo material. We will also develop additional techniques (through improvisational trial and error) that enliven and engage our different voices, stories, imaginations and emotions.

Sound Design Studio

(Offered as THDA 354, FAMS 354 and MUSI 354) Building on the concepts learned in THDA 254/MUSI 254, this studio course further develops the student’s work in sound design through an intensive focus on hands-on practice. Students will participate as sound designers in the Amherst Theater & Dance production program, the Five-College production program, and in other collaborative sound design and compositional opportunities with filmmakers, visual artists, installation artists, game designers, and podcasters.

Acting/Directing Studio

This is a studio course in collaboration among actors and directors leading to completed theatrical interpretations of dramatic texts. Students produce a portfolio of short projects, using published text or through rehearsal devising. Readings, writing, and class discussion are devoted to the shared practices of acting and directing, and to individual problems and approaches. Topics include the articulation of artistic vision, the role of the audience, advanced textual analysis, and the use of space, sound and light. Studio exercises are employed to support relevant techniques.

Her Story Is

Western text-based theatre has historically hushed the voices of women and those from marginalized communities. This course will focus on examples of such voices, paying special attention to artists, writers, and thinkers who challenge and deconstruct aesthetics that privilege the male gaze. In dialogue with feminist theories of gender and identity, we will read plays and study works by women and gender non-conforming artists, such as Hildegard von Bingen, Juana Ines de la Cruz, Susan Glaspell, Adrienne Kennedy, Marina Abramovich, and Taylor Mac.

Writing for Performance

This course is an exploration of writing for performance using interdisciplinary and experimental approaches. By exposing students to contemporary manifestations of performance across cultures – including those by Rodrigo Garcia, Rimini Protokoll, Romeo Castelluci, Robert Lepage, Carolina Vivas, and Gebing Tian – this course will lead to a new understanding of the art and practice of writing for the theater.

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