A continuation of techniques developed in Acting I. Concentration is on scene work with 'classic' and contemporary realist playwrights, i.e., Chekhov, Ibsen, Williams, Churchill, Kane, etc. Students will perform at least four scenes using the Stanislavski method as their base. Practical tools explored in class are intended to offer the student greater vocal, physical, and imaginative freedom and clarity, as well as text analysis skills.

This course will explore topics that philosophers have grappled with for thousands of years, and that still undergird (or sometimes threaten to undermine) our understanding of the world, our knowledge, ourselves, and each other. In historical and modern texts of the Western intellectual tradition, we will discuss questions such as: Are we all selfish? What makes right actions right, if anything? Do you know anything at all about the future? Are you really free if your actions are caused?

An introduction to the art and work of the costume designer in the performing arts. Students will learn how a designer approaches a script, how the designer's work impacts a production, and what methods are used in the execution of the design process. Students will learn how to develop their own visual imaginations and how to create visual concepts through discussions and renderings.

An introduction to the art and work of the set designer in the performing arts. Students will learn how a designer approaches a script, how this work impacts a production, and what means are used in the execution of the process. They will learn how to develop their own visual imaginations and how to create visual concepts through discussions, renderings, models and some hand drafting. No previous experience in theatre, performance, or the visual arts is required.

This course take students through the theatrical process of creating clothing and accessories for the stage. Topics covered are hand sewing techniques, fabric identification and use, and clothing alterations . The course will explore basic pattern drafting and draping, and some accessory construction. Students will work from costume renderings to build and alter clothing for Rooke Theatre productions.

This course will focus on basic Stanislavski techniques: concentration, imagination, relaxation, objective/action, and beats/scene analysis. Each student will apply these concepts to one open scene, one monologue and one realistic contemporary scene.

Taught by Department of Theatre Arts faculty and staff, this course offers the student a study and practice of theatre as a collaborative art. Course includes the analysis of the dramatic text in terms of the actor; the director; the scenic, costume, lighting, and sound designers; and technicians. Close analytical readings of play texts and critical/theoretical essays will be supplemented by attending theatre productions both on and off campus and by staging students' own theatrical projects.

This course examines the various ways first- through fifth-century Christians addressed questions regarding human sexuality. We will concentrate on the rise of sexual asceticism and pay particular attention to the relationship between sexuality and issues of gender, culture, power, and resistance. Primary readings will include letters, narrative accounts of female and male ascetics, monastic rules, and 'heretical' scriptures. These will be supplemented by modern scholarship in early Christian studies and the history of sexuality.

This is an introduction to contemporary and classical Buddhist ethical ideals. Working with primary and secondary sources, we will ask the following questions: Is the universe moral? What are Buddhist ethical ideals and who embodies these? How do contemporary Buddhists interpret classical ethical ideals? What moral dilemmas do Buddhists face today? How do Buddhists grapple with moral ambiguity? We will consider the perspectives of Buddhists from different cultures including India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, and the United States.

Hundreds of ancient Christian texts did not make it into the New Testament. 'What Didn't Make It in the New Testament' examines some of these excluded writings. We will explore Gnostic gospels, hear of a five-year-old Jesus killing (and later resurrecting) his classmates, peruse ancient Christian romance novels, tour heaven and hell, read the garden of Eden story told from the perspective of the snake, and learn how the world will end.