A course in integrating previously studied skills, creative learning, and research, while developing collaborative leadership abilities in the making of theater and dance works. With permission of the department Chair, a student undertakes an integral production leadership responsibility on a semester-long project within the department’s production program. Such responsibilities may include stage management, production dramaturgy, associate directing or choreographing, or advanced design support.

This is an introduction to musical theatre as both a beloved entertainment form and a sharp cultural mirror. We will trace how musicals make meaning, and why song and dance can say what plain dialogue cannot, moving from early stage traditions through the contemporary musical and sampling landmark works along the way. Students will read musical libretti in parallel with listening to cast recordings and, when possible, watching video productions.

An investigation of different performing spaces from the past, present and future. In this course, students are introduced to various space designs for performance, including plays, operas, musical theater, dance, film and television, and concerts. Built on the understanding of performance spaces, students explore the relationship between performers and audience, and audience experience. Students will also learn the creative process of visual response to language and powerful storytelling through design.

This course offers an in-depth exploration of unconventional theatrical forms, foregrounding diverse artistic voices, including femme, queer, and global majority creators. Through engagement with Suzan-Lori Parks' 365 Plays/365 Days, Caryl Churchill's Love and Information, and Tarell Alvin McCraney's The Brothers Size, students examine how contemporary theater disrupts traditional narrative, character, and linear storytelling to interrogate race, identiy, power, and social norms.

What are the benefits of a collaborative creative process in a dance repertory project for the dance student/performer? What cultural contexts become embedded in a repertory work through the various dance and movement backgrounds and personal histories of each contributor? What do we each bring to the process, and how can we approach the making of a choreographic project as an inclusive practice? Finally, what curiosities and inquiries can we investigate together in a unique creative process?

What are the benefits of a collaborative creative process in a dance repertory project for the dance student/performer? What cultural contexts become embedded in a repertory work through the various dance and movement backgrounds and personal histories of each contributor? What do we each bring to the process, and how can we approach the making of a choreographic project as an inclusive practice? Finally, what curiosities and inquiries can we investigate together in a unique creative process?

What are the benefits of a collaborative creative process in a dance repertory project for the dance student/performer? What cultural contexts become embedded in a repertory work through the various dance and movement backgrounds and personal histories of each contributor? What do we each bring to the process, and how can we approach the making of a choreographic project as an inclusive practice? Finally, what curiosities and inquiries can we investigate together in a unique creative process?

What are the benefits of a collaborative creative process in a dance repertory project for the dance student/performer? What cultural contexts become embedded in a repertory work through the various dance and movement backgrounds and personal histories of each contributor? What do we each bring to the process, and how can we approach the making of a choreographic project as an inclusive practice? Finally, what curiosities and inquiries can we investigate together in a unique creative process?

A course in understanding creative ambition in the context of problem-solving and the technical aspects of making of live theater and dance works. The primary focus is to expand knowledge of the ways in which planning, organization, communication, and the use of technology contribute to artistic creation. Students will also develop a deeper appreciation for the synthesis of production elements in the creation of coherent performance moments and production visions. Students taking this course accept a specific assignment on a project within the department's production program.

What is a play and how do you write one? In this course, students will be introduced to the basic principles of writing for the stage (voice, craft, and process), and study short plays. Students will gain an understanding of foundational aspects such as conflict, character, objectives, obstacles, and stakes. In parallel to learning elements of playwriting, students will read plays reflecting various periods, cultures and narratives, as well as critical theories around the craft of playwriting and theatrical forms.