Dramatic Arts

Mime/Pantomime is one of the oldest forms of human communication and, at the same time, one of the most essential tools for stage expression. The goal of this class is to explore the history, theories and practice of mimes, pantomimes, and other physically oriented/ non-verbal performances of each era, with the consideration of their cultural, societal background context. Our study includes comments of people, impressions of critics, or the sometimes vehement attacks of Christian authority on these activities. By doing so, we explore not only the art of physical expression but the social context in which a certain art form was created, modified, developed, and prospered.

The course considers the role(s) of particular specializations in theatre production, analyzes examples of contemporary practices in the field, and presents a program of work within which students will be expected to develop individual or group projects. Topics vary from year to year depending on availability of appropriate in-house or visiting expertise. Topics might be lighting, design, sound design, stage management, and production management.

The course identifies, discusses, and surveys some of the major practical approaches to making live work that have shaped 20th and 21st-century theatre and performance studies discourse, in both traditional and "expanded" practice contexts.

This course is an initiation to writing for the theater, examining the link between writing and spoken text. It includes several writing exercises that lead progressively toward a short play which is then workshopped among the class. In addition to this practical dimension of writing, the course includes reading and discussion of the dramatic texts of various actors.

New perspectives in Ibsen Studies selectively focuses on the latest topics and methods in the field of Ibsen Studies. This course builds upon the foundational understanding of Ibsen’s works and the methodologies in studying his works both as text and in performances. The course consists of the contemporary trends in the field of Ibsen Studies and applying these new perspectives in one’s own research.

This course focuses on Spanish theater and dramatic literature. It examines the world of the theater: actors, producers, and the public; theatrical movements at the turn of the century; continuity and modernization; innovative playwrights and conceptual theater; tradition and avant-garde; the theater of "urgency" during the Civil War and the playwrights of exile; post-war theater, escapist conformity, and humor; the new realism; theater as spectacle and experiment; and new trends and "theatre groups."

This course analyzes discourses of multiculturalism and interculturalism, and their significance to theatre. It explores ethnicity, and its theatrical representation through casting, as an area of fierce debate: performances that investigate ethnicity frequently find themselves at the center of controversial debates, even street protests; at the level of casting decisions. Drawing upon literature from the social sciences, post-colonialism, and gender studies, the course explores the power relationships that shape the production and reception of ethnicities through casting, and examine a selection of case studies where issues around representation in casting have exploded into the views.