Dramatic Arts

This course provides a study of the basics of costume design for the theatre with a focus on the panoramic view of historic costumes, elements of design, fabric science, costume design and construction, and accessories. Students participate in workshops that offer the opportunity to demonstrate the applications of costume in theatre practice.

Has contemporary culture taken a funny turn? This course offers you the chance to find out. Students look at the recent proliferation of comic novels and short stories, as well as stand-up comedy, sitcoms, and film, in order to ask questions such as: why is this funny? how is this funny? should we be laughing at this? and what does this type of comedy say about the contemporary moment? You will also study the theory and philosophy of comedy, using this to inform our understanding of what comedy and laughter do, culturally, psychologically, ethically, and politically.

This course looks at how one's voice is made and how one uses and modulates it. The course provides understanding of the physiological processes that produce voice and the relationship between mind and body in vocal communication. This practical workshop uses techniques developed by actors and singers that improve the resonance and musicality of the speaking voice and also vocal strength and endurance. Using verse, prose and dramatic text, students work on vocal characteristics - pitch, intonation patterns, pace and pausing, placement to improve their oral delivery.

This course examines how artists create meaningful experiences in performance. It covers staging scripts, designing scenes, and devising actions.

This course examines the mythological origins of Māori performing arts, the form, style and performance of mōteatea (traditional song and poetry), waiata-ā-ringa (action songs), poi and haka, the renaissance of kapa haka and its place in Māori culture and society.

From religious rituals to personal identity, propaganda to public protests, media spectacles to interactive artworks, performance is a prevalent feature of contemporary societies. Performance Studies draws on anthropology, cultural studies and art theory to explore how these and related phenomena work, what effects they have, and how they relate to each other. This introductory course provides an overview of the key concepts behind a fast‐developing discipline, and uses them to interpret a range of social practices and performance events that can be found in Singapore and other highly globalized societies. The course combines fieldwork, critical thinking, and performance analysis.