|
Bard College Catalogue 2009-2010
2009-2010
Theater
http://theater.bard.edu FacultyJoAnne Akalaitis (director), Zakiyya Alexander, Carol Bailey, Jim Calder, Chiori Miyagawa, Judith Youett Muir, Jonathan Rosenberg, Elizabeth Smith, Naomi Thornton, Jean Ruth WagnerOverviewThe Theater Program is grounded in the belief that theater is a fundamental cultural necessity that enriches all who participate in it. The program emphasizes the practical and the theoretical; technique and practice; and the knowledge of dramatic literature, theater history, and dramaturgy. It is geared toward students who are interested in theater as a part of a liberal arts education and those who might wish to pursue further professional training or a career in theater.Areas of StudyStudents can concentrate on acting, directing, or playwriting. Performers are trained in voice and movement technique and take acting classes in a studio setting that supports their work in production. Writers and directors exercise their craft and develop their style in class in preparation for staged readings, workshops, and full productions.
RequirementsThe following courses are required before Moderation in the Theater Program: Theater 101-102, Introduction to Acting; Theater 121-122, Movement for Actors; Theater 131, Voice for Majors; Theater 206, History of Theater I; Theater 227, Neutral Mask; Theater 228, Character Mask, or Theater 215 or 216, Physical Comedy; at least one course from the Survey of Drama group (Theater 310); and one course in art history. In addition, moderating students are required to read the following texts: The Theater and Its Double by Antonin Artaud, The Empty Space by Peter Brook, and Towards a Poor Theatre by Jerzy Grotowski. Students seeking to concentrate in theater are also required to perform a role in a play, write a short play, or direct a significant scene or play; they must also write a paper about that project and what they expect to accomplish as a major in the program. Before graduation, all theater majors must complete a total of three courses from the Survey of Drama group; Theater 210, History of Theater II; Theater 318, Visual Imagination for the Modern Stage; and one advanced literature course. In addition, theater majors are required to read The Birth of Tragedy by Friedrich Nietzsche and The Death of Character by Elinor Fuchs. Actors must complete two semesters of advanced scene study, playwrights two semesters of playwriting, and directors two semesters of directing seminars. Individual tutorials will be designed to accommodate Senior Projects, which in most cases will involve a production. FacilitiesThe Theater Program is located in The Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts. Facilities include studios and a “black box” theater that seats 200.
CoursesProgram courses emphasize the truly inclusive nature of theater, which encompasses performance, literature, design, history, artistic community, and intellectual rigor. Students are expected to acquire a solid familiarity with dramatic literature and to develop the ability to research the historical context and dramaturgy of a play and to write about it.Introduction to Acting
Theater 101-102
This two-semester course, designed for prospective theater majors, focuses on accessing the beginning actor’s imagination and creative energy. Using theater games, movement work, and improvisational techniques, the course seeks to expand the boundaries of accepted logic and encourages risk taking in the actor. Acting Company
Theater 103-104
In this course, which corresponds with Theater 303-304 (Directing Seminar), actors work with student directors on scenes for in-class presentation. Open to first-year students. Movement for Actors
Theater 121-122
Basic training is provided in movement, analysis, rhythm, development of technique, and confidence in space. Voice for Majors
Theater 131
This course develops awareness of physical equipment, natural pitch, purity of vowels and consonants, tone, inflection, diction, agility, nuance, and vocal imagination. Voice for Non-Majors
Theater 132
This course concentrates on basic voice and speech work, in order to help students communicate with clarity and confidence. The demands of public speaking are also addressed. Alexander Technique I, II
Theater 141, 142
cross-listed: dance
The Alexander Technique, a widely respected method used to investigate the body and achieve alignment and relaxation, is a valuable tool for performers, writers, scholars, and artists. It offers a kinesthetic reeducation that provides a means of monitoring and eliminating self-created tension in order to avoid interfering with the creative process. History of Theater I, II
Theater 206, 210
cross-listed: literature
This survey course looks at the major periods of dramatic literature, from ancient Greece to the 20th century. Plays are read with particular reference to historical context and dramatic convention informing theater practice during these periods. Along with the plays, the class considers critical and theoretical essays that elucidate these social and aesthetic conditions. Playwriting I
Theater 207
cross-listed: written arts
Through writing exercises based on dreams, visual images, poetry, social issues, found text, and music, each writer is encouraged to find her or his unique language, style, and vision. A group project explores the nature of collaborative works. Students learn elements of playwriting through writing a one-act play, reading assignments, and class discussions. Playwriting II
Theater 208
This course functions as a writers’ workshop. After writing a short play, students focus on developing a full-length play, with sections of the work in progress presented in class for discussion. Students grow as playwrights through exposure to diverse dramatic literature and by undertaking a short adaptation of either a class play or a short story. Prerequisite: Theater 207. Scene Study
Theater 209
This course, for students who have taken one semester of Introduction to Acting and would like to continue their study, moves from a games-oriented curriculum into work with theatrical texts and the processes of scene study. Physical Comedy
Theater 215, 216
By embracing the archetypes of childhood and reclaiming the “internal response” without the diminishing filter of socialization, actors start to lose the inhibitions that block them from being purely expressive. Beginning with exercises in broad physicality, balance, rhythm, discovery, physical mask, and surprise, this course explores what is unique and funny about each individual. Neutral Mask
Theater 227 Character Mask
Theater 228
Masks are a product of diverse traditions, including those of the Balinese, and of great teachers and theorists, such as François Delsarte, Jacques Lecoq, and Michel Sainte-Denis. These two courses are intended to be taken in sequence, starting with Neutral Mask, in which students use expressionless masks in order to identify physical elements that contribute to a range of characters and physical expressions. In Character Mask, working with masks that have stylized and recognizable expressions leads student actors to the development of character in the body and in the story of the person behind the mask. Prerequisite: Theater 101. Voice and Verse
Theater 231
Verse is a significant part of drama, and learning to interpret and speak it is essential for the performer. This course deals with verse from the great poets and dramatists. Prerequisite: Theater 131. Theatrical Adaptation
Theater 240
Adapting classic and contemporary fiction or biographies to a theatrical form is a creative process that integrates the original intention of the material with the writer’s imagination. Students read examples of successfully adapted scripts and examine different approaches and styles of writing. They adapt short stories into short plays and choose a significant person in history, research his or her biographical information, and write a play based on his or her life. Directing Seminar
Theater 303-304
This two-semester course covers the practice of directing: text analysis, “table work,” imagining the world of the play, design, casting, space, rehearsal, and blocking in different configurations. The class proceeds from work on scenes to a full-length work for public presentation. Advanced Acting
Theater 307
A performance-oriented course in which students create works of drama derived from both literature and popular culture. Extensive reading and viewing of classical and modern texts and film provide the basis for exploration of various methods of presenting contemporary drama. The course culminates in a series of public performances. Prerequisite: any previous advanced scene study class or permission of the instructor. Survey of Drama
Theater 310
Survey of Drama courses, which study the major styles and periods in drama from a literary, stylistic, and performance perspective, are at the center of the Theater Program. They are practical courses, applying text to scene work.
Recent Survey of Drama courses have included African American Theater; Beckett; Black Comedy; Büchner and Strindberg; Chekhov and HisPredecessors; Dissent and Its Performance; Feminist Theater; French Neoclassicism; German Theater; The Greeks; Grotesque in Theater; Ibsen, Melodrama, and Modernism; Jacobean Theater; Japanese Theater; Musical Theater; New Works on Stage; Performance Art in Theory and Practice; Philosophies of Acting: Stanislavsky, Brecht, and Grotowski; Post-Colonial Theater; Shakespeare; Tennessee Williams; Theater of the Absurd; Women Playwrights; and Yiddish Theater. Visual Imagination for the Modern Stage
Theater 318
cross-listed: studio arts
As taught by leading theatrical designers and directors, this course examines the explosive prominence of visual ideas on the stage in the past 30 years, the emergence of a new form of collaboration between directors and designers, and the inclusion of new media on the stage. Theater Salon
Theater 320
This course serves as a meeting/workshop involving faculty, students, and visitors from the field of theater—playwrights, directors, designers, and actors. Group projects might include adaptations or shared readings and discussion, but this is mainly a forum for the discussion of ongoing work. Enrollment is limited to theater majors, for whom this is a required course. Voice in Performance
Theater 340
This course addresses demands on the voice that occur in performance, such as speaking over underscoring and sustaining dialogue in fights or dances. Technical exercises are used to promote coordination of speech and movement. Prerequisites: Theater 131 and 231, or permission of the instructor.
|
|
