Drama Department

III. Advanced

302a or b. Problems in Design (1)

Study of set, costume, lighting or sound design. May be repeated in another area of design. Ms. Hummel and instructors to be announced.

Prerequisite: Drama 102 and permission of the instructor.

One 3-hour period.

[ 304a. The Art of Acting ] (1)

Advanced study of classical acting comparing Shakespeare, Chekhov or Ibsen. Students examine the challenges of a language-driven acting style. Techniques explored include John Barton, Michael Chekhov, Tadashi Suzuki, Anne Bogart, and Kristin Linklater. Ms. Tucker.

Prerequisite: Drama 203, 205, 1 unit in dance or movement analysis, and permission of the instructor.

Two 2-hour periods.

Alternate years: not offered in 2009/10.

305a. The Director's Art (1)

An exploration of the director's work through the study of different genres of dramatic texts. Students work on several projects during in-class exercises, and a final project is developed outside of class. Ms. Cody.

Prerequisite: Drama 202 or 203, 302 or 304, and permission of the instructor.

One 3-hour period.

One 75-minute laboratory.

[ 306a or b. The Art of Acting: Comedy ] (1)

Advanced study of comic acting styles including clowning, Commedia Dell'arte, Restoration, High Comedy and Absurdism. The work of Lecoq, Suzuki, Wilde, Coward, Ionesco, Beckett and Callow are explored.

Prerequisite: Drama 203, 205, 1 unit in dance or movement analysis, and permission of the instructor.

Two 2-hour periods.

Not offered in 2009/10.

317b. Dramatic Writing (1)

(Same as Film 317b) Studies of dramatic construction, analysis of, and practice in writing stage plays and/or screenplays. Mr. Steerman.

Note: students wishing to be considered for admission must submit a short writing sample (dramatic, narrative, poetic) at least ten days prior to preregistration.

Prerequisite: Drama 102 or Film 210 and permission of the instructor.

Open only to juniors and seniors.

One 2-hour period.

324b. European and American Drama (1)

Historical and critical study of European and American dramatic literature, theory and criticism, playwrights, and/or aesthetic movements.

Topic for 2009/10: Genet Revisited: Life, Art, and the Production of Self. This course explores the significance and relevance of Genet's work today. We read Genet's novels, plays, essays, poems, letters, and examine the impact of his activism and politics of representation. Readings also include theoretical essays and the writings of other artists about Genet. Weekly presentations culminate in a final theatrical rendering of one of Genet's texts. Ms. Cody.

Prerequisite: Drama 221/222 or permission of the instructor.

One 2-hour period.

[ 335a. Seminar in Western Theater and Drama: "Serious Play: Female Authorship as Drama" ] (1)

The course focuses on the study of works by Adrienne Kennedy, Irene Fornes, Dacia Maraini, Caryl Churchill, Marguerite Duras, Karen Finley, and Sarah Kane. We explore the performativity of female authorship through the study of plays, critical essays, letters and biographies. Weekly assignments include performative writing, and performance labs. Ms. Cody.

Prerequisite: Drama 102, 221,222 and permission of the instructor.

One 2-hour period.

Alternate years: not offered in 2009/10.

336a. Seminar in Performance Studies: Modern and Postmodern Theatrical Practice (1)

Selected topics in Western and non-Western performance traditions and literatures. Weekly assignments include performative writing, and performance labs.

Topic for 2009/10: This course explores Artaud's essays, poems, plays, films, radio texts, drawings and letters, and the ways in which his radical proposals inform performance traditions of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. In particular, we focus on the notions of trauma and terror as central cultural and historical forces shaping the subjectivities of the body in work by Tadeusz Kantor, John Cage, Robert Kaprow, Augusto Boal, Robert Wilson, Carolee Schneeman, Meredith Monk, Tatsumi Hijikata, Min Tanaka, Richard Schechner, Ann Hamilton, and Susanne Lacy. Ms. Cody.

Prerequisite: Drama 221-222 and permission of the instructor.

One 2-hour period.

337a. Seminar in Para-theater (1)

This course explores the theory of performance through an examination of para-theatrical genres and their relation to performance. What is a performance and who constitutes the performance event? Course readings cover street theatre, demonstrations, stand-up comedy, tourism, dance, performance art, terrorism, mediatized and virtual performance, and theories of liveness as well as the performativity of race, class, gender, and sexuality. Students participate in fieldwork investigations and empirical exercises. Ms. Walen.

Prerequisite: Drama 221-222 and permission of the instructor.

One 2-hour period.

[ 361. Chinese and Japanese Drama and Theatre ] (1)

(Same as Chinese and Japanese 361). Mr. Du.

Prerequisite: one 200-level course in language, literature, culture, drama, or Asian Studies, or permission of the instructor.

Alternate years: not offered in 2009/10.

[ 382b. Acting for the Camera ] (1)

Techniques of acting and writing for the camera. Special emphasis placed on collective class project. Instructor to be announced.

Prerequisite: Drama 102, 203 and permission of the instructor.

One 3-hour period.

Alternate years: not offered in 2009/10.

390a or b. Senior Project in Drama (1)

Students may propose to undertake a project in one of the following areas: research in dramatic literature, theater history, performance studies, acting, directing, design, or playwriting. Proposals can range from collaborative ensemble projects to solo work, to more conventional endeavors in specific areas such as research, acting, directing, or designing. The nature of this project is to be determined in consultation with the department. The department.

Enrollment limited to senior drama majors.

Prerequisite: senior standing, and permission of the department. In the case of directing and design projects, students must also have completed Drama 209.

Unscheduled.

391a or b. Senior Production Laboratory (1)

Participation in the performance, design, or technical aspects of department productions. Students undertake a major assignment with significant responsibility focusing on theory, craft and collaboration. The department.

Enrollment limited to senior drama majors.

Prerequisite: senior standing, 1 unit at the 300-level in Drama, and permission of the department.

May not be taken concurrently with Drama 390.

Unscheduled.

399. Senior Independent Work (1/2 or 1)

To be elected in consultation with the adviser.