Theatre Arts & Performance Studies

Theatre Arts

Theatre Arts track combines the study of dramatic literature, theatre history, performance theory, and studio work.

All concentrators in Theatre Arts will gain practical experience through the study of acting and directing as well as in the technical production of plays, preparing students in the practical study of a cross-section of the vital aspects of theatre craft, including one class in either dance or speech. An essential aim of this concentration track is the engagement of students in performance procedures (acting, dancing, directing, choreography, design, playwriting, dramaturgy, etc.) in order to experience the inter-relationships among social contexts, dramatic texts, and theatrical enactments.

Along with practical study in craft, concentrators will graduate having studied theatre history and performance theory in global perspective. The study of theatre history provides a Theatre Arts concentrator with the necessary background to understand a variety of dramatic and theatrical forms. The study of performance theory enhances a student’s ability to ask fundamental questions about the role of theatre in social, political, cultural and cross-cultural arenas.

Courses

  • Course 1: TAPS 0700 Intro to Theatre Arts and Performance Studies
  • Courses 2- 6:
    • TAPS 0220 Persuasive Communication or TAPS 0230 Acting
    • TAPS 0250 Introduction to Technical Theatre and Production
    • TAPS 1230 Global Theatre and Performance: Paleolithic to the Threshold of Modernity
    • TAPS 1240 Performance Historiography and Theatre History
    • TAPS 1250 Twentieth Century Western Theatre and Performance
  • Courses 7 – 10: Theatre Studies electives: Four (4) elective courses – one of which must be theory, history or literature – chosen in consultation with the advisor according to area of interest (i.e., acting, directing, playwriting, design/technical theatre).

Additionally, following consultation with the advisor, one of the electives, may be taken outside the TAPS department.

Other Tracks

The Performance Studies track offers a base for students interested in a variety of performance forms, performance media, or in intermedia art.
The Dance track of the Theatre Arts and Performance Studies concentration engages students in the study of dance, movement and other forms of kinesthetic performance.