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The Academic Program

Theatre and Dance

COURSES

105 THEATRE AND PERFORMANCE IN THE TWIN CITIES

The goal of this course is to introduce first-year students to live performance in the exciting arts scene of the Twin Cities. Students in this class learn approaches to studying theatre and performance events and texts, and begin to practice the vocabularies of scholarship in the field of theatre and performance studies. We attend performances at accomplished professional theatres, and at Macalester College. In this process of studied spectatorship, students learn how to critically attend, discuss, and write about theatre and performance events, learning the vocabularies of the field. Offered yearly. (4 credits)

110 INTRODUCTION TO THEATRE STUDIES

This course is an initiation for the drama student to learn about the worlds of theatre and performance: an initiation that focuses on the critical tools necessary to begin exploring and identifying practices of thinking, reading, and researching the theater, performance, and the worlds that the critical arts address. The project is to carefully consider the questions: What is theatre? How does it work? Where has it been located? What are the claims of its genres? What might theatre accomplish? The course interrogates the aesthetic and cultural operations of theatre and the dramatic arts in order to identify vocabularies for interpreting the EVENT of the theatre. At its core, the course addresses the question: what does it require to read and interpret the arts of the theatre, theatrical contexts, and its performances? Using scripts, recorded events, criticism, and theory, the course addresses the rich relationship between the HISTORY and the THEORY of theatre and performance practices. No prerequisites. Offered yearly. (4 credits)

115 CULTURES OF DANCE

This course serves as an introduction to dance from a global viewpoint. It involves an investigation of forms and styles through performance attendance, movement, video viewing, discussion, reading and guest artists. We will examine the function of dance in the lives of individuals and societies as seen through various cultural lenses such as feminist, Africanist, and ethnological perspectives. There will be an emphasis on movement participation, including a weekly movement lab. Every fall. Fulfills the Fine Arts distribution requirement. (4 credits)

120 ACTING THEORY & PERFORMANCE I

An introduction to the fundamental techniques of realistic acting. Through improvisation, physical and vocal exercises, text and character analysis, and scene studies, the student is introduced to the process of acting preparation and performance. Limited to 16 students. Every semester. (4 credits)

121 BEGINNING DANCE COMPOSITION

The creative art of choreography is the transformation of felt and learned experiences into externalized forms. The process of organizing movement and evaluating the choices made within that organization is the development of the craft of choreography or composition. The elements of space, time and energy are studied in depth. Each student is actively involved in the creative process as choreographer and viewer. Either this course or Theatre and Dance 341 is required for a dance minor. Every spring. (4 credits)

125 TECHNICAL THEATRE

A demonstration of the importance of scenographic technology in the production of theatre. This course investigates the basic theories of how a design is executed, involving all aspects of theatre technology: staging methods, materials, construction, and drafting. In addition to the lectures, the class will have a studio/drafting lab once a week, plus outside class laboratory crew experience. Limited to 16 students. Every semester. (4 credits)

145 MAKE-UP DESIGN AND APPLICATION

This course teaches students the theory and practice of make-up design and application, through a combination of lecture, discussion, demonstration and intense application. Students independently complete an extensive research portfolio called a “make-up morgue” while learning the principles of make-up design and application in weekly classroom laboratory format. $45 materials fee required. Alternate years. (4 credits)

210 COMMUNITY-BASED THEATRE

In almost every town in the world, in a rich tradition spanning millennia, communities make theatrical representations of themselves: their heroes, their unsung neighbors, their struggles, their aspirations. Community-based theatre is made by, for and about communities, and the varieties, strategies, controversies and triumphs of this form are the content of this course. In the United States, which is the geographical focus of this course, community-based theatre has emerged from rural and urban communities, communities of color, communities of coalitions united toward a cause—we will learn from historical and scholarly accounts, and from participants’ accounts, about many of these efforts. We also will explore the Twin Cities’ own deep history of community-based theatre-making, and participate in at least one major community project during the semester. Every other year; next offered 2011. (4 credits)

215 READING THE DANCING BODY/STUDIES IN DANCE HISTORY

Dance is an art of the body in time, space, and culture. It is a language that reflects individual, economic, social, and religious forces. This class will “read” the gender, race, and politics of the dancing body within African-American and Euro-American dance traditions from the 19th century to the early 21st century. The focus will be on theatrical dance forms in the United States including ballet, modern, and musical theater dance. Social dance will also be looked at as a predecessor to some of these genres. We will read, write, discuss, dance, view videos, and attend performances. Every other spring; next offered Spring 2011. Fulfills the Fine Arts Distribution requirement. (4 credits)

220 VOICE AND SPEECH

This course is an introduction to the fundamentals of correct and successful playing of the vocal instrument of the individual human body. Using techniques of Lessac, Skinner, Berry and Rodenburg, students learn all the elements of elocution: communication awareness and confidence; breath support; healthy voice production and projection; posture and poise; articulation; Standard American English; plus vocal expressiveness. This training is essential for all theatre and performing arts majors, including singers, and is extremely useful training for anyone choosing a career such as law, teaching, politics, leadership, etc., which demands speaking to groups and public presentations. Students learn to craft their own process of vocal support through a continuous self analysis by journaling of classroom exercises, explorations and discussions. This is a dynamic, physical, highly experiential, practical, and performance-based, lab course. Every spring. No prerequisites. (4 credits)

235 FUNDAMENTALS OF SCENE DESIGN

Study of the concepts, principles, and techniques of scene design in the modern theatre. The emphasis is on developing an understanding of what a design concept involves and how to put ideas into colors, spaces, and forms. Much of the class lectures concern how to handle theatre space and how other designers and periods in history have solved these problems. The lectures and exercises analyze the diverse materials available to the designer and the skills involved in mastering them. Prerequisite: Theatre and Dance 125 or permission of instructor. $40 materials fee required. Every spring. (4 credits)

240 BRAIN TO BONE: ALIVENESS, FROM REHEARSAL THROUGH PERFORMANCE

The performance experience, for both actor and spectator, is a collaboration in "aliveness:" switched-on cognition, participatory embodiment systems (muscles, nerves, organs, etc.), moment-to-moment discovery. This course will establish effective, body-based practices for character exploration, for curious and serious students of performance. Students will learn how to apply accurate and experiential knowledge of their own body - from brain to bone, ligament to heart - to the building of character: using playwrights' language as cues for physical responses; finding and sustaining characters' voices and physicalities; analyzing and inhabiting characters' whole system(s), physical, emotional, social. The work of the class will involve anatomy study and research, exercises and explorations, original application of work to character, and ultimately monologue and original solo performance work. The class will be highly physical, and meet six hours per week. Preference will be given to students who have taken a Theatre acting course, though well-described curiousity and commitment will be considered favorably. Prerequisites: sophomore standing and permission of instructor required. Every fall. (4 credits)

242 PLAYWRIGHTING AND TEXTUAL ANALYSIS

Effective text-based theatre, also known as “good playwrighting,” is made by writers who understand how plays work, how directors and designers collaborate, and how directors and actors communicate. In this course, we will read and discuss a variety of plays with an interest in their formal innovations(s), attend productions in the Twin Cities and develop a critical vocabulary for discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the writing, and meet with directors and playwrights experienced in the creation of new work. In-class time will be dedicated to writing exercises and reading students’ work. A one-act festival of original work from the class is the final course project. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or permission of instructor. Every other spring; next offered Spring 2010. (4 credits)

250 EXPERIENTIAL ANATOMY AND THE MIND-BODY CONNECTION

Through reading, writing, research, hands-on exercises, and structured movement activities, this course will explore the body’s design and function, focusing on the skeletal, muscle, nervous, and respiratory systems. We will use yoga postures (asanas) and breath control (pranayama) as tools to cultivate direct knowledge of anatomy and alignment. This course is designed to integrate scientific models of anatomy and one’s lived experience of body and movement. We will investigate the relationship between body and mind, beginning with the question of how the body and mind are defined and understood. Along with recent scholarly research, we will use mindfulness meditation (calm, precise attention) as a means to study thought, feeling, sensation, perception, and consciousness and how they interrelate. Every spring. (4 credits)

255 LIGHTING DESIGN

This course is an introduction to basic lighting design and the history of lighting. While emphasis is on theatre, it also teaches the lighting design of film, television, dance, opera, and environmental settings. This course is primarily an approach to lighting design, but the student will be expected to have a basic grasp of lighting hardware as well. The first aim of the course is to make the student more aware of color and light around him/her every day. Demonstrations are an integral part of the lectures. $20 materials fee required. Alternate years; next offered Fall 2010. (4 credits)

260 PERFORMANCE STUDIES PRAXIS: AVANT-GARDE ARTS AND THE SOCIAL

In this introductory course we examine the key issues and methods of Avant-garde performance, performance art, and Performance Studies. Focusing on a poetics of "revolution," we study the theory and practices of aesthetic inquiry within and beyond the conventions of cosmopolitan modernisms. Students of performance studies examine the trajectory of body and performance art from early 20th century Avant-garde practices through the contemporary period in which performance has become a vehicle to explore identities of gender, sexuality, race and issues of power. The representational critiques of literary, sonic, somatic, visual, and theatre arts guide our study. No prerequisites. Offered yearly. (4 credits)

261 SOURCES OF GLOBAL PERFORMANCE

This course provides an approach to studies in Theatre by way of global Performance frameworks, from antiquity to the present. Around the world, artists have deployed many written and embodied crafts for dramatic and re-enacted performance. We study the distinction between these two logics (mimesis/methexis). Key terms include: representation, mediation, historigraphy, theory - as well as Theatre, Drama, Performance, and Audience. Sources include Euripides, Plato, Aristotle, Nggi wa Thiongo, Everyman, Shakespeare, Islamic and 'Golden Age' Spain, Aztec ritual, Mayan theatres, and other indigenous performance practices. Alternate years. (4 credits)

262 PERFORMING FEMINISMS (Same as Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies)

This course focuses on the playwrighting, directing and performance strategies of 20th and 21st century women, in mostly the U.S. context, who have used the stage as a dynamic site of collaboration, contestation and innovation. “Texts”—written and performed, conventional and radical—by women artists of color are read as historical documents of movements for racial, gender, sexuality and class self-narration; texts by pioneering women in first- and second-wave “feminist” theatre offer context and counterpoint. Assignments include a research project on a woman artist not represented on the syllabus, and an original collective performance project (no performance experience required!). Prerequisite: sophomore standing or permission of the instructor. Alternate years; next offered Spring 2011. (4 credits)

263 AFRICAN AMERICAN THEATRE

This course is an overview of the development of theatre by and about Black Americans. It examines the historical, social, political, and cultural context of African-American Theatre. After investigating the roots of African-American Theatre in African culture, performance modes, and social values, it focuses on a study of plays written by Black Americans in the 19th and 20th centuries. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or permission of the instructor. Alternate years; next offered Spring 2010. (4 credits)

264 RIGHTS AND RESISTANCE: THEATRE AND FILM IN LATIN AMERICA (Same as Latin American Studies 264)

This course offers an introduction to negotiations between art and the state in Latin American theatre and film texts and performances that expressly illuminate cultural and political movements in the Americas during the 20th century. We study the ways in which theatre and film address and express crisis of social conflict. Drawing on post-colonial and liberation theories of culture, art, and the state, we construct an intellectual history of socially motivated Latin American performances. (4 credits)

265 THE ORAL HISTORY PROJECT

This seminar trains students in the methods and theores of Oral History which have become so important for contemporary artists engaging with "real" subjects and social locations. Of particular concern for the course are questions about what it means to work between orality, work in the field, and the documentations of writing. Secondary, primary, and other sources are all used for this research project, in which students learn to evaluate their deployments of sources, as they contribute to critical reflections on their own critically creative working processes. Throughout the semester, students examine theories and methods of oral history, orality, performance, and writing - at the same time that they develop research for their own 'oral history' projects in Theatre and Performance research. No prerequisites. Alternate years. (4 credits)

266 PERFORMANCE/DOCUMENTS/RIGHTS

This course examines experimental techniques in contemporary performing arts and media that theorize the history, politic, and everyday practice of human rights. Locating the avant-garde as a site for critical interdisciplinary work in performance and rights, we study the prevalence of contemporary uses of 'the archive, ' which works between database and narrative in order to think the interlinking challenges of memory, narrative, and documentation. We engage works in Theatre Studies, Performance Studies, Dance Studies, Critical Theory, Legal Studies, Media and Documentary Studies, Visual Art, as well as plays, multimedia performance texts, literatures, film, and events. Sources include artistic projects from Latin America, Algeria, Moocco, France, Germany, South Africa, Hungary, former-Czechoslavakia, Indonesia, Australia, Canada, England, and the US. No prerequisites. Offered alternate years. (4 credits)

340 MASK IMPROVISATION FOR THE ACTOR OR DANCER

Mask improvisation focuses on the important performance skills of imagination, spontaneity, and improvisation. In this course the actor learns much about himself/herself as a psychophysical being and techniques for transforming himself/herself into a character. Here the actor is not dealing with a written text, but is the playwright as well as the performer. Enrollment limited to 12 students. Permission of the instructor. $15 materials fee required. Alternate years; next offered Spring 2010. (4 credits)

341 INTERMEDIATE DANCE COMPOSITION

A continuation of the study of choreography, utilizing tools from the beginning level course in an advanced format, such as a juxtaposition of the dance elements involving more than one dancer. This course will deepen the student’s ability to draw upon his or her self knowledge and create work that is rich in intuitive and intellectual knowledge. A look at the relationship of movement and music will be explored. Attendance at performances, followed by choreographic analysis will be an integral part of the process. Prerequisite: Theatre and Dance 121 or permission of the instructor. Every fall. (4 credits)

350 DIRECTING THEORY & PRODUCTION I

An introduction to the basic principles, skills, and methods of directing for the stage through emphasis on analysis and interpretation, director-actor communication, and stage composition. Laboratory experiences are integral to the course and consist of the in-class production of several short scenes. Prerequisite: Theatre and Dance 120, 125, and 235, or permission of the instructor is also required. Enrollment limited to 12 students. Every spring. (4 credits)

360 ACTING THEORY & PERFORMANCE II

Advanced work in characterization and additional acting techniques with continued focus on voice, movement, improvisation and textual analysis. A continuation of Acting Theory and Performance I, this course is designed to deepen the student’s understanding of his/her instrument as well as develop an individualized working method. Included in the course is a consideration of style through scene work in other genres. Prerequisites: Theatre and Dance 120, sophomore standing, and permission of instructor required. Enrollment limited to 12 students. Every year. (4 credits)

465 ADVANCED LIGHTING DESIGN

Continuation of Theatre and Dance 255. Meets simultaneously with Theatre and Dance 255. Emphasis will be on furthering skills and techniques used in developing lighting design concepts. Projects are more complex and require more precision in their execution. Group discussion/critiques and field trips are included. Students’ final projects will be a mock United Scenic Artist Lighting Design Exam. Prerequisite: Theatre and Dance 255 or permission of instructor. $20 materials fee require. Alternate years; next offered Fall 2011. (4 credits)

475 ADVANCED SCENE DESIGN

Continuation of Theatre and Dance 235. Meets simultaneously with Theatre and Dance 235. Emphasis will be on furthering skills and techniques used in developing a design concept and how those design concepts are presented in three dimensional models or color renderings (paintings). A design portfolio will be the outcome of this course. Prerequisite: Theatre and Dance 235 or permission of instructor. $40 materials fee required. Every spring. (4 credits)

489 PERFORMANCE THEORY SEMINAR

604 TUTORIAL

Prerequisite: permission of the instructor. Every semester. (Variable 1–4 credits)

614 INDEPENDENT PROJECT

For the advanced student capable of independent study requiring library research and/or experimental work in the theatre. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor. Every semester. (Variable 1–4 credits)

624 INTERNSHIP

The theatre and dance department allows up to eight credits for approved internship experiences, which may be applicable to a major in theatre arts (and non-majors, by approval from and in consultation with a department faculty member). Internships are available to junior and senior majors with permission of the department. Every semester. (Variable 1–4 credits)

634 PRECEPTORSHIP

Through a preceptorship, an advanced student assists a faculty member in the planning and teaching of a course. This opportunity is available only to juniors and seniors, with permission of the instructor and the department. Every semester. (Variable 1–4 credits)

644 HONORS INDEPENDENT

Independent research, writing, or other preparation leading to the culmination of the senior honors project. Offered every semester. (1–4 credits)

Dance Technique Classes

Students may earn credit for participating in dance technique classes. Each class is one credit. Students may earn a maximum of eight credits from dance technique classes towards graduation. Dance technique classes are graded S/NC.

The technique classes are offered as follows: 21, 41 & 51, fall only; 11, 31, 42 & 52, spring only; 43 & 53, both semesters. Each level can be repeated for credit.

11 YOGA AND BODY AWARENESS

This class will introduce students to the philosophy and practices of yoga, emphasizing *asana* (“posture”) practice as a tool for exploring breath and movement in the body. The class is taught in the tradition of T.K.V. Desikachar, though the structural awareness of B.K.S. Iyengar’s teachings will complement and deepen students’ understanding of *asana*. Prior experience with yoga not required; appropriate for all students. Adaptations of postures will be offered for all students’ well-being. Offered most spring semesters.

21 AFRICAN DANCE

The African Dance class covers the traditional dance and music forms from several countries on the African continent. This physically rigorous class is accompanied by a drummer. Students learn about the origins of the dance forms and create in-class projects.

31 DANCE IMPROVISATION

Find expression and embodiment through the practice of movement improvisation. Open to all levels of ability. Come with a desire to move, an open mind and a willingness to explore in a non-competitive environment. We will learn to fall, roll and work with gravity in relationship to ourselves and others. The class will introduce you to contact improvisation, the “art-sport” developed by Steve Paxton in 1972. Relieve stress and balance your mind and body through physical action and awareness.

41 MODERN DANCE I, 42 MODERN DANCE II, 43 MODERN DANCE III, 45 MODERN DANCE IV

The study of fundamental principles of movement, emphasizing the integration of mind and body. Attention is given to breath as a support for the body systems, as well as attainment of strength, flexibility and coordination. The elements of space, time and energy are identified and developed through set movement patterns and basic improvisations. Attendance at a concert off-campus is required, followed by a written or creative response.

51 BALLET I, 52 BALLET II, 53 BALLET III

The study of the fundamentals of classical ballet. Students learn correct alignment principles, ballet movement vocabulary, musicality, sense of line, and spatial awareness. Exploration of how movement and physics principles apply to weight, momentum, suspension and release. Attendance at a concert off-campus is required, followed by a written or creative response.

Practicum Credit in Theatre

Production work in theatre and dance is open to all Macalester students. One credit is earned through successful completion of one practicum experience. Students will sign a contract for either a Theatre Practicum I(non-majors only/pass-fail) or Theatre Practicum II (majors and minors only/grade assigned). Students participating in productions may earn up to eight total practicum credits in Theatre or Dance. Practicum beyond eight will appear on transcript but not count towards graduation. Students participating in productions earn practicum credits in the following ways: one of two ways:

THEATRE PRACTICUM I SERIES (non-majors only) (pass/fail)

Credit is earned by working a minimum of 45 hours during the semester on a department production. Non-majors may earn all practicum credits in one area or a combination of areas.

15 Theatre Practicum I in Acting

16 Theatre Practicum I in Scenery/Lighting/Costuming Construction

17 Theatre Practicum I in Production Running Crew

Every semester. (1 credit)

THEATRE PRACTICUM II SERIES (majors/minors only) (grade assigned)

Majors and minors in theatre and in the combined major in theatre and dance commit to study and training in all aspects of production, during all semesters they are in residence in the Junior and Senior years. Majors and minors are required to complete 2 practica in 76, 1 practicum in 77 and 1 practicum in 80. Practica 78 maybe substituted for 77 or one of the 76 practicum.

75 Theatre Practicum II in Acting

76 Theatre Practicum in Scenery/Lighting/Costuming Construction

77 Theatre Practicum II in Production Running Crew

78 Theatre Practicum II in Advanced Production Techniques

80 Theatre Practicum Senior Project

Every semester. (1 credit)

Practicum Credit in Dance

Students participating in Dance productions may earn up to eight total practicum credits in Theatre or Dance. Practicum beyond eight will appear on transcript but not count towards graduation. Students participating in productions earn practicum credits in the following areas:

05 Dance Practicum in Production

Any student can receive 1 credit for completing a minimum of 45 hours of tech such as costuming, running crew, sound operator, or stage manager.

06 Dance Practicum in Performance

Students may earn 1 credit by participating as a dancer in a dance choreographed by a faculty or guest artist. Students are responsible for attendance at every dance rehearsal, tech rehearsal, and performance.

07 Dance Practicum in Choreography

Students may earn 1 credit by choreographing a dance that will be presented in the fall or spring concert. In addition to the creation of the dance, choreographers are responsible for directing student dancers in the rehearsal process. All student choreographers will be advised by a faculty member. Prerequisite for this practicum is completion of the Beginning or Intermediate Dance Composition Course.

ADVANCED DANCE PRACTICUM SERIES (Theatre and Dance Combined Majors only) (grade assigned)

Students with a combined major in theatre and dance are required to participate in departmental productions during the four semesters of their junior/senior years. It is expected that students will do one practicum every semester; two in dance and two in theatre. In addition, students are required to complete a senior project. (The senior project can be taken for one to four credits either as an independent study or as fulfilling the 70 Dance Practicum Senior Project requirement.)

25 Dance Practicum in Performance

26 Dance Practicum in Costuming/Sound/Lighting

28 Dance Practicum in Production Assistance

70 Dance Practicum Senior Project

Every semester. (1 credit)

Practicum Credit in Debate and Forensics

All debate and forensics activities are open to all Macalester students. One semester credit is earned upon satisfactory completion of one semester of practicum experience. A maximum of four semester credits may be earned through debate and forensic activities. For majors, no portion of these credits may substitute for one of the ten required courses. Offered every semester.

90 PRACTICUM IN FORENSICS

Credit may be earned by participating in several forensic tournaments or by extensive participation in the public audience symposium program or mock trial competitions. Offered every semester. (1 credit)

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