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Theatre and DanceFull Time Faculty: Beth Cleary, Becky Heist, Dan Keyser (Chair), Lara Nielsen, Harry Waters Jr. Part Time Faculty: Tom Barrett, Cheryl Moore Brinkley, Patricia Brown, Becky Stanchfield, Sharon Varosh Director of Forensics: Dick Lesicko Theatre and Dance Department: Major and Minor in Theatre; Combined Major in Theatre and Dance; Minor in Dance In the Theatre and Dance Department, our course work and our performances are laboratories for the theatre arts. We actively inquire about the role of the artist in contemporary society, and, indeed, in the “global scene.” As a community of students, faculty, and artistic staff, we seek ways to participate in the life of Macalester College and the Twin Cities as fully-fledged “citizen artists.” Students involved in the study and production of performance are engaged in an interdisciplinary and multi-cultural learning experience. To “get inside” the work of artists as diverse in time, place and spirit as Shakespeare, Brecht, Martha Graham, Zeami, Maria Irene Fornes, Sophocles, Bill T. Jones, Caryl Churchill, and others, means researching the sources of their vision, understanding their socio-historical position, and experimenting with the techniques of their written and embodied practices in their legacy. As students of performance,learning how to use your intuitive and imaginative abilities is as important as cultivating your analytical and research skills, and here we emphasize it all. Practical-based research requires vision, knowledge, and discipline. To that end the theatre and dance department curricula have been developed to encourage students’ analytical, critical, and interpretive thinking as well as the imaginative, emotional, and technical training necessary for successful, effective performance. This is not a conservatory program; however, the department provides a solid foundation in theatre and dance, theory and practice, for students who wish to pursue advanced training in graduate programs or professional schools. Indeed, we have many recent graduates in prestigious programs, and many others thriving as actors, directors, choreographers, designers, stage managers, and more (see the Department’s website for details). Participation in theatre and dance productions at Macalester is available to all students at the college, regardless of major or minor affiliation with the department. Open auditions are conducted for productions each semester and technical positions are filled from a combination of experienced and new students who are willing to learn the skills necessary to accomplish the tasks. For theatre productions, any non-major student working on a production may receive theatre practicum credit if s/he fulfills the basic requirements (see course listings). Because of the collaborative and experiential nature of these productions, all majors and minors in the theatre program are required to work on, or participate in, one mainstage production per semester while in residence. Dance Program The dance program emphasizes an interplay of the intellectual, physical, and emotional faculties found within each individual. Opportunities to gain technical skills, learn the art of performing, study the craft of choreography, engage in critical analysis, and experience working with others toward a common goal are offered within the curriculum. The program welcomes all students whether they have had several years of training or little previous experience. Each individual chooses the extent to which he or she becomes involved. The Dance Minor is designed to educate the student in a comprehensive study of dance as an art form, encourage the creative process, and develop a student’s expertise in a variety of movement styles. The minor includes courses that build skills in recognizing and analyzing differing choreographic viewpoints, expose students to a variety of cultural dance forms, provide tools for dance and theatre production, broaden a performer’s imagination and spontaneity, give a retrospective of musical knowledge, and teach the functioning anatomy of the human body. Dance students are given the opportunity each semester to participate in public performances. Dance program faculty members, guest artists and students choreograph for the concerts. Performing and production work is done by students with assistance from the department. General Distribution Requirement All four-credit theatre and dance courses count toward the general distribution requirement in the fine arts. General Education Requirements Courses that meet the general education requirements in writing, quantitative thinking, internationalism and multiculturalism will be posted on the Registrar’s web page in advance of registration for each semester. Additional information regarding the general distribution requirement and the general education requirements can be found in the graduation requirements section of this catalog. Theatre and Dance Department Majors The theatre and dance department offers two majors: one in theatre and the other a combined major in theatre and dance. All theatre majors take a core of ten courses. This core of courses provides a foundation in theatre histories, performance theories, and theatre-making. Courses in acting and directing, design and technical production, playwrighting are also offered regularly so the student may choose an emphasis within the major. Four theatre practicum credits must be earned during student majors’ junior and senior years (or three, if the student studies away one semester). Majors also complete a senior project which combines research and performance/production as delineated in the department handbook. Examples of senior projects include: researching and designing scenery for a major production; acting in a major role in a mainstage production; directing a fully-supported one-act play; stage managing a mainstage production; researching and writing an analytic paper in an area of theatre history or performance studies. Students work closely with advisors in designing and implementing their senior projects. The senior project is the “capstone requirement” for majors in theatre and dance and is called Theatre and Dance 80, Theatre Practicum Senior Project and Theatre and Dance 70, Dance Practicum Senior Project. Requirements of the Theatre Major A theatre major includes ten courses from within the department plus one elective in dramatic literature fulfilled in another department. Required courses for the theatre major are: 110 Introduction to Theatre Studies, 125 Technical Theatre, 235 Fundamentals of Scene Design, 260 Performance Studies Praxis: Avant-Garde Arts and the Social, 261 Modern Global Performance, 350 Directing Theory & Production I, and 489 Performance Theory Seminar. In addition, majors must take one additional history course within the major, from among regular and topics courses offered in the department (i.e., 262, 263, etc.). Majors must also take two (2) courses within the department, selected in consultation with their theatre advisor, which constitute an “emphasis” within the major, such as performance theory/literature, acting, design, directing, technical theatre. These courses should allow the student to proceed to advanced levels within their emphasis, complemented by the core courses for the major in history, theory and practice. Theatre and Dance Combined Major The theatre and dance combined major offers a unique opportunity for students with interest and skills in both art forms. The worlds of dance and theatre have undergone a metamorphosis, losing the sharp edges of their distinctiveness. Innovative performances are being presented in a variety of venues. The creative blending of movement, voice, text and music has emerged as a new art form in its own right. The combined major allows students the means to study the essence of both theatre and dance, as well as explore the ways in which they merge. This Combined Major requires students to take nine four-credit courses, eight 1-credit courses in dance techniques, and four practica credits. Required courses include: 115, Cultures of Dance; 121, Beginning Dance Composition or 341, Intermediate Dance Composition; 215, Reading the Dancing Body or Topics (194/294/394) in Dance History or 250, Experiential Anatomy and the Mind Body Connection; 110, Introduction to Theatre Studies; one experiential course such as 340, Mask Improvisation for the Actor or Dancer, one course in design such as 255, Lighting Design; 260 Performance Studies Praxis: Avant-Garde Arts and the Social; one theatre theory/history course such as 210, Community-Based Theatre; and 489 Performance Theory Seminar. Required 1-credit dance courses include: African Dance, Dance Improvisation, Ballet, three Modern Dance, and 2 courses in either Dance Ensemble, Performance in a Faculty Dance or Choreography. Required practica include: running crew on a production, level 2 practicum on sets, lights or costumes, and senior project. Minor Requirements Minor in Theatre A minor in theatre consists of six courses in the department which, in consultation with the department chair, cohere in terms of emphasis. The six courses must include THDA 110 and THDA 125; the other 4 should be selected with an eye toward upper-level coursework in one area (advanced acting, performance theory seminar, etc.) Minors must also be involved in theatre productions for three terms during their junior and senior years. Minor in Dance The dance minor consists of 24 credits, including an accumulation of 8 technique and practicum classes (1 credit each) and 4 academic courses (4 credits each). 1. An accumulation of 8 (1) credit classes, combining technique and practicum credits. Three courses are required: Dance Improvisation (31) and at least one level of Modern Technique (41, 42 or 43), and a Dance Practicum in Production (05). The remaining 5 classes are chosen by the student. Students should contact the dance instructors for advice concerning choice of technique classes. 2. Four (4) credit academic courses. Two courses are required: Cultures of Dance (115) and at least one level of Dance Composition (121 or 341). The remaining 2 courses are chosen by the student. The options are Mask Improvisation (340), Reading the Dancing Body: Studies in Dance History (215), Technical Theatre (125), Music Appreciation (Music 110), and a Kinesiology class (taken at one of the other ACTC schools). Departmental expectations for all theatre majors and minors: Effective live performance is the result of research, experimentation, commitment and discipline. Theatre and dance artists work notoriously hard to make what they do “look easy.” Toward that end, and based on many years of experience, the department requires majors and minors to follow these rules: —all majors and minors in acting or directing emphasis audition for the productions each semester; —all majors and minors work on one major production each semester in residence, either as an actor or in a non-acting production capacity (one practicum credit accrues per semester); —new sophomore majors and minors meet with their faculty advisor to review their program of study and their proposed area of emphasis; —majors and minors decline outside performance/production work unless approved by all department faculty; —majors complete a senior project while in residence and before graduation (see department handbook for further explanation). —senior majors present their senior projects to department faculty and staff in a formal review session (see department handbook), before graduation; Study Abroad in Theatre and Dance Students wanting to study performance and desiring additional training as theatre and/or dance artists will find many excellent international and U.S.-based programs that complement the Macalester major in theatre and dance. Students should consult with the International Center staff for Macalester study-away guidelines; additionally, the theatre and dance faculty have reliable information on many good programs. Any student seeking conservatory-style training (for instance, in Moscow) should plan her/his Macalester major carefully and early, in consultation with theatre and /dance faculty. It is strongly advised that students planning either an acting or directing emphasis in the program plan to study away in the fall of their junior year. Honors Program The theatre and dance department participates in the college-wide honors program. Interest in proposing and writing an honors-level project should be declared early to a theatre and dance faculty member, as the project’s relationship to the student’s senior project will have to be planned carefully. Eligibility requirements, application procedures and specific project expectations for the theatre and dance department are available from either the department office or the Director of Academic Programs. Topics Courses 194, 294, 394, 494 Topics courses focus on current questions in theatre history, dance history, dramatic literature, performance theory, or design/technical theatre. Recent topics courses have included: Voice & Movement for the Actor; Theatre and Islam: From Veil to Voice. Every year, announced in advance of the registration period. (4 credits)
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