Class Schedules

In this course, first-year students critically attend live dance and theatre performances in the exciting arts scene of the Twin Cities, and articulate their individual reactions by writing reviews, responses, and essays. In this process of studied spectatorship, students acquire the vocabularies of the field. Readings include seminal texts in dance and theatre criticism, as well as manifestos and scholarly articles. We will attend dance and theatre performances at professional venues such as the Walker Arts Center, the Guthrie, Penumbra Theatre, Mixed Blood, Northrop Auditorium, and Cowles Center.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

In this course, first-year students critically attend live dance and theatre performances in the exciting arts scene of the Twin Cities, and articulate their individual reactions by writing reviews, responses, and essays. In this process of studied spectatorship, students acquire the vocabularies of the field. Readings include seminal texts in dance and theatre criticism, as well as manifestos and scholarly articles. We will attend dance and theatre performances at professional venues such as the Walker Arts Center, the Guthrie, Penumbra Theatre, Mixed Blood, Northrop Auditorium, and Cowles Center.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

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.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WP

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

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.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

This course is the study and discipline of dance-making. Students learn the tools of the choreographer - time, space, energy - and how they can be shaped to give the body expressive power. The relationships between form, content, and technique are explored. Students choreograph short studies, improvise, discuss, and view dance on film and in live performance. The course values risk-taking and collaboration in a supportive, shared space. Through the creative process, we seek energy from a sense of investigation as opposed to the pressure to "succeed." The solo form is emphasized. No dance experience is necessary. Either this course or Intermediate Dance Composition is required for a dance minor.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WP

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

An introduction to the fundamentals of successful playing of the vocal instrument of the individual human body. Using techniques of Lessac, Linklater, and Rodenburg, students learn elements of elocution: communication awareness; breath support; healthy voice production and projection; posture and poise; speech articulation; Standard American English pronunciation; vocal expressiveness and delivery. Essential for theatre performance majors, including singers, and very useful for anyone choosing a career such as law, teaching, politics, leadership, etc., which demands speaking to groups and presenting publicly. Students craft a personal process of vocal support practice through continuous self-analysis, journaling of exercises, rehearsal and delivery. This is a dynamic, physical, highly experiential, practical, and performance-based lab course. Semester culminates with a public solo performance of oratory and poetry. No previous experience required.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

Scenography is the creation of imagined spaces for performance. In this course we will study the fundamentals of scenography holistically, including scenic, lighting, costume, sound, and projection design. Students will demonstrate the ability to analyze and critique elements of performance design, articulating design ideas verbally and through writing, and completing a design project from analysis to tangible object. (4 credits)

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

This course is an experiential survey of influential performance histories, practitioners and methods, 1600-present. Through readings in performance history and theory, students will investigate the social forces and performance lineages that have shaped contemporary embodied performance on the spectrum from acting to dancing.  Material covered may include: Shakespeare in performance; commedia dell'arte's contemporary clown forms;  court dance; classical Indian dance forms; Stanislavski's "magic if,"  contemporary Japanese butoh. In a weekly intensive lab component, students will learn the specific techniques developed by these practitioners and genres, taught by guest specialists in rotation with the course professor. How these forms get passed on, through embodied transmission, documentation and pedagogies will be a focus of the course.  Final projects will culminate in an open community workshop of exercises and techniques, taught by the students in the course. Required for Theatre and Dance majors. Prerequisite(s): Preference given to Theatre and Dance major and/or minors.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WP

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

This course is an experiential survey of influential performance histories, practitioners and methods, 1600-present. Through readings in performance history and theory, students will investigate the social forces and performance lineages that have shaped contemporary embodied performance on the spectrum from acting to dancing.  Material covered may include: Shakespeare in performance; commedia dell'arte's contemporary clown forms;  court dance; classical Indian dance forms; Stanislavski's "magic if,"  contemporary Japanese butoh. In a weekly intensive lab component, students will learn the specific techniques developed by these practitioners and genres, taught by guest specialists in rotation with the course professor. How these forms get passed on, through embodied transmission, documentation and pedagogies will be a focus of the course.  Final projects will culminate in an open community workshop of exercises and techniques, taught by the students in the course. Required for Theatre and Dance majors. Prerequisite(s): Preference given to Theatre and Dance major and/or minors.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

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(s): sophomore standing or permission of instructor

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

Auditions. Memorization. Presentation. Imagination. Theatre and performance techniques for getting cast in stage productions, film, television, and commercials. But do not be deceived: These are important elements for any number of career paths. How you present yourself, the awareness you have that others are perceiving your work and “first impressions” are key in job interviews, for example. Throughout the course you will be learning and sharing specific techniques to select appropriate texts, monologues and/or scenes to address a number of topics. In addition, we will be bringing in professional casting agents and commercial agents to review and advise your work. This is an opportunity to prepare for Graduate School – URTA – auditions which happen in Jan, Feb, and March around the country.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

Join Sarah Bellamy, Artistic Director of Penumbra Theatre, to explore how the performing arts can promote positive social change. This course will investigate how artists (playwrights, performing artists, and theatre collectives) are uniquely situated to advocate for social justice and human rights. Students will read plays designed to raise awareness about various social justice issues and explore theatre techniques designed to deepen comprehension and stimulate civic engagement. Students will also devise artistic intervention projects using skills learned in the course, test them on campus, and then evaluate the impact and efficacy of their projects using rubrics designed collectively in class. Classes are three hours and meet off-campus at Penumbra Theatre. Each class will be split between seminar style discussion and praxis, so students can expect to discuss texts each week and to explore embodied art for social change practices.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

This course will provide the student with an introduction to the creative process of sound design in contemporary theatre. Through lecture, demonstration, and projects, students will learn the aesthetic of sound design, the basic technology of audio software, and the process of collaboration. Students will acquire the skills to analyze a script; to edit, manipulate, and program files; and to present and defend a design project.

THDA294, Sound Design will hold workshops on Saturday, September 15, 1-4pm; and in Saturday, October 13, 1-4pm.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

This course introduces students to debates, methods, and conceptual frameworks in race and gender, as represented in performance. It engages students in an interdisciplinary exploration of key terms--such as corporeality, embodiment, intersectionality, and performativity--that remain central to the fields of gender and sexuality, critical race theory, and performance. Through drafts and revisions of written work, critical dialogues and oral presentations in small groups, peer feedback, and analytical reading, students will engage in questions around identity formation, structural inequality, and the politics of citizenship.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences
Writing WP

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

This class surveys Russian theater from its medieval origins in the traveling storytellers called skomorokhi to the present. We will cover: ancient storytelling traditions; court theater in the 18th century; Pushkin, Gogol, Ostrovsky and the formation of a Russian national theater tradition in the 19th century; Chekhov, Stanislavsky and the pivotal era of the Moscow Art Theater; Gorky, Meyerhold and Bulgakov and the effect of the Soviet Revolution on theatrical performance and theory; Soviet theater as a realm of self-expression under a regime of censorship; the free era of perestroika and the repressed era of Putin. Given its importance to American and world theater, we will spend considerable time focusing on the figures of the Moscow Art Theater from its inception through the early Soviet period. Additionally, we will approach contemporary Russian theater as a political phenomenon repressed by and speaking out against Putin’s regime. All readings are in English translation; no knowledge of Russian is required for the course.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

In this course, the student has the opportunity to deepen their understanding of the craft of dancing-making. They embody the tools of space, time and energy with greater clarity, and become fluent with compositional structures as they choreograph solo, duet, and group forms. They begin to touch more deeply into their distinct power and vision as an artist. Collaboration, risk-taking, investigation, and joy are valued within the support of a shared space. Prerequisite(s): THDA 121 or permission of instructor

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

This African Based Movement course focuses on dance inspired by West Africa, as well as other regions of the continent, the Caribbean, Americas, and the African Diaspora at large. This physically rigorous class is rooted in a communal environment and is accompanied by a drummer. Students will learn African- based dance technique, characteristics, and the fundamental connection between the drums and the dance. They will also create in-class movement projects and presentations. Though this class may focus on traditional dance at times, it is not a tradition-specific class. All are welcome. May be repeated for credit. S/N grading only.

General Education Requirements:

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Course Materials

This introductory level course is a joyous and demanding exploration of the theory, technique, and terminology of modern dance as a performing art. Students engage fully with their bodies and minds as they deepen their strength, sense of rhythm, flexibility, and coordination. The course develops skills in inversions, floorwork, and balance based in clear alignment. May be repeated for credit. S/N grading only.

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Course Materials

In this joyous and highly physical intermediate course, students continue to build upon their skills as expressive dancers through active alignment, coordination, musicality, spatial awareness and nuanced moving. Clarity in increasingly complex movement sequences is emphasized. May be repeated for credit. S/N grading only.

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Course Materials

This is a beginning ballet technique class. The goal is to demonstrate fundamental understanding and execution of ballet technique. It will include barre work, center-floor, and across-the-floor combinations. May be repeated for credit. S/N grading only.

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Course Materials

This is an intermediate ballet class and is geared for students who have developed proficient skills at the barre and in the center. Center will include pirouettes, adage, beats, and more complex combinations. Students will develop a more advanced vocabulary while continuing to focus on placement, alignment, flexibility, strength, and fluidity and connection of movement. The refinement of technical skills and performance skills with longer combinations will be emphasized. May be repeated for credit. S/N grading only.

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Course Materials

Macalester's African-based Ensemble focuses on selected histories and techniques of dance forms from West Africa and the African diaspora, including the Caribbean and the Americas. Students perform in Theatre and Dance Department concerts, as well as Macalester events such as Africa Week, Black History Month, and Family Fest. Completion of African-based Movement I and/or II is recommended. 2 credits is awarded upon successful completion of the ensemble. 4 credits of fine arts general distribution awarded upon completion of two semesters of the ensemble. Prerequisite(s): Admission to the Ensemble is by audition/permission of instructor only.

General Education Requirements:

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Course Materials

Students are involved in production as actors, assistant choreographers or choreographers, assistant directors or directors, assistant designers or designers, dramatrugs and playwrights. May be repeated for credit.

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Course Materials

Students are involved in set, costume, lighting and sound engineering and construction, and running crew. May be repeated for credit.

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Course Materials