Class Schedules

In a process of studied spectatorship, students in this first-year course will acquire the vocabularies of the field to critically articulate their individual reactions to dance and theater performances. With the support of seminal readings in dance and theater criticism, students will write reviews and essays that give special consideration to issues of representation, socio-historical context, and artistic expression. Whether in film or live, we will view dance and theater performances presented at professional venues in the Twin Cities such as the Walker Arts Center, the Guthrie, Penumbra Theatre, Mixed Blood, Northrop Auditorium, and Cowles Center. This course is typically reserved for incoming first-years and not open to returning students. Students can not receive credit for both 105 and THDA 110.

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

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

This is a survey course that welcomes majors and non-majors alike. Students are exposed to a variety of modern contemporary dance and theatre pieces, screenings, plays, essays, and criticism to explore the intersections of performance and identity from a historical perspective. Assignments include attending screenings and/or performances; script analyses and close readings; individual research; short written projects and a final paper. This course is typically reserved for returning students and not open to incoming first-years. Students can not receive credit for both 110 and THDA 105.

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

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

An introduction to the fundamentals of fully embodied playing of the human voice in spoken performance, firmly based on the methods of Arthur Lessac, augmented with techniques from Linklater and Rodenburg. Students learn elements of elocution: communication awareness, breath support, healthy voice production, resonance, projection, posture, speech articulation, American English pronunciation, and expressive vocal delivery, applicable in any venue, including virtual spaces. Essential for performers and useful for anyone choosing a career such as law, teaching, politics, leadership, etc., that requires public speaking. This is a physical, highly energized, experiential, interactive, performance-based lab course. Consistent practice outside of class hours is mandatory. The semester culminates with a solo performance of oration and poetry. No previous experience required. Online only.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

This course is designed to explore the art and craft of dramatic writing. Students will complete weekly reading assignments and writing exercises that will culminate in the writing of a one-act play. Students will engage in a rigorous development process which will include in-class feedback sessions and script revision. The ultimate goal of the course is for each student to develop a consistent, challenging and rewarding individual creating writing practice.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WC

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

The unique qualities of dance as an art, a form of expression, and a mode of communication present fascinating opportunities for designers. The bodies of dancers exist in a dynamic relationship with visual and sound environments, and in this way designers can play crucial roles in helping dancers communicate with their audiences and heightening the sensory impact of a performance. In this course, we will examine the design elements (scenery, costume, light, sound, and projection design) of a variety of dance performances with an emphasis on contemporary productions. Prior experience with dance or performance design is helpful, but not required.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

The camera has a way of capturing truth in an unflinching way. The acting techniques needed to be able to communicate honestly and authentically are magnified when acting for the camera. This class will explore your authentic truth for both drama and comedy while building acting skills uniquely required for film and video. You will develop critical response techniques that will enable you to give constructive feedback to yourself and your classmates. You will learn basic editing and filming techniques and vocabulary, as you get comfortable in front and behind the camera while you mostly self-tape. With most of the theater industry turning to video content, this class will give you a strong foundation to succeed in any of the various film and video platforms.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

This course grounds students in the technical and construction practices of performance-making: materials and their sources and histories; conventional and contemporary technologies and techniques; quantitative methods for calculating and assessing drawings for execution. Classroom instruction and a weekly studio/drafting lab allow students to learn and apply knowledge through working with materials. Students in this course also provide support to mainstage construction projects, further extending their learning in the course.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

This laboratory course offers intensive training in making theatre from action . Based on the teaching of Jacques Lecoq and his school of physical theatre training in Paris, work will focus on the observation, re-creation and transposition of daily life to create a theatre that is at once playful, emotional and creative. Course work will include an examination of the natural world and all its movements, our relationship with space and time, and object manipulation. We will use improvisation, games and exercises to develop physical and creative skills with which to create original work. Applied analyses of professional productions are required, as are written analyses of course work and individual progress. The goal of the course is to encourage curiosity and exploration to engage the student as creator, designer, and performer. Prerequisite(s): THDA 120 or other performance training strongly encouraged.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

Diary, investigative journalism, lyric essay, memoir – through these and other forms, writers of creative nonfiction propose -- essayer, to try -- worlds for the page based in fact and real events. In theater, solo performance functions similarly to CNF: worlds arrive onstage through the voice, body, chosen props and life stories of the performer themself. In this course, we will explore the "fourth genre" of the essay, creative nonfiction. As a workshop community, we will read and discuss a variety of essay forms and essai, write essays. We will also read solo performance texts as essays, and as documents of performance -- analyzing how live performance requires similar, and wholly different, strategies for reaching audiences. From this cross-genre investigation, you will write and embody your own creative nonfiction performance for a final class performance festival. Performing experience is helpful but not required; permission of instructor is required, an e'mail stating your interest is most welcome.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

This course examines and recounts the origins, history, and the regional, national, and global reach of the Hip Hop culture. This phenomenal culture change was born in the neighborhoods of Kingston, South Bronx, and Los Angeles, among many others. In this course, we will explore the five elements of Hip Hop history: b-boy/b-girl dance, graffiti, DJ-ing, MC (writing), and Knowledge. During the module, local artists will visit, sharing skills like beatboxing and classic scratching (within COVID-19 guidelines). At the end of the module, students will create and perform their own original work.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

The course explores scenic design in traditional theatrical buildings and alternative sites. Students will learn how to bridge script analysis and visual research, deepen their knowledge of spatial composition, acquire drafting skills, and practice design conceptualization with reference to historical and contemporary practices. The course outcome is a design portfolio, the collection of the various course projects each student will create during the semester. Prerequisite(s): THDA 232 or THDA 235 recommended, but not required. Students with a background in studio art or design are welcome to enroll.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

This course - a mixture of lecture, discussion, study of dramatic texts, writing exercises and in-class analysis of student writing - is intended to reinforce and build upon the skills developed in Playwriting. Topics will include dramatic structure, conflict, characterization, language/dialogue, as well as how to analyze your own work, give and receive feedback and techniques for rewriting. Students will engage in a rigorous development process which will culminate in the writing of a one act play.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

The course is a survey of French plays from the 1970s to the present. We will study a variety of works published in Francophone Europe or Québec, and that take place in many areas of the world. We will examine three main topics: the act of writing and performing while living in exile, the idea of the Other on the stage, and the development of colonial and post-colonial subjects in French theater. The form of each play varies widely, from classical French dramatic techniques to minimalist contemporary staging and characterization. We will explore together blocking and staging techniques as well as performance theory, in addition to literary and cultural analyses of the plays. The course will develop your French oral expression, and will develop writing skills in French, with a journal, a scene-blocking assignment, and a creative writing assignment. The course is taught in French and counts toward the French major or minor. The pre-requisite is one French course at the 300-level or permission of the instructor. This course would satisfy the "Theater and/or Dance Criticism" requirement for the Theater and Dance Major.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WC

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

Find expression and embodiment through the practice of movement improvisation. This course is open to students at all levels of ability who have a desire to move and a willingness to explore in a non-competitive environment. Students learn to fall, roll and work with gravity in relation to themselves and others. The class includes an introduction to contact improvisation, the "art-sport" developed by Steve Paxton in 1972. This course brings balance to mind and body through physical awareness. May be repeated for credit. S/N grading only.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

Dances of the African Diaspora II deepens the students engagement with selected dance forms from the African diaspora, especially those coming from West Africa and that emerged in the Caribbean and the Americas. The course is physically rigorous and emphasizes community building. A drummer accompanies the class, so students experience the fundamental connection between drums and dance as they learn the histories, techniques, and characteristics of Diasporic movement forms. Assignments include movement projects developed in class and presentations. May be repeated for credit. S/N grading only. Prerequisite(s): THDA 21 or permission of instructor.

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This beginning/advanced beginning level course builds on skills introduced in Modern Dance I. It 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, alignment, flexibility, and coordination. An emphasis is placed on the joy of moving in an expressive and highly physical manner. May be repeated for credit. S/N grading only.

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The purpose of this technique class is to allow the intermediate to advanced modern dance student to explore and discover themselves as an articulate and expressive mover. Classwork places specific emphasis on alignment, power, momentum, articulation, clarity of intent, musicality and stamina. Class consists of in-place warm-ups, center exercises and a range of dance phrases. May be repeated for credit.

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Course Materials

This is a beginning ballet class designed for students who have never had ballet before. The goal is to demonstrate fundamental understanding and execution of basic ballet technique and to develop a foundation in movement that will carry over and support any other style of dance or physical practice. It will include barre and center work, across-the-floor combinations, and stretching and strengthening practices. Correct alignment, coordination, and body mechanics will be emphasized. 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.

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Course Materials

Macalester's Brown Spirits Dance Ensemble engages the techniques and histories of selected dance forms from the African diaspora, especially those coming from West African and that emerged in the Caribbean and the Americas. Brown Spirits Dance Ensemble performs 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. Ensemble members earn 2 credits a semester and the Fine Arts General Distribution when they complete two semesters of THDA60. Prerequisite(s): Admission to the Ensemble is by audition/permission of instructor only. Prerequisite(s): Admission to the Ensemble is by audition/permission of instructor only.

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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, dramaturgs and playwrights. Two credits awarded at the end of the semester. 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. Two credits awarded at the end of the semester. May be repeated for credit.

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Course Materials