This course is a theoretical and practical studio investigation into Puppetry and Object- Theater and the interdisciplinary nature of contemporary visual arts performance.Ranging from gigantic effigies to miniature Toy Theater, what exactly are puppets, dolls, and performing objects, and what kinds of vocabularies do they create? What happens when the puppet replaces the human body? How can sculptures dance?
Topics vary. May be repeated for credit. One course.
A series of special topics seminars focusing on close readings of dramatic texts with an eye to their realization in performance. Each seminar will center on a theme and draw from a variety of theatrical works from different periods in history and/or different countries. Topics include drama and theater, drama and gender, drama and ethics, drama and history. One course.
Advanced Special Topics in Dramatic Literature (Lecture). Topics vary by semester. Consent of instructor required. One course.
Theater in London: Performance. Understanding the growth of a play from the script to final production, with focus on shows playing in London. Includes backstage theater tours, scene work, observations, audition workshops with theater practitioners, and supervised projects. Instructor consent required. One course.
AfroFuturism. One course.
Performance Studies.Introduction to theatrical transformations of traditional notions of drama into the broader category of performance, and to the performative field that seeks to understand them. Topics include the crossing of formal boundaries, the development of new technical possibilities, the role of uncertainty in the process of making a performance, and the purposes of performance, which range from the social to the spiritual and from the political to the personal.
Translation Studies and Workshop. Through reading texts about translation and by doing an independent project translating part of a play, students develop skills in translation theory and practice, culminating in a public staged reading of their work. Each student chooses a different play, in source language of his/her own choice, and translates into English. Readings are seminal texts in translation studies covering topics such as globalization, adaptation, the translator’s role, gender in translation, and postcolonialism to explore transmission of text/performance across cultures.
Theater in London: Text. A survey of drama from the Elizabethan period to the present based on performances offered by the Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal National Theatre, and other theaters in London and Stratford-Upon-Avon. Twenty plays will be seen and studied. Instructor consent required.One course.
Senior Distinction Project. Consent of instructor required. One course.
