THEA-Theater Arts

Explores the theory, construction, and manipulation of performing objects. Lectures give background on current innovations, their links to older traditions of visual theater, and future directions of this medium. Students construct puppets, masks, etc., and work on their performance possibilities in a workshop format.

An exploration of the relationships of forms in space through the construction of 3-dimensional abstract models using various methods and materials. Emphasizes the development of an understanding of primary structures and spatial composition and their specific use in designing for stage, film, and video.

Uses a rigorous physical approach to acting (rather than the text-based approach of course 21A). Provides an outside-in starting point for theatrical creation and study, balancing and countering the inside-out approach of Stanislavski-based actor training. Emphasis on physical characterization, ensemble theater, mask work, and object performance. May involve practices, theories, and readings of Jerzy Grotowski, Eugenio Barba, Jacques Lecoq, and/or Tadashi Suzuki. Enrollment by interview only.

Introduction to postmodern dance theory and technique. Focus on performance practices of historically significant postmodern dance choreographers in the U.S. and worldwide.

Introduction to ballet basics such as healthy alignment, anatomically sound articulation of hips and feet, balance control, moving through space harmoniously, and development of technical strength and combinative capacity in a classical, but fluid, aesthetic.

Intensive instruction in developing the dancer's physical instrument combined with basic movement theory.

Creative artists, technicians, and designers discuss the theory and practice of their art. Presentations include discussion of the nature of their artistic work and reflection on the path that brought them to their present work with attention to the creativity and constraint that they experience in their profession.

American comedy from Mark Twain to present, including popular humor, history, and politics, using comedy from the '20s through the women's gay and civil rights movements. Discussions are based on readings and videos of a wide variety of artists. Students present performances weekly.

The theater, dance, and film of the Pacific Rim region (Asia, Pacific Islands, Southeast Asia) in the 20th century, with attention to cultural adaptations of traditional performing arts by Asian Americans, Southeast Asians, and Pacific Islanders who have migrated to California. Lectures on indigenous traditions are illustrated with slides, videotapes, and performance demonstrations. Traditional roots and current manifestations in the California performance are compared and contrasted.

Introductory dance, with participation in a wide range of movement classes taught by the instructor and guest artists. Students develop their movement experiences through further viewing of world dance, discussion, reading, and writing.

Explores basics of mechanics and movement as applied to theatrical and non-theatrical realms. Utilizes textual materials as well as interaction with technology. Topics include structural elements, motion, energy, sound/light, their physical properties and how they interface with pre- and post-modern theater.

Looks at use of theater/performance in the U.S. and Latin America by the state, oppositional groups, and theater and performance practitioners to solidify or challenge structures of power beginning with pre-Colombian indigenous civilizations, 16th-century Spanish/European conquest, national independence movements, to the U.S. Latino diaspora.

Advanced work in the design and techniques of stage make-up and masks.

An investigation into the intricacies of production, focusing on structural, spatial, and visual concepts, creation and execution of scenic units, drafting, and related areas of technology. Designed to facilitate in-depth studies of specific production problems.

Offers non-actors, as well as actors, an enhanced understanding of Shakespeare and provides the ability to speak with greater clarity and vividness through reading aloud selected plays and sonnets. Explores work meanings, scansion, phrasing, breathing, tone, articulation, vowels, and consonants.

Continued study of classical ballet technique as a serious, expressive art form. Work includes longer combinations, air work, and style study in a regular class routine. Audition at first class meeting.

A progression from the simple phrasing and articulation of beginning technique class to more complex material requiring more acute perceptive skills and richer dynamic range. Emphasis is on both alignment and maintaining the kinetic integrity of the body while moving through space.

Advanced instruction in developing the dancer's mind/body, combined with contemporary movement theory and practice.

Continued study of postmodern dance theory and technique. Focus on advanced compositional practice, theatrical applications, and critical analysis of contemporary postmodern dance choreographers in the U.S. and worldwide. Audition at first class meeting.

Hands on study and exploration of the process of developing a new script from the perspective of the playwright, the actor, and the director. Students enrolling in this course as playwrights are selected on the basis of submissions turned in the previous quarter. Students taking the course as directors are required to obtain consent of the instructor. Other students may enroll as usual.

Examination of selected plays of Euripides, Aristophanes, Menander, Plautus, Terence, with workshop presentation of scenes from the plays.

An examination of the drama of continental Europe from 1918 to the present from an explicitly theatrical viewpoint, involving scene study, investigation of staging techniques, and relevant dramatic criticism. Selected plays from Antonin Artaud, Beckett, Brecht, Camus, Genet, Frisch, de Ghelderode, Gombrowicz, Ionesco, Mrozek, Pirandello, Sartre are read.

Selected plays of Eugene O'Neill studied in the context of the artistic, social, and political ferment in the American theater during the period in which he worked (1913-1953).

A study of three basic periods of Brecht's theater, poetry, and prose: 1918-1934 Munich and Berlin; 1933-1947 Exile; 1948-1956 Return to Berlin. Emphasis is on Brecht as theater theorist and stage director. Scene work and papers are required.