2017-2018 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Courses of Instruction
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Performance Theory, History, Literature |
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THR 337 - History of the American Musical Theatre 1 course unit
Students will study the history and development of American musical theatre from the era of early minstrel shows of the 1840s to the present day. As a crucial element of American culture, the study of musical theatre can lead to a deeper understanding of how issues of race, gender, ethnicity, and national identity impacted popular stage entertainment as the nation moved through the industrial revolution, civil and world wars, periods of massive immigration, depression, and increasingly complex technological change.
Prerequisite(s): THR 100 - Theatre & Society: An Historical Introduction .
Meets general academic requirement HU.
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THR 339, 340 - Post-Independence African Theatre 1 course unit
This course examines theatre in Africa beginning from the anticolonial independence movements of the 1950s and continuing to the present. It does not purport to offer a comprehensive view of Africa’s diverse theatrical traditions but examines several regions, heritages, and time periods, attentive to both commonalities and differences. Particular attention will be given to theatre’s function as an agent of social and political change. Theoretical concerns are likely to include theatre and nationalism, negritude and its critics, the relationship between theatre and ritual, the role of women, and the interaction of indigenous African performance practices with western theatre.
Prerequisite(s): THR 100 - Theatre & Society: An Historical Introduction or permission of instructor.
Meets general academic requirement HU and DE (and W when offered as 340).
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Theatre Studio Performance: Acting |
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THR 150 - Introduction to the Art of Acting 1 course unit
A survey of acting theories and practice culminating in the rehearsal and performance of scenework. The course is designed for non-majors and those who plan to major in theatre but have limited previous acting training. The first part of the semester will examine a variety of approaches to the art of acting, including those of Stanislavski, Artaud, Brecht, the Elizabethans, and one or more non-European traditions. Students will be asked to consider the basic assumptions about the nature and function of theatre implied by each approach. The balance of the work will consist of exercises to explore the intentional and communicative nature of concentration, introductory Meisner technique, improvisation, and the acquisition of a basic acting vocabulary. To gain a practical understanding of the preparatory work, each student, with one or more partners, will rehearse and perform a scene from the modern American theatre. Meets four hours per week.
Meets general academic requirement AR.
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THR 151 - Voice & Speech for the Actor 1 course unit
Employing techniques devised by Linklater, Lessac, and Skinner, this course aims to develop (1) refined - released, unrestricted, supported vocalization for the stage and (2) clear - articulate speech for the stage. Both the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) and the phonetic annotative scheme of Arthur Lessac are introduced, as the phonemes that make up spoken Standard American English are catalogued and practiced. Students address the phonetic bases of their own regional dialects with an ear toward acquiring vocal habits to support acting choices in a wide range of roles.
Meets general academic requirement AR.
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THR 250 - Acting I: Process 1 course unit
The beginning class in the acting sequence, this class lays the foundations for the ultimate goal of the acting program: to create actors who know how to work on a role within the context of the play and who have flexibility in their craft. The focus will be on acting process, including relaxation work; how to critique; commitment to language, sound, emotional connection, and movement; the active choice; and actor’s text analysis. Actors will be judged on their individual growth and also on their ability to work as an ensemble member within the class. This course is the building block leading into scene work and a requirement of the class will be a fully staged scene. Possible readings from Stanislavsky, Peter Brook, Chekhov, Williams, Shephard, and other writers. Films may be shown as an example of craft. Class meets for six hours a week.
Prerequisite(s): THR 100 - Theatre & Society: An Historical Introduction
Meets general academic requirement AR.
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THR 251 - Acting II: Scene Study 1 course unit
Building on the foundations taught in Acting I, this class moves the student actor into scene work. Primary focus in the class is on American realistic text with the possibility of moving into increasingly difficult texts from the modern canon. Class will explore the tools of the actor, including text analysis, critique, commitment to action, linking choices to the larger structure of the play, theatricality, language, impulse work, and style. Actors will be judged on their individual growth and also on their ability to work as an ensemble member within the class. Playwrights may include Hellman, Kushner, O’Neill, Churchill, Fornes, among other writers. Films may be shown as an example of technique. Will meet for four hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): THR 250 - Acting I: Process .
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THR 350 - Acting Classical Verse 1 course unit
This advanced acting class investigates methods for approaching, rehearsing, and performing pre-modern lyric texts, such as those by William Shakespeare and his contemporaries. With a focus on the practical demands of heightened language, the course addresses technical, stylistic, historical, and interpretive considerations as they relate to the feat of performance. Special attention is paid to linguistic structure as well as to its relationship to the individual experience of the actor/character. A directed emphasis on voice and speech development complements study by providing physical conditioning aimed at enhancing the student’s production of poetic language. Topics of study also include verse structure, metrical variation, rhythm, language-as-action, forward movement, prose, phonetic word fabric, and imagery. The course acknowledges the modern actor’s psychological approach to text (regardless of period) while at the same time recognizing that classical plays require actors to make distinct shifts in both acting-style and psychology. Graded performance projects involve advanced scene work from Shakespeare’s oeuvre. Class will meet for four hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): THR 251 - Acting II: Scene Study .
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THR 351 - Commedia dell’Arte 1 course unit
This is an advanced acting class that explores comic performance from the classical French, Italian, and Spanish traditions. Scenes from the plays of Goldoni, Gozzi, Moliere, Marivaux, Beaumarchais, and Cervantes will be analyzed and performed. In addition, the study of the stock Commedia dell’Arte characters (Arlecchino, Pantalone, Brighella, Dottore, Capitano, etc.) will allow the actor to improvise with masks in order to expand vocal and physical abilities. Students in the class are required to write and perform contemporary scenes in the style of the Commedia, and elements of comedy will be researched through the viewing of current films and plays in order to trace the influence of this tradition on contemporary practice. A final performance will take place in a community venue.
Prerequisite(s): THR 251 - Acting II: Scene Study .
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THR 352 - Experiments in Acting 1 course unit
This course is designed to explore the extremes of tragedy and comedy, and to combine them in the specific style of Samuel Beckett, as “tragi-comic.” With readings from Sophocles, Friederich Nietzche, Antonin Artaud, Joseph Chaikin, and Peter Hall, the class discovers the dynamics of Greek chorus, the presence of the neutral mask and the building of a clowning act. Texts from Electra and Waiting for Godot are studied in depth and serve as inspiration for writing a scene in a tragi-comic style. Films are assigned every week.
Prerequisite(s): THR 251 - Acting II: Scene Study .
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THR 353 - Acting the Song 1 course unit
This class will help the actor develop such skills as finding the right attitude in approaching the song, telling the story, playing with the music, and connecting with the audience on a very personal level. Students will learn to creatively act characters from musicals and/or to express themselves through cabaret performance. Special attention will be given to learning about cabaret traditions, auditioning the song, writing material, and the business of building an act. All kinds of styles of music are encouraged from musicals to jazz, and/or diverse languages. The focus of the class is not on vocal technique, but is about acting the song.
Prerequisite(s): THR 251 - Acting II: Scene Study .
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THR 355 - On-Camera Acting 1 course unit
This upper level course is designed to introduce students to the skills required to work effectively on camera. Using material drawn from the professional world, students will work in a variety of on-camera genres that may include commercials, daytime, primetime (sitcom and drama), and film. Class time will be divided equally between shooting and viewing, and students are expected to engage critically with both their own work and their classmates. Analytical viewing assignments from each of the genres will be required.
Prerequisite(s): THR 251 - Acting II: Scene Study .
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THR 450 - Advanced Topics in Acting 1 or 0.5 course unit
This intensive laboratory course explores the ideas and techniques of one or more advanced approaches to performance. In some iterations this studio class will concentrate on topics such as Advanced Problems in Acting/Emotional Techniques, will meet for 4 hours per week, and students will receive one unit. Additional topics may include Stage Combat, which will meet for 3.5 hours per week and students will receive 0.5 units, (students should start with the “Unarmed” version).
Prerequisite(s): For one unit version, THR 251 Acting II: Scene Study ; for 0.5 unit version, THR 250 Acting I: Process
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THR 451 - Performing Magic 1 course unit
This course is a studio introduction to the performance art of magic. While we read important works in the theory or philosophy of magic (by Eugene Burger, Juan Tamariz, Dai Vernon, Jeff McBride, and others), the primary focus is to train students in the effective performance of magic. Some main areas of training will be sleight of hand, directing attention, the psychology of deception, scriptwriting, persona, audience interaction, and repertoire selection. The course is being taught as an introduction, so no previous experience with magic is required. What is required is a strong desire to perform magic for other people and a commitment to focused, disciplined, and creative work. By the end of the semester everyone will have one or two quality performance pieces: that is, the beginning of a repertoire and knowledge of how to build upon it. As a culminating experience, students will perform their pieces for and be evaluated by a jury of professional magicians.
Prerequisite(s): THR 150 - Introduction to the Art of Acting or THR 250 - Acting I: Process or permission of the instructor.
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Theatre Studio Performance: Directing |
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THR 370 - Fundamentals of Directing 1 course unit
This class introduces the art form of theatre directing. Students learn key directorial concepts, focusing especially on issues of plot, character, space, and sound. A series of compact, supervised projects give students the opportunity to develop their abilities with these and other tools. In addition to teaching the basics of craft, the course presumes that directing is an expressive art form. Subsidiary concerns of the class will include models of rehearsal, directorial text analysis, and contemporary directing theory. Meets four hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): THR 251 - Acting II: Scene Study .
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THR 371 - Directing: Process in Production 1 course unit
This is an experiential course that explores the process of bringing the play text to the stage. Working as an ensemble of actors and directors, the class will confront the challenges of production conceptualization, text analysis, problems in physical staging, and collaborative process. Each student will participate as a director and actor in the mounting of several one-act plays in the course of the semester. Members of the class will also produce two production prompt books based on their work as directors. Meets four hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): THR 251 - Acting II: Scene Study .
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THR 372 - Major Directors: Theory & Practice 1 course unit
This course explores the ideas and techniques of one or more major theatre directors. The class will touch upon the historical development of each artist, concentrating on the conceptual and practical bases of their work. Students will read and write about these signal figures and create many new theatrical projects inspired by them. Extensive collaboration will be expected. The directors studied will change from semester to semester but might include Vsevolod Meyerhold, Bertolt Brecht, Joan Littlewood, Tadevsz Kantor, or Arianne Mnouchkine. Meets four hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): THR 251 - Acting II: Scene Study or permission of the instructor.
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Design and Technical Theatre |
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THR 161 - Creativity & Collaboration 1 course unit
An introduction to ‘total design’ for the stage using a text-based approach to generate and test ideas as the core of creating a design. With the actors as the central focus of concentric rings of aesthetic choices, analysis would include a study in each successive circle: costume design - the fluid layer moving with the actor; stage properties - the objects the actor immediately uses; scenery - the contained world of the play; lighting design - the revelation of the physical world; and sound design - the most unconscious mood-maker onstage. The course will introduce the beginning stage designer to the creative process of making “art” onstage that is forged through a strong visual production concept.
Meets general academic requirement AR.
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THR 162 - Introduction to Stage Make-up 0.5 course unit
This 7-week course is an introduction to the basics of stage make-up; study includes historical and contemporary techniques in make-up and hair design and execution. Students will analyze the face and explore ways to manipulate and exaggerate the features with make-up and three-dimensional mediums. Projects include work with analyzing plays and characters to then create conceptual make-up charts that lead to realized designs. Study includes human physiognomy, theatrical make-up styles, and rendering techniques.
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THR 163 - Introduction to Sound Design 1 course unit
Covers basic design theory and history, engineering, and technology for theatrical sound scoring and sound reinforcement. Classes include both lecture and hands-on labs in weekly three-hour sessions. Students write short plays that require sound designs, fabricate conceptual designs for short works, create a complete sound plot, engineer a series of audio projects, and work on lab projects and exercises. Students will be able to conceptualize, discuss, and research projects; record and create basic cues; and understand and operate simple sound systems.
Meets general academic requirement AR.
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THR 164 - Stage Management 1 course unit
Introduction to the craft and art of the theatre stage manager and the professional stage management process. The course will cover the theory and historical development of contemporary practice. Studies will require the acquisition of specific skills and knowledge, including a vocabulary of theatre terminology, blocking notation, production book, and scheduling techniques. Students will learn how technical and design elements are coordinated, how to effectively work with directors, and to call and maintain shows. This course is designed to integrate theories and concepts with skills and techniques in order to meet the problem-solving and organizational challenges commonly encountered by stage managers in the creation of a show.
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THR 165 - Stagecraft: Aesthetics & Lighting 0.5 course unit
Introduction to a theatre designer’s aesthetic choices, including overview of stage design styles and design process as applied to stage design. The course will cover techniques, tools, and materials of stage lighting, including the hang and focus of lighting design. Crew/laboratory requirement will complement class lecture.
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THR 166 - Stagecraft: Scenic Techniques 0.5 course unit
This course will cover techniques, tools, and materials used in the construction and painting of scenery. Other technical studies will include safety, stage rigging and knots, properties, and production organization. A crew/laboratory requirement will complement class lectures.
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THR 167 - Stagecraft: Costume Techniques 0.5 course unit
This course will cover techniques, tools, and materials used in the construction of costumes. Topics will include properties of different fabrics, sewing, cutting and draping, dying, and costume maintenance. A crew/laboratory requirement will complement class lectures.
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THR 260 - Scene Design I 1 course unit
An exploration of the relationship between the play and its physical setting. Students will explore how the cultural/literary context of specific theatrical works can be expressed through the designer’s process. A major focus will be on production conceptualization and the aesthetics of the theatre. Class members will be introduced to the basics of model building, color rendering practice, and the various media available to the modern designer. Crew work will be required.
Offered in alternate years.
Prerequisite(s): THR 161 - Creativity & Collaboration or permission of the instructor.
Meets general academic requirement AR.
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THR 261 - Stage Lighting I 1 course unit
An exploration of the properties of light and their relation to the stage play in production. Areas to be covered include electrical theory, color theory, stage lighting design theory, and control systems. Students will develop an understanding of the potentials of the lighting instruments available to the designer and the uses of computer memory control. Crew work will be required.
Offered in alternate years.
Prerequisite(s): THR 161 - Creativity & Collaboration or permission of the instructor.
Meets general academic requirement AR.
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THR 262 - Costume Design I 1 course unit
A survey of costume design and history with training in basic construction techniques. The application of basic design concepts and their relation to clothes, costume, and the human figure will be discussed and related to script analysis exercises. Students will work on designing, patterning, and planning costumes for specific plays. Figure drawing and rendering technique will be covered, and crew work will be required.
Prerequisite(s): THR 161 - Creativity & Collaboration or permission of the instructor.
Meets general academic requirement AR.
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THR 360 - Scene Design II 1 course unit
Advanced work in production conceptualization and a discussion of the design process in relation to the demands of period drama. Students will study the historical development of architecture and period décor and will work to hone drafting and rendering skills.
Offered in alternate years.
Prerequisite(s): THR 260 - Scene Design I .
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THR 361 - Stage Lighting II 1 course unit
Continuing study in the practice of lighting design for the stage with principal emphasis on aesthetics and interpretation, discussion of lighting as an art form, and its effect upon other aspects of theatre. Drafting as it relates to the completion of lighting plots and the associated paperwork will be taught. Class projects as well as concentrated involvement in actual productions will be required.
Offered in alternate years.
Prerequisite(s): THR 261 - Stage Lighting I .
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THR 460 - Advanced Topics in Design 1 course unit
This studio course explores specialized ideas or techniques in theatre design. Possible topics might include scene painting; moving lights technology.
Prerequisite(s): THR 161 - Creativity & Collaboration or permission of the instructor.
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Ensembles and Internships |
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THR 900-959 - Community Performance Ensemble 0.5 course unit
Members of the Community Performance Ensembles in theatre and dance develop, rehearse, and tour programs (plays, dance performances, interactive dramatic pieces) for presentation at schools, community centers, and senior citizen residences. In addition to participation in the touring ensemble, students will be expected to submit a journal about their experience in mounting the production and touring to diverse audiences. May be repeated.
Audition required for participation.
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THR 960 - Theatre Internship 1 course unit
An opportunity for students to serve internships with professional theatre companies. These internships will usually be in such areas as stage management, technical theatre areas, and theatre administration.
Acting internships are usually not available. Internships are available both in Allentown and at theatres outside the Lehigh Valley. Pass/fail only.
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THR 970 - Theatre Independent Study/Research
Each independent study/research course is to be designed in consultation with a faculty sponsor.
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Women’s and Gender Studies |
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WST 202 - Topics in Women’s and Gender Studies 1 course unit
Engages the foundational and vigorously debated ideas within women’s studies, gender studies, and feminist thought. The scope of the class encompasses women’s studies, feminisms, sexuality studies, masculinity studies, and lesbian and queer studies within their historical contexts. The course explores what is at stake in the constructions of femaleness and maleness. The readings are interdisciplinary and cover gender and women’s studies theories from the nineteenth century to the present. Special attention will be given to the connections among gender, race (including Black Feminism and whiteness), ethnicity, and socioeconomic class. We explore how gender functions as an organizing system of power, privilege, and oppression and intersects with other identity markers. Our readings will be grounded in objects of inquiry such as bodies, modes of artistic representation, the state, and health and science. Professors from such diverse disciplines as Africana Studies, Art, History, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, and Theatre teach the class. Students considering the WST Minor should take soon after taking a first Women’s and Gender Studies course.
Prerequisite(s): One course included in the WST list of classes or permission of the instructor.
Meets general academic requirement W.
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WST 960 - Women’s and Gender Studies Internship 1 course unit
Supervised work and/or community service, arranged in consultation with the Director of Women’s and Gender Studies.
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WST 970 - Women’s and Gender Studies Independent Study/Research
Each independent study/research course is to be designed in consultation with a faculty sponsor.
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