Rationale for the Theatre Arts Program's Curriculum

The Theatre Arts Program is a major program of study within the College’s Department of English. The Program offers a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre Arts. Its curriculum is designed to give students a broadly based theatre education and training regimen within a liberal arts context, while also providing them with the option and flexibility to concentrate in the area of theatre that best suits their individual interests. In addition to the 48 credit hours required for the B.A. degree, all WSC students are required to also complete 52 credit hours of the College's Common Core of Studies.

The Program's required core curriculum exposes students to all aspects of theatre study and theatre training. It covers all eight aspects of theatre: performance, theatrical design, theatre business and management, theatre history, stagecraft and technical theatre, dramatic literature, script analysis and dramatic theory and criticism, and Shakespeare.

Required Theatre Arts Core Curriculum:

•  Performance (THEA 0151 Introduction to Performance) — The Program believes that all students must be exposed to performance in order to have a well-rounded theatre education. A theatre major, regardless of focus, must have knowledge and appreciation of the performer’s training, craft, and process. This course studies the historical origins, development, and evolution of performance throughout the ages and across cultures. The course introduces students to voice and movement for the stage, mask work, improvisation, stage combat, performance art, basic acting techniques, storytelling, dramatic structure, psychophysical action, and sensory work.

•  Theatrical Design (THEA 0152 Scenography) — Students must also have a knowledge and appreciation of theatrical design. This course studies the development, continuum, and evolution of the values, methods, and theories of the practitioners of the New Stagecraft, the collaborative relationship between the director and the designer, and the basic principles of visual and aural theatrical design. Students are also exposed to the significant theories and movements that have shaped the visual style of the American stage, and are familiarized with theatre’s significant figures, techniques, conventions, styles, and terminology. Furthermore, students learn the harmonious relationship and synergistic effect of the visual design elements of scenery, costumes, and lighting.

•  Theatre Business and Management (THEA 0251 Theatre Management) — It is essential for theatre students to know the intricacies and logistics of producing theatre. Because of the nature of theatre, theatre artists must be capable of mounting their own productions and starting and managing their own theatre companies. The course addresses the organization and business practices of theatrical companies and of theatre production, as well as the history of theatre management and producing. Students are acquainted with the roles and responsibilities of each member of the management team in both the commercial and non-commercial theatres.

•  Theatre History (THEA 0261 Theatre History: Early Stages, and either THEA 0262 Theatre History: Renaissance to Romanticism or THEA 0263 Theatre History: The Modern Stage) — All students are required to take Theatre History I which covers the origins of theatre and the theatres of Asia, Africa, the Greeks, the Romans, and the Middle Ages. Knowledge of theatre’s origins and these early periods is an essential foundation for a theatre artist’s further study. The Program believes students should have as much in-depth study of theatre history as practical; therefore, the Program requires students to take an additional history course.

•  Dramatic Literature (ENGL 0287 World Drama, and either ENGL 0321 Irish Drama, ENGL 0364 American Drama, ENGL 0366 Drama of the Western World, or ENGL 0370 Modern Drama) — As much as practical, students should be exposed to a variety of playwrights and plays during the course of their education. For that reason, all students are now required to take World Drama, an historical and cross-cultural course. In addition, students must choose one course from a list of four dramatic literature courses, and they are strongly urged by their faculty advisors to take additional courses. These dramatic literature courses are part of the English department’s curriculum, but the courses are taught from both a literary and theatrical point of view by Theatre Arts Program professor Dr. Sabine Klein

•  Stagecraft & Technical Theatre (THEA 0353 Theatre Workshop or THEA 0360 Theatre Production) — A theatre education should expose students to the terminology, skills, and tools necessary in the making of a theatrical production. In this intensive six-credit course, students learn the craftsmanship required for and the technical aspects of production and how to execute designs.

•  Script Analysis (THEA 0260 Script Analysis & Interpretation) — It is imperative that students learn how to penetrate a dramatic text, to understand it beyond its plot and story line. Script Analysis & Interpretation employs various disciplined, systematic approaches to analyzing and understanding a dramatic text.

•  Dramatic Theory & Criticism (ENGL 0365 Dramatic Theory & Criticism) —Theatre students must be acquainted with the major theories and criticisms of dramatic writing that have shaped its develop through the centuries. Dramatic Theory & Criticism acquaints students with the major theoretical and critical statements about Western theatre from the Greeks to the present.

•  Shakespeare (ENGL 0317 Shakespeare: Tragedies and Histories, or ENGL 0318 Shakespeare: Comedies and Romances) — All theatre students should have knowledge of Shakespeare and of his work. Such exposure is essential to any sound theatre education.

•  Professional Careers in Theatre (THEA 03xx Professional Theatre Seminar) — Students intent on pursuing a career in theatre and/or going on to graduate school for a Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) or a Ph.D. need to understand what is required and expected of them. This course is designed to help students become acquaint with what awaits them upon graduation and help them choose and prepare applications for graduate schools.

Tracks of Study:
The Program’s tracks of study — Performance, Design/Technology, and Theatre Studies — provide students the flexibility and opportunity to focus their theatre education in their particular areas of interest. For students wishing to pursue careers in specific areas, the Performance and Design/Technology tracks provide more in-depth study.

•  Performance Track (15 credits or 5 courses): Three courses in acting, two in directing, and one in playwriting compose this track of study. In addition, students are required to audition for all productions, and, although performance in a play is not required in a B.A. program, every effort is made to cast them in a variety of roles over the course of their four years in the Program.

•  Design/Technology Track (15 credits or 5 courses): This track of study provides in-depth study in all four design areas of scenery, costumes, lighting, and sound, along with a course in stagecraft techniques. Students are given major design responsibilities for mainstage shows, and more design opportunities will become available through the Student Theatre Association and Musical Theatre Guild productions.

•  Theatre Studies Track (15 credits or 5 courses): Working with their advisors, students on this track can fulfill degree requirements by fashioning courses of theatre study with a specific focus that best suits their needs and interests. For instance, a student wishing to focus in critical studies with a desire to pursue a doctorate in theatre, may be advised to take Script Analysis as well as Dramatic Theory and Criticism, a third theatre history course, and three additional dramatic literature courses for 15 credits.

Performances Courses:
The Program offers two performance courses — THEA 0120 Performance Studies and THEA 0358 Acting Seminar — that support the mainstage productions. These courses are regarded as “topics courses” and "theatre laboratories" because plays are chosen for production in order to expose students to a variety of playwrights, styles, periods, and performance techniques. In that respect, these courses are also training laboratories for student actors and designers.

Advanced Design Courses:
The Program offers an advanced course in each design field under its THEA 0330 Special Topics in Theatre course. These courses provide a two-course sequence in each design field. THEA 0330 is offered the semester following each design course. For example, under the Program’s sequence of courses, Scene Design will be offered in the Fall semester of 2009; THEA 0330 Special Topics in Theatre: Advanced Scene Design will be offered the following semester, Spring 2010.