What is theatre? And what can it be? In this introductory course, we investigate the idea that while theatre is art, it also has consequences. Theatrical performance reflects, resists, and rewrites culture; it can (and does) perform the political by reimagining and transforming society. Through exciting examples of plays and productions from around the world, we investigate the history, politics, and aesthetics of theatre. We explore how the different components of theatre (from directing to acting, costume, and lighting design) come together to create powerful impact on stage. We read and discuss plays in class, see performances on stage, and hear from some of the Twin Cities?s most dynamic and committed artists. And we work on valuable writing skills that help us to deepen our understanding of theatre and communicate our insights to others. At the end of the class, we bring together everything we have been learning to make theatre in small groups. No previous theatre experience is needed.

What is theatre? And what can it be? In this introductory course, we investigate the idea that while theatre is art, it also has consequences. Theatrical performance reflects, resists, and rewrites culture; it can (and does) perform the political by reimagining and transforming society. Through exciting examples of plays and productions from around the world, we investigate the history, politics, and aesthetics of theatre. We explore how the different components of theatre (from directing to acting, costume, and lighting design) come together to create powerful impact on stage. We read and discuss plays in class, see performances on stage, and hear from some of the Twin Cities?s most dynamic and committed artists. And we work on valuable writing skills that help us to deepen our understanding of theatre and communicate our insights to others. At the end of the class, we bring together everything we have been learning to make theatre in small groups. No previous theatre experience is needed. Prereq: Honors student

A fundamental overview of acting that focuses on strengthening the vital connection between physical and vocal expression and uniting instinct and intellectual analysis. Classes focus on ensemble awareness, situation and script analysis, character development and dramaturgical skills. In this course students develop their ?acting instrument:? body, voice and imagination; they learn to make bold, specific choices in scripted and improvisational circumstances, they explore a range of physical and vocal expression, they develop the ability to respond and adapt to other performers onstage, and intensify their focus and presence in performance. Technique, theory and structured improvisation are incorporated with scene work and collaborative performance projects, offering an opportunity to assimilate the principles covered. The course explores scripted scenes and monologues as well as original-student generated work.

An introduction to techniques of creating and directing performance, this course introduces students to the multiple paradigms of creating new and scripted work. Students examine the shifting role of the playwright, actor, and director as primary creator, interpreter, collaborator, and interdisciplinary artist and their relationship to a variety of performance modes. Students will direct traditional scripted scenes and collaborate to devise new work, exploring acting, writing, directing, and design to create solo and group performances. This course may be taken concurrently with some upper division courses. Specific approach may vary by instructor.

What does it mean to represent? By focusing on a critical examination of this and similar questions, this course will investigate how performance events from the Ancient Greece to the French Revolution are brought to our attention, how they are made worthy of notice, and how they are rationalized as significant for theatre and performance history. By studying the theories of the Western origins of theatre and drama, the censoring of creative activities in the Ancient Rome or in the Renaissance England, the appearance of female actors and playwrights in Restoration, and the fashioning of a new economic type the eighteenth century, this course will ask: what are the consequences today of using or promoting these and not other representational practices?

?Dare to Think? is the motto for a critical examination of representational practices from the Age of Enlightenment until the Postmodern Condition today. We will discuss how theatre makers and thinkers responded to this call by offering playtexts and performance practices which challenged mainstream theatre in the era of the revolutions in time and space?Naturalism, Symbolism, Futurism, Dada, Surrealism; Agit-Prop, Theatre of the Oppressed, Theatre for Social Change; Black, Feminist, Queer Theatres; and Pixelated Revolutions. We will investigate histories, politics, and aesthetics of theatre and performance in a variety of cultural and ideological contexts. While reviewing these representational practices, which materialize as play-texts, performances, theatre architecture, theatre rebellions and regulations, theoretical writings, etc., we will discuss how they were produced, given intelligibility, and disseminated. One may ask: what are the consequences of using or promoting these and not other representational practices? How are performance events brought to our attention by the past and present imaginations? How are they made worthy of notice are rationalized as significant for theatre history.

Introduction to Design for the Theatre explores the collaborative process of theatre making with a focus on theatrical design. Students will investigate scenic, costume, lighting, and sound design in an active environment through lectures, discussions, reading assignments, writing exercises, workshops, and experiential projects. This course aims to challenge students as creative thinkers and problem solvers along with preparing them for a future as collaborative theatre makers.

This course is constructed to help each student experience the processes of theater production by working hands-on with production technologies & methodologies. Students will be divided into three teams for the entire semester which will move through several production disciplines & instructors; Scenic, Costumes, & Lighting in rotations of eight class sessions each, and Audio for two class sessions. These classroom projects are reinforced with 4 hours per week of Lab [ practical application and practice ] in one of the shops. We will explore the interrelationship of Production Practice through three key elements; Production Processes & Modes of Communication - [ Visual, Narrative, Data Sets ]. Production Space Systems & Equipment - [ Large Tools, Permanent Infrastructure, Auxiliary/ Temporary Infrastructure ]. Production Skills & Techniques - [ Small Tools, Proprietary Theater Equipment, Construction/ Installation Techniques ].

This course is for the student to gain more experience, develop new skills, or possibly hone current ones through practical application in the Theatre Arts Shops. Students will complete hours in the Scenery/Properties shop, Costume Shop, Sound/Media Lab, or Light Lab throughout the semester. Registration in TH 3100 is also available for students using show hours to serve in a production capacity on a main stage show, such as technical direction or master electrician.

This course is for students to gain more experience or hone their skills through participation in a main stage production. Students cast as an actor in a main stage production would participate through TH 3300.

This course is for students to gain more experience or hone their skills through participation on a main stage production. Students would participate through one of the following: as an Assistant Director to a faculty director or guest artist OR as a dramaturg for the process.

This course is for students to gain more experience or hone their skills through participation in a main stage production. Students would participate through a run crew/board operator/assistant stage manager/house manager position

TH4901 is the prerequisite course for the Senior Capstone Project required for graduation by the College of Liberal Arts. Students will propose, refine, and plan their Capstone project through a structured feedback process and in close dialogue with an assigned faculty mentor. Projects may be connected to creative collaborative production as long as they go above and beyond basic requirements for participation. Projects may take of the form of, but are not limited to: a research paper, an internship with an arts organization, creation of an original work ? play, dance, lighting, set design, sound score, etc., advanced technical position on a production, grant writing, portfolio development and presentation, educational curriculum development, film, and/or software projects. A faculty adviser will serve as a resource in the proposal development stage, advise on the progress of the research and planning and evaluate its effectiveness and quality. Ideally this course will serve as the planning phase for the ?Capstone? college experience, bringing together several years of coursework and productions in theatre arts and dance in order to prepare you for life and work after departing the University of Minnesota

Capstone Project is the culminating phase of the Capstone process required for graduation by the College of Liberal Arts yearlong. Seniors execute and thoroughly document a sustained project of their own design over the course of a semester. Projects may be connected to creative collaborative production as long as they go above and beyond basic requirements for participation. Projects may take of the form of, but are not limited to: a research paper, an internship with an arts organization, creation of an original work ? play, dance, lighting, set design, sound score, etc., advanced technical position on a production, grant writing, portfolio development and presentation, educational curriculum development, film, and/or software projects. A faculty adviser will serve as a resource to advise on the progress of the project, and evaluate its effectiveness and quality (including the quality of reflections on risky, noble failures). Ideally this will serve as the ?capstone? college experience bringing together several years of coursework and productions in theatre arts and dance, and preparing you for life and work after departing the University of Minnesota.

Independent reading/research in preparing honors thesis or selected creative project. prereq: Credit will not be granted if credit has been received for: 4905; honors, theatre arts, dept consent; limit [2 cr for [cum laude or magna cum laude], 4 cr for summa cum laude]

Irish playwrights have contributed disproportionately to the output of English-language drama over the course of the 20th century, creating some of the most memorable dramatic literature of the last hundred years. With that in mind, this intensive practical playwriting course will interrogate the tradition of theatrical writing in the Irish capital of Dublin by engaging comprehensively with a variety of modes and disciplines specific to the act of writing for the Irish stage. Contemporary Dublin has undergone an unprecedented process of modernization rarely seen in the developed world, with the city becoming in just twenty years a multicultural, cosmopolitan space that is embracing provocative ways of seeing and creating work meant for theatrical performance. Questions about the relevancy of the practice of writing in creating performance, how authorship of a play is determined, and the slipperiness of language are now at the heart of Irish theatre?s drive to redefine itself. Challenged by a wide range of disciplinary approaches to writing and rewriting, students will be exposed to a host of methodologies for creating dramatic literature for the stage specific to this unique moment in Irish theatrical history and, in the process, gain an appreciation for the important role writers still play in making theatrical performance.

What does it mean to be an avant-garde artist in the Global South? In postcolonial Africa and Asia, where arts were linked to national modernization projects, artists have played a key role in shaping citizens? identity, alongside schools and universities. While participating in modernizing projects, avant-garde artists maintained independence from state institutions and voiced criticism of dictators. This course examines avant-garde performance in several locations of the Global South, analyzing dramas of national history, modernist music, activist theater, cosmopolitan dance, transnational cultural circuits, and politically radical performances. Reading historical, social, and performance studies, we will develop methods for analyzing performances that aim to make transformative social interventions. These include textual analysis, ethnography, performance analysis, and tracking transnational cultural exchange. You will apply select methods in your final research paper, which centers on an avant-gardist cultural phenomenon in the contemporary Global South.

This course trains students in the analysis of dramatic literature and develops their research skills in theatre studies, helping them understand plays within their contexts of origin and production. Taking a single theme (ex. madness, or death and mourning) the class brings together contemporary and historical plays from around the world, exploring how theatre offers a unique site to stage differences, understand marginalized experiences, and imagine alternative visions of the world. Assignments break down the writing process into its component parts, and guide students in developing a sustained interpretation of a play of their choice.

How to read texts toward performance in various dramatic/nondramatic material. Method of unlocking metaphoric energy of texts. Vocabulary/techniques of analysis that transform text from page to stage. prereq: [1322, [3171 or 3172]] or grad student

This course is an exploration of the impact and evolution of Black Theatre in America, covering the period rising from the Black Arts Movement to the present. The exploration will entail an understanding of cultural and socio-political issues as they are reflected in key and significant plays written and produced from the late 1950?s to the present. The plays and essays will be read against the background of significant cultural, social and literary movements - the Civil Rights Movement, Cold War politics, the Women?s Movement, Gay Liberation, the Culture Wars, post-modernism, deconstruction, multiculturalism, afro-futurism, etc. as well as the evolution of identity nomenclature and racial classification from Colored to Negro to Black to African American. In addition to play analysis and criticism, students will garner a knowledge of significant Black cultural institutions and their impact on the ever-changing American theatre landscape.

This course explores the role of the scenic designer in imagining theatre in space and time. We will shape the arena of dialogue between performer and audience. We will propel action through spatial composition. We will make concrete the tensions and conflicts of the play. We will investigate the composition of emotional and visual space of the theatre. We will communicate ideas by honing skills of drawing, drafting, rendering, modeling, and presentation.

Costume design process, including, researching, script analysis, the costume designer's role throughout the production process, and design problems. prereq: TH 3571

Principles and processes in lighting design and lighting technology. Collaborative process of the lighting designer through individual and group projects in a theater, including script analysis and visual literacy through sketching, drafting, and light lab projects. Individual and group projects in composition, color theory, instrumentation, control (dimming), and programming as they apply to theater, opera, and dance.

Basics of audio design for theatre. Script analysis, audio editing, music research, basic system design, paperwork, cue building. Basic components of audio design. Final project will involve applying skills to partially realized design. prereq: 1501

Production process, pre-production to maintaining/closing. Managing rehearsals, communication, conflict resolution. Individual/group projects: promptbook building, blocking notation, Cue placement/execution, scene breakdowns, creating/maintaining checklist, building a form library. prereq: 1501 or instr consent

Fundamentals of puppet and object theater/performance are introduced through traditional/contemporary puppetry forms. Focuses on object theater, toy theater, hand puppets, and shadow/Bunraku-style puppets. Readings, in-class screenings of videos/slides. Students build/create series of short works for in-class performance. prereq: [[3513 or concurrent registration is required (or allowed) in 3513], instr consent] or grad student

Acting I explores the acting process using the canon of 20th century realism. The class will cover the basics of embodiment for the actor, observation as the root of character creation, analysis of text from an actors perspective, and rehearsal techniques. The core of the course is the preparation of scenes and monologues in class. Students will also complete a variety of class compositions, readings, and will see and analyze live performances.

Dynamic physical approach to acting. Expanding expressiveness/creativity. Strengthening connections between physical/vocal expression. Uniting instinct and intellectual analysis. Techniques as advanced by Delsarte, Meyerhold, Grotowski, Kantor, Suzuki, Barba, etc., and structured improvisation, are incorporated in solo/collaborative performance projects. prereq: 1322, [3314 or concurrent registration is required (or allowed) in 3314], audition, instr consent

History of American musical theater. Videos/discussions, basic music theory, voice, dance, acting, audition techniques. Solo/ensemble presentations for public class performance.

Live storytelling and solo performance as theatrical art form. How to turn personal experiences into stage stories. Guests perform, discuss their work, and critique student work. Students develop short monologues/performances and conclude with original solo theater performance/story.

The goal of this class is to introduce you to the basic work and process of the stage director. We will emphasize the practical tasks of analysis, casting, rehearsing, and staging. Our stylistic focus will be on contemporary realistic/naturalistic theater (rather than experimental forms or verse plays). The classwork will invite you to explore many aspects of the craft of directing, including the following: · Defining the role of the director: responsibility & relationships to playwright/actors/audience. · How to think and conceptualize like a director. · What is blocking? How does it work? Who creates it? Staging actions and events. · Understanding the building blocks of life on stage through composition & scene work. · Analysis of dramatic text from the director?s point of view (and expressing it in writing). · Preparation in the role of the director ? historical/textual/visual research. · Rehearsing and working with actors - What makes a good rehearsal? What is the relationship between actors and director?

Differences between stage acting and acting for camera. Hands-on experience with film equipment. Scenes/monologues rehearsed/performed for camera. Videotape playback for class critique. prereq: 1301 or 3321

Reading, writing, research, presentations and workshops explore activist performance projects. Theories of social formation and ideology provide framework to discuss/animate theater's potential for social change. prereq: Jr or sr or grad student

Through submerging students in both theater history and practice, this class brings students closer to the history, experiences, and politics of Asian Americans. Why are Asian American stories needed and how do we tell them? What are the artistic and social agendas driving the making of Asian American theater? How have the styles of performance shifted? While we will be actively working on readings and original theater projects, you don't need to be a theater expert to enjoy this class. Topics will include reading plays by Frank Chin, David Henry Hwang, Wakako Yamauchi, Naomi Iizuka, and others; looking at the history of Asian American theater companies; discussing creative approaches to casting, acting, directing, and design; and building collaborations among companies, audiences, and communities.

This course engages with Arabic poetry in its socio-political context. How have Arab poets from the pre-Islamic era till the present time used their verse as a tool to affirm the structure of their society, or to struggle with it? What roles did Arabic poetry play at the Abbasid imperial courts? How does Arabic poetry participate in the constitution and promulgation or subversion of political ideologies? And what presence has it had in Arab peoples' struggles for independence or reform, historically and today as part of the Arab Spring?

Kabuki, an all-male theater of "song (ka)/dance (bu)/acting (ki)" that came into being in the 17th century, still boasts popularity in Japan. This course explores kabuki in several contexts: historical, theatrical, literary, and theoretical. It aims to historicize this performing art in its four-hundred-year dynamic trajectory against the static understanding that it is a national, high culture. No less importantly, we inquire into theoretical implications of subject matter, such as citationality, gender construction, and the like. Furthermore, this course attends to what is usually marginalized and overlooked in kabuki historiography: koshibai (unlicensed small troupes of kabuki); onna yakusha (women kabuki actors who mastered the acting techniques established by male kabuki actors--including the technique of female impersonation). Open to anyone with an interest, no previous knowledge of Japanese studies, theater studies, or Japanese is required. All of the readings will be available in English. Audio-visual materials will be used whenever available and appropriate.

Studying language as a social practice, students transcribe and analyze conversation they record themselves, and consider issues of identity and social power in daily talk.

Why does art so often elicit anger, debate, protest, and vandalism? Arts controversies raise many difficult questions that this class examines: should artists be allowed to use taxpayer funds to create works of art critical of the government or that some find offensive? Should public sculptures commemorate Confederates, slave owners, or colonialists? How do we know when something is obscene? Is censorship ethical? Do artists have the right to control the fate of their work after it is sold? Who should decide what artists are chosen for public commissions, what artworks are selected for public buildings, or how works of art should be interpreted? Does public opinion make bad art? This course trains students in the history of arts controversies in the United States from the 19th century to the present and in the changing social conditions through which art has become a flashpoint for public debate. Assignments focus on discipline-specific research and writing techniques that build toward a group project in which students research, take up positions, and debate the merits of important case studies. The class is primarily designed for students to learn about the arts and arts policy today, i.e., the art world of which they are and will be citizens. They are asked to inspect the sources of dominant cultural beliefs and to gain a deeper understanding of and take responsibility for their own cultural, political, and artistic values.

Case examples from visual arts. Ethical theories. Philosophical take on relationship between art, life, ethics.

?Creating Identities: Learning In and Through the Arts? gives you opportunities to create art in different mediums including storytelling, photomontage, movement, as well as a creative medium of your choice in order to reflect your understanding of a social justice issue. In CI 1032 you join a learning community for discussing, analyzing, and making meaning of this artistic production. No prior experience is needed; come with an open mind and imagination as well as a willingness to experiment. An important emphasis in the class will be on finding your own ways to transform ordinary materials. We will introduce you to specific artistic techniques and in turn you will learn to take creative risks, think metaphorically, explore the unknown, improvise, brainstorm, and invent your own methods of working. Each of you bring to the class different kinds of knowledge and abilities. To be successful in this course you need to be willing to work hard, to explore territory that may not be familiar to you, to be reflective about what you are doing, and to learn from your diverse classmates and in turn help them achieve the same goals. The instructors of ?Creating Identities: Learning In and Through the Arts? shape the course with the assumption that identity is at the heart of educational experiences and that the habits of mind associated with the artistic production are primary vehicles for multimodal learning. We will experience how arts-based learning engenders higher order thinking, the creative process, reflection and perseverance. This course gives you the opportunity to both produce as well as analyze art in order to experience how creative expressions reveal aspects of our personal and social identities that have an impact on how we learn. Through mediums including photography, film, performance, music, painting and sculpture, we will explore how artists are influenced by cultural elements such as the built and natural environments, gender, religion, nationality, and socioeconomic status, and how artists, in turn, shape our perceptions of culture and identity. Through writing and discussion, we will consider how the arts can both reflect and impact our perceptions of identity and our reflections of ourselves as learners. As you move further into your academic studies and your career, you will intersect with people from differing cultures and places. The work in this class will help you become more comfortable with and welcome the benefits that come with intercultural learning. Interactions with classmates and cultural production of indigenous, immigrant, international and Western artists, allows you to have a greater understanding of, appreciation for and acceptance of the ways of knowing a variety of cultures can provide, and the confidence that you can reciprocate in kind.

Examines the status of "poetry" in several cultures of the Americas bringing together techniques of close reading and broad cultural inquiry.

What makes some jokes so funny? And why do we laugh? In this course, we will approach the topic of comedy from every angle. We will study theories and philosophies of humor, and will survey many different forms of the genre?film, television, viral web videos, internet memes, stand-up, improv, sketch comedy, absurdist theater, and political satire. And, of course, we will write and perform our own comedy in the classroom. By studying the history and formations of comedy, we will think about how jokes can help us change the rules of everyday life and imagine a new way forward.

Is there such a thing as global queer aesthetic? If so, how do various modes of representation and expression (novels, poetry, and sophisticated uses of language across film, television and video, digital media, pop music and punk) elaborate and enact queerness in particular material ways while also helping to create a larger, intermedial queer culture?

How race, class, and gender become aestheticized and are put into motion as popular culture. Choreographic analysis of moving bodies. How "popular" affects understanding of culture. Exoticism, binary structures of stereotypes, identity, hegemony.

In this course, we'll examine four progressive social movements. After beginning with a foundational civil rights movement example, we will learn about the anti-racist feminism branch of the women's movement, often referred to as "third-wave feminism." We'll also study the Occupy movement that arose in response to the Great Recession (the financial crisis beginning in 2008). Then we'll take a look at two social movements that, while by no means underground, tend to fly below the radar: the prison abolition movement and the fight for public schools. While all of these social movements have different emphases, they also overlap quite a bit in their systemic analysis of society and their strategies for action. As activist, organizer, and trainer Rinku Sen observes, "the history of community organizing and social movements is replete with tactics learned in one movement being applied to another." As we study these social movements, community organizing will be of particular interest to us. How do the groups, collectives, nonprofits, and communities propelling these different social movements organize themselves, their leadership, their strategies, and their activities? How do they make decisions? What do meetings and planning processes look like? What do they do when they disagree? How do they recruit and mobilize? How do they communicate with and confront the general public, elected officials, and the more powerful elements of the ruling class? How do they talk about the work they're doing? How do they develop a vision of the world they'd like to live in while still inhabiting the present one, with all its flaws and injustices? We'll also examine the role of education in organizations working for social change. Whether through trainings, "political education," reading groups, or small group activities associated with popular education, many of the social-movement groups we'll study have developed educational strategies and curricula. Hands-On Learning through Community Education: As we study these social movements and their approaches to organizing and educating in the comfortable confines of our university classroom, we'll also learn about them experientially through our service-learning. That is, we'll work 2 hours per week at local education initiatives in K-12 schools, adult programs, and social-justice organizations in the non-profit and grassroots sectors, comprising a total of 24 hours by the end of the semester. This hands-on learning will strengthen our academic grasp of social movements, organizational dynamics, and teaching and community organizing by providing us with grounded perspectives. More broadly, we'll get a feel for what it's like to get involved as citizens, activists, teachers, and learners attempting to build cross-organizational coalitions. And we'll share what we learn with each other. Representatives from the Center for Community-Engaged Learning (the U's service-learning office) and various community organizations will attend our second class session to tell you about their respective sites and how you can get involved. For our third class session, you will rank the top three community sites you'd like to work at. You will then be "matched" with a community organization, and your community education work will begin as soon as this matching process is complete. (We try to honor students' first and second choices, while also making sure that you also have some fellow classmates at your site.) To help prepare you, at a time convenient for you, you will also attend a training session facilitated by the Minnesota Literacy Council (MLC) or the Center for Community-Engaged Learning-- details will be provided in class.

Study of women in the arts, as represented and as participants (creators, audiences). Discussion of at least two different art forms and works from at least two different U.S. ethnic or cultural communities.

This course will discuss the subject matters and practices of major contemporary artists all over the world - including Marcel Duchamp, Joseph Beuys, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Jeff Koons, Andy Warhol, Yoko Ono, Ilya Kabakov, Jasper Johns, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Ai Weiwei, Shirin Neshat, Marina Abramovic, Kara Walker, etc. ? whose creative work frequently intertwines with commentaries on contemporary politics. As a strategy of being, these contemporary artists seem to use art to engage their audiences in a dynamic dialogue concerning certain aspects of contemporary life. These and other artists want to interpret political reality in order to change it; that is, to bring about social and political transformation through aesthetic means. This course will provide an overview of the ideas, strategies, and work of the artists as a critical lens for viewing the changing cultural and political landscape of an increasingly technological and globalized world. This course will take a comparative studies approach to the development of contemporary art in its historical, its social and political contexts, the increasing influence of the Western art in Asia, Africa, and other parts of the world, and the cross-cultural communication customs and protocols of international art practice and art criticism. Methodologically, this course first aims at integrating four major disciplinary approaches in discussing art history from post-WWII to the present day: historical studies, sociological studies, psychoanalytic studies and cultural studies. Such an integrated approach will provide a framework and a reference point for us to describe and understand contemporary art in certain historical and political contexts.

Critical discussion of concepts such as knowledge, objectivity, justification, rationality, evidence, authority, expertise, and trust in relation to the norms and privileges of gender, race, class, and other social categories.

"I can't breathe." The last words of George Floyd. Words that traumatized a nation, and the world. While the death of George Floyd galvanized peoples worldwide to speak out against discrimination and inequality, well before his death studies suggested that ethnic and racial discrimination and conflict re-occur on an ongoing basis. From the events of the Holocaust - to the genocide against the Rohingya in Myanmar - to the torture of Uighurs in China - to the Atlantic slave trade - we explore how identities are formed - and thereafter - how those same identities are deployed - to exclude and marginalize - with targeted precision. Across the world, we examine how racial bias and racial animus contribute to slavery, torture, mass displacement, economic destitution, and genocide. prereq: 1001 recommended; soc majors/minors must register A-F

Meanings of social justice. Ways in which social justice advocates work for social change. Criminal justice, globalization, and social welfare. Students do service learning in a social justice organization.

Concepts, theories, and practices of social change organizing. U.S. power relations. How people organize. Cross-class, multi-racial, and multi-issue organizing. Students do service learning in social justice organization.

Introdution to diverse ways of thinking about theatre and its representational practices. Students explore traditional/non-traditional modes of performance through readings, discussions, and hands-on performance projects. Seminar-style course. prereq: 1101

The goal of this class is to introduce you to the basic work and process of the stage director. We will emphasize the practical tasks of analysis, casting, rehearsing, and staging. Our stylistic focus will be on contemporary realistic/naturalistic theater (rather than experimental forms or verse plays). The classwork will invite you to explore many aspects of the craft of directing, including the following: · Defining the role of the director: responsibility & relationships to playwright/actors/audience. · How to think and conceptualize like a director. · What is blocking? How does it work? Who creates it? Staging actions and events. · Understanding the building blocks of life on stage through composition & scene work. · Analysis of dramatic text from the director?s point of view (and expressing it in writing). · Preparation in the role of the director ? historical/textual/visual research. · Rehearsing and working with actors - What makes a good rehearsal? What is the relationship between actors and director?

Topics specified in Class Schedule.

Theoretical/practical aspects of dramaturgy in American theater. Historical perspectives. Research/production history of classics. Development of new scripts. Dramaturgical structure and interpretive choices. Dramaturgy as it relates to playwrights/directors. Preparing/editing the rehearsal script. Production dramaturgy.

Reading, writing, research, presentations and workshops explore activist performance projects. Theories of social formation and ideology provide framework to discuss/animate theater's potential for social change. prereq: Jr or sr or grad student

This course examines and embodies how storytelling and creative drama can be used as tools to help develop students? critical literacy and to assist them in becoming more fluent readers and writers. Critical literacy is the focus; theater and storytelling are the vehicles. Key topics to be covered include: 1) A historical background on fairy and folk tales, legends, fables, myths, and the different oral traditions; 2) Tools for developing a critical view of diverse tales; 3) Practical instruction on how to use storytelling and story genres in the classroom to develop critical literacy; 4) Assessing storytelling work in the classroom. Students will meet in the first week at the University to learn tools of the Neighborhood Bridges program and in the second week will practice and observe each other?s teaching with local school classrooms. In the past we have worked with 4th graders and 6th graders, though we will also discuss how course content applies to high school students. The class meets for two intensive weeks in person, however, we additionally assign pre-readings and post-class reflections and papers.

Fundamentals of puppet and object theater/performance are introduced through traditional/contemporary puppetry forms. Focuses on object theater, toy theater, hand puppets, and shadow/Bunraku-style puppets. Readings, in-class screenings of videos/slides. Students build/create series of short works for in-class performance. prereq: [[3513 or concurrent registration is required (or allowed) in 3513], instr consent] or grad student

Topics specified in Class Schedule.

This course is focused on understanding and using the insights into language and writing that animate Critical Literacy movements in the United States. Literacy is usually thought of in terms of fundamental abilities to read and write about a reality outside of language. Critical Literacy is an intellectual and social movement that challenges this dominant understanding of literacy. Critical Literacy?s fundamental claim is that texts (and our practices for working with them) invite readers (and writers) to accept particular versions of reality as the Real Truth. Through historical and contemporary models, students will learn how efforts to question and transform dominant ways of using language have played an especially important role in struggles for greater justice by and for oppressed groups. Here, people have used the ideas and methods of Critical Literacy to question how racial, gender, social class, and other privileges structure our language practices and our daily experiences. Students will be invited to apply a critical understanding of literacy to their own writing as they analyze course texts and produce original essays on topics of interest to them.

This course imagines literature as an opportunity to complement other understandings of youth, and to help those who work with children and adolescents to better understand their lived experiences. We will read classic and contemporary literary texts that respond to the needs, wants, and existential questions that surround young people?s lives, and makes them visible to learners in the class who want to better understand children and adolescents in diverse settings across the United States. Youth Studies at the University of Minnesota, prepares students to work towards understanding and helping to improve the everyday lives of diverse youth. By being in this class, reading our course texts carefully, and by engaging in learning activities with classmates, students have the chance to take away new understandings from powerful stories about youth. In fact, the texts in this course contain important descriptions of how oppression looks and feels to young people as they navigate institutions and see the impacts of structural inequality on themselves, communities, families, and friends. The young people in these texts show tremendous agency, and show meaningful examples of resistance on large and small scales. We will work together with course texts about how young people challenge and are challenged by their surroundings, and take away new meanings about how young people have promoted social justice and change. Learning activities in this class will include reading, writing, quizzes and exams and a course project. In class learning activities include discussion, presentations, activities, and a high level of participation is expected. Why literature? Literature can be thought of as one way of knowing about the daily lives of youth. Because literature offers a rich detailed framework of meaning showing the diverse contexts of lives of children, teenagers and young adults, youth workers can use the tools of literature to make youth work meanings from literature in which young people are primary to the text. Literature can make up a new lens through which learners can understand the daily and everyday lives of youth, and can complement the important social science lenses you may already bring to the class. Students are encouraged to develop a new set of questions about youth as they use the formal tools of literature to read literary texts that represent a range of styles, formats, themes, and choices. Diversity and Social Justice Literature that centers on young people from multicultural settings offers an opportunity to think about what it is that students already know about youth from diverse backgrounds, and to question whether their understanding is correct or if there are gaps in knowledge. In other words, a course goal will be to identify epistemological gaps between what we think we know about youth, race, gender, and power and privilege, and how that is confirmed and/or made more complicated by a larger body of knowledge about social constructions of power and privilege. This course calls on our literary texts to challenge and deconstruct dominant narratives about youth and their communities. Learners in this course enter into an ongoing conversation about what social justice for youth means in the context of unequal distribution of power and constructions of privilege and oppression.

Interpret/analyze poetry, fiction, drama of U.S. women minority writers. Relationship of writer's history, ethnicity, race, class, gender to her writings.

Interpret/analyze poetry, fiction, and drama of U.S. women minority writers. Relationship of writer's history, ethnicity, race, class, and gender to her writings.

Interpret/analyze poetry, fiction, and drama of U.S. women minority writers. Relationship of writer's history, ethnicity, race, class, and gender to her writings.

Selected works by Asian American, African American, American Indian, Latino, and Chicano playwrights. How racial/ethnic differences are integral to shaping different visions of American drama. History of minority/ethnic theaters, politics of casting, mainstreaming of the minority playwright.

Selected works by African American, Latinx, Native American, and Asian American playwrights. How racial/ethnic differences are integral to shaping different visions of American drama. History of minority/ethnic theaters, politics of casting, mainstreaming of the minority playwright. Students in this class will have the opportunity to participate in service-learning.

Literary/dramatic works by Asian American writers. Historical past of Asian America through perspective of writers such as Sui Sin Far and Carlos Bulosan. Contemporary artists such as Frank Chin, Maxine Hong Kingston, David Henry Hwang, and Han Ong. Political/historical background of Asian American artists, their aesthetic choices.

Literary/dramatic works by Asian American writers. Historical past of Asian America through perspective of writers such as Sui Sin Far and Carlos Bulosan. Contemporary artists such as Frank Chin, Maxine Hong Kingston, David Henry Hwang, and Han Ong. Political/historical background of Asian American artists, their aesthetic choices.

Studio practice, investigation of forms of expression involving narrative, performance, installation. Hybrid art forms introduced by Dada movement in 1920's, continued by Fluxus movement in 1950's, to contemporary performance/installation artists.

Studio practice in performance art and installation; investigation of historical and contemporary methods and concepts of interdisciplinary expression. Development of personal imagery. Prereq: ARTS major

Development of large-scale public entertainments in ancient Mediterranean world, from athletic contests of Olympia and dramatic festivals of Athens to chariot races and gladiatorial games of Roman Empire. Wider significance of these spectacles in their impact on political, social, and economic life of the societies that supported them.

Development of large-scale public entertainments in ancient Mediterranean world, from athletic contests of Olympia and dramatic festivals of Athens to chariot races and gladiatorial games of Roman Empire. Wider significance of these spectacles in their impact on political, social, and economic life of the societies that supported them.

Empowering methods of personal/creative development using experiential learning and theater activities to enhance creativity/imagination. Approaches to working with youth in school and youth agency settings. Experiential learning, improvisational theater theory/practice. prereq: 1001 or 2101

Using experiential learning and theater activities to enhance creativity and imagination of youth workers and educators. Approaches to working with youth in school and agency settings. Application of experiential learning and improvisational theater theory/praxis. prereq: 1001 or 2101

Through submerging students in both theater history and practice, this class brings students closer to the history, experiences, and politics of Asian Americans. Why are Asian American stories needed and how do we tell them? What are the artistic and social agendas driving the making of Asian American theater? How have the styles of performance shifted? While we will be actively working on readings and original theater projects, you don't need to be a theater expert to enjoy this class. Topics will include reading plays by Frank Chin, David Henry Hwang, Wakako Yamauchi, Naomi Iizuka, and others; looking at the history of Asian American theater companies; discussing creative approaches to casting, acting, directing, and design; and building collaborations among companies, audiences, and communities.

Japanese performance traditions. Emphasizes noh, kabuki, and bunraku in their literary/cultural contexts. Relationship between these pre-modern traditions and modern theatrical forms (e.g., Takarazuka Revue).

Kabuki, an all-male theater of "song (ka)/dance (bu)/acting (ki)" that came into being in the 17th century, still boasts popularity in Japan. This course explores kabuki in several contexts: historical, theatrical, literary, and theoretical. It aims to historicize this performing art in its four-hundred-year dynamic trajectory against the static understanding that it is a national, high culture. No less importantly, we inquire into theoretical implications of subject matter, such as citationality, gender construction, and the like. Furthermore, this course attends to what is usually marginalized and overlooked in kabuki historiography: koshibai (unlicensed small troupes of kabuki); onna yakusha (women kabuki actors who mastered the acting techniques established by male kabuki actors--including the technique of female impersonation). Open to anyone with an interest, no previous knowledge of Japanese studies, theater studies, or Japanese is required. All of the readings will be available in English. Audio-visual materials will be used whenever available and appropriate.

Why did the polite Danish homes of 1879 bar discussions of Henrik Ibsen?s A Doll?s House? How did Oscar Wilde surreptitiously signal his sexuality through a satire of Victorian seriousness in The Importance of Being Earnest? How do contemporary playwrights such as August Wilson or Lynn Nottage bring forgotten moments of African American history to light? This course shows how modern and contemporary theater presents original perspectives on human identities and relationships as well as encourages audiences to see the world in new ways. This course focuses on the close analysis and interpretation of plays written by dramatists from around the world from the late-nineteenth to the twenty-first century. The plays we will study are set in Europe, Great Britain, North America, Africa, and Asia, and we will examine each carefully in light of the unique historical and social contexts in which they were produced, their creation and uses of aesthetic form, and their impact on individuals and communities. Through the course, you will become familiar with such dramatic forms as the well-made play, modern satire, realism, expressionism, symbolism, epic theater, and absurdism. Each of these is interesting not only as a distinctive mode of artistic presentation, but also as it offers different perspectives on historical moments and present-day concerns about people and their communities. Theatrical works illustrate how the meanings ascribed to physical bodies are at the heart of social differences such as gender, sexuality, class, race, disability, and national identity. We will look at each play in its original cultural context as well as through the creative lens of more recent productions and assess how both historical and more recent reimagining changes the meaning of the work. We will also make use of the rich theatrical resources and cultural organizations available in communities such as the Twin Cities.

Study of traditional play structure, characterization, dialogue, dramatic action, and theme. Final project is a one-act play.

Introdution to diverse ways of thinking about theatre and its representational practices. Students explore traditional/non-traditional modes of performance through readings, discussions, and hands-on performance projects. Seminar-style course. prereq: 1101

What does it mean to be an avant-garde artist in the Global South? In postcolonial Africa and Asia, where arts were linked to national modernization projects, artists have played a key role in shaping citizens? identity, alongside schools and universities. While participating in modernizing projects, avant-garde artists maintained independence from state institutions and voiced criticism of dictators. This course examines avant-garde performance in several locations of the Global South, analyzing dramas of national history, modernist music, activist theater, cosmopolitan dance, transnational cultural circuits, and politically radical performances. Reading historical, social, and performance studies, we will develop methods for analyzing performances that aim to make transformative social interventions. These include textual analysis, ethnography, performance analysis, and tracking transnational cultural exchange. You will apply select methods in your final research paper, which centers on an avant-gardist cultural phenomenon in the contemporary Global South.

Topics specified in Class Schedule.

New methods of play construction. How characteristic plays from particular contemporary styles create original theatrical effects by using/breaking dramatic conventions. Writing exercises, workshoping of student plays. prereq: 3115 or [writing sample, instr consent]

This course trains students in the analysis of dramatic literature and develops their research skills in theatre studies, helping them understand plays within their contexts of origin and production. Taking a single theme (ex. madness, or death and mourning) the class brings together contemporary and historical plays from around the world, exploring how theatre offers a unique site to stage differences, understand marginalized experiences, and imagine alternative visions of the world. Assignments break down the writing process into its component parts, and guide students in developing a sustained interpretation of a play of their choice.

Theoretical/practical aspects of dramaturgy in American theater. Historical perspectives. Research/production history of classics. Development of new scripts. Dramaturgical structure and interpretive choices. Dramaturgy as it relates to playwrights/directors. Preparing/editing the rehearsal script. Production dramaturgy.

How to read texts toward performance in various dramatic/nondramatic material. Method of unlocking metaphoric energy of texts. Vocabulary/techniques of analysis that transform text from page to stage. prereq: [1322, [3171 or 3172]] or grad student

This course is an exploration of the impact and evolution of Black Theatre in America, covering the period rising from the Black Arts Movement to the present. The exploration will entail an understanding of cultural and socio-political issues as they are reflected in key and significant plays written and produced from the late 1950?s to the present. The plays and essays will be read against the background of significant cultural, social and literary movements - the Civil Rights Movement, Cold War politics, the Women?s Movement, Gay Liberation, the Culture Wars, post-modernism, deconstruction, multiculturalism, afro-futurism, etc. as well as the evolution of identity nomenclature and racial classification from Colored to Negro to Black to African American. In addition to play analysis and criticism, students will garner a knowledge of significant Black cultural institutions and their impact on the ever-changing American theatre landscape.

This course examines and embodies how storytelling and creative drama can be used as tools to help develop students? critical literacy and to assist them in becoming more fluent readers and writers. Critical literacy is the focus; theater and storytelling are the vehicles. Key topics to be covered include: 1) A historical background on fairy and folk tales, legends, fables, myths, and the different oral traditions; 2) Tools for developing a critical view of diverse tales; 3) Practical instruction on how to use storytelling and story genres in the classroom to develop critical literacy; 4) Assessing storytelling work in the classroom. Students will meet in the first week at the University to learn tools of the Neighborhood Bridges program and in the second week will practice and observe each other?s teaching with local school classrooms. In the past we have worked with 4th graders and 6th graders, though we will also discuss how course content applies to high school students. The class meets for two intensive weeks in person, however, we additionally assign pre-readings and post-class reflections and papers.

Topics specified in Class Schedule.

Selected works by Asian American, African American, American Indian, Latino, and Chicano playwrights. How racial/ethnic differences are integral to shaping different visions of American drama. History of minority/ethnic theaters, politics of casting, mainstreaming of the minority playwright.

Selected works by African American, Latinx, Native American, and Asian American playwrights. How racial/ethnic differences are integral to shaping different visions of American drama. History of minority/ethnic theaters, politics of casting, mainstreaming of the minority playwright. Students in this class will have the opportunity to participate in service-learning.

Literary/dramatic works by Asian American writers. Historical past of Asian America through perspective of writers such as Sui Sin Far and Carlos Bulosan. Contemporary artists such as Frank Chin, Maxine Hong Kingston, David Henry Hwang, and Han Ong. Political/historical background of Asian American artists, their aesthetic choices.

Literary/dramatic works by Asian American writers. Historical past of Asian America through perspective of writers such as Sui Sin Far and Carlos Bulosan. Contemporary artists such as Frank Chin, Maxine Hong Kingston, David Henry Hwang, and Han Ong. Political/historical background of Asian American artists, their aesthetic choices.

For over four hundred years, William Shakespeare has remained the most quoted poet and the most regularly produced playwright in the world. From Nelson Mandela to Toni Morrison, from South African playwright Welcome Msomi to Kuwaiti playwright Sulayman Al-Bassam, Shakespeare's works have continued to influence and inspire authors and audiences everywhere. This course examines representative works of Shakespeare from a variety of critical perspectives, as cultural artifacts of their day, but also as texts that have had a long and enduring vitality. This is a required course for English majors and minors, but it should also interest any student who wants to understand why and how Shakespeare continues to be one of the most important literary figures in the English language. English majors/minors must take this course A-F only grading basis.

Plays from all of Shakespeare's periods, including at least A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet, the history plays, King Lear, Macbeth, The Tempest, Twelfth Night, Antony and Cleopatra, Othello, and The Winter's Tale. prereq: Honors or instr consent

This course is for undergraduate students to gain more experience and hone their skills through design of a main stage or studio production. Students would participate as a main stage designer (2 credits), main stage assistant designer (1 credit), or studio project designer (1 credit) for one of the following: Scenery/Properties, Costumes, Lighting, Sound, or Media.

This course explores the role of the scenic designer in imagining theatre in space and time. We will shape the arena of dialogue between performer and audience. We will propel action through spatial composition. We will make concrete the tensions and conflicts of the play. We will investigate the composition of emotional and visual space of the theatre. We will communicate ideas by honing skills of drawing, drafting, rendering, modeling, and presentation.

Costume design process, including, researching, script analysis, the costume designer's role throughout the production process, and design problems. prereq: TH 3571

Principles and processes in lighting design and lighting technology. Collaborative process of the lighting designer through individual and group projects in a theater, including script analysis and visual literacy through sketching, drafting, and light lab projects. Individual and group projects in composition, color theory, instrumentation, control (dimming), and programming as they apply to theater, opera, and dance.

Basics of audio design for theatre. Script analysis, audio editing, music research, basic system design, paperwork, cue building. Basic components of audio design. Final project will involve applying skills to partially realized design. prereq: 1501

The goal of this class is to introduce you to the basic work and process of the stage director. We will emphasize the practical tasks of analysis, casting, rehearsing, and staging. Our stylistic focus will be on contemporary realistic/naturalistic theater (rather than experimental forms or verse plays). The classwork will invite you to explore many aspects of the craft of directing, including the following: · Defining the role of the director: responsibility & relationships to playwright/actors/audience. · How to think and conceptualize like a director. · What is blocking? How does it work? Who creates it? Staging actions and events. · Understanding the building blocks of life on stage through composition & scene work. · Analysis of dramatic text from the director?s point of view (and expressing it in writing). · Preparation in the role of the director ? historical/textual/visual research. · Rehearsing and working with actors - What makes a good rehearsal? What is the relationship between actors and director?

Production process, pre-production to maintaining/closing. Managing rehearsals, communication, conflict resolution. Individual/group projects: promptbook building, blocking notation, Cue placement/execution, scene breakdowns, creating/maintaining checklist, building a form library. prereq: 1501 or instr consent

Topics specified in Class Schedule.

Creative Collaboration is the cornerstone class for BA Performance, turning research into practice through scripted and devised performance paradigms. Each semester students will work with practitioners from eclectic backgrounds to develop original or scripted work focused in one of the six areas of performance; directing; physical theater; realism, playwriting, music driven theater, and object/puppet theater. Classes will culminate in a formal or workshop performance, depending on the goal of each specific collaboration. Non-performers such as designers, dramaturgs and technicians may take the course for credit and serve as part of the collaborative team. The course is open to any University of Minnesota student through the audition or interview process.

Topics vary. May include functions/aesthetics of stage makeup, application techniques, prosthetics, and facial hair.

Sound as science. Technology to create/manipulate sound. Recording techniques. Effects/signal processing. Microphone/mixing techniques. prereq: 1501 or instr consent

Individual creative projects in production of approved plays as an actor, director, dramaturg, or playwright. (See 5500 for design practicums.) prereq: instr consent, dept consent; 4 cr of 3100 for undergrads

Fundamentals of puppet and object theater/performance are introduced through traditional/contemporary puppetry forms. Focuses on object theater, toy theater, hand puppets, and shadow/Bunraku-style puppets. Readings, in-class screenings of videos/slides. Students build/create series of short works for in-class performance. prereq: [[3513 or concurrent registration is required (or allowed) in 3513], instr consent] or grad student

Individual projects in production of approved plays as a designer of scenery/properties, costumes, lighting, or sound. (See 5100 for other creative practicums.) prereq: Th 3521, 3531, or 3541

Development of skills necessary for presentation of theatre scene/costume designs. Materials, layout, and techniques in scene painting. Basic drawing/graphic skills. prereq: 1501 or grad

Conceiving/communicating design ideas in both two-dimensional sketches and three-dimensional models for theatre and allied venues. Drafting. prereq: 3521

Theory and process of costume design for theatrical productions (e.g., dance, opera, film) through hypothetical productions. prereq: 3531

Design aesthetics and exploration of design for various stage forms and venues. Development of the lighting plot and paperwork; use of the computer in lighting design. prereq: 3541

The lighting technician's skills and crafts: equipment, techniques, control operation, wiring, and maintenance. prereq: 3515 or grad or instr consent

Use of multimedia production technologies in actual production. Students apply knowledge/skill in conjunction with an artistic team on a production and are an integral part of the development/realization of that production. prereq: 5553 or instr consent

Miking/recording techniques specific to music/dramatic dialogue. Recording different styles of music. Hands-on recording of bands, doing final mixes to demo CD. Field trips to professional studios and club/concert recordings. prereq: 4555, instr consent

Audio technology/psychology, their impact on audience in a performance. Communication, design process, psychoacoustics, script analysis. prereq: 4555 or instr consent

Development of skills necessary for presentation of theatre scene/costume designs. Materials, layout, and techniques in scene painting. Rendering and scene painting skills. prereq: 5510

Management, structures, upholstery, mask-making, furniture construction, stage mechanics, soft properties, faux finishes. Topics specified in Class Schedule. prereq: 3515 or grad or instr consent

Fabric enhancement techniques, masks, wig-making, millinery, makeup prosthetics, pattern drafting, and draping. Topics specified in Class Schedule. prereq: 3571 or grad or instr consent

Individual creative project in technology/craft area of theatre. Practical work in costume, lighting, makeup, props, scenery, sound, or theatre management. prereq: 3515, instr consent, dept consent; 4 cr max for undergrads

Theories, practicalities, and techniques for rehearsal/performance. Organizing/managing various types of performance venues. prereq: [1101, 1321, soph] or grad

TH 5760 is practical experience in stage management for specific productions of the University Theatre with emphasis on rehearsal and performance. In addition to rehearsals, design meetings, and performances, the students will meet with the Production Stage Manager weekly. The purpose of this weekly meeting (class) is to mentor a lead Stage Manager of a TAD Mainstage. The Mainstage Stage Manager and PSM will meet weekly for 90 minutes. Each weekly meeting time will be determined based on the individual students? schedule. Weekly meetings will begin two weeks prior to their first rehearsal and end one week after the final project performance. Attendance of individual weekly meetings are required and expected. Please be on time. Always bring your promptbook and laptop. Be prepared for weekly discussion. PSM will visit rehearsals weekly.

Topics specified in Class Schedule.

Study abroad course. Students will study and actively participate in the art of performance, focusing on Irish writers like Samuel Beckett, Brian Friel, Conor McPherson, Martin McDonough and more. Actor training, and so this course, is physical, emotional and intellectual. The work will include vocal training and expression, dynamic conditioning of the instrument of the body, and textual analysis. In addition the course will help actors unlock the specific voices of Irish playwrights. Students will work on scenes and monologues as well as their own improvisations. This will be an acting class, and will require one previous fundamentals of acting or performance class at your home institution, or permission by the instructor.

Increased kinesthetic awareness of habitual movement patterns in order to improve dance/movement technique and prevent related injuries.

Strength/conditioning, aerial techniques. Acrobatics to improve timing/muscular structure. Juggling to improve hand-eye coordination and showmanship.

Prepare BA theatre performance majors/minors with essential skills that will enhance performing careers as actors, directors, playwrights. Attend non-traditional performances by national/international touring companies. Engage in vigorous discussions led by those artists who are at the forefront of creation models. Rigorous skill-building workshops led by artists, scholars, technicians.

Creative Collaboration is the cornerstone class for BA Performance, turning research into practice through scripted and devised performance paradigms. Each semester students will work with practitioners from eclectic backgrounds to develop original or scripted work focused in one of the six areas of performance; directing; physical theater; realism, playwriting, music driven theater, and object/puppet theater. Classes will culminate in a formal or workshop performance, depending on the goal of each specific collaboration. Non-performers such as designers, dramaturgs and technicians may take the course for credit and serve as part of the collaborative team. The course is open to any University of Minnesota student through the audition or interview process.

Study abroad course. This course explores the world of work in Ireland and how students respond to the challenges that they can expect to encounter while interning in Dublin.

Through submerging students in both theater history and practice, this class brings students closer to the history, experiences, and politics of Asian Americans. Why are Asian American stories needed and how do we tell them? What are the artistic and social agendas driving the making of Asian American theater? How have the styles of performance shifted? While we will be actively working on readings and original theater projects, you don't need to be a theater expert to enjoy this class. Topics will include reading plays by Frank Chin, David Henry Hwang, Wakako Yamauchi, Naomi Iizuka, and others; looking at the history of Asian American theater companies; discussing creative approaches to casting, acting, directing, and design; and building collaborations among companies, audiences, and communities.

Irish playwrights have contributed disproportionately to the output of English-language drama over the course of the 20th century, creating some of the most memorable dramatic literature of the last hundred years. With that in mind, this intensive practical playwriting course will interrogate the tradition of theatrical writing in the Irish capital of Dublin by engaging comprehensively with a variety of modes and disciplines specific to the act of writing for the Irish stage. Contemporary Dublin has undergone an unprecedented process of modernization rarely seen in the developed world, with the city becoming in just twenty years a multicultural, cosmopolitan space that is embracing provocative ways of seeing and creating work meant for theatrical performance. Questions about the relevancy of the practice of writing in creating performance, how authorship of a play is determined, and the slipperiness of language are now at the heart of Irish theatre?s drive to redefine itself. Challenged by a wide range of disciplinary approaches to writing and rewriting, students will be exposed to a host of methodologies for creating dramatic literature for the stage specific to this unique moment in Irish theatrical history and, in the process, gain an appreciation for the important role writers still play in making theatrical performance.

Study abroad course. What does it mean to tell a story? Does it matter why or how someone tells a story? Storytelling is an Irish oral tradition that dates back to Celtic mythology, but is also important to modern day Ireland. This course will examine how storytelling brings Ireland to life, and how Dublin and Ireland are represented in stories. How can you use a building, a street, a painting, or a performance to construct a story that can be shared with others, and that creates a narrative that resonates with the specific time and history of that place? The course will look at the tradition of the short story in Irish writing, and also the development of the Irish novel. Students will also think about their own stories, and how they can be told.

Study abroad course. Students will study and actively participate in the art of performance, focusing on Irish writers like Samuel Beckett, Brian Friel, Conor McPherson, Martin McDonough and more. Actor training, and so this course, is physical, emotional and intellectual. The work will include vocal training and expression, dynamic conditioning of the instrument of the body, and textual analysis. In addition the course will help actors unlock the specific voices of Irish playwrights. Students will work on scenes and monologues as well as their own improvisations. This will be an acting class, and will require one previous fundamentals of acting or performance class at your home institution, or permission by the instructor.

Study of traditional play structure, characterization, dialogue, dramatic action, and theme. Final project is a one-act play.

Anatomy/physiology of vocal/respiratory mechanisms. Abdominal breathing, forward tonal placement, articulation of consonants, vocal projection. IPA phonetic transcription and vowel standardization for American Standard Stage Speech. Techniques applied to performance of monologues. prereq: 1101, 1321, 1322

Acting I explores the acting process using the canon of 20th century realism. The class will cover the basics of embodiment for the actor, observation as the root of character creation, analysis of text from an actors perspective, and rehearsal techniques. The core of the course is the preparation of scenes and monologues in class. Students will also complete a variety of class compositions, readings, and will see and analyze live performances.

Acting II explores the acting process using scripts from primarily heightened or non-realistic texts. This can include a range of genres from Shakespeare to absurdism to contemporary performance and plays. This course covers the basics of embodiment for the actor, creativity and observation as the roots of character creation, analysis of text from an actors perspective and rehearsal techniques. The core of the course is the preparation of scenes and monologues in class. Students will also complete a variety of class compositions, readings and will see and analyze live performances.

Dynamic physical approach to acting. Expanding expressiveness/creativity. Strengthening connections between physical/vocal expression. Uniting instinct and intellectual analysis. Techniques as advanced by Delsarte, Meyerhold, Grotowski, Kantor, Suzuki, Barba, etc., and structured improvisation, are incorporated in solo/collaborative performance projects. prereq: 1322, [3314 or concurrent registration is required (or allowed) in 3314], audition, instr consent

Strength/conditioning, aerial techniques. Acrobatics to improve timing/muscular structure. Juggling to improve hand-eye coordination and showmanship.

History of American musical theater. Videos/discussions, basic music theory, voice, dance, acting, audition techniques. Solo/ensemble presentations for public class performance.

Musical theatre varying styles. Incorporating music into devised work, as well as strategies on updating traditional performance. Singing, interpretation, dance techniques. Culminates in presentations in public class performance. prereq: 3361 or instr consent

Live storytelling and solo performance as theatrical art form. How to turn personal experiences into stage stories. Guests perform, discuss their work, and critique student work. Students develop short monologues/performances and conclude with original solo theater performance/story.

The goal of this class is to introduce you to the basic work and process of the stage director. We will emphasize the practical tasks of analysis, casting, rehearsing, and staging. Our stylistic focus will be on contemporary realistic/naturalistic theater (rather than experimental forms or verse plays). The classwork will invite you to explore many aspects of the craft of directing, including the following: · Defining the role of the director: responsibility & relationships to playwright/actors/audience. · How to think and conceptualize like a director. · What is blocking? How does it work? Who creates it? Staging actions and events. · Understanding the building blocks of life on stage through composition & scene work. · Analysis of dramatic text from the director?s point of view (and expressing it in writing). · Preparation in the role of the director ? historical/textual/visual research. · Rehearsing and working with actors - What makes a good rehearsal? What is the relationship between actors and director?

Topics specified in Class Schedule.

New methods of play construction. How characteristic plays from particular contemporary styles create original theatrical effects by using/breaking dramatic conventions. Writing exercises, workshoping of student plays. prereq: 3115 or [writing sample, instr consent]

From personal reflection to real-world insights and hands-on experiences, this course will delve deeply into the skill sets and mindsets important for arts professionals in theater and related fields. I envision our time together as a combined exploration of philosophical, political, and practical questions, thinking through who you want to BE as an artist, what you want your art to DO, and the TOOLS you'll need to manifest that vision in the world. The course will connect you with resources on and off campus, introduce you to professionals working in various facets of the field, engage you in readings and hands-on workshops to deepen your thinking and expand your toolkit, and will culminate in a portfolio project that you can take with you as you transition to life after college. Most importantly, I want this course to be useful and valuable to you, so I will be seeking your input about what you most need, and we'll shape the course accordingly.

Differences between stage acting and acting for camera. Hands-on experience with film equipment. Scenes/monologues rehearsed/performed for camera. Videotape playback for class critique. prereq: 1301 or 3321

Topics vary. May include functions/aesthetics of stage makeup, application techniques, prosthetics, and facial hair.

The goal of the class is to introduce you to the basic work and process of the stage director with particular focus on directing of non-realistic theatre and performance. We will be focusing on analysis, casting, rehearsing, and composing moments and performances working from written plays, non- theatrical material and personal story. The class will invite you to take on the following: ? Thinking and conceptualizing like a director ? Understanding analysis for non-realistic texts ? Staging actions and events ? Honing critical analysis of performances from directors point of view ? Analysis of dramatic text from the director?s point of view (and expressing it in writing) ? Rehearsing and working with actors ? Researching and communicating with designers ? Confronting the assumptions about what theatre is and choosing to keep or discard them

Reading, writing, research, presentations and workshops explore activist performance projects. Theories of social formation and ideology provide framework to discuss/animate theater's potential for social change. prereq: Jr or sr or grad student

Mechanics of creating physical comedy. Focuses on process using clown, Comedia dell'arte, Bouffons, or improvisational comedy. Exercises on how comedy is born from tragedy and state of conflict within one's self. prereq: 3330, audition

Specific training paradigms in actor training employed by Stanislavski, Grotowski, Brecht, Lecoq, etc. Psychological, emotional, technical, and physical work. Tragic action in Greek tragedy, Shakespeare, Melodrama, operatic characterization, Brecht. Original tragic/poetical work for embodying dramatic text effectively.

Fundamentals of puppet and object theater/performance are introduced through traditional/contemporary puppetry forms. Focuses on object theater, toy theater, hand puppets, and shadow/Bunraku-style puppets. Readings, in-class screenings of videos/slides. Students build/create series of short works for in-class performance. prereq: [[3513 or concurrent registration is required (or allowed) in 3513], instr consent] or grad student

Realistic/nonrealistic dramatic forms. Theory/technique of rehearsal. Production problems. Includes directing of three one-act plays. prereq: [4711, instr consent] or grad student

Topics specified in Class Schedule.