Performing Arts
PERF 110. Critical Creativity in the Performing Arts (4)
This introduction to the study and creation of the Performing Arts is designed to give students a foundation in the tools used by artists in music, theater, dance and performance to connect and
communicate with audiences in various contexts. As students engage with the basic concepts of the performing arts, they will also begin to analyze how social, cultural and historical contexts
influence the choices artists make, and how systems and structures of power operate within those contexts. Students should expect to collaborate with others to imagine and create brief
performances of their own and imagine what kind of artists they consider themselves to be and what kinds of structures would be most conducive to the kind of work they want to create. This
course satisfies the Core Exploration in the Arts.
PERF 325. Methods of Study in Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies (4)
This course is designed to introduce students to the methods used by scholars and artists to interpret and analyze work, processes, and contexts of theater, dance and performance studies. This course serves as a prerequisite for more advanced history and literature courses. Topics of study include historiography, performance studies, feminist and queer theory, theories of race, postcolonial theory, visual literacy, script analysis and movement notation, as well as some theories of adaptation. This course satisfies the Core Curriculum requirement in humanities.
PERF 372. Performance Studies (4)
This course serves as an introduction to performance studies, which is an interdisciplinary field of study that includes a wide range of performance practice including theater, dance, music, film and new media, everyday life, ritual and religious practices, sports and politics, among others. Students will learn the fundamental concepts of performance studies through applying them to
contemporary and historical examples. Prerequisite: Methods of Study.
PERF 475. Performing Arts Today I (2)
The goal of this course is to introduce students to the various tools required for job, graduate school, and internship application as well as for auditioning and freelancing in the fields of
theater, film, and media. Additionally, it will introduce students to various life mechanics for success in these fields. During the half-semester, students will generate a resume, business card,
website, social media presence, cover letter, personal statement, as well as other materials required by each TFMS area (performance, design/technology, film/video, media practices, dance). Life mechanics to be addressed include: “side hustles,” filing taxes as a freelance artist, grant-writing, acquiring union membership, and budgeting on a non-fixed income. This course is meant to provide upper-class students with the resources to apply for internships, auditions, graduate school interviews, and design portfolio presentations.
PERF 476. Performing Arts Today II (2)
The goal of this course is to introduce students to the various tools required for job, graduate school, and internship application as well as for auditioning and freelancing in the fields of
theater, film, and media. Additionally, it will introduce students to various life mechanics for success in these fields. During the half-semester, students will generate a resume, business card,
website, social media presence, cover letter, personal statement, as well as other materials required by each TFMS area (performance, design/technology, film/video, media practices, dance). Life mechanics to be addressed include: “side hustles,” filing taxes as a freelance artist, grant-writing, acquiring union membership, and budgeting on a non-fixed income. This course is meant to provide upper-class students with the resources to apply for internships, auditions, graduate school interviews, and design portfolio presentations.
PERF 490. Capstone Course – Ensemble Performance Creation I (4)
The Capstone Course in Ensemble Performance Creation entails a fall course in which students envision together whatever project they want to pursue in the spring: a showcase, concert, full play or musical, devised project, etc. Each student takes on a different role in the planning/production process. The second half, which is a production, happens in the spring – likely the first slot in our season but could be the second. Students would also each produce a reflection paper about the performance OR the SMP is still an option. Like the SMP, the project should include a research process and a reflection written by each student on the social context, the body of literature, or the conceptual framework to which it is a contribution.
PERF 491. Capstone Course – Ensemble Performance Creation II (4)
The Capstone Course in Ensemble Performance Creation entails a fall course in which students envision together whatever project they want to pursue in the spring: a showcase, concert, full play or musical, devised project, etc. Each student takes on a different role in the planning/production process. The second half, which is a production, happens in the spring – likely the first slot in our season but could be the second. Students would also each produce a reflection paper about the performance OR the SMP is still an option. Like the SMP, the project should include a research process and a reflection written by each student on the social context, the body of literature, or the conceptual framework to which it is a contribution.