Spring 2009

For all courses with an audition component: Auditions will be the first two days of class, 6:00pm-8:00pm, 8:00pm-10:00pm on Tuesday, and 6:00pm-8:00pm Wednesday. There will be a signup sheet posted and more information will be forthcoming. Please check back later in the semester.

New York Theatre
THTR V2002y
W 5:10pm-7:00pm , 8:00pm-11:00pm
Milbank (room TBA)
3 Pts.

Students attend a variety of performances as well as a weekly lab meeting. Emphasis on expanding students' critical vocabulary and understanding of current New York theatre and its history. Section on contemporary New York theatre management and production practices
S. McMath. Limited enrollment. Lab fee $130.
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Movement for Actors in Performance
THTR BC 2004y
TTh 10-11:50
118 Milbank (MLP)
3 Pts.

Enrollment limited to 14. An exploration of the actor's physical performance. Classical and contemporary approaches to theatre. Recommended for students intending to focus on acting or directing in the senior thesis.
S. Fogarty. Audition required.
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Scene Lab
THTR BC 2004y
MW 2:10pm-4pm
229 Milbank
3 Pts.

R. Bundy. Audition required.
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Acting Naturalism
THTR BC 3005y
Section 4
F 10:00pm-12:50pm
229 Milbank
3 Pts.

An eclectic approach to naturalistic acting techniques; an examination of performance practice through scene study; emphasis will be placed on works by Williams, Miller, and others.
W. Waterman. Audition required. Enrollment limited to 14 students.
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Acting Solo Performance
THTR BC 3005y Section 2
Friday 2:10pm-5:00pm
229 Milbank
3 Pts.

Physical and vocal techniques for solo performance. Selection and performance of classic and modern texts, development of original material suitable to each student.
K. de Camp. Enrollment limited to 14 students. Audition required.
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Acting the Song
THTR V3005-03
TTh 4:10pm-6:00pm
229 Milbank
4 Pts.

W. Waterman. By audition.
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Acting Social Comedy
THTR V3005-04
TTh 2:10pm-4:00pm
229 Milbank
3 Pts.

R. Zito. By audition.
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Acting Avant Garde
THTR BC 3005y Section 4
MW 10:00am-11:50am
229 Milbank
3 Pts.

Intensive monologue and scene work, along with theoretical reading and discussion, exploring the particular performance skills needed for experimental drama, beginning with Jarry, and including Beckett, Artaud, Ionesco, Genet, Stein, and others.
R. Bundy. Audition required. Enrollment limited to 14 students.
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Rehearsal and Performance
THTR BC 3122y
Section 1
TBA, evenings
230 Milbank (MLP)
1-3 Pts.

Students take part in the full production of a play as actors, designers, or stage managers. Emphasizes the collaborative nature of production. Appropriate research and reading will be required in addition to artistic assignments.
K Feely. A studio course, subject to the cap on studio credit (applies to Barnard students). Can be taken more than once for credit up to a maximum of 3 credits a semester. Will be graded. Students not wishing to take this course for credit may participate fully in departmental productions with the permission of the instructors. Permission of the chair required. Audition required.
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Rehearsal and Performance
THTR BC 3122y
Section 2
TBA, evenings
118 Milbank (MLP)
1-3 Pts.

Students take part in the full production of a play as actors, designers, or stage managers. Emphasizes the collaborative nature of production. Appropriate research and reading will be required in addition to artistic assignments.
W. Waterman. A studio course, subject to the cap on studio credit (applies to Barnard students). Can be taken more than once for credit up to a maximum of 3 credits a semester. Will be graded. Students not wishing to take this course for credit may participate fully in departmental productions with the permission of the instructors. Permission of the chair required. Audition required.
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Rehearsal and Performance
THTR BC 3122y
Section 3
TBA, evenings
118 Milbank (MLP)
1-3 Pts.

Students take part in the full production of a play as actors, designers, or stage managers. Emphasizes the collaborative nature of production. Appropriate research and reading will be required in addition to artistic assignments.
M. Banta. A studio course, subject to the cap on studio credit (applies to Barnard students). Can be taken more than once for credit up to a maximum of 3 credits a semester. Will be graded. Students not wishing to take this course for credit may participate fully in departmental productions with the permission of the instructors. Permission of the chair required. Audition required.
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Rehearsal and Performance
THTR BC 3122x
Section 4
TBA, evenings
118 Milbank (MLP)
1-3 Pts.

Students take part in the full production of a play as actors, designers, or stage managers. Emphasizes the collaborative nature of production. Appropriate research and reading will be required in addition to artistic assignments.
Professor TBA. A studio course, subject to the cap on studio credit (applies to Barnard students). Can be taken more than once for credit up to a maximum of 3 credits a semester. Will be graded. Students not wishing to take this course for credit may participate fully in departmental productions with the permission of the instructors. Permission of the chair required. Audition required.
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Theatre History II
THTR V3151y
MW 1:10pm-2:25pm
501 Milbank
3 Pts.

Study of European and American theatre history from 1700 to the present. Approaches include those listed in BC 3150, as well as studying constructions of race in the theatre and examining the relationships among modern theatrical theory, playwriting, and performance.
S. Garrett.

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Theatre Studies: Third Reich
THTR V3152
T 11:00am-12:50pm
Location TBA
4 Pts.

“Nazi Theatre” was not a monolithic formation. It included a wide range of performance genres, practices, and forms. While exploring plays, theatrical performances, films, art exhibitions, mass spectacles, and political rallies, we will be working to understand the social dramaturgy of staging the Führer and the racialized body of the privileged people. Nazism did not harbor ideologies without claiming to benefit the allied nations. Thus, the seminar also takes up the dynamic performance of transnationalism among the “brothers in arms” and elucidates how works of art crossing into the Third Reich were reimagined, sometimes in ways challenging to the presumed values of the censored state stage.

Fulfills: Theatre Major
Cross-listed: Germanic Languages
GE: Visual and Performing Arts

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Directing Lab
THTR BC 3201y
MW 4:10pm-6pm
118 Milbank (MLP)
3 Pts.

Limited to junior and senior Theatre majors. Enrollment limited to 18 students. Approaches to staging a play, with an emphasis on physical, visual, and rhythmic techniques. Students direct one short piece for public performance.
R Bundy
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Alternative Theatre Lab
THTR BC 3250y
TTh 12:10pm-2:00pm
229 Milbank
4 Pts.

Students create a new play through first-hand interviews and conversations, written accounts and newspaper articles, improvisations and rehearsals. In the final month, the play will tour to venues that might not ordinarily house live theatre.
S. Fogarty
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Playwriting Lab
(aka Renegade Text)
THTR BC 3300y
MW 4:10pm-6:00pm
229 Milbank
3 Pts.

Students will create and workshop short plays, with a focus on learning new approaches to language and structure. The class will culminate in the writing and staged-readings of 30 page plays and performance texts. - S. Oswald
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Costume Design
THTR V3133y
F 11am-1:50pm
230 Milbank
3 Pts.

S. Oswald
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Modernsim and 20th Century Theatre
THTR V3737y
Tu 2:10pm-4:00pm
229 Milbank
4 Pts.

S. Garrett
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Drama and Film
THTR V3143y
W 11am-12.50pm
229 Milbank
4 Pts.

S. Garrett
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Senior Thesis: Performance
THTR V 3997x,y
Day/Time: TBA
Location: TBA
4.Points

Students will direct, design, or write a short play that will be produced (according to departmental guidelines) in the Senior Thesis Festival. Collaboration is expected and students will meet weekly with faculty and other seniors. A written proposal should be submitted in the Autumn term, and a final paper is required. Students wishing to do a thesis in acting will work with a faculty or guest director on suitable dramatic material for performance.
Section 01 - R. Guy
Section 02 - J. Brater
Section 03 - S. Oswald
Section 04 - S. Goldmark

Appropriate coursework and substantial production experience, including a major crew assignment in the junior year. Enrollment limited to senior Theatre majors. Combined and special majors may be considered under exceptional circumstances. Permission of the instructor required.
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Crosslisted courses:

Shakespeare in Performance
ENTH 3186y
W 2:10pm-4:00pm
4.Points
P. Denison

Restoration and 18th Century Drama
ENTH 3186y
TTh 1:10pm-2:25pm
4.Points
Kaufman

Early American Drama and Performance
ENTH 3186y
Th 11:00am-12:50pm
4.Points
P. Cobrin

Modern Drama
ENTH 3186y
TTh 10:35am-11:50am
3.Points
W. B. Worthen

In the "long twentieth century," the theory and practice of the theatre have engaged extraordinary and exciting change: from the box-set naturalism of Ibsen and Chekhov's haunted bourgeoisie to the claustral boxes of Beckett and Pinter; from the surreal dreamscapes of Strindberg and Pirandello to the postmodern nightmares of Müller and Artaud; and from the Marxist alienation of Brecht's theatre to the political engagements of Suzan-Lori Parks and Caryl Churchill. This course surveys the work of a range of modern playwrights (several in depth), considers their figuration of theatrical practice, and examines their dialectical engagement with important modes of modern theatrical, literary, and performance theory.

Plays by: Ibsen, Strindberg, Chekhov, Shaw, Pirandello, Brecht, Müller, Beckett, Parks, Pinter, Churchill
Essays by: Zola, Freud, Nietzsche, Shaw, Brecht, Artaud, Jameson, Butler
Two papers, final exam.
Fulfills BC Theatre/CU Drama and Theatre Arts major requirement, and
LIT, ART general education.

Drama, Theatre, Theory
ENTH 3186y
Th 2:00pm-4:10pm
3.Points
K. Biers

Race and Performance in the Caribbean
AFTH 3150
W 6pm-10pm
4.Points
M. Horn

For Registration Call Numbers, consult the Directory of Classes Online. For information on classes required for the Theatre major, click here. Barnard College Online Catalogue Columbia College Online Bulletin New York Theatre THTR V 2002y R 5:10-7:00pm R 8:00-11:00pm Location: 328 Milbank Hall 3 Pts. Students attend a variety of performances as well as a weekly lab meeting. Emphasis on expanding students' critical vocabulary and understanding of current New York theatre and its history. Section on contemporary New York theatre management and production practices S. Chaikelson. Enrollment limited. Lab fee $130. Back To Top First-Year Scene Lab THTR V 2006x F 10:00-12:50pm Section 1 - Location: 118 Milbank Hall -  R. Pietropinto Section 2 - Location: 229 Milbank Hall -  R. Bundy 3 Pts.   Scenes from the classic and modern repertory, which are directed by advanced directing students, and performed and critiqued in a weekly workshop. Lab participants are expected to rehearse for two hours a week outside of class, and to participate in group discussions about the plays, playwrights, and performances.  R. Bundy, R. Pietropinto.  Audition required. Enrollment limited to First-Years Back To Top Technical Production THTR V 2120x TuTh 10:00-11:50am Location: 230 Milbank Hall 3 Pts.   Introduction to the equipment, terms, and procedures employed in the creation of scenery, lighting, and sound for the stage. Classroom exercises and field visits emphasize approaches to collaborative process and production management. - G. Winkler  Enrollment limited to 12 students. Back To Top World Theatre THTR V 3000x T 4:10-7:00pm Location: 530 Altschul Hall 3 Pts.   Study of non-Western theatre to gain new approaches to Western theatre practice. Students will access a web environment and create media presentations in response to virtual performance and research about theatres of India, Japan, China, Bali, Iran, Caribbean, and South Africa. - A. Trompetter Back To Top Acting Lab THTR V 3004x  Section 1 - Acting Shakespeare TR 2:10 -4:00pm Location: 229 Milbank - R. Zito   Section 2 - Acting Chekhov MW 2:10 - 4:00pm Location: 118 Milbank Hall -  R. Guy Section 3 - Acting Improvisation MW 12:10 - 2:00pm Location: 229 Milbank Hall - R. Pietropinto Section 4 - Acting the Musical Scene TR 4:10 - 6:00pm Location: 118 Milbank Hall -  W. Waterman 3 Pts.   This is an umbrella course whose offerings will change each year. Some are narrow, some broad; all are designed with four objectives in common: a. To focus on a particular genre, playwright, or approach to live performance. b. To combine theory and practice. Each class will have an ongoing balance of academic and on one's-feet work throughout the term. Homework assignments will include scene preparation, reading, research, and both individual and group projects. c. To explore the social and political context of the work at hand. d. To realize the integration required in all acting: ultimately, this is an acting course, and the end goal is what happens on stage. The acting lab courses are intentionally non-sequential. Students come to the study of acting with widely varying talents and backgrounds. The mix of levels enriches the collaborative experience and offers greater flexibility for students. No more than six courses can be taken from the Acting Lab/Advanced Acting Lab offerings during a student's Barnard career. Auditions are required for all Acting Labs and will take place the first two evenings of each semester. Please check with the Theatre Department office for specific offerings and audition sign-up. Courses will rotate regularly and may include the following: Acting Shakespeare An exploration of character, language, and action through sonnets, monologues, and scenes. Acting Chekhov Scene study, improvisation, and character and monologue work. An examination of the artistic and social context of Chekhov's work, including the acting theories of Stanislavski and the politics of naturalism. Acting Improvisation Students will develop skills for ensemble work through improvisation, transformation, storytelling, and scene creation. Acting in the Musical Scene An advanced scene-work technique class tailored to Musical Theatre performance. Classroom material will include composers such as Rodgers, Loesser, Sondheim, Coleman, Schmidt, Flaherty,and others. Previous instruction in voice and scene study is required. Enrollment in each section limited to 14 students. Audition Required. Back To Top   Rehearsal and Performance THTR V 3122x,y Section 1 - R. Bundy MTWR 7:10 - 11:00pm Location: 118 Milbank 3 Pts. Section 2 - S. Goldmark MTWR 7:10 - 11:00pm Location: 118 Milbank 3 Pts. Section 3 - K. Feely MTWR 7:10 - 11:00pm Location: 118 Milbank 3 Pts. Section 4 - M. Banta MTWR 7:10 - 11:00pm Location: 118 Milbank 3 Pts.   Students take part in the full production of a play as actors, designers, or stage managers. Emphasizes the collaborative nature of production. Appropriate research and reading will be required in addition to artistic assignments. A studio course, subject to the cap on studio credit (applies to Barnard students). Can be taken more than once for credit up to a maximum of 3 credits a semester. Will be graded. Students not wishing to take this course for credit may participate fully in departmental productions with the permission of the instructors. Permission of the chair required. Audition required. Back To Top Lighting Design THTR V 3134x W 9:00 - 11:50am Location; 118 Milbank 3 Pts.   Focuses on both the technical and creative aspects of theatrical lighting design. Students will learn the role of lighting within the larger design and performance collaboration through individual and group projects, readings, hands-on workshops, and critique of actual designs. - B. Adams Enrollment limited to 12 students. Back To Top Scene Design THTR V 3135x F 11:00-1:50pm 230 Milbank 3 Pts.   Introduction to designing for the theatre. The course will focus on set design, developing skills in script analysis, sketching, model making, storyboarding and design presentation. Some investigation into theatre architecture, scenic techniques and materials, and costume and lighting design. - S. Goldmark Enrollment limited to 12 students. Back To Top Theatre History I THTR V 3150x MW 10:35-11:50am 307 Milbank 3 Pts.   In this course we will undertake a dialectical approach to reading and thinking about the history of dramatic theatre in the west, interrogating the ways poetry inflects, and is inflected by, the material dynamics of performance. We will undertake careful study of the practices of performance, and of the sociocultural, economic, political, and aesthetic conditions animating representative plays of the Western tradition from the classical theatre through the early modern period. Specific attention will be given to classical Athens, medieval cycle drama, the professional theatre of early modern England, and the rival theatres of seventeenth century France and Spain. Writing: 2-3 papers; Reading: 1-2 plays, critical and historical reading; Examination: possible - W. B. Worthen Back To Top   Drama, Theatre, and Theory THTR V 3166x MW 1:10-2:25pm 327 Milbank 4 Pts.   Intensive immersion in fundamental principles and practices of world drama, theatre, and performance, past and present. Close readings of plays and other texts keyed to selected works of visual art, music, video, film, and digital media. Artists and authors covered include Plato, Aristotle, Zeami, Nietzsche, Stanislavski, Maeterlinck, Craig, Brecht, Artaud, Stein, Grotowski, Soyinka, oal. Assignments include presentations, performance projects, and critical writing. - S. Garrett Enrollment limited to 16 students. Back To Top History and Practice of Directing THTR V 3200x MW 10:00-11:50am 229 Milbank 3 Pts.   Exploration of the questions and challenges that contsitute the practice of directing. the relationship of the director to the actor, the playwright and/or dramaturg, the designers, and the producer; evolution of the role of the director and the pioneering work of the great directors of the twentieth century. - M. Mileaf Permission of the instructor Back To Top   Advanced Directing THTR V 3202x MW 4:10-6:00pm 118 Milbank 4 Pts.   Students will work on a variety of plays from the world theatre repertory and direct scenes using members of the first-year lab. Directorial analysis, preparation, working with actors, and production planning. - R. Guy Enrollment is open to senior Theatre majors, this course is required for a Directing Thesis. Also open to junior Theatre majors who do not intend to do a Directing Thesis senior year. Space permitting, senior non-majors will be admitted. Students must have taken either THTR BC3200 History and Practice of Directing or THTR BC3201 Directing Lab. Permission of the instructor. Back To Top   Play Development THTR V 3301x R 11:00-1:50pm 118 Reid Hall 3 Pts.   Students will focus on rewriting and bringing an existing script to a production-ready state. Students will also read drafts of writers currently produced on New York stages to understand why changes and rewrites were made. Writing projects will culminate in staged readings and possible submissions to theatres. Recommended for senior thesis in playwriting. - J. Jordan Permission of the instructor and writing sample required. Back To Top   The Theatre Workshop THTR V 3600x,y Day/Time: TBA Location: TBA 1 Point   Various topics presented by visiting theatre scholars, artists, and practioners in a lecture/seminar/workshop series that will meet for at least four sessions during each semester. Topics, times, and visiting instructors will be announced by the department. Students must attend all classes to receive credit for the course. - J. Brater  To be taken only for P/D/F. Departmental registration required. See www.barnard.edu/theatre for details. Back To Top