Theatre Major

Theatre majors pursue a rigorous course of study designed to develop creative, analytical, interpretive, and interpersonal skills that are applicable to a wide range of professional pursuits. We emphasize the expansive and provocative ways that the study of theatre illuminates and integrates knowledge from a variety of disciplines.

Requirements for the Theatre Major (8-11 courses, 32-44 credits)

Core Requirements (8 courses, 31-32 credits)

All students must take:

• THETR-129 Acting

  Credits:

  4.00

  Description:

  This introduction to acting prepares students for work in production and develops skills in all forms of communication. The first part of the course uses improvisational exercises based on the Stanislavski method to teach fundamental acting techniques. The second half of the course applies those techniques to scene work from major 20th century plays. This course is a core requirement for all Theatre Majors.

  Term:

  Offered Both Fall and Spring

Select Two:

• THETR-265 Intro to Theatre: Prehist to Melodrama

  Credits:

  4.00

  Description:

  This survey course provides students with an historical, philosophical, and aesthetic overview of theatre practices from the Golden Age of Greek drama to 19th-century melodrama and early experiments in realism. Through readings, lectures, and discussions, the class will explore the theatres persistent capacity to mirror the societies that produce it. Satisfies a core requirement for Theatre majors and the Humanities requirement. Normally offered alternate years.

  Term:

  Occasional

  Type:

  Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement

• THETR-266 Intro to Theatre Arts II

  Credits:

  4.00

  Description:

  Picking up chronologically where THETR 225 leaves off, this survey course is designed to provide students with an understanding of modern Western theatre. Beginning with a melodrama, plays will include representative works of realism, naturalism, expressionism, epic theatre, theatre of cruelty, theatre of the absurd, and metatheatricality. Lectures and class discussions will explore how these concepts translate to acting and production techniques as well as what they imply as artistic responses to a modern and post-modern world. Satisfies a core requirement for Theatre Majors.

  Term:

  Offered Spring Term

  Type:

  Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement

• THETR-267 Introduction to Theatre Arts III

  Credits:

  4.00

  Description:

  This course provides a formal introduction to the theories and practices strategically used by American theatre artists after the Second World War. Special emphasis is placed on theatre artists exploring issues of cultural identity including works by GLBT, African-American, Asian-American, and Latin American playwrights. These playwrights may include Tony Kushner, Paula Vogel, Suzan-Lori Parks, Adrienne Kennedy, August Wilson, David Henry Hwang, Philip Kan Gotanda, Eduardo Machado, and Melinda Lopez. The course will also provide an introduction to trends in post-modern theatre practices related to emerging work of the auteur director, solo performers, and interdisciplinary collectives. Satisfies a core requirement for Theatre majors. Normally offered alternate years.

  Term:

  Occasional

  Type:

  Humanities & History,Cultural Diversity Opt A,Humanities Literature Requirement

• THETR-461 Play Analysis

  Credits:

  4.00

  Description:

  This seminar course examines Shakespeares plays and their modern correlatives. (i.e. Hamlet and The Seagull, King Lear and Endgame) Students read the texts out loud in class examining the meaning, action, objective, and philosophical and historical contexts with the professor. The goal is to get closer to the original intentions of the author and determine not only the basic theme and character relationships, but the kind of mind that could create such a play. In analyzing a modern play students also examine the impact of Shakespeares mind on future playwrights. There will be a midterm paper and a final exam.

  Term:

  Offered Fall Term

• THETR-465 The American Resident Theatre

  Credits:

  4.00

  Description:

  This course will examine some of the principal art theatres in this country beginning with the early days of the Provincetown Players and continuing up to the present day. By examining material about their histories, often written by their founding directors, students will determine when these theatres fed off each others ideas and ideals, and when they set off in entirely new directions. The course will also explore the viability of not-for-profit institutions in a corporate society.

  Term:

  Occasional

• THETR-469 Performance Studies

  Credits:

  4.00

  Description:

  This course provides an overview of the modern concept of performance and how it has evolved in a variety of interdisciplinary fields. Encompassing the areas of dance, music, theatre, installation work, happenings and spectacles, students will explore the ways performance is understood by ethnographers, anthropologists, linguists, cultural theorists, social scientists, and artists Using the theoretical base covered during the semester, students will conceive, develop, and present a final performance piece appropriate to their chosen discipline.

  Term:

  Occasional

  Type:

  Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement

Select One:

• THETR-187 Intro to Stage Management

  Credits:

  4.00

  Description:

  This course will teach both the methods and principles behind stage management demonstrating how to support a production while facilitating the work of directors, designers, and actors. In addition to teaching the specific technical skills necessary to each part of the production process, this course will also address the more subtle intellectual and managerial skills that make stage management an art. Satisfies a core requirement for Theatre majors.

  Term:

  Offered Fall Term

• THETR-150 Dance: Jazz II

  Credits:

  4.00

  Description:

  An exploration of jazz technique and style with students at the beginner to intermediate level. This is a largely experiential course with a written component. Classes will consist of a warm-up followed by more challenging floor exercises and sequences. Students are expected to dress in dance attire. Students will choreograph their own dances individually or in groups to be performed at the end of the semester. Some dance experience is required.

• THETR-151 Introduction to Design

  Credits:

  4.00

  Description:

  This rigorous class will give students the fundamental concepts, vocabulary and skills used to design for the stage such as: color, line, composition, research and script analysis. The class has a written component and is intended to prepare students to design workshop productions in the Studio Theatre. Students will be expected to complete a minimum of ten hours of production work for Theatre Department productions.

  Term:

  Offered Spring Term

• THETR-487 Stage Management II

  Credits:

  4.00

  Description:

  Building on the skills learned in Stage Management I, Stage Management II will provide an in-depth study of how to support and manage rehearsals and performances of diverse genres such as opera, dance, and theatre. Special attention will be paid to anticipating a wide range of needs from professional artists, union regulations, cueing and calling shows; and to further develop students communication skills. Internships with professional arts organizations may be arranged. Normally offered every other year.

  Term:

  Occasional

Select any one musical theatre course:

• THETR-139 Vocal Technique

  Credits:

  4.00

  Description:

  Vocal Technique provides students with an essential foundation to help ensure the safe and effective use of the speaking and singing voice. Topics will include alignment, relaxation, breath support, placement, resonance, vocal anatomy, and the care and protection of the voice under normal and stressful situations. Students will do oral presentations and have the option of singing in a master class setting. This is a studio course with a written component.

  Term:

  Offered Both Fall and Spring

• THETR-234 Acting the Song

  Credits:

  4.00

  Description:

  This studio course will focus on techniques to develop fresh, organic interpretations of musical theatre songs that illuminate not only the nuances of the music and lyric but the character singing as well. Working with classic musicals from the 1920s - 1940s, students engage in musical and dramatic analysis of the libretto and score and the historical and theatrical contexts of the musical. They are provided regular in-class performance opportunities and private vocal coaching outside of class. At the end of the term students present scenes and songs in a recital for an invited audience. Normally offered alternate years.

  Term:

  Occasional

• THETR-334 Acting the Song II

  Credits:

  4.00

  Description:

  A continuation of Acting the Song I, focusing on classical musical theatre repertoire from the 1950s-1970s. Normally offered alternate years.

  Term:

  Occasional

• THETR-233 Vocal Coaching I

  Credits:

  4.00

  Description:

  Focusing on classic musicals from 1980 to 1995, this studio course provides the technical tools and practical experience to significantly increase confidence and expressiveness in musical theatre performance. Students study the fundamentals of music theory to strengthen their musical literacy, sharpen their analytical skills, and stimulate their growing independence as an artist. The course also helps students to more fully appreciate the organic and symbiotic nature of music and drama. Students are encouraged to perform regularly in class and to take advantage of private coaching sessions outside of class. Students will learn to think and write critically about the form. At the end of the term students perform in a musical theatre performance for an invited audience. Normally offered alternate years.

  Term:

  Occasional

• THETR-333 Vocal Coaching II

  Credits:

  4.00

  Description:

  This course is a continuation of Vocal Coaching I focusing on the music of living composers from 1996 to the present. Students may sign up for private coaching sessions as part of their weekly preparation for the course. Students will learn to think and write critically about the form. Normally offered alternate years.

  Term:

  Occasional

• THETR-260 Broadway Musicals

  Credits:

  4.00

  Description:

  This course is a survey of American musical theatre from its roots in the mid-19th century to the present. It provides the analytical tools and historical insight to more fully appreciate Broadways greatest musicals and musical theatre artists. Students will explore the ways in which American forms of popular entertainment helped to shape Broadway musicals from their infancy through their adulthood. The course also explores the ways in which musicals provided opportunities for African-Americans, women, immigrants, and the GLBT community.

  Term:

  Offered Fall Term

  Type:

  Humanities & History,Cultural Diversity Opt A,Humanities Literature Requirement

• THETR-460 A House for Words to Live In: How Jones, Simonson, Mielziner and Aronson Changed Theatre Design in America

  Prerequisites:

  Prerequisites: THETR225 or THETR226, or THETR227 and THETR250 or THETR251 or THETR237 (or permission of the instructor)

  Credits:

  4.00

  Description:

  An upper level course, of interest to directors and dramaturges as well as designers, about a remarkable period in American theatre history, explored within the context of four stage designers and the playwrights with whom they collaborated. Scripts by ONeil, Williams, Miller, and Odets will be studied in conjunction with their revelatory original designs, which have become as iconic as the plays themselves. The designers process, the collaborative nature of theatrical production, and the advances in theatre technology will also be explored The course will have a seminar format, require independent reading and research, and be writing intensive, culminating with a final term paper presented to the class.

  Term:

  Occasional

Select any one approved dramatic literature, history, theory, or criticism course:

• THETR-265 Intro to Theatre: Prehist to Melodrama

  Credits:

  4.00

  Description:

  This survey course provides students with an historical, philosophical, and aesthetic overview of theatre practices from the Golden Age of Greek drama to 19th-century melodrama and early experiments in realism. Through readings, lectures, and discussions, the class will explore the theatres persistent capacity to mirror the societies that produce it. Satisfies a core requirement for Theatre majors and the Humanities requirement. Normally offered alternate years.

  Term:

  Occasional

  Type:

  Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement

• THETR-266 Intro to Theatre Arts II

  Credits:

  4.00

  Description:

  Picking up chronologically where THETR 225 leaves off, this survey course is designed to provide students with an understanding of modern Western theatre. Beginning with a melodrama, plays will include representative works of realism, naturalism, expressionism, epic theatre, theatre of cruelty, theatre of the absurd, and metatheatricality. Lectures and class discussions will explore how these concepts translate to acting and production techniques as well as what they imply as artistic responses to a modern and post-modern world. Satisfies a core requirement for Theatre Majors.

  Term:

  Offered Spring Term

  Type:

  Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement

• THETR-267 Introduction to Theatre Arts III

  Credits:

  4.00

  Description:

  This course provides a formal introduction to the theories and practices strategically used by American theatre artists after the Second World War. Special emphasis is placed on theatre artists exploring issues of cultural identity including works by GLBT, African-American, Asian-American, and Latin American playwrights. These playwrights may include Tony Kushner, Paula Vogel, Suzan-Lori Parks, Adrienne Kennedy, August Wilson, David Henry Hwang, Philip Kan Gotanda, Eduardo Machado, and Melinda Lopez. The course will also provide an introduction to trends in post-modern theatre practices related to emerging work of the auteur director, solo performers, and interdisciplinary collectives. Satisfies a core requirement for Theatre majors. Normally offered alternate years.

  Term:

  Occasional

  Type:

  Humanities & History,Cultural Diversity Opt A,Humanities Literature Requirement

• THETR-260 Broadway Musicals

  Credits:

  4.00

  Description:

  This course is a survey of American musical theatre from its roots in the mid-19th century to the present. It provides the analytical tools and historical insight to more fully appreciate Broadways greatest musicals and musical theatre artists. Students will explore the ways in which American forms of popular entertainment helped to shape Broadway musicals from their infancy through their adulthood. The course also explores the ways in which musicals provided opportunities for African-Americans, women, immigrants, and the GLBT community.

  Term:

  Offered Fall Term

  Type:

  Humanities & History,Cultural Diversity Opt A,Humanities Literature Requirement

• THETR-461 Play Analysis

  Credits:

  4.00

  Description:

  This seminar course examines Shakespeares plays and their modern correlatives. (i.e. Hamlet and The Seagull, King Lear and Endgame) Students read the texts out loud in class examining the meaning, action, objective, and philosophical and historical contexts with the professor. The goal is to get closer to the original intentions of the author and determine not only the basic theme and character relationships, but the kind of mind that could create such a play. In analyzing a modern play students also examine the impact of Shakespeares mind on future playwrights. There will be a midterm paper and a final exam.

  Term:

  Offered Fall Term

• THETR-462 Special Topics in Theatre

  Prerequisites:

  Instructors consent required.

  Credits:

  4.00

  Description:

  This course is designed by the Theatre Department to serve as an intensive exploration of a special topic in theatre and/or performance studies.

• THETR-465 The American Resident Theatre

  Credits:

  4.00

  Description:

  This course will examine some of the principal art theatres in this country beginning with the early days of the Provincetown Players and continuing up to the present day. By examining material about their histories, often written by their founding directors, students will determine when these theatres fed off each others ideas and ideals, and when they set off in entirely new directions. The course will also explore the viability of not-for-profit institutions in a corporate society.

  Term:

  Occasional

• THETR-460 A House for Words to Live In: How Jones, Simonson, Mielziner and Aronson Changed Theatre Design in America

  Prerequisites:

  Prerequisites: THETR225 or THETR226, or THETR227 and THETR250 or THETR251 or THETR237 (or permission of the instructor)

  Credits:

  4.00

  Description:

  An upper level course, of interest to directors and dramaturges as well as designers, about a remarkable period in American theatre history, explored within the context of four stage designers and the playwrights with whom they collaborated. Scripts by ONeil, Williams, Miller, and Odets will be studied in conjunction with their revelatory original designs, which have become as iconic as the plays themselves. The designers process, the collaborative nature of theatrical production, and the advances in theatre technology will also be explored The course will have a seminar format, require independent reading and research, and be writing intensive, culminating with a final term paper presented to the class.

  Term:

  Occasional

• THETR-469 Performance Studies

  Credits:

  4.00

  Description:

  This course provides an overview of the modern concept of performance and how it has evolved in a variety of interdisciplinary fields. Encompassing the areas of dance, music, theatre, installation work, happenings and spectacles, students will explore the ways performance is understood by ethnographers, anthropologists, linguists, cultural theorists, social scientists, and artists Using the theoretical base covered during the semester, students will conceive, develop, and present a final performance piece appropriate to their chosen discipline.

  Term:

  Occasional

  Type:

  Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement

• THETR-417 Senior Thesis Project

  Prerequisites:

  Instructors consent required

  Credits:

  4.00- 8.00

  Description:

  Theatre majors who have demonstrated academic excellence as well as involvement in department productions have the opportunity to work with a faculty advisor during their senior year to focus intensively on a specific area of interest. An extensive reading list will be determined early in the fall semester and regular meetings with the advisor will be scheduled to guide this course of study. The Senior Honors Project may also include a production project related to the topic. Successful completion of this course confers departmental honors to graduating Theatre majors.

  Term:

  Offered Both Fall and Spring

• THETR-411 Experimental Theatre Ensemble

  Prerequisites:

  By invitation by Professor Savick.

  Credits:

  8.00

  Description:

  This course is intended to serve as a professional internship for students who have demonstrated superior dedication and ability in their work within the Theatre Department. In 2004, Professor Wesley Savick launched a theatre company whose mission is to create original, experimental, political theatre in Boston. The company is comprised exclusively of Suffolk University students and was conceived to provide select students with a transitional opportunity between their undergraduate experience and the professional world. Students may apply by submitting a letter of interest to the Theatre Department by the end of the Fall term.

Select any one approved theatre course of 300 or higher and any one approved theatre course of 400 or higher.

 

Theatre Practicum Requirement

All theatre majors are required to have two theatre department performance and two theatre department production experiences.

THETR 100 or 200 track performance experience for actors, directors, playwrights, dramaturges and stage managers. THETR 102 or 202 track production experiences for designers, run crew, load-in crew, board-operators, and stage managers.

Both THETR 100 and 102 are non-credit courses. Students may elect to take THETR 200 and 202 for variable credit.

Transfer students with more than 30 credits may complete this requirement with only one performance experience and one production experience.

*Unlike most courses in CAS, all NESAD studio art courses will remain at three credits in compliance with accreditation mandates.

Theatre Minor

The theatre minor consists of 5 courses (20 credits).

Core Requirements (3 courses, 12 credits)

All students must take:

• THETR-129 Acting

  Credits:

  4.00

  Description:

  This introduction to acting prepares students for work in production and develops skills in all forms of communication. The first part of the course uses improvisational exercises based on the Stanislavski method to teach fundamental acting techniques. The second half of the course applies those techniques to scene work from major 20th century plays. This course is a core requirement for all Theatre Majors.

  Term:

  Offered Both Fall and Spring

Select one:

• THETR-187 Intro to Stage Management

  Credits:

  4.00

  Description:

  This course will teach both the methods and principles behind stage management demonstrating how to support a production while facilitating the work of directors, designers, and actors. In addition to teaching the specific technical skills necessary to each part of the production process, this course will also address the more subtle intellectual and managerial skills that make stage management an art. Satisfies a core requirement for Theatre majors.

  Term:

  Offered Fall Term

• THETR-150 Dance: Jazz II

  Credits:

  4.00

  Description:

  An exploration of jazz technique and style with students at the beginner to intermediate level. This is a largely experiential course with a written component. Classes will consist of a warm-up followed by more challenging floor exercises and sequences. Students are expected to dress in dance attire. Students will choreograph their own dances individually or in groups to be performed at the end of the semester. Some dance experience is required.

• THETR-151 Introduction to Design

  Credits:

  4.00

  Description:

  This rigorous class will give students the fundamental concepts, vocabulary and skills used to design for the stage such as: color, line, composition, research and script analysis. The class has a written component and is intended to prepare students to design workshop productions in the Studio Theatre. Students will be expected to complete a minimum of ten hours of production work for Theatre Department productions.

  Term:

  Offered Spring Term

• THETR-487 Stage Management II

  Credits:

  4.00

  Description:

  Building on the skills learned in Stage Management I, Stage Management II will provide an in-depth study of how to support and manage rehearsals and performances of diverse genres such as opera, dance, and theatre. Special attention will be paid to anticipating a wide range of needs from professional artists, union regulations, cueing and calling shows; and to further develop students communication skills. Internships with professional arts organizations may be arranged. Normally offered every other year.

  Term:

  Occasional

Select one:

• THETR-265 Intro to Theatre: Prehist to Melodrama

  Credits:

  4.00

  Description:

  This survey course provides students with an historical, philosophical, and aesthetic overview of theatre practices from the Golden Age of Greek drama to 19th-century melodrama and early experiments in realism. Through readings, lectures, and discussions, the class will explore the theatres persistent capacity to mirror the societies that produce it. Satisfies a core requirement for Theatre majors and the Humanities requirement. Normally offered alternate years.

  Term:

  Occasional

  Type:

  Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement

• THETR-266 Intro to Theatre Arts II

  Credits:

  4.00

  Description:

  Picking up chronologically where THETR 225 leaves off, this survey course is designed to provide students with an understanding of modern Western theatre. Beginning with a melodrama, plays will include representative works of realism, naturalism, expressionism, epic theatre, theatre of cruelty, theatre of the absurd, and metatheatricality. Lectures and class discussions will explore how these concepts translate to acting and production techniques as well as what they imply as artistic responses to a modern and post-modern world. Satisfies a core requirement for Theatre Majors.

  Term:

  Offered Spring Term

  Type:

  Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement

• THETR-267 Introduction to Theatre Arts III

  Credits:

  4.00

  Description:

  This course provides a formal introduction to the theories and practices strategically used by American theatre artists after the Second World War. Special emphasis is placed on theatre artists exploring issues of cultural identity including works by GLBT, African-American, Asian-American, and Latin American playwrights. These playwrights may include Tony Kushner, Paula Vogel, Suzan-Lori Parks, Adrienne Kennedy, August Wilson, David Henry Hwang, Philip Kan Gotanda, Eduardo Machado, and Melinda Lopez. The course will also provide an introduction to trends in post-modern theatre practices related to emerging work of the auteur director, solo performers, and interdisciplinary collectives. Satisfies a core requirement for Theatre majors. Normally offered alternate years.

  Term:

  Occasional

  Type:

  Humanities & History,Cultural Diversity Opt A,Humanities Literature Requirement

• THETR-469 Performance Studies

  Credits:

  4.00

  Description:

  This course provides an overview of the modern concept of performance and how it has evolved in a variety of interdisciplinary fields. Encompassing the areas of dance, music, theatre, installation work, happenings and spectacles, students will explore the ways performance is understood by ethnographers, anthropologists, linguists, cultural theorists, social scientists, and artists Using the theoretical base covered during the semester, students will conceive, develop, and present a final performance piece appropriate to their chosen discipline.

  Term:

  Occasional

  Type:

  Humanities & History,Humanities Literature Requirement

Elective Requirements (2 courses, 8 credits)

Select any two approved theatre courses, one being 300 or higher.

Transfer students with over 30 credits may take Acting I, any approved course above 300 and three theatre electives for the minor.

Practicum Requirement

All theatre minors are required to have one performance experience and one production crew experience.

THETR 200A or 100A track performance experience for actors, directors, playwrights, dramaturges and stage managers. THETR 202B or 102B track production experiences for designers, run crew, load-in crew, board-operators, and stage managers.

Both THETR 100A and 102B are non-credit courses. Students may elect to take THETR 200A and 202B for variable credit.