printer friendly pageTAPS 11N: Dramatic Tensions: Theater and the Marketplace
Preference to freshmen. This seminar explores the current state of the American theater and its artists. Much conventional wisdom tells us that theater is a dying art, and something of a lost cause, especially in an age of multi-media entertainment. But the roots of the drama are very old and very deep, and there are more young playwrights, actors, and directors entering the field today than at any other time in American history. We'll get to know the work of today's theater artists, with an emphasis on an emerging generation of playwrights that is still finding plenty to say from the classic platform of the living stage. Students will read a cross-section of plays from writers currently working in the US and UK, covering a broad spectrum of subjects and styles from serious to comic, from the musical to the straight play. We'll look at the hits and misses from recent seasons of the New York and London stages and examine some of the differences of artistic taste across the Atlantic. In the second part of the course we will explore, hands-on, the arts and skills necessary to make a play succeed. Students will get the chance to develop their own areas of interest, in guided projects in design, direction or performance. Class visits will be arranged to allow for conversations with playwrights, designers and directors. Labs and master-classes will allow students to solve problems posed in areas of creative production. And finally, we'll meet some of the literary managers and producers who are on the frontlines of underwriting new talent. Students completing this seminar should come away with an informed appreciation of the state of the arts in America today, and some excitement about the possibilities that lie both within the field and in themselves. Class trips will include two plays at major Bay Area Stages.
Terms: Aut
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Units: 4
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UG Reqs: GER:DBHum
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Grading: Letter (ABCD/NP)
Instructors:
Freed, A. (PI)
TAPS 13N: Law and Drama
Preference to Freshmen.Beyond the obvious traits that make a good (court room) drama, theater and jurisprudence have much more in common. Just as drama is engaged not only in entertainment but also in examination of social conventions and mechanisms, so law is not only concerned with dispensing justice but with shaping and maintaining a viable human community. In this class we will read and discuss a series of plays in which court proceedings are at the center of dramatic action and concluding with an investigation of the new genre of documentary drama.
Terms: Aut
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Units: 4
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Grading: Letter (ABCD/NP)
Instructors:
Jakovljevic, B. (PI)
TAPS 20: Acting for Non-Majors (TAPS 124D)
A class designed for all interested students. Creative play, ensemble work in a supportive environment. Designed for the student to experience a range of new creative skills, from group improvisation to partner work. Introductory work on freeing the natural voice and physical relaxation. Emphasis on rediscovering imaginative and creative impulses. Movement improvisation, listening exercises, and theater games release the energy, playfulness and willingness to take risks that is the essence of free and powerful performance. Course culminates with work on dramatic text.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
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Units: 1-3
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Grading: Satisfactory/No Credit
Instructors:
Amarotico, K. (PI)
TAPS 22: Scene Work
For actors who complete substantial scene work with graduate directors in the graduate workshop.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
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Units: 1-2
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Repeatable for credit
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Grading: Satisfactory/No Credit
Instructors:
Ramsaur, M. (PI)
TAPS 29: Theater Performance: Acting
Students cast in department productions receive credit for their participation as actors; 1-2 units for graduate directing workshop projects and 1-3 units for major productions (units determined by instructor). May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
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Units: 1-3
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Repeatable for credit
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Grading: Satisfactory/No Credit
TAPS 30: How Theater is Designed
Team-taught. An introduction to theatrical set, costume and lighting design. Emphasis on balancing practical skill with conceptual ideas for live stage performance. Hands-on projects.
Terms: Aut
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Units: 4
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Grading: Letter (ABCD/NP)
TAPS 34: Stage Management Techniques
The production process, duties, and responsibilities of a stage manager. Skills needed to stage manage a production.
Terms: Aut
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Units: 4
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Grading: Letter (ABCD/NP)
Instructors:
Apperson, L. (PI)
TAPS 39: Theatre Crew
Under faculty guidance, working backstage on Drama Department productions. Open to any student interested in gaining back stage experience. Night and weekend time required.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
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Units: 1-3
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Repeatable for credit
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Grading: Satisfactory/No Credit
Instructors:
Apperson, L. (PI)
;
Ramsaur, M. (PI)
TAPS 39D: Theater Performance: Prosser Stage Management
For students stage mananging a Department of Drama Senior Project or Assistant Staage managing a Department Drama production
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
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Units: 2-4
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Repeatable for credit
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Grading: Letter or Credit/No Credit
Instructors:
Apperson, L. (PI)
TAPS 103: Beginning Improvising
The improvisational theater techniques that teach spontaneity, cooperation, team building, and rapid problem solving, emphasizing common sense, attention to reality, and helping your partner. Based on TheatreSports by Keith Johnstone. Readings, papers, and attendance at performances of improvisational theater. Limited enrollment.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
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Units: 3
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Grading: Letter or Credit/No Credit
Instructors:
Klein, D. (PI)
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