Course Descriptions

Applied Skills: Theatre I  (TART i30) 3 credit hours

This course is designed to develop, train and prepare a student’s body and voice for the unique demands of physical acting and performance. With a pre-performative focus, students engage with psycho-physical techniques sourced from different European theorists and practitioners of the 20th century, including those developed by Jerzy Grotowsky, Roy Hart and Jacque Lecoq, among others. The course also has a strong emphasis on exploration-based processes in movement and voice, meant to foster individual strategies for training and preparation for performance. Through this course, students will develop a more expressive body and voice and enhance awareness of, and connection to, these vital facets of their instrument.

Classes

• Movement and Voice
• Lecoq and Neutral Mask

Performance Practices (TART i35) 3 credit hours

In this course, students are introduced to specific European theatrical styles. Great emphasis is given to the Commedia dell’Arte, as it requires actors to have comprehensive knowledge of many elements of theatre: mask work, plot construction, improvisation, heightened physicality and voice, scene work and social commentary. Other styles include Clown, Traditional Mediterranean Song and Dance, Storytelling, and basic Circus skills. By working in these styles to understand their unique performance qualities, students experience non-traditional (from an American perspective) approaches to acting, character development, dramaturgy and relationship with audiences. In addition to developing an in-depth understanding of fundamental European theatrical styles, students acquire new skills and wider perspectives that contribute to more grounded, compelling performance.and more grounded confidence on the stage.

Classes

• Clown
• Commedia dell’Arte

Poetics I (TART i27) 3 credits

This course focuses on the nature and process of creation. Students are guided through the phases of devising original theatre: exploration, selection of material, composition, and finally presentation. The student/creator will gain awareness of the different ingredients which make up theatrical creation. They will learn a collaborative process in which each collaborator is able to find their own voice within the choir. 

The course’s other defining focus is composition. Students will learn to observe and analyze what takes place on stage, leading to a greater understanding of when and how to make choices. Given the nature of collaborative creation, ensemble is a core element in the overall process; students will work on their sensitivity towards the group, their sense of play, and will learn how to create common rituals. Students will have a chance to integrate the skills acquired in other classes into original works which will be presented periodically throughout the semester, supported by core and guest faculty of the ADA.

Classes

• Devising and Composition
• Mask-making and Characterization
• Storytelling

Fast and Furious: Social Change & the Avant Garde (LBSTi31) 3 credits

This course is an interdisciplinary survey that looks at the Avant-Garde art movements and the way they challenged not only aesthetic values but philosophical and cultural values more broadly. Movements including Futurism, Dada, and Surrealism were responding to the most significant scientific, social, and political events on the world scene. Avant-Garde artistic expression blossomed in a wide variety of media, from painting to literature and even live performance. Students will leave with an understanding of the intersection between accelerated change in social forms of the 19th and 20th century and the perception of those changes as expressed through contemporary Avant-Garde counterparts (such as mechanized speed and Futurism or Industrialized Ware and Dada).

Italian Language: Beginner or Intermediate  (ITAL i10/i11) 3 credits

The Beginner course introduces students to basic grammatical structures of the Italian language. Students acquire a basic vocabulary and speaking practice as well as an understanding of various aspects of Italian culture and society. The course focus is on building conversational skill in Italian, using readings in the text as a point of departure.

The intermediate course moves students toward fluency in Italian by focusing on communication and the exposure to a non-stereotypical, more complex and up-to-date picture of modern Italy and Italians. Grammar from the first semester course is reviewed, and new grammar points are presented, always with the intention of developing and strengthening students’ abilities to communicate. A wide range of cultural topics and different aspects of Italian life will be explored while improving grammar, vocabulary, listening comprehension and writing in Italian.