Students study three texts from a range of periods and styles over the course of the semester. The final project includes an analysis of a fourth text of the student's choosing from the point of view of one particular field of theater practice. Seminar pursues detailed study of a particular playtext or theme and is related to some planned production activity during the following Independent Activities Period. Participation in the IAP production is not required. Students experience Latin American collective creation methods through classroom exercises.
Subject is a blend of academic study and theatrical play.
Students have the option of doing reading and writing assignments in Spanish. Explores artistic lives of dance artists Katherine Dunham, Alvin Ailey, Isadora Duncan, Martha Graham, and George Balanchine as American dance innovators. Lectures and discussions analyze these artists' works, taking into consideration historical and political contexts. Viewing assignments and attendance of Boston-area dance performances help students identify visual, musical, and kinesthetic underpinnings of choreographic structure. Basic compositional techniques discussed and practiced with an emphasis on principles such as weight, space, time, effort, and shape.