Theatre Intensive: Theatre Production

Theatre Intensive: Theatre Production will consist exclusively of participat­ing in a faculty-directed stage produc­tion of a play chosen by the instructor. The play will be chosen from the realistic or avant-garde theatre canon and will be chosen after auditions for the program. This will allow us to work with acting and directing techniques that were specifically developed for the type of theatre we will be performing. For example, these techniques could include Stanislavski's Sense Memory, Michael Chekhov's Psychological Gesture, or Anne Bogart's Viewpoints. Students will experience rigorous training in movement and vocal techniques and will learn to utilize these techniques in the performance of the play.

Participation in the production involves acting in the play, dramaturgical work, assistant directing, stage management, set, costume, lighting and sound design, set and costume construction, publicity, and all the other areas related to a successful play production. For example, after a successful audition, a student will be cast in the play, and will spend about half to three quarters of program time in rehearsal, and the rest of the time working in the shop building the set or on some other aspect of the production. A student presenting a portfolio of lighting design work could become the lighting designer for the production as well as the publicity coordinator. In short, every student will participate in more than one area of the production process. While the production will be directed by the faculty member, the process will be an interactive collaboration among all participants.

The first seven to eight weeks of the program will be spent in rehearsal, culminating in a fully mounted site-specific production or a production in the Experimental Theatre. In addition to rehearsals and production work, students will examine dramaturgical matters closely related to the production through readings and seminar discussions about the genre of the play, as well as about its social, political, economic and cultural environment. This will help us to understand the world of the play as well as the world of the author.

All students who are interested in interviewing/auditioning for the program should contact the faculty member directly.