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Theatre and Dance Current Courses

Spring 2024

Course Code Title/Instructor Meets
THDA 112-01 Classical Ballet Beginning Level
Instructor: Brigette Plummer
Course Description:
Classes taught under the direction of the CPYB faculty. Instruction is based on the nationally recognized ballet syllabus originally developed by Marcia Dale Weary, founder and artistic director of the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. Careful consideration to alignment, placement and proper execution of steps will be covered in depth. Studio/classroom location is TBA. This .5 class counts towards the Arts Requirement when taken with a .5 Modern dance class. Credit/no credit
09:00 AM-10:15 AM, TR
2527WH DANCE STU
THDA 201-01 Theatre History
Instructor: Karen Kirkham
Course Description:
The impulse to perform (and to be an audience) can be traced back to the very roots of human society. This course will explore the origins and evolution of theatre as a formal art within the context of western cultures. Beginning with the Theatre of Greece in the 5th Century BCE and proceeding up to the 20th Century, the broad relationship of art and culture will be illustrated through examination of both written plays and historical artifacts regarding play production in classical, medieval, early modern and modern eras. Students will learn through traditional classroom lectures and readings, and also through more performance-oriented exercises and explorations.
09:00 AM-10:15 AM, TR
MONTGM 100
THDA 203-01 Acting I
Instructor: Keola Simpson
Course Description:
An introduction to the principles and theories of acting combined with practical exercises and scene performance. This course fulfills the Arts distribution requirement.
03:00 PM-05:00 PM, MR
CUBICU STUDIO
THDA 205-01 Directing
Instructor: Keola Simpson
Course Description:
A study of the major techniques employed by stage directors. Visual theory, text analysis, collaborative techniques, and organizational strategies are examined and applied in class exercises including the direction of scenes. Prerequisite: 203.
01:30 PM-02:45 PM, MR
CUBICU STUDIO
THDA 212-01 Classical Ballet Intermediate Level
Instructor: Brigette Plummer
Course Description:
Studio classes in classical ballet taught at the intermediate/advance level by teachers from the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet (CPYB) at the Dickinson Dance studio (The Site). The class is geared towards students who have had at least ten years of consecutive ballet training. Taught by CPYB instructors, students have the opportunity to maintain and hone their ballet technique. Students will focus on maintaining proper alignment in the body while exploring a greater range of motion and momentum. All classes will be taught at the Dickinson Dance Studio 25-27 High Street The Site. This course satisfies the Arts distribution credit when taken with a .5 Modern class. Credit/no credit
11:30 AM-12:45 PM, MWF
2527WH DANCE STU
THDA 214-01 Body and Place
Instructor: Erin Crawley-Woods
Course Description:
"Body is our first environment. It is the medium through which we know the earth." Andrea Olsen Drawing from movement ecology, somatic practice, site-specific artistic investigation, and current conversations in the multidisciplinary field of Environmental Humanities, this course is an embodied interrogation of Olsen's statement. How can we explore our body as an environment? What does it mean for this to be the medium through which we know the earth? What is this knowing good for? Through reading, discussion and creative projects (many of which will take place outdoors) we will investigate how our interactions with built and natural environments influences our perception of space and place and our role within it. What shifts in our relationship and approach to the pressing environmental issues of our time when we experience ourselves as a part of nature?
01:30 PM-04:30 PM, W
2527WH DANCE STU
THDA 222-01 Modern Dance II
Instructor: Amanda Chesnut
Course Description:
Studio courses in modern dance offered at three levels: I. the basic level, which assumes no previous dance experience; II. the intermediate level, open to students who demonstrate basic accomplishment in dance technique; III. the advanced level, open to students who demonstrate substantial technical skill. All courses will explore the principles of modern dance, emphasizing body awareness and the expressive use of weight, space, and time. Materials will be selected from a variety of contemporary dance and movement training practices such as Pilates, yoga, somatics and ballet to promote performance of a range of movement dynamics, as well as musicality, strength, flexibility, and improved body alignment. Each course may be repeated for credit with permission of the instructor. Each carries .5 academic credit. Two .5 academic credits of dance one in Modern and one in the genre of their choosing will satisfy the requirement.
03:00 PM-04:15 PM, TF
2527WH DANCE STU
THDA 230-01 Design Principles and Practices for the Stage
Instructor: Kent Barrett, Juli Bounds
Course Description:
A study of the language, principles, elements, and tools designers use to both formulate and communicate ideas as part of the collaborative process. Students will learn the basic elements of composition for stage design and will see how these elements function in the areas of costuming, lighting, scenery, and sound. Two hours classroom and three hours laboratory per week.
10:30 AM-11:45 AM, TR
MONTGM 200
01:30 PM-03:30 PM, W
MONTGM 200
THDA 300-01 Acting II: Movement/Voice Technique and Devised Theatre
Instructor: Karen Kirkham
Course Description:
This course will explore the creative process through movement and language. The student will work individually and in groups to create performance pieces based upon principles of text and movement. The class aims to develop the expressive power of the voice and body while fostering interdisciplinary thinking and artistic experimentation and an appreciation for the historic intersection of dance and theater. Prerequisite: 203 and/or 200-level movement.
01:30 PM-02:45 PM, MR
CUBICU STUDIO
THDA 302-01 Music and Dance from the Renaissance to the 21st Century
Instructor: Lena Leson
Course Description:
Cross-listed with MUAC 100-01. This course explores the development of Western art music and concert dance, beginning with the Renaissance and concluding with contemporary works. Through critical reading, listening, viewing, and occasionally even moving, you will become familiar with this repertoire and influential theories of music-movement analysis, criticism, and interpretation. Throughout the semester, we will examine ballets as cultural-political objects, considering gender, sexuality, race, class, disability, and the body. No previous music or dance experience or familiarity with music or dance history is necessary to do well in this course.
11:30 AM-12:20 PM, MWF
WEISS 235
THDA 304-01 Applied Choreography
Instructor: Sarah Skaggs
Course Description:
This course will focus on the principles of choreography as they may be applied to the development of original dance works for inclusion in the fully produced, mainstage Dance Theatre Group Spring Concert. Through weekly workshop/discussion sessions, readings, and rehearsals, selected elements of dance composition as well as issues of aesthetic perception and articulation are explored. The processes involved in generating movement material, running constructive and creative rehearsals, and working with lighting and costume designers, are our primary concerns. The course work will include an audition, showings, production of the dances, and the final performance. Prerequisites: 204, 220. 1 credit.
04:45 PM-06:45 PM, W
CUBICU STUDIO
THDA 312-01 Classical Ballet Advanced Level
Instructor: Brigette Plummer, Sarah Skaggs
Course Description:
Classes taught under the direction of the CPYB faculty. Entry into THDA 311/312 is by audition only. (CPYB Certificate) Instruction is based on the nationally recognized ballet syllabus originally developed by Marcia Dale Weary, founder and artistic director of the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. Careful consideration to alignment, placement and proper execution of steps will be covered in depth. All classes are taught at the CPYB Warehouse three days a week, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday 3:00-4:30. Each course may be repeated for credit with permission of the instructor. This satisfies the Arts distribution credit when taken for a full credit, or for.5 credit with a .5 Modern class. Credit/No Credit.
02:45 PM-04:15 PM, MWR
CPYB STUDIOS
THDA 316-01 Dance History Seminar: Modernism and the Body
Instructor: Sarah Skaggs
Course Description:
Cross-listed with WGSS 301-05. This course will focus on contemporary dance history using theoretical frameworks that interrogate how race, class and gender resist, assimilate, and converge to create the construction of American modern concert dance. We will explore how the politics of the dancing female body on the concert stage produced a radicalized agenda for contemporary dance. We will address key themes and questions throughout the semester, questions such as: What makes a body "modern?" How does the feminist agenda on the concert stage aid in the construction of a "modern" body? What was the role of appropriating from exotic cultures in the making of contemporary concert dance? What is the role of technology in the creation of modern dance? What are the effects of war and politics on the dancing body? Orientalism, the Africanist presence in Western concert dance, and the restaging of Native American dances by American choreographers will be addressed as part of the overall construction of American modern dance. Through response papers, in-class presentations, and an in-depth research paper, students will engage with significant issues contributing to the development of modern concert dance. Prerequisite: 102. This course is cross-listed as WGSS 301.
01:30 PM-02:45 PM, TF
MONTGM 100
THDA 322-01 Modern Dance III
Instructor: Erin Crawley-Woods
Course Description:
Permission of Instructor Required. Studio courses in modern dance offered at three levels: I. the basic level, which assumes no previous dance experience; II. the intermediate level, open to students who demonstrate basic accomplishment in dance technique; III. the advanced level, open to students who demonstrate substantial technical skill. All courses will explore the principles of modern dance, emphasizing body awareness and the expressive use of weight, space, and time. Materials will be selected from a variety of contemporary dance and movement training practices such as Pilates, yoga, somatics and ballet to promote performance of a range of movement dynamics, as well as musicality, strength, flexibility, and improved body alignment. Each course may be repeated for credit with permission of the instructor. Prerequisite: Permission on the instructor. Each carries .5 academic credit. Two .5 academic credits of dance one in Modern and one in the genre of their choosing will satisfy the requirement.
09:00 AM-10:20 AM, MWF
2527WH DANCE STU
THDA 412-01 Classical Ballet Certificate/Pre-professional Program Audition Only
Instructor: Sarah Skaggs, Brigette Plummer
Course Description:
Classes taught under the direction of the CPYB faculty. Entry into THDA 411/412 is by audition only. (CPYB Certificate) Instruction is based on the nationally recognized ballet syllabus originally developed by Marcia Dale Weary, founder and artistic director of the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. Students admitted to the Certificate program are accepted into the CPYB school as full time students. As full time students, they are expected to follow and commit to the daily requirements of their instructors. All classes are taught at the CPYB Warehouse and Barn studio during studio hours on or after 4:30 Monday through Friday and at 9am Saturday with other possible classes until 4pm.Classes count for those students enrolled in the CPYB Certificate program. Credit/No Credit

THDA 495-01 Senior Project
Instructor: Karen Kirkham, Sarah Skaggs
Course Description:
A culminating experience for students completing the Theatre major with emphasis in Dramatic Literature, Acting/Directing, or Dance. The specific nature of projects will be determined on an individual basis, but all senior projects will consist of at least two of the following: a) scholarship, b) technical/production work, and c) performance. Students will register for .5 course credit in the fall semester, during which planning and research will be conducted, and .5 in the spring, during which presentation of the project will occur. Prerequisite: four .25 course credits in THDA 190.

THDA 500-01 Senior Project: Lighting Design for "Cut Loose"
Instructor: Kent Barrett
Course Description:

THDA 500-02 Interplay Between Acting and Editing
Instructor: Keola Simpson
Course Description: