Theatre
Professor Nancy Taylor Porter
Associate Professor Craig Steenerson
Assistant Professor Aasne Daniels
The Theatre Program at Illinois College is dedicated to teaching students skills to prepare them for work and participation in the theatre world after graduation and to excel in the 21st- century workforce at large: leadership, creative problem-solving, collaboration, critical thinking, professionalism, and integrity. In addition to developing students’ analytical and communication skills as part of a liberal arts institution, the program also encourages students to develop their theatrical abilities through a program of coursework and guided experience in acting, directing, management, design, and the use of technologies most common in theatre. Practical, hands-on experience in TheatreWorks productions allows students to put their knowledge into practice and to showcase their work for the larger community.
The Theatre Program currently offers a minor, but students may also pursue a Theatre Arts interdisciplinary major, designed by the student and a theatre faculty advisor. As part of the Communication Arts Department, the Theatre Program encourages explorations of connections with Art and Communication and Rhetorical Studies as well as English. If you are interested in this option, please see the Individualized Studies Major and contact Dr. Nancy Taylor Porter.
Majors & Programs
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Fine Arts, Minor -
Fine Arts Administration, Minor -
Theatre, Minor
Courses
TH 150: Theatre Practice
A theatre practicum consists of significant participation in some facet of an Illinois College TheatreWorks production or an outside production, approved by the program chair.
- 1 credit hour awarded for backstage crew, or light and sound board operators
- 1.5 credit hours awarded for assistant stage managers*
- 2-2.5 credit hours awarded for stage managers
- 1.5-2.5 credit hours awarded to actors
TH 151: Theatre Practice
- .5 credit hour awarded for backstage crew or light and sound board operators
- .5-1 credit hour awarded for actors
TH 180: Audio-Visual Feasts: Music Video Analysis
Music videos provide a platform for music artists to comment on issues of sexuality and gender identity, race and ethnicity, and even politics. In this class, students will learn how to recognize and discuss the power of this theatrical art form as a cultural agent, as well as analyzing the audio, visual, and narrative components of contemporary music videos.
TH 190: From Comic Books to Blockbusters
TH 222: Acting
An introductory workshop experience for actors, designed to foster a basic competence in the uses of the voice, body, and imagination for dramatic performance.
TH 226: Scriptwriting
TH 231: Stagecrafts
TH 250: Shakespeare on Stage and Screen
TH 352: Theatre on the Edge
A studio class exploring various non-realistic approaches to theatre-making, including the body as object, masks, commedia dell'arte, clown, physical comedy, soundscapes, and translations of film, art, and music into theatrical performance. The course culminates in a piece of devised theatre on a topic chosen by the students and performed at the Celebration of Excellence.
TH 353: Advanced Acting
TH 461: Independent Study in Theatre
Advanced tutorial on an appropriate topic.
TH 462: Independent Study in Theatre
Advanced tutorial on an appropriate topic.