Theatre

The prevalence of social media in contemporary life has meant an explosion of self-expression, of private experiences becoming public, sometimes to an audience of thousands or even millions. As audience members, we crave the excitement of revelation, of witnessing vulnerability and triumph. As performers, we long for recognition, knowing we are not alone. Coming to college means leaving behind a familiar place in the world and making a new home—which can be both daunting and exhilarating. How do we forge the friendships and communities that we, as social beings, allow us to thrive? This course will explore the concept of who we are in community in a variety of written, virtual, and performative contexts. We will experiment with different creative media and individually as well as collectively generate theatrical / artistic expressions in the process of making our seminar a place to belong. For our final project, we will share our discoveries with the IC community.

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

• .5 credit hour awarded for backstage crew or light and sound board operators
• .5-1 credit hour awarded for actors

This course is for students who have already taken TH 170 Stagecraft. They will repeat the lab section of TH 170 to earn an additional credit toward fulfilling their BLUEprint Creative Expressions Studio requirement.

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.

An exploration of various diverse cultures in the United States through the medium of film. Students will consider how their own histories and identities intersect with other cultures and develop a greater understanding of people identifying as different from themselves.

This course looks at superheroes as they appear in comic books and films dating from the 1940s to the present day. Special attention will be paid to the evolution of heroes' and heroines' identities across time. The final project is the creation of a short superhero film/comic.

An introductory workshop experience for actors, designed to foster a basic competence in the uses of the voice, body, and imagination for dramatic performance.

This class is designed to teach students about the nuts and bolts of play and screenwriting. It covers topics such as action/plot, structure, character development, dialogue, and setting in the abstract and in plays written by both professionals and college students. It encourages writers to choose workable ideas, draft them, and improve them through exploration and peer review. The final project is a one-act script for stage or film.

Students will acquire a hands-on knowledge of the methods, principles, and conventions of scenic production by way of both lab and lecture periods. As this is a prerequisite for advanced classes in technical theatre, basic skills as well as a working vocabulary in scenery and property construction, scene painting, lighting, and sound will be stressed.

A study of some of Shakespeare's greatest hits and how these plays have been transformed into movies, from filmed stage productions to contemporary riffs on the characters and storylines. The course will also include analysis of relevant cultural artifacts connected to the play's content as well as filmic techniques and principles of adaptation.

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 student-centered theatre on a topic of their choice that is performed at the Celebration of Excellence.

Advanced studio work with a focus on classical training for body and voice, physical characterization, and stage combat. The course covers neutrality, an overview of the work of Rudolf Laban, classical textual analysis, voice work, monologues, and scene study.

Advanced tutorial on an appropriate topic. Students who want to study directing can register for this course. An independent study in directing focuses on how the director translates technique and theory into the world of the state and emphasizes explorations and collaboration with actors and designers. If the student earns a C or higher and has completed all analysis assignments related to their chosen one-act, they may continue to the second section of the course and direct the play. In this section of the course, students gain project management and leadership experience, practicing the organizational and communication skills required to helm a production.