Courses
This page displays the schedule of Bryn Mawr courses in this department for this academic year. It also displays descriptions of courses offered by the department during the last four academic years.
For information about courses offered by other Bryn Mawr departments and programs or about courses offered by Haverford and Swarthmore Colleges, please consult the Course Guides page.
For information about the Academic Calendar, including the dates of first and second quarter courses, please visit the College's master calendar.
Spring 2012
Fall 2012
Spring 2013
(Class schedules for this semester will be posted at a later date.)
2012-13 Catalog Data
ARTT
B142
Dance Composition I
Fall 2012
In this introduction to the art of making dances, an array of compositional tools and approaches is used to evolve and refine choreographic ideas. Basic concepts such as space, phrasing, timing, image, energy, density and partnering are introduced and explored alongside attention to the roles of inspiration and synthesis in the creative process. Improvisation is used to explore choreographic ideas and students learn to help and direct others in generating movement. Discussion of and feedback on weekly choreographic assignments and readings contributes to analyzing and refining choreography. Concurrent attendance in any level technique course is required.
Division III: Humanities
Critical Interpretation (CI)
Cross-listed as ARTD B142
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ARTT
B150
Introduction to Theater
Not offered 2012-13
An exploration of a wide range of dramatic works and history of theater through research, analysis and discussion to develop understanding and foundations for a theatrical production.
Division III: Humanities
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ARTT
B230
Topics in American Drama
Not offered 2012-13
Considers American plays of the 20th century, reading major playwrights of the canon alongside other dramatists who were less often read and produced. Will also study later 20th century dramatists whose plays both develop and resist the complex foundation established by canonical American playwrights and how American drama reflects and responds to cultural and political shifts. Considers how modern American identity has been constructed through dramatic performance, considering both written and performed versions of these plays.
Division III: Humanities
Cross-listed as ENGL B230
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ARTT
B241
Modern Drama
Not offered 2012-13
A survey of modern drama from the 19th century to the present, beginning with Georg Buchner and ending with living writers. We will explore the formation of modern sensibilities in playwriting through careful study of the evolution of dramatic form and the changing relationship between written text and performance.
Division III: Humanities
Cross-listed as ENGL B241
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ARTT
B250
Twentieth-Century Theories of Acting
Not offered 2012-13
An introduction to 20th-century theories of acting emphasizing the intellectual, aesthetic, and sociopolitical factors surrounding the emergence of each director's approach to the study of human behavior on stage. Various theoretical approaches to the task of developing a role are applied in workshop and scene study.
Division III: Humanities
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ARTT
B251
Fundamentals of Acting
Fall 2012
An introduction to the fundamental elements of acting (scene analysis, characterization, improvisation, vocal and gestural presentation, and ensemble work) through the study of scenes from significant 20th-century dramatic literature.
Division III: Humanities
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ARTT
B252
Fundamentals of Technical Theater
Not offered 2012-13
A practical, hands-on workshop in the creative process of turning a concept into a tangible, workable end through the physical execution of a design. Exploring new and traditional methods of achieving a coherent synthesis of all areas of technical production.
Division III: Humanities
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ARTT
B253
Performance Ensemble
Fall 2012
An intensive workshop in the methodologies and aesthetics of theater performance, this course is open to students with significant experience in performance. In collaboration with the director of theater, students will explore a range of performance techniques and styles in the context of rehearsing a performance project. Admission to the class is by audition or permission of the instructor. The class is offered for a half-unit of credit.
Division III: Humanities
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ARTT
B254
Fundamentals of Theater Design
Not offered 2012-13
An introduction to the creative process of visual design for theater; exploring dramatic context and influence of cultural, social, and ideological forces on theater and examining practical applications of various technical elements such as scenery, costume, and lighting while emphasizing their aesthetic integration.
Division III: Humanities
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ARTT
B255
Fundamentals of Costume Design
Fall 2012
Hands-on practical workshop on costume design for performing arts; analysis of text, characters, movement, situations; historical and stylistic research; cultivation of initial concept through materialization and plotting to execution of design.
Division III: Humanities
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ARTT
B262
Playwriting I
Fall 2012
An introduction to playwriting through a combination of reading assignments, writing exercises, discussions about craft and ultimately the creation of a complete one-act play. Students will work to discover and develop their own unique voices as they learn the technical aspects of the craft of playwriting. Readings will include work by Edward Albee, Maria Irene Fornes, John Guare, Tony Kushner, Suzan-Lori Parks, Paula Vogel and others. Short writing assignments will complement each reading assignment. The final assignment will be to write an original one-act play.
Division III: Humanities
Cross-listed as ARTW B262
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ARTT
B310
Performing the City: Theorizing Bodies in Space
Fall 2012
Building on the premise that space is a concern in performance, choreography, architecture and urban planning, this course will interrogate relationships between (performing) bodies and (city) spaces. Using perspectives from dance and performance studies, urban studies and cultural geography, it will introduce space, spatiality and the city as material and theoretical concepts and investigate how moving and performing bodies and city spaces intersect in political, social and cultural contexts. Lectures, discussion of assigned readings, attendance at live performance and 2-3 fieldtrips are included. Prerequisites: One Dance lecture/seminar course or one course in relevant discipline e.g. cities, anthropology, sociology or permission of the instructor.
Division III: Humanities
Critical Interpretation (CI)
Cross-listed as ARTD B310
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ARTT
B351
Acting II
Not offered 2012-13
Builds on the methods learned in ARTT 251, with an emphasis on strategies of preparing short solo performances. In addition to intensive exercises in naturalistic and anti-naturalistic performance techniques, the course provides opportunities for exploration of principles of design, directing, dramaturgy and playwriting as they pertain to specific projects conceived by members of the class. Prerequisite: permission of instructor.
Division III: Humanities
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ARTT
B353
Advanced Performance Ensemble
Fall 2012
An advanced, intensive workshop in theater performance. Students explore a range of performance techniques in the context of rehearsing a performance project, and participate in weekly seminars in which the aesthetic and theatrical principles of the play and production will be developed and challenged. The course may be repeated.
Division III: Humanities
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ARTT
B354
Shakespeare on the Stage
Not offered 2012-13
An exploration of Shakespeare's texts from the point of view of the performer. A historical survey of the various approaches to producing Shakespeare from Elizabethan to contemporary times, with intensive scenework culminating in on-campus performances.
Division III: Humanities
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ARTT
B359
Directing for the Stage
Not offered 2012-13
A semiotic approach to the basic concepts and methods of stage direction. Topics explored through readings, discussion and creative exercises include directorial concept, script analysis and research, stage composition and movement, and casting and actor coaching. Students rehearse and present three major scenes.
Division III: Humanities
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ARTT
B403
Supervised Work
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ARTT
B403
Supervised Work
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