Department of Speech and Drama

Drama Course Offerings, Spring 2006

The following information might assist as you consider spring drama offerings during registration. To facilitate this, below you will find some highlights for the coming semester and course descriptions, which supplements information found the Course of Study Catalogue. At the bottom of this document is a reprint of the requirements for the drama major and minor. However, consult the bulletin associated with your year of entrance at Trinity, as there may be different requirements. In the end, if you have any questions, talk to a member of the drama program.

Steve Gilliam, Director of Theatre

Spring, 2006, Drama Highlights

The department will offer three Sections of Acting I. A requirement for the major, this course is the prerequisite requirement for Acting II, III and IV. Also, it is required before a student can enroll in Directing. Acting I is a popular course for the common curriculum in the arts. As the drama program will not be able to staff as many sections in the future, this may be a good opportunity to take the class.

Likewise, Principles of Design is a popular common curriculum course and part of the Film Studies Minor. A requirement for the major, it is also a prerequisite for Directing, Costume Design and Scene Design. We will offer two sections of this course in the spring.

We will offer both Principles of Stage Lighting and Costume Design in the spring. These classes are typically taught every fourth semester. Both are valuable courses and also part of the drama in education program. The next offerings of these courses will be in the spring, 2008.

If you have taken Acting I, and want to continue your study of acting, take Acting II: Scene Study. This course is limited to a sophomore standing and above. It is the prerequisite for Advanced Acting: Verse Drama and Advanced Acting: Non-Realistic Drama.

Another acting course is Physical Performance for the Actor taught by Roberto Prestigiacomo. This term the course will focus on movement, dance, text, mask, song, fact, fiction, and design (see description below). First year students who have taken Acting I, in fact all classifications, are eligible to enroll in this course.

Many of you are aware that Dr. Rinear is planning retirement in a couple of years. He is a noted expert in the field of American Drama. This semester will be his last Trinity offering of American Drama.

Each year we have a visiting Stieren guest or guests, the department offers a one-hour masters class taught by the guest artist/s. Our Stieren Guest/Artist, Director/Choreographer, Tony Parise will teach this year’s Special Topics in Performance: Musical Theatre Dance. The class will meet once a week, probably on Saturday, during Mr. Parise’s residence, for a total of 5 master classes. If you are serious about acting, especially musical theatre, take this class. Working with Mr. Parise may help you develop a network beyond Trinity.

Each year the Drama Endowment administered by Dr. Hill, affords us the opportunity to hire a faculty member from outside the department to teach an enrichment course that we do not regularly offer. This year, the drama program will offer Special Topics in Design: Arts and Stage Management. There is a demand for people with management skills in the arts. Our instructor is Tim Hedgepeth. His experience as an arts administrator and artistic director will provide students in this class with an expert’s understanding of the many opportunities in arts management. If you are in the least bit interested in exploring arts management, take this course. It may not be offered again while you are at Trinity. Also, this class will study stage management, an area of interest for many in the program. If you are planning to take the drama education program, you need to have stage management.

Finally, we have yet another new offer for the semester, Seminar in Drama: Inter-War Drama. This is one of Professor Connelly’s areas of expertise and interest.

As a special offering for this semester, it may not be offered again for several semesters.

Of course, we invite your continued and active interest in the drama program. As we build a theatre arts community, your participation is welcome both in the classes we offer and in the many production opportunities planned for next semester. If you have questions regarding courses or participation in the program, feel free to ask any drama faculty or staff member.

Spring 2006, Drama Course Offerings

Drama 1100 University Theatre Company

Steve Gilliam, W 12:30 – 1:20

Get involved in one of the main stage productions and receive academic credit while doing it. This course focuses on specific responsibilities assigned by faculty and staff regarding University Theatre Productions. Included are performance, construction, running and operating crews, assistant stage management, and a weekly course meeting. May be repeated for four credit hours. Students working in University Theatre Productions who are neither drama majors nor minors are encouraged to enroll in DRAM 1100 but are not required to do so.

Drama 1314 Introduction to Drama

Roberto Prestigiacomo, MWF 10:30 - 11:20

Introduction to Drama is a survey of dramatic western literature from Ancient Greeks to the contemporary times.  The students will read and discuss plays in their theatrical, social, and cultural contexts and will be introduced to the basic principles of playwriting, acting, directing, and design.

Drama 1352 – 1 Acting I: Introduction to Acting

Stacey Connelly, MW 3-5:00

Drama 1352 – 2 Acting I: Introduction to Acting

Sam Gilliam, TR 3-5:00

Drama 1352 – 3 Acting I: Introduction to Acting

Kristin Crouch, TR 12:45 – 2:45

This class will provide the beginning acting student with basic acting techniques and vocabulary through exercises, monologues, and scene work. (Not available for P/F option.)  

Drama 2310 – 1 Principles of Design

Steve Gilliam, TR 11:20 – 12:35

Drama 2310 – 2 Principles of Design

Steve Gilliam, TR 12:45 – 2:00

Principles of Design is a foundational and introductory design course for drama. A requirement for the drama major, Drama 2310 is also a prerequisite for Directing, Costume Design and Scene Design. An objective of Principles of Design is to stimulate, develop, and improve an individual's creative thought process by exploring and discovering the artist within all of us. The course honors whole brain thinking largely through the exploration of nonverbal projects utilizing the abstract language of art: the principles and elements of composition, drawing and rendering. Students create sculptures, learn to draw, and design costumes and scenery for a show. For additional information and student project examples, visit http://www.trinity.edu/sgilliam/principles/podindex.html

Drama 2314 Principles of Stage Lighting

Tim Francis, TR 12:45 – 2:00

Stage Lighting, is designed to introduce the student to the complex and fascinating art of lighting design for the stage. To effectively design lighting one must possess a number of different cerebral and technical skills. The lectures, projects, papers, discussions, and class work will strive to acquaint the student with these skills.

The class will discuss and explore the role of light in theatrical productions. Methods employed shall include practical "hands on" projects, critical analysis of lighting in productions, a theoretical lighting design, lecture, and discussion.

Drama 2352 Acting II: Scene Study

Stacey Connelly, TR 12:45 – 2:00

Acting II is a scene study class in which the students present monologues, focusing on audition technique, as well as different scenes with different scene partners. The course focuses on styles, which are assigned according to roles that would appropriately be read for casting situations. Prerequisite: Dram 1352, sophomore standing or above or consent of instructor.

Drama 2354 Vocal Performance for the Actor

Kristin Crouch, MW 2:30 – 3:45

Provides fundamental concepts and techniques of vocal production, voice and diction, and vocal performance training. Various modes of body/voice exploration are employed. Voice and body work are developed through multiple performance opportunities that seek to increase the performer’s vocal clarity, power, flexibility, and range. (Also listed as SPCH 2313).

Drama 2356 Physical Performance for the Actor

Roberto Prestigiacomo, TR 3 – 5:00

Drawing together movement, dance, text, mask, song, fact, fiction, and design, students will develop a creative vocabulary that will lay the foundation of a physical approach to theatre. By recalling the traditional popular theatre forms of commedia dell' arte and clowning, as well as mask performance and puppetry, the students will explore the creation of a performance which breaks the boundaries of individual disciplines.

Drama 3312 Costume Design

Jodi Karjala, TR 8:30 – 9:45

Costume design for theatrical productions. This course acquaints the student with the artistic techniques and principles used to create costume designs. Students will analyze play scripts in terms of their dramatic components and visual environment and use this information to create appropriate theatrical costume designs. Emphasis is placed on the visual interpretation of literary works using character study, period research, and script analysis. Prerequisite: DRAM 2310 or consent of instructor.

Drama 3333 The History of Theatre & Drama

David Rinear, MWF 11:30 – 12:20

This course is an examination of the history of dramatic literature, the physical theatre, audience behaviors, and staging practices from Classical Greece through the mid-19^th century. Study will utilize historical and critical writings as well as representative dramatic texts. Prerequisite: DRAM 1314 or consent of instructor.

Drama 3334 American Drama

David Rinear, MW 2:30 – 3:45

This course is a study of trends in American dramatic literature from the 17th century through World War II. Topics include frontier theatre, suffragette pageants, regional repertory theatre, Vaudeville, and Broadway. (Also listed as ENGL 3301.) Prerequisite: DRAM 1314 or consent of instructor.

Drama 4191 Special Topics in Performance: Musical Theatre Dance

Tony Parise, Stieren Guest Artist, TBA (Probably Saturday)

Although Mr. Parise will provide additional details at a later time, this course will more than likely investigate a basic introduction to musical theatre dance.

Drama 4391 Special Topics in Design: Arts and Stage Management

Tim Hedgepeth, W 4:30 – 7:25pm

This introductory course is designed to acquaint students with essential behind-the-scenes and front-of-house responsibilities necessary for a successful production as well as the equally important responsibilities of arts management and production, such as the roles of the producer/managing director, the marketing and public relations manager, among others, and their work in both non-profit and for-profit (theme park shows, Broadway tours, etc). Other areas for discussion: funding (government and private), the role of the NEA and state/local arts councils, and the necessity for strong arts advocacy. The focus of the course will ultimately fall on management: management of people, time, and resources. And, of course, the three magical D’s in this arena: Deadlines, Discipline, and Diplomacy. The course is recommended for Speech and Drama, Art, and Music majors who are interested in understanding professional opportunities beyond the performance and production of art. The course will also introduce to Business and Marketing majors new venues and opportunities where their talents and interests may be applied.

Drama 4393 Senior Experience in Drama

Kristin Crouch, TR 9:55 – 11:10

This course serves as a capstone experience for Drama majors with senior standing. Students will synthesize all production experiences and Drama coursework taken for the major into a portfolio, will research career opportunities for the potential application of this coursework, and will write a reflective and projective paper devoted to this synthesis for future career development. Students will also make an oral, poster/portfolio presentation of the final product to a meeting of faculty, staff, and other students towards the end of the semester.

Drama 4394 Seminar in Drama: Inter-War Drama

Stacey Connelly, TR 11:20 – 12:35

Interwar Theatre. This course is a survey, so it has exams instead of extensive research papers. It's mainly a discussion of plays and artistic movements during this period: Dada, Expressionism, Surrealism, Futurism, and Epic Theatre. There will be units on The Group Theatre, The Federal Theatre Project, Brecht and Piscator, Comedy and Satire, the Russian Renaissance. Some of the playwrights to be discussed include Shaw, Coward, Toller, Kaiser, Brecht, O'Neill, Capek, Witkeiwicz, Marinetti, Mayakovsky, Odets, Hellman, Sherwood. It will investigate a few films: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari; Broadway's Dreamers: The Group Theatre as well as Films of Musicals: The Threepenny Opera, The Cradle will Rock. There will be one 6-8-page paper/presentation on a famous production of their choosing between the periods 1918-1940.

The prerequisite for this course is Drama 1314 or the consent of the instructor.

Speech 1323 Oral Interpretation

Sam Gilliam, TR, 9:55 – 11:10

Oral Interpretation, SPCH 1323 explores the literary and oral performance tradition of "story."  Enjoy a semester of reading and analyzing fascinating, funny, and deeply moving works of literature in prose and poetry.  Rediscover the "storyteller" in yourself as you learn to perform compelling and dynamic works or literature.  Emphasis is placed on exploring the skills and techniques of oral performance in reading aloud from a text and communicating to an audience.  Course work is balanced with rigorous interpretation and written analysis of chosen texts to be performed.

THE MAJOR

The Drama major consists of 40 semester hours to be taken as follows:

1. Required core consists of 25 semester hours.

DRAM 1100 University Theatre Company (four semesters for a total of four semester hours; at least one semester must involve work in technical theatre)
DRAM 1314 Introduction to Drama
DRAM 1320 Introduction to Production Techniques OR
DRAM 1330 Principles of Costume Technology
DRAM 1352 Acting I: Introduction to Acting
DRAM 2310 Principles of Design
DRAM 2332 Play Structure and Analysis
DRAM 3333 History of Drama and Theatre
DRAM 4393 Senior Experience in Drama

 2. 15 additional hours of drama electives of which no more than 3 credit hours of directed studies or special topic courses may be applied toward the required 40-hour major.

3. At least 15 hours of the total hours required for the major must be upper division.

4. Additional courses in Drama may be taken, but not substituted for those listed to fulfill the major requirements.

THE MINOR

The Drama Minor consists of 20 hours to be taken as follows. At least 9 hours must be upper-division coursework.

 1. Required core consists of 11 semester hours.

DRAM 1100 University Theatre Company (two semesters for a total of two semester hours)

An additional 9 hours to be selected from the following courses:
DRAM 1304 Introduction to Theatre
DRAM 1314 Introduction to Drama
DRAM 1320 Introduction to Production Techniques
DRAM 1330 Principles of Costume Technology
DRAM 1352 Acting I
DRAM 2100 Stage Makeup Design
DRAM 2310 Principles of Design
DRAM 2314 Principles of Stage Lighting
DRAM 2332 Play Structure and Analysis
DRAM 2354 Vocal Performance for the Actor (also listed as SPCH 2313)
DRAM 2356 Physical Performance for the Actor
DRAM 3333 History of Theatre and Drama

2. 9 additional hours of drama electives of which no more than 3 credit hours of directed study or special topic courses may be applied.