DRAMA Course Descriptions

Drama (2009-2010)

Introductory study of the theatre as a major art form. Selected plays as produced in their historical contexts. Contributions of the actor, designer and technician to theatrical production.

An extension of the studies described in 101A.

Designed for majors in Drama and in Speech Communication, this workshop introduces the student to the tools of performance. Students will gain confidence through individual and group exercises in physical and emotional awareness, improvisational skills, scene study, character creation and voice.

This workshop course in performance studies explores performance as a way of knowing. It investigates performance as artistic practice and as a means of understanding historical, social and cultural practices, including drama/theatre texts, poetry, narratives and texts of everyday life.

An extension of DRAMA 102. This course stresses development of the actor through scene study.

An extension of DRAMA 221.

Theory and practice of building, painting, rigging and shifting scenery; construction of properties; familiarity with lighting instruments, sound equipment and their control systems. Students must spend a certain number of hours working on department productions.

An extension of the studies described in DRAMA 243.

This course focuses on improving the student's oral skills through the preparation and performance of a German play. Students also learn about the theoretical and technical aspects of theatre production.

On the basis of selected readings and practical exercises this course introduces students to various aspects of dramaturgical work in the theatre, close textual analysis, script editing, performance history, background research, play development dramaturgy, program design, publicity dramaturgy, and production dramaturgy. Students will have the opportunity to apply these skills to the plays chosen for the year's season.

Production participation and the study of selected problems of theatrical production.

Production participation and the study of selected problems of theatrical production.

The Middle Ages, the Elizabethans and Jacobeans (excluding Shakespeare), and the Spanish Golden Age.

French Neo-Classicism, the Restoration Period and Sentimental Drama.

The late 18th and 19th centuries; romanticism and naturalism.

The first part of the 20th century.

The second part of the 20th century.

American Drama from the 1920s to the present.

The course explores the elements that are unique to the musical, and the translation of this essentially artificial art form into theatrical and cinematic versions. It will examine in particular the distinctions between musicals based on stage productions and musicals devised exclusively for film.

This course focuses on a major dramatist. It will consider first of all the times, the life and the work. It will then concentrate on productions of plays in various media, and include interpretations, design styles, critical reception and related topics.

This course focuses on a major dramatist. It will consider first of all the times, the life and the work. It will then concentrate on productions of plays in various media, and include interpretations, design styles, critical reception and related topics.

This course focuses on a major dramatist. It will consider first of all the times, the life and the work. It will then concentrate on productions of plays in various media, and include interpretations, design styles, critical reception and related topics.

This course focuses on a major dramatist. It will consider first of all the times, the life and the work. It will then concentrate on productions of plays in various media, and include interpretations, design styles, critical reception and related topics.

This course focuses on the various ways in which the dramatic works of Samuel Beckett have been rendered in performance.

Advanced work in acting. Course involves individual and ensemble work in selections from specific plays with attention given to various periods and styles in acting.

An extension of the studies described in DRAMA 321.

A workshop course in voice for the speaker, designed to increase vocal power, range, flexibility and variety in presenting the spoken word. May be subject to priority enrolment.

An introduction to the problems of designing for the theatre. Work for the course will include the preparation of drawings and models as well as practical experience in the theatre.

An extension of the studies described in DRAMA 331, concentrating on the practicalities of set design.

This course examines the art form and practical craft of costume design for the theatre as it is practiced today. All aspects of the design and construction of stage costuming are addressed, with emphasis on text analysis, capturing a period look, fabric choice and methods of costume construction, and rendering approaches and techniques.

Decorative painting has been part of worldwide culture since at least the Paleolithic Age. For the past four hundred years, scenic painting has been central to theatre production. This practical course examines the history, techniques and methods of this unique and ephemeral art, blending practical exercises with research work.

This course surveys the development of costume, focusing primarily on fashionable clothing in Western societies from the Renaissance to today. It examines the influence of art and design movements, social roles and trends, and manufacturing and marketing methods on the changing fashionable style image of men and women. It includes the role of the fashion designer as well as theatrical and film costume design.

An introduction to the theory and practice of theatre lighting design through studio experience.

The theory and practice of theatre technology. Special attention will be given to stage management, production management and house management. The course is an integral part of the departmental production season.

An introduction to the problems and techniques of contemporary not-for-profit cultural management. Topics include: budgeting and financial control, marketing and board/management relations.

An advanced course which focuses on current and emerging issues in cultural management and policy.

An advanced course in management and development in the not-for-profit sector. Topics include: the context of philanthropy in Canada, understanding organizational culture and the role of the not-for-profit board in fundraising.

Examination of the development of the motion picture art in Central and Eastern Europe after World War II. Selected work of prominent directors of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, the former USSR, and former Yugoslavia will be discussed (Chytilova, Forman, Jancso, Makavejev, Tarkovsky, Wajda, and others). Film screenings.

A chronological survey of one of the most intriguing of film genres. Discussion of its aesthetic, philosophical and cinematic aspects. Film screenings will present major international works in this genre (Godard, Kubrick, Lang, Marker, Siegel, Tarkovsky, Truffaut and other directors). Film screenings.

A study of major achievements of the Italian cinema in its post- Neo-Realist period. Discussion of the works of major directors since the late 1950s (Antonioni, Bertolucci, Fellini, Olmi, Taviani, Rosi, Visconti and others). Film screenings.

This course examines the role of the post-1985 East-Asian film in the development of motion picture art and the East-West cultural exchange, focusing on Chinese (Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan) and Korean cinemas. It will assist students in interpreting non-Western modes of cinematic expression. Screenings and seminar discussions will include a selection from the fifth and sixth generations of Chinese filmmakers: Hong Kong's auteur Wong Kar Wai; Taiwanese directors Hou Hsiao-hsien and Tsai Ming-liang; the achievements of Korea's master filmmaker Im Kwon-taek, and the newcomer Kim Ki-duk.

This course will examine the historical development of the animated film and the diversity of its stylistic expression. It will focus on some of the most significant achievements of the animated form in an international context, including: Early film animation; Disney and Hollywood cartoon; two and three dimensional and live action animation in Western Europe; Czech animation; the Zagreb animation school, and the Russian animation; National Film Board of Canada and the independent US animation; Japanese tradition; recent advances in computer and experimental animation.

History of world cinema in its silent and early sound era, covering the work of outstanding directors, national productions and movements, and their contribution to the film medium's development into a prominent art form of the 20th century. Film screenings.

A continuation of FINE 250/DRAMA 356. From the beginnings of the modern sound cinema (Welles) to the contemporary period. Film screenings.

A study of major achievements of the French cinema after World War II. Discussion and comparison of the two main creative impulses of the period: the Academic tradition of the 40s and 50s, and the rebellious nouvelle vague of the 60s. (Bresson, Carne, Ophuls, Renoir, Chabrol, Godard, Malle, Truffaut, Resnais, and others.) Film screenings.

Examination of principles of the audiovisual language and the main structural elements of the cinematic work. Discussion of the relationship between film, television and other arts/media. Film screenings.

Development of critical judgment and expression in the area of film and television. Investigation of the role of motion pictures and TV in society. Review of major theories (Eisenstein, Bazin, Metz, Kracauer, Esslin). Film screenings.

Exploration of the director's task in its practical, theoretical and historical aspects.

Students will be expected to form their own production company, mount a short play, and submit a detailed promptbook.

The basics of physical contact for the stage, with a strong emphasis on safety considerations. Hand-to-hand combat and work with a variety of weapons including foils are covered. In addition, aspects of fight choreography are explored, as well as falls and pratfalls.

Theatre history from Classical Greece to the Renaissance.

Theatre history from the Classical French and English Restoration periods to the present era.

This course explores traditions and experiments in Canadian drama through an analysis of Canadian plays, especially those from 1960 to the present, in their historical and theatrical contexts.

A study of the origins and development of Russian drama up to 1905. Reading and critical analysis of major works in various genres with emphasis on authors of the 19th century.

A study of the origins and development of Russian drama after 1905. Reading and critical analysis of major works in various genres with emphasis on authors of the 20th century.

A study of the plays written before 1599-1600, excluding Julius Caesar.

A study of the plays written after 1599-1600, including Julius Caesar.

Principles, methods, forms and styles of theatre for children. Children's theatre play-scripts examined and evaluated in a workshop situation.

A study of some of the most important female theatre artists and the diverse ways in which they have brought a female sensibility to the art form at different stages in theatre history. The course will also touch upon the issue of gender representation in theatrical production and sexual politics in the theatre.

American Film will examine the relationship between film and the social/political movements of each decade since 1930. In this way, the course will address the medium as both chronicler of history and agent for change and/or conformity. At the same time, attention will be paid to the nature of film, its technical development and the changing approaches to acting in American films that is a direct result of the development in theatre of a specific and distinctive American acting style.

The course examines the relationship between stage and film. A number of play scripts and their film adaptations are examined, concentrating on how a filmmaker manipulates stage text to create a film text.

The course examines the impact of European New Wave films of the late 1950s and early 1960s on American filmmaking, focusing on the revolutionary changes evident during the later 1960s and the 1970s. The course considers the work of filmmakers such as Bogdanovich, Cimino, Coppola, Peckinpah, Penn, Scorsese and others.

The course examines British film as a political expression of the changing British class system, from pre-war and interwar expressions of the social classes in films such as CAVALCADE and BRIEF ENCOUNTER, through the swift changes of the 1950s and early 1960s in films by Reisz, Richardson and Anderson, and the swinging London of the mid-to-late 1960s, up to the present day. The course focuses on the way the films parallel British social and political change.

The principal focus will be on the American "noir" films between 1940-55, the period during which the genre itself was defined and developed. Beyond the style and the techniques of this unique world of film, the parallels between cinema noir and America's social and political pressures will be examined. The course will include the neo-Noir school, the filmmakers who 'borrowed' from the originators by re-applying the basics to the changing times in the 1970's and beyond.

Examines American and British acting styles from 1945 - 1965 through a study of representative films. The evolution of contemporary techniques and styles is considered, first by exploring the dominant methods in each country from the mid-century, and then by observing an increasing similarity between the two.

Considers the politics of governing, religion, family, marriage, work, race, gender and sexual orientation as they are expressed and commented on in a variety of contemporary, international play texts. Class discussion focuses on both the texts and the society that gave rise to each playwright's passions.

An examination of the writings of selected theorists and practitioners of the modern theatre in terms of their contrasting ideas on the kind of expression and communication possible through the medium of theatre. Their works will be studied in relation to each other and to concurrent social, political, and aesthetic developments.

A study of the various dramatic genres and sub-genres in terms of their distinguishing characteristics. Selected plays from various periods in theatre history will be examined on the basis of some of the most significant theoretical writings in the field. The usefulness of genre distinctions will be tested against plays/performances which appear to transcend them.

The primary objective of this course is to investigate ways in which new media technologies have been, and can be, applied in theatrical practice. It examines the range of opportunities and challenges this synthesis poses and provides students with some of the insights and skills required to apply new media technologies in a theatrical context. On the basis of such practical and theoretical study, students will also engage in projects which explore creatively the coalition between theatre and the new media.

Participation in stage production for advanced students.

Participation in stage production for advanced students.

Study and practice of the criticism of theatre production and performance.

An intensive workshop designed to develop performance skills. Special attention given to individual acting problems.

An extension of DRAMA 421.

An intensive approach to monologue work, this course will prepare students for the audition process. Time will also be devoted to learning about the demands of the theatre profession, and the problems faced by the self-employed artist.

An advanced workshop course in voice for the actor and speaker designed to continue the exploration of voice technique in DRAMA/SPCOM 326.

This course explores how to create, perform and analyze performance texts, here defined as including drama/theatre texts, poetry, narratives, and the texts of everyday life. Through readings and creative investigation, students will explore the links between the participant, the researcher, the site and the impulse of inquiry.

An advanced course. Selected students are apprenticed in theatre technology or management functions in productions both on and off campus.

Seminars in special areas of drama and theatre.

Seminars in special areas of drama and theatre.

This course is designed to give the student an opportunity to complete a comprehensive presentation in her/his major area of concentration.

This course is designed to give the student an opportunity to complete a comprehensive presentation in her/his major area of concentration. Second part of DRAMA/SPCOM 499.