DRAMA 101A Introduction to the Theatre 1
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.
DRAMA 102 Introduction to Performance
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.
DRAMA 220 Performance Studies
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.
DRAMA 221 Intermediate Acting 1
An extension of DRAMA 102. This course stresses development of the actor through scene study.
DRAMA 243 Introduction to Technical Production 1
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.
DRAMA 244 Introduction to Technical Production 2
An extension of the studies described in DRAMA 243.
DRAMA 251 Ancient Tragedy in Translation
This course focuses upon the dramatic literature of the classical age in Athens. It features the Oresteia of Aeschylus, the Oedipus plays of Sophocles, and the Medea, Hippolytus and Bacchae of Euripides. Roman tragedy is also studied for comparative purposes through the plays of Seneca.
DRAMA 301 Dramaturgical Analysis
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.
DRAMA 306 Spec Studies: Theatre Prod 1
Production participation and the study of selected problems of theatrical production.
DRAMA 307 Spec Studies: Theatre Prod 2
Production participation and the study of selected problems of theatrical production.
DRAMA 311 English Drama to 1642
The Middle Ages, the Elizabethans and Jacobeans (excluding Shakespeare), and the Spanish Golden Age.
DRAMA 319E Beckett in Performance
This course focuses on the various ways in which the dramatic works of Samuel Beckett have been rendered in performance.
DRAMA 321 Advanced Acting 1
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.
DRAMA 326 Voice Technique
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.
DRAMA 331 Design for the Theatre 1
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.
DRAMA 333 Costume 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.
DRAMA 334 Scenic Painting
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.
DRAMA 341 Lighting Design for the Theatre 1
An introduction to the theory and practice of theatre lighting design through studio experience.
DRAMA 343 Theatre Management and Technology 1
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.
DRAMA 348 Cultural Management 1
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.
DRAMA 349 Cultural Management 2
An advanced course which focuses on current and emerging issues in cultural management and policy.
DRAMA 350 Cultural Management 3
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.
DRAMA 361 Directing 1
Exploration of the director's task in its practical, theoretical and historical aspects.
DRAMA 362 Directing 2
Students will be expected to form their own production company, mount a short play, and submit a detailed promptbook.
DRAMA 363 Stage Combat
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.
DRAMA 372 Theatre History 2
Theatre history from the Classical French and English Restoration periods to the present era.
DRAMA 380 Canadian Drama
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.
DRAMA 381 Russian Drama before 1905
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.
DRAMA 382 Russian Drama after 1905
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.
DRAMA 385 Ancient Comedy in Translation
The comedy of the ancient Greeks and Romans will be examined through selected plays of Aristophanes, Menander, Plautus and Terence. The different types of comedy, and their evolution, will be studied in lectures and discussions.
DRAMA 392 American Film
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.
DRAMA 396 Film Noir
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.
DRAMA 401 Acting Styles
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.
DRAMA 402 Political Theatre
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.
DRAMA 403 Theories of the Modern Theatre
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.
DRAMA 404 Genre
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.
DRAMA 405 Theatre and the New Media
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.
DRAMA 409 Theatre Criticism
Study and practice of the criticism of theatre production and performance.
DRAMA 421 Advanced Acting Workshop 1
An intensive workshop designed to develop performance skills. Special attention given to individual acting problems.
DRAMA 425 Audition Technique and Professional Orientation
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.
DRAMA 426 Advanced Voice Technique
An advanced workshop course in voice for the actor and speaker designed to continue the exploration of voice technique in DRAMA/SPCOM 326.
DRAMA 440 Performative Inquiry and Practice
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.
DRAMA 499A Senior Seminar
This course is designed to give the student an opportunity to complete a comprehensive presentation in her/his major area of concentration.
DRAMA 499B Senior Seminar
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.