Music Theater Courses

Music Theater

Introduction to Art Making

LCA 101 · Spring 2018

C01 · Mondays & Wednesdays, 11:00 am - 12:20 pm

Instructors: Aynsley Vandenbroucke · Boris Fishman · Daniel Heyman · Jane Cox · Ruth Ochs · Susan Wheeler

How do artists make art? How do we evaluate it? In this course, students of all levels get to experience firsthand the particular challenges and rewards of art making through practical engagement with five fields — creative writing, visual art, theater, dance, and music — under the guidance of professionals.

Performing Arts and/as Civic Engagement

FRS 136 · Spring 2018

S01 · Mondays, 1:30-4:20 pm

Instructors: Erica Nagel

How can someone who loves the performing arts, but is also committed to civic engagement find a path to meaningfully combine their interests and use their artistic gifts in service to their communities? Throughout the course, students will be asked to read and think critically about the role of performing arts in society, explore and develop their own notion of civically-engaged art making, and consider the responsibility of theatre artists to address questions of civic engagement and service.

Sound Design

THR 320 / MTD 320 · Spring 2018

S01 - Robert Kaplowitz · Tuesdays, 1:30 - 4:20 pm

Instructors: Joanna Staub · Robert Kaplowitz

An exploration of theatrical sound design and engineering, this class will explore sound for both theater and music theater. We will investigate text from the point of view of sound, and learn how to communicate the ideas, palette and arc of a design to others. We will explore developing a creative process and turning our ideas into sounds that can be used onstage.

Contemporary Opera and Music Theater

MUS 325 / THR 346 / MTD 325 · Spring 2018

S01 · Thursdays, 1:30-4:20 pm

Instructors: Andrew Lovett

A Viking saga, a mad king, a vengeful husband: these are a few of the characters that we encounter in recent small-scale operas (or 'music-theater' works). They give us a starting point for considering how we tell stories in opera. We will look at the music, the staging and the performance and the ways these elements come together to provide a unified artistic work. Students will be encouraged to respond creatively through writing about the work, or musical composition or developing a particular performance idea. The course will be graded on a final project of the student's choice.

Acting and Directing in Musical Theater

MTD 341 / THR 341 · Spring 2018

S01 · Mondays, 1:30 - 4:20 pm

Instructors: Ethan Heard · Stanley Bahorek

A practical hands-on introduction to acting and directing in musical theater. The course will require students to prepare songs and scenes from selected musicals with an eye to how best to approach the particular challenges the scene presents.

Theater Making Studio

THR 402 / MTD 402 · Spring 2018

C01 · Mondays, 1:30 - 4:20 pm

Instructors: John Doyle

This course explores theories and practices in contemporary theater making, and will be a workshop of ideas for junior theater certificate students in preparation for their final year. We will examine questions such as: what are the differences between process and product, what is collaboration, where does the audience fit in to the creative journey. We will investigate different approaches to theater making. The course will incorporate practical exercises, seminar discussions and visits to rehearsal at Classic Stage Company in NYC.

Theater Rehearsal and Performance

THR 451 / MTD 451 · Spring 2018

S01 · Fridays, 12:30 - 4:20 pm

Instructors: Elena Araoz

This course provides students with a rigorous and challenging experience of creating theater under near-professional circumstances.

Grandma’s Russian Painting: A New Performative Installation

ATL 495 / VIS 495 / MTD 495 / THR 495 · Spring 2018

S01 · Tuesdays, 1:30 - 4:20 pm

Instructors: Basil Twist · Ljova Zhurbin

This course is centered around the development of a new performative installation by puppeteer Basil Twist entitled ‘Grandma’s Russian Painting’ inspired by childhood memories of an elaborate painting Twist’s grandmother had near her swimming pool in the desert.