Fall 2024 Courses

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This course will explore the creation of a television comedy led by Al Samuels (Sports Action Team) and Allison Silverman (The Daily Show, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Late Night) and partnering with visiting guest artist Michael Koman (Nathan for You, SNL). Throughout the semester, the creative team will complete a detailed show pitch and initial draft of part pilot script to be shopped post course. We will also feature frequent industry guests. Atelier students will observe the creative team's process and make contributions to it. Each student will also develop an original TV comedy concept.

Greg Kotis and Mark Hollmann, the Tony Award-winning writers of "Urinetown The Musical," will lead a workshop in which students work in teams to write original 10-minute musicals. No experience necessary! However, each student will be expected to try their hand at writing book and lyrics and composing music AND performing in the ten-minute musicals.

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.

Practice in the original composition of poetry supplemented by the reading and analysis of standard works. Criticism by practicing writers and talented peers encourages the student’s growth as both creator and reader of literature.

The curriculum allows the student to develop writing skills, provides an introduction to the possibilities of contemporary literature and offers a perspective on the place of literature among the liberal arts. Criticism by practicing writers and talented peers encourages the student's growth as both creator and reader of literature.

This is a workshop in the fundamentals of writing plays. Through writing prompts, exercises, study and reflection, students will be guided in the creation of original dramatic material. Attention will be given to character, structure, dramatic action, monologue, dialogue, language and behavior.

Students will choose, early in the semester, one author to focus on in fiction, poetry, or drama, with the goal of arriving at a 20-25 page sample of the author's work. All work will be translated into English and discussed in a workshop format.

This studio course introduces students to graphic design with a particular emphasis on typography. Students learn typographic history through lectures that highlight major shifts in print technologies.

Advanced practice in the original composition of poetry for discussion in regularly scheduled workshop meetings. The curriculum allows the student to develop writing skills, provides an introduction to the possibilities of contemporary literature and offers perspective on the places of literature among the liberal arts.

Advanced practice in the original composition of fiction for discussion in regularly scheduled workshop meetings. The curriculum allows the student to develop writing skills, provides an introduction to the possibilities of contemporary literature and offers perspective on the place of literature among the liberal arts.

Students will choose, early in the semester, one author to focus on in fiction, poetry, or drama, with the goal of arriving at a 20-25 page sample of the author's work. All work will be translated into English and discussed in a workshop format.

What motivates us to write about our own lives? What is the relationship between the "I' who experiences and the "I" who writes? How scrupulous must we be about telling the truth? What are our moral obligations to the people we write about? In this workshop, we will consider different approaches to the people, places and things that have formed us.

In traditional workshops content and context come second to craft. Here we will explore writing political fiction, the politics of fiction and writing as political engagement.

This course will introduce students to core screenwriting principles and techniques.

The course will lead students toward the creation of a work of musical theater (for lack of a better term) which will run parallel to the collaboration of the two instructors of the course, Adam Gidwitz and Steven Mackey. Instrumental musical performers of any instrument, composers, writers, actors and others who feel they can contribute to a theatrical presentation are needed. The course will include introducing existing relevant works, the progress and process of the ongoing work of the instructors collaboration and of course facilitation of the student creations.

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.

From grand plié to grand jeté, Introduction to Ballet is for students with a curiosity for the study of classical ballet. No prior dance experience necessary and beginners are welcome. In this studio course students will learn the fundamentals of ballet, gaining an understanding of its physicality, artistry, and principles of alignment. Students will examine the historical origins of ballet and its absorption of cultural influences. Live music will be featured in this class and key in exploring the inextricable link between music and dance.

In this studio course open to all, we will dive into experiences in which body and language meet. We'll think about these from aesthetic, cultural, political, medical, personal, and philosophical perspectives. We'll explore language from, in, around, and about (our) bodies.

A studio course introducing students to American dance aesthetics and practices, with a focus on how its evolution has been influenced by African American choreographers and dancers. An ongoing study of movement practices from traditional African dances and those of the African diaspora, touching on American jazz dance, modern dance, and American ballet.

Bharatanatyam, butoh, hip hop, and salsa are some of the dances that will have us travel from temples and courtyards to clubs, streets, and stages around the world.

This course introduces students to human anatomy using movement, drawing, and dance practices. We will study the structure and function of the body from an interdisciplinary perspective, with a focus on relationships between cognition, the nervous system and movement.

Students in VIS 300 / DAN 301 will create sculptures that relate directly to the body and compel performance, interaction, and movement. Students will also create dances that are informed by garments, objects, props and structures. Works will be created for unconventional spaces and designed to challenge viewer/performer/object relationships, augment and constrain the body, and trace the body's actions and form. The class will consider how context informs perceptions of the borders between performance, bodies and objects.

This seminar will interweave the history of New York City with the history of dance across the twentieth century. It will use the work of dancers, choreographers, and critics to illuminate social, political, and cultural trends in New York's urban life.

Princeton Dance Festival is a studio course that culminates in two performances: the Princeton Dance Festival at the Berlind Theatre and a choreographic showing in the Hearst Theater. Students learn and perform dances either through collaboration with faculty or by learning significant dances from contemporary choreographers. In the choreography precepts, students engage in creative practices to gain fluency with a range of choreographic approaches. Readings and viewings support students' growth as performers, choreographers, viewers, readers and writers of dance.

This studio class will explore a broad range of approaches to art-based performance: from instruction pieces and happenings, to the body as language and gesture, to performance as a form of archiving.

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.

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.

Introduction to Theater Making is a working laboratory, which gives students hands-on experience with theater's fundamental building blocks — writing, design, acting, directing, and producing. Throughout the semester, students read, watch and discuss five different plays, music theater pieces and ensemble theater works.

An introduction to the craft of acting. Emphasis will be placed on honesty, spontaneity, and establishing a personal connection with the substance of the material.

This is a workshop in the fundamentals of writing plays. Through writing prompts, exercises, study and reflection, students will be guided in the creation of original dramatic material. Attention will be given to character, structure, dramatic action, monologue, dialogue, language and behavior.

In this studio course open to all, we will dive into experiences in which body and language meet. We'll think about these from aesthetic, cultural, political, medical, personal, and philosophical perspectives. We'll explore language from, in, around, and about (our) bodies.

FRE/THR 211 will offer students the opportunity to put their language skills in motion by exploring French theater and acting in French. The course will introduce students to acting techniques while allowing them to discover the richness of the French dramatic canon

This course will invite student singers and pianists to prepare and perform songs from 20th and 21st century American Musical Theatre. Each week students will be coached on their songs in a master class format with an emphasis on musical, vocal, and acting issues. Repertoire will be covered in a historical overview from the beginning of the 20th century to the present.

This seminar offers an intensive introduction to working with cultural documents emerging within and from LGBTQ+ communities in the United States during the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

In this course, we'll examine the musicals of Stephen Sondheim from Company (1970) to Road Show (2009) as a lens onto America. We'll explore how Sondheim and his collaborators used the mainstream, popular, and commercial form of musical theatre to challenge, critique, deconstruct, and possibly reinforce some of America's most enduring myths.

The first half of Shakespeare's career, with a focus on the great comedies and histories of the 1590s, culminating in a study of Hamlet.

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.

This workshop will introduce students to the craft of writing words and music for the musical theatre.

In this community-engaged class, students will be invited to learn about the dynamic history and role of the arts in Trenton through conversations with local artists and activists. Students will develop close listening skills with oral historian/artist Nyssa Chow. Readings include texts about urban invisibility, race, decoloniality, and public arts policy. Students will participate in the development of a virtual memorial and restorative project by Trenton artist Bentrice Jusu.

This studio class will explore a broad range of approaches to art-based performance: from instruction pieces and happenings, to the body as language and gesture, to performance as a form of archiving.

The South African Anti-Apartheid movement saw mass resistance against the government's racial segregationist policies. Students will learn about the conditions that gave rise to Apartheid and the Anti-Apartheid movement, taking a look at the instrumental role that the performing arts and protest theatre played in dismantling the unjust system.

This cross-genre, interdisciplinary, and creative project based course explores digital imagery combined with human movement. Students work with technologies including projectors, projection mapping software, modular coding, Unreal engine, and mocap suits, to create works of art and shareable experiences incorporating images, space, and the human body.

Students will explore the world of voice acting and vocal foley design. Students will investigate historical and contemporary techniques used in audiobooks, animation, commercials, and video games. They will utilize industry-standard Logic Pro and user-friendly Garageband to collaborate with the Princeton University Library's Special Collections and reimagine public domain masterpieces through a sonic lens.

From Cross Colours to boom boxes, the 1990s was loud and colorful. But alongside the fun, black people in the U.S. dealt with heightened criminalization and poverty codified through the War on Drugs, welfare reform, HIV/AIDS, and police brutality. We will study the various cultural productions of black performers and consumers as they navigated the social and political landscapes of the 1990s. We will examine works growing out of music, televisual media, fashion, and public policy, using theories from performance and cultural studies to understand the specificities of blackness, gender, class, and sexuality.

The course will lead students toward the creation of a work of musical theater (for lack of a better term) which will run parallel to the collaboration of the two instructors of the course, Adam Gidwitz and Steven Mackey. Instrumental musical performers of any instrument, composers, writers, actors and others who feel they can contribute to a theatrical presentation are needed. The course will include introducing existing relevant works, the progress and process of the ongoing work of the instructors collaboration and of course facilitation of the student creations.

This course offers an exploration of visual storytelling, research and dramaturgy, combined with a grounding in the practical, collaborative and inclusive skills necessary to create physical environments for live theater making. Students are mentored as designers, directors or project creators on realized projects in our theaters, or on advanced paper projects. Individualized class plans allow students to imagine physical environments for realized and un-realized productions, depending on their area of interest, experience and skill level.

The purpose of this course will be to explore the dynamics of spectacle and performance (artistic, political, sexual, anthropological) in representative plays by major Italian authors of the 20th century.

The course is designed to encourage the development of directors for Theater and Music Theater. The course will incorporate a strong practical element, giving student directors the opportunity to explore and hone their own practices, developing useful and appropriate style and language as they move forward in their work as young directors.

This course will offer students the opportunity to bring a play from page to stage. Students will work with professional director Bi Jean Ngo in rehearsals to create and embody characters using physical theater, voicework, and script analysis. Through focused exploration of text and character along with ensemble collaboration, students will develop and strengthen their skills in acting and public performance.

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.

The great thing about drawing is you can do it anywhere! This course approaches drawing as a way of thinking and seeing. We'll introduce basic techniques while also encouraging experimentation, with a focus on both drawing from life and drawing as an expressive act.

An introduction to the materials and methods of painting, addressing form and light, color and its interaction, composition, scale, texture and gesture. Students will experiment with subject matter including still life, landscape, architecture, self-portraiture and abstraction, while painting from a variety of sources: life, sketches, maquettes, collages, photographs and imagination.

An introduction to the processes of photography through a series of problems directed toward lens projection, the handling of light-sensitive material, and camera operation. The goal of this course is to make art, and by doing so, understand the necessity for the invention of photography.

This studio course introduces students to the aesthetic and theoretical implications of digital photography. Emphasis will be on gaining competency with digital equipment and editing techniques so that students can learn to express themselves and their ideas through the medium.

This studio course introduces students to graphic design with a particular emphasis on typography. Students learn typographic history through lectures that highlight major shifts in print technologies.

This course introduces students to techniques for decoding and creating graphic messages in a variety of media, and delves into issues related to visual literacy through the hands-on making and analysis of graphic form.

This studio course engages students in the decoding of and formal experimentation with the image as a two-dimensional surface. Through projects, readings, and discussions, students take a hands-on approach to making with an array of technologies (the camera, video camera, computer, solar printing, web publishing) and forms (billboard, symbol, screensaver, book) to address the most basic principles of design, such as visual metaphor, composition, sequence, hierarchy, and scale.

This studio production class will engage in a variety of timed-based composition, visualization, and storytelling techniques. Students will learn foundational methods of 2D animation, acquire a working knowledge of digital animation software and technology, and explore the connective space between sound, image, and motion possible in animated film.

This class is an introduction to sculpture with an emphasis on a wide variety of materials and processes. Weekly studio work will engage the visual properties of sculpture; regular presentations and discussions will study how form, scale, and cultural references can be combined to create meaning. Indoor and outdoor assignments will prompt students to discover an understanding of contemporary sculpture. Students will also develop basic facility with hand and bench tools, catalytic chemistry, and industrial techniques, as well as a heightened awareness of how 3D objects relate to one’s own body, to architecture, and to the landscape.

What is public art and how does it impact you? What is the role of the artist and the relationship between the use of materials, the site, and the community? Learning from varied concepts of art in public spaces, such as alternative digital spaces, intimate social relations, interventions, books and zines, outdoor public art spaces, we will learn from past and contemporary examples as we imagine the future of art in public spaces. Through hands-on projects created in 3D form and collective collaborative projects, we will redefine and design the future of art in the public.

In the real world, what relationships have the necessary friction to generate compelling films? Documentary Filmmaking I will introduce you to the art, craft and theory behind attempts to answer this question. Through productions, readings, screenings, and discussions, you'll take your first steps into the world of non-fiction filmmaking. You will analyze documentary filmmaking as an aesthetic practice and a means of social discourse. Further, as films are often vessels for their directors, preoccupations, the course will push you to examine the formal, social and political concerns that animate your life during these turbulent times.

An introduction to narrative and avant-garde narrative film production through the creation of hands-on digital video exercises, short film screenings, critical readings, and group critiques.

Students in VIS 300 / DAN 301 will create sculptures that relate directly to the body and compel performance, interaction, and movement. Students will also create dances that are informed by garments, objects, props and structures. Works will be created for unconventional spaces and designed to challenge viewer/performer/object relationships, augment and constrain the body, and trace the body's actions and form. The class will consider how context informs perceptions of the borders between performance, bodies and objects.

This course will examine photography's impact and evolving technologies. Students will work with analog and digital media to broaden photographic strategies, technical skills, and understanding how a photograph's material form influences how it is understood. A range of tools will be introduced, including camera operation, darkroom printing, Photoshop image management tools, and inkjet printing. The course will require independent and collaborative assignments augmented by readings, visiting artists, and field trips.

This course is designed for students who are interested in learning the fundamentals of working with clay. A wide variety of hand-building will be taught, enabling students to make utilitarian vessels as well as sculptural forms.

This course will introduce students to core screenwriting principles and techniques.

This studio class will explore a broad range of approaches to art-based performance: from instruction pieces and happenings, to the body as language and gesture, to performance as a form of archiving.

An intermediate exploration of narrative and avant-garde narrative film production through the creation of hands-on digital video exercises, short film screenings, critical readings, and group critiques.

The course addresses current issues in painting, drawing, sculpture, film, video, photography, performance and installation. It includes readings and discussions of current contemporary art topics, a visiting artist lecture series, critiques of students' work, and an artist book project.

This course offers an exploration of visual storytelling, research and dramaturgy, combined with a grounding in the practical, collaborative and inclusive skills necessary to create physical environments for live theater making. Students are mentored as designers, directors or project creators on realized projects in our theaters, or on advanced paper projects. Individualized class plans allow students to imagine physical environments for realized and un-realized productions, depending on their area of interest, experience and skill level.

This course focuses on the development of various approaches in observational drawing from the human figure.

The structure of Senior Exhibition Issues and Methods is to create a conversation and vision for, and in regards to and around your Senior Thesis. The nature of the class is somewhat informal and conversational, with the majority of class time being for student studio presentations and visiting artists lectures.

The Haptic Lab is hands-on studio course in which haptic learning—both physical and virtual—will occur simultaneously. Four fast-paced, materially intensive assignments will be paired with equally intensive digital production. Students not only will engage in making artworks in both realms, but also engage in critical analysis of the dynamic relationship between the two. Materials may include ash wood, silicon rubber, soil, polystyrene, or a recipe for 2,000-year-old cement.

Photography has evolved under changing socio-political climates, technologies, and market pressures, and artists using photography today continue to address their interests and concerns using formal innovations. The medium reminds the viewer that representation itself is unstable. How can artists who use photography address broader societal concerns in a way that honors the poetics of the medium, while that medium has a troubled relationship to the record? This course will coincide with a fall symposium and exhibition.

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.

This course will invite student singers and pianists to prepare and perform songs from 20th and 21st century American Musical Theatre. Each week students will be coached on their songs in a master class format with an emphasis on musical, vocal, and acting issues. Repertoire will be covered in a historical overview from the beginning of the 20th century to the present.