We will look at practice as both verb and noun, pay special attention to the ways in which we embody the work (and change) we want to see in the world. Through somatic activities, talks with invited guests, projects, and readings (across the arts, sciences, philosophy, religion, and activism), we'll revel in the interplay between process and product, solitude and community, structure and freedom, life and art.
Music Theater Courses
Music Theater
In this course we will explore the extraordinary capabilities of the human voice. The course is open to singers, non-singers, composers or non-composers : all are welcome. Be prepared to make some noise!
DIDO REIMAGINED - Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, and Errollyn Wallen's Dido's Ghost. This class will combine a staged, in-the-round performance of Purcell's emblematic masterpiece "Dido and Aeneas" with the in-depth study and performance of selected scenes from composer Errollyn Wallen's brand new "sequel" to Purcell's opera - "Dido's Ghost". Students are admitted by audition only.
Enrolled students will engage with this course as workshop cast members of a new interdisciplinary piece by Princeton Arts Fellow Michael J. Love and explore methods of rhythm tap dance performance, live electronic music composition, and practice-based research on Black American music (genres such as jazz, funk, soul, hip hop, techno, and house).
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.
Song. Dance. Man. Woman. These are the basic components of the Broadway musical theatre. How have musical theatre artists, composers, lyricists, librettists, directors, choreographers, and designers worked with these building blocks to create this quintessentially American form of art and entertainment? This course will explore conventional and resistant performances of gender and sexuality in the Broadway musical since the 1940s. Why are musicals structured by love and romance?
This upper level musical theater writing course will delve into the creation of new musical works for the stage, with an emphasis on music as an essential dramatic language.
This course is designed to encourage the development of directors for theater and musical theater, covering techniques and practices from both areas.
This course will be an exploration, rehearsals and performances of a production of the play Fuenteovejuna by Lope de Vega, to be performed partly or completely in the Spanish language. The project will be directed by professional director Estefania Fadul, and will lead to performances in the Berlind Theater.
Ever thought of writing a rock musical? Or, having written one, staging it? If you're a writer, composer, musician, singer or director you might consider joining the Tony Award winning composer Stew (Passing Strange) and book and lyrics writer Paul Muldoon as they develop their new piece commissioned by the Public Theater in New York. Athens, Georgia is based on the Frogs of Aristophanes but set squarely in the America of the 2020s. This up-to-date version combines slapstick and social justice and features appearances by the rock god Dionysus, the guitar hero Hercules, Chuck Berry, Little Richard and, of course, the Real Housewives of Hades.