American Dreaming: Theatre and Activism in the US

This class is an invitation to explore writing for theater, film, and television by creating ten scripts over the 10-week term. Edward Albee told Andrea that a play is as long as it is. To that end, like a short story, the short form allows for the creation of numerous stories, testing of form and structure, experimentation, failure, and success. Scripts can range from 1 page to 10 pages or longer if need be. This writing workshop will be fast-paced and inquiry-driven. We will use class time to do writing exercises, ask and answer questions, discuss the craft of scriptwriting, and share and critique our own and one another’s work. Students will be expected to create ten scripts, re-draft 5 of those scripts, and select their favorite script to further refine and finalize as their final project.

Evaluation is based on the quality of written work and participation in class discussions. Work will be evaluated for quality, engagement, effectiveness, on-time delivery, and commitment to the workshop collective. Students are expected to bring in new plays each week and to contribute their best work to an end-of-class public reading.

This winter, students will collaboratively research and build a hybrid performance installation performed for the public at the end of the term. The project will be drawn from work previously created and staged, by faculty member and artist Dru Colbert. That work was a trilogy of original performance installation events conceived of by Dru, focused on the landscape, history and folklore of Mt. Desert Island, Maine, and sited specifically in various locations on the island at different times of the year. The work explores human activity and memory associated with the surrounding landscape, and is intended to conjure "hidden" histories of human occupation and experience on the island that are not covered in the guidebooks or National Park brochures. The project of the monster course this winter will be to reconsider one of these works within the current historical and cultural context with new collaborators and new elements. The project will be researched, built and performed by participants in the course in collaboration with select local organizations and community members. Areas of research and documentation include: natural and historical events (through community interviews and historical record/found footage/home movies), scientific processes, things that crossover time(s), spirits emerging from the past, predictions and imaginings of the future, and entities from adjacent worlds.

Students selected for the course will engage collaboratively and individually in a wide range of art making activities including dramaturgical research and planning of large and small scale visual, spatial and performance elements, scriptwriting, object making, choreography, light, sound and music, ensemble/crew management, promotion, and documentation. Evaluation will be based on demonstrated engagement with all course elements and materials as well as successful navigation of and contribution to the shared production process.

Students with visual art, craft, sewing, carpentry, construction, tech, performance art, sound and puppetry experience are especially encouraged to apply. Previous coursework in these areas is not required but will be most useful.

To be considered for the course, students must complete the questionnaire provided via email by week 3, Fall term. Instructors may also request interviews. This large scale intensive process will result in a run of 4 site specific performances at the end of the Winter term. The course counts for 3 full credits and requires a considerable time commitment. The default grading option for this course is credit/no credit.

This course is geared toward students with or without performance experience. Together we will establish a common language to define the most important tools for an actor. Through a series of games and exercises, students develop new skills and practice making bolder, clearer choices within improvised, devised or established scenes. The goals are to create confidence in any sort of performance situation and to find ways of applying acting skills to other academic and outside experiences. Evaluation is based on participation in class activities and discussion, successful completion of all performance projects, including productive rehearsal time and an organized portfolio of written responses. There will be at least one field trip. Default grading option for this course is CR/NC.

This course will look closely at a small selection of plays adapted from other works. At its core this is a dramaturgical practice and methods course. Students will investigate impulses and processes for re-envisioning, re-working, re-purposing another’s text. We will read and discuss some theories of adaptation (mostly, but not exclusively, as they pertain to collaborative art making practices) as well as a sampling of contemporary criticism. A central goal of the course will be to better understand how the term adaptation is understood across disciplines and to fuel a complex discussion about what might make a theatrical adaptation feel relevant or effective in a given context. We will also look closely at moments in history that have instigated a serious 'looking back', spurring a collective creative impulse to re-visit and re-invent previously established works. One could argue that we are currently living in such a cultural moment. Please note: this course requires a significant reading load. Students will be required to close read/view all adapted texts, all original source materials and a variety of supporting texts (as described above). We will also draw from film, visual art and music for this study. Evaluation will be based on a sequence of short practical assignments and demonstrated engagement with the course materials through live discussion and a shared class blog.

This interactive course will focus on the theory of Western European art music with additional content on jazz, popular music, and selected non-Western music theories. Topics will include advanced rhythms/meters, scales, intervals, chords, and diatonic harmony. Learning activities will include analysis, sight-singing, ear training, dictation, and applications to active music making. This course will be useful to musicians interested in applying common musical elements and structures to their practice as a performer, improviser, songwriter, and/or composer in order to enhance their overall artistry. It will also provide students with a common vocabulary to communicate and collaborate with other musicians across styles and genres. Students enrolling in the course should have a working knowledge of standard Western notation, including proficiency in reading rhythm and pitch in at least one clef. Basic competency in at least one instrument or voice is also recommended.

Assessment of student work will include weekly written (notation-based) assignments, sight-singing recordings, dictations, a mid-term exam, and a final exam.

In Advanced Samba Percussion Ensemble, we will focus on developing a repertoire of percussion music based in two Brazilian music traditions: Samba Reggae from the city of Salvador de Bahia and Samba Batucada, an instrumental substyle of Samba music originating in Rio de Janeiro. This class builds on the work undertaken in Samba Percussion Ensemble by exploring additional styles, developing more complex arrangements, and building a wider repertoire. Along the way, students will cultivate skills in percussion performance, physical coordination, formal memorization, functional notation strategies, and rhythmic awareness. At the same time, we will learn about the social history of Samba music through reading, screening, listening, and discussion. These twin endeavors are mutually enriching and are designed to contribute towards a more robust and holistic model of cross-cultural musical learning.

This term, we will be joined on campus by guest artist Caique Vidal, a percussionist born and raised in Salvador, Bahia, for a series of workshops and a final performance at the end of the term.

Advances Samba Percussion Ensemble is open to students who have taken Samba Percussion Ensemble or by special permission. Please contact Jonathan if you have not taken the intro class but want to be considered for the advanced class. The first class session of the week will typically be split between rehearsal and listening/discussion/instruction. The second class session of the week will be reserved just for rehearsal. Students will be assessed based on their participation in class learning and discussion, practice outside of class time, and the completion of assignments.