MUSICAL PERFORMANCE FOR THE ACTOR

MUSIC 105

Introduction to musical theater and opera in Europe and America, with emphasis on the ways creators tell their stories through the interaction of music and drama. Topics include the histories and formations of the genres and their relationships to culture and society; principal creators and performers; distinctive features of representative works; relationships to film and other media; and treatments of race, class, gender, and other issues in selected examples of each genre.

MUSIC 463

Acting and stagecraft skills, including text-targeted work, with a focus on the dramatic aspects of the operatic craft. Text work in will involve a step-by-step process designed to facilitate the assimilation of English and foreign-language texts in rehearsal and performance. Work in these areas will be applied to arias and scenes from the operatic and theatrical repertoire.

THEATRE 341

Study, discuss, and perform the central principles of improvisation for the stage, which have useful applications in a range of personal and professional settings. Skills and tools to foster comfort, ease, authenticity, and confidence in performance, public speaking, and everyday interactions.

THEATRE 450

Study and demonstration of the various acting styles from the Greek to the modern. Concentration on two specific styles in a semester.

THEATRE 352

Student actors develop career-focused skills and confidence in auditioning for theatre and on-camera projects. Includes exercises in handling "cold" readings, prepared monologues, interviews, and improvisational auditioning. Student will also learn to look at auditions from the casting director's point of view.