Michole Biancosino
Directing I: Beginning
THEA 0214Directing I: Beginning As a group, students will analyze one or two plays to discover the process involved in preparing a script for production. Attention will be given to production and design concepts, textual values, auditions, rehearsals, and the structuring of a performance in time and space. Students will also cast and direct one or more scenes to be worked on and performed in class. The practical work is combined with written analysis.
0 reviewsS25The Plays of Station Eleven
THEA 0230The Plays of Station Eleven This course will provide a study of theatrical literature through an interrogation of the specific ways live performance and the human body inform meaning in text-based theatre. We will begin with a reading of the novel Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, the plot of which centers around a traveling troupe of actors performing plays after a plague. After studying the novel and subsequent television series, we will begin a deep reading of the plays depicted within the story, including Shakespeare’s King Lear and Hamlet. Following these tragedies, we will read modern plays that explore different forms, themes, styles, and methods of theatre-making, again led by the evocations of post-pandemic performance. Contemporary plays will include Jonathan Payne’s The Revolving Cycles Truly and Steadily Roll’d, Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Liz Duffy Adams’ Dog Act, Anne Washburn’s Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play, Caridad Svich’s Twelve Ophelias, and Sarah Ruhl’s Passion Play.
2 reviewsS25The Creative Process
ARDV 0116The Creative Process In this course, students will have the opportunity to dig deeply into their own creativity and explore the processes by which ideas emerge and are given shape in the arts. The experiential nature of this course integrates cognition and action, mind and body. Students will engage in a range of modes of discovering, knowing, and communicating, which are designed to push them beyond their present state of awareness and level of confidence in their creative power. Practical work will be closely accompanied by readings and journaling, culminating with the creation and performance of a short project.
5 reviewsF24Theatre History
THEA 0208Theatre History Using the dramatic text as the primary focus, this course will chart the progression of theatre from its ritualistic origins to the advent of modern drama. This survey will include an overview of theatrical architecture, the evolution of design and acting styles, and the introduction of the director. Since theatre does not exist in a void, a consideration of the social, cultural, political, and scientific milieu of each era studied will be included in the course. 2 1/
2 reviewsF24Fall Production Studio: Acting
THEA 0210Fall Production Studio: Acting The cast works as part of a company interpreting, rehearsing, and performing a play. Those receiving credit can expect to rehearse four to six nights a week. Appropriate written work is required. Participation in the course is determined by auditions held the previous term.
0 reviewsF24Contemporary Women Playwrights
GSFS 0206Contemporary Women Playwrights In this course we will read and discuss the work of the most influential and interesting American and European playwrights from the 1980s to the present. Authors will include: Maria Irene Fomes, Caryl Churchill, Suzan-Lori Parks, Adrienne Kennedy, Ntozake Shange, Judith Thompson, and Naomi Wallace. Issues of race, class, and gender will be closely examined. Readings will include selections from performance and feminist theory.
0 reviewsS24Contemporary Women+Playwrights
THEA 0206Contemporary Women+ Playwrights In this course we will read and discuss the work of influential contemporary American playwrights from the late twentieth century to the present. Authors will include Maria Irene Fomes, Ntozake Shange, Lynn Nottage, Larissa Fasthorse, Martyna Majok, and others. Issues of race, class, and gender will be closely examined. Readings will include selections from performance and feminist theory.
3 reviewsS24Directing and Creating
THEA 0238Directing and Creating: Textual Work and Devised Work In recent years the disciplines of directing ‘text-based’ theatre and of creating (or devising) a theatre piece without an initial reliance on a text have built shared approaches to material. Devised work may be composed through vocal or physical improvisation, created through interviews, or collaged from various sources, a text may emerge during the process. Text-based theatre is more traditional in its impetus, but the process of fleshing out a text can be very similar to creating without a text. In this course we will approach both forms of theatre, creating and directing pieces in many forms, and viewing works. Readings include The Viewpoints Book, The Active Text, and The Frantic Assembly Book of Devising Theatre. The course is suggested for actors and designers as well as directors and may be used to fulfill a requirement for senior work in directing or devising. This course is not open to students who have taken THEA 0237 or THEA 0324.
0 reviewsS24Theatre History
THEA 0208Theatre History Using the dramatic text as the primary focus, this course will chart the progression of theatre from its ritualistic origins to the advent of modern drama. This survey will include an overview of theatrical architecture, the evolution of design and acting styles, and the introduction of the director. Since theatre does not exist in a void, a consideration of the social, cultural, political, and scientific milieu of each era studied will be included in the course. 2 1/
0 reviewsF23Fall Production Studio: Acting
THEA 0210Fall Production Studio: Acting The cast works as part of a company interpreting, rehearsing, and performing a play. Those receiving credit can expect to rehearse four to six nights a week. Appropriate written work is required. Participation in the course is determined by auditions held the previous term.
0 reviewsF23Acting I: Beginning Acting
THEA 0102Acting I: Beginning Acting Rigorous physical and psychophysical exercises attempt to break through the cultural and psychological barriers that inhibit an open responsiveness to impulses, to the environment, and to others. Attempt is made to free personal response within improvised scenes and, eventually, within the narrative structure of a naturalistic scene. Attention is given to various theories of acting technique. Students are expected to audition for departmental shows.
1 reviewS23The Plays of Station Eleven
THEA 0230The Plays of Station Eleven This course will provide a study of theatrical literature through an interrogation of the specific ways live performance and the human body inform meaning in text-based theatre. We will begin with a reading of the novel Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, the plot of which centers around a traveling troupe of actors performing plays after a plague. After studying the novel and subsequent television series, we will begin a deep reading of the plays depicted within the story, including Shakespeare’s King Lear and Hamlet. Following these tragedies, we will read modern plays that explore different forms, themes, styles, and methods of theatre-making, again led by the evocations of post-pandemic performance. Contemporary plays will include Jonathan Payne’s The Revolving Cycles Truly and Steadily Roll’d, Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Liz Duffy Adams’ Dog Act, Anne Washburn’s Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play, Caridad Svich’s Twelve Ophelias, and Sarah Ruhl’s Passion Play.
0 reviewsS23Theatre History
THEA 0208Theatre History Using the dramatic text as the primary focus, this course will chart the progression of theatre from its ritualistic origins to the advent of modern drama. This survey will include an overview of theatrical architecture, the evolution of design and acting styles, and the introduction of the director. Since theatre does not exist in a void, a consideration of the social, cultural, political, and scientific milieu of each era studied will be included in the course. 2 1/
2 reviewsF22Fall Production Studio: Acting
THEA 0210Fall Production Studio: Acting The cast works as part of a company interpreting, rehearsing, and performing a play. Those receiving credit can expect to rehearse four to six nights a week. Appropriate written work is required. Participation in the course is determined by auditions held the previous term.
0 reviewsF22Directing I: Beginning
THEA 0214Directing I: Beginning As a group, students will analyze one or two plays to discover the process involved in preparing a script for production. Attention will be given to production and design concepts, textual values, auditions, rehearsals, and the structuring of a performance in time and space. Students will also cast and direct one or more scenes to be worked on and performed in class. The practical work is combined with written analysis.
0 reviewsF22Directing I: Beginning
THEA 0214Directing I: Beginning As a group, students will analyze one or two plays to discover the process involved in preparing a script for production. Attention will be given to production and design concepts, textual values, auditions, rehearsals, and the structuring of a performance in time and space. Students will also cast and direct one or more scenes to be worked on and performed in class. The practical work is combined with written analysis.
0 reviewsS21I enjoyed this course lots being interested in theatre and sci-fi! Station Eleven the book and show was very good and it was fun to discuss in an academic environment. I like that the course material opened me up to plays outside my comfort zone, things that I would not normally read. This course is discussion heavy and everyone is expected to contribute to the discussion, but I feel like you're good as long as you read the material. For midterm and finals you're expected to perform a scene- but other creative works such as costume/stage design is also accepted, or an essay. Michole is chill and pretty fun and it's clear that she loves the title work very much and is enthusiastic about her course topic, I would love to take her class again.
I enjoyed this course lots being interested in theatre and sci-fi! Station Eleven the book and show was very good and it was fun to discuss in an academic environment. I like that the course material opened me up to plays outside my comfort zone, things that I would not normally read. This course is discussion heavy and everyone is e …Read more
I was looking for a class to take and this class just so happen to fit into my schedule while also filling out some of my distribution requirements. The class involves a lot of reading play and sometimes it feels like you don't have the time to read all of the material in time. I myself didn't read a vast majority of the plays, and I still got through the class and participated. It's not a hard class at all, it just takes a lot of time reading.
I was looking for a class to take and this class just so happen to fit into my schedule while also filling out some of my distribution requirements. The class involves a lot of reading play and sometimes it feels like you don't have the time to read all of the material in time. I myself didn't read a vast majority of the plays, and I …Read more
Classes had a somewhat loose structure, where Michole would often have a powerpoint that had some information, but the bulk of the class was spent answering questions and having discussions surrounding the reading. The reading was a lot, and there were times when I just could not get all of it read before class and complete all of the work for my other classes. There are periods when the reading is relatively light and periods where the amount of reading was just too much. To succeed in the class you should do most or at least some of the readings, and review summaries or other basic information about the parts you didn't. You will have to talk at some point in the class, so it's better to volunteer answers or opinions at the parts you are most familiar with. There is one major project and two exams- a midterm and a final. The projects are presented throughout the second half of the semester. Exam grading was incredibly harsh, and one of the only parts about the class that I strongly disliked. Grading was pretty fair otherwise.
Classes had a somewhat loose structure, where Michole would often have a powerpoint that had some information, but the bulk of the class was spent answering questions and having discussions surrounding the reading. The reading was a lot, and there were times when I just could not get all of it read before class and complete all of th …Read more