Courses

THDA-200, Perception & Performance
One-half course. Two single class periods and one double period, with one hour of outside class preparation each week. Only four-year students who matriculated prior to 2008 may fulfill thier theater requirement with this course. This experiential class will involve students in an exploration of how human beings perceive universal conditions and respond through performance. The course will explore the collaborative process and give students an opportunity to experience and understand a dramatic event. Ritual, character, and story will serve as focal points for sections of our discovery while we introduce different theatrical styles and each of the various elements of complete technical theatre. Throughout the course students will be made aware of how the theatre comments on the historic conflicts of an age or reflects the human condition. Focusing on theatre as a performing rather than a literary art, all concepts in the course will be developed through experiential exercises, culminating in a short performance.

THDA-210, Introduction to Acting
Four class periods. Open to all classes, this course is designed for students with little or no acting experience. By doing exercises in movement and voice production, reading, improvisation, and scenes, a student who is curious about the theatre may determine whether he or she has ability or interest in acting while learning something of the process of characterization, the major responsibility of the actor. The emphasis is on the variety of acting experiences rather than on a polished final product.

THDA-320, Lighting
Four class periods. The course will introduce the student to the art of lighting design while also providing an opportunity to observe light in nature, art, stage, screen, and created environments. The course will allow the individual to gain applied practical understanding regarding the color theory of light, the psychology of color and light, and controllable qualities of light. The design process will be utilized as a method of dramatic interpretation. Artistic expression will be achieved through practical use of lighting instruments, laboratory projects, experiments, and school productions when applicable. (Mr. Murray)

THDA-321, Costuming
Four class periods. An introductory exploration into the areas of costume design and costume construction, this course will highlight primary design elements utilized in costume design for the stage and screen (i.e., line, color, tone, texture, movement, mood composition, balance, and focus). The course will examine historical period silhouette and the art and craft of the stage costume. Practical experience will be given in areas including construction, flat patterning, draping, and fabric manipulation. (Mr. Murray)

THDA-325, Scene Design
Four class periods. This course will introduce the student to the elements that inform the scenic designer's choices (the theme and mood of a script, lines of action, focus, constraints, whimsy) and discuss methods of formulating cohesive, functional, and effective design for a show. The student will be introduced to many materials and techniques available to a designer for realizing his or her ideas as a physical product. Special attention will be spent on the process of the design concept: collaboration, formulation, presentation, discussion, evaluation, and reworking. Students will be graded on both design projects and classroom participation. This is a seminar class that relies upon the open and frank exchange of ideas to stimulate creativity. (Mr. Bacon)

THDA-330, Theatre Theory and History
Four class periods. Open to Seniors and Uppers. Lowers may enroll with permission of the instructor. We will trace the role of theatre in Western culture from the Greeks to the present American stage, focusing on how important artists broke through theatrical plateaus, creating new forms to communicate with their audiences. The vehicles for our lecture discussion-based journey might include plays and writings by Aeschylus, Shakespeare, Moliere, Strindberg, and Miller; designs from the Romans, the Elizabethans, Reinhardt, Craig, Appia, and Mielziner; and theorists such as Aristotle, Stanislavsky, Brecht, Beck, and the Bread and Puppet Theatre. A major term project will wrap up the course with students' thoughts on how to push beyond present plateaus to reestablish the vitality of theatre for our culture today.

THDA-360, Introduction to Directing
Four class periods. Since directing plays is the most complex of theatrical tasks, this course will focus on methods to unlock the life of a script in the realization of production. Studies will include historic styles and productions, emphasizing their staging. Students will learn the dynamics of floor plans and their effect on blocking, the potentials for lighting and its effect on mood, the importance of rhythm and spectacle, and strategies to harness them. While no class on directing can function without including discussion of the actor's craft, this class will only touch on this area, which will be further developed in THDA-510. Prerequisite: THDA-210 or permission of the instructor.

THDA-365, Choreographic Elements
This course examines the aesthetic elements of movement through various dance styles. Students will be led through explorations and formal exercises to learn how to generate and manipulate movement in clear and innovative fashions. Course work will culminate in final presentation of original compositions. This class will provide an in-depth study of dance elements and choreographic tools, drawing upon models set forth by Laban, Balanchine, Doris Humphrey, Judson Church, Mark Morris, and Rennie Harris, among others. Ultimately, students will deepen their understanding of movement as a form of communication and expression. This course will require students to rehearse on their own outside of class, as part of the standard four to five hours of homework per week.

THDA-380, Technical Production
Five class periods. This is a practicum course in which students work on the technical elements for faculty-directed dance and theatre productions being produced by the department in that term. Skills learned will depend on the requirements of the particular show. Some lab hours to be arranged outside of class time.

THDA-381, Scenic Construction
Five class periods. Students learn and practice fundamental theatrical scenic construction techniques. Specific topics covered are shop, stage, and power tool safety; how to read and build from technical drawings; platform and flat construction; doors and windows; safe legging and support techniques; rigging systems; and scene painting. In-class instruction is supplemented by readings from The Stagecraft Handbook, by Daniel Ionazzi. Note that THDA-381 does not fulfill the Theatre and Dance requirement. (Mr. Bacon)

THDA-420, Public Speaking
Four class periods. The course has a dual objective: to learn how to speak easily in front of others, and to learn how to construct a speech and perform the speech in English. Students give prepared speeches on a variety of topics.

THDA-500, The Creative Self
Students will create a multimedia performance piece using improvisation techniques. Students will learn a variety of different techniques integrating movement, text, sound, visual components, and personal stories. The class will study the development of performance art through this century starting with the Dada movement, the Bauhaus theater, the beginnings of modern dance, the post-modern movement, happenings, and Butoh, ending with the contemporary performance art scene. No prerequisite required. The class will be geared toward Uppers and Seniors; Lowers may enroll with permission of the instructor. (Ms. Wombwell)

THDA-510, Acting and Directing Workshop
Four class periods. Enrollment by permission of the instructor. This course, for both the actor and the director, investigates tools to create a character on stage. We will learn to analyze a character and to unlock the toolbox of an actor. Students will take turns between acting and directing scenes after thorough analysis of the material. Course projects will include showing one's work as both actor and director to an actual audience. The total time requirement for this course (class time plus homework) may exceed the standard nine hours per week.

THDA-520/1, Play Production
By audition only. This course is composed of the performance of a faculty-directed play or musical. Recent choices include Urinetown, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Odd Couple, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Next. The 2009-2010 productions will include a musical, Greek drama, and American modern classic. The total time required for this course (class time plus homework) may exceed the standard nine hours per week.

THDA-520/2, Play Production
By audition only. This course is composed of the performance of a faculty-directed play or musical. Recent choices include Urinetown, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Odd Couple, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Next. The 2009-2010 productions will include a musical, Greek drama, and American modern classic. The total time required for this course (class time plus homework) may exceed the standard nine hours per week.

THDA-520/3, Play Production
By audition only. This course is composed of the performance of a faculty-directed play or musical. Recent choices include Urinetown, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Odd Couple, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Next. The 2009-2010 productions will include a musical, Greek drama, and American modern classic. The total time required for this course (class time plus homework) may exceed the standard nine hours per week.

THDA-900, Andover Dance Group for Credit
The Andover Dance Group (ADG) is an auditioned performance group consisting of the most highly trained and dedicated dancers at Phillips Academy. Students in ADG make a commitment to dance for at least two terms a year, rehearsing for faculty-directed shows as an extra-curricular. Students dance five to six days a week. Serious dancers may be in the ADG each of their years at the Academy. After one year of performing with the ADG, students may choose to take a year for credit. In addition to rehearsals, students taking ADG for credit will be required to take a weekly dance history seminar that relates the current ADG project to a specific time period, movement, choreographer, or style in dance history. This seminar is a one-term commitment. Students may take this option only once, and it will serve to fulfill a term of their arts requirement. The total time commitment for this group (classes, rehearsals, and seminar) may exceed the standard nine hours per week. Co-requisite: Students in Andover Dance Group are required to take dance as a sport.