BFA in Theatre Design - Technology

4.00 Credits
This course introduces students to the various means of expression available to the art of the stage. In addition to an exploration of the techniques of the written script, students will be introduced to the visual forms of artistic communication, their history, and the conventions of all theatrical forms.

2.00 Credits
This course offers experience in standard technical craft practices for the theatre. Students study fundamental techniques in selected technical/craft areas. Including, but not limited to, scenery construction and handling, scene painting, sculpture for the stage, costume and properties construction, make-up prosthetics, electrics, and lighting. Students are expected to provide appropriate materials as needed. Students may complete different Stagecraft units to a total of eight credits. The Performing Arts core curriculum requires completion of two laboratory units, or four credits.

2.00 Credits
This course offers experience in standard technical craft practices for the theatre. Students study fundamental techniques in selected technical/craft areas. Including, but not limited to, scenery construction and handling, scene painting, sculpture for the stage, costume and properties construction, make-up prosthetics, electrics, and lighting. Students are expected to provide appropriate materials as needed. Students may complete different Stagecraft units to a total of eight credits. The Performing Arts core curriculum requires completion of two laboratory units, or four credits.

0.00 Credits
Performing Arts majors are assigned to crew one Emerson Stage production project during their first year in the program. Successful completion of this crew assignment is required as part of the Performing Arts curriculum. Students who fail to earn a satisfactory grade in TH 149 during their first year may not be eligible for work with Emerson Stage until they do so through a new crew assignment.

4.00 Credits
A survey of theatre and drama from the Greeks through the Renaissance, with a focus on the major periods of Western theatre and dramatic literature: the Greeks, Roman theatre and drama, Medieval theatre, Elizabethan drama, and Italian, French, and English Neo-Classicism. In addition, a survey of Eastern classical theatre and drama with a particular emphasis on the Sanskrit theatre, the Chinese drama and the Peking Opera, and the classical theatre of Japan, including Kabuki, No, and the puppet theatre. Selected readings of plays in their historical context with particular attention paid to theatrical styles of plays and production.

4.00 Credits
A survey of theatre and drama from the late seventeenth century to the present. The major periods of world theatre and drama, Neo-Classicism, Romanticism and Modernism will be studied with particular emphasis on Twentieth Century theatre and drama throughout the world, including Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and Latin America. Attention will be given to the work of both women and men. Theatrical conventions, innovations and techniques developed in the Western and Non-Western theatres will be explored.

4.00 Credits
An introduction to the acting process designed for the non-performance major. Group and individual exercise work develops a relaxed instrument able to respond freely, in the body and the voice, to emotional and external stimuli. The course moves from fundamental explorations through improvisation to work on scripted material.

2.00 Credits
This course offers experience in standard technical craft practices for the theatre. Students study fundamental techniques in selected technical/craft areas. Including, but not limited to, scenery construction and handling, scene painting, sculpture for the stage, costume and properties construction, make-up prosthetics, electrics, and lighting. Students are expected to provide appropriate materials as needed. Students may complete different Stagecraft units to a total of eight credits. The Performing Arts core curriculum requires completion of two laboratory units, or four credits.

2.00 Credits
This course offers experience in standard technical craft practices for the theatre. Students study fundamental techniques in selected technical/craft areas. Including, but not limited to, scenery construction and handling, scene painting, sculpture for the stage, costume and properties construction, make-up prosthetics, electrics, and lighting. Students are expected to provide appropriate materials as needed. Students may complete different Stagecraft units to a total of eight credits. The Performing Arts core curriculum requires completion of two laboratory units, or four credits.

2.00 Credits
Techniques in perspective drawing and drafting are acquired, including color and texture in a variety of media and the representation of objects in stage space. Students are expected to provide appropriate materials as needed. This is the first course required of students in the Design/Technology concentration and recommended for others interested in design.

2.00 Credits
Through weekly projects, students learn graphic techniques in drafting for theatrical production. Focus is on conventional symbolization, development of ground plans, sections, elevations, orthographics, isometrics, and construction drawings. Students are expected to provide appropriate materials as needed.

0.00 Credits
This course offers a semester-long experience in the technical areas of theatrical production for BFA Theatre Design & Technoligy majors. Each team will develop advanced skills in the major craft areas by working on Emerson Stage productions scheduled in areas for an entire semester. Students are expected to provide appropriate materials as needed. A, Set Construction; B, Scene Painting; C, Costume Construction; D, Properties; E, Electrics/Sound.

4.00 Credits
This course will introduce students to the history of theatrical design and production techniques and their relationship to the audience and culture from which they are derived. Students in the course become fluent in the language and techniques of visual design. They discover tools for reading play scripts from the designer's perspective, prepare research folios and make classroom presentations of their discoveries. Research materials are accessed and delivered in a variety of ways including spoken, written, and graphic presentations, both traditional and computer-aided. Students are expected to provide appropriate materials.

4.00 Credits
The course introduces the student to basic costume patterning and construction methods. The student will not only study draping, drafting, and flat-patterning, but will also learn terminology, equipment usage, and the skills necessary to the entire costuming process. Students are expected to provide appropriate materials as needed.

2.00 Credits
This course presents a comprehensive study of the art of traditional make-up for the stage. Through the use of cosmetics and prosthetics, students learn to execute corrective, character and age make-up. Students are expected to provide appropriate materials as needed.

4.00 Credits
This class explores various theatrical painting techniques. Students are exposed to the applications of a variety of color media and painting surfaces used to depict natural forms, as well as architectural detail. Students are expected to supply appropriate materials as needed. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.

2.00 Credits
A basic course in the art of film and television make-up, this course includes the use of refined cosmetics and prosthetic techniques to execute character, age, and extreme stylistic character make-up. Students are expected to provide appropriate materials as needed. Prerequisite: TH 247 or permission of instructor.

4.00 Credits
Advanced projects in model building for theatrical production. Focus is on traditional techniques of construction to develop presentation skills of design concepts in stage space. Work will include execution of models for existing designs and the generation of original designs and models. Students are expected to provide appropriate materials as needed. Prerequisite: TH 240 or permission of instructor.

4.00 Credits
Various workshops are structured to introduce students to a broad range of technical experience. The subject matter for these workshops may include: Properties design and construction; Audio design for performing arts; Advanced electrics; Design and construction for film and television. Students are expected to provide appropriate materials as needed. Course may be repeated up to a total of 8 credits.

4.00 Credits
The art of puppetry and the basic methods of construction, operation, manipulation, and performance of puppets are examined. Emphasis is on the use of puppets as an educational tool. Projects include creating examples of each of the four major types of puppets: shadow, hand, rod and marionetteusing a range of construction techniques and materials appropriate to an educational setting. The course culminates in the construction of puppets for in-class presentations. Students are expected to provide appropriate materials as needed.

4.00 Credits
In this course students learn period research methods, efficient archiving techniques, period manners, styles and silhouettes, period palettes, period costume inventories, and period fabric choices and manufacturing techniques. Students will also explore the relationship between fashion and various historical, social and cultural changes. Students are expected to provide appropriate materials as needed. Fulfills the Aesthetic Perspective of the General Education requirements.

4.00 Credits
This course surveys the development of styles of architecture, furniture, ornamentation, and clothing from the Egyptians through the early 20th-century. Each major period will be examined through lecture and visual presentations, along with field study to the Museum of Fine Arts and other related areas of interest, with a focus on the major influencing factors, such as geography/geology, climate, religious/social structures, history, science and technology. Each student will be required to research and prepare a class presentation on one of the areas covered, as well as to research and maintain a tracing notebook of all periods. Fulfills the Aesthetic Perspective of the General Education requirements.

4.00 Credits
Basic principles of stage lighting design are introduced, including the mechanics and optics of lighting instruments, electrical theory and practices, control systems, basic design concepts, and color theory. Controllable qualities of light are investigated and demonstrated through the student's participation on a lighting crew for a department production. Design techniques are developed through a complete lighting design project. Students are expected to provide appropriate materials as needed.

4.00 Credits
This course presents approaches to lighting design and poses specific design problems for the student to solve. Attention is also given to color, composition, cueing and production through presentations and discussions in class. Students will participate in department productions as assistant designers and electricians. Students are expected to provide appropriate materials as needed. Prerequisite: TH 242 or permission of instructor.

4.00 Credits
This course will introduce the basic principles of theatrical sound design and the practices and skills required to develop a production's sound design and supportive technical documentation. Students will be introduced to script analysis, system layout, effects development, source researching, and organization. The combined hands-on presentations and class assignments will allow students to develop a working knowledge of the sound designer's responsibilities and skills. Students are expected to provide appropriate materials as needed.

4.00 Credits
The course covers script analysis, design metaphors, ground plans and terminology. It also explores the director-designer relationship and the elements of design as they relate to theatrical space. Students are expected to provide appropriate materials as needed. Prerequisite: TH 240 (Drafting) or permission of instructor.

4.00 Credits
Students apply previously learned elements of scenic design to various production spaces and styles. Projects consist of elementary plans, sketches, renderings and models prepared for proscenium, thrust, arena, and environmental staging. Students are expected to provide appropriate materials as needed. Prerequisite: TH 245 or permission of instructor.

4.00 Credits
Students develop an understanding of the basic principles of costume design used to create statements about a play and its characters. Lectures and class discussions prepare students to confront specific problems in design projects. Students are expected to provide appropriate materials as needed.

4.00 Credits
Students explore advanced design principles and processes in all areas of costume design. Students will experience the complete process of designing costumes for a given project: creating and presenting the design concept, working with the costume shop, developing appropriate paper work for counting, building and running costumes, budgeting, research, collaboration and rendering final sketches. The course also encourages students to develop a personal style, to explore and define themselves as artists in the theatre. In addition, students will produce a portfolio of work and learn to communicate professionally with other members of the theatrical production team. Students are expected to provide appropriate materials as needed. Prerequisite: TH 248 or permission of instructor.

4.00 Credits
Students will learn to use the technology of Computer Assisted Drafting to facilitate the graphic communication required in theatre design and technology, including but not limited to the creation of ground plans, elevations, section views, orthographic views, technical details and light plots. Students will produce both electronic files and printed documents that conform to accepted theatre graphics standards. The techniques of 3D modeling and rendering will also be introduced. Prerequisite: TH 240 or permission of the instructor.

4.00 Credits
Introduction to the organization of the scene shop, tool maintenance and usage, construction techniques, technical drawing development, computer applications, rigging, time and material budgeting. Students will complete class projects and work on Emerson Stage productions. Students are expected to provide appropriate materials as needed. Course may be repeated for credit.

0.00 Credits
Practical experience in stage management under faculty supervision. Includes reading and writing assignments, plus group discussion for the advanced stage manager. Prerequisite: TH 277 or permission. May be repeated.