Theater Courses | 2024-2025 Academic Catalog | SIU

(University Core Curriculum) [IAI Course: F1 907] Through lectures, discussions, projects, text readings and written critiques, students examine how plays are written and produced and how these plays reflect the people and cultures that produce them. Theater Insight fee: $13.

Credit Hours: 3

Training in the vocabulary, traditions and techniques necessary for a strong foundation in ballet, especially as it relates to dance for the musical theater stage. Instructor approval required.

Credit Hours: 2

Training in the vocabulary, history, traditions and techniques necessary for a strong foundation in tap dancing especially as it relates to dance for the musical theater stage. Instructor approval required.

Credit Hours: 2

Training in the vocabulary, traditions and techniques necessary for a strong foundation in jazz dance especially as it relates to dance for the musical theater stage. Instructor approval required.

Credit Hours: 2

Training in the vocabulary, traditions and techniques necessary for a strong foundation in modern dance especially as it relates to dance for the musical theater stage. Instructor approval required.

Credit Hours: 2

Continued training in traditions and techniques in ballet, especially as it relates to dance for the musical theater stage. Prerequisite: C or better in THEA 103A.

Credit Hours: 2

Continued training in traditions and techniques in tap dance especially as it relates to dance for the musical theater stage. Prerequisite: C or better in THEA 103B.

Credit Hours: 2

Continued training in traditions and techniques in jazz especially as it relates to dance for the musical theater stage. Prerequisite: C or better in THEA 103C.

Credit Hours: 2

Continued training in traditions and techniques in modern dance especially as it relates to dance for the musical theater stage. Prerequisite: C or better in THEA 103D.

Credit Hours: 2

Fundamentals of vocal production and movement for the stage. Including breathing, kinesthetic awareness, vocal placement and resonance; physical storytelling.

Credit Hours: 3

Fundamental use of the International Phonetic Alphabet as it pertains to standard stage speech.

Credit Hours: 3

General survey covering design and application of makeup for the stage, including youth, middle and old age, texture, color, special effects, wigs and latex. $10 lab fee required.

Credit Hours: 2

Preparing the actor's instrument through basic acting technique; concentration/relaxation exercises; improvisations. The course objective is the discovery and development of the actor's inner resources. Contemporary American plays are studied from the actor's point of view.

Credit Hours: 3

[IAI Course: TA 911] Fundamentals of scenic construction and state rigging, including basic tools and equipment. Each class has a practical laboratory requirement of 45 hours. $20 lab fee required.

Credit Hours: 3

Fundamentals of stage lighting including instrument handling, focusing, basic electrical theory. Each class has a practical laboratory requirement of 45 hours. $20 lab fee required.

Credit Hours: 3

Fundamentals of stage costume construction. Each class has a practical laboratory requirement of 45 hours. $20 lab fee required.

Credit Hours: 3

(University Core Curriculum course) Through lectures, discussions, projects, text readings and written critiques, students examine how plays are written and produced and how these plays reflect the people and cultures that produce them. Students are exposed to information skills and strategies necessary to succeed in the Department's academic and production programs. Strong focus on American plays and practice. Satisfies University Core Curriculum Fine Arts requirement in lieu of 101.

Credit Hours: 3

Outside departmental internship, which is, related to the major program but not part of a regular instructional course. Written reports are required of student and outside supervisor. Mandatory Pass/Fail. Special approval needed from the instructor. Up to 15 credits toward graduation.

Credit Hours: 1-15

Offers students an opportunity to increase their skills in stagecraft, stage lighting, and costumes by working on department productions. Prerequisites: THEA 220, THEA 217 with grades of C or better.

Credit Hours: 1

Intermediate studies in stage movement. Prerequisite: THEA 203A and 217.

Credit Hours: 3

Intermediate studies in stage voice, IPA, standard speech, text analysis, scansion, cold readings. Prerequisite: THEA 203A and THEA 203B.

Credit Hours: 3

Development of basic skills in script analysis and application of these skills to a variety of forms through class discussions and written assignments. While focusing on theater scripts, this course is interdisciplinary, also examining film, video, and on-line media. Satisfies CoLA Writing-Across-the-Curriculum requirement.

Credit Hours: 3

This course introduces basic writing skills for playwrights, scriptwriters, and performance artists. It focuses on techniques-such as plot structure, dialogue, and the manipulation of images-used in all dramatic media. Written exercises are submitted and discussed weekly to identify dramatic events and techniques. For final projects, students write a script for either a 10-minute play, 10-minute film, or a 10-minute solo performance.

Credit Hours: 3

The study and application of Stanislavskian-based technique to the acting process. Coursework includes scene and monologue work. Prerequisite: THEA 203, THEA 217, THEA 303A, THEA 303B.

Credit Hours: 3

The study and application of European realism in the development of the actor's process. Prerequisite: THEA 317A.

Credit Hours: 3

Practical experience in summer stock play production. Special approval needed from the instructor.

Credit Hours: 1-12

Developing and performing musical theater choreography using intermediate jazz, tap, ballet, social and modern dance skills. Prerequisites: THEA 103A, THEA 103B, THEA 103C and THEA 103D with grades of C or better.

Credit Hours: 1

A survey of the development of dance in human history and culture, with specific emphasis on its evolution as an art form. A further intent is to study forms of dance as indicative of multicultural, social, political and economic trends; to develop analytical and critical/evaluative responses to observed dance techniques in live and filmed performance; to enable students to use given principles of movement and choreography to draw conclusions leading to both objective and subjective evaluations of social and cultural influences on the process; and to deepen the appreciation of dance as it functions in society and in art making.

Credit Hours: 2

Dance improvisation provides the student with opportunities to explore the processes of discovering, creating, and performing movement spontaneously with an emphasis on freedom of self-expression and creative awareness. Through these processes, students develop an understanding of the artistic foundations necessary for performance, choreography, and teaching. These concepts will be taken directly to the next level during the semester when students compose solo dance studies. These studies may be performed either in silence or to aural accompaniment.

Credit Hours: 2

This course is an introduction to the elements of dance and to the principles of composing movement, and develops a foundation of knowledge, skills and processes for choreography appropriate to concert dance performance using any genre of dance. This knowledge will be developed using improvisation and solo compositions.

Credit Hours: 2

Examination, studies and application of selected areas of interest. Topics will vary and may include such areas as stage management, auditions and interviews, current political theater, etc.

Credit Hours: 1-9

(Same as CLAS 354A) Theater history from the ancient Greek and Roman periods to the 17th century.

Credit Hours: 3

Theater history from the 17th century to the present.

Credit Hours: 3

Independent work on selected problems in academic or blend of academic and creative research. A maximum of three hours may be taken for a single project and a cumulative maximum of six hours may count toward the degree. Special approval needed from the instructor.

Credit Hours: 1-3

Practicum for support of major department productions in all areas. Roles in department productions may fulfill requirement.

Credit Hours: 1-2

Study of the theories and skills required to successfully stage manage a theater production. Prerequisite: THEA 217 and THEA 218A or graduate standing, concurrent enrollment in THEA 401B required.

Credit Hours: 2

Practical application of the theories and skills learned in the 401A course and applied on a department of theater production. Prerequisite: THEA 217 and THEA 218A or graduate standing, concurrent enrollment in THEA 401A required.

Credit Hours: 1

Introduction to the art of directing through examination of various genres. An exploration of the fundamentals of directing culminating in scene work and studio presentation. Advanced students will approach the directing process from play selection through dramaturgy to production and through the context of contemporary directing styles. Prerequisites: THEA 217 and THEA 311A with grades of C or better.

Credit Hours: 3

Advanced studies in stage movement with special attention to period styles. Prerequisite: THEA 303A, THEA 317A, THEA 317B.

Credit Hours: 3

Advanced studies in voice with special attention to stage dialects and advanced vocal techniques. Prerequisite: THEA 303B, THEA 317A.

Credit Hours: 3

Discussion of legal and financial aspects concerning the professional and community theaters of the United States. Consideration of and practice in managerial activities of an educational theater including administration, purchasing, and accounting practices, direct sales, publicity, promotion and public relations.

Credit Hours: 3

Beginning and advanced studio work in traditional and non-traditional crafts for theatrical events, including mask work, puppetry, stage furniture construction, upholstery, weaponry, armor, and special effects. Repeatable. Prerequisite: THEA 218A with a grade of C or better or graduate standing. Studio Fee: $60.

Credit Hours: 3

Technical and artistic aspects of scene design. Theory and practice. Prerequisite: THEA 218A, THEA 413 with a grade of C or better.

Credit Hours: 3

Studio work in basic and advanced scene painting techniques and materials. Projects include wood, drapery, foliage, marble, transparencies, scrim painting, dye painting, faux finishes, metal reflections, and murals. Repeatable. Prerequisite: THEA 218A or graduate standing. Studio fee: $65.

Credit Hours: 2

Theory and practice in performing theater for children. Class activities include lectures on various aspects of production as well as producing a touring children's play for local area schools. Special approval needed from the instructor.

Credit Hours: 9

This class prepares undergraduate actors for a prominent feature of the U.S. theatre landscape: the new play workshop. This ensconced entity-somewhere between a production and a casual reading-is an economic and artistic powerhouse, not just for playwrights, but for all theatre artists, particularly the many actors who are paid to participate in the new play development process. This class imitates the methods and environments of the most prominent new play workshops in order to demystify a process that can be both artistically satisfying and lucrative for actors. Prerequisites: THEA 217 and THEA 220 with grades of C or better.

Credit Hours: 3

This course examines the fastest growing performance genre: video games. The course is designed to introduce students to the study of video games as a social, political, and cultural phenomenon. Drawing upon scholarship from across disciplines, students will play video games in order to examine how the interplay between video games and performance contribute to the construction of social identities such as race, gender, class, sexual identity, and more. In other words, this class uses the performance studies techniques to analyze how video games contribute to our understanding of the world.

Credit Hours: 3

This course introduces the theatrical costume design and technical student to the basics of pattern development and construction techniques used to develop a 3-dimensional theatrical costume, with focus on giving the student a working knowledge of costume production, flat patterning, and draping techniques. Prerequisite: THEA 218C with a minimum grade of C or graduate standing. Studio fee: $25.

Credit Hours: 2

Development of the student's skill in scenographic techniques including ground plans, sections, elevations, and detail construction drawings. Prerequisite: THEA 218A with a minimum grade of C or graduate standing. Up to 9 credits toward graduation.

Credit Hours: 3

Technical and artistic aspects of costume design. Development of the design process, understanding and use of color theory and fabric, and practice of costume drawing techniques. Prerequisite: THEA 218C with a minimum grade of C or graduate standing.

Credit Hours: 3

This course focuses on advanced skills in costume technology and crafts. In this semester, a variety of fabric dyeing and fabric modification techniques are taught and practiced, culminating in a final project that incorporates several techniques in one. Prerequisite: THEA 218C with a grade of B or better or graduate standing. Craft fee: $50.

Credit Hours: 2

This course focuses on advanced skills in costume technology and crafts. In this semester, techniques for setting and styling wigs, and techniques for millinery (making hats) are taught and practiced, culminating in a final project that combines both wig styling and millinery. Prerequisite: THEA 218C with a grade of B or better or graduate standing. Craft fee: $50.

Credit Hours: 2

This course focuses on advanced skills in costume technology and crafts. In this semester, the theme of armor is explored as a variety of techniques for working with thermoplastics, foam and chainmail are taught and practiced, as well as a brief unit in jewelry making. The course culminates in a final project that incorporates several techniques in one. Prerequisite: THEA 218C with a grade of B or better or graduate standing. Craft fee: $50.

Credit Hours: 2

This course focuses on advanced skills in costume technology and crafts. In this semester, students will make a corset, and other period accessories. The course culminates in a final project that incorporates several techniques in one. Prerequisite: THEA 218C with a grade of B or better or graduate standing. Craft fee: $50.

Credit Hours: 2

An in-depth study of the art and practice of structural design for the stage including forces, stresses, strains, load analysis, geometric properties of materials and simple beam design. Prerequisite: THEA 218A with a minimum grade of C or graduate standing.

Credit Hours: 3

Continued study of the art and practice of structural design for the stage including beam design, column and tension member design and combined loading design for sawn lumber and steel materials. Prerequisite: THEA 218A (or graduate standing) and 416A with minimum grades of C or special approval needed from the instructor.

Credit Hours: 3

Utilization of the actor's process in the performance of various theories and styles of acting. May be repeated once for credit. Prerequisite: THEA 317B or graduate standing.

Credit Hours: 3

Investigation of stage lighting design, theory and professional practice. Special attention to color theory and its application to stage lighting. Lecture/Laboratory. Prerequisite: THEA 218B (or graduate standing) and THEA 413 with grades of C or better.

Credit Hours: 3

Advanced study of principles and procedures of scenic construction and stage rigging. Includes scene shop organization, materials, and specialized stage equipment; preparation for professional technical direction. Lecture and laboratory to be arranged. Prerequisite: THEA 218A (or graduate standing) and THEA 413 with grades of C or better.

Credit Hours: 3

Students are provided an opportunity to integrate their previous training in theater and to assess it. Students are exposed to information skills and strategies necessary for survival in the professional world. Mandatory Pass/Fail. Not for graduate credit. Concurrent enrollment in THEA 421.

Credit Hours: 1

Preparation of any of the following based on the student's area of interest: a portfolio, script, critical research paper, design, acting recital or direction of a short play. Projects are chosen and prepared under the supervision of a theater faculty member. Mandatory Pass/Fail. Not for graduate credit. Concurrent enrollment in THEA 420.

Credit Hours: 1

Build student's familiarity with theatrical canon through reading and discussion of a play a week. Brief writing assignments help develop deeper understanding of individual plays and connections between scripts. As reading list changes each semester, the class may be repeated up to three times.

Credit Hours: 1

Developing and performing musical theater choreography using advanced jazz, tap, ballet, social and modern dance skills. Prerequisite: THEA 323 with a C or better or graduate standing.

Credit Hours: 1

Methods of auditioning for theater and musical theater. The course covers audition techniques for open calls, cold reading/singing, improvisation, interviews, as well as the development of an audition portfolio and the preparation of head shots and resumes. Prerequisite: THEA 217 with a grade of C or graduate standing.

Credit Hours: 3

A study of the knowledge and practice of various welding processes and fabrication techniques for the stage as well as an understanding of the theater practitioner's responsibility to the quality and safety of their products. Prerequisite: THEA 218A with a grade of C or better or graduate standing. Studio fee: $40.

Credit Hours: 3

A practical class that creates an ensemble of dancers which choreographs, rehearses, produces, and performs a dance concert and performs in other venues as feasible. This course is the culmination of the dance composition series, engaging students in all aspects of producing a dance concert. Prerequisite: THEA 323 with a grade of C or better.

Credit Hours: 2

An intensive examination and application of selected areas of interest. Topics will vary and may include such areas as stage management, audition and interview, current political theater.

Credit Hours: 1-9

The development of American theater from colonial times to the present. Includes a study of the American musical theater from preminstrels through contemporary music-drama.

Credit Hours: 3

An introduction to the theory and practice of dramaturgy, including a survey of contemporary critical theories as they apply to the pre-production work of the dramaturg. The student will apply methodologies studies to plays from the classical repertory and to the works of new playwrights. Prerequisite: THEA 311A with a minimum grade of C or graduate standing.

Credit Hours: 3

(Same as AFR 420) This course will freely examine the intersections between African and African American Theater. It will study the origins, form and agenda of Black Theater by tracing the commonalities of culture and Performance between African and African American Theaters. Students will be exposed to seminal essays, topical plays and performances while they hone their own critical and creative skills.

Credit Hours: 3