Hartwick's theatre arts curriculum, offered by the Department of English and Theatre Arts, is designed to be part of a liberal education and to meet the needs of students planning a career in theatre as well as the needs of those who choose theatre as a way to enrich their lives. The three core courses—Introduction to Theatre, Play Production, and Senior Project—all deal with the process of analyzing a script, designing a production and rehearsing and presenting a performance. Using a combination of classroom study and practical experience, these courses are intended to develop progressively the director/designer, a person capable of taking a play from an idea to a polished performance. The rest of the curriculum is intended to support and to extend the core, and covers acting, set and lighting design, theatre history and dramatic literature.
A great deal of the learning in theatre arts takes place outside the classroom: in the rehearsal hall, in the shops and in our three performance spaces. A typical year will see three major productions and as many as six student directed plays in addition to the pieces presented by classes. Students are also encouraged to audition for the three to four musicals offered by Orpheus Theatre, Oneonta's semi-professional company. The theatre program offers technical support to Orpheus; to the Hartwick dance program; and to a large number of visiting dance, theatre and musical events. Developing actors, directors, designers and technicians find plenty of chances to hone their skills at Hartwick.
Music theatre and playwriting are two special areas of theatre that have begun to blossom at Hartwick. Working closely with the music department, theatre arts majors can develop an emphasis in music theatre. The close relationship with the writing program in English has led in the last few years to the production of several original plays written by both students and professionals. The most notable of these was Ghost Dance, written for Hartwick by Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott and a Region II winner in the American College Theatre Festival XXII in 1990.
The student drama club, Cardboard Alley Players, and the drama honorary, Alpha Psi Omega, are very active. They promote theatre trips and host visits by theatre professionals as well as mount some of their own shows. January Term off-campus classes are offered in New York City and England. These courses provide more opportunities to see professional productions and to meet the people who produce them. Theatre students are encouraged to pursue the many internship and apprentice opportunities offered by professional theatre companies.
Recent theatre arts graduates have gone—some directly and some with additional training—into jobs in acting, technical theatre and theatre management. Others have used their theatre training as part of their preparation for work in film, television and teaching. Equally important, however, are those students who left Hartwick with majors in biology, computer science and English but who carried with them an informed love of the theatre gained on Hartwick's stages.
Six theatre arts courses:
One half-unit courses, distributed as follows:
Two of the following courses:
One additional dramatic literature or theatre history
class
Two music theatre courses:
One half-unit music theatre performance course selected from: Four and one-half courses in music, distributed as follows:Grades for all courses required for the major (including those from other departments) are used to calculate the average in the major for Departmental Distinction.
101 Acting
102 Technical Work
103 Stage Managing
105 Musical Theatre Production (same as Musi 105). Study, rehearsal and performance of a musical theatre piece. Students will be cast in a role or assigned a production responsibility and will be coached and directed by the staff. An emphasis will be placed on the development through practice of skills in singing; acting; dancing; and in the designing, lighting and running of a production. Significant time will also be given to looking at literary, thematic and historical aspects of the piece to be produced with the intent of developing a sensitivity to the special qualities of musical theatre. May be repeated once for credit. (CPA)
109 Off-Campus Production (half course unit) Designed to give credit for significant participation, on or off stage, in an off-campus theatrical production. The work must be approved by a member of the Hartwick theatre faculty and a system of evaluation established with the appropriate member of the production staff. May not be repeated for the same kind of experience and only one unit may count toward graduation. Permission required from both the theatre arts and music departments.
110 Introduction to Movement and Dance for the Theatre (half course unit) Body training in movement technique using rhythm dynamics, space and gesture. Learning basic dance skills including jazz, tap, ballet, modern. Foundation for dance classes.
111 Modern Dance (half course unit) An introduction to modern dance technique and the use of the body as an instrument of expression.
112 Ballet I (half course unit) Introduction to the fundamentals of classical ballet consisting of basic barre, center work and movement through space.
115 Dance Rehearsal and Performance (half course unit) Open to members of Orchesis, the College dance club, the course requires a significant number of hours in rehearsal to be determined by the Orchesis club advisor. Can also be taken for physical education credit. May be repeated once.
120 Introduction to Theatre Arts An introduction to playwriting, script analysis production and performance designed for students interested in gaining more from reading and watching plays as well as for those beginning a serious study of theatre. In addition to reading several short plays and discussing the creative steps required to mount them, students will work in small groups writing and producing their own play, will see and critique a number of local productions and will work on the crew of a Hartwick production. Offered fall term. (CPA)
140 Fundamentals of Acting A practical investigation of the basic theories of acting as a fine art. Emphasis will be on training the actor in the use of physical and mental abilities as effective tools of dramatic expression. (CPA)
145 Musical Theatre: The Evolution and Mechanics of "Broadway" (same as Musi 145). Music in a theatrical context. Emphasis upon the American stage: Broadway musicals and American operettas. The historical and technical development of the music-drama medium. Students, divided into small groups, produce and perform original scenes and songs as a term project with the instructor's assistance. (CPA)
205 Theatre in New York City Based in part on campus and in part in New York City. This course will allow students to see a wide variety of theatrical productions and to study the history of Broadway and off-Broadway production since 1910. In New York students will see productions, meet professionals and tour theatres. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor. Offered in January. Fee involved. (CPA)
212 Ballet II (half course unit) Concentration on classical ballet technique, barre, center work and movement through space. Prerequisite: Ballet I or permission of the instructor.
220 Play Production Each student in this course will select, analyze, design, cast, rehearse, promote and present a short one-act play or scene— gaining experiential knowledge of the roles of the producer, director and designer. Class discussion and exercises will focus on such matters as selecting the play, budgeting, advertising, organizing the production team and calendar, developing a production concept, casting, blocking, working with actors, creating a prompt book, making a model of the set, planning costumes, props, makeup, lights and sound, setting cues and polishing the performance. Prerequisite: TA 120. Offered fall term. (CPA)
231 Fundamentals of Theatrical Design An introduction to the processes and methods of designing the visual and aural words of staged performance based on thematic elements and creative collaboration. Topics include scenery systems, light, costume, sound design, stagecrafts, graphic methods and production organization. Offered spring term. (CPA)
240 Advanced Acting Advanced projects in period styles of acting with opportunity for practical experience. Prerequisite: TA 140 and TA 110, 111, or 112 Offered alternate years.
250 Selected Topics A course at the advanced level, the content of which is determined according to the special interest of the instructor and students.
260 The Art of Cinema An examination of the visual, aural and narrative language systems used to convey meaning in this most popular of art forms. From the most specific components of cinematic art (photography, visual composition, scoring, dialogue, acting) to the most abstract (critical, dramatic and literary theory). The course will provide the starting points for the students' personal "cineliteracy."
274 History of the Theatre I Study of the evolution of Western drama, theatrical styles and production modes from 500 B.C. to the Renaissance. Offered alternate fall terms.
275 History of the Theatre II Study of the evolution of drama, theatrical styles and production modes from the Restoration to contemporary theatre forms. Prerequisite: TA 274 or permission of the instructor. Offered alternate spring terms.
303 Theatre in England Based in London and Stratford-upon-Avon, the class will attend 10 or more productions offered by the Royal Shakespeare Company, The Royal National Theatre, West End theatres and Fringe companies. Students will also visit theatres, museums and historic sites and will talk with a number of British theatre professionals. There will also be time for students to explore the London area on their own. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor. Offered alternate January Terms. Fee involved.
331 Stage Lighting and Advanced Design An intensive study of the role of light as an artistic component of theatrical production as well as related technologies in special effects, technical direction and workplace safety. This course will place an emphasis on the creative process, from play selection to opening night. Prerequisite: TA 102 0r TA 103 and TA 231 Offered fall term.(CPA)
450 Seminar in Theatre Group study of selected topics of current interest in the field of theatre and dramatic literature. Required of all majors and open to non-majors by permission. Offered alternate spring terms.
490 Senior Project In consultation with the theatre faculty, each student will, in the spring of his or her junior year propose a significant theatre project for competion in the senior year. Normally this will involve directing and designing a play to be included in the department's production season. Major design or research projects will also be considered. Prerequisites: TA 120, 220, 231, senior standing, and substantial completion of the theatre arts major.