Theatre Course Descriptions - McPherson College Catalogs

G-TH 100 Theatre as a Social Art

3 hours
An introduction to the various aspects of performing arts, this course is designed for both the major and non-major. Students discover the art of collaboration as the element binding all productions together. Major sections covered include structure, setting, style, genre, and audience analysis. Students will attend area productions to observe the various levels of presentation, i.e. educational, professional, community, etc. (Fall, odd years)

G-TH 110 The Business of Professional Entertainment

3 hours
For this travel course, students experience a cultural theatre center such as Times Square in New York City. Students will study professional theatre from the audience, as well as different areas of the professional theatre industry that work together to produce high-quality productions. Travel costs required.

G-TH 125 Film and Culture

3 hours
This course is designed to give students analytical tools to study film and the cinema. Students will study narrative styles, genres, history, theory, and film analysis. Students will also learn to analyze the philosophy behind the content and how it applies to modern culture.(Fall, odd years)

G-TH 136 Theatre Tour

3 hours, by consent of Instructor
Travel, lecture, and performance tour of a region of the U.S. Study involves the functions of performing art and its interaction with culture, emotion, language, dance, art, sculpture and architecture. Travel costs required. (Offered occasionally)

TH 150 Performance and Production Lab

1 hour (can be repeated), by consent of Instructor
These practica are designed to give students a hands-on approach to learning and experiencing the various areas of performing arts. Each practica will be supervised by a member of the departmental faculty, and the student will need to complete a journal or portfolio of the work accomplished. (Offered every term)

A. Acting
The student will earn credit for rehearsing and performing in a departmental production.

B. Set Construction
The student will assume the position of master carpenter/crew head for the construction of a departmental production. Student could assist the designer in drafting, supervise the scene shop during the construction period, and be a member of the production staff, attending appropriate meetings in the pre-production aspects of the show.

C. Properties
The student will accept the responsibilities of prop master for a departmental production. This may include some property design. The student will be a member of the production staff, attending appropriate meetings in the pre-production aspects of the show.

D. Sound
The student will be responsible for securing all sound effects, underscoring, and setting up all amplification for a departmental production. Student will also run sound for the production and be a member of the production staff, attending appropriate meetings in the pre-production aspects of the show.

G-TH 160 Acting I

3 hours
Students develop confidence and leadership skills as they pertain to aural performance. Students will practice and perform basic ideas through theatre monologues, poems, song lyrics or prose. Diction, enunciation, dialect, and a basic introduction to the International Phonetic Alphabet will be covered as well as charisma, charm, professionalism and marketability. (Spring)

TH 161 Yoga

1 hour (can be repeated once for credit)
Introductory class for students. Students will utilize their own body instrument and increase flexibility while strengthening their muscle core and breath capacity. (Spring)

G-TH 170 Technical Theatre I: Setting the Stage

3 hours
The study of a wide variety of “craft/skills” used when preparing a script for performance. The student work will focus on basic set construction practices and scene painting techniques. Other areas covered include the hanging and focusing of lighting instruments, basic costume stitching, the creation of sound effects and the creation of stage properties. The student will work on productions to be staged by the department during the current season. Course has $30 lab and equipment fee. (Fall, Spring)

TH 250 Performance and Production Lab

A. Box Office/Publicity/House Management
Student will take charge of the front-of-house responsibilities for a departmental production. This includes press releases, First-Nighters information, lobby displays, program copy, securing ushers and coordinating with dinner staff. The student will be a member of the production staff, attending appropriate meetings in the pre-production aspects of the show.

B. Stage Management
Production experience in the professional duties of stage manager, including participation as stage manager in pre-production, rehearsal, and performance phases of a production. The student will be a senior member of the production staff, attending meetings in the pre-production aspects of the show. This practicum is required for all majors.

C. Dinner Theatre
The student will work with the director of First-Nighters in establishing a menu, creating shopping lists, organizing the kitchen, supervising workers, creating décor for dining space and overseeing clean-up of the kitchen and dining space. The student will be a member of the production staff, attending appropriate meetings in the pre-production aspects of the show.

D. Event Planning
The student will work with building supervisors and organizing leaders to plan and execute events in the Brown, Friendship and Mingenback complex. The student will be responsible for coordinating the events and planning the set-ups and tear-downs.

G-TH 265 Topics in Dramatic Literature

3 hours (Language Intensive)
This course will explore the structure of dramatic works. Emphasis will be placed on the process of interpreting a text and translating it to the performing arts. Students will strengthen skills in reading, listening, writing, script and other character interpretation as they develop an appreciation of dramatic literature and the author’s art and craft. These topics are offered on a rotating basis: Banned and Censored Scripts; LGBTQ Theatre; African-American Theatre; and Women’s Studies Theatre. (Spring)

G-TH 270 Technical Theatre II: Dressing the Stage

3 hours
The study of a wide variety of “craft/skills” used when preparing a script for performance. The student work will focus on basic costume construction. Other areas covered include makeup and prop-making techniques. The student will work on productions to be staged by the department during the current season. The course carries a $30 lab and equipment fee. (Spring, odd years)

TH 285 Theatrical Design

3 hours
Students will study the basic concepts for design as it applies to scenery, costumes, lighting, and sound. Students will be working as a team of designers, moving from area to area but also allowing for concentration in at least one of the above areas of the theatrical design. Students will focus on designs for the department’s season of concerts, plays, musicals, senior recitals or musical reviews. (Fall, even years)

TH 336 International Theatre Tour

4 hours, by consent of Instructor
Travel, lecture, and performance tour of a region outside the U.S. Study involves the functions of performing art and its interaction with culture, emotion, language, dance, art, sculpture and architecture. Travel costs required. (Offered occasionally)

TH 350 Performance and Production Lab

2 hours
These practica are designed to give students a hands-on approach to learning and experiencing the various areas of performing arts. Each practica will be supervised by a member of the departmental faculty, and the student will need to complete a journal or portfolio of the work accomplished. (Offered every term)

A. Design
The student will serve as either scenic or costume designer for a departmental production. The student will work with the director from the early stages of the pre-production meetings, present the designs at the first production meeting and will be a member of the production staff, attending appropriate meetings in the pre-production aspects of the show.

B. Costuming
The student will assume the responsibilities of the costume shop supervisor for a departmental show. This will include assisting the designer in shopping for fabric, patterning, cutting, and supervising crew members in the construction of the garments. The student will be a member of the production staff, attending appropriate meetings in the pre-production aspects of the show.

C. Makeup
The student will be responsible for designing and realizing the makeup designs for a departmental production. The student will be a member of the production staff, attending appropriate meetings in the pre-production aspects of the show.

D. Lighting
The student will act as lighting designer for a departmental production. This will also include the supervision of hanging the design and running lights for the production. The student will be a member of the production staff, attending appropriate meetings in the pre-production aspects of the show.

TH 365 Stage and Technical Direction

2 hours
Students will learn the ins and outs of directing and leadership for productions. The course will cover budget-making, scheduling and calendar organization, and best practices for time management as well as stage directing basics like blocking, staging pictures, and tips for working with actors. Emphasis is given to the collaborative model practiced in our theatre season. (Fall, even years)

TH 375 Professional Preparation

1 hour
Students at the Junior level will meet bi-monthly throughout their Junior year in a seminar setting and will:

clarify and focus their major goals–academic and vocational
formulate their Senior project proposal
further develop their career résumés and/or portfolios
discuss internships

G-TH 385 Theatre History and Dramatic Literature I

3-4 hours (Language Intensive)
This course will allow students to study music and theatre in relationships, thereby gaining greater awareness of how being human is experienced and expressed through the creative process. This course assumes a holistic approach and affords students the unique opportunity to study connections between the performing arts. Students will be introduced to selected major characteristics and issues in American, Western European, ethnic, and world music and theatre from Greek to the mid-19th century. Students seeking licensure in music will enroll in the additional credit hour to prepare for the Praxis. (Fall, odd years)

TH 388 Career Connections in Theatre

1-4 hours (repeatable)
Students who have arranged for an internship may earn college credit for their hours worked at an approved placement. Coordination between the theatre department and the Office of Career Services must be approved prior to the beginning of placement. (Offered every term)

G-TH 390 Theatre History and Dramatic Literature II

3-4 hours (Language Intensive)
Part two is a continued study of the music and theatre relationship. This course surveys the performing arts in the last 200 years, highlighting the most important changes and challenges to the field in that time. Students pursuing licensure in music will enroll in the additional credit to prepare for the Praxis. (Fall, even years)

TH 400 Dramaturgy

3 hours
An examination of the major historic period styles in acting, design, and directing. Students will practice the research-based approach of theatrical production. (Spring, even years)

TH 410 Special Topics in Theatre

2 hours, by Instructor approval
This course is designed to give students the opportunity to experience a variety of topics in the performing arts that could be linked to the production calendar or topics that are not covered in the regular series of courses. Examples might include a seminar covering a specific playwright to be produced, an acting style being used in the staging of a production, or rendering skills needed to prepare a portfolio. (Offered every term)

TH 445 Readings and Research in Theatre

1-2 hours, by Instructor approval
This course is designed to give students a chance to research a specific area of theatre. The topic is agreed upon by the instructor and the student together in the hopes of giving students a depth of research knowledge for a particular area. Examples might include a seminar covering specific designer works, all of the plays by Caryl Churchill, or the acting and writing styles of the 1880s. (Offered every term)

TH 450 Performance and Production Lab

A. Musical Theatre
The student will be given credit for rehearsing and performing in a departmental production of a musical or musical revue.

B. Directing
The student will take responsibility for directing a show not connected to another class. Student will be in charge of all aspects, from budget through supervision and selection of cast and crews.

C. Choreography
The student will receive credit for planning, teaching and rehearsing the movement for a performance. Student will be in charge of integrating the blocking with the movement and support the piece as part of the directing team.

D. Technical Direction
The student will take responsibility for directing the technical aspects of a show not connected to another class. Student will be in charge of all aspects, from budget through supervision of crews and designs.

TH 475 Senior Project

2 hours
Each performing arts major is required to complete this capstone experience. Four of the more popular projects are listed, but each student is allowed to create a project to match his/her interests and expertise in theatre. Students seeking licensure in music or speech/theatre may use student teaching as their senior project. (Offered every term)

Directing Project
Intensive development of directing skills and process, including text analysis and exploration of craft fundamentals as a basis for director/actor/designer collaboration and effective staging, with particular emphasis on challenges of style in text and production. Examination of process of conceptualization in dramatic production; centrality of theatric conceptualization in interpretation of dramatic text. Students direct a full-length play under observation, with discussion and critique of work in progress with faculty advisor. Prerequisite: PA 365 Directing and Conducting.

Acting Project. The student will be involved in the selection of the role in one of the department’s productions for a culminating acting experience. Student will be involved with the director in examining the script, creating the approach to the show, and setting goals for the production. An intensive rehearsal process as the student prepares the role, in collaboration with the entire production team and cast. Prerequisite: G-PA 160 Performing for the Stage.

Design Project
Complete responsibility for the design of one of the following elements for a departmental production, depending on the student’s primary area of interest: sets, costumes, lighting, makeup, or sound. Student will be working in collaboration with the director and other designers assigned to the production. Prerequisite: PA 370 Theatrical Design.