Program in Theater
Director
Michael W. Cadden
Executive Committee
Ze’eva Cohen, Lewis Center for the Arts, Dance
Jill S. Dolan, English, Lewis Center for the Arts
Jeffrey Eugenides, Lewis Center for the Arts, Creative Writing
Su Friedrich, Lewis Center for the Arts, Visual Arts
Emmet W. S. Gowin, Lewis Center for the Arts, Visual Arts
Chang-rae Lee, Lewis Center for the Arts, Creative Writing
Susan Marshall, Lewis Center for the Arts, Dance
Paul B. Muldoon, Lewis Center for the Arts, Creative Writing
Joyce Carol Oates, Lewis Center for the Arts, Creative Writing
James Richardson, English, Lewis Center for the Arts, Creative Writing
Joseph S. Scanlan, Lewis Center for the Arts, Visual Arts
P. Adams Sitney, Lewis Center for the Arts, Visual Arts
Edmund V. White, Lewis Center for the Arts, Creative Writing
Professor
Jill S. Dolan, also English, Lewis Center for the Arts
Associate Professor
Stacy E. Wolf, also Lewis Center for the Arts
Senior Lecturer
Michael W. Cadden, also Lewis Center for the Arts
Lecturer
Rinde Eckert
Robert N. Sandberg, also English
Timothy K. Vasen
Katherine J. Whoriskey
Hodder Fellow
Jordan Harrison
The Program in Theater, part of the Lewis Center for the Arts, allows students to work with professional artists and critics, as well as with scholars in the area of performance studies, to familiarize themselves with the nature of practical work in theater and the role theater has played and continues to play in various cultures at various times. The program offers courses in playwriting, acting, directing, design, dramaturgy, performance history, and criticism. The program also offers a full season of theatrical productions, under the supervision of professional artists and technicians, in order to allow students to bring the kinds of talents they develop in class to a wider audience. Visiting guest artists often offer workshops in their specialties, as well as directing students in productions or designing program shows. Program courses are open to all undergraduates interested in exploring the art of theater, but the program also offers the kinds of courses and co-curricular activities that will allow the student, upon graduation, to move into the best graduate conservatories to pursue advanced training.
Students looking for an opportunity to incorporate their theatrical studies into their concentrations might want to consider the Theater and Performance Studies track in the Department of English or Area D in the Department of Comparative Literature, but certificate students usually come from the full range of concentrations the University has to offer.
Admission
Courses are open to students pursuing work in any department, whether or not the student plans to earn the certificate. Introductory courses in the program, whether at the 200 or 300 level, usually have no prerequisites and fulfill the distribution requirement in Literature and the Arts (LA). Other 300- or 400-level courses require applications and/or interviews. All courses in the program are letter-graded.
Certificate
Students with a particular interest in and commitment to theater may want to obtain the program certificate. Believing that the best training for a career in the theater is a broad-based liberal arts education, Princeton does not have a concentration in theater. Instead, the certificate program encourages students, should they have the inclination, to make connections in their artistic work between their fields of concentration and their love of the theater. Normally, students apply to become a certificate student in the spring of their sophomore year, but applications are accepted through the spring of the junior year.
To obtain a certificate in theater, students must successfully complete:
(1) Four practical courses chosen from offerings in acting, directing, playwriting, design, dramaturgy, and criticism.
(2) One course in dramatic literature or performance history and criticism.
(3) Some kind of independent work in the junior or senior year. This work might take the form of a practical project, such as the direction of a major production, the study and performance of a major role, the writing of a play, or the design of a production, under the supervision of our faculty and professional staff. If the student’s department permits, he or she might choose to complete one part of the departmental independent work (senior thesis or one junior paper) on a topic approved by the Program in Theater faculty dealing with some facet of theater in relation to that department’s subject matter. This independent work could take the form of a textual, cultural, or theoretical study; or it may be a combination of research and practical work supervised by the program faculty and the student’s department.
(4) A certain number of hours of technical work on theater productions staged by the program.
Advanced Creative Work
The Program in Theater offers certificate students with the appropriate course background the opportunity to do advanced creative work under the supervision of its faculty and staff. This work usually takes the form of a practical project, such as the writing of a play, the direction or design of a major production, or the study and performance of a major role. These projects may be pursued as extracurricular activities, or, as is more regularly the case, they may be used to fulfill the requirement for independent work in the certificate program. With permission of the student’s department of concentration, such projects may also satisfy one of the requirements for independent work in the department, in which case it must consist of or be accompanied by written work, such as a scholarly or critical evaluation.
Certificate of Proficiency
Students who fulfill the requirements of the program receive a certificate of proficiency in theater upon graduation.
Courses in Theater
THR 201 Beginning Studies in Acting: Scene Study Fall, Spring LA
Designed to guide students in developing roles and exploring texts and characters. Work will begin with exercises and proceed to consideration of scenes, short sections of plays, and specific roles. T. Vasen, S. Agins
THR 205 Introductory Playwriting Fall LA
A workshop on the fundamentals of writing plays. Emphasis will be on solving problems of structure, plot development, and character through various writing exercises and theater improvisations. Ongoing work of students and instructor is read and discussed. R. Sandberg
THR 300 Acting, Being, Doing, and Making: Introduction to Performance Studies (also COM 359, ENG 359) Fall LA
The place of performance—for example, Greek tragedy, Noh drama, modern dance, opera, performance art, crossdressing—within the social, political, cultural, and religious structures it has served. Perspectives from theater and dance history, classical and contemporary theory, and ancient and modern practice. Prerequisite: fulfillment of writing requirement. Two 90-minute seminars. J. Dolan, S. Wolf
THR 301 Intermediate Studies in Acting: Scene Study II Fall, Spring LA
A continuation and extension of 201. Prerequisite: 201. K. Whoriskey
THR 305 Playwriting II: Intermediate Playwriting Fall LA
A continuation of work begun in Introductory Playwriting, focusing on the writing of a major play. Prerequisite: 205. J. Guare
THR 311 Intermediate Studies in Acting: Creating Character and Text Spring LA
Creation of an original theater piece in collaboration with a guest artist, leading to a public performance. Will include improvisations, exercises, study of dramatic texts, and scene study. Special attention will be given to the creation of character, both in dramatic texts and in improvisation. Prerequisite: 201. T. Vasen
THR 317 Theatrical Design (also VIS 372) Fall LA
An exploration of the various aspects of theatrical design: lighting, set design, costuming. Emphasis will depend to some degree on instructor’s area of interest and/or student interest. Studio projects will be designed to coincide with other theater and dance courses and currently scheduled productions. Critical discussion will explore the relationship between dramatic texts and design ideas. Prerequisites: Visual Arts 201, 202, 203, or 204, or instructor’s permission. Two three-hour seminars or studio sessions. R. Hernandez
THR 326 Criticism Workshop Fall LA
A workshop devoted to the development of the student’s critical sensibility. Through extensive in-class analysis of their own reviews of professional theater and dance productions and through the study of past and present models, students will learn what makes a good critic of the performing arts. One three-hour seminar. Staff
THR 330 Special Topics in Performance Practice (also MUS 318) Fall, Spring LA
A special topics course designed to build upon and/or enhance existing program courses, taking into consideration the strengths and interests of program concentrators and the availability of appropriate instructors. Topics, prerequisites, and formats will vary from year to year. Staff
THR 331 Special Topics in Performance History and Theory Spring LA
Designed to provide students with an opportunity to study theater and/or dance from a historical or theoretical perspective. Topics, prerequisites, and formats will vary from year to year. M. Cadden
THR 341 Acting and Directing in Musical Theater Fall LA
A practical, hands-on introduction to acting and directing in musical theater. The course will require students to prepare songs and scenes from selected musicals with an eye to how best to approach the particular challenges the scene presents. J. Rando
THR 348 Screenwriting as a Visual Medium (see CWR 348)
THR 366 American Musical Theater History (also MUS 366) Fall LA
This seminar explores one of the most quintessentially “American” forms of performance—the Broadway musical theater—in the context of U.S. culture from the mid-20th century until today. It will begin in 1949 with Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific, move through the “Golden Age” of the “integrated” Broadway musical in the 1950s, the “concept” musicals of the mid-1960s, the so-called “death” of the musical in the 1970s, megamusicals of the 1980s, and end with some contemporary musicals. Two 90-minute classes. S. Wolf
THR 401 Advanced Studies in Acting: Scene Study and Style Spring LA
Questions of historical style, poetic stage language, and various methods of contemporary nonrealistic acting. Prerequisite: 301 or 311. K. Whoriskey
THR 411 Directing Workshop Spring LA
Special directing assignments will be made for each student, whose work will be analyzed by the instructor and other members of the workshop. Students will be aided in their preparations by the instructor; they will also study the spectrum of responsibilities and forms of research involved in directing plays of different styles. Prerequisite: 201. T. Vasen
THR 448 Screenplay Adaptation (see CWR 448)
THR 494 Princeton Atelier (see ATL 494)
THR 496 Princeton Atelier (see ATL 496)
Related Courses
Various departments offer courses in dramatic literature, many in English and some in foreign languages. A list of such courses follows. Additional topics are taught in seminars whose titles change yearly. For current descriptions, see listings under the appropriate departments.
Classics
CLA 323 Self and Society in Classical Greek Drama
CLG 302 Greek Tragedy
CLG 305 Greek Comedy
LAT 332 Roman Drama
Comparative Literature
326 Tragedy
English
131 Shakespeare
310 Shakespeare I
311 Shakespeare II
316 The English Drama to 1700
345 Modern Drama
346 Modern British Drama
347 Topics in Drama
356 Contemporary Drama
375 Topics in Comedy and Satire
French and Italian
FRE 365 Modern French Theater
German
301 Topics in German Drama and Theater
362 Contemporary German Literature
Music
220 The Opera
Slavic Languages and Literatures
312 Russian Drama
Spanish and Portuguese Languages and Cultures
SPA 312 The Dramatic Expression of the Golden Age