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I. INTRODUCTION
Princeton offers students a wide variety of opportunities to participate in theater and dance -- credit courses, non-credit courses, productions, concerts, and workshops. This information will provide you with an overview of what is available, with special attention given to the Program in Theater and Dance. Together with the two other Programs with whom we share the building at 185 Nassau -- Creative Writing and Visual Arts -- the Program in Theater and Dance aims to provide a home for those students in the Princeton community who already think of themselves as artists and for those who would like to learn what that might mean.
A. THE PROGRAM IN THEATER AND DANCE AND ITS GOALS
The basic purpose of the Program is to familiarize students, through exposure to professional practice, professional artists, and professional critics and scholars, both with the nature of practical work in drama and dance and with the roles theater and dance have played and continue to play in different cultures at different times. All students, whether or not they are interested in a career in the arts, are offered the opportunity to involve themselves in an important field of the creative arts while simultaneously pursuing a liberal arts education. Past experience in theater and dance is not a requirement for admission to the Program's introductory courses; one need only feel an intense interest in and curiosity about the process of creative work on stage and the history of that process.
The Program also offers sufficient courses and extra-curricular activities that the serious student will, upon graduation, be prepared for advanced study in acting, directing, playwriting, design, dramaturgy, or choreography, dance technique and repertory.
Program courses are designed to encourage artistic creation and to understand the many forms artistic creation has taken. Many students find our courses intensely self-fulfilling and liberating. However, they also require discipline, technique, the willingness to take risks and possibly fail, and the desire to work hard at what inevitably prove to be demanding tasks. For this reason, only students serious about the exploration of theater and dance -- and of themselves -- should apply for admission to courses or to the Certificate Program.
All Program courses are taught by professional artists or scholars. Most are workshop courses which involve the serious investigation of a particular art form. Some courses require outside reading or attendance at productions; many require writing. The performance-oriented courses require extensive preparation of practical work. All courses demand regular attendance.
Introductory courses in acting, movement and dance, playwriting, performance history, dance history are open to all students. Because class size must be kept at a reasonable level, interviews for placement are held each semester for classes to be taught in the following semester. All students who wish to enroll in a Program course must come during the interview times -- otherwise, they will probably not get in. Interviews for spring courses are held mid-November; interviews for fall courses are held in mid-April. Announcements of the interview dates appear in The Daily Princetonian. Students may repeat Intermediate and Advanced courses in acting and dance.
Here are the present Program offerings; some courses are offered in alternate years:
Dance Courses
Fall
209: Introduction to Movement & Dance
219: Modern Dance: Beginning Technique & Choreography
319: Dance Performance Workshop: Intermediate Repertory & Choreography
419: Dance Performance Workshop: Advanced Repertory & Choreography
420: Chamber Dance: Repertory & Choreography
Spring
209: Introduction to Movement & Dance
211/AAS 211: The American Dance Experience & Africanist Dance Practices
220: Modern Dance: Beginning/Intermediate Technique & Choreography
309: Modern Dance: Intermediate Technique & Choreography
409: Contemporary Dance: Advanced Technique & Choreography
311: Dancing East to West: Traditional Practices & Contemporary Debates in World Dance
321: Special Topics in Dance History, Criticism, Aesthetics
Theater Courses
Acting -- Fall
201: Beginning Acting: Scene Study
401: Advanced Studies in Acting: Scene Study and Style
Acting -- Spring
201: Beginning Acting: Scene Study
301: Intermediate Studies in Acting: Scene Study II
311: Intermediate Studies in Acting: Creating Character and Text
Playwriting -- Fall
205: Introductory Playwriting
305: Play Writing II: Intermediate Playwriting
Directing -- Fall
411: Directing Workshop
Design -- Fall
317: Theatrical Design
History, Theory -- Fall
300: Performance: History, Theory and Practice
331: Special Topics in Performance History and Theory
History, Theory -- Spring
326: Criticism Workshop
330: Special Topics in Performance Practice
* Take a close look at Course Offerings when it appears for new courses and the precise subject of "Special Topics" courses or consult the Program in Theater and Dance Web Page: Theater and Dance Courses.
C. OTHER CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS
1. The Program in Theater and Dance. The Program offers a non-credit workshop in technical theater which meets during the first half of each term and is jointly taught by the Program Technical Director, Assistant Technical Director and Costumer. The workshop is open to all students and partially fulfills the technical requirement in the Certificate Program.
Several times a year the Dance Program presents lecture demonstrations by experimental dance companies. The artists perform, then discuss their work with students. The Theater Program regularly sponsors visits by artists involved in McCarter productions and occasionally brings other professional artists to campus to demonstrate and discuss their work.
2. The McCarter Theatre. The McCarter Theatre, Princeton's performing arts center, houses one of the most outstanding professional theaters in the country. In conjunction with the Program in Theater and Dance, McCarter is evolving an internship program which offers serious theater students the chance to observe a professional rehearsal process from the director's, designer's, dramaturg's or administrator's point of view. One to three internships are available on each production of the season; students apply by interview with the Theater and Dance Program Director.
3. Daily Intermediate/Advanced Ballet Classes are taught co-curricularly by professional ballet instructors accompanied by excellent musicians. These classes are free for all Princeton University students. Registration is required.
4. The Athletics Department offers a variety of non-academic courses in dance. At present, courses are offered in jazz, tap, ballroom, Latin and International Folk Dance. These classes differ from courses in the Program in Theater and Dance in that they do not usually require as serious an investigation of the art form and are mostly taught by students.
5. The Third World Center has from time to time offered non-credit classes in jazz dance.
6. Academic Courses in Dramatic Literature Courses in dramatic literature are offered in numerous departments throughout the University. More than twenty courses, ranging from Greek Tragedy to Contemporary Drama, cover in detail the entire scope of dramatic literature. Students are directed to listings for the Departments of English, Comparative Literature, Classics, East Asian Studies, Romance Languages and Literatures (French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese), Germanic Languages and Literatures, and Slavic Languages and Literatures.
D. THEATER PRODUCTIONS AT PRINCETON
Princeton has several theaters which regularly present student productions. Each is operated by a separate group of people, and each has its own set of goals. But all theaters on campus welcome everyone to audition for their productions and to work backstage.
The following theaters are active on the Princeton campus:
1. The Program in Theater and Dance. The Program produces its plays either in the Acting Studio or in the Experimental Theater (Room 129). The Director of the Program acts as producer of the plays, which are directed by faculty members, visiting professional directors or advanced students, usually seniors working on creative theses.
Each year the Program presents six to eight productions, each designed to be a learning experience. Productions are chosen to provide student actors an opportunity to work on good roles under the leadership of an experienced director; or to provide student directors the chance to direct a play which reflects their special interests; or to provide student playwrights the opportunity to see and hear their work in performance.
Most productions involve professionals in some capacity, if only as advisors. Each year one or more productions have student casts directed by a professional director; one or more productions are directed by advanced students under the supervision of a faculty member; from time to time, a production uses faculty members, students and visiting professionals in its cast. Some productions are designed by professional designers; all are built by a construction crew under the direction of the Program's professional technical staff. We aim to offer students a chance to work directly with experienced people in all fields of performance and production, and to present audiences with highly imaginative work. Productions tend to be new interpretations of the classics, revivals of "forgotten" plays, and vital and challenging new plays -- often by student authors.
2. The Triangle Club. This is the oldest producing group on campus, and one of the oldest collegiate musical-comedy troupes in the nation, as well as the only college group that creates an original, student-written musical each year that is presented on a national tour. Each season, the Triangle Club busies itself with a few major productions. Triangle presents a Freshman Week show in September, a revue featuring some of the Club's best material and known for its all-out-audience interaction. The original fall show goes up in November at the Tony Award-winning McCarter Theater, located just off the Princeton campus. This production then underakes a ten-day tour around the country in December. Triangle also recently began a spring show tradition called The Rude Olympics, which showcases our writing talent in a smaller venue. Although theater professionals direct the fall show, Triangle shows are completely conceived, written, produced, and performed by Princeton undergraduates. For more information, visit www.princetontriangleclub.org.
3. Theater Intime. This student-run organization has its home at the Murray-Dodge Theater. It is supervised by a board of student directors, which elects new members each year from among those active in its productions. Theater Intime normally presents seven or eight productions a year; their repertoire includes serious plays, comedies, one acts, original student work, and small musicals. These productions are selected from proposals submitted by students interested in directing. Theater Intime makes a special effort to attract audiences from town, and occasionally uses actors from the community.
4. Princeton Shakespeare Company. A student-run group which produces three Shakespearean or Shakespeare-related productions each year.
5. Princeton University Players. A student organization dedicated to musical theater, it produces three to five shows each year.
6. Forbes College Theater. Students who live in Forbes College supervise this theater, which presents anywhere from two to eight productions a year in its small space in Forbes College. All Princeton students are invited to direct and act in its productions. Unlike the other theaters already mentioned, Forbes does not have a full technical staff, and directors usually provide much of their own help.
7. Butler/Wilson College Theater. Like Forbes, Butler/Wilson College Theater is operated by students living at Butler/Wilson, but is open to all students. Plays at Butler/Wilson tend to be new student works, one acts, or experimental works. Butler/Wilson has traditionally been open to proposals from student writers, and from actors and directors just beginning in theater. All its productions are presented free of charge.
8. Do It Yourself. If you find that the existing theater organizations at Princeton don't meet your needs or if you find access to them difficult, create your own organization -- if only for the purposes of producing a single show. There are a lot of great, unused spaces at this university.
E. DANCE PRODUCTIONS AT PRINCETON
Each year several dance concerts are produced on campus. All students are invited to audition for these concerts, whether or not they have been a part of the previous activities of the producing organization.
Held in mid-February, the Spring Dance Festival features advanced students in the performance of professional works choreographed by faculty members and guest choreographers, as well as select student choreography developed during the Fall semester. It is directed and coached by the Head of Dance and the faculty. Students also have a chance to work with professional lighting and costume designers. All students may audition to perform in this concert.
In addition to the Spring Dance Festival, the Program in Theater and Dance presents visiting artists in concert, as well as end of semester studio showings of student work, and senior creative theses.
There are many prominent student-run dance companies on campus that provide additional performance opportunities across a variety of styles and genres:
Ballet Folklorico de Princeton, Black Arts Company, Bodyhype, diSiac Dance Company, Expressions Dance Company, Flamenco Puro, High Steppers, Kalaa, Naacho, Poongmul Korean Dance, Raks Odalisque, Sympoh, Tapcats, and Vivacity.
F. CERTIFICATE IN THEATER AND DANCE
Most students who take courses in the Program in Theater and Dance do not elect to enter the Certificate Program -- they simply enroll in the courses that interest them and for which they have room in their schedules. Students with a particular interest in the arts, however, may wish to complete the following courses and requirements and obtain a Certificate. This Certificate attests that a student has completed a study of theater or dance in addition to his or her major concentration at Princeton. Students interested in "going on" in theater or dance should certainly strongly consider doing the Certificate.
Students normally enroll in the Certificate Program at the end of the sophomore year; by their junior year, they should have successfully completed at least three of the required courses, including at least two practical courses from the Program listing.
To receive a certificate:
A certificate from the Program in Theater and Dance will be awarded to students who successfully complete a substantial amount of work in the practical and academic areas of the discipline. Students normally enroll in the certificate program during the second term of the sophomore year, but no later than the start of the second term of the junior year, indicating their choice of either theater or dance. At least two of the required courses, including one from the program listing, should be completed before enrollment in the certificate program. To receive a certificate:
a) Dance students
To obtain a certificate in Theater and Dance with a focus on Dance, students need to complete: four studio courses above the introductory level; one course in dance history and criticism (DAN 321:Special Topics in Dance History, Criticism, and Aesthetics offered spring semester only); two performances in the Annual Dance Performance at the Berlind Theater during the junior and/or senior year - one faculty piece and one guest choreographer piece; two semesters of ballet class two times a week; and 20 hours of technical work in assisting the Dance Program's productions. Senior certificate students may also choose to complete an independent creative project.
Exceptions to coursework may be made for students with pre-professional training who maintain their training while at Princeton. These students may substitute a theoretical or practical course in performance studies (theater or music) in lieu of a fourth studio dance course. The choice of the substituted course should be determined in consultation with the Head of Dance. It is advisable for interested students to file application forms during their sophomore year. For further details, speak to Ze'eva Cohen, Rebecca Lazier, or Meghan Durham.
b) Theater students must complete a total of five courses: four from the offerings of the program -- two of which may be at the introductory level (including THR 209: Introduction to Movement and Dance) -- and one course from an approved list of courses in dramatic literature.
If the student's department permits it, theater students in the program must complete one part of their junior departmental independent work (senior thesis or one junior paper) on a topic approved by the program faculty dealing with some facet of theater or dance. This independent work could take the form of a textural, 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 (see Advanced Creative Work, below).
If the student's department does not permit such topics to fulfill its independent work requirement, the program director may prescribe additional work in theater and and dance to fulfill the certificate requirement. Before the student's independent work can be approved, he or she must be officially enrolled in the certificate program.
c) Both theater and dance students must devote a certain number of hours to technical work on theater and dance productions staged by the program.
Advanced Creative Work. The program offers all students the opportunity to do advanced creative work under the supervision of its faculty. This work may take the form of a practical project, such as the direction of a major production, the study and performance of a major role in theater or dance, the choreography of a major dance piece, or the writing of a play. Normally the student will have completed appropriate courses (in directing, acting, dance, or play writing) before such a proposal will be considered. These projects may be pursued as extracurricular activities, or 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 a project 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.
