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Course Progression
First Year - Fall
First Year - Spring
Second Year - Fall
Second Year - Spring
Third Year - Fall
Third Year - Spring
First Year - Fall
THTR 515a (2 units) Advanced Movement: Principles of movement and articulation of the body. The work focuses on impulse work and related exercises to reclaim every part of the body and bring them all together to create a responsive and connected “instrument.” The student is introduced to the mask (see Movement Progression).
THTR 520a (4 units) Advanced Acting: A two-track course, scene study and physical approach. In scene study, students work with scenes from modern and contemporary American texts (late 50’s through to the present). The other section introduces students to exercises like Grotowski’s “cat” and those that explore impulse, motion and space while working with contemporary texts (see Acting Progression).
THTR 529a (4 units) Textual Studies for Performance: Close textual reading of texts from nineteenth and twentieth century naturalism (Ibsen, Chekhov, O’Neill, Miller, etc.) as a fundamental tool for rehearsal and performance. The student explores how written scripts embody plot, character, theme, exposition, imagery, physical and psychological action, and other elements of structure to provide a context and direction for rehearsal and performance.
THTR 540a (2 units) Advanced Voice: Discovering and exposing the individual self – looking inward. The work focuses on “destructuring” the habitual tension and obstacles that inhibit free expression. Before the voice can truly be connected to the body, thoughts and emotions, the student must break down the basic components of vocal anatomy and physiology (see Voice, Speech and Diction Progression).
First Year – Spring
THTR 515b (2 units) Advanced Movement: Unifying the impulse work with extensive use of the neutral mask to encourage body/mind/emotional associations and a creative partnership with the imagination.
THTR 520b (4 units) Advanced Acting: In scene study, students work with Chekhov, Strindberg, Ibsen, Shaw, Synge (the early modernists) culminating in a black box presentation. In the physical approach section, students employ the exercises to work with non-dramatic material (short fiction, myths, fairy tales) also culminating in a black box presentation.
THTR 529b (4 units) Textual Studies for Performance: The course will focus on formal theatrical texts (Shakespeare, Greek theatre), and non-realistic, contemporary texts (Beckett, Shepard and others). Work will be a combination of table readings and rehearsals within a seminar format.
THTR 540b (2 units) Advanced Voice: Restructuring the form of the communication. The work focuses on connecting the breath and the energy of thinking and feeling to the voice in a way that makes mechanical sense. Laban and Alexander techniques are introduced.
Second Year – Fall
THTR 515c (2 units) Advanced Movement: Mask work is advanced through characters and archetypes contained within the body. These characters are made accessible through movement that stimulates and inspires the imagination. Exercises and physical exploration encourage the student to create her/his own material.
THTR 520c (4 units) Advanced Acting: In scene study, students work with scenes from Shakespeare. The physical approach class works with a longer, non-dramatic text like THE ODYSSEY which culminates in a black box presentation.
THTR 540c (2 units) Advanced Voice: Expanding the self and discovering the selves – looking outward. Students lead warm-ups, explore archetypes and sub-personalities, and work with poetic drama and scansion.
THTR 541 (2 units) Diction and Dialects: Students are introduced to the fundamentals of speech and diction for actors, and to basic dialects that are used most commonly in contemporary dramatic texts. The course emphasizes the embodiment of a spontaneous relationship to the creative imagination that informs spoken communication, and the clear expression of the text supported by the thoughts and feelings of the actor.
THTR 597 (2 units) Theatre Practicum: Students are engaged in either a produced, public performance of a play or in a Center Theatre Group production.
Second Year – Spring
THTR 515d (2 units) Advanced Movement: Application of the body to various theatrical territories. LeCoq’s “territories of theatre” (Greek tragedy and comedy, Noh theatre, Elizabethan tragicomedy, the Bouffon) offer the student parameters which focus the imagination. Students work on texts drawn from these territories.
THTR 520d (4 units) Advanced Acting: A classical project (Shakespeare) culminating in a black box presentation.
THTR 540d (2 units) Advanced Voice: Combining inner work with outer work; responding to circumstances as they affect the imagination. Students explore vocal dynamics, the music of sound and language. Further exploration of Shakespeare and contemporary heightened language.
THTR 480 (2 units) Performance for the Camera: Students are introduced to the technical requirements for acting in front of a camera. Working on scenes from film and TV scripts, the student learns to adjust energy and intent for this medium.
THTR 597 (2 units) Theatre Practicum: Students are engaged either in a produced, public performance of a play or in a Center Theatre Group production.
Third Year – Fall
THTR 515 e (2 units) Advanced Movement: Comedy; physical exercises, established theatrical texts, improvisation. The work focuses on Clown and Commedia dell’arte projects. Texts include classical Commedia scenarios, Goldoni, Moliere, Shakespeare, Samuel Beckett and Dario Fo.
THTR 540e (2 units) Advanced Voice: Expanding the self in performance circumstances and the world by unifying the imagination and the craft. Each student receives individual attention and coaching on specific vocal issues as well as support for the MFA repertory performances. Students explore the voice/body/mind in relation to space (from film close-up to outdoor performance).
THTR 575 (4 units) Creative Production Projects: The Repertory Experience. Students create a three-play repertoire that they perform on the USC campus over a two-week period (see The Repertory Experience).
THTR 480 (2 units) Performance for the Camera: Using techniques learned from the previous course, students will prepare, rehearse and perform projects for video recording.
THTR 555 (2 units) Fundamentals of Directing: Examination of basic directorial principles to provide the foundation for the conceptualization, execution and realization of texts for the stage. Special emphasis will be placed on pre-production analysis and rehearsal procedures, and the relationship of the director to the actor. Classroom exercises and presentation of scene-work directed by the student.
Third Year – Spring
THTR 515f (2 units) Advanced Movement: The course changes focus to movement related to theatrical realism/naturalism, using texts from Ibsen, Chekhov, O’Neill, Arthur Miller; and the poetic realism of Tennessee Williams, Caryl Churchill, Sam Shepard, David Mamet, Tony Kushner.
THTR 540f (2 units) Advanced Voice: Professional applications of the voice are explored in workshops and class; narration and radio, voiceover, looping, animation and commercials. Each student is personally challenged with work on specific material.
THTR 520e (4 units) Advanced Acting: Each student recapitulates the journey from the beginning of the program and assesses where he or she stands in relation to a professional career. The student can then determine what specific work still needs to be done. Final projects are based upon this assessment, and the material is chosen from “off-center”, highly individualistic sources.
THTR 597 (2 units) Theatre Practicum: Students are engaged either in a produced, public performance of a play or in a Center Theatre Group production.
THTR 571 (2 units) Professional Seminar: The student is introduced to the elements and procedures of gaining employment in the professional worlds of theatre, film and television. The audition process is thoroughly explored; workshops and seminars are conducted by working specialists (directors, casting people, agents and managers) throughout the semester (see The Professional Seminar).
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