Theatre

SP 3533: Ecocriticismo: Environmental Cultural Production in Latin America

This upper-level Spanish course explores the many ways in which Latin American authors, artists, filmmakers, photographers, and thinkers have responded to environmental concerns from colonial times to present day. Starting with Europeans’ first impressions of the New World, we will grapple with the interplay between local cultures and the expansion of global capitalism in Latin America by analyzing literary and cultural representations of, for instance, resource extraction of rubber, wood, and petroleum in the Amazon (Brazil, Perú, Ecuador); maquiladora contamination and environmental migration in the borderlands (U.S.Mexico); water defenders and neoliberalism (Chile, Bolivia); indigenous social movements in defense of land & nature (Ecuador); eco-feminist parallels between oppression of women and nature (Honduras, Colombia); and natural disasters, especially in the age of the Anthropocene (Mexico, Puerto Rico). We will explore these issues and more to unearth the role of Latin American cultural production in bearing witness to and generating awareness of environmental crises. While always accounting for the region’s complex and interwoven history of coloniality, inequality, and dependency, we will look for environmental justice solutions proposed at the intersection of art and activism. Several questions will guide our interpretations, which will be grounded in ecocritical theory: what do the studied works aim to achieve by appealing to harmony between the human and the nonhuman? What similarities or differences exist across countries, contexts, and genres? And how does Latin America’s ecological consciousness differ from that of other peripheries and centers? This course would be especially beneficial to students interested in project work at WPI’s Project Centers in Latin America and the Caribbean and would count toward the HUA Requirement in Spanish, International and Global Studies, and Latin American & Caribbean Studies. This course will be offered in 2021-22, and in alternating years thereafter. Units: 1/3 Category: Category II

Recommended Background:

Advanced Spanish and content courses related to Latin America

SP 3534: Intersections of Science, Engineering, Art, Literature, and Film in Latin America and the Caribbean

This course explores past and present intersections between the arts and sciences in Latin America and the Caribbean through a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach. The purpose of this course is to examine areas or interaction between the arts, films, and literature with selected areas of knowledge related to STEM. In this manner, Latin America and the Caribbean are represented as in a creative and critical dialogue with aspects of Modernity and Modernization. This course is especially appropriate for students who expect to complete their IQP and MQP at WPI project centers in Latin America and the Caribbean. This course will be offered in 2021-22, and in alternating years thereafter. Units: 1/3 Category: Category II

TH 1100: Introduction to Acting

This course is designed to give students fundamental tools and techniques for acting in the theatre. These include concentration, relaxation, imagination, observation, communication, sensory awareness, and basic script analysis. Drawing on the “Stanislavski Method,” and using character analysis and scene study, it will include exploration of objectives, tactics, obstacles, action, conflict, subtext, and characterization. It will do this through in-class exercises, as well as monologue and scene work from a variety of plays. Beyond acting skills, the student will learn valuable skills in public speaking and in conveying clear, complex ideas. Units: 1/3 Category: Category I

Recommended Background:

Some theatre or acting experience is desirable but the course is suitable for anyone with interest in the subject.

TH 1221: Introduction to Drama - Theatre on the Page and on the Stage

This introductory course will give the student a basic understanding of theatrical productions, from the moment we read the script to the moment it is presented to an audience, and it will initiate conversations on Art, Theatre and the ways it imitates, catalogues and presents life. Every week touches upon a different area, including playwrighting, directing, acting, and designing and the course culminates in the compilation of an original monologue. This course also serves as an introduction to the WPI Theatre community, often with student involvement to the current theatre production on campus. Students may not receive credit for EN 1221 and TH 1221 Units: 1/3 Category: Category I

TH 1225: Theatre Production Practicum

Credit would be given on the condition that the performance takes place in a WPI performance directed or advised by a part- or full-time WPI instructor. Note: A maximum of four 1/6 units, or a total of two 1/3 units, may be applied toward the five courses, or five one-third units, taken prior to the final Humanities and Arts practicum. Units: 1/6

TH 2219: Playwriting

Playwright. Wright – a maker. She creates a world on the stage through action, dialogue, and character. In this course, students will learn to write for the theatre – to make plays – through study, discussion, and practice. Working from foundational ideas of the well-made play, it will draw upon various analytic theories of theater to examine the structure of plays. Through exercises and studiotype critique, students will create and develop their own plays. This course will be offered in 2021-22, and in alternating years thereafter. Units: 1/3 Category: Category II

Recommended Background:

No recommended background. This course is suitable for anyone with an interest in being a playwright.

TH 2222: Introduction to Technical Theatre

This course introduces students to a variety of technical theatre disciplines, including scenic, lights, sound, props, costumes and more. Each week, students will focus on different technical elements through a combination of lectures, demonstrations, and hands on workshops. Students will demonstrate their learning through various projects and involvement in the current term production. Students may not receive credit for EN 2222 and TH 2222 Units: 1/3 Category: Category I

TH 2225: Acting

Credit would be given on the condition that the performance takes place in a WPI performance directed or advised by a part- or full-time WPI instructor. Note: A maximum of four 1/6 units, or a total of two 1/3 units, may be applied toward the five courses, or five one-third units, taken prior to the final Humanities and Arts practicum. Units: 1/6

TH 2227: Advanced Acting

Credit would be given on the condition that the performance takes place in a WPI performance directed or advised by a part- or full-time WPI instructor. Note: A maximum of four 1/6 units, or a total of two 1/3 units, may be applied toward the five courses, or five one-third units, taken prior to the final Humanities and Arts practicum. Units: 1/6

TH 2229: Advanced Theatre Production Practicum

Credit would be given on the condition that the performance takes place in a WPI performance directed or advised by a part- or full-time WPI instructor. Note: A maximum of four 1/6 units, or a total of two 1/3 units, may be applied toward the five courses, or five one-third units, taken prior to the final Humanities and Arts practicum. Units: 1/6

TH 3220: Shakespeare in Performance

This course examines a selection of Shakespeare’s plays, specifically addressing issues of performance. We will approach the plays through close reading; in relationship to the historical, cultural, and theatrical context in which they were written and originally produced; through viewing and analysis (film and live performance); and as they have been and can be interpreted for performance. We will explore the relationship between text and performance in a practical way with performance exercises and staging scenes from the plays. We will also consider how production elements (design elements including setting and costumes, casting, direction and performance choices, etc.) create and convey meaning and shape audience response. Students may not receive credit for EN 3225 and TH 3220 This course will be offered in 2022-23, and in alternating years thereafter. Units: 1/3 Category: Category II

Recommended Background:

Some familiarity with Shakespeare and or/theatre but the course is suitable for anyone with interest in the subject.

TH 3225: Directing

Credit would be given on the condition that the performance takes place in a WPI performance directed or advised by a part- or full-time WPI instructor. Note: A maximum of four 1/6 units, or a total of two 1/3 units, may be applied toward the five courses, or five one-third units, taken prior to the final Humanities and Arts practicum. Units: 1/6