This is an archive. See the current website at www.ssp.harvard.edu.

Dramatic Arts

Not all courses are available to SSP students. For example, some courses are offered only for graduate credit. Note especially any listed prerequisites.

Related Courses

Drama courses are listed below.

Drama courses are taught by members of the staff and company of the American Repertory Theatre (ART), faculty from the Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard, and other professionals. The courses offer students an introduction to the world of professional theater, both through classes in practice and theory and through opportunities to attend productions of the ART and ART workshops led by faculty from the Moscow Art Theatre School.

Courselist

DRAM S-10 Introduction to Acting
(4 credits: UN, GR, NC) Eight-week session. Tuition $2,275. Limited enrollment.

Section 1 (30038) (Print version)
Thomas Derrah, M,W 9:30 am-noon, Loeb Drama Center, West Lobby.

Section 2 (31874) (Print version)
Bronia S. Wheeler, M,W 6-8:30 pm, Sever Hall, Room 206.

Section 3 (30037) (Print version)
Thomas Derrah, T,Th 9:30 am-noon, Loeb Drama Center, West Lobby.

This course concentrates on the development of imagination, observation, focus of attention, and the effective use of materials drawn from life. We work on acting scenes, which include an approach to textual analysis, as well as practice in communication, personal involvements, and the accomplishment of stage tasks. Classwork includes extensive individual coaching and ensemble work.

DRAM S-11 Acting Workshop: Developing a Character (30039)
(Print version)
Jeremy Geidt
(4 credits: UN, GR, NC) M,W 9:30 am-noon, Loeb Drama Center, Dance Studio. Eight-week session. Tuition $2,275. Limited enrollment.

This course helps students develop a dramatic character through comic mask work, improvisation, commedia dell'arte physicality, the techniques of farce, and scenework from plays by Oscar Wilde, Anton Chekhov, Noel Coward, Kaufman and Hart, and Richard Brinsley Sheridan. Students learn to develop their characters' gestures, language, and voice. Theatricality and characterization are examined through text, exercises, and film.

DRAM S-12 Acting Workshop: Shakespeare (30040)
(Print version)
Jeremy Geidt
(4 credits: UN, GR, NC) T,Th 9:30 am-noon, Loeb Drama Center, Dance Studio. Eight-week session. Tuition $2,275. Limited enrollment.

This course examines the plays of Shakespeare as theater, with an American approach to verse speaking and characterization. Scenes from the plays are interpreted and rehearsed in light of modern experience. Students also work with Shakespearean sonnets and short plays inspired by the sonnets by Eric Bogosian, William Finn, John Guare, Tony Kushner, Marsha Norman, Ntozake Shange, and Wendy Wasserstein.

DRAM S-13 Acting Workshop: Comedy (31517)
(Print version)
William LeBow
(4 credits: UN, GR, NC) T,Th 9:30 am-noon, Loeb Drama Center, Hall D. Eight-week session. Tuition $2,275. Limited enrollment.

This course develops the actor's approach to and playing of comedy and humor. Using characters and scenes from Shakespeare, Molière, Shaw, and a diverse group of contemporary writers from Christopher Durang to Steve Martin, the course focuses on the universality of comic technique and the specific demands of comic playing. The question of humor is also explored with respect to dramatic situations and characters that are inherently serious. Scenes are cast, developed, and presented by students and critiqued by members of the ART Company.

DRAM S-17a Intermediate Acting (32123)
(Print version)
Marcus Stern
(4 credits: UN, GR, NC) T,Th 12:30-3 pm, Loeb Drama Center, Dance Studio. Eight-week session. Tuition $2,275. Limited enrollment.

This course is a scene study class for students with some acting experience. The focus is on "action-based action"—how an actor changes another actor. Students rehearse scenes in class, and also present scenes rehearsed outside of class. This is a good course for actors interested in stage, TV, and film, and for directors learning how to work with actors.

DRAM S-22 Directing (30043)
(Print version)
Marcus Stern
(4 credits: UN, GR, NC) M,W 12:30-3 pm, Loeb Drama Center, Dance Studio. Eight-week session. Tuition $2,275. Limited enrollment.

This course provides a clear and practical set of steps for both directors and actors wanting to maximize the rehearsal process. Through constant scene work we examine the directorial tools of text analysis, finding the strongest storyline, techniques for telling a story via staging, hands-on directing, working with actors, stronger character choices, design, the mechanics of running rehearsals, and the profession as a business. The focus is on finding the strongest ways to tell stories on stage. The class accommodates all levels, from the novice with no experience to the career-oriented director. The class is also useful for directors who are interested in television and film.

DRAM S-24 The History and Practice of American Musical Theater (31956)
(Print version)
Pamela J. Murray
(4 credits: UN, GR, NC) T,Th 12:30-3 pm, Music Building, Room G-20. Eight-week session. Optional sections T,Th 3-4 pm. Tuition $2,275. Limited enrollment.

This workshop is for all levels of singers. Throughout the course, we practice vocal warm-ups, building technique and confidence. We also study the evolution of song in the American theater through reading and listening assignments. Each student prepares a piece from this repertoire, working on both vocal and theatrical aspects, including a final presentation of the song and its history. Prerequisite: Willingness to sing in front of the class.

 



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