Acting

THTR 1101 Acting I: Fundamentals of Performance (Fall/Spring: 3)
Patricia Riggin; Luke Jorgensen; John Houchin
Acting I trains students to acquire the essential skills of an actor: vocal and physical exercises to free the body and voice; improvisation and ensemble exercises to encourage creativity, to free one's imagination, and to release emotional spontaneity; and monologue and/or scene work to learn about the crafting and performance process of the actor.

Requirements: three papers (warm-up paper, reading response, and character/scene analysis), individual warm-up development, autobiographical story project, final scene, strict attendance policy, and three texts—The Monologue Workshop, The Right to Speak, and The Actor in You.

THTR 2201 Acting II: Voice/Body/Text (Spring: 3)

Prerequisites: THTR 1101
Patricia Riggin / Sun Ho Kim
Voice and movement are essential tools for effective communication-- for actors and for anyone who addresses an audience. The goal of this team-taught course is for the actor/speaker to achieve a stronger, healthier voice and body, and a greater range of vocal and physical expressiveness and agility. Kristin Linklater's voice technique, somatic-based body exercises, and rigorous physical training will be used to build awareness, coordination, and flexibility; to release tension and sharpen focus; and create dynamic presentations of prepared texts.

THTR 3301 Acting III: Spontaneity and Imagination (Spring: 3)

Prerequisites: THTR 1101 and THTR 2201, permission of the instructor
Acting III explores the essential principles of acting using the methods developed by Sanford Meisner and William Esper. Through a progression of structured improvisations, the actor’s ability to work moment by moment and to truthfully live in those moments is developed. These exercises are designed to stimulate instincts and impulses, sharpen concentration and listening skills, and develop the imagination, spontaneity and emotional skills of the actor. During the semester, students apply the expertise acquired through these exercises to scene work.