TH 102 Scenic Art: Techniques in Application

Content: Investigation of traditional and contemporary techniques of scenic artistry essential to design work for theatre, film, themed entertainment, installation, interiors, etc. Exploration of skills: representational painting, trompe l'oeil, faux finishes, stencil, and large-scale image making; will include dimensional surfaces/structures, image analysis, research, planning, development, project management, and technique application in collaboration. Students will work individually and collectively on samples and in full scale, translating renderings, concepts, and designs into reality.
Prerequisites: TH 110A, TH 110B, TH 218, TH 220, or any studio art course.
Usually offered: Alternate Years, spring semester.
Semester credits: 2.

TH 104 Stage Makeup

Content: Principles and techniques of stage makeup, based on play and character analysis. Exercises to develop and refine the skill for actor, director, or makeup designer. Daily assignments.
Prerequisites: None.
Usually offered: Alternate Years, fall semester.
Semester credits: 2.

TH 105 Costume Design

Content: Hands-on exposure to working methods of the costume designer from an interdisciplinary perspective. Development of skills for designers, choreographers, directors, and artists working to design on the human body. Weekly exercises will explore materials and techniques, opening up a broader perspective of the possibilities of costume and its relationship to theatrical worldbuilding.
Prerequisites: None.
Usually offered: Alternate Years, fall semester.
Semester credits: 2.

TH 106 Fundamentals of Movement

Content: Use of guided movement explorations, partner work, readings, and discussion to explore structural and functional aspects of the body and anatomy with the goal of increasing efficiency of movement and physical coordination. Use of imagery supports dynamic alignment, breath, mobility/stability, relaxation, and partner work including massage, with a main focus on the skeletal system and elements of muscle and organ systems, as well as the relationship between the body and psychological/emotional patterns. Extensive journal writing.
Prerequisites: None.
Usually offered: Annually, fall and spring semester.
Semester credits: 4.

TH 107 Ballet

Content: Introduction to basic ballet principles, steps, and vocabulary. Correct alignment, placement, mobility; increasing flexibility, balance, strength, coordination, control. Barre warm-up, center floor and traveling combinations, general introduction to ballet history and aesthetics. Readings in related historical material; written critique of live performance. Live music accompaniment.
Prerequisites: None.
Usually offered: Alternate Years, fall semester.
Semester credits: 4.

TH 108 Contemporary Dance Technique

Content: Introduction to contemporary dance, focusing on the physical technique and principles of movement. Influences for this course include postmodern dance since the 1960s-linking current movement skills and perspectives to a historic and aesthetic lineage. Development of sound body mechanics, strength, flexibility, momentum, musicality, and phrasing is at the core of this class. Additionally, students will view live and/or videotaped performances, accompanied by short readings on dance history. Live music accompaniment.
Prerequisites: None.
Usually offered: Alternate Years.
Semester credits: 4.

TH 110A Theatre Laboratory

Content: Introduction to behind-the-scenes work in the theatre. Participation on production crews for all departmental productions in a given semester. Experiential learning in the scene and costume shops, on lighting and front-of-house crews. Introduction to the processes that transform the visions of directors and designers into realities on stage. Weekly organizational and instructional meetings, arranged work schedule, required safety orientations. May be repeated (as TH 110B) for up to two additional 1-credit semesters with lab-only requirements, not to exceed 4 total course credits per student.
Prerequisites: None.
Usually offered: Annually, fall and spring semester.
Semester credits: 2.

TH 110B Theatre Laboratory

Content: More behind-the-scenes work in the theatre. Participation on production crews for all departmental productions in a given semester. Experiential learning in the scene and costume shops, on lighting and front-of-house crews. Introduction to the processes that transform the visions of directors and designers into realities onstage. Weekly organizational and instructional meetings, arranged work schedule, required safety orientations. Taught each semester. 1 semester credit with lab-only requirement. May be repeated once for credit.
Prerequisites: TH 110A.
Usually offered: Annually, fall and spring semester.
Semester credits: 1.

TH 113 Acting I: Fundamentals

Content: The fundamentals of acting, including physicalization, text analysis, objectives and actions, rehearsal techniques. Development of skills through class exercises and the rehearsal and performance of short projects and two-character scenes. Writing assignments including script analyses, character biographies, peer reviews, performance reviews, observation exercises, journals.
Prerequisites: None.
Usually offered: Annually, fall and spring semester.
Semester credits: 4.

TH 201 Contact Improvisation

Content: Physical investigation into gravity, momentum, and weight sharing between two or more bodies. Specific skills such as falling, perching, and rolling point of contact; readings and video assignments help to place CI in a historical, social, and artistic context.
Prerequisites: TH 106, TH 107, TH 217, or TH 209.
Usually offered: Annually, fall semester.
Semester credits: 4.

TH 209 Social Dance Forms: History, Practice, and Social Significance

Content: Introduction to social dance forms, including ballroom and Latin styles: waltz, foxtrot, swing, cha-cha, tango, salsa, rumba, merengue, bachata. Students will learn the basic techniques of leading and following, footwork, body placement, stylization, etiquette, and musicality. Reading, lectures, and film will provide historical and social context for each dance.
Prerequisites: TH 106 recommended.
Usually offered: Alternate Years, fall semester.
Semester credits: 4.

TH 211 Computer Aided Drafting for the Theatre

Content: Explores the use of the program Vectorworks to create 2-D and 3-D content with a focus on theatrical productions. Students will learn the basic principles of drafting by hand and how they translate to computerized tools. Exploration of a variety of 2-D content commonly used in theatre; use of 3-D tools to communicate design ideas. While the content of the course is focused on theatrical design, the software students learn to use is applicable to mechanical and architectural design, as well as other forms of visual arts. Final project will be a design for a short play using both 2-D and 3-D tools.
Prerequisites: None.
Usually offered: Alternate Years, spring semester.
Semester credits: 2.

TH 212 Stagecraft

Content: Advanced techniques and concepts in stagecraft. Explores the second-phase design process by which a set designer's visual representations are transformed first into working drawings and construction problems, and then into material, three-dimensional forms. Classroom instruction and experiential learning in the scene shop. Emphasis on problem-solving, collaborative interpretation of design ideas, creative implementation. Fee.
Prerequisites: TH 110A.
Usually offered: Alternate Years, spring semester.
Semester credits: 4.

TH 213 Acting II: Realism

Content: Intensive exploration and rehearsals of complex texts from historical and contemporary realistic dramatic literature. Integration of voice and body work, deepening a sense of truth in emotional and intellectual expression, and increased focus on detailed scene work and audition preparation. Actors work with instructor on individual acting problems, engage in deep-dive scene and play analyses, and rehearse and perform multiple scenes and audition pieces. Writing: script analysis, historical research, bibliography, observations. Additional projects in movement and voice.
Prerequisites: TH 113.
Usually offered: Annually, spring semester.
Semester credits: 4.

TH 214 Dance in Context: History and Criticism

Content: Viewing of selected live dance performances in the Portland area. An exploration of the intellectual, historical, and social contexts of these performances. Development of a vocabulary for dance criticism and an understanding of the essential elements of dance choreography and performance. Readings; analysis of videotaped, filmed, and live dance performances; seminar discussion. Fee (performance tickets).
Prerequisites: None.
Usually offered: Alternate Years, fall semester.
Semester credits: 4.

TH 217 Voice and Movement

Content: Introduction to a range of vocal and physical techniques for creative expression in performance. Through a series of exercises, trainings, and performances, students will have the opportunity to reduce habitual tensions, connect their movement and voice to imagery and text, and increase the strength, flexibility, and dynamic of their voices and bodies in performance. The class will cover techniques drawn from a wide variety of voice and movement philosophies including Linklater, Suzuki, Grotowski, Alexander, yoga, and others.
Prerequisites: TH 113.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing required.
Usually offered: Alternate Years, spring semester.
Semester credits: 4.

TH 218 Fundamentals of Design

Content: Introduction to the expressive principles, components, and processes of design. Projects and exercises explore conceptualization of story-based ideas as well as introduce the challenges and rigors of collaboration. Basic visual communication and expressive forms for theatre practitioners, but the skills involved are widely applicable to all design disciplines. Foundation course for advanced work in the theory and aesthetics of theatrical design. Fee.
Prerequisites: None.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing required.
Usually offered: Annually, fall semester.
Semester credits: 4.

TH 219 Creative Movement

Content: Emphasis on somatics, which supports organic and authentic movement; inspiration from imagery and experiential anatomy in improvisational explorations. Students will hone basic movement skills and expand their palette of movement qualities, as well as explore sound body mechanics, strength, flexibility, momentum, musicality, phrasing, and partner work. Exploration of solo to group dancing; live music accompaniment.
Prerequisites: None.
Usually offered: Annually, spring semester.
Semester credits: 4.

TH 220 Theatre Graphics

Content: Basic graphic techniques necessary for successful communication within the design and production areas of theatre. Projects and exercises in drawing, rendering, model building, color theory, and drafting. Introduction to visual communications and expressive form for theatre practitioners, but the skills involved are widely applicable. Foundation course for advanced work in the theory and aesthetics of design. Fee.
Prerequisites: None.
Usually offered: Annually, spring semester.
Semester credits: 4.

TH 234 Stage Lighting

Content: Understanding the physical properties of light, the technologies used to light the stage, and the principles and practices of lighting design. Topics include optics, color, electrical theory, lighting instruments, control systems, design concepts, light plots, script analysis for lighting. Readings, writing assignments, research projects, demonstrations, creative projects in light design.
Prerequisites: None.
Usually offered: Alternate Years, spring semester.
Semester credits: 4.

TH 238 Performance From the Inside Out

Content: The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program is designed to bring together, as peers, students enrolled as undergraduates in a college and students incarcerated in a correctional facility. Introduction to the skills of acting and autobiographical performance and the ways in which those skills can provide a platform for personal expression and narrative agency. Exploration of notions of presence; expression of narrative through the body and voice; the tools of autobiography and given circumstance to write and perform dramatic text; and, finally, creating performance both as a solo and an ensemble. The class will culminate in a performance of five-minute autobiographical solos from each member of the class, written and rehearsed in collaboration with other students.
Prerequisites: None.
Restrictions: By application and interview.
Usually offered: Alternate Years, spring semester.
Semester credits: 4.

TH 244 Practicum/Internship

Content: Field experience extending classroom learning into non-curricular production opportunities, apprenticeships, or internships. Additional readings and/or writing may be required. Off-campus work will require cooperation with an on-site supervisor. Credit-no credit. May be repeated for credit, but will be counted toward the major or minor by department approval only.
Prerequisites: None.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing and consent required.
Usually offered: Annually, fall and spring semester.
Semester credits: 1-4.

TH 246 Special Topics: Design/Technical Theatre

Content: Special topics in design and technical theatre. Course content and prerequisites vary by topic. May be taken twice for credit.
Prerequisites: None.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing required.
Usually offered: Alternate Years, fall and spring semester.
Semester credits: 2.

TH 249 Oregon Shakespeare Festival

Content: Focuses on a week of theatre-going (approximately nine plays) at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland. Three weeks of contextual study of the plays and their authors, including the study of appropriate cognate plays and authors; individualized research and project work; one week of play-going in Ashland; two weeks of post-performance writing and discussion. The week in Ashland features one-hour supplementary classes at Southern Oregon University, talks with actors and directors at OSF. Fee for a portion of the trip expenses.
Prerequisites: None.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing required.
Usually offered: Alternate Years, summer only.
Semester credits: 4.

TH 250 Theatre in New York

Content: Contemporary theatre in New York including traditional and experimental work, American plays, plays from the international repertoire. Attending and discussing productions. Meeting with playwrights, actors, directors, designers, producers to investigate current trends in theatrical writing, production, criticism. Offered on the off-campus program in New York.
Prerequisites: None.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing and acceptance into the New York City off-campus program required.
Usually offered: Annually, fall semester.
Semester credits: 4.

TH 251 Theatre in London

Content: Contemporary theatre in London including traditional and experimental work, American plays, plays from the international repertoire. Attending and discussing productions. Meeting with playwrights, actors, directors, designers, producers to investigate current trends in theatrical writing, production, criticism. Offered on the London overseas program.
Prerequisites: None.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing and acceptance into London overseas program required.
Usually offered: Alternate Years, spring semester.
Semester credits: 4.

TH 252 Rehearsal and Performance: Dance Extravaganza

Content: Faculty-supervised rehearsal and performance of original dance pieces developed by student choreographers. Works in progress critiqued by faculty at regular intervals throughout the semester. Approximately 10 weeks of rehearsals held two to three times a week, one to two progress showings for the supervising faculty, and four public performances. Credit/no credit. May be repeated four times for credit.
Prerequisites: None.
Restrictions: Audition.
Usually offered: Annually, fall semester.
Semester credits: 1-2.

TH 253 Rehearsal and Performance: One-Acts

Content: Faculty-supervised rehearsal and performance of selected one-act plays and senior thesis projects, organized in various formats: student written, student directed; professionally written, student directed; professionally written, guest artist directed. Limited scenic support. Credit/no credit.
Prerequisites: Audition.
Usually offered: Annually, fall and spring semester.
Semester credits: 1-3.

TH 275 Introduction to Playwriting

Content: Introduction to dramatic writing. Examination of dramatic action, dialogue, characterization, and structure; emphasis on writing for the stage. Reading assignments from classical, modern, and contemporary plays as well as from commentaries on the playwright's art, Aristotle to the present. Students write scenes and exercises throughout the semester, culminating in a final project.
Prerequisites: None.
Usually offered: Alternate Years, fall semester.
Semester credits: 4.

TH 280 Theatre and Society: Global Foundations

Content: Investigation of performance traditions that span continents and centuries-Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia; from its earliest ritual forms through the late 18th century. Connections between the social and historical circumstances of the respective periods and their manifestations in drama and performance. Primary and secondary materials; reading and analysis of plays; examination of documentary and pictorial evidence; intellectual and creative engagement with the material. Students will develop a body of knowledge that will allow them to see both the connections and contradictions that form our understanding of theatre and performance today.
Prerequisites: None.
Usually offered: Alternate Years, fall and spring semester.
Semester credits: 4.

TH 283 Theatre and Society: Modern Continental Drama

Content: Focus on modern continental theatre from Buchner to contemporary European playwrights. Realism, expressionism, surrealism, Dada, Theatre of the Absurd, and continental postmodernism. Special attention to the theatre and social contexts of eastern and central Europe and Germany.
Prerequisites: None.
Usually offered: Alternate Years, spring semester.
Semester credits: 4.

TH 285 Playing at the Border: Migration and Art

Content: Collaborative seminar-workshop considering both stories of migration and the migration of stories. Situating the current refugee situation within its historical context(s), we will reconsider how refugee stories are told-by whom, for whom, and to what ends-engaging with film, theatre, literature, and visual art by people on the move that plays at, with, beyond, and against nation-state boundaries. Students will devise community-engaged scholarly-creative projects that center migrant voices.
Prerequisites: None.
Usually offered: Every third year, spring semester.
Semester credits: 4.

TH 299 Independent Study

Content: Opportunities for well-prepared students to design and pursue a course of independent readings or creative work in a substantive area. Details determined by the student and supervising instructor. May be repeated for credit.
Prerequisites: None.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing and consent required.
Usually offered: Annually, fall and spring semester.
Semester credits: 1-4.

TH 301 Directing

Content: Critical and creative aspects of theatre directing. Analysis of a play in terms of event and character; exploring complementary ways of understanding time and space onstage. Students will delve into primary source writing by directors for clues to their own distinctive approach to the art form. Introduction of tools for running a rehearsal room and the different ways in which a director is responsible for facilitating and synthesizing the creative act among performers, playwrights, and designers.
Prerequisites: TH 113.
Usually offered: Annually, fall semester.
Semester credits: 4.

TH 308 Dance Composition and Improvisation

Content: Studio work in compositional exploration and the investigation of movement and sound in solo and group improvisation. Critical evaluation and analysis of work in progress. Organization and design of dance studies for class presentation and future choreography. Reading, writing, and theory; attend performances.
Prerequisites: TH 108. One other dance course.
Corequisites: TH 308L.
Usually offered: Annually, spring semester.
Semester credits: 4.

TH 313 Acting III: Style

Content: Advanced techniques in acting associated with, and demanded by, the drama of particular periods and genres. Acting "style" explored through the study of a period's theatrical conventions and cultural preferences (in physical movement, bodily display, vocal technique, fashion). Emphasis on premodern styles, including Shakespeare and commedia dell'arte. Some modern and contemporary nonrealistic styles.
Prerequisites: TH 113.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing required.
Usually offered: Alternate Years, spring semester.
Semester credits: 4.

TH 335 Design for Performance

Content: Authorship through performance design, practice, and theory informed by a variety of disciplines including theatre, puppetry, choreography, performance art, experience design, sculpture, media, and architecture. The designer utilizes a multiplicity of skills and tools to analyze, research, develop, and create visual worlds that tell a story in collaboration. Exploration of aesthetics will touch on the ancient and historical world leading into the 20th and 21st centuries. Students will create unique performance environments while working on graphic, model-making, and presentation skills grounded in dramaturgy.
Prerequisites: TH 110A.
Usually offered: Alternate Years, spring semester.
Semester credits: 4.

TH 340 The History and Theory of Modern and Contemporary Performance

Content: An intellectual history of Western theatrical performance in the 20th century through modern and postmodern performance theories formulated by major directors, actors, playwrights, critics, theorists. Readings from primary sources, biographies and critical works, contemporary theatre theory. Research emphasis on significant productions, major artists, training methodologies, and distinctive models of theatrical work. Provides a historical and theoretical context for contemporary performance practices.
Prerequisites: One 4-credit course in modern drama/theatre history. One 4-credit course in performance.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing required.
Usually offered: Alternate Years, fall semester.
Semester credits: 4.

TH 351 Rehearsal and Performance: Main Stage Production

Content: Rehearsals five to six nights a week for six to eight weeks. Six scheduled performances followed by a department critique. Intense involvement in the complete process of translating a play script into performance. Journal or research as process requires. Credits dependent on size of role and length of rehearsal period. Lewis Clark supports a policy of color-blind casting. May be repeated for maximum of 24 credits with a maximum of 4 credits per semester.
Prerequisites: Audition.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing required.
Usually offered: Annually, fall and spring semester.
Semester credits: 1-4.

TH 352 Choreography and Production: Dance Extravaganza

Content: Choreography and production of Dance Extravaganza piece(s). Development and implementation of skills introduced in composition and improvisation, including generating original movement vocabulary and incorporation of music, text, costumes, set sound, and lights. Approximately 10 weeks of rehearsals held two to three times a week, weekly production meetings, one to two progress showings for the supervising faculty, and four public performances. Credit/no credit. May be repeated two times for credit.
Prerequisites: TH 308.
Usually offered: Annually, fall semester.
Semester credits: 1-4.

TH 356 Devised Performance

Content: The creation of performance pieces without scripts. Explorations of modes of contemporary performance through collaborative and collective creation, the adaptation of nondramatic texts for performance, and multidisciplinary work. Students write, adapt, and devise original performances throughout the semester. Music and studio art students welcome.
Prerequisites: Two 4-credit courses in theatre, one of which must be in performance, and consent of instructor; or two 4-credit courses in studio art, music performance, or creative writing, and consent of instructor.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing required.
Usually offered: Alternate Years, spring semester.
Semester credits: 4.

TH 357 Theatre Design/Production Laboratory

Content: Guided instruction through assigned participation in processes that prepare theatre lighting, sound, scenery, props, and costume construction, among others, in support of departmental presentations in both the Main Stage and Black Box theatre venues. Participants may work as student designers, design assistants, master electricians, assistant technical directors, or other production-related positions and make arrangements with department instructors according to their focus. Variable credits based on the production position and time commitment. Consent of instructor required.
Prerequisites: TH 110A.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing required.
Usually offered: Annually, fall and spring semester.
Semester credits: 1-3.

TH 382 American Drama: Minoritarian Perspectives

Content: Readings in modern and contemporary American theatre. Topics include the origins of realism, American expressionism, noncommercial art theatre, African American playwriting, women in theatre, canonical family plays, the Federal Theatre Project, the musical, Broadway comedy, filmed adaptation of stage drama, the advent of experimental and postmodern theatre, and the evolution of theatrical forms and themes in relation to historical and social change.
Prerequisites: TH 283, ENG 209 or GEND 200.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing required.
Usually offered: Alternate Years, spring semester.
Semester credits: 4.

TH 383 Topics in Global Theatre and Performance

Content: Examination of contemporary theatre and performance in a global context, including investigation of modern and contemporary performance within, across, and between regions such as Africa, South Asia, South America, and the Middle East. A series of themes-from globalization and displacement, nationalism, postcolonialism, memory and trauma, gender, queerness, uprising, occupation, and solidarity-will help students to understand theatre and performance as it emerges within specific historical and political circumstances, assess the interplay of culturally specific aesthetic values within a global marketplace, and trace South-South relationalities as they unfold.
Prerequisites: TH 280 recommended.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing required.
Usually offered: Alternate Years, spring semester.
Semester credits: 4.

TH 385 Special Topics Seminar: Plays and Playwrights

Content: An intensive study focusing on the work of one playwright or related playwrights or focusing on an aesthetic movement. Emphasis on a core group of plays and surrounding historical and critical materials. Exploration and evaluation through research, critical writing, and workshop performances of both dramatic texts and of class research and criticism. May be taken twice for credit.
Prerequisites: Any two 4-semester-credit courses in theatre.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing required.
Usually offered: Alternate Years, spring semester.
Semester credits: 4.

TH 444 Practicum/Internship

Content: Advanced fieldwork with practical application of classroom theory and training. Additional readings and/or writing required. Credit-no-credit. May be repeated for credit, but will be counted toward the major or minor by department approval only.
Prerequisites: None.
Restrictions: Junior standing and consent required.
Usually offered: Annually, fall and spring semester.
Semester credits: 1-4.

TH 450 Senior Seminar

Content: Capstone course in the major focused on the presentation of a creative project or presentation combined with a written thesis. Creative work in acting, directing, playwriting, and design is showcased in the spring Theatre Thesis Festival. The capstone experience should represent the culmination of a student's work within his or her major concentration as well as an opportunity to move that work forward. All students must receive faculty approval for capstone projects, normally in the fall semester prior to the Senior Seminar in the spring.
Prerequisites: None.
Restrictions: Theatre majors with senior standing. Theatre minors or student-designed majors with consent of instructor.
Usually offered: Annually, spring semester.
Semester credits: 4.

TH 490 Thesis Preparation Seminar

Content: A faculty-guided seminar in preparation for students' senior theses. The seminar covers strategies and requirements for both creative and research-paper senior thesis proposals, guides students step by step in their work toward a fully thought-through and polished proposal, and addresses all issues pertaining to the eventual successful senior thesis in the spring semester.
Prerequisites: None.
Restrictions: Senior standing required. Declared Theatre major.
Usually offered: Annually, fall semester.
Semester credits: 1.

TH 499 Independent Study

Content: Same as TH 299 but requiring more advanced work. May be repeated for credit.
Prerequisites: None.
Restrictions: Sophomore standing and consent required.
Usually offered: Annually, fall and spring semester.
Semester credits: 1-4.