Courses
The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular semester. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the Student Link for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.
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CFA TH 401: Classic Theatre through a Contemporary Lens
What is dramaturgy? How are its methods useful to theatre practitioners, regardless of specialization? Students in this course will learn the basics of best dramaturgical practice through investigations and excavations of classic plays, juxtaposed against current adaptations and reinterpretations. Instruction will focus on: the development of one's personal aesthetic; effective research and its presentation; dramaturgical writing and analysis; the creation of casebooks on specific plays; and devising pathways into the world of the play for one's collaborators. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing- Intensive Course, Research and Information Literacy. -
CFA TH 402: Contemporary Dramatic Literature
Prereq: At least one of the following: CFA TH 101, CFA TH 102, CFA TH 201, CFA TH 202; and/or consent of instructor; This discussion course explores the most current trends in theatre from the United States and United Kingdom, with particular attention paid to the voices of African-American, Asian-American, Disabled, Feminist, Gay, and Lesbian playwrights, as well as to plays that break the standard molds of realism and naturalism. The course pairs close reading and analysis with other dramaturgical methods in order to provide students with intellectual depth and practical skill for the professional theatre. Attendance of selected performances at B.U. and in Boston-at-large is required. 3.0 credits. Spring semester. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: The Individual in Community. Effective Spring 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, The Individual in Community. -
CFA TH 403: Advanced Playwriting
Prereq: CFA TH 303 or consent of instructor; Students will learn the art of developing an early stage first draft into a production ready final rehearsal draft. Run like an intensive development workshop, this is where the most intensive, and arguably, most satisfying work will begin. Students learn the nuts and bolts of massaging a play: fleshing out characters, streamlining action, refining dialogue and finessing structure. Playwrights will also learn about the expectations and strategies for productive collaborative in-process relationships with actors, directors and dramaturges. This class is required for writers intending to produce original works for BFA Thesis. 3.0 credits. Fall semester. -
CFA TH 411: Voice & Speech 4: Thesis Development
Prereq: TH 311; Continuation in development of vocal instrument, workshops in special topics and individual coaching in support of actor's performance in productions. 2.0 credits. Fall semester. -
CFA TH 412: Voice & Speech 4: Thesis Application
Prereq: CFA TH411; Continuation in development vocal instrument, workshops in special topics and individual coaching in support of actor's performance in productions. 2.0 credits. Spring semester. -
CFA TH 419: Music Theatre Performance Lab
Prereq: CFA TH218 or CFA TH317 or consent of the instructor; This course will focus on singing as storytelling, as a powerful means of self-expression brought to the context of a professional audition. The first half of the course will be an exploration of repertoire, and musicality as well as material that the individual is drawn to and best suits their essence. The second half of the course, students will hone audition skills, as well as interpretative and musicianship skill sets. They will work more closely exploring specific points of view and perspective. Students will learn to choose appropriate audition material, preparing music for an accompanist, and mock auditions. Students will leave with a repertoire book of material that has been developed throughout their time in the program. 3.0 credits. Fall Semester -
CFA TH 421: Acting 4: Thesis Development
Prereq: CFA TH 321; Experience in the application of techniques to define and fulfill the actor's work in terms of form and content as required by the play and its performance. 2.0 credits. Fall semester. -
CFA TH 422: Acting 4: Professional Lifetime Skills
Prereq: CFA TH421; For Senior Acting Majors or by instructor's permission. Focus on synthesizing the actor's training into the practical and artistic tools necessary to work creatively and collaboratively in the profession. Includes deepening and integrating skills in auditions, readings, and rehearsal process, as well as panel discussions on the business of theatre. 3.0 credits. Spring semester. Effective Spring 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, Creativity/Innovation. -
CFA TH 425: Acting: Shakespeare
Prereq: Consent of instructor; Begins with personalization of the text, learning how to speak from one's own life experience. Explores connection between breath and thought/feeling. Then moves on to intellectual and technical demands, treating text more analytically, focusing on comprehension, inflection, dynamics and rhythm. Text will include sonnets, monologues and scenes. 2.0 credits. Fall semester. -
CFA TH 426: Classical Techniques in Contemporary Acting
Prereq: Consent of instructor; In this course, considerable time will be spent investigating how classical training can enhance the embodiment of contemporary text. We will use acting techniques perhaps more commonly associated with classical work to explore contemporary plays that contain either heightened language or elevated ideas, or both. We may sample historical texts from time to time, as they prove useful in the approach to contemporary material. 2.0 credits. Spring semester. -
CFA TH 427: Theatre Ensemble 4: Thesis Development
Prereq: CFA TH 227 or CFA TH 228 or CFA TH 327; This course serves as the culminating experience for senior Theatre Arts majors. The course involves the process of selecting a thesis project, choosing partners with whom to collaborate, then coming together as an ensemble to determine the process for producing the projects in the spring semester. Topics include developing a company mission, goals and priorities, as well as fundraising and marketing. Part one of a two semester-long course. Required all senior BFA Theatre Arts majors. 3.0 credits. Fall semester. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Teamwork/Collaboration. -
CFA TH 428: Senior Thesis: Theatre Arts
Prereq: CFA TH 427, plus prior academic experience in directing, choreography, or playwriting depending on the individual focus of a student's thesis project participation. Students form a company to present a festival of plays at the end of the semester. Thesis work can focus on playwriting, producing, directing, dramaturgy, or performance and project collaboration is strongly encouraged. 3.0 credits. Spring semester. -
CFA TH 429: Understanding the Camera
Prereq: SOT Only (majors and minors), senior standing or permission from instructor. This course is designed to provide students an acclimation to the artistic and professional transition of "on‐camera" work. Class work will focus on the development of on‐camera skills through performance practice and editing for presentation. Students will develop their own material individually and in groups. An introduction to basic film making (lighting, sound, editing), marking, scene takes and script analysis will help develop an understanding of how to create more dynamic and complete characters created specifically for the screen. In‐depth analysis of the current medium as it exists in all markets (film, television, and online) will be a constant element of the course. 2.0 credits. Fall semester. -
CFA TH 430: Professional Theatre Initiative: Orientation to the Workplace
Prereq: Senior standing; BFA Performance only; or consent of instructor. Students will develop skills on how to prepare for various aspects of the theatrical profession. Lectures and workshops (by faculty and guest artists) will focus on the process of auditioning/casting for theatre, film and television, as well as various aspects of the field such as playwriting and directly and will help students identify their potential success in that medium. The course will also delve into the logistical side of the profession in terms of tangible material and skills an artist should be armed with, which includes the creation of an individual website by each student. Material will also be explored that can be applied to their work in their showcase in both Boston and New York City. 2.0 credits. -
CFA TH 431: Movement 4: Thesis Development
Prereq: CFA TH 331; Explorations of physical theatre, choreography, and movement styles for non-verbal requirement of BFA Acting thesis. -
CFA TH 432: Movement 4: Commedia dell'Arte
Prereq: Permission of instructor; Commedia dell'Arte: Introduction to the 16th and 17th century form of Italian street theatre based on improvised scenarios. Actors explore the stock characters of the old men, lovers, servants, and warriors, and learn techniques for mask transformations and physical comedy. 1.0 credit -
CFA TH 437: Alexander Technique 4: The Actor's Consciousness
Prereq: CFA TH 337; In-depth study of Carl Stough's breathing coordination principles. Continue to develop skills to understand what is the actor's consciousness and what is character's consciousness. Private coaching and hands on scene work to attain high-level performance techniques. 1.0 credit. Fall semester. -
CFA TH 438: Alexander Technique 4: Thesis Application
Prereq: CFA TH437 or consent of instructor; Team taught with Judy Braha. Coaching for a scene with an Alexander teacher and an Acting teacher together helps the students to attain high-level performance techniques. 1.0 credit. Spring semester. -
CFA TH 440: Experiencing London Theatre in the Postwar World
This course offers an aesthetic and historical understanding of contemporary London theatre, as well as the interpretation of controversies in postwar British theatre history, plus knowledge of evaluative tools -- including journalistic skills -- for the analysis of current shows. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness. -
CFA TH 441: Undergraduate Directing Colloquium 2
Prereq: CFA TH 341; Projects with undergraduate theatre majors in plays of various lengths. Focus is on preparation for rehearsal and on rehearsal process. 2.0 credits. Fall semester.
