Courses
The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular term. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the MyBU Student Portal for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.
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CFA TH 211: Voice and Speech 2: Introduction to IPA
Prerequiste: CFA TH 114. Based in Knight-Thompson Speechwork, students will learn vocal anatomy, the precise physical actions that make up communicative speech, and descriptive phonetics. Students will also explore what it means to use speech in performance, and consider how idiolect can meet the text and space. This course sets a necessary foundation for the accent acquisition work in the spring semester. 2.0 credits. Fall semester. -
CFA TH 220: Acting and Performance 2
Prerequisite: CFA TH 120 or permission of instructor. The objective of this course is to focus the students on acting printed script through organic inter-relation of self and environment. Text analysis. observation, research, justification of action, objectives, talking and listening are introduced as tools for understanding, then rehearsing/workshopping short plays for a final presentation. Scene study, studio class. 4.0 credits. Spring semester. -
CFA TH 221: Acting 2: The Actors Job in Rehearsal & Performance of a Play
Prerequisite: CFA TH 124. Work on a part: breakdown of text into actions, objectives, beats; sensory work and its application to script. Developing and sustaining characters and action in increasingly complex texts. Exploration and skill work will grow into rehearsal and performance of a play at the end of the semester. 3.0 credits. Fall semester. -
CFA TH 227: Dramatic Writing 1: Autobiography
Prerequisite: CFA TH 136. This course is designed to develop the student's ability to write, direct and act in autobiographically based theatre pieces. Students will develop autobiographical work through a series of in-class and assigned writing explorations. In addition, students will be exposed to a variety of readings and performances by autobiographical artists. A final ensemble driven, organized, and executed performance will result. 3.0 credits. Fall semester. -
CFA TH 228: Dramatic Writing 2: Adaptation
Prerequisites: CFA TH 136 and First-Year Writing Seminar (CAS WR 120 or equivalent). This course is an experiential introduction to adaptation for the stage. Through class readings, writing assignments, devising, and theatrical excursions, students will begin to understand the nuts and bolts of translating work from one form (and/or medium) to another. Students will engage in writing exercises that reinvestigate pre-existing material, and will work as writers, performers, directors, and designers to create original theater pieces for the page. 3.0 credits. Spring semester. Effective Spring 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Writing-Intensive Course. -
CFA TH 231: Movement 3: Awareness of Self into Physical Transformation
Prerequisite: CFA TH 134. Deepening development and articulation of the expressive body and exploring techniques for human nature physical transformations through incorporation of embodied elements and animal energy/imagery. 2.0 credits. Fall semester. -
CFA TH 235: Theater Collaboration 2
During this course, students will explore theatre making through collaboration. Students will engage with directing, playwriting, and dramaturgy through a series of in-studio exercises and projects. By the end of their time in this course, students will be best poised to select a Primary and Secondary Discipline in their Theatre Arts Major. 3.0 credits. Fall semester. -
CFA TH 237: Somatic Practice 2
Prerequisite: CFA TH 142. Somatice Practice 2 will explore the Alexander Technique through the context of scene work where actors will confront 'performative habits'. Just like with any activity, performance comes full of acquired habits. This course will seek to identify and point out these habits and how they uniquely interfere with the actor's instrument. Emphasis will be placed on moment-to-moment awareness of the body in order to combat the common tendency to anticipate the next moment in a scene. 1.0 credit. Fall semester. -
CFA TH 239: Aesthetic and Philosophy of Dance
This course looks at three major theories of art and applies them to dance. How do we view and perceive dance? The theories that provide us the most insight are the mimetic/representation, formal, and expression theories. We will use them to consider visual art, theater, and music, and then focus on dance. How is movement and gesture organized to tell a story, convey an idea and/or create an aesthetic experience? How do we make sense of this nonverbal form of communication and increase our appreciation for dance's power to engage? Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Aesthetic Exploration. -
CFA TH 240: Beginning Directing
The goal of this course is to provide a consistent understanding of what the director's work entails from an analytical and practical perspective, while emphasizing the importance of teamwork and collaboration. The class will be part colloquium and part rehearsal/studio class. The aim here is not to present polished work but rather to focus on the process of working with a creative design team and an ensemble cast, with a particular emphasis on the practical application of analytical and critical thought. 2.0 credits. Fall & Spring semesters. Effective Fall 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Teamwork/Collaboration. -
CFA TH 245: Artist Community 2
Artists in Community is a course that follows the student throughout their time at BU SOT and places them with their peers and colleagues for communication, learning, sharing, and giving back. It is the single time when all Performance Students, Faculty and Staff can come together in a room. The four-year progression of this course supports the student journey in finding their creative voice, discovering community, and acknowledging their personal impact on the world. This course progression will engage the student as an artist who has a role to play in responding to and shaping the future of the art form by taking on topics such as local, national, and global issues in theater, emerging practices in the profession at large, and what it means to foster a sustainable and meaningful life in the arts. 1.0 credit. Fall semester. -
CFA TH 249: Introduction to Theater Practice
During the course of this semester, Performance students in the first semester of their 2nd Year of study will select a Theatre In Practice (CFA TH 349/549) process to engage with at least six (6) times during the project’s rehearsals and/or performance period. Examples are: participating in the process as an offstage shadow (non-performative); assistant directing, assistant dramaturging, assistant movement direction, shadowing a playwright in process, assistant designing/shadowing a designer, shadowing a stage manager, and so on. Students may also choose to observe their selected process. 2.0 credits. Fall semester. -
CFA TH 257: Scenography 1
This course will explore the various ways all disciplines of theatre design – Scenic, Costumes, Lighting, Sound – collaboratively support storytelling in live performances. Emphasis will be placed on excavating and visualizing the text and how to be a knowledgeable and informed collaborative partner in the creation of theatrical work. Students will further develop their creative artistic voice and research skills that support the theatrical design process. Effective Fall 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Creativity/Innovation, Research and Information Literacy. -
CFA TH 263: Scene Design 1
Prereq: None; Fundamentals of set design theory; basic mechanical and conceptual solutions for the proscenium theatre; development of presentational and research skills. Readings and projects incorporate all theatre genres, ballet, dance, opera, television, and film. 3.0 credits. Fall semester. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Creativity/Innovation. -
CFA TH 273: Graphic Rendering 1
Prerequisite: CFA TH 174 or permission of instructor. Studio work in advanced hand drafting techniques. Exercises include completion of a drafting package including orthographic projections, true size & shape, section drawings, properties drawings, mechanical perspective drawing, package layout and design. 2.0 credits. Fall semester. -
CFA TH 275: Costume Design 1
Prereq: Instructor Consent; This course focuses on student's collaborative and artistic abilities in theatre practice with an emphasis on costume design. Students participate in a range of visual, written, and verbal techniques of communication; script analysis, style, research techniques, and rendering skills, based on several theatrical pieces. Students work in small selected groups to establish broader conceptual ideas, and individually focus on costume elements of the designated theatrical piece. This provides each student to learn costume design methodology developing a creative voice in collaboration with others. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Creativity/Innovation. -
CFA TH 279: Costume Production 1
This course is designed to give students a working knowledge of flat patterning and draping methods based on historical research. Course work, readings lectures and practical applica-tion will ensure that students are capable to lead a costume build team and successfully pro-duce costumes for an assigned production. Effective Fall 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Quantitative Reasoning I. -
CFA TH 281: Intro to Textiles 1
Prereq: Advisor Recommendation or Instructor Consent; The course will cover identification and use of a variety of different fabrics including theatrical goods. It will include a brief history of textiles in conjunction with a focused overview of patterns, colors and fibers that developed and were used over a period of time as a result of growth within the industry. Scheduled trips to the Textile Museum in Lowell and the Museum of Fine Arts will support and enhance the student's experience with the subject. 1.0 credit. Fall semester. Every other odd numbered AY. -
CFA TH 283: Lighting Design 1
Prereq: CFA TH 162 & CFA TH 186, or consent of instructor; Introduction to the art and craft of lighting design for the stage. Explores the lighting design process, how to develop lighting ideas, concepts, and visual images from a text, and how to support those ideas to the point of realization. Required Labs will supplement class work with hands-on activities. 3.0 credits. Fall semester. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Creativity/Innovation. -
CFA TH 285: Lighting Crafts 1
Introduction to theatrical lighting and technology as a technical craft within the performing arts industry. Discussion of basic terminology, shop organization, job descriptions, maintenance procedures, and safety. 2.0 credits. Fall semester.
