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 146: Artists in Community 1
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 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. Required for BFA Performance Core. 1.0 credit. Spring semester. -
CFA TH 157: Introduction to Design 1: Storytelling and Collaboration for Live Performance
This course introduces students to design through a focus on the origins and history of Storytelling in all regions of the world and how storytelling developed into the Theatrical Art forms of drama, dance, and music. In addition to and concurrently, we will discuss how collaboration in the Theatre is practiced and nourished and how collaborative relationships are developed and formed. Required for BFA Design, Production & Management Core. 3.0 credits. Fall semester. Effective Fall 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Creativity/Innovation. -
CFA TH 158: Introduction to Design 2: 2D & 3D Design Fundamentals
Prereq: CFA TH 157. Students will develop their individual artistic voice and approach to the creative process utilizing the fundamentals of the Seven Principles of Design in 2D & 3D visual design as well as their application in digital and multimedia. The class will also introduce how these design principles apply to the traditional design elements used in theatre: Scenic, Costume, Lighting, and Sound. Through individual and group design projects, students will explore the visual and the conceptual nature of design and utilize peer and instructor critique to hone visual, aural, and oral communication skills. Required for BFA Design, Production & Management Core. 3.0 credits. Spring semester. Effective Spring 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, Digital/Multimedia Expression. -
CFA TH 165: DP&M Community Forum 1: Discovering Theatre through History
This course will look at the development and importance of Theatre in America during the 20th and the beginning of the 21st Century and how these developments and theatrical movements shape and inform the work that is being created today. The class will look at the various cultural, racial, and global influences that shaped the rise of the American Theater and center our conversation on the most significant playwrights, directors, designers, producers, and institutions that have shaped the medium we know today. Required for BFA Design, Production & Management Core. 2.0 credits. Fall semester. Effective Fall 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy. -
CFA TH 166: DP&M Community Forum 2: Contemporary Theatre Makers
This course will look at contemporary theatre artists, productions, and aesthetics to gain a greater understanding on the impact of Theatre as an art form in today's culture and society. The class will look at significant productions, playwrights, directors and designers from around the World and examine innovative ways the Theatre is being used to tell stories and challenge audiences. Effective Spring 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy. Required for BFA Design, Production & Management Core. 2.0 credits. Spring semester. -
CFA TH 171: Language & Craft of Theatre 1
The goal of this course is to introduce students to the foundational vocabulary and skills essential to the craft of theatre making to gain an overview of the people and the physical techniques involved in each major area of theatrical production: scenery, lighting, costumes, sound, properties, scene painting and management. The students will also have a hands-on lab experience in technical theatre and have the opportunity to intersect with multiple facets of the School of Theatre community. The Laboratory experience will include evenings and weekends depending on assignment(s). Required for BFA Theatre Core (Design, Production & Management Core and Performance Core). 2.0 credits. Fall semester. -
CFA TH 172: Language & Craft of Theatre 2
Building on their experiences in CFA TH 171 Language & Craft of Theatre 1, students will continue to explore the vocabulary and skills essential to the craft of theatre making. Students will expand their knowledge within the areas of scenery, lighting, costumes, sound, properties, scene painting and management, developing an understanding of the collaborative professional production process across the broadest possible range of theatrical experiences. The students will also have a hands-on lab experience in technical theatre and have the opportunity to participate as a member of the production team on projects produced by the School of Theatre. The Laboratory experience will include evenings and weekends depending on assignment(s). Required for BFA Theatre Core (Design, Production & Management Core and Performance Core). 2.0 credits. Spring semester. Effective Spring 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in the following Teamwork/Collaboration. -
CFA TH 173: 2D Drafting and Visual Communication 1
This course is designed to train students to read technical drawings and execute 2D Drafting & Visual Communication associated with theatrical design and production. Students will be introduced to various techniques that are often employed in this field with the end goal of becoming proficient in the language of graphic communication and quantitative reasoning tools and methodology utilized in theatrical drafting. This course will be a series of studio sessions that will expose you to the materials, techniques and procedures associated with scenic, lighting, properties and technical design. Required for BFA Design, Production & Management Core. Fall semester. Effective Fall 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Quantitative Reasoning I. -
CFA TH 174: 2D Drafting & Visual Communication 2
Prereq: CFA TH 173. Continued exercises in theatre space and vocabulary through hand drafting. Advanced techniques communicating three-dimensional objects in 2D including mechanical perspective, detail drafting, package layout and execution. Drafting elective requirement variable for BFA Design, Production & Management Core. 2.0 credits. Spring semester. -
CFA TH 205: Dramatic Literature 2: 1850 to 1950
Introduction to the value of modern theatre texts, performances, history, and theories from the mid-19th to the mid-20th century, examining work created in the US and internationally, with discussions on the material and concepts through theoretical, practical, sociopolitical, and cultural lenses. By the conclusion of this course, you will have the working tools to communicate about the relevance of modern drama and theatre to your given course of study and further developed skills in research, inquiry, and analysis. Pre-req: First-Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 120). Effective Fall 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Research and Information Literacy, Writing-Intensive Course. -
CFA TH 206: Dramatic Literature 3: 1950 to the Millennium
This course introduces students to the value of modern to postmodern theatre texts, performances, history, and theories from the mid-20th century to the millennium. We will examine work created from around the world through theoretical, practical, sociopolitical, and cultural lenses and discuss how it is in conversation with each other. By the conclusion of this course, you will have the working tools to communicate about the relevance of modern drama and theatre and further developed skills in research, inquiry, and analysis. Effective Spring 2025, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Research and Information Literacy, Writing-Intensive Course. -
CFA TH 210: Musical Theatre Performance Skills 1
This course explores utilizing the singing voice to engage in storytelling through song. As students develop an approach to processing the internal life of a character in conjunction with musical information provided in a song, they will learn to fully connect to song performance and interpretation through the mind, body, emotion, and voice. Students will then utilize their song interpretation skills to build scenes with multiple characters. In surveying and performing various American Musical Theatre vocal styles, students will develop a versatile, flexible vocal instrument, an open and curious musical mind, a generous and collaborative spirit when giving and receiving feedback with other artists, and the confidence that comes with repeated performance and growth. -
CFA TH 211: Voice and Speech 3: Introduction to IPA
Prerequiste: CFATH 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 213: Voice and Speech 4: Accents, Dialects, and Sociolects
Prerequisite: CFA TH 211 or permission of instructor. This course builds on the skills learned in the fall, using Knight-Thompson Speechwork to deepen student¿s individual mastery of listening, describing, and executing the precise physical actions that make up communicative speech. Students will explore and apply the ¿4 P¿s¿ of Knight-Thompson Speechwork: People, Posture, Pronunciation, and Prosody to master diverse language expression across a variety of accents. 2.0 credits. Spring semester. Effective Spring 2025, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Social Inquiry 1. -
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 3: Advanced Scene Study
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 225: Acting 4
Prerequiste: CFA TH 221. This course will invite the student to supplement their acting training with a diverse and inclusive faculty. Students will study additional methods of acting and theater-making that add dimension and expertise to the craft, diversify approaches to the work, and broaden the foundation of our current landscape. 3.0 credits. Spring 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.
