Lower-Division

Course features a distinguished roster of guest speakers of arts practitioners and educators who provide illuminating insights and personal stories on the artistic character that can shape a creative life dedicated to social change. Speakers cover a lively range of topics, ranging from the importance of habits of heart and mind that can transform "some thing" into something "original" to the ways the arts create productive change. Taught by Lyle Troxell, host of the WeAreNetflix Podcast. (Formerly Arts Dean's Lecture Series on Creative Entrepreneurship.)

Introduces Iranian theater covering Ta'zieh religious performance, Ruhuzi improvised drama, Naghali storytelling, and modern efforts in national and diasporic theaters fusing indigenous and western styles. No prior knowledge of Iran is required and readings are in English.

Addresses imagination and creativity. Using the framework of theater production, students explore the process of translating a script into a performance. Topics include visual literacy, creative problem solving, establishing effective working teams, tear sheets, storyboarding, drawing, sound and color theory. This course is a prerequisite for all upper-division design courses.

Designed to acquaint students with the complexities of staging productions from the audition process to final performance. Directing, lighting, scenic production, sound, cueing, and personnel management are aspects that will be touched upon in class.

A fundamental course in drawing from still life, the figure, and in the landscape. The approach is from the tonal and volumetric aspects of the object. Color is introduced as the course progresses. Instruction fashioned to the individual needs of the student. The inexperienced are welcomed as well as the experienced. Students are billed a materials fee.

Introduces varied techniques in textile manipulation to create scenic and costume-design properties including drapery, upholstery, masks, bags, and millinery. Students learn basic sewing and surface-design methods, such as knitting, screen-printing, painting/dyeing, and distressing.

The process of interpreting a costume designer's sketch into a finished theatrical costume. Some techniques included are dyeing, fabric selection, draping, flat pattern drafting, pattern manipulation, adaptation, fitting, and alteration. Using various techniques, students make basic pattern pieces and learn to modify them to create costumes. Students are billed a materials fee.

An examination of the fundamentals of drafting scale drawings for production, including floor plans, elevations, sections, working drawings, dimensions, layout, and lettering. Students learn isometric drawing, perspective, and rendering techniques. Students are billed a materials fee.

In-depth exploration of computer-aided drafting, specifically the programs Vectorworks, Spotlight, and Renderworks. Topics include: the user interface, ground plan, section and detail views, paper space vs. working space, tool palettes, USITT drafting standards, layers, line weights, objects, classes, library annotations, importing rasters, and 3D modeling. Students required to do weekly projects such as ground plans, lighting plots, perspectives, and detail drawings, as well as turn in a major final project, and complete a mid-term, final, and quizzes. Students are billed for a materials fee.

An introduction to the theory and practice of lighting design with attention to the practical skills and creative approaches to lighting performance pieces; the technical side of lighting design via demonstrations, lectures, and labs. Students complete projects evolving and executing concepts for lighting chosen pieces. Students are billed a materials fee.

Introduction to basic acting skills and the problems of performance. Concentrates on expanding a range of expression and ability to respond to and analyze dramatic text. Designed for students with little or no experience in acting.

Explores the fundamentals from the work of Konstantin Stanislavski as developed at the Moscow Art Theater to the works of his and our contemporary playwrights. Specifically, students apply those techniques of action, physical score, given circumstances, subtext, interior monologue, goals, and objectives, throughline, superobjective, and emotional recall to works of Henrik Ibsen, Anton Chekov, and relevant American realists, such as Sam Shepard, August Wilson, etc. Designed for students focused on acting as an academic or professional discipline. Admission by audition at first class meeting (see the department office or theater.ucsc.edu for more information). (Formerly course 21A, Acting Studio 1A: Psychological Realism.)

Students learn the basic movement repertoire of the specific characters of the Indonesian dance-drama/puppetry tradition over the quarter with explication of how these types operate in their own cultural context. Course culminates in an open showing of scene work.

Introduces using the spoken voice effectively and powerfully on stage and off. Physical release, alignment, breath, resonance, and articulation are explored. Students gain an understanding of how the voice relates to the self, the body, and breath and become more aware of tensions and habits that may impede vocal and speech use.

Students develop awareness and extension of personal movement repertoire through observation, movement experience, and exploration.

Emphasizes key theoretical and practical modes of dramaturgy in order to research, analyze, and interpret the dramatic works and performances of Shakespeare within historical and contemporary contexts.

Intensive instruction in developing the dancer's mind/body, with introduction to movement theory and practice. Students are billed a materials fee.

Introduces Asian or Asian diasporic dance practice through physical training and theoretical engagement. Focuses on basic techniques of performance practice and critical engagement with aesthetic, cultural, and/or historical context. Students are billed a materials fee.

Introduces classical ballet as a form of ethnic dance. Focus on combining basic training in ballet technique with academic studies to achieve a synthesis in the understanding of dance as a performing arts practice in diverse socio-cultural and historical contexts. Emphasis on simple phrasing and articulation into more complex material requiring richer dynamic range. Attention to the anatomical principles that governs ballet mechanics. Students are billed a materials fee.

Intensive instruction in contemporary dance technique. Combining movement theory and practice, students will develop basic knowledge of anatomical function (somatics) and a foundational embodiment of contemporary dance technique.

Introduction to contemporary dance theory and practice. Focus on basic dance technique, range of styles, and aesthetic points of view of historically significant contemporary dance choreographers in America and worldwide. Students are billed a materials fee. (Formerly course 31C.)

Intensive instruction in developing the dancer's physical instrument. Intended for students who have a previous fundamental knowledge of the basics of classic dance, combined with movement theory. Students are billed a materials fee.

Introduces dance improvisation and choreographic practice. Observation and recognition of personal movement patterns and discovering new sources for creative material. Students are billed a materials fee.

A griot (musician-entertainer from western Africa) from Burkina Faso teaches The African Journey, which emphasizes dance as combined in Africa, including singing, history, oral tradition, and storytelling. Students are billed a materials fee.

Introduces dance on film, examining such topics as narrative storytelling in dance films (documentary and fiction); cinematic strategies for representing the kinesthetic; and dance film as a unique and distinct art form.

An overview of the analytical and creative processes that inform the director's work. Close examination of texts, concepts, and selected directors and directorial choices.

An experience designed to develop an active and creative vision leading to a concept that takes an audience on a memorable journey with lives that are created on the stage. Students direct a monologue, a dual scene, and a final project which represents the collaborative nature of the art of directing. Topics include blocking techniques, history of directing, how to work with designers, rehearsal techniques, and strategies for actor coaching.

Work is on various aspects of theatrical production, including scenery, lighting, costumes, sound, stage management, and video documentation. Satisfies the department's technical experience requirement.

Provides introduction to technical theater and basic stagecraft. Course examines two-dimensional and three-dimensional scenery, scenic engineering, the physical theater, stage and scene shop equipment, project organization and process, technical theater graphics, materials, and theatrical construction techniques.

Process-oriented investigation of practical theater production by working in and on productions in the Barnstorm season. Requires a total of 150 hours working backstage or onstage. Admission by audition at first class meeting; see department office for more information.

Process-oriented investigation of practical theater production by working in and on productions in the Barnstorm season. Requires a total of 50 hours working backstage or onstage. Admission by audition at first class meeting; see department office for more information.

Ancient enmities; horrific acts of parricide; monumental errors; suffering and contrition. This course examines the enormous appeal of the ancient Greek tragic and comic visions from their inception through their enthusiastic adaptation by the Romans and on into the Middle Ages. For comparison purposes, Greek and Roman dramas are studied back-to-back with the contemporary non-Western dramatic forms of Noh and ancient Sanskrit drama.

Examines major trends in European drama from the rediscovery of ancient Greek and Roman drama in the early 17th century to the late 19th century. Examines major trends in European drama from the discovery of ancient Greek and Roman drama in the early 17th century to the late 19th century. These trends include neo-classical drama, the rise of middle-class drama, social realism, romanticism, early naturalism, and the well-made play. These trends are compared with the parallel developments of the non-Western forms of Japanese Kabuki and Javanese Wayang.

Examines dramatic and theatrical works that sprang into being in the wake of the European Renaissance. Follows the ways modern artists have dramatized their questions, struggles, beliefs, and despair in the face of world wars, cultural fragmentation, unprecedented prosperity, and new technologies.

Juxtaposes Shakespeare's plays with sources Shakespeare may have adapted and adaptations that his works, in turn, have spawned. Explores Renaissance stage and printing practices and the processes of adapting for page and stage.

Surveys African American theater from late-19th-century to contemporary 21st-century playwrights and examines dramatic narratives to trace creation, evolution, and development of African American cultural identity formation in American theater.

Examination of the genesis, history, and development of technical theater practices used in large arena rock shows. Topics will include the development of rigging practices used in arenas, touring logistics, lighting instrumentation and aesthetics of rock shows, and the nature, practice, and approach of sound in these venues.

Examines the operation of monsters in plays from Ancient Greece to today, inquiring as to why these powerful cultural tools for the expression of social tension show no sign of diminishing despite our ostensible advance into scientific rationalism.

History of 20th-century commercial design for the theater through the eyes of the Western consumer.

Offered online, the course explores major issues of interpretation of Shakespeare's classic play, which has occupied the minds of audiences, directors, designers, performers, and critics during its 400-year history. In doing this, it offers a sense of history of people's preoccupations with and thoughts about the play. Students taking this class are expected to complete the course during the quarter for which they are enrolled. All students enrolled in this course should visit elsinore.ucsc.edu and write to elsinore@ucsc.edu.

Introduces all students, regardless of experience, to the plays and theater of Shakespeare, and directly addresses linked relevance to contemporary 21st century American culture.

The artistic and social impact of the Muppets on American puppetry, children's television, and Hollywood film is explored through viewings, guest lectures, and analysis. Henson's legacy in artistic innovation, mainstreaming of puppet theater for adult audiences, and establishment of puppetry in media and marketing are also explored.

Introduction to Teatro Chicano/a with examination of how cultural diversity plays a role in theater. Through lectures, films, and workshop exercises, reflect upon the process of Teatro Chicano. Students write their own acts, improvise, and perform in class.

An examination of Walt Disney's creation of the American vision of family entertainment. Particular attention will be paid to the classic animated feature films of Walt Disney and to the way this Disney invention has been preserved and developed since his death. We will also look at the live action films, theme parks, and other Disney creations.

Emphasizes script development by exploring dramatic writings from ancient to contemporary theater, then focusing on Pixar screenplays with their universal themes and compelling characters. Film analysis of Pixar movies delves into animation history, fairytale, psychology, and popular culture.

Examines the history of the queer perspective in dramatic literature, from the Greeks to Marlowe and Shakespeare through the calcification of homosexuality in the era of Freud, then traces theater stewardship by gay and lesbian artists from within the closet and without.

Bollywood is the largest film industry in the world. Students learn several fundamental footsteps, eye, hand and body movements, to perform Bollywood dance. They also learn various traditions of Indian classical, folk, and Bollywood dance terms.

This course is designed to develop ways in which we can direct our interest in the arts into concrete and successful community projects. Although the emphasis will be on developing skills to work within K-12 classrooms, other community projects will be discussed and designed.

Flashmobs represent a new social configuration using information technology. Course covers the history of experiments in art and technology and the role of mass performance in society. Students consider the socio-cultural ramifications of flashmobs and participate in them.

Examines dance as a primary mode of human communication and expression. Through readings and the viewing of recorded and live performances, students compare and contrast dance traditions of the world.

Circus arts from their shamanic roots to contemporary practice will be analyzed in a historical, aesthetic, and creative dimension. Lecture, discussion, and demonstrations will explore the theory and practice of American circus arts. In section, students will explore basic circus skills from clowning to tumbling to exhibition of freaks.

An examination of the theory and practice of theater and film, comparing and contrasting works that have been adapted from one genre to another. Lecture, film and video viewing and discussion of materialist, psychoanalytic, and feminist approaches will be shared.

The history of American musical theater, from its roots to today, is studied through scripts, scores, and film. Major composers and lyricists' work is shown, discussed, and analyzed.

Study of Indian classical dance through embodied training and theoretical engagement. Training in the foundational elements of abstract rhythmic dance, including drum syllables and associated steps, and introduction to abhinaya (storytelling). Students are billed a materials fee.

Students must file their petitions for this course with the department office by the end of the fifth day of instruction in the quarter in which they would like to take the tutorial. Prerequisite(s): petition required, approved by instructor and department.