Drama and Theatre Arts

Contact Us

333 Milbank Hall
212-854-2080

theatre@barnard.edu

Department Chair: 

Professor W. B. Worthen

wworthen@barnard.edu

Director of Undergraduate Studies:

Professor Alice Reagan

areagan@barnard.edu

Department Administrator:

Kate Purdum

212-854-2080

kpurdum@barnard.edu

Senior Faculty Department Assistant:

Valerie Coates


The Department of Theatre

The undergraduate theatre major is housed in the Barnard College Department of Theatre, and is offered to all undergraduate Barnard College, Columbia College, and General Studies students (the Columbia major is designated “Drama and Theatre Arts”).  The major program engages the disciplines of drama, theatre, and performance studies as a distinctive mode of intellectual and artistic inquiry. While Barnard and Columbia students fulfill the overall graduation requirements at their respective institutions (the Core at Columbia, Foundations at Barnard), major requirements are the same for all majors, who take foundational coursework in the literary, cultural, and embodied traditions of western and non-Western performance as well as courses in the practices of acting, directing, design, dramaturgy, playwriting, and management and technical theatre. All majors then specialize in a specific area and undertake advanced thesis work, leading either to a formal essay of original research, or to an artistic project (in acting, design, directing, dramaturgy, playwriting, solo performance, or stage and production management) that combines the practices of research and artistic creation. Barnard and Columbia students receive their degrees from their respective colleges of Columbia University.

The Barnard College Department of Theatre mounts a full season of productions in the Minor Latham Playhouse and the Glicker-Milstein Theatre, a crucible of investigation that is a credit-bearing element of the curriculum, and open to all undergraduate students for audition. A collaboration between students and professional theatre artists, the Department of Theatre productions are both a learning process and a scene of encounter, where perceptions are shaped for the attention and creative reflection of a larger public.

Students interested in majoring in Theatre should consider taking three or four of the required classes in their first two years of study: the Critical Histories of Drama, Theatre, and Performance lectures (1 and 2), another lecture or seminar course in the field of drama, theatre, and performance “studies,” and/or a theatre praxis “studio” course.

Barnard students may declare the major at any time; Columbia students have a major-selection period in the second year, but all students must declare the major by the spring semester of the sophomore year. The major requirements are spelled out below, and the process for choosing a thesis area as well: all Theatre/Drama and Theatre Arts majors complete a thesis as a capstone to their work in the degree. For more information about the major, please contact the Department of Theatre Chair, or a member of the Theatre Department Faculty (see Faculty pages).

All majors must submit the online Theatre Major Declaration Form, available on the Department of Theatre website (theatre.barnard.edu); Barnard majors must also submit the Barnard Major Declaration Form via Slate. Prior to declaring the major, students should make an appointment with the Department Chair. All majors should introduce themselves to the Theatre Administrator in 507 Milbank Hall; she will add names to the departmental listserv, and help students to keep up to date in important information about studying in the Department.

Student Learning Objectives

Upon completion of the major, successful students will be able to attain the following objectives:

  • Critically assess the artistic ambitions and theoretical involved in the interpretation of historical and contemporary drama and theatrical performance,
  • Create with proficiency in at least one area of creative work in the field: critical/research writing, acting, design, directing, dramaturgy, playwriting, solo performance, stage and production management

Areas of Concentration

Drama and Theatre Studies Student Learning Objectives

Students successfully completing drama studies, theatre studies, and performance studies coursework, or pursuing a Senior Thesis in Research, should be able to attain the following objectives:

  1. Write clearly about dramatic literature, and about performance, including where applicable film performance;
  2. Synthesize and evaluate contemporary criticism and research scholarship in writing;
  3. Know specific authors, movements, periods, styles, and ideological structures in the history of drama, theatre, and performance (i.e., Shakespeare, American drama, Performative Cultures of the Third Reich, Black Theatre);
  4. Use critical, theoretical, and historical concepts in the analysis of drama and performance.

Acting Student Learning Objectives

Students successfully completing coursework in acting or pursuing a Senior Thesis in Performance: Acting should be able to attain the following objectives:

  1. Analyze dramatic texts and apply the analysis to developing a performable role/character;
  2. Synthesize external elements with external elements (social mores, environment, historical context, status relationship to others) and internal elements (center of gravity, personal rhythm, speed, tempo) toward the expression of a character's physicality and emotionality;
  3. Recognize and apply the fundamental concepts of character development: objectives, obstacles, actions, given circumstances;
  4. Develop vocal, physical and emotional awareness and imagination, and to explore techniques available to aid the actor in applying these elements in a conscious way during rehearsal and performance.

Design Student Learning Objectives

Students successfully completing coursework design or pursuing a Senior Thesis in Performance: Design should be able to attain the following objectives:

  1. Analyze dramatic texts and translate that analysis into documents used in the production process (breakdowns, plots, etc.);
  2. Collect images and texts that provide insight into the developing design idea, and accurately communicate historical and stylistic choices;
  3. Demonstrate fluency with the craft of a design field – e.g. sketching, model making, drafting, sound and lighting plots, and associated software;
  4. Perform collaboratively, adapting and informing their designs with ideas generated through conversation with colleagues, classmates, and advisors.

Directing Student Learning Objectives

Students successfully completing coursework in directing or pursuing a Senior Thesis in Performance: Directing should be able to attain the following objectives:

  1. Recognize the different demands of different configurations of stage space;
  2. Apply compositional tools;
  3. Define production style and its influence on performance choices;
  4. Communicate effectively with actors;
  5. Analyze the historical, social, and aesthetic elements of a dramatic text as the basis for a directorial conception.

Dramaturgy Student Learning Objectives

Students successfully completing coursework dramaturgy or pursuing a Senior Thesis in Performance: Dramaturgy should be able to attain the following objectives:

  1. Apply important critical and theoretical concepts to the analysis of dramatic writing and theatrical performance;
  2. Synthesize and evaluate contemporary research scholarship and apply it to a specific production, including biographical, historical, and interpretive information;
  3. Write clearly and effectively about the goals of a production, its critical contexts and purposes;
  4. Communicate the critical stakes of a performance to a director and cast; to be able to work with a director in fashioning those stakes;
  5. Edit dramatic scripts for production.

Playwriting Student Learning Objectives

Students successfully completing coursework in playwriting or pursuing a Senior Thesis in Performance: Playwriting should be able to attain the following objectives:

  1. Create an individual theatrical voice in writing;
  2. Construct dramatic and theatrical events onstage;
  3. Communicate supportive critique to fellow writers;
  4. Interpret plot and story, and to employ language and spectacle creatively;
  5. Recognize dramatic structures, and be able to shape and hold an audience's attention.

Stage and Production Management Student Learning Objectives

Students successfully completing coursework in stage and production management or pursuing a Senior Thesis in Performance: Stage and Production Management should be able to attain the following objectives:

  1. Read and analyze a performance text from stage and production management perspectives;
  2. Communicate with and coordinate the needs of all members of the production effectively;
  3. Organize and manage the rehearsal process
  4. Develop and update the production budget

Faculty:

Chair: W.B. Worthen (Alice Brady Pels Professor in the Arts, Co-Director of Undergraduate Studies, Drama and Theatre Arts)

Associate Professor: Hana Worthen (also Associate Professor, Comparative Literature)

Professor of Professional Practice, Theatre, School of the Arts: Steven Chaikelson

Associate Professors of Professional Practice: Sandra Goldmark (also Climate School, Columbia University); Alice Reagan (Director of Undergraduate Studies)

Senior Lecturers: Shayoni Mitra

Lecturers: Gisela Cardenas

Adjunct Lecturers: Mana Allen, Daniel Baker, Andy Bragen, Autum Casey, Kyle deCamp, Crystal Finn, Sharon Fogarty, Tina Mitchell, Shannon Sindelar, David Skeist

Affiliated Faculty:

Associate Professors: Maja Horn (Spanish and Latin American Cultures, Barnard)

Senior Lecturers: Pam Cobrin (English, Barnard), Patricia Denison (English, Barnard)

Other officers of the University offering courses listed below:

Professors: Julie Stone Peters (English, Columbia), Austin Quigley (English, Columbia)

Assistant Professors: Rebecca Kastleman (English, Columbia)

Department Administrator: Kate Purdum

Technical Director: Greg Winkler

Director of Production: Michael Banta

Costume Shop Manager: Kara Feely

Senior Faculty Department Assistant: Valerie Coates

Requirements for the Major

Download the Theatre major self-audit form

A minimum of 42 credits is required to fulfill the requirements for the major.  Students intending to major in Theatre should consult with the Department Chair in their sophomore year or earlier to plan a program. Twelve courses and one senior thesis (in Performance or in Research) are required as follows:

Major Requirements

FOUR COURSES

Two lecture "studies" courses (must be taken at Barnard):

THTR UN3150CRITICAL HISTORIES OF DRAMA, THEATRE, AND PERFORMANCE I
THTR UN3151CRITICAL HISTORIES OF DRAMA, THEATRE, AND PERFORMANCE 2

Two theatre studio "praxis courses, each in a different discipline:

THTR UN2120TECHNICAL PRODUCTION
THTR UN2421Stage Management
THTR UN3004ACTING I
THTR UN3200DIRECTING I
THTR UN3203COLLABORATION:DIRCTNG/DESIGN
THTR UN3300PLAYWRITING WORKSHOP
THTR UN3301PLAYWRITING LAB
THTR UN3401SOUND DESIGN
THTR UN3402COSTUME DESIGN
THTR UN3403LIGHTING DESIGN
THTR UN3404SCENE DESIGN
THTR UN3405PROBLEMS IN DESIGN
THTR UN3406Media & Production Design
DRAMATURGY

EIGHT ADDITIONAL COURSES: LECTURE/SEMINAR AND PRAXIS

Maximum 5 3-4 point courses in drama studies, theatre studies, performance studies (lecture/seminar) OR

Maximum 5 3-4 point courses in praxis(studio) fields: 5 studies/3 praxis; 4 studies/ 4 praxis; 3 studies/5 praxis

a. praxis courses may be taken a single discipline or combination of disciplines: acting, design, directing, dramaturgy, playwriting, solo performance

b. one praxis course may be taken in another department, if relevant to thesis, with prior approval of the Chair (i.e., figure drawing)

c. drama studies, theatre studies, and performance studies lectures/seminars are taken in the Theatre THTR UN 3100 series; 1-2 ENTA, ENTH, CPLS, and/or Shakespeare (literature) courses are typically approved for “studies” requirement; other courses require prior approval of Chair

d. at least 3 courses in the field of the senior thesis (3 acting classes for acting; solo performance and 2 acting for solo performance thesis; 3 directing classes; 3 design classes; 3 playwriting classes; 1 stage management and 2 design/technical theatre for stage and production management; dramaturgy class and either 2 research classes or 1 research and 1 playwriting for dramaturgy; 3 research classes for research thesis.

ONE SENIOR THESIS: Acting, Design, Directing, Dramaturgy, Playwriting, Solo Performance, Stage and Production Management, Research

THTR UN3997 SENIOR THESIS IN PERFORMANCE (acting, design, directing, dramaturgy, playwriting, solo performance) OR THTR UN3998 SENIOR THESIS IN RESEARCH. Students apply for thesis field in January of the junior year; at least 3 courses in the field of the thesis, in addition to the thesis course, required at the time of graduation.

ONE TO TWO PRODUCTION CREW ASSIGNMENTS

Two 1-2 credit courses (THTR UN2422 PRACTICUM SCENIC PAINT, THTR UN2423 PRACTICUM LIGHTS & SOUND, THTR UN2424 PRACTICUM WARDROBE & RUN CREW, THTR UN2426 PRACTICUM DESIGN THESIS FESTIVAL, THTR UN2427 PRACTICUM DESIGN & PRODUCTION ASSISTANT), one pre-production and one backstage;  OR One 3-credit assignment as stage manager (THTR UN2425 PRACTICUM STAGE MANAGEMENT).

Graduate Courses

Only under special circumstances, and with the permission of the instructor, can undergraduates take graduate classes.

Requirements for the Minor

The Minor in Theatre (currently available only to Barnard students; Columbia College and General Studies may approve minors soon) provides the opportunity to engage in the range of opportunities offered by the Theatre department:  students who minor in Theatre take a mix of lecture and seminar courses in drama, theatre, and performance studies, as well as courses in a selected area or selected areas of performance practice (acting, design, directing, dramaturgy, stage and production management, playwriting), as well as fulfilling one backstage crew requirement. Please note:

Only courses that would fulfil the major requirements can be used to fulfill minor requirements.

The minor can be “declared” only in the semester that all requirements for the minor will be completed, typically in the first or second semester of the senior year.

The minor in Theatre consists of seven (7) courses; only courses that fulfill major requirements may be taken to fulfill minor requirements. Students minoring in Theatre may take one (1) relevant course from another department as part of the “elective” series, as approved by the minor advisor or the department chair.

Seven courses, to include three 3- or 4-credit lecture/seminar courses, three 3-credit studio courses, and one (1-3 credit variable) crew assignment, as follows:

  • One (1) Theatre lecture course (THTR UN3149 PERFORMANCE IN/OF SOUTH & SOUTHEAST ASIATHTR UN3150 CRITICAL HISTORIES OF DRAMA, THEATRE, AND PERFORMANCE I, THTR UN3151 CRITICAL HISTORIES OF DRAMA, THEATRE, AND PERFORMANCE 2, THTR UN3154 THEATRE TRAD GLOBAL CONTEXT )
  • One (1) additional lecture course from the list above or seminar course offered at the 3000 level in the Theatre department
  • One (1) course offered in the Theatre department in any of the following fields: acting, design, directing, dramaturgy, playwriting.
  • Four (4) additional courses as follows:
  • One (1) 3000 level lecture/seminar course in drama, theatre, and performance studies offered in the Theatre department
  • Two (2) studio courses, chosen from acting, design, directing, dramaturgy, or playwriting.
  • One (1) Theatre production crew assignment, which is constituted as a course.

One (1) relevant course from another department may be included with prior approval of the department chair, including ENTA courses offered through Columbia English, or relevant courses offered in other departments.

No more than three (3) courses may be in a single format: three (3) lecture or seminar and three (3) studio courses. All three studio courses may be in a single discipline (for example, three courses in acting; two design courses and one approved course in figure drawing; three playwriting courses, including one approved course taken in Barnard English).

THTR UN2005 Acting Workshop. 3 points.

When offered in Fall semester, open only to first-year students.Not offered during 2023-2024 academic year.

Prerequisites: Acting classes are open to all Barnard and Columbia undergraduates. Permission of Theatre Department through audition required: auditions for acting classes and for the semester's stage productions held 6pm on the first Tuesday and Wednesday class days of each semester. Acting classes begin meeting after auditions. For required details, consult "Auditions" on the Barnard Theatre Department website in advance: theatre.barnard.edu/auditions.

Course develops the processes and tools an actor needs to approach the text of a play. Students develop their physical, vocal, and imaginative range and skills through voice and speech exercises, work on non-verbal behavior, improvisation, and character development.  IN THE FALL SEMESTER OPEN ONLY TO FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS. Course encouraged for prospective BC Theatre and CU Drama and Theatre Arts majors.

THTR UN2022 PRACTICUM PERFORMANCE SHOW 1. 3.00 points.

Course can be taken for 1-3 points.

May be retaken for full credit. Prerequisites: Open to all Barnard and Columbia undergraduates. Permission of Department through audition required. Students cast as actors in a departmental stage production register for this course; course emphasizes the collaborative nature of production, and appropriate research and reading required in addition to artistic assignments. Auditions for each semester's stage productions held 6pm on the first Tuesday and Wednesday class days of each semester. For required details, consult "Auditions" on the Barnard Theatre Department website in advance: theatre.barnard.edu/auditions

Fall 2023: THTR UN2022
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 2022 001/00111  
Alice Reagan 3.00 10/20
Spring 2024: THTR UN2022
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 2022 001/00104  
Tea Alagic 3.00 9/20

THTR UN2023 PRACTICUM PERFORMANCE SHOW 2. 3.00 points.

May be retaken for full credit. Prerequisites: Open to all Barnard and Columbia undergraduates. Permission of Department through audition required. Students cast as actors in a departmental stage production register for this course; course emphasizes the collaborative nature of production, and appropriate research and reading required in addition to artistic assignments. Auditions for each semester's stage productions held 6pm on the first Tuesday and Wednesday class days of each semester. For required details, consult "Auditions" on the Barnard Theatre Department website in advance: theatre.barnard.edu/auditions

Fall 2023: THTR UN2023
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 2023 001/00112  
Javier Gonzalez 3.00 13/20

THTR UN2024 PRACTICUM PERFORMANCE THESIS 1. 3.00 points.

May be retaken for full credit. Prerequisites: Open to all Barnard and Columbia undergraduates. Permission of Department through audition required. Students cast as actors in a Senior Thesis in Directing register for this course. Auditions for each semester's stage productions held 6pm on the first Tuesday and Wednesday class days of each semester. For required details, consult "Auditions" on the Barnard Theatre Department website in advance: theatre.barnard.edu/auditions

Spring 2024: THTR UN2024
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 2024 001/00105 M T W Th F 7:00pm - 11:00pm
202 Milbank Hall
Michael Banta 3.00 6/20

THTR UN2025 PRACTICUM PERFORMANCE THESIS 2. 3.00 points.

May be retaken for full credit. Prerequisites: Open to all Barnard and Columbia undergraduates. Permission of Department through audition required. Students cast as actors in a Senior Thesis in Directing register for this course. Auditions for each semester's stage productions held 6pm on the first Tuesday and Wednesday class days of each semester. For required details, consult "Auditions" on the Barnard Theatre Department website in advance: theatre.barnard.edu/auditions

Spring 2024: THTR UN2025
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 2025 001/00106 M T W Th F 7:00pm - 11:00pm
237 Milbank Hall
Michael Banta 3.00 2/20

THTR UN2026 PRACTICUM PERFORMANCE THESIS 3. 3.00 points.

May be retaken for full credit. Prerequisites: Open to all Barnard and Columbia undergraduates. Permission of Department through audition required. Students cast as actors in a Senior Thesis in Directing register for this course. Auditions for each semester's stage productions held 6pm on the first Tuesday and Wednesday class days of each semester. For required details, consult "Auditions" on the Barnard Theatre Department website in advance: theatre.barnard.edu/auditions

Spring 2024: THTR UN2026
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 2026 001/00107 M T W Th F 7:00pm - 11:00pm
225 Milbank Hall
Michael Banta 3.00 0/20

THTR UN2027 Practicum Performance Dramaturgy. 3 points.

Prerequisites: Student dramaturgs are selected as part of the production team; students interested in dramaturging a faculty-directed production should have taken the Dramaturgy course (THTR UN3167) and consult with the instructor. Students interested in dramaturging a senior thesis in directing should be listed by the thesis director as part of the production proposal and register for this course in the semester of the production. Students doing a senior thesis in dramaturgy do not register for this course, but register for THTR UN 3997: Senior Thesis in Performance: Dramaturgy.

THTR UN2140 HISTORY&PRACTICE OF PRODUCING. 3.00 points.

Prerequisites: Preference given to students who have taken New York Theatre and/or are Theatre/Drama and Theatre Arts majors. Permission of instructor given at first class meeting, required. Course limited to 12.
Prerequisites: Preference given to students who have taken New York Theatre and/or are Theatre/Drama and Theatre Arts majors. Permission of instructor given at first class meeting, required. Course limited to 12. Explores the role and responsibilities of the producer in commercial and not-for-profit theatre; the relationship of the producer to the cast and creative team; the creative development of plays and musicals; the evolution of the role of the producer over the twentieth century; and the pioneering work of great producers of the past century. Students develop criteria to assess artistic and financial merits of theatrical work. Attendance at productions on and off Broadway, meetings with producers and other theatre artists

THTR UN2201 ACTING ENSEMBLE DIRECTING II. 1.00 point.

Students may participate as actors in Directing II as a 1-credit course; these students will comprise the Acting Ensemble. Actors will be cast in all four student-directed scenes and will participate in the feedback process following the showings. Actors must be available for both days of the week the course meets, but are only required to attend when they are performing; they are welcome to attend additional classes that may be of interest. Actors will be graded on their in-class performances (moment-to-moment work, collaboration with on-stage partners, memorization) and ability to respond and adjust to notes. Actors who are responsible and collaborative will succeed as part of the Acting Ensemble. Grading is Pass/Fail

Spring 2024: THTR UN2201
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 2201 001/00108 T Th 12:10pm - 2:00pm
229 Milbank Hall
Alice Reagan 1.00 12/30

THTR UN2210 Theatre Workshop. 1 point.

Prerequisites: To be taken only for P/D/F. Auditions for this class are sometimes required; please check with Theatre Department in advance. If audition is required, auditions held 6pm on the first Tuesday and Wednesday class days of each semester. Class begins meeting after auditions. For required details, consult "Auditions" on the Barnard Theatre Department website in advance: theatre.barnard.edu/auditions

Various topics presented by visiting theatre scholars, artists, and practitioners in a lecture/seminar/workshop series that will meet for at least four sessions during each semester. Topics, times, and visiting instructors will be announced by the department. Students must attend all classes to receive credit for the course.

THTR UN2420 Technical Production. 3 points.

Prerequisites: Crew assignment optional. Enrollment limited to 10 students.

Introduction to the equipment, terms, and procedures employed in the creation of scenery, lighting, and sound for the stage. Classroom exercises and field visits emphasize approaches to collaborative process and production management.

THTR UN2421 Stage Management. 3 points.

Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor, given at first class meeting.

This course explores the role of the stage manager and production manager in  theatrical production. Students undertake hands-on exercises to develop the practical and collaborative skills essential to working both as a stage manager and production manager--script analysis; production timeline and rehearsal management; technical rehearsal; budgeting; working with directors and designers; working with unions; health and safety codes; house management; box office.

Fall 2023: THTR UN2421
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 2421 001/00113 T Th 10:10am - 11:25am
230 Milbank Hall
Michael Banta 3 10/12

THTR UN2422 PRACTICUM SCENIC PAINT. 1.00 point.

May be taken for 1-3 points.

May be retaken for full credit. Prerequisites: permission of Theatre Department Production Manager, Michael Banta (mbanta@barnard.edu). Training and practical props and/or scenic painting work on Departmental mainstage productions

Fall 2023: THTR UN2422
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 2422 001/00114  
Michael Banta 1.00 6/12
Spring 2024: THTR UN2422
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 2422 001/00109  
Michael Banta 1.00 7/12

THTR UN2423 PRACTICUM LIGHTS & SOUND. 1.00 point.

May be retaken for full credit. Prerequisites: permission of Theatre Department Production Manager, Michael Banta (mbanta@barnard.edu). Training and practical lighting and/or sound work on Departmental mainstage productions

Fall 2023: THTR UN2423
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 2423 001/00115  
Gregory Winkler 1.00 6/12
Spring 2024: THTR UN2423
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 2423 001/00110  
Gregory Winkler 1.00 6/12

THTR UN2424 PRACTICUM WARDROBE & RUN CREW. 1.00 point.

May be retaken for full credit. Prerequisites: permission of Theatre Department Costume Shop Manager Kara Feely (kfeely@barnard.edu). Training and practical costume construction and fitting work on Departmental mainstage productions

Fall 2023: THTR UN2424
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 2424 001/00116  
Kara Feely 1.00 9/12
Spring 2024: THTR UN2424
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 2424 001/00111  
Kara Feely 1.00 7/12

THTR UN2425 PRACTICUM STAGE MANAGEMENT. 3.00 points.

May be retaken for full credit. Prerequisites: permission of Theatre Department Production Manager, Michael Banta (mbanta@barnard.edu). Training and practical stage management work on Departmental mainstage productions

Fall 2023: THTR UN2425
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 2425 001/00117  
Michael Banta 3.00 6/12
Spring 2024: THTR UN2425
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 2425 001/00113  
Michael Banta 3.00 9/12

THTR UN2426 PRACTICUM DESIGN THESIS FESTIVAL. 3.00 points.

May be retaken for full credit. Prerequisites: permission of the Senior Thesis Festival coordinator. Training and practical work as student designer on the Senior Thesis Festival

Spring 2024: THTR UN2426
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 2426 001/00114 F 2:10pm - 5:00pm
230 Milbank Hall
Kara Feely 3.00 8/12

THTR UN2427 PRACTICUM DESIGN & PRODUCTION ASSISTANT. 2.00 points.

May be retaken for full credit. Prerequisites: permission of the Senior Thesis Festival coordinator. Training and practical design work assisting student designers for the Senior Thesis Festival

Fall 2023: THTR UN2427
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 2427 001/00118  
Michael Banta 2.00 2/12
Spring 2024: THTR UN2427
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 2427 001/00115  
Michael Banta 2.00 2/12

THTR UN3004 ACTING I. 3.00 points.

Prerequisite: Open to all Barnard and Columbia undergraduates. Permission of Instructor required; students admitted from Waiting List. Course develops physical, vocal, and imaginative range and skills needed to approach the text of a play: text analysis, speech exercises, non-verbal behavior, improvisation designed to enhance embodiment, movement, and projection. Gateway course to advanced courses; transfer students who have previous college-level course may be exempted with approval of Chair. May be retaken for full credit

Fall 2023: THTR UN3004
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 3004 001/00119 M W 12:10pm - 2:00pm
229 Milbank Hall
Elena Zucker 3.00 14/14
THTR 3004 002/00120 M W 9:10am - 11:00am
Ll200 Diana Center
Tina Mitchell 3.00 15/17
THTR 3004 003/00276 T Th 9:10am - 11:00am
229 Milbank Hall
David Skeist 3.00 11/14
THTR 3004 004/00804 M W 10:10am - 12:00pm
229 Milbank Hall
Crystal Finn 3.00 11/14
THTR 3004 005/00121 M W 12:10pm - 2:00pm
Ll200 Diana Center
Gisela Cardenas Ojeda 3.00 15/16
Spring 2024: THTR UN3004
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 3004 001/00116 M W 2:10pm - 4:00pm
Ll200 Diana Center
Elena Zucker 3.00 18/16
THTR 3004 002/00117 T Th 9:00am - 10:50am
Ll200 Diana Center
David Skeist 3.00 15/16
THTR 3004 003/00118 M W 10:10am - 12:00pm
229 Milbank Hall
Crystal Finn 3.00 11/16

THTR UN3005 ACTING II. 3.00 points.

Prerequisite: Open to all Barnard and Columbia undergraduates. Permission of Instructor required; students admitted from Waiting List. Students must have taken Acting I or equivalent to be eligible for Acting II sections. Acting II will offer several different sections, focusing on a specific range of conceptual, embodiment, and physical acting skills. Please check with the Theatre Department website forspecific offerings and audition information. May be retaken for full credit. All sections of Acting II fullfull the “Arts and Humanities” Foundations requirement at Barnard College

Fall 2023: THTR UN3005
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 3005 001/00122 M W 2:10pm - 4:00pm
Ll200 Diana Center
Gisela Cardenas Ojeda 3.00 12/16
THTR 3005 002/00123 T Th 2:10pm - 4:00pm
Ll200 Diana Center
Gisela Cardenas Ojeda 3.00 9/16
THTR 3005 003/00124 T Th 2:10pm - 4:00pm
229 Milbank Hall
Kyle deCamp 3.00 5/14
THTR 3005 004/00125 T Th 4:10pm - 6:00pm
229 Milbank Hall
Mana Allen 3.00 12/12
Spring 2024: THTR UN3005
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 3005 001/00119 M W 12:10pm - 2:00pm
Ll200 Diana Center
Tina Mitchell 3.00 15/14
THTR 3005 002/00120 T Th 4:10pm - 6:00pm
229 Milbank Hall
Mana Allen 3.00 12/12
THTR 3005 003/00121 T Th 12:10pm - 2:00pm
Ll200 Diana Center
Gisela Cardenas Ojeda 3.00 14/16

THTR UN3006 ADVANCED ACTING. 3.00 points.

Not offered during 2023-2024 academic year.

Prerequisites: Preference given to juniors and seniors; THTR UN 3004 or 3005 prerequisite. Enrollment limited to 14 students. Acting classes are open to all Barnard and Columbia undergraduates. Permission of Theatre Department through audition required: auditions for acting classes and for the semester's stage productions held 6pm on the first Tuesday and Wednesday class days of each semester. Acting classes begin meeting after auditions. For required details, consult "Auditions" on the Barnard Theatre Department website in advance: theatre.barnard.edu/auditions
Prerequisites: Preference given to juniors and seniors; THTR UN 3004 or 3005 prerequisite. Enrollment limited to 14 students. Acting classes are open to all Barnard and Columbia undergraduates. Permission of Theatre Department through audition required: auditions for acting classes and for the semesters stage productions held 6pm on the first Tuesday and Wednesday class days of each semester. Acting classes begin meeting after auditions. For required details, consult Auditions on the Barnard Theatre Department website in advance: theatre.barnard.edu/auditions Special problems of performance. In-class scene work, extensive outside research, rehearsals, and reading. Fulfills additional coursework in Acting for Theatre/Drama and Theatre Arts majors. May be retaken for full credit

THTR UN3007 Scene Lab. 3 points.

Not offered during 2023-2024 academic year.

Prerequisites: Enrollment limited to 16 students. Acting classes are open to all Barnard and Columbia undergraduates. Permission of Theatre Department through audition required: auditions for acting classes and for the semester's stage productions held 6pm on the first Tuesday and Wednesday class days of each semester. Acting classes begin meeting after auditions. For required details, consult "Auditions" on the Barnard Theatre Department website in advance: theatre.barnard.edu/auditions.

Provides an overview of the creative process of acting: text analysis, circumstance, establishment of place, pursuit of intention in coordination with exercises and improvisation designed to enhance concentration, imagination, resonance, movement, and projection. Rehearsal 2 hours per week outside class, participation in discussion of plays, playwrights, and performances required. Fulfills one course in Acting for Theatre/Drama Theatre Arts majors.

THTR UN3008 PERFORMING GREEK TRAGEDY ON THE MODERN STAGE. 3.00 points.

This course aims to explore performing Greek tragedy on the modern stage. It will include an introduction to original performance practices in ancient Greece (space, masking, choral performance, costume, acting techniques) and an examination of how artists from different contemporary theatrical traditions have adapted ancient texts in modern performances and new versions of the plays. The bulk of the course will be focused on the problems of acting, interpreting, and reinterpreting parts of three plays on the stage, Sophocles’ Antigone, Euripides’ Medea, and Sophocles’ Ajax along with a new version by Ellen McLaughlin, who teaches playwriting at Barnard, Ajax in Iraq. Students will view all or parts of particularly interesting recent productions from various theatrical traditions, which will help them to tackle challenging issues such as choral performance and choral rhythms, masking, character work, dialogues and presenting formal political debates. For contemporary actors training in Greek tragedy offers a unique opportunity to improve their performance on stage through ensemble work and representing character through speech. It enhances dramaturgical capacities that a contemporary theater practitioner must exercise in exploring theory in practice and vice versa. This class is directed to students particularly interested in dramaturgy, directing, designing, translation, and Greek tragedy as well as acting

Spring 2024: THTR UN3008
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 3008 001/00122 T Th 2:10pm - 4:00pm
Ll200 Diana Center
Helene Foley, Gisela Cardenas Ojeda 3.00 11/16

THTR UN3140 PERFORMING WOMEN. 4.00 points.

Prerequisites: Enrollment limited to 16 students. This course examines the category of "woman" as it is mobilized in performance, considering both a variety of contemporary performances chosen from a wide range of genres and a diversity of critical/theoretical perspectives. Course fulfills lecture/seminar "studies" requirement for Theatre/Drama and Theatre Arts major

Fall 2023: THTR UN3140
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 3140 001/00126 W 12:10pm - 2:00pm
227 Milbank Hall
Shayoni Mitra 4.00 15/16

THTR UN3141 Socialism/Communism in Performance. 4 points.

Not offered during 2023-2024 academic year.

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing. Enrollment limited to 16 students.

Analyzes dramatic texts and performances under the Communist regimes behind the Iron Curtain before 1989. Principal focus is on Czech, Polish, and East German playwrights and their productions; we will consider their work in both legal and illegal contexts. In order to gain a wider understanding of the diversity of underground performative cultures, works from Hungary, Romania, and Slovenia will be considered as well. The seminar also attends to dissident performative activities in the framework of the 1980s revolutions, and reflects on works by western authors and emigrant/diasporic writers produced on stages behind the Iron Curtain. Fulfills one (of two) required courses in dramatic literature/theatre studies/performance studies for Theatre/Drama and Theatre Arts major.

THTR UN3142 Bertolt Brecht: The Making of Theatre. 4 points.

Prerequisites: Enrollment limited to 16; permission of instructor given at first class meeting. Course is conducted in English and readings are in English; German majors and German-speaking students may do readings and papers in German.


This class provides a comprehensive overview of the drama, theatre, and theory of Bertolt Brecht, the most influential European playwright and theorist of the twentieth century, in the context of their original historical contexts and subsequent legacies. Fulfills one (of two) required courses in dramatic literature/theatre studies/performance studies for Theatre/Drama and Theatre Arts major.

THTR UN3144 Ecologies of Transmedia Performance. 4.00 points.

Exploring transmedia performance as both a medial interaction in the physical space of theatre and a multiplatform environment expanding and extending beyond it, Ecologies of Transmedia Performance engages the NYPL for the Performing Arts archive to create an environmentally and socially self-aware, virtual transmedia performance/experience. To strengthen academic and digital competencies, the course consists of a seminar (meets on Tuesday) and a lab (meets on Wednesday), integrating several activities: experiencing and studying transmedia performances; conceptualizing transmediality; conducting archival research into transmedia theatre; and designing a transmedia performance (the digital tools we will work with include Google Sites, Google Scripts, and Google Cloud AI). Course enrollment is limited to 12; permission of instructor given after first class meeting. Fulfills one of the two required courses in dramatic literature/theatre studies/performance studies for Theatre/Drama and Theatre Arts major

THTR UN3145 AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN PLAYWRIGHTS. 4.00 points.

African American women have been writing plays at least since the Harlem Renaissance and the American Little Theatre Movement (1910s-1920s). Initially many of their plays portrayed the plight of poor Black women either in the American South or in New York City’s Harlem, in each case showing a struggle for dignity in the midst of an unfair, dismissive, racist situation in which lynchings of Black men were a common enough occurrence and citizen rights were doubly denied these (generally educated) writers—both as Blacks and as women. Even plays depicting middle-class Black families or working women showed how just holding one’s head up and keeping food on the table (much less seeking fulfillment or advancement) was exhausting and often demeaning. Plays written with Black audiences in mind often sought to provide “uplift” and encouragement. Those anticipating white or mixed audiences frequently wanted to show Blacks as equal to whites in intellect, cleanliness, childrearing, honor, patriotism, and citizenship. Over the course of a century, Black playwrights have addressed racism, African American history, urban blight, a changing workplace, and Black American womanhood in a variety of styles ranging from so-called kitchen sink realism to comedy, fantasy, and abstraction. The readings in the course do not exhaust the possibilities for study but they will get you attuned to a rich trove of varied, important writing. In this seminar, students will read and discuss several plays/meeting, make both formal and informal class presentations, and write a final essay. Course fulfills lecture/seminar in drama studies, theatre studies, performance studies requirement for Theatre major

Fall 2023: THTR UN3145
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 3145 001/00127 T 10:10am - 12:00pm
Ll105 Diana Center
Dorothy Chansky 4.00 11/12

THTR UN3146 American Drama in the 1990s. 4 points.

Not offered during 2023-2024 academic year.

Prerequisites: Enrollment limited to 16.

Examines American drama in the period between the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the attack on the World Trade Center in New York in 2001, considering a range of aesthetic (epic theatre, performance art), social (AIDS), and political (Reaganomics) issues of the period. Fulfills one (of two) required courses dramatic literature/theatre studies/performance studies for Theatre/Drama and Theatre Arts major.

THTR UN3149 PERFORMANCE IN/OF SOUTH & SOUTHEAST ASIA. 3.00 points.

This course actively interrogates the region of Southeast Asia as it is mobilized in performance. It will investigate performance as a theoretical lens, artistic medium, and everyday practice across Southeast Asia. Research and writing will draw upon theatre, dance, performance art, and ritual, focusing on the construction of national and personal identity through performance. The course examines themes of gender, sexuality, imperialism, and globalization. Through discussion, viewing, and weekly writing assignments, students hone their critical thinking skills and learn to formulate research questions and arguments that will culminate in one critical essay and two in-class exams. Course may fill either the Global Theatre requirement, or one (of two) required courses in dramatic literature/theatre studies/performance studies for Theatre/Drama and Theatre Arts major, but not both

THTR UN3150 CRITICAL HISTORIES OF DRAMA, THEATRE, AND PERFORMANCE I. 4.00 points.

This course undertakes a dialectical approach to reading and thinking about the history of dramatic theatre, interrogating the ways writing inflects, and is inflected by, the material dynamics of performance. Course undertakes careful study of the practices of performance, and of the sociocultural, economic, political, and aesthetic conditions animating representative performance in “classical” theatres globally; course will also emphasize development of important critical concepts for the analysis of drama, theatre, and performance. Topics include the sociology of theatre, the impact of print on conceptions of performance, representing gender and race, the politics of intercultural performance, and the dynamics of court performance. Writing: 2-3 papers; Reading: 1-2 plays, critical and historical reading per week; final examination. Fulfills one (of two) lecture requirements for Theatre/Drama and Theatre Arts majors

Fall 2023: THTR UN3150
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 3150 001/00128 M W 10:10am - 11:25am
202 Milbank Hall
William Worthen 4.00 35/50

THTR UN3151 CRITICAL HISTORIES OF DRAMA, THEATRE, AND PERFORMANCE 2. 4.00 points.

This course undertakes a dialectical approach to reading and thinking about the history of dramatic theatre, interrogating the ways writing inflects, and is inflected by, the material dynamics of performance in the modern era. Course undertakes careful study of the practices of performance, and of the sociocultural, economic, political, and aesthetic conditions animating representative performances in theatres globally; course will also emphasize development of important critical concepts for the analysis of drama, theatre, and performance. Topics include the sociology of theatre, the impact of print on conceptions of performance, representing gender and race, the politics of intercultural performance, and the dynamics of emerging forms and critical practices of performance analysis. Writing: 2-3 papers; Reading: 1-2 plays, critical and historical reading per week; final examination. Fulfills one (of two) lecture requirements for Theatre/Drama and Theatre Arts majors

Spring 2024: THTR UN3151
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 3151 001/00142 M W 10:10am - 11:25am
203 Diana Center
Abby Schroering 4.00 26/40

THTR UN3154 THEATRE TRAD GLOBAL CONTEXT. 3.00 points.

Prerequisites: Enrollment limited to 50 students. Provides a broad introduction to several traditions of nonwestern drama and theatrical practice, often placing recent and contemporary writing in relation to established conventions. Taking up plays and performance traditions from Asia, South Asia, and various African traditions, it may also consider the relation between elite and popular culture (adaptations of Shakespeare, for example), and between drama, theatre, and film. Course fulfills lecture/seminar "studies" requirement for Theatre/Drama and Theatre Arts major

Fall 2023: THTR UN3154
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 3154 001/00129 T Th 12:10pm - 1:25pm
Ll200 Diana Center
Shayoni Mitra 3.00 46/60

THTR UN3155 TRADITIONAL INDIAN PERFORMNCE. 4.00 points.

Course provides a perspective on traditional forms of Indian performance from classical theory to contemporary traditional practices. Course covers Sanskrit drama, Kathakali, Ramlila, and Chhau; extensive video of performances and guest practitioners. Course fulfills lecture/seminar "studies" course requirement for Theatre/Drama and Theatre Arts major

Spring 2024: THTR UN3155
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 3155 001/00143 T 12:10pm - 2:00pm
Ll105 Diana Center
Shayoni Mitra 4.00 10/16

THTR UN3156 MODERN ASIAN PERFORMANCE. 4.00 points.

Prerequisites: Permission of instructor given at first class meeting; enrollment limited to 16. Corequisites: Fulfills one course in World Theatre requirement for Theatre/Drama and Theatre Arts majors. Course studies contemporary Asian performance with focus on modernity, covering most nations on the Asian continent; readings cover theoretical and aesthetic questions from performances of healing to revolutionary theatre to diasporic performance. Course may fulfill either the Global Theatre requirement, or one (of two) required courses in dramatic literature/theatre studies/performance studies for Theatre/Drama and Theatre Arts major, but not both

THTR UN3157 POSTCOLONIAL DRAMA:THE CANON & ITS OTHER. 4.00 points.

This class is a close reading of postcolonial plays, both as they form a recognizable canon, and as counters to it. Through a grounding in postcolonial theory, students will explore how the colonial encounter leaves a lasting impact on language and performance. How do these playwrights tackle questions of authenticity, influence, inspiration and agency? What stories do they adapt, translate or reimagine? Also, we read in equal measure male and female playwrights, attending to the ways in which power and authority are negotiated by them. This class looks both at plays that are seminal to postcolonial writing and also newer ones that unsettle the position of the greats. Do we then understand postcolonialism as a historically bound literary trend or an ongoing process of exploration? Fundamentally we ask, in our efforts to decolonize the theatre, how do we find new ways or reading? Course fulfills lecture/seminar in drama studies, theatre studies, performance studies requirement for Theatre major

Spring 2024: THTR UN3157
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 3157 001/00144 W 12:10pm - 2:00pm
111 Milstein Center
Shayoni Mitra 4.00 14/16

THTR UN3160 Queer Performance. 4 points.

This course surveys key theoretical and historical writings in the field of Queer Performance, both within and without Theatre and Performance Studies, as well as significant dramatic and performance works in the field. Beginning with an introduction to queer theory and questions surrounding gender and sexuality in performance, the course then moves into contemporary theories to examine works that use embodiment to question constructions of gender and sexuality onstage. Performances are regarded as provocations: what constitutes queer performance? Is sexuality all we mean by queer? What are the historical, aesthetic, and political aspects of queer performance? We will also pursue questions of practice and production: Where is queer performance staged and how is it received? How is it produced, fo whom, by whom, and with what funding? Is queer performance inherently or even necessarily radical? The course explores crosscultural performances, as well as performances spanning from theatrical stages to ritual to everyday performance. Course may fill either the Theory requirement, or one (of two) required courses in dramatic literature/theatre studies/performance studies for Theatre/Drama and Theatre Arts major, but not both.

THTR UN3165 THEORIES OF PERFORMANCE STUDIES. 4.00 points.

Prerequisites: Enrollment limited to 16 students. Course surveys the wide range of genres and categories addressed by the practice of modern "performance studies"; it introduces a number of performance practices, as well as relevant interdisciplinary methodologies. Students consider live performances as well as a number of mediated works, learning to think critically and creatively about the relation between text, technology, and the body. Course may fill either the Theory requirement, or one (of two) required courses in dramatic literature/theatre studies/performance studies for Theatre/Drama and Theatre Arts major, but not both

THTR UN3166 Drama, Theatre, and Theory. 4 points.

Not offered during 2023-2024 academic year.

Prerequisites: Enrollment limited to 16 students.

Intensive immersion in fundamental principles and practices of world drama, theatre, and performance, past and present. Close readings of performances, plays, video, film, and digital media.  Assignments include presentations, performance projects, and critical writing. Fulfills one course in Drama, Theatre, and Theory requirement for Theatre/Drama and Theatre Arts majors.

THTR UN3167 DRAMATURGY. 4.00 points.

Prerequisites: Permission of instructor, given at first class meeting; enrollment limited to 12. This course teaches the research skills and practices a production dramaturg develops as part of the conceptual work of theatrical production. Course is focused on a series of activities: analyzing dramatic text, comparing different versions of script, conducting archival and cultural research, and presenting it to the production team. Fulfills one (of two) required courses in dramatic literature/theatre studies/performance studies for Theatre/Drama and Theatre Arts majors. Required for students undertaking a senior thesis in dramaturgy. Required for students undertaking a senior thesis in directing prior to the thesis year

Fall 2023: THTR UN3167
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 3167 001/00130 T 12:10pm - 2:00pm
Ll105 Diana Center
Shannon Sindelar 4.00 12/12

THTR UN3200 DIRECTING I. 3.00 points.

Prerequisites: Permission of instructor given at first class meeting. Exploration of the evolution of the director's role in Europe and the US, including the study of important figures. Emphasis on text analysis, and varied schools of acting in relation to directing practice. Students gain a foundation in composing stage pictures and using stage movement to tell a story. All students will direct at least one fully-realized scene

Fall 2023: THTR UN3200
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 3200 001/00131 T Th 10:10am - 12:00pm
Ll200 Diana Center
Alice Reagan 3.00 14/20
Spring 2024: THTR UN3200
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 3200 001/00145 M W 2:10pm - 4:00pm
229 Milbank Hall
Shannon Sindelar 3.00 15/16

THTR UN3201 DIRECTING II. 4.00 points.

Prerequisites: Students required to have taken THTR UN3200 Directing I or THTR UN3203 Collaboration: Directing and Design, or equivalent. Enrollment limited to 14 students. Permission of instructor given at first class meeting. Course focuses on developing an individual directorial style, placing emphasis on visual research, and the use of different staging environments: end-stage, in the round, environmental. Class is structured around scene-work and critique, and each student will direct at least three fully-realized scenes. Material typically drawn from European avant-garde

Spring 2024: THTR UN3201
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 3201 001/00146 T Th 12:10pm - 2:00pm
229 Milbank Hall
Alice Reagan 4.00 6/16

THTR UN3202 ADVANCED DIRECTING. 4.00 points.

Prerequisites: Open to students who have taken at least one course in directing. Required for students approved for Directing thesis, but open to all qualified students. Permission of instructor given at first class meeting.
Prerequisites: Open to students who have taken at least one course in directing. Required for students approved for Directing thesis, but open to all qualified students. Permission of instructor given at first class meeting. This course requires students to draw on all previous theatre training, synthesizing scholarship and research toward dynamic fully-realized scene work. Emphasis is on the director-actor relationship; students will direct at least three fully-realized scenes, typically drawn from Shakespeare, Chekhov, or other playwrights. Students may have the opportunity to make devised work, and will collaborate with students in the Advanced Acting class. Required for, but not limited to, students undertaking a senior thesis in directing

Fall 2023: THTR UN3202
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 3202 001/00132 W 2:10pm - 5:00pm
229 Milbank Hall
Kara Feely 4.00 5/12

THTR UN3203 COLLABORATION:DIRCTNG/DESIGN. 3.00 points.

Prerequisites: Permission of instructors given at first meeting; enrollment limited to 24. Course focuses on developing both technical and collaborative skills of directors and designers. Students are assigned to different roles in creative teams working on a series of at least three fully realized and designed scenes. Introduction to various design disciplines and directing practice

THTR UN3211 Performance Lab. 4 points.

Not offered during 2023-2024 academic year.

Prerequisites: Enrollment limited to 12 students. Course typically involves visiting critics/scholars/artists in developing experimental theatrical work.

THTR UN3300 PLAYWRITING WORKSHOP. 3.00 points.

Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor given at first class meeting. Students will create and workshop plays, with a focus on learning new approaches to language and structure. Recommended for students undertaking a senior thesis in playwriting

Fall 2023: THTR UN3300
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 3300 001/00133 M 4:10pm - 6:00pm
Ll105 Diana Center
Andrew Bragen 3.00 13/12

THTR UN3301 PLAYWRITING LAB. 3.00 points.

Students will develop original dramatic scripts. Students will also read drafts of writers currently produced on New York stages to understand why changes and rewrites were made. Recommended for students undertaking a senior thesis in playwriting

Spring 2024: THTR UN3301
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 3301 001/00147 M 4:10pm - 6:00pm
Ll105 Diana Center
Andrew Bragen 3.00 13/12

THTR UN3401 SOUND DESIGN. 3.00 points.

Prerequisites: Permission of instructor given at first class meeting. Studies the art and practice of designing sound and scoring music for dramatic performance. Students study the relationship between concert and incidental music, and read plays toward the production of a score for live theatre. Students also read broadly in the fields of sound, music, acoustics, and the cultural analysis of sound as a component of performance. Background in music or composition not essential.

Fall 2023: THTR UN3401
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 3401 001/00134 M 1:10pm - 4:00pm
Ll105 Diana Center
Daniel Baker 3.00 9/12

THTR UN3402 COSTUME DESIGN. 3.00 points.

Studio course exploring designing costumes for the stage. Students become familiar with textual and character analysis, research, sketching and rendering, swatching and introductory costume history. Application Instructions: E-mail the instructor with the title of the course in the subject line. In your message, include basic information: your name, school, major, year of study, and relevant courses taken, along with a brief statement about why you are interested in taking the course. Admitted students should register for the course; they will automatically be placed on a wait list, from which the instructor will admit them as spaces become available

Spring 2024: THTR UN3402
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 3402 001/00148 M 11:00am - 1:50pm
230 Milbank Hall
Soule Golden 3.00 10/12

THTR UN3403 LIGHTING DESIGN. 3.00 points.

Prerequisites: Enrollment limited to 12 students. Focuses on both the technical and creative aspects of theatrical lighting design. Students will learn the role of lighting within the larger design and performance collaboration through individual and group projects, readings, hands-on workshops, and critique of actual designs. Application Instructions: E-mail the instructor (acasey@barnard.edu) with the title of the course in the subject line. In your message, include basic information: your name, school, major, year of study, and relevant courses taken, along with a brief statement about why you are interested in taking the course. Admitted students should register for the course; they will automatically be placed on a wait list, from which the instructor will admit them as spaces become available

Spring 2024: THTR UN3403
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 3403 001/00149 T 9:35am - 11:50am
229 Milbank Hall
Autum Casey 3.00 14/12

THTR UN3404 SCENE DESIGN. 3.00 points.

Prerequisites: Enrollment limited to 12 students. Permission of instructor given at first class meeting. Introduction to designing for the theatre. The course will focus on set design, developing skills in script analysis, sketching, model making, storyboarding and design presentation. Some investigation into theatre architecture, scenic techniques and materials, and costume and lighting design

Fall 2023: THTR UN3404
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 3404 001/00135 F 11:00am - 1:50pm
230 Milbank Hall
Sandra Goldmark 3.00 13/12

THTR UN3405 PROBLEMS IN DESIGN. 3.00 points.

Prerequisites: Some design experience is helpful, though not required. Enrollment limited to 12 students. Studio-based course explores the main elements of theatrical design: sets, costumes, lighting, and sound through objects, materials, theatrical and non-theatrical environments. Students examine these design elements as both individual and interrelated components within a performance. Fulfills one course in Design requirement for Theatre/Drama and Theatre Arts majors. Fulfills one of three courses in performance fields for Theatre/Drama and Theatre Arts majors: design

Spring 2024: THTR UN3405
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 3405 001/00150 F 11:00am - 1:50pm
230 Milbank Hall
Sandra Goldmark 3.00 9/12

THTR UN3406 Media & Production Design. 3 points.

Uses analysis and design to explore how media and projections can be used to construct narrative in theatre and support non-narrative forms of performance. Digital and analog media are explored for their potentials and limitations. Students learn how the media is produced and transmitted will be discussed as part of creating a video design. Students will produce projection projects using different kinds of media during the course requiring work outside of class time. Fulfills one of three courses in performance fields for Theatre/Drama and Theatre Arts majors: design.

THTR UN3997 SENIOR THESIS IN PERFORMANCE. 4.00 points.

Prerequisites: Appropriate coursework and substantial production experience, including a major crew assignment in the junior year. Enrollment limited to senior Theatre majors. Combined and special majors may be considered under exceptional circumstances. Permission of the instructor required. Students register for this course to pursue approved theses in acting, design, directing, dramaturgy, solo performance, or stage and production management. Students will act in, direct, design, stage manage or dramaturg a play in the Barnard Department of Theatre season, or write a short play or solo performance piece that will be produced (according to departmental guidelines) in the Senior Thesis Festival. Collaboration is expected and students will meet weekly with faculty and other seniors. A written proposal must be submitted in the spring of the junior year and be approved. In addition to the performance, an extensive written Casebook is required: see departmental guidelines

Fall 2023: THTR UN3997
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 3997 001/00136 Th 12:10pm - 2:00pm
229 Milbank Hall
Gisela Cardenas Ojeda 4.00 4/12
THTR 3997 002/00137 F 2:10pm - 5:00pm
230 Milbank Hall
Sandra Goldmark 4.00 0/12
THTR 3997 003/00139 F 2:10pm - 5:00pm
230 Milbank Hall
Michael Banta 4.00 0/12
Spring 2024: THTR UN3997
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 3997 001/00151 M 4:10pm - 6:00pm
229 Milbank Hall
Gisela Cardenas Ojeda 4.00 1/20
THTR 3997 002/00152 F 2:10pm - 5:00pm
230 Milbank Hall
Sandra Goldmark 4.00 0/5
THTR 3997 003/00153 F 2:10pm - 5:00pm
230 Milbank Hall
Michael Banta 4.00 0/5
THTR 3997 004/00154 F 2:10pm - 5:00pm
230 Milbank Hall
Shannon Sindelar 4.00 2/3
THTR 3997 005/00155 M 2:10pm - 4:00pm
Ll105 Diana Center
Andrew Bragen 4.00 1/10
THTR 3997 006/00156 T Th 2:10pm - 4:00pm
229 Milbank Hall
Kyle deCamp 4.00 2/5
THTR 3997 007/00157 F 2:10pm - 5:00pm
230 Milbank Hall
Alice Reagan 4.00 0/5
THTR 3997 008/00829  
Alice Reagan 4.00 1/5

THTR UN3998 SENIOR THESIS IN RESEARCH. 4.00 points.

Prerequisites: Enrollment limited to senior Theatre majors. Combined and special majors may be considered under exceptional circumstances. Permission of the instructor required.
Prerequisites: Enrollment limited to senior Theatre majors. Combined and special majors may be considered under exceptional circumstances. Permission of the instructor required. In-depth research project culminating in a substantial written thesis on any aspect of drama, performance, or theatre research

Fall 2023: THTR UN3998
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 3998 001/00138  
William Worthen 4.00 0/5
Spring 2024: THTR UN3998
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
THTR 3998 002/00821  
William Worthen 4.00 1/5
THTR 3998 003/00838  
Shayoni Mitra 4.00 2/5

ENTA GU4625 SHAKESPEARE PERFORMANCE STUDIES. 4.00 points.

This course will work across three general approaches to Shakespearean drama and performance. First, we’ll consider the historical forms of performance that have used Shakespearean drama as the material for theatrical endeavor. Second, we’ll consider theoretical paradigms for performance that resituate an understanding that privileges either the “theatrical” or the “literary” identity of Shakespeare’s plays. And, finally, we’ll consider how we might consider the plays as themselves theoretical instruments for thinking about performance. Throughout the semester we will consider stage, film, and online productions, and the ways they articulate a sense of both “Shakespeare” and “performance.” This course is a seminar, and while there is no formal prerequisite, students who have had a previous Shakespeare course will find the reading more manageable: we will rarely be doing the kind of “overview” of a play, but will be incisively considering specific elements of performance. Application Instructions: E-mail the instructor wworthen@barnard.edu with the title of the course in the subject line. In your message, include basic information: your name, school, major, year of study, and relevant courses taken, along with a brief statement about why you are interested in taking the course. Admitted students should register for the course; they will automatically be placed on a wait list, from which the instructor will admit them as spaces become available

THTR UN3999 INDEPENDENT STUDY. 1.00-4.00 points.

Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor and the chair required.
Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor and the chair required. Students submit, before the semester begins, a detailed proposal for independent research to a faculty sponsor