2022-2023 Course Catalog
Welcome to Virginia Tech! We are excited that you are here planning your time as a Hokie.
Welcome to Virginia Tech! We are excited that you are here planning your time as a Hokie.
The curriculum in Theatre and Cinema is designed to provide the student with the essential approaches necessary to develop an informed understanding of Theatre and Cinema literature and its practice. As such, the three basic aspects of the disciplines (the theoretical, the historical, and the practical) are emphasized.
A program in theatre arts leading to the B.A. is offered. In addition to fulfilling the core curriculum requirements of the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences and the Curriculum for Liberal Education, general majors who choose the general degree option must complete a minimum of 48 hours in theatre arts. Students who choose a degree option in Performance, Design, or a Cinema major, must complete a minimum of 57 hours.
A minor course of study in theatre or cinema may be chosen with the guidance of the student's advisor.
Limited scholarship support is available.
University policy requires that students who are making satisfactory progress toward a degree meet minimum criteria toward the General Education (Curriculum for Liberal Education) (see "Academics") and toward the degree in Theatre Arts.
Satisfactory progress requirements toward the B.A. in Theatre Arts can be found on the major checksheet by visiting the University Registrar website at http://registrar.vt.edu/graduation-multi-brief/index1.html.
Director, School of Performing Arts | Music | Theatre | Cinema: J. Loeffert
Faculty Chair: J. Ambrosone
Professors: R. H. Leonard, P. Raun, and B. Lepczyk
Associate Professors: J. Ambrosone, G. W. Justice, A. Nelson, C. Rawlings, S. C. Rinehart, N. Staley, and C. Dye
Assistant Professors: G.S. Hardwig, J. Perkinson, L. Iancu, T. Vintu, and A. Thapa
Visiting Assistant Professors: D. Gammons
Instructors: K. Precoda and W. A. Sanders,
A.P. Faculty: S. Blackburn
Assistant Professor of Practice: T. Holland and L. Copenhaver
Career Advisors: All faculty
Emeritus Professors: B. Dukore, D.W. Johnson, P. Lavender, F. N. Proctor, and R.W. Ward
Introduction to cinema as a medium for artistic communication. Interpretation and analysis of films to understand designs, ideas and values in artistic and cultural contexts. Basic elements of cinema structure and cinema terminology, phases of cinema production, cinema style of individual directors, creative work of cinematography, production design, and editing, ideological and social meaning in cinema, demographics of visual representation, cinemas economic marketplace. Ethical values and conflicts as found in given films, and ethical reasoning as part of the analysis of cinema.
Introductory filmmaking course. Thematic conception and story construction, writing, producing, directing, cinematography, sound recording, and editing.
Rotating topics in cinema production. Designed for majors in the Department of Theatre and Cinema who have foundational training in areas of cinema production. May be repeated for credit with different course content up to a maximum of nine credit hours.
Intermediate-level fiction film production course. Foundational cinema production skills, dramatic storytelling techniques, intermediate directing, team- based ownership and responsibility, and project management.
Intermediate-level, non-fiction, film production course for students seeking non-fiction documentary film production skills and experience. Emphasizes the application and advancement of foundational skills, the ethics of documentary filmmaking, story development and project management.
Explores race and representations of African American images in film, from multiple disciplinary perspectives. Focuses on the social, political, economic, and historical milieu in which black film emerged and evolved. Examines gender issues in filmmaking. Reviews different genres, including race films, colorblind representations, and black exploitation films, and the appropriation of black representation and black images in film in the United States and elsewhere. Includes methods of film analysis, such as historical, master narrative structure, and archival research.
Close visual and cultural study of classic film genres with emphasis on cinematic styles and narrative conventions which unify the genre and which are found in representative films; exploration of genre films as symbols of American culture and society. Specific thematic content is variable. Course may be repeated with different course content for up to 9 credits.
Close thematic and visual analysis of the films of prominent cinema directors; emphasis on cinematic structure and development and evolution of their work. Specific thematic content is variable. Course may be repeated with different course content for up to 9 credits.
Close visual and cultural study of the avant-garde and experimental tradition in the first half-century of American and European cinemas; emphasis on interrelations of cinema with avant-garde movements in other arts, including literature, music, dance, theatre, painting, and photography
Works of literature and the films into which they have been transformed; emphasis on differences between media.
Aesthetic, economic, social and technological history of world cinema; film theory as it relates to the history of cinema. Junior standing required.
Critical issues in cinema. Aesthetic, social, political, and economic contexts for films that embody or critique assumptions of historical periods. Analysis of ethnocentric and cultural biases in cinema. Identifying issues of identity and equity in films. Theories and ethics of representation. May be repeated 2 times with different content for a maximum of 9 credits.
Close visual and cultural study of underground cinema and culture from the 1940s through the 1970s; emphasizes the interrelations of cinema with countercultural movements in other arts, including literature, music, dance, theatre, painting, and photography; focuses on the post-war avant-garde, the emergence of film societies, the neorealist and new wave cinemas, challenges to censorship laws, and the emergence of cult and midnight movies.
An experiential course merging the artistic, experiential, and conceptual understanding of the human body, and how all of its elements work together to produce motion and the sense of being. Study of the anatomical structures of the body through an experiential lens of motion and sensory perception. Introduction of the concepts of kinesiology through the study of bone, joint, tissue, muscular, and organ structures. Emphasis on holistic perspectives of the body through active listening, ethical reasoning, healthy self-image, and attention to practices of equitable embodied identity. Lecture, demonstration, and experience-based partnering work that draw from a variety of somatic traditions including yoga, pilates, Body-Mind Centering, release technique, Alexander and Feldenkrais techniques, Gyrotonic/Gyrokinesis, and mediation. Designed for performers in the arts, athletes, martial artists, or any students wishing to study the body from an experiential lens.
Survey of dance history as an art form with global scope. Language of dance criticism and dance writing practices. International dance forms and the emergence and development of 20th and 21st century modern and post-modern concert dance in the United States from the confluence of European folk and court dances, ballet, African and Caribbean influences, and other American cultural dynamics. Emphasis on ethical and aesthetic modes of viewing dance performance with attention to issues of gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity, ability, class, and identity.
Beginner-level studio dance course. Introduction of movement techniques, improvisation/composition, performance, experiential anatomy, and an overview to concepts in dance history. Development of flexibility, strength, coordination, rhythm, and vocabulary in the modern idiom. Concepts of time, space, energy, and choreographic form presented through set movement exercises, improvisation, and a final compositional project. Training in a variety of movement vocabularies including modern/contemporary, ballet, and cultural dance forms. May be repeated once with different content for a maximum of 6 credits. Design Lab/Studio.
Methods of working intentionally towards cultivating optimal brain states. Mind/body practices to develop connections between contemporary neuroscience, movement, and meditative practices. Studies in the intersection of consciousness, movement, and thought. Introduction to yoga, meditation, authentic movement, experiential anatomy, and somatic work. Emphasis on holistic perspectives of the body through active listening, ethical reasoning, healthy self-image, and attention to the practices of intentional embodiment.
Intermediate/advanced level course in movement techniques. Training in a variety of movement vocabularies including modern/contemporary, ballet, and cultural dance forms. Improvisation/composition, performance, concepts in anatomy/kinesiology, and 21st century contemporary dance forms. Development of flexibility, strength, coordination, rhythm, vocabulary in the modern idiom, and focused study of partnering concepts from a variety of hybrid forms. Concepts of time, space, energy, and choreographic form presented through set movement exercises and two compositional projects. May be repeated 3 times with different content for a maximum of 9 credits. Design/Lab Studio.
Examine how the arts intersect with our daily lives. Compose and create basic examples of abstraction and 20th century modernism. Trace the global influences and roots of our current culture. Explore the science of acoustics and its effect on performing spaces. Discuss the process of an arts performance. Apply themes of improvisation, creativity and how we process beauty. Investigate emerging brain science as it relates to art, beauty and pleasure. Identify the unique ways of knowing embodied in the arts distinct from scientific measurements. No prior knowledge of visual, theatrical or musical arts needed.
Orientation to the School of Performing Arts philosophy and the resources of the School, the College, and the University. Cultivate a common intellectual, analytical, and creative conversation among first-year students. Enhance student participation in the creative and scholarly life of the Schools programs. Foster a sense of community and understanding across disciplines.
Appreciation and understanding of theatre as a living, collaborative art form through historical and intercultural perspectives, readings of key texts and analysis of scripts, and explorations of all elements of the theater making process, including playwriting, directing, acting, and design.
Introductory performance class in acting skills and theories as a participant (actor) and observer (audience) for the non-major. Includes performances of dramatic literature/ improvisation for live audience, creating character biography and script analysis, historical and intercultural contexts, and techniques in constructive criticism that incorporate interpretive strategies.
Contributions of U.S. Black theatre artists; intersectional identities; performances spaces and society; critical race theory; dramatic storytelling; cultural behaviors; racial discrimination.
Introduction to theatre vocabulary and understanding of the theatrical process, theatre aesthetics, theatrical modes of expression, basic script analysis, production analysis, theory and practice of collaboration, theatre organizations, history and operations of professional theatres. (T & C majors and minors only).
Understanding of drama as an element of theatre with focus on the process of script analysis for theatrical production.
An introduction to the process of acting, through a variety of laboratory experiences, beginning with basic performance skills and culminating in the performance experience. Emphasis is on improvisation, terminology, physical action, script analysis, characterization, and rehearsal and performance techniques. Limited to Theatre & Cinema Majors.
An introduction to the process of acting, through a variety of laboratory experiences, beginning with basic performance skills and culminating in the performance experience. Emphasis is on various methods of performance style and analysis, theater movement and body conditioning, and vocal awareness and production. Limited to Theatre & Cinema Majors.
An introduction to the processes, technologies, and aesthetics of scene design for theatrical productions and analysis of playscripts. Students develop workshop drawing, conceptual design and vision, and collaborative skills related to scene design, and exploration is focused in historical and contemporary theatre practice. A range of design problems will offer opportunity to learn various design approaches and provide practice with different media and means of design expression. Design Lab.
Introduction to the processes, technologies, and aesthetics of costume design for theatrical productions and analysis of playscripts. Focus on developing workshop drawings, conceptual design and vision, and collaborative skills related to costume design, with special emphasis on historical and contemporary theatre practice. Various design approaches, different media, and a range of design problems are introduced. Design Lab/Studio.
Study of the expressive elements of movement and dance. Basic choreographic procedures and small group work to design dances that emphasize particular movement concepts. Experience in music and movement of diverse dance cultures. Documentation of the pathways of dances in floorplans and written reflections on the creative processes.
This course provides the Theatre & Cinema major, who desires a rigorous exploration of acting, a forum for application of the techniques and skills learned. These skills will be strengthened and applied through observation of and participation in scene and monologue work. Focus will be placed on basic skills and concepts necessary to creative, truthful, and believable performance of selected scenes, including use of voice and body, imagination, relaxation, sense and emotion memory, and script analysis. Limited to Theatre & Cinema Majors.
Introduction to principles of collaboration in applied theatre for non-majors. Situational awareness, intrapersonal and interpersonal awareness, audience engagement, effective storytelling, team creativity and conflict resolution, and communicating across difference in public and professional settings.
A practical study of the technologies and specialized equipment employed in the construction, rigging and running of theatrical production; the planning and organization involved in mounting these productions; the tools, materials and techniques used to realize theatrical design and build scenery; and the fundamentals of stage lighting.
An introduction to the theories and practice of marketing and building community engagement as applied to arts activities and professional not-for-profit arts organizations, through a survey of standard marketing approaches, examination of current practices in the field, and direct hands-on experience.
Production experiences in the areas of performance, design and theatre technology, management, and writing. May be repeated for a maximum of nine credits.
Performance class in acting skills, theories, and genres. Designed for non-theatre arts majors. Builds on fundamentals and theory learned in Introduction to Acting. Includes body and voice awareness, performance of specific genres, and expanded acting theory and analysis.
Rotating topics in theatre sound technology and sound design. Designed for advanced theatre arts and cinema majors who have foundational training in areas of theatre technology and design. May be repeated 2 times with different content for a maximum of 9 credit hours. Design Lab.
History of drama and theatre from primitive ritual to the present day and its relationship to the social, economic, and political forces from age to age. 3105: primitive, Greek, Roman, Medieval, Renaissance, and Asian. 3106: Restoration, eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries. Junior standing required.
History of drama and theatre from primitive ritual to the present day and its relationship to the social, economic, and political forces from age to age. 3105: primitive, Greek, Roman, Medieval, Renaissance, and Asian. 3106: Restoration, eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries.
Rotating topics in scenography and related specific design applications. Designed for theatre arts majors who have foundational training in areas of theatre design. May be repeated for credit.
Rotating topics of costume design and costume technology. Designed for advanced theatre arts majors who have foundational training in all areas if theatre design. May be repeated for credit.
Rotating topics in lighting design and technology. Designed for advanced theatre arts majors who have foundational training in all areas of theatre arts. May be repeated for credit. (Variable credit)
Rotating topics in design and theatre technology. Designed for advanced theatre arts majors who have foundational training in all areas if theatre technology and design. May be repeated for unlimited number of credit hours.
Rotating topics in performance skills and theories. Designed For advanced theatre arts majors who have foundational training in acting, voice and movement. May be repeated for credit.
Rotating topics in voice and speech skills, and theories and practice in performance. Designed for advanced theatre arts majors who have foundational training in acting, voice and movement. May be repeated for credit.
Rotating topics in theatre movement, dance for the theatre and theories of physical expression in the performing arts. Designed for advanced theatre arts majors who have foundational training in acting voice and movement. May be repeated for a maximum of 9 credit hours.
A workshop course in the craft and art of playwriting which emphasizes the development of craft and the nurturing of vision and art. 3315: primary focus is on the writing of original scripts with additional attention paid to the work of influential playwrights and critics. 3316: primary focus is on the creative process of developing a play with the collaborative influences of a director, actors, designers, and other theatre professionals. Consent of instructor required.
The development of the not-for-profit arts organization, structures and characteristics of boards of directors, artistic missions and goals, funding, volunteer support, and fiscal control. Junior standing required.
The systems, procedures, forms, and duties of the stage manager in the professional, academic, and community theatre are explored in relationship to the production process and other theatre artists.
Issues and concerns in contemporary theatre; production philosophies and approaches, employment opportunities, career options, and preparation of portfolio and resume materials. Junior standing required.
Participation in theatre projects or activities that focus on community and social issues. May be repeated for a maximum of six credits. Junior standing.
Script analysis, theories, techniques, and practical applications of theatrical direction. 4315: Theories and aesthetics of directing, functions of the director, script analysis, basic principles and techniques of staging. 4316: Rehearsal techniques, style determination realism, and non-realism. Senior standing required.
Script analysis, theories, techniques, and practical applications of theatrical direction. 4315: Theories and aesthetics of directing, functions of the director, script analysis, basic principles and techniques of staging. 4316: Rehearsal techniques, style determination realism, and non-realism.
Internship of one semester in acting, directing, management, design, or technical theatre or cinema with a professional equity company for selected advanced students; classroom, workshop, and production experiences. Minimum 9 credits, maximum 15 credits. Audition and consent.
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