School of Theater Academic Requirements
Table of Contents
Residency Requirement for the School of Theater
The Bachelor of Fine Arts and Certificate of Fine Arts Programs in the School of Theater are four-year programs, consisting of eight (8) full-time semesters of study. The Master of Fine Arts and Advanced Certificate of Fine Arts are three-year programs, consisting of six (6) full-time semesters of study. The MFA Experience Design and Production is a two-year MFA program, consisting of four (4) full-time semesters of study.
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Curriculum Requirements
Bachelor of Fine Arts and Certificate of Fine Arts
Bachelor of Fine Arts degree candidates must complete 46 semester units of Critical Studies coursework. Certificate of Fine Arts candidates do not complete Critical Studies courses. All other requirements for the Certificate of Fine Arts are identical to those for the BFA. Critical Studies requirements are detailed in the Critical Studies section of the Course Catalog (see Critical Studies requirements).
Students must complete the program of study approved by the mentor and the student, which will include the required courses specified in the School of Theater Course Requirements section of this Course Catalog and comprise a minimum of 120 units.
Students must successfully complete a mid-residence review at the end of the fourth semester (BFA) and a graduation review in the final semester (see Reviews policy).
Master of Fine Arts and Advanced Certificate of Fine Arts
Students must complete the program of study approved by the mentor and the student, which will include the required courses specified in the School of Theater Course Requirements section of this Course Catalog and comprise a minimum of 60 units.
Students must successfully complete a mid-residence review at the end of the second semester and a graduation review in the final semester (see Reviews policy).
Concentration in Integrated Media
See Center for Integrated Media curriculum.
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Course Requirements—Programs in Performance
Acting Program
By graduation, all Acting students should exhibit the following:
- The ability to transform imaginatively into a role, conveying "story" through mastery of body, voice, and speech and through convincing interactions with objects, acting partners and space.
- The skills and knowledge to confidently approach a variety of texts and to give students a range of techniques to do so, from the classical to the most current.
- A deep and expansive individual aesthetic.
- The openness to experiment in rehearsal and performance techniques, combining a mastery of skills learned in studio with the ability to expand and challenge further the conventional forms through brave acting choices.
- The ability to initiate and navigate interdisciplinary investigations.
- Exhibit the ability to apply their skills/techniques with excellence to reach the level of mastery.
- The ability to cover the variety of acting requirements in order to move easily and with confidence between the demands of cinema and the stage.
- The flexibility to adapt and respond professionally to a variety of performance conditions, media, and technologies.
- The agency to pursue their professional careers by building their entrepreneurial muscles.
In addition, MFA Acting students are encouraged to:
- Create self-generated projects that expand the definition of what it means to be an actor.
- Acquire a multiplicity of skills to augment the métier focus such as writing, directing, project development, music, film, etc.
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Bachelor of Fine Arts and Certificate of Fine Arts
Métier Requirements
- TACT 100, 101 Acting Studio I
- TACT 200, 201 Acting Studio II
- TACT 300, 301 Acting Studio III
- TACT 400 Graduating Acting Company
- TACT 105, 106 Voice
- TACT 110, 111 Speech
- TACT 205, 206 Voice II
- TACT 305, 306 Voice III
- TACT 210, 211 Speech II
- TACT 310, 311 Speech III
- TACT 115, 116 Movement I
- TACT 215, 216 Movement II
- TACT 315, 316 Movement III
- TACT 250 Alexander Technique
- TACT 050 Intro to Theatrical Stage Fighting
- TACT 130, 131 Theater Run Crew (BFA1)
- Rehearsal and Performance Actors (4 semesters)
- TAIC 100 Conversations in Contemporary Theater*
- TAIC 300 Survey of World Theater - Text*
- TWNT 300 Winter Session (every Spring that it is offered)
3 Units from the Following Critical Studies Classes:
- TAIC 305 Performance Tactics*
- TAIC 310 Arts Activism*
- TAIC 315 Art and Community Engagement*
Electives are listed below. Note: Classes marked with a * receive Critical Studies credit.
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Master of Fine Arts and Advanced Certificate of Fine Arts
Métier Requirements
- TACT 500, 501 Acting Studio V
- TACT 600, 601 Acting Studio VI
- TACT 700 Graduating Acting Company
- TACT 505, 506 Voice V
- TACT 605, 606 Voice VI
- TACT 510, 511 Speech V
- TACT 610, 611 Speech VI
- TACT 515, 516 Movement V
- TACT 615, 616 Movement VI
- TACT 550 Alexander Technique
- TACT 540 The Performer and the Object
- TACT 525, 526 Directing Lab I
- THST 500 Interpretive Strategies for Plays
- THST 501 Interpretive Strategies for Performance
- Rehearsal & Performance Actors (3 semesters)
- TACT 555 Intro to Theatrical Stage Fighting
- TWNT 600 Winter Session (every spring that it is offered)
Elective Theater Classes for Actors (Undergraduate)
Via consultation with your mentor, suggested electives are offered within the School of Theater and throughout the Institute, subject to availability and permission of listed instructor.
- TACT 050 Intro to Stage Fighting
- TACT 125 Capoeira
- TGEN 320, 325 Institute Directing
- TGEN 330 A Brief History of Ventriloquism
- TGEN 340, 345 Writing for Performance Workshop
- TGEN 390 Institute Producing
- TGEN 410 Fundraising Strategies
- TMPR 430 Grant Writing
- TGEN 450 Entrepreneurship: The Artist as Entrepreneur (BFA4 only)
- TMSM 100, 101 Basic Stage Management
- TMSM 300 Theater Management
- TACT 325 Physical Body in Performance
- TMSM 340 Theatrical Unions
- TIMM 415 Live and Location Based Entertainment
- TIMM 435 Fluxus: Scene Generation
- TIMM 442 F/V Pre-Production Planning
- TIMM 475 Theme Lab 101
- TACT 335 Special Topics in Performance
- TACT 360, 361 Improvisation
- TACT 402 Acting for the Camera
- TACT 401 Graduating Improv Studio
- TACT 405 Voice/Speech IV
- TACT 450 Showcase
- TACT 415 Movement IV
- TACT 455 Audition Practicum
- TACT 470 Voice Over (in graduating year)
- FAIC 430 History of Video Art
- CCST 158 European Studies
- CHMN 238 Early Modernism
- AAIC 265 Modern Art History
- FAIC 400 Film Today
- CCST 310 Theater of the Oppressed
- CSOC 147 Ritual
- TWFP 450 Screenwriting for the Theater Artist
- Any Dance, Music or Film History Class
- Independent studies
- All Puppetry courses
Elective Theater Classes for Actors (Graduate)
- TGEN 530 A Brief History of Ventriloquism
- TGEN 575 Institute Producing
- TMPR 630 Grantwriting
- TGEN 750 Entrepreneurship: The Artist as Entrepreneur (MFA3)
- TIMM 570, 571 Performing Object Lab
- TIMM 642 F/V Pre-Production Planning
- TIMM 705 Art of Themed and Immersive Environments
- TACT 555 Intro to Stage Fighting
- TACT 635 Special Topics in Performance
- TACT 625 Physical Body in Performance
- TACT 701 Graduating Improv Studio
- TACT 702 Acting for the Camera
- TACT 705 Voice/Speech V
- TACT 660, 661 Improvisation
- TACT 715 Movement
- TACT 720 CAP Project: SOHDA
- TACT 750 Showcase
- TACT 755 Audition Practicum
- TACT 770 Voice Over (in graduating year)
- TWFP 525 Screenwriting for the Theater Artist
- TWFP 555, 655, 755 Playwright's Lab
- MBLE 550 African Dance
- THST 505-550 Graduate Seminars (graduate only)
- TMSM 540 Theatrical Unions
- TDIR 520, 521,620, 621, 720, 721 Cinematic Elixirs
- TACT 725 CAP Project: Arroyo Seco
- TACT 760 Voicing Animation
- Independent studies
- All Puppetry courses
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Directing Program (Graduate Only)
By the time they graduate, Directing students will exhibit:
- A defined, deepened, and expanded development of their individual aesthetic terrains.
- Engagement with a variety of aesthetic and practical approaches that have challenged and expanded their unique perspectives, and have embraced an openness to that which is alien.
- An understanding of principles in multiple areas necessary for effective direction: acting, dramaturgy, and design.
- Development of the communication skills needed to work effectively with collaborators coming from disparate disciplines.
- Development of acute analytical skills.
- Engagement in practical production activity in the context of a disciplined conceptual framework.
- The ability to lead effectively in complex production situations and a profound awareness of the obligations and responsibilities that are attendant in the director's leadership role, including providing ethical leadership of their processes.
- An understanding of the foundation of the discourse and practice of film, video, and the visual arts in acknowledgement of the increasing importance of the media to a director's work.
- An understanding of where their work exists within the context of contemporary social, cultural, and intellectual discourse.
Métier Requirements
- TDIR 525, 526 Directing Lab
- TDIR 503, 504 Transforming Text I & Material Performance
- TDIR 605, 606, 705, 706 Directing Seminar
- Cinematic Elixirs (2 semesters)
- TDIR 640 MFA2 Directing Project
- TDIR 740 MFA3 Directing Project
- TACT 500 MFA1 Acting Studio
- TSCE 510 Performance by Design
- TSCE-545a Design Methodology
- THST 500 Interpretive Strategies for Plays
- THST 501 Interpretive Strategies for Performance
- TWNT 600 Winter Session (every Spring that it is offered)
Additional classes to be determined in consultation with the mentor.
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BFA Experience Design and Production Course Requirements
Curricula for the Programs in Experience Design and Production consist of classroom studies and hands-on studio and production work. Entering BFA students are required to complete a common set of foundation courses that cover aesthetics, theory, history, literature, graphics, technology, and crafts. Transfer and upper-division undergraduates work with their mentors to create training programs tailored to each student's individual needs and interests. The curriculum for each métier area is highly individualized, with core program requirements serving as a framework for further studies customized to meet each student's goals and ambitions.
Upon graduation, successful BFA Experience Design and Production candidates will be able to:
- Demonstrate a critical understanding of the historical and cultural foundation of theatrical and arts practices, as well as knowledge of the contemporary arts landscape.
- Effectively explain their work, and to present concepts skillfully in writing and through visual or aural communication.
- Work professionally, responsibly, and collaboratively within the challenges of a variety of projects while contributing a vibrant, creative voice.
- Demonstrate a body of original work, created in the classroom and in production, which shows an expressive understanding of design for performance processes and a personal aesthetic platform upon which to build.
- A demonstrable competency in the technological principles and techniques of the practiced area of specialization, along with ambition to explore new innovative methods, materials, and outcomes.
- Demonstrate a basic knowledge of allied theatrical disciplines (scenery, costume, lighting, sound, media) promoting an awareness of the complexity of problem-solving issues each may encounter, and the dissolution of conventional hierarchies.
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Métier Requirements: BFA Experience Design and Production
- TAIC 100 Conversations in Contemporary Theater
- TAIC 300 Survey of World Theater-Text
- *Eight units from the following TFND Studio Labs (4 per semester) choose from the following:
- TFND-110D Light Lab
- TFND 110H Theatrical conventions
- TFND 110K Costume Tech: Torso Sloper
- TFND 110L Body Padding & Rigging for 3-D
- TFND 110N Their*Story
- TFND 110P Basic Sound Kit
- TFND 115B Ode to Paul Thek
- TFND 115J Where Do Good Ideas Come From?
- TFND 115K Ode to Paul Thek Part 2
- TFND 115L Substitute Objects
- TFND 120G Shark Tank
- TFND 125A WordRobe
- TFND 125B Alphabet City
- TFND 125C Barbeque
- TFND 125D Look At This
- TFND 125H Creative Listening
- TFND 125J Intro to Virtual Reality
- TFND 125K Epistolary Room
- TFND 125N Draw/Write/Read Sound
- TFND 125O Lost and Found Sounds
- TFND 125P Fear and (C)loathing
- TFND 125Q Research Methods for Designers
- TFND 125R Speaking Through Light
- *TFND 195 Production Orientation
- TDAP 450 Closure
- TWNT 300 Winter Session (every Spring that it is offered)
- Three units selected with mentor from the following:
- TAIC 305 Survey of World Theater - Performance Tactics
- TAIC 310 Arts and Activism
- TAIC 315 Art and Community Engagement. *required in the first year
BFA Costume Design Specialization
Sensitive to the art of performing, to the coordination of visual effects, to the expressions of the written and unwritten word, to the cultural anthropology of clothing, and to the techniques of manufacture, students undertake pre-professional studies in costume design, drawing and rendering, history, and related technologies.
MÉTIER REQUIREMENTS
- *Eight units from TFND Studio Labs, see full list above
- TCOS 100, 101 Costume Techniques I
- Minimum of 2 drawing and/or digital drawing courses
- TAIC 100 Conversations in Contemporary Theater
- TAIC 300 Survey of World Theater - Text
- TWNT 300 Winter Session (every Spring that is offered)
- Three units selected with mentor from the following:
- TAIC 305 Survey of World Theater - Performance Tactics
- TAIC 310 Arts and Activism
- TAIC 315 Art and Community Engagement
- TCOS 210, 211 Costume Design Methodology
- Special Topics: Minimum 2 Special Topics in Experience Design, Scenic, Lighting or Interactive Media (choose any 300 level design course)
- TDAP 395 D&P Production (6 semesters)
- TCOS 499-498 Independent Study/Internship (1 semester)
- Via consultation with your mentor, suggested electives are offered within the School of Theater and throughout the Institute, subject to availability and permission of listed instructor.
BFA Experience Design Specialization
Experience Design converges studies in narrative, immersion, environments, behavior, dramaturgy, and interactivity. Students approach the creation of experiences from a diversity of perspectives, wrapped around a core design process that foregrounds experimentation, strong visual communication, rigorous iteration, and the ability to bring concepts to life in real-world applications and collaborations.
MÉTIER REQUIREMENTS
BFA Lighting Design Specialization
In a specialization committed to both artistry and technology, students gain a firm understanding of the lighting design process, from the development and articulation of a conceptual approach, to plot making, to the creation of the realized work onstage. They broaden their experience with additional projects in film, video, dance, and art.
MÉTIER REQUIREMENTS
Eight units from TFND Studio Labs, see full list above
- TAIC 100 Conversations in Contemporary Theater
- TAIC 300 Survey of World Theater - Text
- TWNT 300 Winter Session (every Spring that it is offered)
- Three units selected with mentor from the following:
- TAIC 305 Survey of World Theater - Performance Tactics
- TAIC 310 Arts and Activism
- TAIC 315 Art and Community Engagement
- TLTG 210 Lighting Design I: The Design Process
- TLTG 215 Lighting Design 2
- TLTG 325 Environmental Lighting
- TLTG 330 Lighting the New Script
- TIMM 360 Vectorworks
- TIMM 440 Digital Rendering I or TIMM 444 Digital Drawing
- Special Topics: Minimum 2 Special Topics in Experience Design, Scenic, Costume, Sound, or Interactive Media
- TDAP 395 D&P Production (6 semesters)
- Via consultation with your mentor, suggested electives are offered within the School of Theater and throughout the Institute, subject to availability and permission of listed instructor.
BFA Scene Design Specialization
Scene design, in providing a visual support to the dramatic form, is an integral part of the theater and is woven into the fundamental philosophies of modern performance practice. Students strive for the vision and imagination of a creative artist; the ingenuity and skills of a stage artisan; and the knowledge and sense of a performance director.
MÉTIER REQUIREMENTS
Eight units from TFND Studio Labs, see full list above
BFA Sound Design Specialization
While integrating aesthetic concerns with scientific disciplines, the Sound Design program can stretch as far as each student's energy, inventions, and imagination allow. Students are urged to explore abundant projects and coursework throughout the institute.
MÉTIER REQUIREMENTS
Eight units from TFND Studio Labs, see full list above
BFA Stage Management Specialization
The BFA Stage Management specialization enables students to develop as artistic leaders and collaborative artists through project-based instruction in management, theatrical design, acting, directing, and stagecraft. Emphasis is placed on developing strong communication and critical thinking skills, broad knowledge of the professional arts environment, and proficiency in the practical skills necessary for success in a variety of professional environments.
MÉTIER REQUIREMENTS
Eight units from TFND Studio Labs, see full list above
- TAIC 100 Conversations in Contemporary Theater
- TAIC 300 Survey of World Theater - Text
- TWNT 300 Winter Session (every Spring that it is offered)
- Three units selected with mentor from the following:
- TAIC 305 Survey of World Theater - Performance Tactics
- TAIC 310 Arts and Activism
- TAIC 315 Art and Community Engagement
- TDAP 395 D&P Production (minimum of 6 semesters)
- TMSM 100 Basic Stage Management
- TMSM 101 Basic Stage Management II
- TTDI 105 Stagecraft I
- TGEN 310 Institute Acting
- TGEN 320 Institute Directing
- TACT 130 Run Crew
- TMSM 340 Theatrical Unions
- TMSM 325 Special Topics in Stage Management
- Via consultation with your mentor, suggested electives are offered within the School of Theater and throughout the Institute, subject to availability and permission of listed instructor.
BFA Technical Direction Specialization
With a high degree of skill and creativity, students discover ways to utilize today's changing technology. They take the lead in the creation of new art and technologies, and exhibit a level of professionalism that meets or exceeds the growing demands of the theater/entertainment industries and the field of technical direction.
MÉTIER REQUIREMENTS
Eight units from TFND Studio Labs, see full list above
- TAIC 100 Conversations in Contemporary Theater
- TAIC 300 Survey of World Theater - Text
- TWNT 300 Winter Session (every Spring that it is offered)
- Three units selected with mentor from the following:
- TAIC 305 Survey of World Theater - Performance Tactics
- TAIC 310 Arts and Activism
- TAIC 315 Art and Community Engagement
- TTDI 305 Advanced Stagecraft
- TIMM 315 AutoCAD I
- TIMM 325 AutoCAD II
- TTDI 300 Fundamentals of Technical Direction
- TTDI 425 Tech Mgt Style & Technique
- TSCM 225 Statistical Engineering*
- ICOM301 Digital Fabrication
- TDAP 395 D&P Production (6 semesters)
- TTDI 410 Parametric Drafting
- TTDI 450 Rigging
- Via consultation with your mentor, suggested electives are offered within the School of Theater and throughout the Institute, subject to availability and permission of listed instructor.
MFA Experience Design and Production Course Requirements
The MFA degrees in Experience Design and Production require three years of full-time study. An evaluation will be made at the end of the first year of study to determine the remainder of the student's curriculum, based on the faculty's evaluation of the student's work and the goals of the particular student. The graduate curriculum for each program is highly individualized, with the core requirements serving as a framework for further studies customized to meet each student's goals and ambitions.
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MFA Costume Design Specialization
By graduation, MFA Costume Design students will be able to:
- Articulate critical and conceptual goals and ideas verbally, visually and in writing.
- Budget money, resources and time within the parameters of a given production.
- Function as a leader of artistic and technical teams in their area of specialization and to be proactive in the process of collaboration on any given project or production.
- Demonstrate a mastery of global contemporary language of the arts and performing arts and the ability to engage in interdisciplinary practice.
- Exhibit a distinct, original, personal voice and defining aesthetic, as evidenced in production work and an outstanding portfolio.
Métier Requirements
- TCOS 510, 511 MFA 1 Costume Design
- minimum one Costume Techniques course
- TSCE 510 Performance by Design
- minimum one design métier class in one of the following areas: Sound, Lighting, Scenic, or Interactive Media
- TCOS 660, 661 Open Dress
- TCOS 710 Open Studio
- TCOS 730 Graduate Closure
- TIMM 640 Digital Rendering or TIMM 644 Digital Rendering
- THST 500 Interpretive Strategies for Plays
- THST 501 Interpretive Strategies for Performance or equivalent elective
- TDAP 695 D&P Production (4 semesters)
- TWNT 600 Winter Session (every Spring that it is offered)
Via consultation with your mentor, suggested electives are offered within the School of Theater and throughout the Institute, subject to availability and permission of listed instructor.
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MFA Lighting Design Specialization
By the time they graduate, MFA Lighting Design students will be able to:
- Have a complete command of the theatrical lighting design process including the ability to:
- Construct and articulate a conceptual approach and presentation skills
- Create the required drafting, renderings and technical schedules
- Construct budgets, schedules and contracts
- Effectively communicate and collaborate with production teams
- Analyze and critique performed work with cultural and historical contexts.
- Apply the ability to consider the physiological and psychological effects of light and other scientific principles of phenomenology.
- Apply knowledge of the architectural lighting design process, including immersive and environmental lighting design.
- Apply knowledge and practice with intelligent lighting, moving light consoles and other state of the art technology for use in the theater and concert stages.
- Produce original and artistic work reflected in a professional level design portfolio.
Métier Requirements
- TLTG 525 Theatrical Techniques
- TLTG 625 Environmental Lighting
- TLTG 626 Light Art and Architectural Lighting
- TLTG 725 Immersive Lighting Design
- TLTG 726 The Business of Light
- TLTG 670 Moving Light Lab/Lighting for Music
- Drafting (choose from Vectorworks, AutoCAD or other by approval)
- TIMM 640 Digital Rendering
- TSCE 510 Performance by Design
- TSCE 545 Design Methodology
- TDAP 695 D&P Production (4 semesters)
- THST 500 Interpretive Strategies for Plays
- THST 501 Interpretive Strategies for Performance or equivalent electives.
- TWNT 600 Winter Session (every Spring that it is offered)
Via consultation with your mentor, suggested electives are offered within the School of Theater and throughout the Institute, subject to availability and permission of listed instructor.
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MFA Scene Design Specialization
Students who complete the MFA Scene Design Program will be able to:
- Display a personal artistic vision: the culmination of exploration through historical and current theory with the expressed intention of discovering new forms, theory, and means of expression.
- Develop aesthetic sophistication through studying theory across a range of disciplines (e.g. music composition, performance theory, directing, and semiotics).
- Imagine all aspects of live performance as a collaborative process through collective analysis.
- Engage in self-critique and critical thinking.
- Demonstrate a diversity of ideas through interdisciplinary and collaborative practices.
- Practice an expanded means of expression, including performance practice, model making, drafting, painting, drawing, and use of new media.
- Work authentically, originally, at risk—to navigate the complexities of working within established art making structures at the same time using their voice to create new structures.
Métier Requirements
- TSCE 505 Techniques of Design
- TSCE 510 Performance by Design
- TSCE 545 Design Methodology
- TSCE 600, 601 Special Topics in Design
- TSCE 700 Open Studio
- TSCE 750 Graduate Closure
- TIMM 640 Digital Rendering or TIMM 644 Digital Drawing
- THST 500 Interpretive Strategies for Plays
- THST 501 Interpretive Strategies for Performance or equivalent elective
- TDAP 695 D&P Production (4 semesters)
- TWNT 600 Winter Session (every Spring that it is offered)
Via consultation with your mentor, suggested electives are offered within the School of Theater and throughout the Institute, subject to availability and permission of listed instructor.
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MFA Interactive Media for Performance Specialization
Students who complete the MFA Interactive Media for Performance Specialization will be able to:
- Create generative work in live situations—including, but not limited to, performance, interactive time-based visual art, and new forms of electronically-mediated narrative.
- Display a personal artistic vision and process. Explore methods of its expression, drawing from historical and current theory, with the intention of discovering new forms, theories, and means of expression.
- Demonstrate a diversity of ideas through interdisciplinary, collaborative practices and collective analysis.
- Demonstrate an advanced skill set and means of expression, including performance practice, software, hardware, drafting, drawing, and the use of new media.
- Work authentically, originally, and at risk to navigate the complexities of working within established art making structures while simultaneously striving to create new structures.
Métier Requirements
- TVID 500, 501 Integrating Video and Live Performance (two semesters)
- TVID 600 Creating for Augmented Reality
- TVID 605 Architectural Projection
- TVID 610 Video Installation
- TVID 613 TouchDesigner
- TVID 615 Creating for Virtual Reality
- TVID 515 Motion Graphics
- THST 500 Interpretive Strategies for Plays
- THST 501 Interpretive Strategies for Performance or equivalent elective
- TIMM 650 Cinema 4D
- TIMM 651 Advanced Cinema 4D
- TVID 653 Unity Game Engine
- TVID 652 Unity Game Engine: C# Programming
- TSCE 510 Performance by Design
- TDAP 695 D&P Production (4 semesters)
- TWNT 600 Winter Session (every Spring that it is offered)
Via consultation with your mentor, suggested electives are offered within the School of Theater and throughout the Institute, subject to availability and permission of listed instructor.
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MFA Sound Design Specialization
Upon graduation, an MFA Sound Designer will be able to:
- Apply knowledge of current technology and standard practices used in sound for theater, film, and television.
- Read, edit, and create music in multiple styles.
- Analyze a script and put it in a historical and social context.
- Collaborate and communicate/explain ideas effectively and diplomatically.
- Explain aural symbolism—how sounds and musical styles generate images or impressions upon an audience.
- Invent new, unique ways of using technology to solve specific challenges.
- Demonstrate a complete command of the sound design process, including construction of a conceptual approach, creating the required drafting and paperwork, and clearly mounting designs.
Métier Requirements
- TSND 512 Research Based Sound Design
- TSND 530 Music, Sound Art, and Design
- TSND 640 Creative Listening
- TSND 665 Methodology of Sound Design
- TSND 654 Special Topics in Sound Design: Mixing for Theater
- TSND 656 Special Topics in Sound Design: Gear
- TSND 760 Professional Sound Environments
- TSND 765 Acoustic Environments for Performance
- TIMM 560 Vectorworks
- TSCE 510 Performance by Design
- TSCE 545 Design Methodology
- THST 500 Interpretive Strategies for Plays
- THST 501 Interpretive Strategies for Performance or equivalent elective
- TDAP 695 D&P Production (4 semesters)
- TWNT 600 Winter Session (every Spring that it is offered)
Via consultation with your mentor, suggested electives are offered within the School of Theater and throughout the Institute, subject to availability and permission of listed instructor.
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MFA Technical Direction Specialization
By graduation, the MFA Technical Direction student will:
- With a high degree of skill and creativity, utilize today's changing technology.
- Exhibit a level of professionalism that meets or exceeds the demands of the growing theater/entertainment industries and the field of technical direction.
- Take the lead in the creation of new art and technologies.
- Be able to respond critically and constructively, both verbally and in writing, to scripts and performances.
- Explore interdisciplinary practices and engage in multiple aspects of art making
- Demonstrate an understanding of global aesthetics and performance history.
- Work within collaborative processes, which are open, imaginative and ethically-balanced.
Métier Requirements
- TTDI 505 Advanced Stagecraft
- TTDI 510 Welding I
- TTDI 525, 526 Statistical Engineering
- TTDI 560 Technical Design
- TTDI 575 The Stagecraft of Illusion
- TTDI 500 Fundamentals of Technical Direction I
- TTDI 600 Fundamentals of Technical Direction II
- TIMM 615 AutoCAD I
- TIMM 625 AutoCAD II
- TTDI 710 Parametric Drafting
- TTDI 650 Rigging
- TDAP 695 D&P Production (4 semesters)
- THST 500 Interpretive Strategies for Plays
- THST 501 Interpretive Strategies for Performance or equivalent elective
- TWNT 600 Winter Session (every Spring that it is offered)
Via consultation with your mentor, suggested electives are offered within the School of Theater and throughout the Institute, subject to availability and permission of listed instructor.
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MFA Stage Management Specialization
Students who complete the MFA Stage Management specialization will display:
- Confidence as creative leaders who set a positive tone and energize the production process.
- The ability to foster collaboration and nourish creativity.
- The skill to communicate ideas and challenges in a way that generates creative and practical solutions.
- Master of the practical skills necessary to succeed in the professional environment.
- Mature and sophisticated interpersonal skills and a well-developed sense of self.
- Openness to new ideas and an appetite for knowledge.
Métier Requirements
- TMSM 500 Foundations of Stage Management I
- TMSM 501 Foundations of Stage Management II
- TMSM 540 Theatrical Unions
- TMSM 700 Stage Mgmt in Theory & Practice
- TMSm 701 Stage Mange(r): The Artistic Profession's Creative Leaders
- TMPR 500 Foundations of Creative Producing
- TMPR 615 The Business of Producing Performance
- TMPR 660 Contracts/Is It Legal
- TDAP 695 D&P Production (5 semesters)
- TCPM 525 Special Topics in Stage Management (5 semesters)
- TTDI 500 Fundamentals of Tech Direction I
- THST 500 Interpretive Strategies for Plays
- THST 501 Interpretive Strategies for Performance or equivalent elective
- TWNT 600 Winter Session (every Spring that it is offered)
Via consultation with your mentor, suggested electives are offered within the School of Theater and throughout the Institute, subject to availability and permission of listed instructor.
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MFA Production Management Specialization
Students who complete the MFA Production Management specialization will:
- Be well adapted, highly motivated individuals with a solid foundation of values, principles and philosophies.
- Have a well-developed sense of self and be able to appreciate who they are as individuals and how they interact with peers and colleagues.
- Understand how to foster collaboration and communication skills, both verbal and written.
- Understand the fundamentals necessary to "read people" and develop a modality of "engaging" to achieve the best relationship.
- Possess the skills and the flexibility to work in a wide range of disciplines, with an awareness of the field, aesthetically, politically, and globally.
- Be imbued with an understanding of the ideas and practices of leadership and management and be able to fully engage as managers in the entertainment industry in general and in project management specifically.
- Be able identify, anticipate, and take steps to prevent problems and identify possible solutions to challenges that may exist.
- Develop the technical knowledge necessary to manage a technical process with artists and craftspeople
Métier Requirements
- TTDI 500 Fundamentals of Technical Direction I
- TMPR 550 Contracts
- TMPM 635 Production Budgeting or TMPR 615 Business of Theater
- TMPR 660 Is it Legal? Law for the Arts or TMSM 540 Theatrical Unions
- THST 500 Interpretive Strategies for Plays
- THST 501 Interpretive Strategies for Performance or equivilant elective
- TMPM 798 Graduate Internship (may replace 1 semester of TCPM 695)
- TWNT 600 Winter Session (every Spring that it is offered)
- minimum 2 Technical Direction courses
Via consultation with your mentor, suggested electives are offered within the School of Theater and throughout the Institute, subject to availability and permission of listed instructor.
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MFA Producing Specialization
Students who complete the MFA Producing specialization will:
- Demonstrate mature and increasingly sophisticated leadership skills, while growing in self-awareness of their own strengths and weaknesses.
- Possess necessary practical skills, such as budgeting, marketing, grant writing, contracts and negotiation, public speaking, and facilitation.
- Exhibit creative and independent thinking, problem-solving, and use of resources.
- Have the ability to extrapolate linear information from non-linear circumstances.
- Have experienced a variety of aesthetic and practical approaches that challenge and expand their awareness of the infinite possibilities and permutations of theater making.
- Demonstrate an evolved personal aesthetic and an avid interest in new artists, audiences, and methodologies.
Métier Requirements
- TMPR 500 Foundations of Creative Producing
- TMPR 510 Arts Marketing
- TMPR 550 Contracts
- TMPR 615 Business of Theater
- TMPR 630 Grant Writing and Fundraising
- TMPR 660 Is it Legal? Law for the Arts
- TMPR 798 Graduate Internship
- TMPR 799 Independent Study: Thesis Project
- TCPM 650 Creative Producing Studio (2 semesters)
- TDAP 695 D&P Production (5 semesters)
- TMSM 540 Theatrical Unions
- THST 500 Interpretive Strategies for Plays
- THST 501 Interpretive Strategies for Performance or equivalent elective
- TWNT 600 Winter Session (every spring that it is offered)
Via consultation with your mentor, suggested electives are offered within the School of Theater and throughout the Institute, subject to availability and permission of listed instructor.
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