Theatre Performance
Department: Communication & Theatre Arts
Professional Training and Professional Theatre
Pedagogy: At Juniata, we train students to be creatorsof theatre as well as interpreters
of existing plays. Theatre Performance POE’s will graduate with a strong facility
in many different areas of work, including theatre history, performance of classical
and modern texts, contemporary and avant-garde texts, original pieces that they create,
musical theatre, circus techniques, and avast array of movement techniques designed
to create whole and versatile performers.
Faculty:
Professor Neal Utterback
Jessie Sullivan, Technical Director Mentorship/Training
Students are mentored in many different skill based areas, including professional
development. Students create web presences for themselves, headshots and resumes,
and reels, and are steered toward professional internships early in their college
careers, so that they begin their professional connections early.
These connections and training are fostered by Juniata Visiting Artists Collective; Juniata’s rotating faculty of professional teaching artists from major metropolitan
areas across the USA and Canada. This company of professionals, along with Professors
Clarke and Utterback, make up the faculty for our Performance POE. These guest artists
teach intensive courses throughout the year in specialized areas of expertise.
Outcome: It is the intention that our Theatre Performance students graduate with
a strong sense of who they are as artists, and a strong toolbox of performing skills
to take into the professional world.
Required courses (28 credits)
| Course Number | Title | Credits | Prerequisites | Dist. | Skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TH 170 | Performance Lab Fundamentals |
2
|
F
|
CS
|
|
| TH 171 | Performance Lab Fundamentals |
2
|
F
|
CS
|
|
| TH 221 | Acting |
3
|
F
|
CS
|
|
| TH 321 | Contemporary Scene Study |
3
|
TH 221 |
F
|
CS
|
| TH 324 | Performing Shakespeare |
3
|
TH 221 |
F
|
CS
|
| TH 223 | Auditioning |
3
|
TH 221 |
F
|
CS
|
| TH 323 | Modern Drama Scene Study |
3
|
TH 221, TH 321 |
F
|
CS
|
| TH 240 | Voice and Speech I |
3
|
F
|
CS
|
|
| TH 210 | Living Theatre History |
3
|
H
|
CW
|
|
| TH 310 | 20th Century Innovations |
3
|
TH 210 |
H
|
CW
|
Select ONE of the following elective courses (3 credits)
| Course Number | Title | Credits | Prerequisites | Dist. | Skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TH 222 | Musical Theatre Scene Study |
3
|
audition |
F
|
CS
|
| TH 260 | Movement and Conditioning |
3
|
permission |
F
|
CS
|
| TH 322 | Contemporary Scene Study: Non-Naturalistic |
3
|
TH 221, TH 321 |
F
|
CS
|
Must take 5 semesters of Performance Lab (10 credits)
| Course Number | Title | Credits | Prerequisites | Dist. | Skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TH 270 | Performance Lab |
2
|
TH 170 |
F
|
CS
|
| TH 271 | Performance Lab |
2
|
TH 170 |
F
|
CS
|
| TH 370 | Performance Lab |
2
|
TH 170 |
F
|
CS
|
| TH 371 | Performance Lab |
2
|
TH 170 |
F
|
CS
|
| TH 470 | Performance Lab |
2
|
TH 170 |
F
|
|
| TH 471 | Performance Lab |
2
|
TH 170 |
F
|
This class is scheduled three (P.Lab; T, W, Th) days a week for two hours a day. All Performance POE students will be advised to enroll in this Lab every semester that they are enrolled in the POE. When the Gravity Partners professional artists are on campus, they will teach with Professor Clarke in this lab.
Each year will be slightly different, with a core group of regular teachers who come every year, mixed with others from various disciplines across the performing arts landscape. Each year’s training is carefully scheduled and designed to offer a rounded approach to professional performance.Among the topics covered in Performance Lab:
Chicago Style Comedy Improvisation
Skinner Releasing Technique and Open Source Forms
New Work development and playwriting
Trapeze
Dance Improvisation
Viewpoints
Suzuki Training
Corporeal Mime
Mask
Commedia Dell’arte
Feldenkrias Technique
Contact Improvisation
Character Development and creation
Speech and Dialect work
Professional development and auditioning
Interview Theatre
Must take a minimum of 9 credits of Professional Intensive Training 6 Intensives (9 credits minimum)
| Course Number | Title | Credits | Prerequisites | Dist. | Skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TH 398 | Professional Intensive Training (repeatable) |
1-3
|
permission |
F
|
CS
|
The schedule for the coursework is intentionally brief, but very intense (4 hours a day minimum). Some of these intensives may be taught with more than one artist from the Gravity Partners, combining skill sets, or possibly, with one artist who might have a opportunity to delve even more deeply into a certain subject with serious students. Areas of study include:
Shakespeare “Boot Camp”
Chekhov “Boot Camp”
Acting for the Camera
Fitzmaurice Voice Training
Low Flying Trapeze and Skinner Releasing
Viewpoints
Professional Development Symposium
Lighting Design
Scenic Painting
Must take 9 credits of Theatre Arts Practicum minimum
| Course Number | Title | Credits | Prerequisites | Dist. | Skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TH 180 | Theatre Arts Practicum |
1 - 3
|
FH
|
||
| TH 181 | Theatre Arts Practicum |
1 - 3
|
FH
|
||
| TH 280 | Theatre Arts Practicum |
1 - 3
|
FH
|
||
| TH 281 | Theatre Arts Practicum |
1 - 3
|
FH
|
||
| TH 380 | Theatre Arts Practicum |
1 - 3
|
FH
|
||
| TH 381 | Theatre Arts Practicum |
1 - 3
|
FH
|
||
| TH 480 | Theatre Arts Practicum |
1 - 3
|
FH
|
||
| TH 481 | Theatre Arts Practicum |
1 - 3
|
FH
|
Total credit hours = 59
Upper level credit hours (>300): 25 minimum
One CW within the POE: TH 310
updated 7.13