Department of Theatre

NOTE: This document was generated from the 1995-1997 UIUC Programs of Study. Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, but be advised that requirements may have changed since this book was published. Errors may have also been introduced in the conversion to a WWW document. Thus for items of importance, it might be wise to seek confrmation in the paper version or from a live human being.

4-122 Krannert Center for the Performing Arts
500 South Goodwin Avenue
Urbana, IL 61801
(217) 333-2371

The curricular options in the Department of Theatre provide intensive and extensive preparation for the rigorous demands of a professional career in the theatre. A strong commitment to work in the theatre and a realistic understanding of its intellectual, aesthetic, and physical demands is therefore necessary in students who enter the department.

Before acceptance in the undergraduate programs in theatre, applicants must participate in one of several preadmission workshops, which take place at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts five or more weekends each year, and at selected regional locations (normally, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles). In these workshops, applicants who ultimately plan to pursue the curriculum in acting in their junior year should present a four-minute audition, comprised of two contrasting works from dramatic literature. Applicants who ultimately wish to pursue a curriculum in design, technology, or management should present a portfolio of previous theatre work. Applicants who intend to pursue the performance studies curriculum should also bring a portfolio of their previous theatre work, an original two-page script written specifically for the workshop, and any other written work that reflects the student's interests and accomplishments. Information on these workshops will be sent to applicants once their admissibility to the University has been determined by the Office of Admissions and Records.

Three curricula are offered in theatre: (1) the Professional Studio in Acting, (2) the Performance Studies Curriculum, and (3) the Division of Design Technology and Manangement, which has specialized options in scene design, costume design and construction, theatre technology and lighting, and stage management. Students are formally admitted to these curricula only after an evaluation by the faculty during the students' second year. The programs in acting and theatre design, technology, and management are intended for students who, in the judgement of the faculty, are ready to concentrate in these specialties in an intensive undergraduate professional training curriculum. The performance studies curriculum is intended for students who plan to pursue advanced training in theatre history, criticism, directing, and playwriting.

The Department of Theatre sponsors the Illinois Repertory Theatre, which is one of the resident producing organizations of the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. Illinois Repertory Theatre produces eight fully mounted productions each academic year and three each summer. The theatres and workshops of the Krannert Center serve as laboratories for theatre students, who have the opportunity to learn and to work alongside an outstanding staff of resident theatre professionals and visiting artists, preparing performances in theatre, opera, and dance. In addition, the department sponsors a small experimental theatre space for student-directed productions.

All theatre majors must successfully complete five production crew assignments at the Krannert Center under the THEAT 100--Practicum, I. Acting and performance studies students cast in Krannert Center productions may receive additional credit for their roles under THEAT 300--Practicum, II. Design, technology, and management students may receive credit for additional production duties at the Krannert Center under THEAT 300--Practicum, II. Students seeking credit for practical theatre work outside the Krannert Center must secure the approval and supervision of theatre faculty in the form of an Undergraduate Open Seminar (THEAT 199) or an Individual Project (THEAT 291 or THEAT 292).

CURRICULA IN THEATRE

For the Degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre

A minimum of 128 hours of credit is required for the degree.
First year
HOURS FIRST SEMESTER
2 THEAT 120--Basic Theatre Practice: Scenecraft
2 THEAT 121--Basic Theatre Practice: Costume Design and Technology
3 THEAT 170--Fundamentals of Acting
3 THEAT 178--The Arts of Theatre
4 RHET 105 or RHET 108--Composition I
3 General education
17 Total
HOURS SECOND SEMESTER
3 THEAT 109--Dramatic Analysis
2 THEAT 122--Basic Theatre Practice: Lighting
2 THEAT 123--Basic Theatre Practice: Makeup
3 THEAT 175--Improvization in Acting, or THEAT 125--Graphic Skills
6 General education
16 Total

PROFESSIONAL STUDIO in ACTING

The acting program provides intensive training in a wide variety of performing media. In the first and second years, students take introductory courses in movement, voice, and acting. Near the end of their second year of study in the department, students must audition for acceptance into the professional studio in acting. In addition to successful completion of all classes in their first and second years, acceptance will be based on an evaluation of each student's potential for professional-caliber performance, commitment to theatre, and the necessary discipline for intensive study. Third- and fourth-year students meet in daily four-hour sessions, each of which includes sections in dynamics, voice and speech, movement, and acting. Semester-long acting sections include advanced scene study, musical theatre, Shakespeare, and acting for the camera. Students in the professional studio in acting must audition for Illinois Repertory Theatre productions and perform one role each semester if cast.
48
HOURS GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
4 Composition I
Composition II (fulfilled by THEAT 110)
3 Quantitative reasoning
General education
6 Humanities and the arts
6 Natural sciences and technology
6 Social and behavioral sciences
12 General electives
11 General and/or professional electives
Total
HOURS REQUIRED THEATRE CREDITS
20 Required first-year theatre courses
5 THEAT 100--Practicum, I
3 THEAT 110--Literature of the Modern Theatre
3 THEAT 176--Relationships in Acting
3 THEAT 177--Acting: The Author, the Play, and the Role
2 THEAT 179--Acting: Voice
2 THEAT 182--Acting: Movement
8 THEAT 253--Acting Studio, I
8 THEAT 254--Acting Studio, II
8 THEAT 255--Acting Studio, III
8 THEAT 256--Acting Studio, IV
2 THEAT 300--Practicum, II
4 THEAT 361--Development of Theatrical Forms, I
4 THEAT 362--Development of Theatrical Forms, II
80 Total

DIVISION OF DESIGN, TECHNOLOGY, AND MANAGEMENT

Students planning careers in professional theatre audio design, costume design, costume construction, lighting design, scene design, stage and theatre management, and theatre technology are selected for the options in this division by a process of faculty evaluation in their second year of study in the department. Criteria for acceptance and continuance in these options include satisfactory completion of all course work in the first and second years, potential for professional-caliber work, commitment to theatre, and the necessary discipline for intensive study and practice. Students in these options are assigned to teams that design, mount, and manage more than twenty productions annually in the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.
HOURS GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
4 Composition I
Composition II (fulfilled by THEAT 110)
3 Quantitative reasoning
General education
6 Humanities and the arts
6 Natural sciences and technology
6 Social and behavioral sciences
12 General electives
8-9 General and/or professional electives
45-46 Total
Costume Design and Construction Option
HOURS REQUIRED THEATRE CREDITS
20 Required first-year theatre courses
5 THEAT 100--Practicum, I
3 THEAT 110--Literature of the Modern Theatre
3 THEAT 225--Scene Design, I
6 THEAT 227--Senior Projects in Design, I
6 THEAT 228--Senior Projects in Design, II
3 THEAT 231--Introduction to Stage Lighting
3 THEAT 242--Introduction to Costuming
3 THEAT 336--History of Scene Design
3 THEAT 342--Costume Patterning
4 THEAT 343--Costume Draping
4 THEAT 345--Costume History for the Stage, I
4 THEAT 346--Costume History for the Stage, II
3 THEAT 347--Costume Rendering
4 THEAT 348--Costume Fabrication
4 THEAT 361--Development of Theatrical Forms, I
4 THEAT 362--Development of Theatrical Forms, II
82 Total
Scene Design Option
HOURS REQUIRED THEATRE CREDITS
20 Required first-year theatre courses
5 THEAT 100--Practicum, I
3 THEAT 110--Literature of the Modern Theatre
4 THEAT 223--Stage Mechanics, I
3 THEAT 225--Scene Design, I
3 THEAT 231--Introduction to Stage Lighting
3 THEAT 233--Stage Drafting
4 THEAT 325A--Advanced Scene Design, I
4 THEAT 325B--Advanced Scene Design, I
4 THEAT 326A--Advanced Scene Design, II
4 THEAT 326B--Advanced Scene Design, II
3 THEAT 336--History of Scene Design
2 THEAT 337--Scene Painting Techniques
2 THEAT 338--Rendering Techniques for the Stage
2 THEAT 339--Property Management and Design
4 THEAT 345--Costume History for the Stage, I
4 THEAT 346--Costume History for the Stage, II
4 THEAT 361--Development of Theatrical Forms, I
4 THEAT 362--Development of Theatrical Forms, II
82 Total
Stage Management Option
HOURS REQUIRED THEATRE CREDITS
20 Required first-year theatre courses
5 THEAT 100--Practicum, I
3 THEAT 110--Literature of the Modern Theatre
3 THEAT 199--Undergraduate Open Seminar: Management
3 THEAT 225--Scene Design, I
3 THEAT 230--Technical Direction
3 THEAT 231--Introduction to Stage Lighting
3 THEAT 281--Directing: Script Preparation
10 THEAT 300--Practicum, II
4 THEAT 332--Stage Management
4 THEAT 345--Costume History for the Stage, I
4 THEAT 346--Costume History for the Stage, II
3 THEAT 355--History and Development of American Musical Theatre, I
3 THEAT 356--History and Development of American Musical Theatre, II
4 THEAT 361--Development of Theatrical Forms, I
4 THEAT 362--Development of Theatrical Forms, II
3 THEAT 372--Introduction to Theatre Management
82 Total
Theatre Technology and Lighting oPtion
HOURS REQUIRED THEATRE CREDITS
20 Required first-year theatre courses
5 THEAT 100--Practicum, I
3 THEAT 110--Literature of the Modern Theatre
4 THEAT 223--Stage Mechanics, I
3 THEAT 225--Scene Design, I
3 THEAT 230--Technical Direction
3 THEAT 231--Introduction to Stage Lighting
3 THEAT 232--Advanced Stage Lighting
4 THEAT 233--Stage Drafting, I
3 THEAT 330--Theatre Sound Technology
4 THEAT 332--Stage Management
2 THEAT 337--Scene Painting Techniques
4 THEAT 346--Costume History for the Stage, II
4 THEAT 361--Development of Theatrical Forms, I
4 THEAT 362--Development of Theatrical Forms, II
13 All courses from one of the concentrations below:
TECHNOLOGY CONCENTRATION
4 THEAT 224--Stage Mechanics, II
4 THEAT 323--Stage Mechanics, III
3 THEAT 331--Sound Design
3 THEAT 339--Property Management and Design
LIGHTING CONCENTRATION
3 THEAT 334--Video Lighting and Production
3 THEAT 335--Lighting for the Musical Stage
4 THEAT 340--Lighting Design for Dance
3 THEAT 341--Sketching for Lighting Design
82-83 Total

PERFORMANCE STUDIES CURRICULUM

The performance studies curriculum provides professional training in areas of theatre and related studies for which further advanced training or experience is necessary. The performance studies curriculum is intended to lay the groundwork for students planning to pursue professional careers in such areas as theatre history and criticism, directing, playwriting, and dramaturgy--areas in which a specialization at the graduate level is normally required. The performance studies curriculum provides both a working knowledge of a wide range of performance arts and a proficiency in research and writing skills associated with theatrical production and scholarship. Primary emphasis is given to students gaining a comprehensive knowledge of the drama and performance practices of the past and an understanding of current practice.

After successful completion of the second year of study, students are admitted into the performance studies curriculum after a review of their work by the performance studies curriculum committee. Requirements include residence at the University during the last sixty hours of the program.
HOURS GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
4 Composition I
Composition II (fulfilled by THEAT 110)
3 Quantitative reasoning
General education
6 Humanities and the arts
6 Natural sciences and technology
6 Social and behavioral sciences
15 General electives
20 General or professional electives (12 hours must be chosen from a list of approved supporting professional electives.*)
60 Total
HOURS REQUIRED THEATRE CREDITS
20 Required first-year theatre courses
5 THEAT 100--Practicum, I
3 THEAT 110--Literature of the Modern Theatre
3 THEAT 176--Relationships in Acting, or THEAT 180--Oral Interpretation
3 THEAT 199--Playwriting
3 THEAT 281--Directing: Script Preparation
2 THEAT 291--Individual Topics
2 THEAT 292--Individual Topics
4 THEAT 332--Stage Management
3 One course to be chosen from:
THEAT 225--Scene Design, I
THEAT 231--Introduction to Stage Lighting
THEAT 336--History of Scene Design
THEAT 346--Costume Design for the Stage, II
4 THEAT 361--Development of Theatrical Forms, I
4 THEAT 362--Development of Theatrical Forms, II
6 Two courses to be chosen from:
THEAT 351--History of Theatre in Western Society, I
THEAT 352--History of Theatre in Western Society, II
THEAT 355--History of the American Musical Theatre, I
THEAT 356--History of the American Musical Theatre, II
THEAT 365--History of the American Theatre
THEAT 371--Contemporary Theatrical Forms
3 THEAT 372--Theatre Management
3 One course to be chosen from:
THEAT 353--Creative Dramatics
THEAT 354--Theatre for the Child Audience
THEAT 375--Acting: Rehearsal Techniques
THEAT 376--Oral Interpretation of Fiction
THEAT 381--Directing: Rehearsal
68 Total


footnote *Supporting professional electives are approved by the performance studies curriculum committee. An up-to-date list of approved courses is on file in the Department of Theatre office. Currently approved supporting professional electives include the following courses:

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