FACULTY:
Shirley Huston-Findley, Chair
Emily Baird
Naoko Skala
Theatre and Dance, as studied at The College of Wooster, emphasizes the relationship between scholarship, artistry, and advocacy through an investigation of the range and depth of the human experience in our coursework and stage productions. In this world, the artist/scholar must be an advocate for the arts, as well as contribute to a movement for social justice and activism through artistic expression. The Department of Theatre and Dance is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive learning environment and equitable opportunities for the Wooster community. Similarly, the department’s productions reflect a commitment to sustainability.
The Theatre and Dance Major and Minor curricula offer a broad range of knowledge designed to examine acting, directing, dance, design, technology, management, history, literature, playwriting, theory, and artistic activism and social justice focusing in each area on the importance of analyzing texts in their various modes: written, visual, and physical.
While the Theatre and Dance student may choose to specialize in one of these areas of the discipline for their Senior Independent Study, the departmental philosophy remains dedicated to the liberal arts belief in developing, through its interdisciplinary curricular structure, a combination of historical and critical analysis in relationship to the study of various performance texts, resulting in the creation of the artist/scholar/advocate.
The Theatre and Dance major consists of a minimum of 12 course credits: three 100 level foundational courses focusing on the understanding of text from a variety of perspectives; one 200 level course focused on artisan and tradecraft skills; three 200 level history/literature/theory/criticism courses; three 300 level Topics courses; and two semesters of Senior Independent Study. The Topics courses and Senior Independent Study allow students to establish an area of emphasis in Theatre and Dance, including directing, design, technology, acting, devising, choreography, playwriting, history and theory.
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