Bulletin--Theatre Arts Program

Theatre Arts

College of Creative Arts
Dean: Keith Morrison

Department of Theatre Arts
CA 103
415-338-1342
Chair: Joel Schechter
Undergraduate Adviser: C. Baron
Graduate Coordinator: M. Kowsar

Faculty

Professors—Eilenberg, Hampton, Howard, Hunt, Mahler, Schechter, Segrin, Sinkkonen

Associate Professors—Goto, Kowsar, Peters

Assistant Professors—Baron, Conboy, Washington

Programs

B.A. in Drama

Minor in Drama

M.A. in Drama

M.F.A. in Theatre Arts: Concentration in Design/Technical Production

M.F.A. in Theatre Arts: Concentration in Performance

Program Scope

The Department of Theatre Arts offers a comprehensive program of both practical and theoretical courses for undergraduate and graduate students whose interests center in various aspects of educational and professional theatre.

The curricula provide the student with background for advanced study in the dramatic arts, for teaching, or for a career in the professional theatre. As a center for the training of future theatre artists and audiences, the department is committed to introducing a divertsity of theatrical traditions and cultures to students. To this end, the department employs its four theatre spaces as learning laboratories, in which students collaborate with faculty and guest professionals; studio workshops and advanced stage productions in those theatres are the culmination of classroom study and rehearsal in and out of class.

The faculty members also often collaborate off-campus with area theatres, in ways that enlarge their experience and open new connections between students and the community. This contact with the community offers students an education grounded in practical professional stage practices as well as university classes and production on campus.

The diverse backgrounds of both faculty and students in the program provide our campus and community with a wealth of theatrical experiences and attractions. Graduates of the program have gone on to professional success in the Bay Area and elsewhere, with positions of leadership in theatre, television, film, and theatre education.

Fundamental to the major program is a core of required courses designed to develop understanding of essentials necessary as a foundation upon which to elect, upon advisement, one of the following areas of emphasis: acting, directing, general theatre arts, lyric theatre, technical theatre/design, or drama education.

The minor program is not a requirement for any credential or degree but it is intended to give the student an opportunity to pursue an interest in theatre arts on an organized basis.

The Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) in Theatre Arts is offered with concentrations in Performance and Design/Technical Production. The three-year Master of Fine Arts program is designed to provide rigorous, professional graduate training to prepare students for careers as professional theatre artists or artist teachers. In the performance concentration, students develop specialized skills in either or both emphases of acting and directing while in the design/technical production concentration the focus is on specialized skills in the areas of scene design, costume design, lighting design, and/or technical production management.

The M.F.A. program is organized to combine the elements of professional practice and scholarly work to project a production concept through a specific discipline. The philosophy of the curriculum is based on two necessities of the theatrical art: collaboration and discipline. Students progress through a full-time sequence of courses which trains them to work with other specialized theatre artists in realizing a total work of theatre, as well as to excel in their own chosen arts. The program is designed to develop the candidate's practical skills and personal strengths towards motivating communication, commitment, and support among the production group.

The Master of Arts in Drama provides for students wishing to expand their knowledge and increase their competence in the fields of history and literature of the theatre, acting, directing, theatre design, and production; seeking teaching credentials where the master's degree is required; and preparing for further graduate work elsewhere.

Facilities

The Department of Theatre Arts produces its plays in four theatre spaces: McKenna Theatre, a large auditorium that seats 760 spectators; the Little Theatre, a proscenium stage with seats for 250 people; the Studio Theatre, a space that seats 90 spectators; and the Brown Bag Theatre, which accommodates 55 spectators.

Theatre Arts classes and production work are also conducted, with professional supervision, in our Scene Shop, Costume Shop, Properties Shop, and Sound Design Laboratory. Some plays have also been staged outdoors, in front of the Student Center, with lighting provided by the California sun.

Career Outlook

Career opportunities in theatre arts include performance and technical positions in professional, regional, and community theatres, as well as the areas of film and television, for actor, director, stage manager, designer (lighting, costume, scenery), craftsperson (seamstress, carpenter, props artisan). Teaching positions range from child drama programs to elementary and high school theatre classes through community college and university curricula in all aspects of the dramatic arts. Other career possibilities include such diverse fields as sales, advertising, design (interior, fashion, display), child care, and recreation.

BACHELOR OF ARTS IN DRAMA

Courses for this discipline are listed in alphabetical sequence (see Theatre Arts discipline in the Announcement of Courses section).

The core consists of the twenty-three units listed below while the area of emphasis consists of twenty-two units of required and elective courses. No fewer than twelve units, planned with and approved by an assigned adviser, must be taken in residence study.

Core Courses					Units
TH A 130	Acting Workshop I		 3
TH A 310	Stage Scenery and Properties	 2
TH A 313	Stage Lighting and Sound	 2
TH A 315	Theatre Production 
		Laboratory (1)			 2
TH A 340	Principles of Directing		 3
TH A 401	Theatre Backgrounds: 
		500 BC-1642*			 3
TH A 402	Theatre Backgrounds: 1642-1900*	 3
TH A 403	Theatre Backgrounds: 1900-
		Present*			 3
TH A 515	Organization for Production	 2
Area of Emphasis				22
		Total**				45

Areas of Emphasis

Acting
TH A 125	Movement I: Skills		 3
TH A 223	Voice I: Skills			 3
TH A 230	Acting Workshop II		 3
TH A 312	Costuming and Make-up		 2
TH A 315	Theatre Production: Technical 
		Crew				 1
TH A 330	Acting Workshop III		 3
TH A 423	Voice II: Styles		 3
TH A 430	Acting Workshop IV		 3
Unit by advisement				 1
		Total				22

Directing
TH A 210	Introduction to Design for Stage 
		and Screen			 3
TH A 230	Acting Workshop II		 3
TH A 240	Evaluating the Theatrical Script 
		for Production			 3
TH A 412	History of Stage Costume	 3
TH A 440	Acting/Directing Workshop	 3
TH A 531	Styles of Acting		 3
TH A 640	Directing: Collaborative 
		Concepts			 3
Unit by advisement				 1
		Total				22

General Theatre
TH A 223	Voice I: Skills			 3
TH A 312	Costuming and Make-up		 2
TH A 315	Theatre Production: Technical 
		Crew				 1
TH A 519	Theatre Management		 3
Units by advisement				13
		Total				22

Lyric Theatre

Twenty-two units of Theatre Arts on advisement. 
In addition, students are encouraged to take 
appropriate courses in music.

Technical Theatre/Design
TH A 210	Introduction to Design for Stage 
		and Screen			 3
TH A 312	Costuming and Make-up		 2
TH A 315	Theatre Production: Technical 
		Crew				 1
TH A 505	Historical Styles for the 
		Theatre				 3
Units chosen from the following:		 9
	TH A 410	Scene Design for Stage 
			and Screen
	TH A 412	History of Stage Costume
	TH A 413	Stage Lighting Design
	TH A 415	Sound Design in Theatre
	TH A 510	Advanced Stagecraft
Units by advisement				 4
		Total				22

Drama Education
The department offers the Bachelor of Arts in 
Drama with an emphasis in Drama Education. This 
program is intended for those who wish to 
pursue the Single-Subject Credential in English 
with a drama emphasis. Students who are con-
sidering teaching drama should consult a Theatre 
Arts adviser before planning their majors. 
Specific courses and a competency assessment 
are required for admission to the credential 
program in this area. For additional informa-
tion, consult the Credentials Program Bulletin, 
and contact the Student Services Office in BH 130.

*If a candidate has previously been credited with an appropriate equivalent course, either TH A 412 or 505 may be substituted with approval by an assigned adviser.

**The exception is the major in drama education, which requires a minimum of 48 units in English and Drama as approved for the Single Subject Credential in English with a drama emphasis.

MINOR IN DRAMA

A minimum of twenty-two units, of which at least eleven must be at the upper division level, should be planned with an assigned adviser.

MASTER OF FINE ARTS IN THEATRE ARTS

Graduate Advisers—Eilenberg, Goto, Hampton, Howard, Hunt, Kowsar, Sinkkonen

Admission to the Program

Applications for classified status in the M.F.A. program are accepted beginning November 1 of the preceding year, for admission the following Fall. Applicants are required to file two applications, one to the university and one to the Theatre Arts Department. Admission to classified status requires acceptance by both the university and the Department of Theatre Arts. Audition notice and the departmental application form may be obtained by writing to: Department of Theatre Arts, Graduate Secretary, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, California 94132.

Written English Proficiency Requirement

Level One: evaluation of graduate student's statement of purpose, which is a written requirement for admission to classified standing in the Theatre Arts Department. On the basis of this material the graduate coordinator may properly advise a student on the need to obtain additional skills in writing. If remedial work is required it is so indicated as a condition to classification. Level Two: judged by a graduate student's written work while enrolled in TH A 701 or 709. It is expected that papers written for this course will demonstrate scholarly style.

Completion of the Degree

To complete the M.F.A., students must satisfy all university and Department of Theatre Arts requirements. The university requirements are described in the Graduate Education section of this Bulletin. Department requirements are provided in detail by the M.F.A. graduate coordinator and M.F.A. concentration advisers. In addition to satisfactory completion of the course requirements, the department requires satisfactory performance on yearly departmental reviews, participation in the department's production program, and the successful completion of a final creative project or thesis. The Department of Theatre Arts accepts a limited number of transfer units on a course-by-course basis, only on advisement.

Master of Fine Arts in Theatre Arts: Concentration in Performance

Admission to the M.F.A. with Concentration in Performance has been suspended temporarily due to budget reductions and no new students are being admitted into it. Contact the department for further information.

Master of Fine Arts in Theatre Arts: Concentration in Design/Technical Production

For general information on the degree, see "Master of Fine Arts in Theatre Arts."

Core Requirements				Units
TH A 705	Seminar: Performance and 
		Production Theory		 3
TH A 711	Collaborative Processes in 
		Theatre				 3
TH A 740	Play Production Concepts	 3
TH A 757	Internship in Theatre		 3
TH A 894	Creative Work Project		 3
		Total for core			15
Concentration
One of the following:				 3
	TH A 701	Seminar: Theatre History 
			and Historiography
	TH A 702	Seminar: Shakespearean 
			Production Style
	TH A 710	Seminar in Stage Arts
TH A 750	Design Studio			 9
TH A 810	Advanced Practicum in Theatre	 9
Electives on advisement				24
		Total for concentration		45
		Total for degree		60

MASTER OF ARTS IN DRAMA

Graduate Advisers—Eilenberg, Kowsar

Admission to Program

Applicants should submit the following directly to the graduate coordinator: (1) statement of purpose (include proposed area and/or areas of emphasis); (2) copy of transcript; (3) three letters of reference from people who know the applicant's theatre work; and (4) information considered important but which does not appear on the transcript.

Students must meet university departmental requirements, and must normally have completed an undergraduate major in Theatre Arts. Consideration is given to students with a strong undergraduate minor or other relevant work. Admission to the program is based on the Theatre Arts Graduate Committee's evaluation of a student's previous work and supportive materials.

Written English Proficiency Requirements

Level One: evaluation of graduate student's statement of purpose, which is a written requirement for admission to classified standing in the Theatre Arts Department. On the basis of this material the graduate coordinator may properly advise a student on the need to obtain additional skills in writing. If remedial work is required it is so indicated as a condition to classification. Level Two: judged by a graduate student's written work while enrolled in TH A 701. It is expected that papers written for this course will demonstrate scholarly style.

Advancement to Candidacy

Besides meeting all general requirements, a diagnostic examination on the entire field of drama may be given at the time of registration to aid the graduate adviser in developing each student's program. Weaknesses in any area may necessitate enrollment in specified courses selected in order to build strength in the area. Such courses are usually taken in addition to the minimum number of units required for completion of the graduate major.

Program