Spring 2021
Check out these fun classes we have listed for next semester!
Registration opens October 27th for Honors students, then the calendar is based on your earned credits. Check out the details here. Log in to e-services to register. Schedule of Classes here.
Devised Theatre Project with Dr. T (R&P 252, 352, 452)
A community-engaged collaboration for R&P credit 1-5. We will create a devised piece of theatre to explore the relationship of community to law enforcement, policing and social justice using the lens of lives lost and the Black Lives Matter Movement both in RVA and beyond. How does whiteness, white privilege and white supremacy and its formative historic context within the American cultural continuum play into the foundational history of Policing/Law Enforcement/Justice in the United States.
Children’s Theatre with Laine Wagner (THEA 491)
This course offers a deep dive into the industry of Children’s Theatre. Students will learn how to create effective lesson plans, present engaging performances for youth, and develop assemblies and workshops that could be brought directly into any school system. The objective of this course is to create confident, engaging, and passionate teaching artists.
Casting with Anne Chapman (THEA 491)
The other side of the table can seem unnerving. We will demystify the casting process and learn how casting directors go about matching actor with role while navigating the creative needs of the director and the practical needs of the production. From the early pioneers of casting to breaking down a script and finding the hidden gems to making offers you will have a chance to investigate all aspects of the art and craft of casting. Your own tastes and standards will become apparent allowing you to understand just how subjective casting can be.
Devised Theatre with Raja Benz (THEA 491)
Devised theatre is the collective creation of a theatre piece. Devised theatre happens when a team of artists work together to create the show together. Gone are the days of the entire production working in service of the director! This course is open to all areas of concentration (Yes, technicians are part of the devising team too!) Special concentration will be given to the ways devised theatre methods highlight underrepresented voices in the theatre. Ultimately, the course will culminate in the creation of a short devised piece created by the students in the class.
Stage Combat with Rebecca Johnson (THEA 210)
An introduction to the techniques and performance of unarmed and armed stage combat sequences for the stage.
Synesthesia (ARTS 460) Tuesdays 5:10-7:30, 2 Credits
Instructors:
Lea Marshall, Associate Chair of VCU Dance, (MFA-Creative Writing)
Judith Steel, Associate Professor, VCU Dance
plus Special Guests!
Open to undergraduate students in VCUarts and ENGL Creative Writing majors. Students from other majors will be considered; mainly, they should have an active creative practice. The class will start virtually over Zoom, Hybrid/in-person meetings TBD in Dance Center Basement Studio.
Description:
Synesthesia: from the ancient Greek σύν (syn), “together,” and αἴσθησις (aisthēsis), “sensation,”a sensation produced in one modality when a stimulus is applied to another modality, as when the hearing of a certain sound induces the visualization of a certain color.
This course will investigate and reveal commonalities in the creative process for choreographers, visual artists, and writers. Ideas to be explored include the ways in which creative work embodies its own essence and meaning; and the ways in which that essence and meaning is experienced by creators and viewers. Students will be exposed to a wide range of thinking on the creative process through readings, films, and lecture. Students will engage in cognitive and embodied exercises across disciplines, and complete creative assignments that will bridge disciplines. Students will workshop their creative endeavors together.
If you have questions or issues, please contact Lea Marshall lemarshall@vcu.edu