Theatre and Dance
[ Graduate Program] [ Professors] [ Courses]
OFFICE: 202 Galbraith Hall, Revelle College
(858) 534-3791
http://theatre.ucsd.edu
The Undergraduate Program
The curriculum of the Department of Theatre and Dance is based on the belief that a good undergraduate education in theatre or dance should provide the student with a solid background in dramatic literature and the aesthetics and history of theatrical performance as well as exposure to the different artistic components of theatrical art—performance, playwriting, design, and choreography.
In addition to providing an integrated program for students desiring a theatre or dance major, the curriculum provides a sequence of courses to fulfill the fine arts and/or humanities requirements for Muir College; courses fulfilling Warren College’s program of concentration requirements; courses to fulfill Revelle, Thurgood Marshall, and Eleanor Roosevelt Colleges’ fine arts requirements; public speaking courses to fulfill requirements in the Schools of Engineering and Pharmacy; and elective courses for the general student desiring experience in theatre or dance.
Any student who has been accepted to the University of California, San Diego is eligible to declare theatre or dance as a major, double major, or minor. Auditions are not required. Continuing UCSD students who are changing their major to theatre or dance must file a Change of Major form with the UCSD Registrar’s Office.
Department of Theatre and Dance Advising
The department’s undergraduate faculty advisors can provide guidance and answers to your questions concerning specific course content, transfer coursework, honors research projects, academic success, production, auditioning procedures, postgraduate opportunities, and departmental policy changes.
The undergraduate coordinator can answer your questions regarding major requirements, procedural matters, class enrollment, the petition process, and give referrals to faculty and other campus resources for specific information.
Undergraduate student representatives are another important resource for theatre and dance majors. The student reps organize quarterly meetings at which students and faculty discuss departmental issues and concerns.
The department regularly communicates with our majors and minors as well as other students involved in our classes and productions through the campus e-mail and listserver systems. Students are strongly urged to check their campus e-mail accounts for timely messages or to make arrangements with Academic Computing Services to have campus e-mail forwarded to any other e-mail account they may use. Additionally, a handbook containing useful information is available in the department office, Room 202, Galbraith Hall.
Programs Abroad
The department encourages students to enrich their undergraduate experience by studying abroad. Students majoring in theatre and/or dance are encouraged to participate in the Education Abroad Program (EAP) and to investigate other options of foreign study through the Opportunities Abroad Program (OAP). By petition, credits earned through EAP/OAP can fulfill UCSD degree and major requirements. Please visit the Programs Abroad Web site at: http://orpheus.ucsd.edu/icenter/pao for further details. Financial aid is applicable and special study abroad scholarships are readily available.
The Department of Theatre and Dance will accept a maximum of three courses per semester abroad, and students are encouraged to take courses abroad that will fulfill major elective requirements. Please meet with the undergraduate coordinator prior to the EAP/OAP application deadline.
The Theatre Major
The theatre major provides a student with a solid artistic and academic background. The required lower-division courses equip the student with the skills and knowledge necessary for more advanced work in each of the areas of study. The major is structured to respond to the needs of students who seek a broad-based “liberal arts” education in theatre as well as those who plan to pursue their studies at the graduate level with the aim of acquiring either an M.F.A. or Ph.D. degree. Students should meet with the department’s undergraduate coordinator the quarter in which they declare a theatre major in order to plan an appropriate individual course of study.
The major requirements are those published in the catalog in effect for the first quarter that a first-year student attends UCSD; transfer students will be held to the catalog requirements two years previous to their first quarter at UCSD. Any student in good standing may declare a theatre major by completing a Change of Major form and delivering it to the Registrar’s Office. A department stamp is not required.
The Dance Major
The dance major will offer students an opportunity to specialize their training in the creative, aesthetic, and conceptual discipline of expressive movement as a contemporary art form, within the context of a broad undergraduate education. The primary focus of the dance major will be the study of contemporary and ballet techniques, dance history, theory and choreographic methods, emphasizing innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration, and pushing forward the boundaries of dance as a contemporary art form. It will provide the rigor of an academic program that fosters the balanced development of the dancer's creative artistic potential, physical skills, and intellectual growth. Our aim is to provide students with a broad range of artistic and conceptual tools for achieving goals in a variety of career areas and for pursuing advanced study in dance and dance related fields. Growth is encouraged of individual artistic potential through the integration of creative, physical and intellectual process, providing a foundation of the creative and critical thinking needed for success in all career paths.
The major requirements are those published in the catalog in effect for the first quarter that a first-year student attends UCSD; transfer students will be held to the catalog requirements two years previous to their first quarter at UCSD. Any student in good standing may declare a theatre major by completing a Change of Major form and delivering it to the Registrar’s Office. A department stamp is not required.
The Theatre-Dance Double Major
The double major in Theatre and Dance provides students with a solid academic base and an artistic base in both theatre and dance disciplines. Furthermore, requirements for this double major will create stronger and more experienced directors (for their exposure to choreography), choreographers (for their exposure to directing), actors (for the poise and strength they will attain from dance), and dancers (for having confronted text and character).
Students should meet with the department’s undergraduate coordinator as soon as practical (but no later than the quarter in which they declare the major) in order to plan an appropriate individual course of study.
Double majors should complete the Petition for Double Major form obtained from their college and submit it to the department for review and approval.
Theatre Minor
The theatre minor consists of seven theatre courses, one of which is the Practicum. It is recommended that students declare the theatre minor as soon as possible as priority enrollment in the Practicums is given to majors and minors.
Dance Minor
The dance minor consists of seven courses, one of which is the Practicum. The dance minor will provide a balanced educational experience for the student who has a strong interest in dance, but who wishes to major in another area of study. It is recommended that students declare the dance minor as soon as possible as priority enrollment in the Practicums is given to majors and minors.
Satisfying Your Major Requirements
Fifty percent of all course work required for the theatre or dance major (including both upper- and lower-division) must be taken at UCSD, regardless of approved transfer work, and petitions. Theatre practicum (TDPR) classes, completed elsewhere do not satisfy the theatre and dance department’s requirements unless they have been formally petitioned and approved. Only one practicum class from another institution may be petitioned. All courses required for the major or minor must be taken for a letter grade. A theatre and dance department course for which a student earns a grade lower than C– will not satisfy any of the department’s graduation requirements. Four units of Instructional Assistance (TDGE 195, P/NP credit) may be used as an upper-division elective for the theatre major, double major, or minor. Courses taken outside the Department of Theatre and Dance will not satisfy core or elective major requirements.
Major Requirements
Theatre majors are required to complete ten lower-division courses. Dance majors are required to complete three lower-division courses. All lower-division courses should be satisfied before starting upper-division course work in the respective areas.
Theatre and Dance majors and minors should complete a practicum course, either TDPR 1, TDPR 2, TDPR 3, or TDPR 5, within three quarters of declaring their major or minor. Theatre majors should plan to complete their second practicum requirement as soon as possible therafter, as space in these classes is limited. The second practicum course must be in an area different from the initial practicum course.
Theatre History 10, 21, 22, and 23 are prerequisites for most upper-division theatre history and theory courses. Introduction to Acting (TDAC 1), Theatre Design (TDDE 1), and Theatre Playwriting (TDPW 1) are all prerequisites for any upper-division course work in their respective areas. Students should take these classes as soon as possible after declaring their major. Prerequisites ensure that students are properly prepared for the work required.
Theatre Major
Please refer to the major requirements section for an overview of the theatre major.
Lower-Division Requirements
1. Two courses selected from:
TDPR 1. Practicum–Scenery
TDPR 2. Practicum–Costume
TDPR 3. Practicum–Lighting
TDPR 5. Practicum–Sound
2. Each of the following :
TDHT 10. Introduction to Play Analysis
TDHT 21. Performance Dynamics: Spaces, Performers, and Audiences
TDHT 22. One Actor, Two, or More: How Theatre Peoples the World
TDHT 23. Social Contexts of Performance
3. TDGE 1. Introduction to Theatre
4. Each of the area threshold classes:
a) TDAC 1. Introduction to Acting
b) TDDE 1. Introduction to Design
c) TDPW 1. Introduction to Playwriting
Note: The threshold classes listed above must be completed before taking upper-division courses in their respective areas.
Upper-Division Requirements
4. One upper-division four-unit acting course
5. One upper-division four-unit design course
6. One upper-division four-unit directing course
7. One upper-division four-unit playwriting course
8. One upper-division four-unit stage management course
9. Three upper-division four-unit theatre history courses
10. Four upper-division four-unit theatre electives
Note: THGE 197 and 199 may not be used as upper-division electives by theatre majors unless approved by petition.
Dance Major
Lower-Division Requirements
1. One course from:
TDPR 1. Practicum–Scenery
TDPR 2. Practicum–Costume
TDPR 3. Practicum–Lighting
TDPR 5. Practicum–Sound
2. TDTR 10. Introduction to Dancing
3. TDCH 40. Principles of Choreography
Upper-Division Requirements
4. TDTR 101. Dance Movement Analysis
5. Two choreography courses chosen from the following:
TDCH 140. Improvisation/Composition
TDCH 142. Choreographic Workshop
TDCH 145. Music for Dance Composition
6. One design course chosen from the following:
TDDE 113. Costume Design for Dance
TDDE 121. Lighting Design for Dance
7. Four dance history and theory courses chosen from the following:
TDHD 171. Dance History I (Ancient to 1900)
TDHD 172. Dance History II (1900 to 1960)
TDHD 173. Dance History III (1960 to present)
TDHD 174. Dance Aesthetics and Criticism
TDHD 175. Cultural Perspectives on World Dance
8. Forty-eight units of movement courses in ballet and contemporary dance chosen from the following (each of the courses listed below may be repeated up to four times):
TDMV 110. Intermediate Ballet
TDMV 111. Advanced Ballet
TDMV 112. Advanced Ballet for Contemporary Dance
TDMV 120. Intermediate Contemporary Dance
TDMV 122. Advanced Contemporary Dance
9. Eight units of electives chosen from the following:
TDAC 109. Singing for the Actor
TDAC 111. Freeing the Voice
TDAC 115. Movement for Actors
TDCH 143. Choreography and Dramatic Text
TDMV 133. Advanced Jazz
TDMV 142. Latin Dance of the World
TDMV 143. West African Dance
TDMV 144. Asian Dance
TDTR 102. Movement Research
TDTR 103. Dance and Technology
TDTR 104. Dance Theory and Pedagogy
Theatre and Dance Double Major
Lower-Division Requirements
1. One course from
TDPR 1. Practicum–Scenery
TDPR 2. Practicum–Costumes
TDPR 3. Practicum–Lighting
TDPR 5. Practicum–Sound
2. TDAC 1. Introduction to Acting
3. TDCH 40. Principles of Choreography
4. Each of the following threshold classes:
TDDE 1. Introduction to Design
TDPW 1. Introduction to Playwriting
Upper-Division Requirements
5. One upper-division four-unit acting course
6. One upper-division four-unit design course
7. One upper-division four-unit directing course
8. One upper-division four-unit playwriting course
9. One upper-division four-unit stage management course
10. Six upper-division four-unit theatre and dance history courses (TDHT 114 required as one of the six upper-division history courses)
11. Four upper-division theatre electives (with no more than two from the core dance curriculum)
12. TDTR 101. Dance Movement Analysis
13. TDDE 121. Theatre Process: Lighting
14.
TDCH 140. Improvisation/Composition
TDCH 142. Choreographic Workshop
TDCH 145. Music for Dance Composition
15. Twelve units of advanced movement courses in one of the following areas of emphasis:
TDMV 111. Advanced Ballet
TDMV 122. Advanced Contemporary Dance
TDMV 133. Advanced Jazz
16. One four-unit advanced movement course outside the area of emphasis selected in number 15.
Note: TDGE 197 and 199 may not be used as upper-division electives by theatre and dance majors unless approved by petition.
The Theatre Minor
Minor forms are available at the advising office of the student's college. Minor courses may not be taken on a Pass/No Pass basis.
The minor requirements are those published in the catalog in effect for the first quarter that a first-year student attends UCSD; Transfer students will be held to the catalog requirements two years previous to their first quarter at UCSD.
Lower-Division Requirements
1. One course from:
TDPR 1. Practicum–Scenery
TDPR 2. Practicum–Costumes
TDPR 3. Practicum–Lighting
TDPR 5. Practicum–Sound
2. One course from the following list:
TDHT 21. Performance Dynamics: Spaces, Performers, and Audiences
TDHT 22. One Actor, Two, or More: How Theatre Peoples the World
TDHT 23. Social Contexts of Performance
TDAC 1. Introduction to Acting
TDDE 1. Introduction to Design
TDPW 1. Introduction to Playwriting
Upper-Division Requirements
3. Any five four-unit, upper-division theatre courses chosen from the following subjects: TDAC, TDDE, TDDR, TDGE, TDHT, TDPR, TDPW.
The Dance Minor
Minor forms are available at the advising office of the student’s college. Minor courses may not be taken on a P/NP basis.
The minor requirements are those published in the catalog in effect for the first quarter that a first-year student attends UCSD; Transfer students will be held to the catalog requirements two years previous to their first quarter at UCSD.
Dance Minor Requirements
Lower-Division Requirements
1. One course from:
TDPR 1. Practicum–Scenery
TDPR 2. Practicum–Costumes
TDPR 3. Practicum–Lighting
TDPR 5. Practicum–Sound
2. TDTR 10. Introduction to Dance
Upper-Division Requirements
3. One Choreography course chosen from:
TDCH 140. Improvisation/Composition
TDCH 142. Choreographic Workshop
TDCH 145. Music for Dance Composition
Or
One Dance History Course chosen from:
TDHD 171. Dance History I (Ancient to 1900)
TDHD 172. Dance History II (1900 to 1960)
TDHD 173. Dance History III (1960 to present)
TDHD 174. Dance Aesthetics and Criticism
TDHD 175. Cultural Perspectives on World Dance
4. Three Movement courses:
TDMV 110. Intermediate Ballet
TDMV 111. Advanced Ballet
TDMV 112. Advanced Ballet for Contemporary Dance
TDMV 120. Intermediate Contemporary Dance
TDMV 122. Advanced Contemporary Dance
5. Four units Movement, Theory, or Choreography chosen from:
TDMV 133. Advanced Jazz
TDMV 142. Latin Dance of the World
TDMV 143. West African Dance
TDMV 144. Asian Dance
TDTR 101. Dance Movement Analysis
TDTR 103. Dance and Technology
TDTR 104. Dance Theory and Pedagogy
TDCH 143. Choreography and Dramatic Text
Honors Program
The department offers a special program of advanced study for outstanding undergraduates majoring in theatre or dance. Successful completion of the Honors Program enables the student to graduate “With Highest Distinction” (A+), “With High Distinction (A), or “With Distinction” (A–), depending upon performance in the program.
Eligibility
1. Junior standing (ninety units or more completed)
2. 3.7 GPA or better in the major
3. 3.5 GPA or better overall, which student must maintain until final graduation
4. Completion of at least four upper-division theatre courses
5. Recommendation of a faculty sponsor who is familiar with the student’s work
Guideline
Application to the Honors Program may be made upon completion of ninety units or no later than the fifth week of the quarter preceding the final two quarters before graduation. The Undergraduate Committee will consider the application and, if approved, the student and the principal advisor will have the responsibility of proposing an Honors Thesis Committee to the Undergraduate Committee for final approval.
Students are required to take THGE 196A, Honors Studies in theatre and 196B, Honors Thesis in theatre, in addition to the thirteen upper-division required courses for the major, THGE 196A-B are to be taken consecutively and may not be taken concurrently.
Placement and Proficiency for Dance Majors
The technical command and the expansion of a vocabulary of movement are essential to the dancer’s creative expression. The faculty advise new students in dance to participate in beginning dance in all areas for a minimum of one year, as well as enrolling in TDTR 10. Introduction to Dance. These courses are designed to give the student the basic information needed to move on to the intermediate level. Students should remain in this level for a minimum of one year unless the instructor encourages them to move up to the advanced level. All students are required to audition and be approved by the faculty to be enrolled in advanced dance courses. If you come to UCSD with a background in dance and would like to take an advanced class you need to audition in the class of your choice on the first day of the class meeting so that the teacher can accept you in the class or recommend another more appropriate class.
Undergraduate Student Petitions
Undergraduate student petitions are required whenever an exception to a rule is being requested. They are required for: major or minor requirement substitutions; substitution of courses from other departments or institutions; late course adding or dropping; or requesting a retroactive incomplete grade. Submit petitions for course substitutions well in advance of taking the course. To ensure that your petition is complete and well documented, have the Department of Theatre and Dance undergraduate coordinator assist you with the petition process if you have difficulty with the form.
Receiving Transfer Credit
You must petition the department to substitute courses taken in another department or institution for courses required by the Department of Theatre and Dance. The following procedures and guidelines will help you with the transfer petition process.
First, review the Department of Theatre and Dance residency requirement. It is generally a good idea to petition a course before you take it. The Department of Theatre and Dance undergraduate coordinator will review petitions for all transfer courses. Students may obtain a General Undergraduate Student Petition form on TritonLink. A detailed syllabus for the course to be evaluated must be attached to the completed petition form. Any petition relating to courses within the Department of Theatre and Dance should be dropped off at the main office during normal working hours.
Transfer credits must be accepted by the Admissions Office at the appropriate level and for the appropriate number of units for the substitution to be effective. Upper-division credit cannot be given for lower-division work. Course work done at a junior college can only transfer to UCSD as lower-division credit.
Theatre and Dance Performance and Production Opportunities
The Department of Theatre and Dance produces undergraduate productions throughout the academic year. These productions range in scale from student directed “black box” productions to full-scale faculty directed undergraduate productions on the mainstage. Every effort is made to provide a faculty directed opportunity for undergraduates each quarter.
Each of these productions is staged with undergraduate actors and dancers. Historically, where there are design assignments to be made (sets, costumes, lights, sound), those assignments are given to qualified undergraduates. Upper-division credit is available for students involved in the design or staging of department productions. Students may not work on department productions unless they are formally enrolled in a related class. Information regarding design and advanced crew opportunities is typically available from the design faculty or may be posted on the bulletin board in the lobby of Galbraith Hall as opportunities arise.
Cabaret
Cabarets are independent productions that are produced in Galbraith Hall Studio Theatre 157. Students may submit proposals for cabarets one quarter in advance to the cabaret manager. The cabaret policy is subject to revision on a quarterly basis. Please check at the front desk for details and deadlines.
Undergraduate Audition Policy
Undergraduates are encouraged to audition for all shows produced in the department. Auditions are typically held in the quarter preceeding the staging of a production. Audition announcements will be posted on the bulletin board in the lobby of Galbraith Hall. Undergraduates who have completed or are currently enrolled in TDAC 1–Introduction to Acting are eligible to audition. Qualified undergraduates may audition for roles in graduate productions as they are available.
UCSD Dance Repertory
This repertory is open to dance students through auditions. The company will perform lecture-demonstrations, performances, and teach master classes in the community or at other UC campuses.
Annual Dance Concerts
Two main stage and one studio theatre dance concert are presented each year. In fall quarter a small scale faculty directed laboratory or cabaret performance is presented in the Molli and Arthur Wagner Dance Building’s Studio theatre. In winter quarter’s ‘Dance Alive’ concert students perform choreography created by the professional faculty and international guest artists in the Mandell Weiss Center for the Performing Arts, Forum Theatre or the Potiker Theatre; and in spring quarter’s “New Works” student dance concert, students perform the faculty-directed experimental choreographic works for other students at the Potiker Theatre. In addition, smaller productions and student cabarets take place in our intimate Studio Theatre, located in the dance facility. Auditions are held at the beginning of the quarter for all productions. Students interested in performing in the winter concert must audition for a specific repertory class taught by the faculty or guest choreographer with whom they wish to work. Students who are then cast must enroll in both the appropriate Dance Repertory (TDPF 160, 161, 162) and Studies in Performance (TDPF 163). Students interested in performing in the spring concert must audition at the beginning of spring quarter; if cast, they enroll in Studies in Performance (TDPF 160, 161, 162). Students participating in either dance production are required to be concurrently attending a technique class. Students who wish to choreograph for the spring concert must have completed or be concurrently enrolled in a choreography class.
Ushering
A fantastic and simple way for students to become involved with the Department of Theatre and Dance is to be a volunteer usher. When a student volunteers, he or she will receive a complimentary ticket and a guaranteed seat to a predetermined performance in exchange for carrying out easy but important front of house tasks (such as tearing tickets, seating patrons, or handing out programs). Ushering is fun and easy—no experience is required and all majors are welcome.
To inquire about usher availability, contact the Theatre and Dance promotions manager at promotions@ucsd.edu and put the word “USHER” (in all caps) in the subject line. Someone will respond to your inquiry with more information in a timely manner.
Comps
Declared theatre or dance majors are eligible to receive one free complimentary ticket per departmental production. The complimentary tickets are on a first-come-first-served basis. Majors need to come into the department office and fill out a complimentary request form at least forty-eight hours prior to the performance. Majors will be notified through e-mail if the request is unable to be filled. For the complete Complimentary Ticket Policy please visit our Web site (http://theatre.ucsd.edu) or come into the office.
The Graduate Program
Master of Fine Arts in Theatre
Joint Doctoral Degree Program
M.F.A. in Theatre
The Department of Theatre and Dance has set an ambitious goal for its M.F.A. program: the training of artists who will shape the future direction of the theatre. The professional theatre training program is ranked third in the nation (and first west of the Hudson River) [US News and World Report, 1997].
The curriculum for all students involves studio classes and seminars. These are integrated with a progressive sequence of work on productions and with a professional residency at the La Jolla Playhouse.
The M.F.A. program at UCSD is built around the master-apprentice system of training. All the faculty are active professionals who teach at UCSD because of a shared commitment to training young artists. Instruction takes place not just in the classroom, but in theatres around the country where faculty, with students as assistants, are involved in professional productions, including those at the La Jolla Playhouse.
Students graduating from the M.F.A. program at UCSD should be prepared to take positions in the professional theatre in the United States and abroad. Students are now working in New York, in resident theatres, in the film and television industry, and in European repertory theatres. M.F.A. candidates in acting, dance theatre, design, directing, playwriting, and stage management will complete at least ninety quarter-units of academic work during their tenure in the program.
Program Descriptions
Acting
The body and mind of the actor are synthesized to serve as an instrument of expression. Actors must depend on their instrument to perform, and the program places great emphasis on the strengthening and tuning of that instrument. The innate talent of the student is nurtured, coaxed, and challenged with individual attention from an extraordinary team of professionals and specialists in actor training.
Classes
Each year, intensive studio work in movement, voice, speech, and singing accesses, expands, and frees the physical body. Acting process introduces a range of improvisational and rehearsal techniques that help the actor approach onstage events with imagination and a rich emotional life. In the first year, studio classes guide the actor through daily explorations that encourage, change, and enhance artistic expression. The second year is devoted to the study of classical texts as well as the specific vocal and physical skills required to perform them. In the final year, classes focus on the needs of individual actors as they prepare to enter the professional world.
Productions
Actors work on classical and contemporary texts as well as new plays with graduate students, faculty, and professional guest directors. Each year the department schedules from fifteen to twenty productions of varying size and scope. Graduate students are given casting priority for all but a few plays. Student-scheduled and produced cabaret/ workshop productions occur year-round and provide additional acting opportunities.
Externship
All graduate students serve a residency with the La Jolla Playhouse and are cast in positions ranging from supporting to leading roles alongside professional actors and directors of national and international stature. For many actors this opportunity establishes valuable networking relationships and exposure for future employment.
Research and Other Opportunities
Modest funds are sometimes available for the pursuit of research, special technique workshops, and travel to auditions and festivals. In addition, in the third year, the entire acting class receives a showcase presentation in both Los Angeles and New York at which specially invited groups of film, television, and theatre professionals are in attendance.
Dance Theatre
With an emphasis on the collaborative process, the purpose of the Dance Program is to create an intensive laboratory for candidates to pursue artistic processes that will hone their unique artistic voices. Dance Theatre artists are encouraged to explore and develop processes that employ both theatre and dance methodology, leading to the synthesis between choreographic, theatrical, visual, technological, and sound media.
Classes
The M.F.A. program in Dance Theatre provides an intensive laboratory for candidates to pursue processes that will hone their particular artistic voice in dance theatre. The curriculum is designed to allow each graduate student to explore their own unique creative processes, to define their own particular aesthetic, and to discover and develop their own distinctive movement and performance language. Core courses consist of Choreography Seminars in the study and practice of aesthetic concepts, history, and methodology for choreographic creation of dance theatre; Dance Theatre Topics Seminars that provide in-depth discussion and research on a full spectrum of topics from collaborative processes to professional practice; costume, lighting, sound, and scenic design; and a rich offering of electives across media and between disciplines which will allow each student to pursue individual areas of interest. Graduate students maintain a physical practice chosen from Graduate Studio offerings in contemporary practices, improvisation, Ballet for contemporary dance, Yoga, Pilates, and a range of Latin, African, and Asian dance forms.
Productions
Dance Theatre students will have the opportunity to create work throughout their time at UCSD in studio, workshop, cabaret, and site-specific productions. Second-year students will present a short work in the existing production in the spring quarter. Thesis projects of a significant dance theatre work will be fully executed by the extensive production talents of the M.F.A. design program in the winter quarter of the third year.
Externship
Students are encouraged to work or research in the field when time permits, and they are assisted with professional opportunities, typically in the spring or summer of the second year. Dance Theatre candidates may have an opportunity to gain production experiences in a variety of theatres and venues in San Diego, New York, Seattle, Los Angeles, and London, at the La Jolla Playhouse, or a comparable professional residency experience.
Design
The design program aims to train students in the best professional practices of regional and commercial theatre. The design faculty are award-winning working professionals also committed to teaching. The design training program stresses an interaction with the works of many visual and sound artists from a wide range of disciplines. Students are trained to create designs that “comment” on the play and the text, not merely “illustrate” it. Students’ talent and design work are showcased at a number of venues that have directly resulted in many national grants, awards, and other work opportunities for our alumni.
Classes
All students take a core curriculum of first-year design studio classes in scenery, costume, lighting, and sound (taken together with directors), and a design seminar where all three years come together in a forum to share production experiences, portfolios, and professional career techniques and skills. This is followed in subsequent years by more specialized Advanced Design classes which combine with production work in the student’s own area of concentration. We are also able to offer a double-emphasis study (e.g., scenery and costume design combined) to appropriate students. Classes in other areas (e.g., drafting, text analysis, visual arts, music) are also normally offered.
Productions
We offer a generous number of (fully executed) production opportunities, and generally all productions are designed by students. Designers collaborate with student, faculty, and internationally prominent guest directors. Students are fully supported by the same professional workshop staff as the La Jolla Playhouse and are not expected to build or run their own productions.
Externship
Student designers participate in a residency program at the La Jolla Playhouse, and normally work as assistants to visiting professional designers. However, there are also some opportunities for talented students to be hired as principal designers by the Playhouse during their season.
Research and Other Opportunities
Students may also be offered opportunities to travel with faculty as assistants on professional assignments to major regional theatres, Broadway, England, or Europe. Modest funds are sometimes available for student research and travel to see productions and to attend conferences and workshops.
Directing
With an emphasis on the collaborative process, the purpose of the Directing Program is to develop directors with a solid foundation in the components of production and the interpretation of text. Individuals are encouraged to make challenging choices, to break down barriers, and to create exciting, meaningful theatre. Graduates of the program are prepared to select and get to the heart of a text, communicate effectively with and inspire production designers, and elicit expressive performances from the actors with whom they work.
Classes
The core curriculum of the Directing Process Program offers students opportunities to hone their skills in text analysis and scene work in all three years. The first-year student also completes a sequence in the acting process, develops a visual vocabulary in theatrical design and visual arts courses, and explores the nature of the collaborative process.
Productions
Directing students will direct from two to four department scheduled and supervised productions in the Mandell Weiss Center for the Perfor-ming Arts during their time at UCSD. In addition, studio, workshop, and cabaret productions of the director’s choice are strongly encouraged. The production season also offers opportunities to assist guest and faculty directors.
Externship
In the second year, the La Jolla Playhouse provides a residency during which students typically serve as assistant directors.
Additional Opportunities
It is common for the directing faculty to take M.F.A. directors with them to work as assistant directors at theatres around the United States and internationally.
Playwriting
Playwrights are more than mere writers. They are artists who unleash their imagination in incredibly dramatic ways. The successful playwright writes with intellectual power and emotional honesty, with a distinct and essential voice that speaks with vulnerability and sentience to the heart and soul of the audience. The dedicated, individual attention and formidable production opportunities of the program offer talented writers the ability to stretch, expand, and witness the unfolding of their work on stage in the bodies of very gifted actors.
Classes
In Playwriting Seminar—the core course—writers in all three years read and discuss their ongoing work, focusing on style, character, and structure. They also observe their work being read by M.F.A. actors at times throughout the year. Writing for Television, Screenwriting, and Dramatization/Adaptation are offered in rotation within a three-year cycle. In addition, students take a variety of topics in theatre and dramatic literature along with individual practicum classes. Playwrights can take advantage of rich offerings in literature, music, visual arts, and language study, as well as dramatic texts, theory, and design.
Production
First-year students receive a one-act showcase production each year, while second- and third-year students receive a fully designed production. These are produced in the New Plays Festival each spring, which is attended by literary managers, agents, and artistic directors from across the country. Typically, these productions are directed, designed, and acted by students in the M.F.A. program. Production of plays in any year of study is dependent on the readiness of the work for staging.
Externship
Each student is assisted with a carefully chosen assignment, typically in the summer of the second year. Our playwrights may have an opportunity to gain exceptional literary and production experiences in a variety of theatres and venues in New York, Seattle, Los Angeles, London, Germany, and Romania.
Stage Management
The stage manager is a pivotal member of the collaborative process who creates the environment that supports the work of the other members of the artistic team. The stage manager is the prime communicator and liaison who synthesizes the disparate elements of production into a cohesive whole and is responsible for the implementation of diverse artistic choices throughout the production process.
The Stage Management Program at UCSD integrates a comprehensive knowledge of all critical components of this complex field in order to prepare students for work in leading professional theatres. The program develops individualized, creative artists with personal approaches to their work. UCSD creates a supportive and stimulating environment that allows each student to develop the confidence and flexibility necessary to meet the challenges of production in a wide variety of professional venues.
Classes
All first-year students take a core curriculum in stage management process that explores the role of the stage manager in professional theatre today and offers a comprehensive investigation of the work from pre-production to closing a show. Students in all three years attend the stage management seminar, which serves as a weekly forum for sharing insights and solving problems on current production assignments, meeting with a variety of guest artists, and examining the bigger picture of stage management and theatre in America today. Additional coursework is offered in various aspects of theatre administration and management, professional practice, directing, design, and collaborative process.
Productions
Great emphasis is placed on the student’s ability to apply the theories learned in class to the production process. Students typically serve as both ASM and SM on a number of studio and mainstage productions in a variety of theatrical spaces. In addition to established scripts directed by M.F.A., faculty, and nationally prominent guest directors, students also work on new plays by graduate or guest playwrights as well as faculty and student choreographed dance concerts.
Research Opportunities
Students are encouraged to work or research in the field when time permits. Past projects have included stage managing at the National Playwrights Conference at the O’Neill Center in Connecticut, interning at Warner Brothers Feature Animation, working as production assistant for the Broadway production of Play On, stage managing Andrei Serban’s production of Our Country’s Good at the Romanian National Theatre, and researching stage combat and weaponry at the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Externship
Each student is guaranteed at least one production opportunity at the La Jolla Playhouse, or a comparable professional residency experience.
Ph.D. in Theatre and Drama
The UCSD Department of Theatre and Dance and the Department of Drama at UC Irvine began to recruit students for the new Joint Doctoral Program in Theatre and Drama in fall 1999 for admission in fall 2000. Within the context of the program’s twin focus on theory and history, an innovative structure permits each student to pursue a custom designed curriculum that draws from a rich variety of seminars in faculty research areas that include: Greek classical theatre; Shakespeare and his contemporaries; Italian, French and German theatre; U.S.-Latino, African-American, and Asian-American theatre; critical, historical, and performance theories.
Interested students are encouraged to request detailed information about the program and application materials, which will be available from either department each September.
Preparation
Students with a B.A. (minimum GPA: 3.5), M.A., or M.F.A. degrees in drama and theatre are eligible for admission to the doctoral program. We will also consider students with training in literature (or another area in the humanities), provided they can demonstrate a background in drama or theatre. Experience in one of the creative activities of theatre (acting, directing, playwriting, design, dramaturgy) will enhance chances of admission.
All applicants are required to take the Gradu-ate Record Examination and to submit samples of their critical writing.
While not required for admission, a working knowledge of a second language is highly desirable (see Language Requirement).
Course of Study
Students are required to take a minimum of 144 units, which is equivalent to four years of full-time study (full-time students must enroll for a minimum of twelve units each quarter). Forty of these units will be taken in required seminars; the balance will be made up of elective seminars, independant study, and research projects (including preparing the three qualifying papers), and dissertation research. Students must take a minimum of one seminar per year in the Department of Drama at UCI. The program of study makes it possible for students to take a significant number of elective courses and independent studies both with faculty in drama and theatre and in other departments.
Required Seminars
- A minimum of twelve units of TDGR 290 (Dramatic Literature and Theatre History to 1900).
- A minimum of twelve units of TDGR 291 (Dramatic Literature and Theatre History 1900 to the Present).
- A minimum of sixteen units of TDGR 292 (Cultural and Critical Theory).
These required seminars must be completed before the end of the student’s third year. In addition to the ten required seminars, students must pass comprehensive examinations at the end of the first and second years (see “Comprehensive Examinations”).
Comprehensive Examinations
In the first year, students prepare for the written comprehensive examination, which is based on a reading list of approximately 150 titles ranging from the Ancient Greeks to the present. Students take the written comprehensive at the beginning of the fall quarter of the second year. (Comprehensive examinations are scheduled at the beginning of fall quarter in order to allow the students the summer to prepare.) Students who fail the written comprehensive may retake it no later than the first week of winter quarter of the second year. Students who fail the written comprehensive for a second time are dismissed from the program.
In the second year, students prepare for oral comprehensive examination. The reading list for this examination is designed to permit the student to acquire a knowledge of his or her dissertation subject area, broadly conceived. The reading list is compiled by the student and his or her dissertation advisor, in consultation with other members of the faculty, as appropriate; the reading list must be established by the end of winter quarter of the second year. Students take the oral comprehensive at the beginning of the fall quarter of the third year. Students also submit a dissertation prospectus (approx. five pages) at the time of the oral comprehensive. Students who fail the oral comprehensive may retake it no later than the first week of winter quarter of the third year. Students who fail the oral comprehensive for a second time are dismissed from the program.
Advancement to Candidacy: Three Qualifying Papers
Students normally select a dissertation advisor during the second year and must do so before the end of spring quarter of that year. In consultation with the dissertation advisor and other faculty members, students develop topics for three “qualifying papers,” which are written during the third year. The three qualifying papers—one long (approx. fifty pages) and two short (approx. thirty pages each)—must be completed by the end of the third year; when completed, the qualifying papers provide the basis for the oral qualifying examination. Students write the long paper under the direction of the dissertation advisor; it is understood that the long paper is preparatory to the dissertation. The short papers deal with other related topics, subject to the approval of the student’s advisors; the two short papers are understood as engaging in exploring the larger contexts of the dissertation. Students normally pass the qualifying examination and advance to candidacy at the end of the third year; students must advance to candidacy no later than the end of fall quarter of the fourth year. Once admitted to candidacy, students write the dissertation which, upon completion, is defended in a final oral examination. Students may select a dissertation advisor from either UCSD’s Department of Theatre and Dance or UCI’s Department of Drama. All UCSD doctoral dissertation committees must include at least one faculty member from UCI.
Language Requirement
Students are required to complete an advanced research project using primary and secondary material in a second language (“materials” should be understood as including live and/or recorded performance; interviews with artists, critics, and scholars; and other non-documentary sources, as well as more conventional textual sources). This requirement may be satisfied by writing a seminar paper or a qualifying paper (see “Advancement to Candidacy”) that makes extensive use of materials in a second language. The second language requirement must be satisfied before the end of the third year. This requirement will not be waived for students who are bi- or multilingual; all students are required to do research level work in more than one language.
It is assumed that students will have acquired a second language before entering the doctoral program, although second-language proficiency is not a requirement for admission. While students may study one or more second languages while at UCI or UCSD, language classes may not be counted toward program requirements.
Teaching
Students are required to teach a minimum of four quarters. No more than eight units of apprentice teaching (TDGR 500) may be counted toward the required 144 units.
Departmental Ph.D. Time Limit Policies
Students must advance to candidacy by the end of the fall quarter of their fourth year. Departmental normative time for completion of the degree is five years; total registered time in the Ph.D. program at UCSD or UCI cannot exceed seven years. While students with M.A. or M.F.A. degrees may be admitted to the Ph.D. program, they will be required to take all required doctoral seminars.
Financial Support
Students entering the Ph.D. program may be supported (by either employment or fellowships) for four years. Support depends on the funds available and on the student’s rate of progress towards degree.
