THEA 310 Advanced Acting
Topics vary by semester.
Scene Study
This advanced scene study course focuses on the works of seminal American playwrights. Through intensive text analysis and performance, students will explore the themes, characters, and cultural contexts that define these playwrights’ contributions to the American theatre canon.
Students will develop a deeper understanding of the playwrights' distinctive voices. Emphasis will be placed on honing acting techniques, deepening emotional authenticity, and refining character development to bring these complex works to life. By the end of the course, students will have the skills necessary to tackle rich, challenging texts and will gain insights into the historical, social, and cultural underpinnings of these masterpieces. Designed for actors who have taken 210 & 110, this course requires a strong foundation in acting techniques and a commitment to rigorous creative work.
Solo Performance
Advanced Acting builds on the techniques and skills introduced in Acting 1. Students will continue to explore character development and scene work through an array of texts and styles. Students will also explore acting methods that will help them become more flexible, daring, collaborative, and creative performers. An emphasis will be put on Solo-Performance techniques. Students will actively create a self-sustaining piece of solo theater from conception to creation and finally to the stage. Course participants will also discover and evaluate texts and performance practices of previous solo-theater practitioners. In the process, students will learn how to act with increased freedom and to create characters with genuine psychological complexity, accumulating tools and skills applicable to working both on stage and on screen.