You may find additional courses related to Performing Arts under Music (MUSI) and Theatre (THEA).
FUNDAMENTALS OF MUSIC:CM~ This course is an introduction to the fundamentals of reading musical notation. Topics to be covered in this course include reading pitch and rhythm notation on the treble and bass clefs; identifying whole and half steps; identifying key signatures; major and minor scales; and visually and aurally identifying simple intervals. Simple creative written and keyboard activities will be used to master these concepts. Successful completion of this course will allow entrance into the Theory I course designed for music majors and minors.
Core: Creative Methods
PERFORMANCE AND SOCIETY:CM ~ This course is designed to 1) introduce majors and non-majors together to the rich cultural and historical history and heritage of the performing arts; 2) connect the performing arts as part of the Coherent Core and 3) produce an introductory performance element in a collaborative setting. The course will be team-taught by the performing arts faculty and will include a curriculum of lectures/readings/discussions focused around a central work with related examples across disciplines. The class will create a 45-minute performance around the theme to share with the Hiram community.
Core: Creative Methods
INTRODUCTION TO MUSIC LITERATURE:IM~ An introduction to the music of the Western world. The course surveys important composers, compositions, and stylistic developments of the Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods, and the 20th century. The students are introduced to the elements of music and how they can be used to listen to music more intelligently and appreciatively. Class sessions include lectures and guided listening.
Core: Interpretive Methods
SURVEY OF AMERICAN MUSIC:IM~ This course presents American music from colonial psalm-singing to the most recent jazz, avant-garde, popular, and rock-and-roll. The course is designed to give the student a chronological and historical understanding of the development of American music. Some background material related to European and African music will be discussed. The format of the class will involve lectures, listening, and class discussion. A strong emphasis will be placed on listening skills for purposes of identifying genre, period, style, and composer.
Core: Interpretive Methods
PERFORMING ARTS IN GLOBAL CULTURES:CM,EW ~ This course surveys performing arts traditions among diverse cultural groups across various global geographic regions from an ethnomusicological perspective. Specific case studies examine the significant role of the arts (music, dance, drama) in non-Western cultures, becoming invaluable for mediating important aspects of social life, including spirituality and healing rituals; relationships with the natural world, cultural memory, and structuring sexuality and gender roles. Guest lectures and live performances are included. This course is also offered in a 4 credit hour format as PERF 10301. A student may receive credit for only one of these two courses. This course fulfills requirements for the Asian Studies minor.
Core: Creative Methods; Experiencing the World
PERFORMING ARTS IN GLOBAL CULTURES:CM,EW ~ This course surveys performing arts traditions among diverse cultural groups across various global geographic regions from an ethnomusicological perspective. Specific case studies examine the significant role of the arts (music, dance, drama) in non-Western cultures, becoming invaluable for mediating important aspects of social life, including spirituality and healing rituals; relationships with the natural world, cultural memory, and structuring sexuality and gender roles. Guest lectures and live performances are included. This course is also offered in a 3 credit hour format as PERF 10300. A student may receive credit for only one of these two courses. This course fulfills requirements for the Asian Studies minor.
Core: Creative Methods; Experiencing the World
MUSICAL THEATER:IM~ A study in the development of the three types of musical theater: Opera, Operetta and the Musical. Class meetings will involve lectures, discussions of outside readings, analyses and discussions of video performances.
Core: Interpretive Methods
INTRODUCTION TO MUSIC TECHNOLOGY:CM~ MIDI and Computer Music.: An interactive study of music technology. A variety of software will be explored which utilize the Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) format; a universal language that allows free flow of information between electronic musical instruments and computers. Topics will include sequencing; sampling; importing, exporting, and managing MIDI files; and digital audio recording and editing. Basic music reading skills required. Also, understanding of keyboard instruments is also recommended.
Core: Creative Methods
HISTORY OF ROCK & ROLL: RHYTHM AND REVOLT:IM~ The history of rock and roll. More than fifty years after its birth, American rock is the most influential music in the world. This class examines the myriad stylistic roots of rock and roll and its growth amid the tumultuous social events of postwar American culture. Emphasis is on the early creative energy: the soloists and groups of the First Wave (1950s) through the Beatles era. Technical aspects of music and listening skills are developed within the framework of popular style.
Core: Interpretive Methods
BEGINNING DANCE I:CM ~ This course is designed to develop efficiency of movement, combined with an understanding of basic movement principles and an appreciation for dance in general. Students will participate in exercises designed to increase range of motion, strength, endurance, agility, coordination, and stability, with special emphasis being placed on alignment and relaxation. Students will also be briefly introduced to fundamentals of anatomy and to a general history of dance as an art form. No previous dance experience necessary.
Core: Creative Methods
BEGINNING JAZZ DANCE:CM ~ This course is designed to introduce students to the various elements of Jazz Dance: the history, terminology, technique, core dance/movement/performance concepts, and notable dance artists and styles. Students will experience these elements through dancing, observation, research, discussion, and choreography. Students will gain knowledge and understanding of the various elements, and begin to develop their own artistry in the realm of Jazz Dance. Jazz shoes or dance sneakers will be required. No previous dance experience needed.
Core: Creative Methods
CINEMEXICANIDAD:MEXICAN CULTURE ON FILM:CA,EW ~ This course explores Mexico’s nationalist culture through its reflexive representation in cinematic imaginaries. Students will view a range of films from Mexico’s Cine de Oro (Golden Age of Film) to more contemporary productions in order to understand how cinema not only reflects but structures the stories people tell about themselves. Films are screened in Spanish with English subtitles, exploring topics of gender, race, class, immigration, nationalism, and transnationalism to contextualize the dynamic relationship between the US and Mexico.
Core: Social/Cultural Analysis Meth; Experiencing the World
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF ACTING:CM ~ This course familiarizes students with the basic principles of stage movement, vocal production, character analysis, concentration, improvisation, and emotion. Students will participate in classroom exercises designed to eliminate inhibition and nervousness. Finally, they will perform two short scenes that are chosen from a list of selected plays. The course requires no previous acting experience. Core: Creative Methods
Core: Creative Methods
MUSICIANSHIP I:CM~ Musicianship I is the first in a series of four courses integrating the theoretical and practical study of the elements of musical works. In this course, we will become fluent in the basic components and vocabulary of music materials, improving both theoretical and practical skills needed for music interpretation and performance. This course includes a combination of reading, listening, writing, singing, and keyboard assignments, as well as written and aural analysis of musical scores and the composition of original melodies. We will also consider the role of expectation and anticipation in creating unity and variety in music. Experience reading music in a choral, band, or private instruction setting is a prerequisite of this course. A diagnostic test will be held on the first day of the course. Students who do not meet the prerequisite literacy required to succeed in this course will be advised to enroll in class piano or private instrument instruction before taking this course.
Core: Creative Methods
INTRODUCTION TO THEATRE:IM~ The student's critical awareness of theatre will be cultivated in this course by examining the interlocking roles of the actor, director, designer, and playwright within a theatre production. Students will develop an understanding and enjoyment of the collaborative arts of the theatre through the analysis of plays and essays from major theatrical periods. The student will become involved in some aspect of a live production.
Core: Interpretive Methods
THE ART OF THE THEATRE:CM~ This course is designed to give students an introduction to the various disciplines that make up the collaborative art form of the theatre. The work of playwrights, directors, and actors will be explored through reading, discussion, and performance activities. The work of scenic, lighting, costume, and make-up designers will be studied and explored through hands-on activities, which may include some drawing and painting. Students will also explore the literature, history, and development of the theatre. This course strives to create in the student a better understanding of all aspects of the theatre so as to instill a greater appreciation of this unique and lively art form. This course is not required for performing arts majors or minors, although it can be taken as an elective.
Core: Creative Methods
TECHNICAL PRODUCTION:CM~ This course is designed to train students in behind-the-scenes procedures and activities. The primary focus will be on set construction, props, painting techniques, lighting, and sound. Elementary technical theatre practices will be examined. The student will become acquainted with the use of special theatrical equipment as well as scene shop equipment. Planned exercises will be used to assist the student in acquiring a familiarity with various aspects of technical theatre. Working on the department's current production(s) will be a required part of the course. Performing arts majors should also register for THEA 17900 Technical Production Lab.
Corequisite: PERF 17900
Core: Creative Methods
WORKSHOP ~ This workshop will provide the opportunity for students to examine a special topic in Theatre Arts. Through readings, discussions and written assignments there will be opportunities to evaluate the topic at issue. Workshops may be taken Pass/No Credit only. Students may take no more than nine workshops for credit toward graduation. Workshops can be used as elective credit only.
QUILTING FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE:CM, UD ~ Throughout history, American women who had no other voice in society used the art of quilting to make their opinions known about suffrage, abolition, temperance, women’s rights, the state of the union and more. Into the 20th century the quilt continued to shout out for various causes such as AIDS awareness, the women’s liberation movement and the civil rights movement. In this class students are invited to create a quilt to express their views on any of the issues we face in the world today: The Black Lives Matter movement, LGBTQ rights, addiction, domestic terrorism, women’s abuse, world hunger, environmental issues and many more. Students will identify an issue they feel passionate about, research that issue, create a speech to move listeners to change, and create a quilt. The quilts will be displayed somewhere on campus for our community to see. If students wish, the quilts may be auctioned off, and money donated to one or more of the students’ causes.
Core: Creative Methods; Understanding Diversity Home
MUSIC HISTORY AND LITERATURE I:IM~ A historical and analytical study of music from Gregorian Chant through 1750, including composers such as Machaut, Josquin, Palestrina, Lassus, Gabrieli, Monteverdi, Purcell, Vivaldi, Bach and Handel. The student is introduced to research methods in musicology. Open to non-majors with note-reading ability. This course fulfills the Interpretive Methods requirement. Core: Interpretive Methods
Core: Interpretive Methods
OPERA/MUSICAL THEATRE WORKSHOP~ Opera Workshop is open by audition to experienced singers. This ensemble rehearses and performs scenes and full operas and operettas from the classical repertory.
HISTORY OF JAZZ:UD~ The purpose of this course is to examine the musical development of jazz in its historical context, as well as the important elements which comprise the individual styles of jazz. The course will study jazz from its inception to the present, focusing on the important musicians and literature of each era, including the New Orleans, swing, bebop, cool, hard bop, free jazz, and jazz-rock fusion styles, in addition to major individual musicians such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Charlie Parker.
Core: Understanding Diversity Home
SHAKESPEARE IN PERFORMANCE:CM ~ Performance is the way in which dramatic texts come to life, and performing a play is an indispensable means to knowledge about it. In this course, students will investigate how the plays were performed in Shakespeare's own time, and also how they have been transformed by directors in contemporary times. Students will explore the work of the actor and director through readings and by preparing and performing scenes and monologues. Students will also read criticism and analyses of the chosen play and write analyses of scenes in preparation for staging work in class. Also listed as ENGL 20900.
Core: Creative Methods
AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSIC: IM, UD ~ A study of African American performing arts (music, dance, drama) from a socio-historical, cultural, and ethnomusicological perspective. Course topics may vary, and are explored through a critical analysis of performers, listeners, styles, and performative practices using multi-disciplinary theoretical approaches; Repeatable when topics vary.
Core: Interpretive Methods; Understanding Diversity Home
SYMPHONIC LITERATURE~ The course is designed to examine important standard works for symphony orchestra of the 18th through 20th centuries. Repertory will include compositions by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Prokofiev, Shostakovitch, and Barber, to name a few. Music will not be limited to symphonies, but will also cover symphonic poems, concertos, and important orchestral excerpts from operas and incidental music to plays. The artistic, historic, and even problematic aspects of each piece will be examined. Open to non-majors with note-reading ability.
MUSIC AND GENDER:CA~ This course explores relationships between gender, music/sound, and performance from the perspectives of ethnomusicology, musicology, popular music studies, feminine/masculine/queer theory and performance studies. The class will examine the ways music making reflexively structures gender conventions; the role of gender in social life; and gender experience understood across cultures.
Core: Social/Cultural Analysis Meth
ASIAN ARTS CULTURES:EW,IM~ This course explores the performing arts (music, dance, and drama) among diverse cultural groups across varying geographic regions in Asia. Thematic topics focus on how the arts in Asian contexts socialize notions of gender, race, performative authenticity, cultural/ethnic identity, spirituality, nationalism, and relationships with the natural world. Guest lectures and live performance are included. This course fulfills requirements for the Asian Studies minor.
Core: Experiencing the World; Interpretive Methods
ORAL INTERPRETATION OF LITERATURE:CM~ Critical approaches to literature to discover meaning and to appreciate the emotional effect of the work is the focal point of this course. Students will use various forms of literature for interpretation and study. Emphasis is placed on principles of reading a work aloud to communicate its intellectual and emotional meaning. Presentations will be required and integral aspect of the course. Also listed as COMM 22400.
Core: Creative Methods
CREATIVE DRAMATICS:CM~ This course will explore how dramatic play and improvisation can be used to stimulate learning in the grade-school classroom. Students will develop storytelling skills using numerous techniques, activities, and exercises. Students will develop a story through improvisation and realize their story into a theater production. The class will culminate in a performance.
Core: Creative Methods
THE MUSICAN AS ENTREPRENEUR:CA~ "Entrepreneurship" in the field of music is commonly associated only with music marketing, production, and publication. Yet successful performers, composers, or conductors have, throughout the history of music, demonstrated an entrepreneurial mindset. This course will demonstrate how musicians historically have created opportunities that have not only enhanced their professional lives but also have served and educated the communities in which they live. We will examine entrepreneurship in music from both an historical and contemporary, practical perspective, providing the students with role models from both the past and the present. Emphasis will be placed on the role of the musician as community arts advocate and educator. The students will also examine existing local and national arts organizations and apply entrepreneurial concepts to create ideas for new enterprises. Counts toward ENTR minor.
Core: Social/Cultural Analysis Meth
CLASSICAL DRAMA~ This course focuses on tragedies and comedies of the Greek and Roman theatres. Representative plays of various Greek and Latin playwrights will be examined and discussed. One play will be presented as Reader's Theatre.
INTRODUCTION TO PUPPETRY:CM ~ This course will introduce the student to the various types of puppets and puppetry traditions from around the world. Students will learn the fundamentals of puppet design and construction by actually building some puppets and working with them on puppet performance, manipulation, characterization, and expression. In this course we will investigate how the art of puppetry is a reflection of the beliefs and values of the cultures that produce them. We will explore the ways in which puppets can express our common threads and universal emotions and behaviors. Students will explore and rediscover their creative sides and sense of play.
Core: Creative Methods
THEORY AND PRACTICE OF SCENE DESIGN~ This course will explore the process of creating scenic elements from the script to the stage. It is geared for students who are interested in theatre. The course will explore and develop the role and impact of the scene designer; basic drafting; use of color media; model building; and rendering. Students will become aware of the details the scene designer must integrate to achieve the historical, cultural, and psychological distinctions of stage settings and properties.
Core: Creative Methods
THEORY AND PRACTICE OF STAGE LIGHTING:CM~ The principles of electricity and optics which are applied to theatrical lighting equipment will be covered in this course. Other topics include the history and developments within the total lighting control systems and the use of color in lighting for the stage. Finally, the course will develop the student's awareness and ability to design lighting for dramatic productions.
Core: Creative Methods
SHAKESPEARE:IM~ This introductory course features major plays by Shakespeare with an emphasis on their place in the theatre. We shall also consider historical context, language, genre, and theoretical influences on recent criticism. Plays representing early and late periods, such as Twelfth Night, I Henry IV, Hamlet, Measure for Measure, King Lear, Anthony and Cleopatra, and The Winter's Tale, may be included. Also listed as ENGL 26100. Counts toward ENTR minor.
Core: Interpretive Methods
INTRODUCTION TO COSTUME/MAKEUP:CM ~ This class introduces the roles of the costume and make-up designers play in creating a theatrical production. Students will learn how to analyze a play with an eye to discovering how design helps to illuminate the author’s and the director’s concept. Students will learn about the history of costume, from the Egyptians through the twentieth century in a brief overview to understand the basic silhouettes of each historical period. Students will explore different media: crème make-up, colored pencil, water color and markers, and practice how to use them to create the illusion of highlight and shadow.
Core: Creative Methods
SEMINAR ~
INDEPENDENT STUDY ~
FIELD EXPERIENCE~
MUSIC HISTORY AND LITERATURE I:IM~ A historical and analytical study of music from Gregorian Chant through 1750, including composers such as Machaut, Josquin, Palestrina, Lassus, Gabrieli, Monteverdi, Purcell, Vivaldi, Bach and Handel. The student is introduced to research methods in musicology. Open to non-majors with note-reading ability.
Core: Interpretive Methods
EXPLORING ABILITY AND DISABILITY THROUGH PERFORMANCE- AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER~ This class will explore disability through the power of literature and performing arts focusing on the theme of autism spectrum disorders. In the fall, students will be engaging the topic of autism through the exploration of literature and scientific papers, discussions with medical providers and families who care for people with autism, and through personal interaction with people who have autism. This research will provide students with a comprehensive overview of Autism Spectrum Disorder and the experiences of people who live with it daily. After the interview process, the students will work the material they collected and each other in groups to create a short performance piece that captures particular issues surrounding Autism Spectrum Disorder and engages audiences (predominantly high school and college students) with the topic. The hope is that, in the spring, a selection of the pieces created in class will be toured and performed to area venues and discussion sessions will be held to provide additional information about Autism Spectrum Disorder to those audiences. This course can count for Biomedical Humanities students as one of their Medical Humanities courses. Cross-listed with INTD 32650.
FUNDAMENTALS OF PLAY DIRECTING ~ In this class, students will explore basic directing techniques, blocking, script analysis, production styles, and script selection. The course deals with both the theoretical and practical problems facing the beginning director. Students will read a textbook, create sample promptbooks, direct scenes with actors, critique each other's work, and attend other theatre productions. Regular attendance is required. Prerequisite: THEA 12000 or PERF 12010 or permission.
Prerequisite: THEA 12000 or PERF 12010
FOUNDATIONS OF SINGING: VOCAL PEDAGOGY AND LITERATURE ~ A study of pedagogical approaches to the study of the voice and general survey of classical vocal literature. Open to all students.
SURVEY OF WIND AND ORCHESTRAL LITERATURE~ An overview of music written specifically for the wind band and orchestra. The course will incorporate listening and score study to trace the development of standard musical forms and identify significant composers and compositions. Music reading ability is not required though strongly recommended.
SEMINAR ~
TPC: DESIGN~