Song. Dance. Man. Woman. These are the basic components of the Broadway musical theatre. How have musical theatre artists, composers, lyricists, librettists, directors, choreographers, and designers worked with these building blocks to create this quintessentially American form of art and entertainment? This course will explore conventional and resistant performances of gender and sexuality in the Broadway musical since the 1940s. Why are musicals structured by love and romance?

Ever thought of writing a rock musical? Or, having written one, staging it? If you're a writer, composer, musician, singer or director you might consider joining the Tony Award winning composer Stew (Passing Strange) and book and lyrics writer Paul Muldoon as they develop their new piece commissioned by the Public Theater in New York. Athens, Georgia is based on the Frogs of Aristophanes but set squarely in the America of the 2020s. This up-to-date version combines slapstick and social justice and features appearances by the rock god Dionysus, the guitar hero Hercules, Chuck Berry, Little Richard and, of course, the Real Housewives of Hades.

The writer Annie Dillard says that how we spend our days is how we spend our lives. College is a unique time to question how we spend those days and develop tools for lifelong independent learning, creating, exploring, and centering. We will look at practice as both verb and noun, pay special attention to the ways in which we embody the work (and change) we want to see in the world. Through somatic activities, talks with invited guests, projects, and readings (across the arts, sciences, philosophy, religion, and activism), we'll revel in the interplay between process and product, solitude and community, structure and freedom, life and art.

Enrolled students will engage with this course as workshop cast members of a new interdisciplinary piece by Princeton Arts Fellow Michael J. Love and explore methods of rhythm tap dance performance, live electronic music composition, and practice-based research on Black American music (genres such as jazz, funk, soul, hip hop, techno, and house). In-studio class meetings, structured as rehearsals, will be augmented with weekly listening, viewing, and reading assignments. There may also be opportunities for guest artists and respondents. The course will culminate in a work-in-progress showing during the final weeks of the semester.

In this course we will explore the extraordinary capabilities of the human voice. Using western classical vocal techniques as a starting point we will move into an exploration of extended techniques from both inside and outside of that tradition (including the use of amplification and microphone technique). We will work collaboratively to create new work, culminating in an informal performance. We will be joined by special guests - performers and/or composers - who will share their insights and processes. The course is open to singers, non-singers, composers or non-composers : all are welcome. Be prepared to make some noise!

DIDO REIMAGINED - Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, and Errollyn Wallen's Dido's Ghost This class will combine a staged, in-the-round performance of Purcell's emblematic masterpiece "Dido and Aeneas" with the in-depth study and performance of selected scenes from composer Errollyn Wallen's brand new "sequel" to Purcell's opera - "Dido's Ghost".

This upper level musical theater writing course will delve into the creation of new musical works for the stage, with an emphasis on music as an essential dramatic language. In the first half of the course, students will explore the fundamentals of music composition, including song structure, melody, harmony, and vocal writing. In the second, students will create and workshop 15-minute musicals, harnessing music as a tool to tell stories, illuminate character, and express ideas with impact and resonance. The workshop will culminate in a presentation of these short musicals-in-progress.

This course introduces students to set and costume design for performance, exploring theater as a visual medium. Students will develop their ability to think about the physical environment (including clothing) as key components of story-telling and our understanding of human experience. Students will expand their vocabulary for discussing the visual world and work on their collaborative skills. We'll spend half the semester focusing on costuming and half focusing of the scenic environment, both in a practical, on your feet studio class taught by professional theater practitioners. Absolutely no experience required.

An exploration of theatrical sound design and engineering, this class will explore sound for both theater and music theater. We will investigate text from the point of view of sound, and learn how to communicate the ideas, palette and arc of a design to others. We will explore developing a creative process and turning our ideas into sounds that can be used onstage.

This junior methods seminar will prepare you to create and co-produce theatrical projects for your senior year independent work in a changing landscape of theater making. We will address the development of theatrical literacy, creative processes, collaborative and leadership skills; incorporating practical exercises and professional guests. We will hold space for reflecting on art-making, individually and as a member of a collaborative cohort, and mentor you in developing an anti-racist theater practice. As a group, you'll be prepared to support each other in creating an exciting senior year theater season and into the future.

A workshop course designed to support advanced student theater and music theater writers in exploring possible performance of their writing. Students will investigate their writing with a focus on collaboration, performance and production. Individualized creative assignments will be suggested for each student. Students will be introduced to methodologies for producing new works and for theatrical collaboration, and will discuss the writer's point of view in the rehearsal room, physical staging, working with performers and character development, and exploring visual storytelling.

This course is designed to encourage the development of directors for theater and musical theater, covering techniques and practices from both areas. The course will look at the practices of a small list of key figures in world theatre and how their work has influenced how directors approach the rehearsal room today. The course will incorporate a strong practical element, giving student directors the opportunity to explore and hone their own practices, developing useful and appropriate style and language as they move forward in their work as young directors.

This course will be an exploration, rehearsals and performances of a production of the play Fuenteovejuna by Lope de Vega, to be performed partly or completely in the Spanish language. The project will be directed by professional director Estefania Fadul, and will lead to performances in the Berlind Theater. Rehearsals for this project will be several hours a week in addition to classtime. Students who missed the theater program's September 2021 Try On Theater days should reach out to earaoz@ for more information about remaining performing or production roles.