Contemporary Collaborative Performance: Grad Projects I

This course will provide a critical and supportive forum for the development of new works of original performance, focusing primarily on where current dance and theatre combinations find inspiration. In the first semester, students will explore contemporary theatre-building techniques and methodologies from Dada to Judson Church and beyond. The majority of time will be devoted to lab work, where students will create their own short performance pieces through a multidisciplinary approach. Students will be asked to devise original theatre pieces that utilize such methods as solo forms, viewpoints, chance operations, and creations from nontheatrical sources. In addition to the laboratory aspect to the class, a number of plays, essays, and artists’ manifestos will be discussed. In the second semester, students will collaborate on a single, evening-length work, utilizing theatrical and nontheatrical sources in an attempt to speak to our cultural moment. Please note: The second semester will require additional developmental/rehearsal time outside of class. In addition to class work, there will be several opportunities to visit rehearsals and performances of professional theatre and dance in New York City. This class meets once a week. Open to first-year graduate students only.