The performing arts of stage and screen, past and present, are the concern of the Department of Dance, Drama, and Film. The central objects of our study are the play, the film, and the dance, and the ways they are brought to life before an audience. Students learn by doing the jobs of the artists who collaborate to make these works. Some courses concentrate on the arts as they were performed in their historical and cultural context; others explore in depth the craft of the artists: the playwright, screenwriter, choreographer, actor, dancer, director, designer, and filmmaker. Almost all courses require, in conjunction with reading and critical writing, the performance of problems and exercises. Students are encouraged to pursue independent work either in historical and critical research or in creative activity. All courses in the department are open to every student in the College; certain courses have prerequisites noted in the course descriptions. Majors are given some preference for admission to upper level courses.

New Students

DANC 105 is the most appropriate introductory course for first-year students interested in dance. DRAM 111 is the introductory course most appropriate for first-year students interested in either drama or film. Students interested in film should note that DRAM 111, offered in the fall semester, is a prerequisite to FILM 111, which is offered in the spring semester. As the foundation on which the other coursework in the department is built, these courses are recommended to students considering majors in the department. They are also recommended for other students wishing to diversify their course of study by fulfilling distribution requirements in the fine arts. The majors in dance, drama, and film are normally open to students whose performance in the appropriate introductory course has been good.

Requirements for the Major

Students majoring in the department may emphasize theater, dance, or film. The minimum requirements for each major are as follows:

Emphasis in Theater (5.5 units):

• DRAM 111 Introduction to the Theater (.5 unit)
• DRAM 213 History of Western Theater (.5 unit)
• 1.5 units drawn from Elements of Theater Art

These courses provide a close examination of several aspects of film and theater arts: acting, writing, directing, and design. Reading, discussion, problem solving, and laboratory exercises will increase students' understanding of the artistic experience and develop their skills in the arts of film and theater.

• 1 unit drawn from The Stage and Its Plays (DRAM 251-DRAM 257)

These courses provide a study, in terms of the theater, of selected plays of a period of notable dramatic achievement or the work of an important playwright. Emphasis, by means of problems and exercises, is on the theatrical qualities of the plays and their staging.

• 1.5 units drawn from other course offerings in the department--these may include courses in dance and/or film.
• DRAM 493 Individual Study (.5 unit)

Emphasis in Dance (5 units):

• DANC 105 Introduction to the Dance (.5 unit)
• DANC 215 Contemporary Dance History (.5 unit)
• DANC 220 Dance Labanotation (.5 unit)
• DANC 227 The Choreographer I (.5 unit)
• DANC 228 The Choreographer II (.5 unit)
• .5 unit drawn from Elements of Theater Art
• DANC 322 Dance Kinesiology (.5 unit)
• DANC 493 Individual Study (.5 unit)
• 1 unit of Dance Technique

Emphasis in Film (5.5 units):

• DRAM 111 Introduction to the Theater (.5 unit)
• FILM 111 Introduction to Film (.5 unit)
• 1 unit from our selections of Film Genre courses (FILM 251-FILM 259)
• At least 1.5 units selected from the list below, including at least one class in writing for the screen (FILM 231, 243, 335, or 336)
  • FILM 230 Writing the Short Film (.5 unit)
  • FILM 231 The Screenwriter (.5 unit)
  • FILM 261 Directing for the Camera (.5 unit)
  • FILM 267 The Documentary (.5 unit)
  • FILM 328 Advanced Acting on Screen(.5 unit)
  • FILM 335 Screenwriting II/Film Development (.5 unit)
  • FILM 336 Writing the Television Pilot (.5 unit)
  • FILM 361 Intermediate Film Directing (.5 unit)

Students are also required to fulfill the requirements for their senior exercise with FILM 480 Senior Seminar in Film. (0.50 unit)

In addition, students pursuing a major in Film must choose an additional 1.5 units of study in consultation with their faculty advisor. Students are encouraged to include courses offered by other departments in their course of study, but no more than 1 unit outside the Department of Dance, Drama, and Film can be credited toward the 5.5 units required for the major. Courses students might choose to complete the required additional 1.5 units of study include, but are not limited to:

• DRAM 220 The Actor (.5 unit)
• DRAM 231Y-232Y Playwriting and Dramatic Theory (1 unit)
• DRAM 242 The Costume Designer (.5 unit)
• DRAM 243 The Lighting Designer (.5 unit)
• DRAM 261 The Director (.5 unit)
• ARTS 107 Digital Imaging (.5 unit)
• ARTS 361 Alternative Narratives: The Role of Storytelling in Video Art (.5 unit)
• ARTS 362 Poetics of the Moving Image (.5 unit)
• ENGL 219 Film as Text (.5 unit)
• ITAL 350 Topics in Italian Cinema (.5 unit)
• PHIL 263 Mind, Perception, and Film (.5 unit)
• WGS 221 Gender and Film (.5 unit)

The Senior Exercise

The Senior Exercise has three parts: a project, an oral discussion of the project, and a written examination. Each senior major, with the advice and consent of the department's faculty, designs a senior project, a major piece of creative or scholarly work. The student will initiate the work and collaborate with others to see it through to completion, all with guidance from one or more faculty members. The faculty guidance will take the form of an Individual Study, DANC, DRAM, or FILM 493, for which the student will receive course credit and a grade. When the work is finished, the student and department faculty members will discuss the preparation and choices that shaped the project. At the end of the year, every senior major will complete a six-hour written examination. The awarding of "distinction" is based on the student's performance on all three parts of the exercise.

Honors

Students interested in reading for honors must begin during the junior year. In the Department of Dance, Drama, and Film, the pursuit of honors is a two-year process. All students reading for honors in the department are required to complete both junior honors and senior honors.

To be eligible to read for honors in Dance, Drama, or Film, a student must meet the following requirements:

1. The applicant must be a student in good standing who can offer, at the time of application, a cumulative grade point average of 3.33 or better.

2. The applicant is limited to a single major. Because of the extensive nature of the projects, no double majors will be allowed to read for honors in the Department of Dance, Drama, or Film.

3. The candidate for honors will be expected to maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.33 and a GPA of 3.5 or better within the major throughout the course of study.

To apply, the student will present a plan for a scholarly or artistic project in the subject of dance, drama, or film to the department faculty before the tenth week of instruction of the first semester of the junior year. This project will be designed to take not less than 1 unit, and not more than 1.5 units, of tutorial study. The faculty will evaluate this proposal in terms of its originality and ambition, its intrinsic and pedagogical value, and its practical feasibility.

Students interested in becoming honors candidates in dance, drama, or film should speak with their advisor or the department chair, well in advance of the deadline noted above.

Requirements for the Minor in Dance

The following courses are required for a minor in dance (3.0 units):

• DANC 105 Introduction to the Dance (.5 unit)
• .5 unit of dance technique
• DANC 215 Contemporary Dance History (.5 unit)
• DANC 227 The Choreographer I (.5 unit)
• Choose 2 of the following 3 courses : DANC 220 Dance Labanotation, DANC 228 The Choreographer II, and DANC 322 Dance Kinesiology (1 unit)