Program Director:
Dr. Robert Tanner (Professor)
Faculty:
A list of faculty is available in the Spelman College Bulletin
Program overview:
Theatre and Performance is made possible through a partnership between Morehouse and Spelman College. The Theatre and Performance curriculum is designed to challenge theatre arts students and encourage discovery, creativity, and scholarship. It provides the formal preparation necessary for advanced academic or professional study. And it offers students experiences in theatre arts through broad-based exposure to the various aspects of drama while contributing to the cultural enrichment of the Atlanta University Center and the community.
The Theatre and Performance major offer creative and inquisitive candidates an opportunity to explore performance, writing, and design through experimentation and exploration. This interdisciplinary approach to performance offers a unique approach to theatre studies. Students are encouraged to experiment with text, film, live performance, songs, and site-specific areas to develop and create original stories. Along with the classic theatre texts, students experience comprehensive, interdisciplinary performance training.
Students create a graduation portfolio that includes self-generated short performance work, complete with design, a short-filmed reel, and a monologue to go forward into graduate school or the industry.
African American cultural forms and best practice methodologies, including an introduction to international approaches to theatre, expose students to contemporary performance practice. Students also critically analyze social activism and politics and how these elements come together to shape and form bold and exciting artists and citizens.
Student learning outcomes:
The Theatre and Performance major will:
- Articulate in oral and written form, the historical, literary, cultural, and theoretical knowledge of theatre and performance
- Analyze and evaluate scholarship and performance in theatre
- Exhibit high-level critical thinking and performance skills and uniquely expressed creativity
- Use media and technology effectively in performances and presentations
- Demonstrate the ability to work collaboratively to create thoughtful, well-executed works
Department policies and/or General Education modifications:
- A grade of C or higher is required for majors to satisfactorily complete all Theater and Performance general education courses, concentration courses, and electives designated for the concentration.
- All majors are expected to participate fully in the life of the department by either performing in or doing back-stage work in at least four productions.
The audition process provides invaluable learning opportunities. Therefore, students are required to attend general auditions at the beginning of each academic year and to audition for each departmental production to gain auditioning experience.
Return to: