Departmental Requirements and Courses of Instruction

Acting (M.F.A. and Certificate)

Ron Van Lieu, Chair

The Acting department admits talented and committed individuals who possess an active intelligence, a strong imagination, and a physical and vocal instrument capable of development, and prepares them for work as professional actors. The program of study combines in-depth classroom training with extensive production work. At the conclusion of their training, individuals will be prepared to work on a wide range of material and in a variety of venues.

The first year is a highly disciplined period of training. The first production opportunity comes at the end of the first term with the presentation of collaboratively created projects adapted from source material assigned by the faculty (Drama 50a, The Collaborative Process). After this project, students in good standing enter the casting pool for Yale School of Drama productions. The year begins with a concentration on realism, and at the beginning of the second term, actors are introduced to text work. Students who have demonstrated and developed their talent during the year will be invited by the faculty to return for a second year of training.

Second-year work expands the focus into verse drama, with emphasis on understanding and performing the works of Shakespeare. Students strengthen their skills and attain a higher level of ensemble work through their classes and through increasing production assignments. In the second term of the second year, the work shifts to other writers such as Molière, George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, etc. The third year is spent exploring the varied material of contemporary theater.

Yale School of Drama production opportunities include work in a diverse season of directors’ thesis productions, Shakespeare Repertory Projects, and new plays by student playwrights. All casting is assigned by the chair of the Acting department (pending approval by the dean) based on the developmental needs of each student and on the needs of the project as articulated by its director. Actors should take note of the casting policy as further stated under Departmental Assignments, under Departmental Assignments. During the school year, acting in projects outside the School of Drama is discouraged, and permission to do so is rarely given.

Yale Repertory Theatre serves as an advanced training center for the department. All acting students work at Yale Rep as understudies, observing and working alongside professional actors and directors. Many have the opportunity to appear in roles during the season, depending upon their appropriateness to the parts available. Through work at Yale Repertory Theatre, those students who are not members of Actors’ Equity will attain membership upon graduation.

Yale Cabaret provides an additional, although strictly extracurricular, outlet for the exploration of a wide range of material: serious, absurdist, improvisational, and musical.

Plan of Study: Acting

Students are required to attend all classes in their curriculum.

Courses of Instruction

DRAM 6a/b, Survey of Theater and Drama See description under Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism.

DRAM 50a, The Collaborative Process See description under Directing.

DRAM 103a/b, Acting I Scene study in the first year begins with a concentration on the works of American writers such as Tennessee Williams, Eugene O’Neill, August Wilson, Suzan Lori-Parks, Tony Kushner, and others. In the second term the concentration shifts to the realistic works of Chekhov and Ibsen. Through rigorous attention to the text, students learn to identify and personalize a character’s driving need (objective) and to engage themselves (voice, body, mind, and spirit) in its active pursuit, informed by character-specific listening. Ron Van Lieu

DRAM 113a/b, Voice I Voice training is structured as a progression of exercises/experiences designed to liberate the individual’s natural voice from habitual psychophysical tensions, to connect breath and sound to image and emotion, to develop the potential for expression and the appetite for language, and to promote vocal ease, clarity, power, stamina, range, and sensitivity to impulse. Walton Wilson

DRAM 123a/b, Speech I Speech training seeks to broaden the actor’s range of vocal and imaginative expression and to deepen the actor’s sensory relationship to language. The exploration of phonetics encourages flexibility, specificity, and variety. The approach is actively rooted in the whole body; for example, the International Phonetic Alphabet is acquired in conjunction with physical work so that the sounds become kinesthetically linked to the body, rather than only to the articulating surfaces of the mouth. Dialects are explored as a transformational acting tool in connection with dramatic texts. In the third year, commercial voice-over techniques are introduced and individual recordings are created with the assistance of Sound Design students. Pamela Prather

DRAM 133a/b, Movement I In this course, students approach the practice of the improvisational mind as the very basis of creativity itself. Fundamental is the perhaps counter-intuitive view that critical thinking, creativity, and performance are all grounded in the skills of listening and improvisation. To develop a more centered, agile, and responsive mind/body, the weekly practice of creative listening includes a physical warm-up followed by the exploration of improvisational movement structures designed to awaken and hone perception and expression. Through reading, discussion, and performance, actors discover how improvisation teaches them to think, create, and problem solve with more spontaneity and imagination, transform fear and become more creative under pressure, attend and follow creative intuition, heighten awareness of composition and non-verbal communication, and convey ideas with a stronger sense of focus and presence.  Cheryl Cutler

DRAM 143a/b, Alexander Technique I Offered in all three years through class work and private tutorials, this work develops the actor’s kinesthetic awareness, fosters balance and alignment, and, through breath work, promotes the connection between voice and body. Jessica Wolf

DRAM 153a, In-Play This course encourages the actor’s imagination, threads impulse through the voice and body, promotes spontaneity, and prepares the actor to make bold physical choices in production. Jane Nichols

DRAM 163a, Text Analysis II This course seeks to provide students with tools to mine the printed text for given circumstances, character, objective, and action, noting the opportunities and limitations that the printed play script presents, and promoting the freedom and responsibility of the actor as an interpretive artist. James Bundy

DRAM 163b, Text Analysis I See description under DRAM 163a. James Bundy

DRAM 173b, Singing I Through classes and tutorials in all three years, this work develops actors’ singing voices, gives them experience in acting sung material, and contributes to the overall development of their vocal instruments. Vicki Shaghoian

DRAM 203a/b Acting II Second-year work expands the focus on verse drama, with continued emphasis on understanding and performing the works of Shakespeare. Projects are designed to allow each student to perform in a play by Shakespeare. In the second term the focus switches to an emphasis on heightened and extended language through contact with writers such as Molière, Shaw, Wilde, and so on. Text work continues. Peter Francis James, Evan Yionoulis

DRAM 213a/b, Voice II See description under DRAM 113a/b. Walton Wilson, Grace Zandarski

DRAM 223a/b, Speech II See description under DRAM 123a/b. Beth McGuire

DRAM 233a/b, Movement II See description under DRAM 133a/b. Fay Simpson

DRAM 243a/b, Alexander Technique II See description under DRAM 143a/b. Gwen Ellison

DRAM 253a, Commedia This course explores the classical archetypes of the commedia dell’arte. It makes use of mask, physical articulation, sound, and rhythm to develop the transformational power of the actors. When the mask is alive and impulses begin to travel with abandon through the physical psychology of the body, the student begins to understand the actor/audience relationship in all its ferocious beauty. The work is primarily improvisational with the actor/creator at the center of the theatrical conversation. Christopher Bayes

DRAM 253b, Clown This course focuses on the discovery of the playful self through exercises in rhythm, balance, generosity, and abandon. The blocks and filters that prevent the actor from following impulses fully are removed. It allows the actor to listen with the body and begin to give more value to the pleasure of performance. Once the actor learns to play without worry, he or she begins to discover the personal clown that lives in the center of the comic world. Christopher Bayes

DRAM 273a/b, Dance Description TBA. David Neumann

DRAM 303a/b, Acting III Scene study begins with the study of Brecht and different approaches to action. Students tackle modern and contemporary material to discover how technique is adapted to the requirements of varying texts. Audition material for the Actor Showcase in New York and Los Angeles is selected and developed. Ron Van Lieu, Evan Yionoulis

DRAM 313a/b, Voice III See description under DRAM 113a/b. Walton Wilson, Grace Zandarski

DRAM 323a/b, Speech III See description under DRAM 123a/b. Beth McGuire, Pamela Prather

DRAM 333a, Movement III See description under DRAM 133a/b. Fay Simpson

DRAM 333b, Yoga This course is a detailed introduction to the practice of vinyasa hatha yoga, primarily informed by the Kripalu and astanga lineages. Class meetings are spent reviewing fundamental postures (“asanas”), plus their variations; as well as examination of primary breathing techniques (“pranayama”) in conjunction with these postures. Supplemental reading and brief writing assignments investigate the mental and ethical underpinnings of this ancient discipline, and their relationship to the work on (and off) the mat. Students of all levels are welcome. Faculty

DRAM 343a/b, Alexander Technique III See description under DRAM 143a/b. Jessica Wolf

DRAM 363a, Creating Actor-Generated Works The goal of this course is to create actor-generated works for the theater. A student answers these questions: What is he or she passionate about? What is he or she longing to express? What are his or her concerns and desires? Using many techniques of discovery and exploration, the actors create theater works that spring from the answers to these questions. The resulting works celebrate the actor’s individuality and diversity, encouraging access to ethnic roots and traditions. Joan MacIntosh

DRAM 403a/b, Stage Combat I Unarmed combat in the first year prepares the actor to execute stage violence effectively and safely. Skills of concentration, partner-awareness, and impulse-response are also fostered in this work. Michael Rossmy, Rick Sordelet

DRAM 405a/b, Stage Combat II Armed combat in the second year prepares the actor to execute stage violence effectively and safely. Skills of concentration, partner-awareness, and impulse-response are also fostered in this work. Michael Rossmy, Rick Sordelet

DRAM 413a/b, Singing II See description under DRAM 173b. Vicki Shaghoian

DRAM 423a/b, Singing III See description under DRAM 173b. Vicki Shaghoian

DRAM 433a, Acting for Camera In this workshop, third-year students become comfortable in front of the camera, learning how to transfer the work they do to the medium of film. On-camera audition techniques are taught. Ellen Novack

DRAM 433b, Audition and Professional Preparation Through practice auditions of varied material and visits from industry professionals (working actors, agents, casting agents, and directors), third-year actors acquire the information and skills they need to make the transition into the professional world. In their final term, students choose and rehearse scenes which are presented to agents, casting agents, and producers in New York and Los Angeles. Ellen Novack, Ron Van Lieu.

Design (M.F.A. and Certificate)

Ming Cho Lee, Stephen Strawbridge, Co-Chairs

The purpose of the Design department is to develop theater artists who are masterful designers in set, costume, lighting, and sound for the theater. The department encourages students to discover their own process of formulating design ideas, to develop a discriminating standard for their own endeavors, and above all to prepare for a creative and meaningful professional life in the broad range of theater activities.

In the belief that theater is a collaborative art, it is hoped that through their Yale School of Drama experience design students discover a true sense of joy in working with other people, especially directors, and realize the excitement of evolving a production through the process of collaboration.

Finally, the department endeavors to create an atmosphere conducive to creative experimentation, tempered by honest, open criticism and disciplined study.

Theater is an act of transformation, and for designers it is the transformation of words into visual and musical imagery. Set, costume, and, to a certain extent, lighting designers must have the capacity for visual expression, with its foundation set firmly in the ability to draw and sketch clearly and expressively. Drawing is not merely a technique for presentation; it is the language that reveals one’s thoughts, and thus creates a dialogue among the director, the designers, and their colleagues. Through drawing, one observes and records one’s world. Drawing informs and clarifies one’s vision and is an integral part of the formulation of a design. Drawing should be as natural to the visual designer as speaking; therefore, to keep their drawing skills honed, all set, costume, and lighting design students are required to take a weekly life drawing class offered by the department.

Students are admitted to the program on the basis of their artistic abilities as shown in their portfolios, as well as their commitment to the theater and their ability to articulate their ideas.

Each entering class is unique, with the ratio of set to costume to lighting designers varying according to the qualifications of the applicants. Approximately ten students are admitted each year. With two full-time teachers in each design discipline, there is a high faculty to student ratio. The Design department faculty make a strong, personal commitment to each student that is accepted. There is no second-tier status. All students participate at the same level and are expected to complete the program of study.

The student’s training is accomplished through approximately equal parts classroom work and production experience. It is understood that, with certain exceptions, students of visual design will study scenic, costume, and lighting design in all three years. The culmination of this training is the Master Class in Design, taken by all visual design students in the third year, in which a number of unified projects and a thesis are presented to the combined faculty in the course of two terms.

It is recognized that some students are stronger in some areas than they are in others and allowance is made for this fact in production assignments. For the first year, and to a limited extent in the second year, students are assigned to assist a designer without regard to such strengths. When assignments are made as principal designer of one aspect of a production, chiefly in the second and third years, such an assignment usually reflects the student’s strengths and career expectations.

Sound design students who are admitted into the Design department are also required to take introductory visual design classes in an attempt to develop a common body of knowledge within the entire design team, and to provide opportunities for all designers to develop collaborative communication and presentation skills.

Plan of Study: Design

Courses of Instruction

DRAM 6a/b, Survey of Theater and Drama See description under Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism.

DRAM 89a, Costume Construction See description under Technical Design and Production. Required for costume designers; elective for all others, with permission of the instructor.

DRAM 102a/b, Scene Design An introduction for all non-design students to the aesthetics and the process of scenic design through critique and discussion of weekly projects. Emphasis is given to the examination of the text and the action of the play, the
formulation of design ideas, the visual expression of the ideas, and especially the collaboration with directors and all other designers. Three hours a week. Ming Cho Lee, Michael Yeargan

DRAM 112a/b, Scene Design: Background and Practice An introductory course for all designers in conjunction with 102a/b. Ming Cho Lee, Michael Yeargan

DRAM 114b, Lighting Design for Stage Managers This course explores the aesthetics and techniques of professional stage lighting with particular emphasis given to the working relationship between the lighting designer and stage manager. Additionally, this course prepares stage managers for their role in maintaining and recreating lighting designs on touring and long-running productions. Classroom discussion and practical application are equal components. Stephen Strawbridge

DRAM 115a/b, Costume Design: Background and Practice A review of the history of civil costume and a study of the technique and practice of theatrical costume design leading to the preparation of designs for productions and the carrying out of the designs in actual costumes for the stage. Criticism of weekly sketch problems. Two hours a week. Jane Greenwood, Ilona Somogyi

DRAM 122a/b, Stagecraft for Designers An introductory course for all first-year designers in drafting, stagecraft, and production techniques. Michael Yeargan

DRAM 124a/b, Introduction to Lighting Design An introduction for all non-lighting design students to the aesthetics and the process of lighting design through weekly critique and discussion of theoretical and practical assignments. Emphasis is given to the examination of the action of the play in relation to lighting, the formulation of design ideas, the place of lighting in the overall production, and collaboration with directors, set, costume, and sound designers. Stephen Strawbridge

DRAM 125a/b, History of Costume and Costume Construction A history of costume taught through the costume techniques of the period. The course includes lectures and practical work. Permission of the instructor required. Jane Greenwood

DRAM 132a/b, Advanced Problems in Scene Design Criticism of design problems for plays, musicals, ballet, and opera. This course continues the work started in DRAM 112, carrying it a step further and focusing on design realization. Prerequisite: DRAM 112a/b. Two hours a week. Ming Cho Lee

DRAM 134a/b, Advanced Problems in Stage Lighting A course intended to help the student develop a sense of, and a facility with, light as an element in a production. Projects are prepared consistent with best professional practice. Prerequisites: DRAM 124a/b and permission of the instructor. Four hours a week. Jennifer Tipton

DRAM 135a/b, Advanced Problems in Costume Design Detailed practical experience in the preparation of costumes for the stage, including sketches for projected designs and plans for their execution. Prerequisites: DRAM 115a/b and DRAM 125a/b. Two hours a week. Jess Goldstein, Ilona Somogyi

DRAM 142a/b, 145a/b, 154a/b, Master Class in Design Class required for third-year students for the presentation and criticism of all the visual elements that comprise a complete production. Each student presents several complete projects. One or two of these projects may be designs for a production on the main stage or Yale Repertory Theatre. Each student must complete a final thesis that includes sketches or models of scenes, sketches of costumes, lighting design, designer’s drafting, etc. Four hours a week. Faculty

DRAM 152a/b, Scene Painting A studio class in painting techniques. Problems in textures, materials, styles, to prepare students to execute their own and other designs. Three hours a week. Ru-Jun Wang

DRAM 158a, Introduction to Sound Design Required for first-year lighting and second-year costume and set designers. See description under Sound Design

DRAM 162a/b, Design Studio A course in figure drawing for design students. The course is taken as training by students in every year. Three hours a week. Ru-Jun Wang

DRAM 164a/b, Professional Stage Lighting Design A course to prepare students for the demanding artistic and practical situations to be faced in the professional theater. Large-scale and somewhat complex production problems, such as multiset plays, musical comedies, operas, ballets, and repertory situations may be addressed by students for presentation and critique. Prerequisite: DRAM 134a/b and permission of the instructor. Two hours a week. Jennifer Tipton

DRAM 172a/b, Digital Imaging for Scenic Designers A comprehensive introduction to two-dimensional computer graphics as it applies to designing for the theater. Students develop a working understanding of a digital workflow that includes input (scanning and digital photography), computer-aided design (Adobe Photoshop CS2), and output (printing). The course focuses on the possibilities the computer offers scenic, lighting, and costume designers in professional practice. David Biedny

DRAM 174a/b, Advanced Professional Stage Lighting Design An independent study course concurrent with DRAM 164a/b. Hours to be arranged with the instructor. Jennifer Tipton

DRAM 189a, Costume Production See description under Technical Design and Production.

DRAM 189b, Fabric and Fabric Manipulation See description under Technical Design and Production.

DRAM 212a/b, Independent Study There may be special circumstances in which a student is allowed to pursue a particular area of inquiry independently, and on his or her own time. Faculty supervision and approval is required in formulating the goals and the methods to be employed and a timetable. Faculty

DRAM 224a/b, Introduction to Projection Design In this yearlong course, students develop an understanding of how projection can be integrated into the theatrical space. Students consider media as a storytelling tool, as well as produce a short music video. Emphasis is on exploration, collaboration and thinking in pictures. Students are expected to participate in a number of digital skills seminars that are offered concurrently with this class. Wendall Harrington

DRAM 289b, Patternmaking See description under Technical Design and Production.

DRAM 334a/b, Advanced Projection Design A course to prepare students for production of projection for the stage. Emphasis is given to script analysis, research, and media preparation as well as exploration of technical challenges, cuing, and elementary programming. Prerequisite: DRAM 224a/b. Wendall Harrington

DRAM 350a, A Practical Introduction to Opera for Directors and Designers See description under Directing.

DRAM 489a/b, Advanced Patternmaking See description under Technical Design and Production

Sound Design (M.F.A. and Certificate)

David Budries, Chair

The Sound Design concentration offered through the Design department attempts to exercise and develop the conceptual, compositional, and technical skills of a sound designer through substantial academic offerings and a set of practical design opportunities that together provide a solid professional training experience. This rigorous preparation readies students for a variety of design and engineering jobs related to music and sound in performance. It is also directly applicable to teaching the art and craft of sound design.

The Sound Design experience at Yale School of Drama is unique in that the four areas of design—scenic, costume, light, and sound—are integrated. All designers are required to take introductory course work in each of the design areas. This introductory course work provides students with a core of basic knowledge and the ability to exercise good communication skills through the design process, while helping to build camaraderie and respect among the designers. This ensemble approach provides a foundation for networking as design professionals after graduation. Collaboration is an essential part of the experience at the School of Drama.

The program is rigorous. Students must be dedicated and willing to work hard. The course work covers the aesthetics of design, music composition, script interpretation, critical listening, professional collaboration, sound and music technology, aural imaging in large spaces, acoustics, investigations into psychoacoustics, digital audio production, advanced sound delivery systems, advanced problem solving, advanced digital applications, production organization, and professional development combined with a wide variety of practical assignments.

The Sound Designers and Directors Workshop is a unique class in which directors and sound designers focus on communication and exploration of each other’s production process.

All students attend Sound Master Classes and Sound Seminars. In these meetings, current production work, concepts for design, and current technological developments are discussed. Professional artists, designers, and technicians are invited to present and discuss their work at these sessions.

Besides the classroom work, the core training revolves around practical production assignments that include working on medium- to large-scale student productions as well as professional design work at Yale Repertory Theatre. Additionally, Yale Cabaret provides students with up to twenty extracurricular design opportunities annually. These hands-on assignments provide invaluable practical learning experiences.

In order to support this work, students have open access to three production studio spaces. Additionally, students are required to develop their own digital audio work-stations while they are in school so that upon graduation, students have their personal studios ready for professional work.

The Sound Design concentration sponsors critiques of current productions. Critiques are scheduled at the beginning of each term, and all sound designers are required to attend. All Yale School of Drama students and invited guests are welcome. After viewing a production, those attending gather informally to discuss all aspects of the work including the storytelling, dramaturgy, acting, directing, design, and music.

The Sound Design concentration nurtures individual creativity and exploration. Its goal is to train professionals who will become leaders in the field of professional theatrical sound design.

Academic Expectation and Professional Practice

Because Yale School of Drama programs of study attempt to balance academics with practical production work, it is necessary for students to learn how to manage their time in both activities. This is an essential skill set for design students to acquire or to further develop. Students are always expected to show up on time and be prepared for classes, meetings, and production assignments. Any variation from that expectation requires direct communication and approval from the instructor, supervisor, stage manager, or other person in charge. Students are expected to be active participants in the production process, attending all required meetings, actor rehearsals, technical rehearsals, and previews. All sound design students are required to attend focus and system balance sessions as well as all scheduled production critiques unless there is a direct production conflict. Again, any variation from that expectation must be directly communicated to the appropriate supervisor to obtain approval.

Designing for Yale Cabaret

First-year students are not allowed to design at Yale Cabaret in their first term, and in the second term they need the approval of a faculty adviser. Any student with a course incomplete may not design for Yale Cabaret regardless of an advanced commitment. All sound designers must promptly convey their Yale Cabaret design commitments to their faculty adviser in writing.

Plan of Study: Sound Design

Required Sequence

ELECTIVE SEQUENCE

The elective sequence is determined in consultation with a departmental adviser. Students must complete two terms of music electives and two terms of general electives. Non-music electives may include DRAM 67b, Lyric Writing for Musical Theater; DRAM 141b, Law and the Arts; DRAM 169a, Shop Technology; DRAM 169b, Stage Rigging Techniques; DRAM 229a, Theater Planning and Construction; DRAM 319a, Automation Control; DRAM 339b, Architectural Acoustics; DRAM 419b, Control Systems for Live Entertainment. The design adviser must approve any exemptions or adjustments to the elective sequence..

Courses of Instruction

DRAM 6a/b, Survey of Theater and Drama See description under Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism.

DRAM 67b, Lyric Writing for Musical Theater See description under Playwriting.

DRAM 112a/b, Scene Design: Background and Practice See description under Design.

DRAM 118a/b, 218a/b, 318a/b, Master Class in Sound Design This class provides opportunities for an in-depth presentation of current production work during the design, budgeting, and technical rehearsal phases. Participants must formally present their design work as if to a director and design team. The presentation of a scale model of the scenic design, as well as costume renderings, is essential. Any questions regarding practical production problems may be presented in this forum. A calendar of presentation dates is distributed. Other design or production partners are welcome to attend these classes. Two hours a week. David Budries

DRAM 119b, Electricity See description under Technical Design and Production.

DRAM 124a/b, Introduction to Lighting Design See description under Design.

DRAM 125a, History of Costume and Costume Construction See description under Design.

DRAM 128a/b, Sound Seminar These regular meetings are required for all sound designers. The seminar sessions feature guest artists (designers, composers, directors, engineers, and consultants), visits to various productions or places of business, and practical modules on a variety of topics. Class typically meets two hours a week. Meeting times are scheduled via e-mail. David Budries

DRAM 138a/b, Production Sound Design and Technology This intensive yearlong course covers the fundamentals of sound and music technology used in professional sound delivery systems and studio production. The course consists of lectures, demonstrations, and practical assignments. Students learn the physical aspects of sound, audio control systems, digital signal processing, loudspeaker theory and application, digital audio workstations, equalization techniques, time delay theory and practice, the basics of stereophony, surround sound techniques, and aural imaging. The course proceeds to cover sound reinforcement theory and practice, power amplifiers, loads, circuiting, radio frequency microphone theory and practice, professional studio techniques, and playback automation. Required for all sound designers. The class meets for four hours a week plus practicals and additional modules of study. Brian MacQueen

DRAM 141b, Law and the Arts See description under Theater Management.

DRAM 158a, Introduction to Sound Design In this class students develop an understanding about how sound and music can be used effectively as a tool to enhance meaning in a play. Students analyze scripts, develop critical listening skills, and learn the
fundamentals of sound delivery systems as well as terms used to describe the perception and presentation of sound and music in a theatrical setting. This course is required for first-year lighting and sound designers and stage managers as well as second-year costume and set designers. Two hours a week. David Budries

DRAM 158b, Recording Arts In this course students learn basic recording practice for remote and studio sessions. Topics include digital recording systems, auralization and imaging, elements of psychoacoustics, microphone theory and application, music recording, sound effects recording, cueing systems, studio monitoring, mixing practice, final mastering, a review of audio control systems, and setting expectations for professional practice in a studio environment. This class is limited to eight participants. There are five recording projects. Required for all sound designers. Permission of the instructor is required for non-majors. Two hours a week. Scott Metcalfe

DRAM 169a, Shop Technology See description under Technical Design and Production.

DRAM 169b, Stage Rigging Techniques See description under Technical Design and Production.

DRAM 188b, Individual Music Lessons This is an introductory project-oriented lesson in music that allows first-year students to develop a path toward their musical development. The student-driven projects are aimed at addressing the musical concerns and needs of the individual, including notation, performance skills, and the expansion of musical vocabulary. One hour per week, meeting time arranged with faculty. Matthew Suttor

DRAM 198a, Sound Design Production Organization This course prepares students to execute all the necessary production paperwork including cue sheets, schematic block diagrams (line drawings or flow charts), system overlays on plan and section drawings, magic sheets budgets, hook-up schedules, rack drawings, shop orders, budgets, RF assignments, RF schedules, and production archives. Other topics include production responsibilities and preparation for technical rehearsals. Required software includes FileMaker Pro, Excel, and VectorWorks. Required for all first-year sound designers.Two hours a week. David Budries

DRAM 229a, Theater Planning and Construction See description under Technical Design and Production.

DRAM 248a, Sound Designers and Directors Workshop The aim of this class is to develop a strong and dynamic relationship among the director, sound designer, and/or composer. Through a series of projects based on short scripts, participants explore the vast potential of designed sound. Topics include the elements of sound design and composition, building an expressive aural vocabulary, developing critical listening skills, understanding each other’s respective production processes, producing in traditional and nontraditional venues, as well as sound design practice for film and television. Required for all second-year sound designers and directors. Two hours a week. David Budries

DRAM 248b, Sound Design for New Plays This course examines the creative and practical interchange among directors, sound designers, composers, and playwrights through an investigation of the function of sound and original music in new plays. Students use contemporary published plays and the works of first-year playwrights to explore the aural creative process. Through critical listening, students attempt to extrapolate ideas from musical sources. The class then turns to a discussion of aesthetics, content, style, and vocabulary with the larger aim of exploring the developmental process from preliminary sketches to a fully realized design. At times students work individually as well as in assigned teams. Through the teamwork, directors and playwrights have an opportunity to be part of practical studio work. The class also examines the role of sound designer in musical theater, cinema, and television. Ninety minutes a week. David Budries, Matthew Suttor

DRAM 258a, Composition for Sound Design This course explores composition as a fundamental component of sound design, focusing on developing an aural imagination through advanced digital tools. Students are assigned projects based on a variety of specialized techniques within a theatrical framework. Students present their projects on assigned dates followed by discussion and critique. During the fall term, students realize six compositional etudes that explore topics of investigation. The nature of the etudes is negotiated with each individual to accommodate production schedules. Due dates are agreed upon by week two (allowing for some flexibility in terms of content). Students must complete at least four etudes by the end of the fall term in order to progress to DRAM 258b. Required for all second-year sound designers. Two hours a week. Matthew Suttor

DRAM 258b, Composition for Sound Design With reference to specific plays, this course builds on the techniques acquired in the fall term as students continue to augment their compositional palette through original and progressive studies in selected areas such as idiomatic acoustic instrumental writing, computer-generated realization, and song. Required for all second-year sound designers. Two hours a week. Matthew Suttor

DRAM 278b, Advanced Problems in Sound Design This course focuses on specific practical problems that face all sound designers. It includes designing advanced sound delivery systems, sound reinforcement systems, monitoring systems, and real-time effects processing. Some problems challenge participants to be very creative with limited resources. Students are assigned conceptual exercises. All class work is intended to promote creativity, innovation, and adaptation. Required for all second-year sound designers. Two hours a week. David Budries

DRAM 288a/b, Individual Music/Composition Lessons Individual project-oriented studies in music composition, either acoustic or technological, aimed at addressing the musical concerns and needs of the particular student, including notation and performance skills. One hour per week; meeting time arranged with faculty. Matthew Suttor

DRAM 319a, Automation Control See description under Technical Design and Production.

[DRAM 339b, Architectural Acoustics See description under Technical Design and Production. Not offered in 2008–2009]

DRAM 358a/b, Professional Development This time is dedicated to development and execution of the third-year thesis project and a professional sound design portfolio that can include Web-based materials for professional promotion. This time is available to all third-year students and is individually scheduled as required. One hour per student each week is recommended. David Budries

DRAM 388a/b, Individual Music/Composition Lessons See description for DRAM 288a/b. Matthew Suttor

DRAM 419b, Control Systems for Live Entertainment See description under Technical Design and Production.

DRAM 468a/b, Independent Study in Sound Design The student who desires to pursue a specialized course of study in the area of Sound Design may elect an independent study. A proposal might focus on a guided research project, artistic exploration, or advanced audio technology. Proposals must be submitted in writing and department approval must be obtained prior to enrollment for credit. Subsequent to enrollment, the student must meet with the project adviser to plan an appropriate course of action and discuss assessment. Credit is awarded based on the project adviser’s recommendation in consultation with any other assigned advisers/tutors. Meetings to be scheduled regularly to track progress. David Budries

Directing (M.F.A. and Certificate)

Liz Diamond, Chair

The Directing department at Yale School of Drama admits a few talented individuals each year who have demonstrated the potential to become professional directors. They bring to the School of Drama a wide range of sensibilities, but they share some crucial qualities. They are generators of ideas and projects. They are not afraid to take risks, and they take responsibility for the philosophical and political implications of their work. They have a deep respect for the artists with whom they work. Above all, they have lively imaginations, an appetite for hard questions, and a robust curiosity about the world beyond their own cultural borders.

The Directing department’s entire aim is the education of the director as creative artist and leader. To that end, in course and production work, emphasis is placed on developing the director’s unique artistic imagination and mastery of collaborative leadership. We want our directors to leave Yale School of Drama able to make theater that reveals our world to us in surprising ways, that speaks to us now, whether the project is a new play or old, whether it centers on a text or is derived from material not based on the written word.

Our core courses are the Directing Practicum, which engages the student over three years in a practical exploration of theatrical composition—the relationship of form to content—through studio exercises, experiments, and projects; the Directing seminars, which expose the director to a broad range of dramatic writing, to the history of the art of directing, and to contemporary theories and practices in our field; and the Scene Study Lab, where directors and actors develop their ability to creatively collaborate through scene work and critical feedback. In addition, throughout the academic year, the Directing department hosts master classes and labs with visiting artists from around the world.

Because mastery in directing also requires a deep understanding of all the expressive modes that together embody theater, the Directing department’s curriculum integrates core courses of key collaborative disciplines into its programming. Directors are required to participate in the core acting courses in their first and second years. They take core courses in costume, set, lighting, projection, sound design, and dramaturgy and dramatic criticism. In addition, directors are required to take a foundation course in theater management. A variety of courses in other disciplines may also be taken as electives.

Hands-on production work involving intensive collaboration with fellow students in all departments of Yale School of Drama is central to our training. Throughout their three years at the School of Drama, directors practice their craft in diverse forums, ranging from scene work to full productions in various performance spaces. Through these varied production opportunities, directors develop their ability to respond to a great range of artistic and logistical challenges. First-year directors serve as assistant directors on School of Drama productions, participate as directors in the first-year collaborative workshop project, and direct one new play by a student playwright. In the second year, directors direct one Shakespeare Repertory Project and one new play. Third-year directors direct one new play in a fully supported production, as well as a full production of their own thesis project. Every director, in his or her first or second year, serves as an assistant director on one Yale Rep production. In addition, all directors are encouraged to direct productions for Yale Cabaret. Additional projects may be assigned to directors in all three years, including new works, assistantships, and, on occasion, casting in School of Drama and Yale Rep productions.

Plan of Study: Directing

REQUIRED SEQUENCE

ELECTIVE SEQUENCE

Directors are required to take two term-length elective courses over three years and are encouraged to take more as their schedules permit. Courses may be selected from the Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism, Playwriting, and other departments within Yale School of Drama, subject to approval by the course instructor and the chair of Directing. Where course scheduling permits, students may propose to fulfill an elective requirement by enrolling in a course elsewhere within the University.

Courses of Instruction

DRAM 6a/b, Survey of Theater and Drama See description under Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism.

DRAM 50a, The Collaborative Process A laboratory workshop in collective creation designed for first-term actors, directors, dramaturgs, and playwrights who are divided into three discrete ensembles. Drawing from a single narrative source work selected by faculty—a literary text, historical event, painting, or musical composition—each group, over the term, develops and rehearses an assigned portion of this selected work. A final showing of the three ensemble creations is presented to the full School of Drama community late in the term. The goals of the project include non-hierarchical collaboration, the exercising of the techniques of the student’s chosen field of pursuit, collective imagining and execution, and a sharing of individual theatrical talents. David Chambers, Catherine Sheehy, Ron Van Lieu, Paula Vogel

DRAM 102a/b, Scene Design See description under Design.

DRAM 103a/b, Acting I See description under Acting.

DRAM 110a/b, First-Year Directing An investigation of directorial skills and techniques, focusing on rigorous close reading of the text, associative imagining, and detailed production scoring. Through a progressive series of engagements with assigned play-texts, role-playing exercises, and meetings with guest artists, the director develops methodologies for reading for action, thematic focus, production and performance style, and personalized theatricalism. The first term’s work concentrates on the plays of Anton Chekhov, and second term is devoted to working on the new play and an introduction to reading Shakespeare for production. David Chambers.

DRAM 113a, Voice I See description under Acting.

DRAM 115a, Costume Design: Background and Practice See description under Design.

DRAM 120a/b, Second-Year Directing A seminar for the examination of the artistic and technical demands of verse drama. Emphasis is placed on the role of verse in determining action and shaping character. In the fall term, plays chosen by students as Shakespeare Repertory Projects, as well as other plays by Shakespeare, are used to investigate the relation of script requirements to production style and acting processes. In the spring term, directorial approaches to Greek tragedy are examined in a practical laboratory. Karin Coonrod, Robert Woodruff

DRAM 124a, Introduction to Lighting Design See description under Design.

DRAM 130a/b, Third-Year Directing A practical course on directorial approaches to modern and contemporary nonnaturalistic drama. Emphasis is placed on the further development of interpretive skill through close reading and research, and stylistic orchestration of one’s reading of a play in production. Plays and landmark productions from the twentieth-century and contemporary avant-garde are the course texts. Students’ own production strategies for these works are presented and discussed in weekly sessions. Liz Diamond

DRAM 140a/b, The Director’s Thesis The primary project of the third year in directing is the thesis, a full production of a major work of classical or contemporary dramatic literature, or a new or original work, to be chosen in consultation with the department chair. The written component of the thesis is a production casebook documenting the student’s preparation, rehearsal, and postproduction evaluation of the thesis production. Consultation hours with the adviser to be arranged throughout the year. Liz Diamond

DRAM 191b, Managing the Production Process See description under Theater Management.

DRAM 203a, Acting II See description under Acting.

DRAM 224a, Introduction to Projection Design See description under Design.

DRAM 248a, Sound Designers and Directors Workshop See description under Sound Design.

DRAM 248b, Sound Design for New Plays See description under Sound Design.

DRAM 253a, Commedia See description under Acting.

DRAM 253b, Clown See description under Acting.

DRAM 320a/b, Scene Study Lab A practical course for the development of the actor’s and director’s ability to collaborate effectively in rehearsal. In this lab, directors develop their ability to communicate ideas about the content and form of a moment, a scene, or a play to actors; to create rehearsal conditions that encourage active, embodied exploration of dramatic action and conflict; and to sensitively respond to the actor’s process with timely and constructive feedback. Actors develop their ability to engage with the director’s ideas in a fully physicalized, imaginatively activated, and mutually creative exploration of the text. Lab work is drawn from plays explored in the directing seminars, and from Chekhov, Shakespeare, and Greek tragedy. Second-year directors take this course in the fall and spring terms; first-year directors take this course in the spring term. Acting students participate in this lab in rotation throughout the year. David Chambers, Karin Coonrod, Ron Van Lieu, Robert Woodruff

DRAM 330a/b, Directing Practicum As the core course of the Directing department, the Directing Practicum is designed to develop the student director’s artistic and practical ability to assume the complex of responsibilities required of the professional director. Over three years, the Directing Practicum explores issues in staging dramatic action and conflict, manipulating the elements of composition, and leading artistic collaborations. Work in the Directing Practicum includes prepared scenes, open rehearsals, exercise in composition, and the creation of devised work. Practical work is supplemented by critiques of student productions, and by workshops and master classes with visiting artists. David Chambers, Liz Diamond, Tina Landau

DRAM 340b, Directing Lab on Greek Tragedy This is a practical course for the exploration of how the contemporary theater artist approaches Greek tragedy. Issues of directorial interpretation, translation, design, and performance style of selected plays are addressed in a series of practical projects and scene work. This course, also known as DRAM 120b, Second-Year Directing, and DRAM 320b, Scene Study Lab, is an elective option for playwrights, designers, and dramaturgs by permission of the instructor. Robert Woodruff

DRAM 350a, A Practical Introduction to Opera for Directors and Designers This course introduces some of the methods and practices used by directors and designers in approaching the production of an opera. How do we listen to and read a score for information about story and dramatic action? How can we discover, by studying the composition and orchestration of an opera, key information about its social and cultural context? How does the shape and sound of the music convey stage action? What are the unique demands made upon opera singers by the music, and how can the director and designer support them? With scores and libretti from selected major works in the repertory as the course texts, students explore a range of approaches to directing and designing these works. DVDs and recordings of major productions are used. Assignments include production pitches and design proposals. Visitors from the world of opera are invited to join the class for discussion of specific issues in opera production. Mark Lamos

[DRAM 630a, Introduction to Theatrical Composition How do directors and actors work to discover and embody the form and content—the poetic life—of a text on stage? This course is a practical introduction to creating and telling stories in three (and four) dimensions. This course is open to Yale School of Drama students not enrolled in the Acting and Directing departments. Not offered in 2008–2009]

DRAM 640a, Introduction to Theatrical Performance How does an actor build a character, prepare a role, and perform in front of a live audience? How does a director work with the actor in creating his/her performance? This is a practical course designed to expose students to some of the ways actors and directors collaborate to bring imaginative, dynamic, and truthful performances to life onstage. Students act and direct in weekly exercises, improvisations, and scenes. This course is an acting and directing studio for Yale School of Drama students not enrolled in the Acting and Directing departments, and is offered in alternating years with DRAM 630a. Enrollment is limited and by permission of the instructor. Timothy K. Vasen

Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism (M.F.A. and D.F.A.)

Catherine Sheehy, Chair

Students in the Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism department receive intensive training to prepare for careers in three areas: to work in theaters as dramaturgs, artistic producers, literary managers, and in related positions; to work in theater publishing as critics and editors as well as in other capacities; to teach theater as practitioners, critics, and scholars.

At the core of the training are seminars in literature, theory and criticism, and history offered by the department’s faculty. These may be supplemented by courses taught elsewhere in the University if approved by students’ advisers. The aim is to impart a comprehensive knowledge of theater and dramatic literature—a knowledge necessary to the dramaturg, the writer and editor, and the teacher. Regarding the latter, every effort is made to give qualified students teaching experience within the University.

Of particular importance in the program of study are the criticism workshops, which are taught by various members of the faculty and which students must take in each of their six terms. These courses are designed to improve skills in thinking and writing, and are an essential component in the faculty’s evaluation of students’ progress from term to term.

Historically, Yale School of Drama has been a pioneer in this country in introducing and establishing the dramaturg as an essential presence in the creation of theater and as a key member of a theater’s staff. Under the supervision of the resident dramaturg of Yale Repertory Theatre, students are assigned to work on many varied productions, including those of new scripts by School of Drama playwrights, workshops and full productions by School of Drama directors, and professional presentations of classical and contemporary works at Yale Repertory Theatre itself. Among the areas in which students participate are text preparation and oversight; translation and adaptation; preproduction and rehearsal work on issues of design, direction, and performance; contextual research; program and study guide notes and preparation; the conducting of audience discussions; participation in programs in educational outreach; and related work in conjunction with the marketing and media departments. Students also assist in Yale Repertory Theatre’s literary office with script evaluation and communication with writers and agents. Thus students are trained both as institutional dramaturgs, collaborating on the formulation of artistic policy and its communication and implementation, and as production dramaturgs, operating within the rehearsal process.

In recognition of the fact that in recent years dramaturgs have not only assumed the leadership of theaters under such titles as artistic director and producer but have also founded theaters themselves, students are encouraged to take select courses offered by the Theater Management department. By fostering this interchange, Yale School of Drama hopes to remain at the forefront in helping new organizational models to be discovered and explored, through which the art of theater will continue to flourish.

In addition to their training in production dramaturgy and literary management, students have opportunities to develop as writers, editors, and translators through their work on the professional staff of Theater magazine, published three times annually by the Yale School of Drama/Yale Repertory Theatre and Duke University Press.

Theater has been publishing new writing by and about contemporary theater artists since 1968. The magazine’s perspectives are different from those of any other American publication: at once practical, creative, and scholarly. Issues include new plays, translations, and adaptations; lively critical debates about policy, politics, and productions; interviews with writers, directors, and other artists; reports from around the world; and book and performance reviews. Theater appeals to practitioners, academics, scholars, and everyone interested in contemporary theater practice and thought.

Requirements for the M.F.A. and D.F.A. degrees are discussed more fully in the following pages.

Quality Standards

The minimum quality requirement for the M.F.A. degree in Dramaturgy is a grade average of High Pass in all required courses and electives counting toward the degree. Students who receive an Incomplete in any course are automatically placed on probation until the work is completed.

Plan of Study: Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism

REQUIRED SEQUENCE

* All first-year students must take the Survey of Theater and Drama (DRAM 6a/b) exemption exam. Those who do not qualify for exemption must take this course in their second year.
† Models of Dramatic Structure (DRAM 306a) and Issues in Twentieth-Century Performance (DRAM 306b) are offered once every three years and are required for all Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism students. In the academic years they are offered, students reduce the number of required electives by two.

Additional Requirements for the Degree

READING LIST AND BASIC KNOWLEDGE OF THE FIELD

Upon acceptance to the department, students receive a departmental reading list of dramatic literature, criticism, theory, and history, which is intended to be used throughout their course of study as a basis for preparation for their comprehensive examinations, and beyond as a guide and standard for their work in the field.

DRAMATURGICAL ASSIGNMENTS

Each student serves as a dramaturg on one or more productions per year either at Yale Repertory Theatre or in Yale School of Drama and assists the resident dramaturg and Yale Rep’s associate artistic director in script evaluation and related tasks. During the fall term of their first year, students are assigned to a project in The Collaborative Process (DRAM 50a). In the second term, students may be assigned to a play by a School of Drama playwriting student and may also work on other plays under the supervision of the resident dramaturg. In the second and third years, students may undertake a project at Yale Repertory Theatre, a third-year director’s thesis production (see Directing department, The Director’s Thesis, DRAM 140a/b), or a Shakespeare Repertory Project (see Directing department, Second-Year Directing, DRAM 120a/b).

Students work on Yale School of Drama productions and Yale Repertory Theatre productions subject to availability of projects and departmental requirements.

YALE CABARET

Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism students are encouraged to work in all capacities at the Yale Cabaret, but this participation is understood to be in addition to and in no way a substitution for required departmental work. No student with an Incomplete grade in any course, and no second- or third-year student on probation, may participate in the Yale Cabaret in any capacity.

YALE REPERTORY THEATRE LITERARY OFFICE

Each student is required to read scripts for Yale Repertory Theatre during each year and to submit written evaluations of these scripts to the resident dramaturg. This work is done under the supervision of the artistic coordinators and associate literary manager, who are advanced students in the department.

THEATER MAGAZINE REQUIREMENT

During their first year, Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism students are required to work as editorial assistants on Theater, the international journal of criticism and plays co-published by Yale School of Drama and Duke University Press. Students in their first year must also take the Theater Magazine Workshop (DRAM 106a), taught by the editor, which introduces them to major aspects of publishing such a journal. In the second and third years, qualified students may have additional opportunities to work on the magazine’s staff in a variety of editing, publishing, and marketing positions. Along with essays, reviews, and translations by leading authors and professional critics, Theater has published outstanding work by Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism students, who are encouraged to propose and submit writing and editorial projects for possible publication.

LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT

The language requirement is satisfied during the second year by the translation of a play in the Translation and Adaptation seminar (DRAM 246a/b). Students who wish to pursue a special emphasis in translation may take this course again in their third year with the approval of their advisers and the course instructor.

LIBRARY ORIENTATION

Upon entering the department, each student is required to take orientation seminars introducing him or her to the Yale University Library system and its various facilities and resources.

COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION REQUIREMENT

The comprehensives are a set of final written and oral qualifying examinations in which third-year students demonstrate their ability to bring critical depth and dramaturgical perspective to broad areas of the field. Through this process the student takes responsibility for mastery of subjects of his or her own choosing. Often these subjects have not been covered in course work.

Each student may elect to write two independently researched exams or to write one such exam and submit a dramaturgical casebook based on production work at Yale Repertory Theatre or Yale School of Drama. All dramaturgs will sit for a two-part departmental exam in the spring term. These written components are followed by an oral comprehensive exam. Topics for written examinations and dramaturgical casebooks must be chosen in consultation with the student’s adviser and reflect breadth of study across time periods, genres, movements, etc.

For each independently researched exam, the student writes essay-length answers to two questions in the chosen area of study. Areas of study should not overlap and may include major historical periods such as Greek, Jacobean, French seventeenth century, modern, contemporary; important dramatists or other figures such as Aristotle, Artaud, Euripides, Shakespeare, Shaw; basic dramatic genres such as tragedy, comedy, melodrama; significant theoretically or critically defined movements such as romanticism or symbolism. Other broad areas also may be devised in consultation with faculty advisers.

A dramaturgical casebook is based on a production assignment completed during the student’s first five terms at Yale School of Drama and approved by the faculty. Eligible projects include Yale Repertory Theatre, a director’s thesis project, or Shakespeare Repertory Project productions. Casebooks must include the full and cut scripts, an essay of textual analysis, a comprehensive production history, a critical bibliography, pre-production and rehearsal journals, and other pertinent materials generated by work on the production (program pages, poster design, etc.). Guidelines for the casebook are available from the department.

A two-part departmental examination is given in the January work week and taken by all third-year students on three consecutive days. There will be three areas of examination—Classical and Medieval Drama, Pre-Modern Drama (Renaissance through 1880), and Modern Drama (1880 to the present)—from which students will elect two.

Oral examinations are designed not only as defenses of the written exams but may be a further exploration of areas students have worked up but not answered in their other comprehensives as well. These exams will be completed in early May.

Final grades for the comprehensive examinations are determined upon completion of the process. Following each written examination, students will be given a Pass/Fail evaluation by their faculty advisers. If the faculty concludes that the student has not done passing work, he or she will be informed of the areas of deficiency. In such a case the oral examination becomes an opportunity for the student to redress the deficiencies. A student who fails one or more comprehensives and/or the oral will be allowed to retake the failed examination(s) once more during the following year. A student failing the second time will not be awarded a degree.

Second-year students must adhere to the following schedule
February 9, 2009: Deadline for submission of comprehensive examination topics. At this time, each student must declare his or her intention to do either two independently researched exams or one such exam and a dramaturgical casebook. Exam topics must be submitted in memorandum form to all non-visiting members of the departmental faculty for approval.

March 2, 2009: Deadline for submission of a full comprehensive proposal, including a carefully researched and selected bibliography, for faculty approval. This bibliography should reflect an understanding of the most essential reading in the proposed subject, and reflect prior consultation with appropriate members of the department’s faculty.

April 13, 2009: Deadline for submission of final revised comprehensive proposal and bibliography.

Third-year students must adhere to the following schedule
September 15, 2008: Deadline for third-year students to meet with their advisers to review and update comprehensive study procedures and propose a fall examination schedule. Students must take at least one examination or submit their casebook during the fall term, according to the schedule below.

October 19, 2008: First fall deadline for taking a comprehensive examination.

November 23, 2008: Final fall deadline for taking a comprehensive examination.

January 7–9, 2009: Over the course of these three days, students take the departmental examinations in their two declared areas.

February 28, 2009: First spring deadline for taking a comprehensive examination.

April 12, 2009: Final deadline for having completed independently researched exams and casebooks.

May 18, 2009: Final deadline for having completed the oral examination.

Requirements for the Doctor of Fine Arts in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism

Upon completion of the Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism department requirements for an M.F.A. degree and graduation from Yale School of Drama, a student is eligible to register to remain in residence for the proposal year to apply to the Doctor of Fine Arts (D.F.A.) program. Acceptance into the D.F.A. program is not to be considered an entitlement. Candidates must submit their proposals by January 12, 2009, for review by the D.F.A. Committee. The proposal must conform to departmental guidelines and designate first and second readers. If either reader comes from outside the department, the proposal must include a letter from the reader acknowledging his or her willingness to advise the dissertation. It is understood that, except in extraordinary circumstances, if the student’s proposed dissertation can be read by a member of the full-time faculty, that faculty member will be considered the first reader. Upon review, the committee may approve, reject, or recommend changes to the proposal. If changes are recommended, the student has until April 15, 2009, to obtain the Committee’s approval. If the proposal has not been sufficiently revised at that time, it will be finally rejected.

A student holding an M.F.A. degree from Yale School of Drama has two years after graduation to apply to and be accepted into the D.F.A. program. Upon acceptance of the proposal by the D.F.A. Committee, the student is expected to complete the dissertation within two years, working in close consultation with the first reader. In exceptional circumstances an extension may be granted to candidates who submit a written request. Upon the Committee’s final approval of the dissertation, two bound copies must be delivered to the chair of the Department of Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism six weeks prior to the date on which the student expects to graduate. The dissertation proposal guidelines contain complete details and stipulations for obtaining the degree and are available through the department.

The D.F.A. candidate may elect to register as a full-time student in residence to pursue work on the dissertation. The tuition fee for this status is $1,000 per year in residence and entitles the candidate to use libraries and related facilities, to audit courses related to his or her research, to Yale Health Plan Basic Coverage, and to eligibility for tickets to Yale School of Drama and Yale Repertory Theatre productions. In the first and second years of candidacy, the student may apply for a fellowship to cover tuition and Yale Health Plan Hospitalization/Specialty Coverage. Students enrolled in the D.F.A. program are eligible to apply for one of two departmental fellowships, a Yale Rep artistic associate fellowship, a Theater magazine fellowship, and teaching assistantships.

Courses of Instruction

DRAM 6a/b, Survey of Theater and Drama An introduction to the varied histories of world drama and theater as an art form, as a profession, as a social event, and as an agent of cultural definition through the ages. Drama 6a examines select theatrical cultures and performance practices to 1700. Paul Walsh

DRAM 50a, The Collaborative Process See description under Directing.

DRAM 96a, Models of Dramaturgy Through lecture, discussion, and practicum this course examines current practice in dramaturgy and literary management. Guests include longstanding collaborators—dramaturgs, directors, playwrights, producers—who discuss the evolution of their processes. Literary managers of regional theaters address the issues of new play production. This course is also a forum for discussion of students’ production work at Yale School of Drama and Yale Repertory Theatre. Rebecca Rugg, Catherine Sheehy

DRAM 106a, Theater Magazine Workshop This course combines an overview of critical and scholarly publishing with a workshop focused on editing Theater magazine, involving the planning of future issues and the completion of editorial assignments. Required for all first-year Dramaturgy students. Thomas Sellar

DRAM 116a, British Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Comedy After the social and political drudgery of Cromwell when the monarchy was restored with Charles II, the theater in England enjoyed a renaissance of license and vigor. After the Restoration, the government once again sought to constrain the ribaldry of the comic spirit and the lifestyle of the stage. In this period the English added the comedy of manners, the sentimental comedy, and—that sapling of the American musical—the ballad opera to the comic canon. The only thing more vigorous than the theater was the talk of theater; journals and coffeehouses were founded on such vital chat. This course surveys the formal innovations of the period through the work of the age’s major authors from the Duke of Buckingham through Gay and Fielding to Sheridan. Contextual readings bolster investigations of the Stage Licensing Act of 1737 and the coffeehouse phenomenon. Catherine Sheehy

[DRAM 126a, George Bernard Shaw A selective, detailed study of Shaw’s plays, with sidelong glances at his prefaces and other writings, such as drama and music criticism, letters, and essays. Discussion also includes some of the major artistic-intellectual influences on Shaw (e.g., Shelley, Dickens, Marx, Mozart, Wagner, Fabian Socialism) and Shaw’s influences on others. Not offered in 2008–2009]

DRAM 126b, Tragicomedy Tragicomedy has been characterized as the quintessential form of modern drama, but its origins extend back to the beginnings of art. As a genre, it provides a necessary perspective from which to discuss many different kinds of work, including some of the most contemporary and innovative. Its study requires the investigation of other fundamental dramatic forms such as the romance, pastoral, satire, grotesque—and, of course, tragedy and comedy. Playwrights to be considered in this course come from many periods and include Euripides, Plautus, Shakespeare, Beaumont and Fletcher, Tirso, Calderón, Molière, Kleist, Musset, Ibsen, Strindberg, Chekhov, Lorca, Lady Gregory, O’Casey, and Shaw. James Leverett

[DRAM 136a, Shakespeare’s Dramaturgy This course provides an approach to analyzing Shakespeare’s plays for production. It applies our contemporary knowledge gained from working with living writers to classical texts. Both specifics in Shakespeare’s dramaturgy and issues in classical texts in general are examined. The primacy of textual analysis over secondary reading is emphasized, including study of sources (quartos, the Folio, etc.), structure, and language (verse, rhetoric, grammar). A focus is placed on a detailed study of the texts of Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth, and the relation of their stage histories to often flawed critical writing about them. Not offered in 2008–2009]

[DRAM 136b, Beckett A detailed study of Beckett’s plays and prose, including Beckett the critic on poets, painters, music, Proust, and performance. Not offered in 2008–2009]

DRAM 146b, Theaters of the Black Atlantic Through a close examination of dramatic texts, theatrical groups, and movements, this course offers a comparative study of drama and theater produced by African, African-American, Black British, and Caribbean practitioners. It explores how conventions of drama and theater, as cultural practices, offer sites for performing identity and subjectivity. The course uses the idea of the “Black Atlantic” as a framing device signifying Africa’s historical encounter with Europe, and the connections of Africans and people of African descent in Britain, the United States, and the Caribbean. The idea is conceptualized as a counter-modernist discourse to European modernity, as well as a confluence of other modernities from which cultural practices such as drama and theater are resourced. Issues and theories of national, racial, ethnic, gender, sexual, and class identities are closely studied. The years after World War II to the end of the twentieth century frame the course’s historical context. Dramatists include Wole Soyinka, Ngugi wa Thiongo, Ama Ata Aidoo, August Wilson, Ntozake Shange, Suzan-Lori Parks, Robert O’Hara, and Derek Walcott. Groups include Market Theatre, Kamirithu, Talawa Arts, Negro Ensemble, and Sistren. Drama in films such as Rue Cases Negres, Dance Hall Queen, and Do the Right Thing are studied. Awam Amkpa

[DRAM 156a, American Classic Comedy Between the Wars The classics of American comic canon are true reflections of the national character—a volatile compound of twice-shy wariness and wide-eyed credulity. The continual fine-tuning of that character is one of the chief dramaturgical strategies of comic writers in the period. And the mother tongue is the sharpest tool they have in their kit. The American vernacular was undergoing an unprecedented transformation: the jazzy argot of the journalist, the snappy pitch of the Madison Avenue ad man, the idiosyncratic patois of the assimilating immigrant, and the gaudy patter of the bootlegger infused the language. When the soaring national confidence after victory in the Great War and a booming Jazz Age economy buckled with the freefall of the Great Depression, another color was added. The best comedy written for the stage and (after 1927) for the screen during the period exploits this holiday time of the American tongue. The course focuses on the primacy of language in the work of these American men and women of letters who wrote so well out of the sides of their mouth. Not offered in 2008–2009]

[DRAM 156b, Shakespeare’s Tragic Modes An intensive study of seven tragedies, their performance history and criticism, along with major critical theories. The plays are Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth, Troilus and Cressida, Antony and Cleopatra, and Coriolanus. Not offered in 2008–2009]

DRAM 166a/b, Criticism Workshop A workshop in critical writing in which the student’s work is analyzed and discussed by the class and the instructor. The class is divided into sections. In their first year, students take a workshop in reading and writing about dramatic texts. Elinor Fuchs, Marc Robinson, Gordon Rogoff, Thomas Sellar

[DRAM 176a, Satire: From Aristophanes to Arrested Development This course examines the genre so efficiently defined by George S. Kaufman. “Satire,” he said, “is what closes on Saturday night.” The satirist is part artist, part social critic, unable to stem the tide of outrage welling in his pen (or word processor). Beginning with Aristophanes, the course wends its way through the works of Swift, Fielding, Hecht, Perlman, Monty Python, Bulgakov, and Jennifer Saunders. Although the primary emphasis is on dramatic literature, the course also avails itself of other prose forms and video. Not offered in 2008–2009]

[DRAM 176b, Performance Criticism Good prose meets variable performance: the quest for standards and vocabulary in the criticism of English language performance. A seminar exploring the critical writings of nineteenth-century critics from Hazlitt to Shaw, and twentieth-century critics from Beerbohm to Bentley and beyond. Not offered in 2008–2009]

[DRAM 186a, German Drama This course covers what has been called the “German Moment” in world theater, that is, the period approximately encompassed by the life of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832). It includes work by Lessing, Lenz, Goethe, Schiller, Tieck, Kleist, Grillparzer, Hebbel, and Büchner, and explores such concepts as classicism (including Weimar classicism), romanticism, and the Sturm und Drang. Theater production practice, acting, historical and philosophical context, and the other arts are also part of the discussion. Not offered in 2008–2009]

[DRAM 186b, Theater About Theater: The Theatricalist Play from Shakespeare to Postmodernism “Theatricalist” is a term describing plays that self-consciously use the means of theater in their dramatic construction. This type of play, along with its near relative the Dream Play, follows the Theatrum Mundi tradition in Western thought, and poses an interesting alternative to the Aristotelian tradition of theater as mimesis. The first part of the course is devoted to classic plays by Kyd, Shakespeare, Calderon, and the German Romantics. Modern plays by Pirandello, Genet, Adrienne Kennedy, Heiner Müller, Suzan-Lori Parks, Peter Barnes, and others make up more than half the course and take up such themes as revolution, gender, race, and the Holocaust. Not offered in 2008–2009]

DRAM 196a, American Musical Theater and National Culture This course considers the relationship between nationalism and popular culture by examining the development of American musical theater across the twentieth century, placing the majority of emphasis on the mid-century musicals of the form’s so-called Golden Age. The constitutive function of musical theater in Americans’ understanding of their national identity, both as national whole and as individuals, is tracked. These works are analyzed and compared on a variety of criteria including their engagement with evolving historical, social, and cultural forces; their differing performance aesthetics; formal considerations; issues of adaptation; and contructions of class, race, and gender. In order to place musicals in terms of all these criteria, there is substantial secondary reading, which is historical, biographical, and theoretical. Collectively, different methods of understanding the relationship between popular and national culture, between art and commerce, gender and patriotism, are tried out. Through independent research, students arrive at their own perspectives on these relationships, and as a group use the term’s historical survey to map the contemporary cultural position of musical theater. Rebecca Rugg

DRAM 196b, Bertolt Brecht and Augusto Boal “The proof of the pudding is in the eating,” wrote Bertolt Brecht, asserting the importance of practice, experience, and embodiment. This class considers the theaters of Brecht and his political inheritor, Augusto Boal, not as abstract projects but as embodied political praxis. Theoretical statements of both artists in conjunction with lived examples of their work are read: Brecht’s poems and plays, and case studies of Boal’s Theater of the Oppressed methods. Additionally, the course includes practical experiments and exercises, creating a repertoire of direct experience for our discussion and understanding. Over the term, students use the ideas of these two artists to explore the contemporary possibilities for political theater. Rebecca Rugg

DRAM 206a/b, Tutorial Study A second- or third-year dramaturg may elect to undertake tutorial independent study by submitting, in consultation with his or her proposed tutor, a request stipulating course title, course description, reading list or syllabus, schedule of meetings with the tutor, and method of grading the tutorial. Approval must be granted by the student’s adviser and by the department. Forms for application are available from the registrar of the School of Drama. Faculty

[DRAM 216b, Falstaff, Shylock, Bottom, and Others A study of Shakespeare’s comic modes and characters, ranging through histories, problem plays, romances, tragedies, and even some comedies. Falstaff, however, casts his shadow—and glow—over the entire proceedings. Not offered in 2008–2009]

[DRAM 226a, Shakespearean Drama An intensive seminar that explores selected plays by Shakespeare and major critical theories and background material on Elizabethan and Jacobean drama. Not offered in 2008–2009]

[DRAM 226b, Shakespeare and His Comic Brethren An intensive study in which Shakespeare matches wits with his friends and rivals, all of them defining comedy as they like it, some based on character (Falstaff, Rosalind), some on Humours (Volpone), others on festival and pastoral, and finally, those who find life and fun in the non-aristocratic city. Playwrights covered, along with critical responses and historical frameworks, are Shakespeare, Jonson, Dekker (and Middleton), with a presumptuous leap to 1641 and Shirley’s Hyde Park. Not offered in 2008–2009]

[DRAM 236a, Opera as Drama A study of lyric drama and its vocabulary, with central emphasis on plays transformed into musical settings. Among the playwrights turned by librettists and composers into operatic sources are Euripides, Sophocles, Beaumarchais, Shakespeare, Schiller, Sardou, Maeterlinck, and Büchner; composers are Gluck, Cherubini, Mozart, Verdi, Puccini, Wagner, Strauss, Debussy, Alban Berg, Benjamin Britten, and Aribert Reimann. Production choices from the eighteenth century to Robert Wilson are also examined, along with a study of operatic components from the aria and ensemble to the chorus and orchestra. Musical proficiency not required. Not offered in 2008–2009]

[DRAM 236b, Corneille, Racine, and Molière: Glory, Honor, and Duty This course explores the concentration of talent, the consolidation of empire, and the economic incentives necessary to manufacture “the Classical Moment” in French drama. In addition to readings of Corneille’s stringent heroic conceptions, Racine’s pagan tragedies, and deep draughts from Molière’s horn of plenty, time is spent examining the cultural environment—Richelieu’s statecraft, court life, Jansenism, and the endless theoretical hissy fits—that formed the topography of the Baroque landscape. Not offered in 2008–2009]

DRAM 246a/b, Translation and Adaptation This seminar explores the process of adapting and/or translating a play augmented by practical assignments, culminating in the translation of a foreign play. Required for second-year dramaturgs, and may be repeated as an elective in the third year with the permission of the student’s adviser and the course instructor. James Magruder

[DRAM 256a, What’s So Funny: Comic Theory and Practice The formal and moral dimensions of comedy have been the subject of constant contemplation and comment from its written beginnings in the West to the present day. And key to the successful production of a comedy or the authoritative criticism of such a production is understanding the rules of the form. This course examines the workings of various comic forms through readings in theory and dramatic literature and screenings of films. The syllabus includes works by Aristophanes, Aristotle, Bakhtin, Benjamin, Bergson, Chaplin, Dryden, Feydeau, Frye, Goldsmith, Juvenal, Lope de Vega, Meredith, Molière, and Shakespeare. Not offered in 2008–2009]

[DRAM 256b, The Political Shakespeare Is Shakespeare, as Jan Kott would have it, still our contemporary? And if we stand by that concept, how can he be read through the prism of the contemporary politics we know? This course is an intensive study of Shakespeare’s English and Roman chronicles, centering on medieval political arrangements that can still be seen through the prism of our own political arrangements. From the Wars of the Roses to the catastrophic empire building of Julius Caesar, Marc Antony, and Coriolanus, this course examines, as Northrop Frye claims Shakespeare does, “the question of identity…connected with social function and behavior; in other words with the dramatic self, not with some hidden inner essence.” Great themes of war, power, the law, sexuality, lies, and betrayal are tracked by Shakespeare with all his characteristic disregard for factual verities, yet with his equally characteristic gift for the right words in the most familiar circumstances. In addition to Shakespeare’s history and Roman plays, the course looks at Troilus and Cressida, Timon of Athens, and Measure for Measure, while also examining the perceptions of several critics, among them Frye, Tillyard, Auden, Kermode, Eagleton, Greenblatt, Garber, Bates, and Kott. Not offered in 2008–2009]

[DRAM 276a, Greek Drama This course focuses primarily on Greek tragedy, considering the most important plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, as well as two comedies by Aristophanes. In addition to studying the plays, we read some modern critical essays. The emphasis is on locating the dramas in terms of their cultural context including mythic and epic background, Athenian history, and dramatic conventions. The course work consists of participation in discussion, several short (two-page) papers, and one slightly longer paper (five to ten pages) and a class presentation at the end of the term. Not offered in 2008–2009]

[DRAM 276b, Euripides and Aristophanes Euripides and Aristophanes are often depicted as a study in contrasts, both ethically and aesthetically. In this view the tragedian represents the new and the unorthodox, while the comic poet promotes traditional values. Even in ancient times, however, it was recognized that the two writers had a great deal in common, so much so, in fact, that another comic poet, Kratinos, coined the verb “euripidaristophanize” to describe their shared poetic practice. This course examines the plays of Euripides and Aristophanes in tandem, concentrating on features such as parody, self-referentiality, and meta-theatricality. The readings consist of the plays in translation and selected modern critical essays. Not offered in 2008–2009]

[DRAM 286a, The Second Avant-Garde, 1918–1939 This course is a sequel to DRAM 286a but one is not required to take the other. Writers whose works are explored include Brecht, Toller, Bulgakov, Horvath, Pirandello, Artaud, Ghelderode, and Witkiewicz. As with the previous course, contemporary direction, design, and theory are examined along with the larger background of the period. Not offered in 2008–2009]

[DRAM 286b, The First Avant-Garde, 1880–1918 This course explores the roots of European theatrical modernism in such movements as naturalism, symbolism, expressionism, and futurism. Among the writers whose texts are read are Hauptmann, Ibsen (the symbolist), Chekhov (the symbolist), Strindberg (the symbolist and expressionist), Wilde, Yeats, Maeterlinck, Jarry, Wedekind, and Kraus. Innovations in direction, design, and theory are also investigated, as well as the general social, political, and philosophical background of the period. Not offered in 2008–2009]

[DRAM 296a, The Third Avant-Garde, 1940–1969 This course is the third in the avant-garde sequence, but DRAM 286a and 286b are not prerequisites. In this course, there are three geographic areas of focus: Mediterranean (Sartre, Camus, Ionesco, Genet, Arrabal, et al.); Germanic (Dürrenmatt, Frisch, Handke, Weiss, Müller, et al.); Eastern European (Mrozek, Gombrowicz, Rozewicz, Havel, et al.). Attention is paid to the political, social, and philosophical background of the period, developments in the other arts, and the work of significant theater directors. Not offered in 2008–2009]

[DRAM 306a, Models of Dramatic Structure Dramatic form, debated over the contentious 2,400-year history of Western dramatic criticism that began with Aristotle, is the principal subject of this course. Reading plays and dramatic theory written up to the beginning of the twentieth century, the course explores classic, medieval, enlightenment, romantic, and symbolist dramatic structures with special focus on the ways ideas illuminate and shape plays and teach us how to perform them. Not offered in 2008–2009]

[DRAM 306b, Issues in Twentieth-Century Performance In a stunning reversal of priorities, theories of the dramatic text give way to theories of theater and performance in twentieth-century modernism. By the end of the century, text-based theater comes to be seen as one branch of the larger field of performance. Marinetti, Artaud and Brecht, Gertrude Stein and Grotowski, Richard Schechner and Joseph Roach are among those who shape the discussion. The ongoing debate on the meaning and value of “modernism” is a central focus. For non-dramaturgs, 306a is not a prerequisite. Not offered in 2008–2009]

[DRAM 316a/THST 394a, Contemporary African-American Playwrights An in-depth consideration of contemporary African-American playwriting and performance, with readings from well-known and emerging artists. Material includes plays, solo performance, standup comedy, dance theater, and hip hop performance poetry by artists including George C. Wolfe, Lynn Nottage, Suzan-Lori Parks, Tyler Perry, Tracey Scott Wilson, Robert O’Hara, Carl Hancock Rux, and Mos Def. Not offered in 2008–2009]

[DRAM 326b, British Postwar Drama: 1945 to the Present An intensive seminar that explores the work of British playwrights, directors, and actors from the end of World War II to the present: from Osborne, Pinter, and Arden to Hare, Sara Kane, and Ravenhill; from Olivier, Gielgud, Ashcroft to Dench, Branagh, and Rylance; from Brook, Hall, Littlewood to Nunn, Hytner, Warner. Not offered in 2008–2009]

DRAM 336a/b, Comprehensive Examinations Students submit comprehensive proposals to their advisers and other designated faculty members who help them to focus their areas of concentration and prepare bibliographies. In this way, the faculty oversees the course of study for the comprehensives. This tutorial is an essential part of the procedure leading to an M.F.A. degree. Catherine Sheehy and faculty

DRAM 346a/b, Literary Office Practicum Among the most important responsibilities of an institutional dramaturg is the evaluation of new writing. The dramaturg’s ability to analyze and assess the potential of unproduced work is crucial to a theater’s vitality. In the Literary Office Practicum students in all three years read work submitted for Yale Repertory Theatre and write reader’s reports articulating the scripts’ strengths and weaknesses. These reader’s reports provide the basis for the Literary Office’s communication with playwrights. This course, led by the resident dramaturg, is Pass/Fail. Catherine Sheehy

DRAM 356a, Melodrama “Melodrama is not a special and marginal kind of drama, let alone an eccentric or decadent one; it is drama in its elemental form; it is the quintessence of drama.” This statement by Eric Bentley provides the cornerstone for this course. The approach is threefold: melodrama as a ubiquitous dramatic impulse from the earliest times (Euripides, medieval theater, Shakespeare and his contemporaries); melodrama as an expression of society (the invention of the genre “melodrama” in the eighteenth century, its flowering in the nineteenth, and its role in the birth of cinema in the twentieth); melodrama as a form explored and exploited by modern theater innovators. James Leverett

[DRAM 366a, Contemporary American Drama A seminar on American drama from 1960 to the present. Among the playwrights to be considered are Albee, Shepard, Kennedy, Baraka, Fornes, Mamet, Kushner, Shawn, and Parks. Not offered in 2008–2009]

[DRAM 366b, Modern American Drama A seminar on American drama from World War I to 1960. Among the playwrights to be considered are O’Neill, Stein, Cummings, Odets, Wilder, Hurston, Williams, Bowles, and Miller. Not offered in 2008–2009]

[DRAM 376a, The American Avant-Garde Topics include the Living Theater, Happenings, Cunningham/Cage, Open Theater, Judson Dance Theater, Grand Union, Bread and Puppet Theater, Performance Group, Ontological-Hysteric Theater, Meredith Monk, Robert Wilson, Mabou Mines, and the Wooster Group. Not offered in 2008–2009]

DRAM 376b, Ibsen, Strindberg, and the Invention of Modern Drama A close reading of selected plays by Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg within the wider context of theatrical and cultural practices in the west in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, with special consideration given to how these plays have been reread over the course of the past century. Paul Walsh

DRAM 386b, American Drama to 1914 Topics include the European inheritance, theater and nation-building, melodrama and the rise of realism, popular and nonliterary forms. Readings in Tyler, Dunlap, Aiken, Boucicault, Daly, Herne, Mitchell, Moody, Fitch, and Crothers, among others. Marc Robinson

DRAM 396a/b, Dramaturgy Practicum This course consists of discussion among the departmental faculty and students about just-completed and current projects. The purpose is an exchange of practical and philosophical thoughts and information about issues, problems, and procedures encountered in the field. It meets monthly at a time and place designated before each session. The course is offered for Pass/Fail, and is required of all Dramaturgy students. Catherine Sheehy

Students may elect to take appropriate graduate courses in other schools and departments at Yale, subject to permission of the instructor, scheduling limitations, and the approval of the faculty adviser.

Playwriting (M.F.A. and Certificate)

Paula Vogel, Chair

Yale School of Drama’s Playwriting department is designed to guide the writer in finding strategies, honest and astonishing, that articulate the personal and cultural impulses for writing and making meaningful theater. Through playful, purposeful, and rigorous study of playwriting as an art and profession, the School of Drama’s playwrights use their time in the program to write for themselves, their collaborators, and their present and future audiences. Playwrights at the School of Drama are committed to the exacting disciplines of dramatic art and performance and work alongside their fellow theater artists as they write plays for production. The playwright creatively and critically employs the actor’s instrument, character recipes, narrative strategies, organizing principles of form, poetic images, political and aesthetic manifestos, sinewy language, and the dance of design to convey and challenge our private and public dreams. The goal of the department is to encourage the widest range of work possible, in a variety of mediums, and to mentor each playwright’s evolving understanding and translation of his or her craft.

Although the playwright writes the script, collaborators together write the production. When we say that theater is a collaborative art form, we mean precisely that. Not only will we explore a wide range of strategies on the page taken from all periods and parts of the globe, but also we must learn a wide range of strategies as playwrights in the rehearsal room, for it is here that plays are made. When to articulate one’s intention, when to watch, when to listen, when to question, and when to hold one’s ground—all of the process will be explored through three years of production and collaborative opportunities. Playwrights are encouraged to partake in other processes—acting, design, directing, dramaturgy, stage and technical management—in order to build a lifelong appreciation of and respect for our fellow collaborators.

Yale School of Drama’s playwriting program believes that every voice is unique: by intense submersion into a spectrum of aesthetics, literature, and theory, the writer’s singular voice is strengthened. By engaging in the annual boot camp with other artists in the School of Drama, playwrights are able to begin a lifelong conversation with a common language; short exercises sharpen our writers’ muscles. Each year, in addition to productions, collaborative courses, and the Yale Cabaret, the program hosts at least two bake-offs—short plays on assigned themes with assigned elements written within forty-eight hours.

Plan of Study: Playwriting

Throughout the year, playwrights are required to take part in Boot Camp (DRAM 7a), Workshop (DRAM 47a), and How Things Work (DRAM 47b). Each term, a student is required to take three courses for credit, at least one of which must be a writing workshop. More than one writing workshop may be taken, and students are encouraged to take other classes as audits beyond their three required credit courses. Any writing workshop may be repeated for credit. All plans of study must be approved by the chair and/or associate chair. If a playwright is having a play produced in a Yale playwriting festival, he or she also is required to take DRAM 207a/b.

In the second year of study, playwrights may choose a “track” to pursue for the next two years. A “track” may be film/television writing, musical theater, design, dramaturgy, or stage and production management.

While considerate of each playwright’s individual and unique plan of study, the Playwriting department encourages playwrights to expand their horizons through elected study of design, dramaturgy, performance, and production management, and expects playwrights to take courses in the other departments at Yale School of Drama that challenge them as critical thinkers and creative artists.

PRODUCTION

Playwrights are produced at least once a year. First-year playwrights participate in The Collaborative Process (DRAM 50a) and also write a one-act play that is performed at the end of the first term of their first year. In the second term of the first year, playwrights begin to write a full-length play that is then produced in the first term of their second year. By the third year, playwrights have written a second full-length play that is designed and produced in repertory in the spring of their final term.

Although it is the goal and hope that all playwrights receive the three productions described above, all plays are subject to the approval of the chair prior to production.

REQUIRED SEQUENCE

Courses of Instruction

DRAM 6a/b, Survey of Theater and Drama Required for first-year students. See description under Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism.

DRAM 7a, Boot Camp An intensive, twelve hours a day, four-day seminar in theater making; with conversation, exercises, readings, manifestos, eating, drinking, and lots of caffeine. Paula Vogel and faculty

DRAM 17a, Reading Contemporary Plays A seminar looking at the work of assigned contemporary playwrights as taking part in multiple conversations, aesthetially and culturally. Kenneth Prestininzi

DRAM 17b, Writing: A Poetics of Space This seminar looks at how playwrights may write for a stage, a room, a site, and/or a landscape. Playwrights draw on the work of Bachelard, Bogart, Fornes, Kantor, Kennedy, Stein, and others. Kenneth Prestininzi

DRAM 27b, Second-Year Master Class A spring-term seminar for second-year playwrights taught in New York City. Visits to productions, rehearsals, and meetings with theater professionals, as well as discussion of assigned weekly writing. John Guare

DRAM 37a, Master Class, Life into Theater This class is an in-depth investigation of dramatic action and how it actually functions as a primary tool of audience engagement. The class also investigates the meaning and uses of a “true” and “authentic” voice, how narrative can be built through the presentation of “pre-narrativized” event, and the relationship of the specific to the universal. Lisa Kron

[DRAM 37b, Solo Performance This seminar explores the writing and performing of a solo show. Not offered in 2008–2009]

DRAM 47a, Fall Workshop A required seminar for all playwrights. Readings and discussions of works in progress. Paula Vogel

DRAM 47b, How Things Work A second-term practicum, with guest artists and short workshops (from puppeteering and press agents to dramaturg/director/writer/design artists), and “The Biz,” a series of pragmatic seminars in grant writing, marketing one’s play, strategies and tools for the emerging artist in today’s field. Ken Prestininzi, Paula Vogel

DRAM 50a, The Collaborative Process Required for first-year students. See description under Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism.

DRAM 57b, Television Intensive Three sessions over the course of six weeks. An intensive practicum of television writing structured around the writing of a “spec” script. Peter Parnell

DRAM 67b, Lyric Writing for Musical Theater A seminar in lyric writing for lyricists. This course is open to students from other departments at Yale School of Drama and Yale College. Limited enrollment. Michael Korie

DRAM 77a, Microdramas Short plays, playful exercises, and a discussion of the fundamentals of playwriting for actors, designers, directors, dramaturgs, stage managers, technical artists, and theater managers. Limited enrollment. Paula Vogel

DRAM 77b, Libretto Writing for Musical Theater This course combines practical instruction in book writing for musical theater with a close reading of historical and contemporary examples from the genre. This course is open to students from other departments at Yale School of Drama and Yale College. Limited enrollment. Rachel Sheinkin

DRAM 87a/b, Screenwriting I A seminar for second-year playwrights and third-year directors. Discussion and analysis of screenplays and the films that were made from them. In the first term, students work on exercises in writing a short screenplay based on a short story and on writing a short screenplay based on an original idea. Lindsay Law

DRAM 97a/b, Screenwriting II A seminar and tutorial for third-year playwrights in which they adapt their second-year produced plays into full-length screenplays. Lindsay Law

DRAM 102a, Scene Design See description under Design.

DRAM 124a, Introduction to Lighting Design See description under Design.

DRAM 163b, Text Analysis II See description under Acting.

DRAM 207a/b, Plays in Production Discussion, preparation, and rehearsals for plays in festival production. Meeting time and place to be assigned. Kenneth Prestininzi

DRAM 237b, Spring Workshop This seminar is open to first-, second-, and third-year playwrights. Students engage in writing outside of “ourselves,” exploring race in theater and other frontiers. Lynn Nottage

DRAM 246a/b, Translation and Adaptation See description under Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism.

DRAM 248b, Sound Design for New Plays See description under Sound Design

Stage Management (M.F.A. and Certificate)

Mary Hunter, Chair

The Stage Management department is designed to prepare the qualified student for professional stage management employment, with the intended goal of assisting the student to recognize and fulfill his or her role as an artistic collaborator and as an effective organizational manager throughout the entire production process. The role of the Production Stage Manager requires a deep commitment to the artistic process and a fundamental desire to support the work through the creation of an environment in which artistic risks to support the work can be taken.

This rigorous interdisciplinary curriculum consists of a balanced combination of required courses which provide a wide range of knowledge and training essential for today’s professional. In addition to the classroom requirements, students are assigned to stage management positions for Yale School of Drama and Yale Repertory Theatre productions that reflect progressively increased responsibilities throughout the plan of study. While the program of study is structured to prepare the student for work in the commercial and regional theater, it also provides a strong basis for learning a variety of artistic skills and managerial tools essential for employment opportunities in many different entertainment areas such as touring, dance, opera, event management, and industrials. Workshops, seminars, and lectures by noted professionals provide an essential component in the course of study.

Yale Repertory Theatre serves as an advanced training center for the department. During the first year, the student may have the opportunity to work at Yale Rep in a production capacity. As part of the second year of study, the student is assigned as an assistant stage manager on at least one production. And in the final year, providing the standards and qualifications set forth by the department are met, the student is assigned as the stage manager for a Yale Rep production. This assignment fulfills the student’s thesis requirement and provides an opportunity to attain membership in the Actor’s Equity Association. Throughout this process, the student is under the professional supervision of the Production Stage Manager for Yale Repertory Theatre.

Plan of Study: Stage Management

REQUIRED SEQUENCE

*Introduction to Theatrical Composition (DRAM 630a) and Introduction to Theatrical Performance (DRAM 640a) are offered in alternate years and required for second- and third-year Stage Management students.
†Introduction to Theatrical Performance (DRAM 640a) is an elective for third-year Stage Management students only in 2008–2009.

REQUIRED ELECTIVE SEQUENCE

Three electives are required during the third year from the suggested list of elective courses, other Yale professional schools, or Yale College. All required electives must be approved by the chair.

Suggested elective sequence: DRAM 77a, Microdramas; DRAM 115a, Costume Design: Background and Practice; DRAM 119b, Electricity; DRAM 158b, Recording Arts; DRAM 169a, Shop Technology; DRAM 169b, Stage Rigging Techniques; DRAM 198a, Sound Design Production Organization; DRAM 199b; Computer Applications for the Technical Manager; DRAM 209a, Physics of Stage Machinery; DRAM 209b, Hydraulics and Pneumatics; DRAM 221b, Labor and Employee Relations; DRAM 224a, Introduction to Projection Design; DRAM 249b, Technical Management; DRAM 349a, Production Management: Organization and Administration; and DRAM 640a, Introduction to Theatrical Performance.

Courses of Instruction

DRAM 6a/b, Survey of Theater and Drama See description under Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism.

DRAM 11b, Founding Visions for Places in the Art See description under Theater Management.

DRAM 40a/b, Principles of Stage Management This fundamental course is designed to explore the artistic and organizational techniques and practices of stage management. Topics covered include production preparation and management; collaborative relationships with artistic, production, and administrative staff; development of individual stage management style; issues of employment; and stress management. Through a series of workshops with Yale School of Drama faculty, a portion of this class provides instruction on basic technical considerations and practice. Required for first-year stage managers. Mary Hunter

DRAM 60a, Rehearsal Rules and Process for the Equity Stage Manager An introduction to the Actors’ Equity Association LORT contract: practices and concerns. The emphasis of the class is on practical use and application of the contract with particular focus on rehearsal work rules and provisions. Specific stage management methods and techniques within the collaborative process of rehearsal and tech are closely considered. In addition, this course includes a comparative analysis of the LORT rules and similar guidelines in various other Equity contracts such as Production, Off-Broadway, TYA, Guest Artist, URTA, and SPT. James Mountcastle

DRAM 60b, Professional Stage Management in Performance This course continues a study of the professional stage manager working within various Equity agreements. Looking at specific methods and practices, the focus shifts to processes in place after the show has opened. Among the topics discussed in this course: backstage set-up, cue calling, show maintenance, performance assessment and reports, understudies, replacements, and a stage manager’s close working relationship with actors in performance. Serious consideration of these topics is intended to lead to a candid ongoing discussion of practical realities and principles crucial to the notion of professional stage management as a career. James Mountcastle

DRAM 80a, Stage Combat for Stage Managers This course is designed to prepare the stage manager in the techniques of stage combat with emphasis on unarmed combat, swordplay, flying technique, weapon use and maintenance, and safety issues. The student explores methods of artistic collaboration and management skills utilized during the rehearsal process, fight calls, and performance maintenance. Rick Sordelet

DRAM 100a/b, 200a/b, 300a/b, Stage Management Seminar This seminar sequence provides a forum for discussion of the stage management aspects of the concurrent productions at Yale School of Drama and Yale Repertory Theatre, and allows tutorial guidance for students who are serving as stage managers and assistant stage managers for those productions. Alternates with production reviews, department meetings, and seminar topics led by guest speakers from the industry. Mary Hunter

DRAM 102a, Scene Design See description under Design.

DRAM 114b, Lighting Design for Stage Managers See description under Design.

DRAM 115a, Costume Design: Background and Practice See description under Design.

DRAM 119b, Electricity See description under Technical Design and Production.

DRAM 141b, Law and the Arts See description under Theater Management.

DRAM 149a, Production Planning See description under Technical Design and Production.

DRAM 158a, Introduction to Sound Design See description under Sound Design.

DRAM 158b, Recording Arts See description under Sound Design.

DRAM 159a, Theater Safety See description under Technical Design and Production.

DRAM 169a, Shop Technology See description under Technical Design and Pro-duction.

DRAM 169b, Stage Rigging Techniques See description under Technical Design and Production.

DRAM 189a, Costume Production See description under Technical Design and Production.

DRAM 191b, Managing the Production Process See description under Theater Management.

DRAM 198a, Sound Design Production Organization See description under Sound Design.

DRAM 199b, Computer Applications for the Technical Manager See description under Technical Design and Production.

DRAM 209a, Physics of Stage Machinery See description under Technical Design and Production.

DRAM 209b, Hydraulics and Pneumatics See description under Technical Design and Production.

DRAM 221b, Labor and Employee Relations See description under Theater Management.

DRAM 224a, Introduction to Projection Design See description under Design.

DRAM 249b, Technical Management See description under Technical Design and Production.

DRAM 349a, Production Management: Organization and Administration See description under Technical Design and Production.

DRAM 400a, Stage Management for the Commercial Theater The focus of this course centers on stage management for the commercial theater with emphasis on process and current conditions in the industry. As a primer for the stage manager to work in the commercial theater, this course is an in-depth study of the production process according to the theatrical unions who perform backstage on Broadway, including but not limited to AEA, I.A.T.S.E., Local 764/Wardrobe, Local 798/Hair and Make-up, and Local 802/ Musicians. Laura Brown-MacKinnon

DRAM 400b, Current Stage Management Practice An insightful study of the “Next Step” into professional stage management. As a resource class, topics include leadership, networking, developing relationships in the commercial theater, personal finance, and pursuing employment. Current topics and practices in the industry are discussed by the instructor and invited guest speakers. Diane DiVita

DRAM 500b, The Stage Manager’s Thesis Each student must submit an appropriate written or production thesis during the third year. Third-year students pursuing a production thesis are responsible for three aspects in fulfilling the requirement: stage manage a major production at Yale School of Drama or Yale Repertory Theatre; prepare and submit the production book; and write an approved Acting Edition of the production. Thesis production work at Yale Rep is assigned at the discretion of the department chair.

Students pursuing a written thesis are required to research and critically analyze an appropriate topic approved by the department chair. The document should show the student’s mastery of critical thinking and writing as they pertain to some aspect of production stage management. The proposed topic must be approved by the chair no later than the end of the second year. In addition, the student stage manages a major production at Yale School of Drama or Yale Repertory Theatre, and submits the production book.

The written or production thesis is then developed under the guidance of the department chair. After revision and the chair’s approval, the work must be evaluated and critiqued by three approved independent readers. The final, bound edition of the written thesis is considered by the faculty along with production work in determining whether a degree should be granted. Mary Hunter

*[DRAM 630a, Introduction to Theatrical Composition. Not offered in 2008–2009.]

*DRAM 640a, Introduction to Theatrical Performance See description under Directing.

DRAM 700a/b, Stage Management Forum: The Artistic Process This two-term course focuses on stage managerial techniques outside of traditional theater practice. Through a series of workshops led by professionals in the fields of music, dance, television and film, event management, opera, and touring, students explore artistic process and the development of managerial skill sets. James S. Badrak, Mary Hunter, Richard C. Rauscher, Adam Reist, Matthew Suttor, Lori Rosecrans Wekselblatt, and other guest speakers

*Introduction to Theatrical Composition (DRAM 630a) and Introduction to Theatrical Performance (DRAM 640a) are offered in alternate years and required for second- and third-year Stage Management students. Introduction to Theatrical Performance (DRAM 640a) is an elective for third-year Stage Management students only in 2008–2009.

Technical Design and Production (M.F.A. and Certificate)

Bronislaw Sammler, Chair

Contemporary theater design and production practices are profoundly influenced by the technology and economics of our age. The diverse aesthetics and the increasingly complex electronic and mechanical components now being used in the performing arts point up the need for professionals who can understand and apply these technologies to the achievement of artistic goals. The department seeks well-educated and highly motivated students who will best be able to use the resources of Yale School of Drama/Yale Repertory Theatre and the University to expand their professional abilities and deepen their professional interests in theater and the performing arts.

This program of study provides academic and practical training for professionals who can perform with excellence in producing organizations, consulting firms, manufacturing companies, and universities. The exceptional placement record of graduates who have trained in the unique environment offered by Yale School of Drama/Yale Repertory Theatre emphasizes the career value of the graduate program of study.

Technical management requires a wide range of skills and knowledge. The department’s sequence of required courses focuses on key principles of the physical and social sciences and their application to performing arts technology. Concurrently, with the required sequence, each student pursues a sequence of elective courses that leads to a concentration in Technical Direction, Production Management, Stage Machinery Design and Automation, or Theater Planning and Consulting. Degree candidates also prepare a research thesis in their chosen area of concentration.

To assure complete training, the department maintains a faculty and staff of thirty-five, whose courses cover a wide range of topics including production management, lighting, sound and video technology, mechanical design, automation, structural design, acoustics, theater engineering, computer applications, show control, AutoCAD, and technical writing. In addition, the department’s weekly seminar features guest lectures by noted professionals. Students are encouraged to augment their studies with courses from other departments in Yale School of Drama and from other schools at Yale University including Architecture, Management, and Engineering & Applied Science.

Finally, to afford students the opportunity to develop and test newly developed skills, the department requires that each student complete a series of production assignments at Yale School of Drama/Yale Repertory Theatre. Individually tailored to each student’s skills and professionals goals, the production assignments represent a sequence of increasingly demanding production experiences.

Plan of Study: Technical Design and Production

REQUIRED SEQUENCE

ELECTIVE SEQUENCE

The elective sequence is determined in consultation with a department adviser and allows each student reasonable flexibility in selecting specific courses in a chosen area of concentration.

Courses of Instruction

DRAM 6a/b, Survey of Theater and Drama See description under Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism.

DRAM 69a, Welding Technology A course teaching the fundamentals and applications of electric arc welding techniques (TIG, MIG, STICK) as well as brazing and soldering. Emphasis is on welding practice of metals including: steel, aluminum, brass, copper, etc.; joining dissimilar metals; fixturing; and evaluating the appropriate process for an application. The majority of class time is spent welding, brazing, or soldering. Six students maximum. Five hours a week. David Johnson

DRAM 69b, Mechanical Instrumentation A course geared for both the arts and sciences that goes beyond an introductory shop course, offering an in-depth study utilizing hands-on instructional techniques. Surface finishes and tolerances versus cost and time, blueprint reading, machineability of materials, feeds and speeds, and grinding of tools are discussed and demonstrated. Four hours a week. David Johnson

DRAM 89a, Costume Construction A course in costume construction for designers and technicians with hands-on practice in both machine and hand sewing. Various forms of patterning (draping, flat drafting, etc.) are also covered. Advanced students may elect to undertake patterning and construction projects using Yale School of Drama’s antique costume collection. Two hours a week. Robin Hirsch

DRAM 99a/b, Internship Practicum Interns are required to successfully complete two terms of practicum in their area of concentration. Thirty hours a week. Area supervisor

DRAM 109a/b, Structural Design for the Stage This course concurrently develops the precalculus mathematics and physical sciences requisite for advanced study in modern theater technology, and concentrates on the application of statics to the design of safe scenic structures. Assignments relate basic principles to production applications. Two hours a week. Bronislaw Sammler

DRAM 119b, Electricity This course presents the basic theoretical and practical optics, electricity, and electronics of lighting instruments, dimmers, projectors, and special effects needed to function as a master electrician. Emphasis is placed on relevant portions of the National Electrical Code. Two hours a week. Alan Hendrickson

DRAM 129b, History of Theater Architecture A survey of European and American theater architecture as it relates to cultural and technological changes through time, this course uses the writings of current and past authorities on such subjects as acoustics, space layout, and decoration to illustrate and evaluate these buildings’ many variations. Two hours a week. Alan Hendrickson

DRAM 139a, Introduction to Sound Engineering and Design This course provides students with the basic skills and vocabulary necessary to perform as sound engineers and sound designers. Students are introduced to standard sound design practice, associated paperwork for implementation, production design tools, acoustic assessment tools, and sound delivery systems addressing both conceptual and sound reinforcement design. This is accomplished through practical assignments, production reviews, and conceptual design projects. Three hours a week. Brian MacQueen

DRAM 149a, Production Planning An introduction to production planning. Topics include cost and time estimating, and scheduling, for all phases of production. One and one-half hours a week. Bronislaw Sammler

DRAM 159a, Theater Safety An introduction to theater safety and occupational health. Topics include chemical and fire hazards, accident and fire prevention, code requirements, emergency procedures, and training and certification in first aid and CPR. One and one-half hours a week. William Reynolds

DRAM 169a, Shop Technology This course serves as an introduction to the scene shops and technology available at Yale School of Drama. Traditional and modern materials, construction tools and techniques, and shop organization and management are examined in the context of scenic production. Class projects are tailored to each student’s needs. Three hours a week plus a three-hour lab. Neil Mulligan

DRAM 169b, Stage Rigging Techniques This course introduces students to traditional and nontraditional rigging techniques. Equipment discussed includes counterweight and mechanical rigging systems and their components. Class format is both lecture and lab with written and practical projects assigned to further the student’s understanding. Two hours a week. Neil Mulligan

DRAM 179a, Production Drafting This course develops the skills necessary for effective and efficient graphic communication between the technical designer and shop staff. Emphasis is placed on graphic standards, notation, plan and section drawings, and the translation of designer plates to shop drawings. Students develop these techniques through sketching, applying the fundamental aspects of AutoCAD, and projects executed under classroom supervision. Three and one-half hours a week. Neil Mulligan

DRAM 189a, Costume Production This course examines the processes involved in the realization of a complete set of costume designs, from the drawing board to the stage. Focus is on shop organization and the functions of the designer, assistant designer, and costume production staff, with emphasis on budgeting, scheduling, fabrics, tools, and equipment. One and one-half hours a week. Thomas McAlister

DRAM 189b, Fabric and Fabric Manipulation This course explores the aesthetics and performance characteristics of fabrics commonly used for the stage, and how to go about choosing a successful apparel fabric. It examines the basic properties of natural and synthetic fibers: weaves and texture, pattern and scale, drape, memory, hand, finish, and cost. Time is spent exploring fabrics under stage lighting and in the context of our performance venues. One and one-half hours a week. Thomas McAlister

DRAM 199b, Computer Applications for the Technical Manager This course develops proficiency in spreadsheeting, word processing, desktop publishing, and database development. Its ultimate aim, however, is to enable students to apply the most appropriate software in undertaking the various tasks of technical management. As time allows, the course explores other types of software such as illustration and project management applications. Limited enrollment. Three and one-half hours a week. Don Harvey

DRAM 209a, Physics of Stage Machinery This course introduces Newtonian mechanics as an aid in predicting the behavior of moving scenery. Theoretical performance calculations are developed to approximate the actual performance of stage machinery. Topics include electric motors, gearing, friction, and ergonomics. Two hours a week. Alan Hendrickson

DRAM 2o9b, Hydraulics and Pneumatics Discussions of concepts and components begun in DRAM 209a are continued for fluid power systems. Topics include hydraulic power unit design, the selection and operation of electro-hydraulic proportional valves, load lifting circuits using counterbalance valves, and pneumatic system design. A major emphasis is placed on the practical aspects of component selection, especially for hydraulic cylinders, hose, and fittings. Two hours a week. Alan Hendrickson

DRAM 229a, Theater Planning and Construction This course is an introduction to planning, design, documentation, and construction of theaters, concert halls, and similar spaces. Emphasis is placed on the role of the theater planning consultant in functional planning and architectural design. The goal is to introduce the student to the field and provide a basic understanding of the processes, concerns, and vocabulary of theater planning. Two hours a week. Eugene Leitermann

DRAM 239b, Introduction to Projection Engineering This course provides students with the skills and vocabulary necessary to perform as projection engineers. Students are introduced to the paperwork to design, the equipment to implement, and the software to operate a successful video projection system while interfacing with a projection designer. Class format includes lectures and lab sessions that focus on equipment and software. Three hours a week. Jonathan Reed

DRAM 249b, Technical Management This course discusses application of management techniques and organizational principles to technical production. Emphasis is placed on leadership and interpersonal skills as well as on organization, planning, and facilities utilization. Assignments provide further exploration of related topics in the form of written and/or presented material. Two and one-half hours a week. William Reynolds

DRAM 269b, Technical Design This course examines the technical design process in the development of solutions to scenery construction projects. Solutions, utilizing traditional and modern materials and fabrication techniques, are studied from the aspects of budget, safety, and structural integrity. Three hours a week. Bronislaw Sammler

DRAM 279b, Advanced AutoCAD An in-depth study of AutoCAD leading to greater productivity with the software. Proficiency in 2-D drafting and 3-D modeling and drafting as they apply to technical design is developed through project work. Additional topics include the AutoCAD database, customizing the drafting environment, hardware issues, and related software packages. Prerequisite: DRAM 179a or permission of the instructor. Two hours a week. Neil Mulligan

DRAM 289b, Patternmaking This class is an exploration of costume history through the three-dimensional form. Each week students drape and/or draft a garment from a specific period from primitive “T” shapes to mid-twentieth-century patterns. Two hours a week. Robin Hirsch

DRAM 299a, Technical Writing and Research Research and coherent writing techniques are reviewed and practiced to develop a command of prose as a means of technical exposition and commentary. Students complete several comparative assignments to assist them in thesis preparation and write at least one article for the Technical Brief publication. Three hours a week. Don Harvey

DRAM 309a, Mechanical Design for Theater Applications This course focuses on the process of mechanical design for temporary and permanent stage machinery. Design considerations and component selections are examined through lectures, discussions, assignments, and project reviews. Other topics include motion control, fluid power circuit design, and industrial standards. Three hours a week. Alan Hendrickson

DRAM 319a, Automation Control Designing and constructing control systems for mechanized scenery involves theoretical and practical work in electrical power distribution, switching logic, electronics, and software programming. The material covered in lectures and numerous lab sessions progresses from simple on-off electrical control, to relay logic, motor speed control, and finally full positioning control. Class topics include motor starters, open collector outputs, power supplies, PLC ladder programming, and AC motor drives. Three and one-half hours a week. Alan Hendrickson

DRAM 329a, Theater Engineering: Lighting, Sound, Video, and Communication Systems This course introduces the basic concepts of the design of lighting, sound, video, and communication systems and infrastructure within the context of the overall design of performing arts facilities. Topics include programming and budgeting equipment systems, code requirements, and integration with other building systems. The student develops and details basic equipment systems within a building envelope provided by the instructor. Two hours a week. Todd Berling, Howard Rose

[DRAM 339b, Architectural Acoustics This course is both an introduction to the basic principles and terminology of acoustics and a survey of the acoustics of performance venues, with an emphasis on theaters. The course covers physical acoustics, room acoustics, psychoacoustics, electroacoustics, sound isolation, and noise and vibration control. The goals are to furnish the student with a basic background in acoustical theory and practice, and an understanding of the acoustical priorities in various performance spaces and the basics of achieving those needs. Not offered in 2008–2009]

DRAM 349a, Production Management: Organization and Administration This course deals with the basic organizational structures found in not-for-profit and limited-partnership commercial ventures. Students explore patterns of responsibility and authority, various charts of accounts and fiscal controls, estimating techniques, budgeting, and scheduling. Discussions include a variety of theatrical organizations, their artistic policies, and processes and products that result. Two hours a week. Elisa Cardone, Don Harvey, and guests

DRAM 389a, Properties Design and Construction Through lectures and demonstrations, students study design and fabrication of stage properties. Assignments encourage students to develop craft skills and to explore the application of traditional and new techniques to production practice. Three hours a week. Hunter Spence

DRAM 389b, Mask Design and Construction A studio class exploring the problems in designing and constructing masks for the stage. Students fabricate masks using materials such as celastic, latex, feathers, and fabrics. Three hours a week. Hunter Spence

DRAM 399b, Technical Design and Production Thesis Each student develops a thesis dealing with a production or planning oriented subject. By the end of the second year, a thesis proposal is submitted for departmental review. Following topic approval, the thesis is researched under the guidance of an approved adviser, and a complete draft is submitted five weeks prior to graduation. After revision and adviser’s approval, the work is evaluated and critiqued by three independent readers. Following revisions and departmental approval, two bound copies are submitted. Two-hour advisory and tutorial meetings every other week. Don Harvey

DRAM 419b, Control Systems for Live Entertainment The rapidly developing field of “show control” is the focus of this course. Show control is the convergence of entertainment, computing, networking, and data communication technologies. Topics covered include data communication and networking principles; details of entertainment-specific protocols such as DMX512, MIDI, MIDI Show Control, MIDI Machine Control, and SMPTE Time Code; and practical applications and principles of system design. Two hours a week plus a two-hour lab. John Huntington

[DRAM 429a, Theater Engineering: Overhead Rigging and Stage Machinery This course introduces the basic concepts of the design of overhead rigging and stage machinery systems and infrastructure within the context of the overall design of performing arts facilities. Topics include programming and budgeting equipment systems, code requirements, and integration with other building systems. The student develops and details basic equipment systems within a building envelope provided by the instructor. Not offered in 2008–2009]

DRAM 449a/b, Independent Study Students who want to pursue special research or the study of topics not covered by formal courses may propose an independent study. Following department approval of the topic, the student meets regularly with an adviser to discuss progress and to seek tutorial advice. Credit for independent study is awarded by the department, based on the project adviser’s recommendation. Tutorial meetings to be arranged. Faculty and staff

DRAM 469b, Scenery Construction for the Commercial Theater This course examines construction techniques and working conditions in union scene shops servicing the Broadway theater industry. Field trips to several shops in the New York area and backstage tours of the shows being discussed in class are included. An important aspect of all assignments is an in-depth discussion of the transition from designer’s drawings to shop drawings, construction in the scene shop, and eventual set-up in the theater. Two hours a week. Chuck Adomanis, John Boyd

DRAM 489a/b, Advanced Patternmaking This course clarifies the process by which a costume design goes from a rendering to a three-dimensional form for the stage. Students select a text, and then research and render a costume design for one character. Rigorous draping and flat-patterning techniques, as well as proper cutting, stitching, and fitting methods, are applied to create the elements of a period silhouette, from the foundation garments to the outer apparel. Student actors participate as models to deepen and heighten the understanding of the journey from sketch to stageworthy clothing. Two hours a week. Thomas McAlister

DRAM 529b, Theater Planning Seminar This course is a continuation of DRAM 229a, Theater Planning and Construction, concentrating on the renovation or rehabilitation of existing buildings for performing arts use, and on design work by teams of students. The term-long design project provides students the opportunity to apply knowledge acquired in DRAM 329a, DRAM 339b, and DRAM 429a, although these courses are not prerequisites. Several visiting lecturers join the class to discuss theater planning topics. Two hours a week. Eugene Leitermann

Theater Management (M.F.A.)

Edward Martenson, Chair

The Theater Management department prepares aspiring leaders and managers to create organizational environments increasingly favorable to the creation of theater art and its presentation to appreciative audiences. Recognizing that there is no substitute for experience, the department provides students with the knowledge, skills, and values to enter the field at high levels of responsibility, to move quickly to leadership positions, and ultimately to advance the state of management practice and the art form itself.

Although the focus is on theater, many graduates have adapted their education successfully to careers in dance, opera, media, and other fields.

In the context of an integrated management perspective, students are grounded in the history and aesthetics of theater art, production organization, hiring and unions, the collaborative process, decision making, organizational direction, motivation, organizational design, human resources, financial management, development, marketing, and technology. While focused primarily on theater organizations, discussions incorporate other performing arts organizations, other nonprofits, and for-profit organizations to help identify the factors that make organizations succeed. It is training in the practice, informed by up-to-date theoretical knowledge.

The training program combines a sequence of departmental courses, approved electives in other departments and schools, topical workshops, a case study writing requirement, and professional work assignments. In a distinctive feature of the Theater Management curriculum, students have the opportunity to engage in the management of Yale Repertory Theatre from the beginning of their training, and to collaborate with students and faculty from other departments in productions of Yale School of Drama and Yale Cabaret. Students are evaluated on their performance in professional work assignments as well as performance in coursework.

In the first year the student enrolls in seven departmental courses per term, begins a case study on a theater organization, to be completed during the second year; attends a variety of topical workshops; and is given professional work assignments.

In the second and third years the student enrolls in four departmental and elective courses per term; attends a variety of topical workshops; and is given one or two professional work assignments. In another distinctive feature of the program, the second-year student has the option of replacing one term in residence with a fellowship in a professional setting away from the campus, selected by the faculty.

Joint-Degree Program with Yale School of Management

The Theater Management department offers a joint-degree program with Yale School of Management, in which a student may earn both the Master of Fine Arts and Master of Business Administration degrees in four years (rather than the five years that normally are required). A joint-degree student must meet the respective admission requirements of each school. The typical plan of study consists of two years at Yale School of Drama, followed by one year at the School of Management, culminating with one combined year at both schools. Generally, students have until the beginning of their second year at the School of Drama to decide whether they are interested in the joint-degree option.

Plan of Study: Theater Management

Students are required to complete twenty-eight required courses (including the case study writing requirement), seven approved electives from other departments and schools, a variety of topical workshops, and professional work assignments. (For students choosing the second-year fellowship, the course requirements are reduced by four.)

REQUIRED SEQUENCE

ELECTIVE SEQUENCE

Seven electives approved by the chair, selected from other departments of Yale School of Drama, from Yale School of Management or other professional schools, or from Yale College. One elective must be either DRAM 149a, Production Planning, or DRAM 349a, Production Management: Organization and Administration. One must be an additional course in dramatic literature or criticism in the Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism department. Among other electives for consideration are DRAM 40a/b, Principles of Stage Management; DRAM 102a/b, Scene Design; DRAM 115a/b, Costume Design; DRAM 124a/b, Introduction to Lighting Design; DRAM 129b, History of Theater Architecture; DRAM 159a, Theater Safety; MGT 527, Strategic Management of Nonprofit Organizations; MGT 623, Strategic Leadership Across Sectors; MGT 887, Negotiation; MGT 888, Emotional Intelligence at Work.

Courses of Instruction

DRAM 6a/b, Survey of Theater and Drama See description under Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism.

DRAM 11a, Theater Organizations Societies need organizations to bring artists and audiences together to experience theater art. Historically—in contrast to the art itself, which is immutable—the various organizational forms have proved to be fragile: some have lasted for hundreds of years, but each of them eventually has failed and been replaced. Seventy-five years ago the commercial form began to decline in output; fifty years ago the nonprofit organization form was adapted to serve civic needs in a rapidly decentralizing America and developmental needs of the art and artists. The course explores the variety of organizational models in use today with an eye to identifying the patterns of purposes, values, structures, and policies they adopt to guide their operations. Each student collects in-depth information about a particular organization and presents it to the class. Edward Martenson

DRAM 11b, Founding Visions for Places in the Art This course is a documentary history of the American art theater in the words of its visionaries and pioneers. The history is explored through the inspired and inspiring writings of the founders themselves, from Jane Addams (Hull House, 1880s) to Bill Rauch (Cornerstone, 1980s). Students encounter the letters, memoirs, and manifestoes of such early figures as Jig Cook and Susan Glaspell (Provincetown), John Houseman/Orson Welles (Mercury Theatre), and Hallie Flanagan (Federal Theatre Project), and more recent leaders like Margo Jones, Zelda Fichandler, Joe Papp, Judith Malina and Julian Beck, Douglas Turner Ward, Joseph Chaikin, Luis Valdez, Herbert Blau, Robert Brustein, Tyrone Guthrie, Charles Ludlam, and many more. Students are expected to research primary source material, prepare oral reports on theaters and founders, and have the option of envisioning/planning theaters of their own. Todd London

DRAM 111a, Functions of Leadership: Setting the Organizational Direction Management and leadership are two different things, and managers must be capable of practicing both in order to meet the increasingly complex challenges of modern theater organizations; the required knowledge and skills operate side by side. The fall term covers the first of three essential functions of leadership: establishing organizational direction through mission and strategy. Prerequisite to DRAM 111b. Edward Martenson

DRAM 111b, Functions of Leadership: Motivation and Organizational Design Management and leadership are two different things, and managers must be capable of practicing both in order to meet the increasingly complex challenges of modern theater organizations; the required knowledge and skills operate side by side. The spring term covers the second and third functions of leadership: securing the essential efforts through effective motivation and productive management of change; and establishing appropriate means of communication through organizational design, including decision making and management of culture. Prerequisite: DRAM 111a. Edward Martenson

DRAM 121a, Human Resources Policies and Practices Successful human resource strategy is about managing people, not about managing problems. This course examines the tools needed to be an effective manager: listening well, communicating needs, building core competencies, setting expectations, coaching, negotiating, empowering, evaluating, and terminating with respect. Specific focus is placed on human resources as it is currently practiced and communicated in the American regional theater. Victoria Nolan

DRAM 121b, Strategic Planning in Practice This course focuses on the planning process, and the myriad forms it takes within arts organizations. Various concepts important to planning, including mission, strategy development, and alignment, are reviewed. However, most of the work takes the form of answering the question, “How do we do this aspect of planning?” Seven three-hour sessions are held consisting of case studies, constant interactive discussion, and reading of arts organizations’ actual plans. Prerequisite: DRAM 111a. Greg Kandel

DRAM 131a, Principles of Marketing and Communications This survey course explores the fundamentals of not-for-profit theater marketing and communications. Topics include understanding the audience and market; segmentation and positioning; pricing and packaging; revenue and expense budgeting. Campaign tactics are explored, such as direct marketing, online marketing, publicity and advertising. Students learn to develop a single-ticket marketing plan. Anne Trites

DRAM 141b, Law and the Arts An examination of the legal rights and responsibilities of artists and artistic institutions. Topics include the law of intellectual property (copyright and trademark), moral rights, personality rights (defamation, publicity, and privacy), and freedom of expression. The course is also an introduction to the structure and language of contractual agreements, and includes discussion of several types of contracts employed in the theater. Other legal issues relating to nonprofit arts organizations may also be discussed. Joan Channick

DRAM 151b, Case Study An applied writing project under the supervision of a faculty adviser. The student focuses on a particular theater organization assigned by the faculty, by gathering information, conducting interviews, analyzing the organization’s conditions and issues, writing a case study with video supplement, and writing a teaching note. The work should begin during the student’s first year, and the written case study must be completed by the end of the student’s second year in residence. The class discussion may occur in the third year. Faculty

DRAM 161a, Principles of Development This introductory course explores the requirements for setting up a development department, and the responsibilities and practical applications of the development process, from capital campaigns, identifying donor prospects, board development, and proposal writing. Students are introduced to all aspects of development: individual giving and donor solicitation, corporate sponsorship as well as corporate philanthropy, government, foundations, and events. Andrew Hamingson

DRAM 181a, Financial Accounting An introduction to corporate financial accounting concepts and procedures, with an emphasis on nonprofit application. Financial statements are stressed throughout the course, while attention is paid to developing procedural skills, including accounting controls. The basic financial statements are introduced: balance sheet, income statement, and statement of cash flows. Accounting for assets, liabilities, and net assets. Jeffrey Bledsoe

DRAM 181b, Financial Management A study of the broad role of financial management in the realization of organization goals. Topics include defining capital structure and financial health; developing, monitoring, and reporting on operating and capital budgets; financial analysis and planning; cash flow; and risk management. Prerequisite: DRAM 181a. Patricia Egan

DRAM 191b, Managing the Production Process An investigation of the relationship between the artistic director and the managing director. This course explores the role of a managing director in the production process of regional theater, including season planning, artistic budgeting, contract negotiations, artist relationships, and production partnering. Victoria Nolan

DRAM 201a/b, 301a/b, Management Seminar An upper-level seminar sequence designed to integrate knowledge and skills gathered from all courses and professional work, primarily through analysis and discussion of case studies. Second- and third-year theater management students must enroll during all terms in residence; the course also is open to others who have completed DRAM 111a/b. Edward Martenson

DRAM 211a, Governance This course examines governance within arts organization with a strong emphasis on its practice, as well as how that practice can be managed and adjusted. The first part of each class consists of interactive presentations using real examples from multiple organizations in the field, or case work focused on one particular company. The second part is a laboratory in which students use the concepts learned to prepare and present their findings to the rest of the class. Greg Kandel

DRAM 221b, Labor and Employee Relations A seminar on how to read collective bargaining agreements and think about the collective bargaining process in the not-for-profit theater through the study of the agreement, along with negotiation of the agreement and practice under it, between the League of Resident Theatres and Actors’ Equity Association. Comparisons are made to LORT’s agreements with other artist and technical unions. Admission to nondepartmental students by permission only. Harry Weintraub

DRAM 231a, Advanced Topics in Marketing This course focuses on developing critical assessment skills. Various strategies and tactics, intended to acquire and retain audiences, are evaluated using case studies, articles, assignments, and discussions with specialists. Topics include customer relationship management, loyalty marketing, branding, the impact of customer service on profitability, developing ethnically diverse audiences, and departmental management. Anne Trites

DRAM 241a, Contracts A seminar on how to read, write, and administer individual employment contracts. Each student creates employment and separation agreements for the managing director of a not-for-profit theater. Harry Weintraub

DRAM 251a or b, Management Fellowship Each second-year student may choose to replace one term in residence with a fellowship in a professional setting away from the campus, selected by the faculty. The fellowship replaces one required departmental course, four electives, and a term-long professional work assignment. The purpose of the fellowship is to pair the student with a successful manager in the field who acts as a mentor. Ideally, the fellowship consists of frequent meetings with the host mentor, the opportunity to shadow the mentor in meetings with board and staff, access to board and staff meetings, and assigned tasks to perform within the organization. The host organization is chosen primarily for the appropriateness of the mentor/mentee pairing rather than to advance the student’s interest in a particular kind of work. The student is required to submit a written report on the fellowship, but the fellowship and case study writing requirement(s) (DRAM 151b) may not be combined. Faculty

DRAM 261b, Advanced Topics in Development Case studies and practical applications in corporate sponsorship, board development, major gifts, and international projects are investigated. The emphasis in the course is on the importance of creativity and innovation in the field of development. Prerequisite: DRAM 161a. Andrew Hamingson

DRAM 271a, Producing for the Commercial Theater This course focuses on the role of the independent commercial producer. It explores the entrepreneurial skills and qualities that are necessary to be successful without the support of an organizational infrastructure. Among the topics to be covered: why produce commercially; who produces; Broadway and Off-Broadway; the challenges of creating interesting work in a commercial setting; the unique challenges of plays and musicals. Practical matters covered include optioning and developing work, raising money, creating budgets, hiring a free-lance team, and utilizing marketing/press/advertising to attract an audience. While the focus is on the commercial theater, the class aims to inspire those who may wish to produce in any context. David Binder

DRAM 281b, Advanced Financial Management This course on more advanced financial management topics focuses on building students’ interpretive financial skills. Topics include capital structure and financial analysis, financing and debt structures, investments and cash management, facilities projects, planning to achieve financial goals, and managing through financial difficulties. The course includes some case discussions. Prerequisite: DRAM 181b. Patricia Egan

THEATER MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT TOPICAL WORKSHOPS AND MODULES

The Actor’s Life Alan Eisenberg
Analyzing Field Needs and Designing Policy Ben Cameron
Anatomy of a Capital Campaign Deborah Berman
Board/Executive Relationships Susan Medak
Decision Support: Gathering and Using Information Steven Wolff
The Designer’s Life Guest
The Director’s Life Barbara Hauptman
Graphic Design Applications Randall Rode
History of Theater Management Marion Koltun Dienstag
Leadership Laura Freebairn-Smith
The Manager’s Relationship with Art and Artists Rob Orchard
Media and Message Michael Sheehan
Negotiating the Major Gift Guest
Network Access and Applications Randall Rode
Nonprofit on Broadway Barry Grove
Online Giving Guest
Planned Giving and Related Tax Issues Deborah Berman and guest
The Playwright’s Life Guest
The Production Contract Alan Eisenberg
Professionalism Edward Martenson
Prospect Research Deborah Berman and guest
Public Speaking and Presentation Michael Sheehan
Self-Marketing Greg Kandel
Ticketing and Database Applications Randall Rode
Unrelated Business Income Tax Guest

Technical Internship Program (Internship Certificate)

The Technical Design and Production department offers a one-year technical internship program for those seeking to become professional shop carpenters, sound engineers, properties masters, scenic artists, costumers, or master electricians. This training program combines six graduate-level courses with closely guided and monitored practical work.

An assigned faculty or staff adviser guides each student in selecting three courses each term in his or her particular area of concentration. Most courses offered as part of the department’s three-year M.F.A. program of study are open to one-year technical interns. The courses cover a wide range of topics, including properties construction, shop technology, theater safety, electricity, sound technology, scene painting, costume construction, patternmaking, machining, rigging, and AutoCAD. Interns receive individual attention, training, and supervision from their department advisers and work side-by-side with Yale School of Drama and Yale Repertory Theatre’s professional staff.

Those who successfully complete the program of study receive an Internship Certificate during Yale School of Drama’s May commencement ceremonies. Some of those who complete the program subsequently enroll in the three-year M.F.A. program of study in Technical Design and Production, receiving credit toward the degree for requirements already taken. Those who choose to enter the job market receive individual assistance from the School of Drama Registrar’s Dossier Service. Our alumni provide many job opportunities for professionally trained theater technicians.

Courses of Instruction

See course listings and descriptions under Technical Design and Production (M.F.A. and Certificate).

Special Research Fellow Status

Each year, a limited number of scholars are admitted to Yale School of Drama as one-year special research fellows. These fellows are usually professionals in the field of theater from abroad who wish to pursue research and audit one or two courses a term within the School of Drama. Tuition for these fellows is one-half that charged a full-time student. The research and auditing of courses is arranged in consultation with the appropriate department chair and the registrar. Fellows are not eligible for Yale Health Plan (YHP) Basic Coverage. They should contact YHP Member Services (203.432.0246) to inquire about available coverage options. There is no fellow status affiliated with the Acting and Playwriting departments.

Special Student Status

Each year, some students are admitted to Yale School of Drama as one-year special students in the departments of Design; Sound Design; Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism; Technical Design and Production; or Theater Management. These students must be in residence on a full-time basis and are not eligible for a degree or certificate. The curriculum for special students is arranged in consultation with the appropriate chair. Tuition is the same as for degree candidates. Special students are not eligible for Yale Health Plan (YHP) Basic Coverage. They need to contact YHP Member Services (203.432.0246) to inquire about available coverage options.

Special students may apply for admission to the department’s degree program of study in February of their one-year residency. They must comply with Yale School of Drama’s admission requirements and, if admitted, matriculate as second-year students.

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