Courses
I am comfortable leading:
Survey courses in dramatic theory, theater and performance histories, and critical writing;
Practical classes in dramaturgy, playwriting, devised theater, and solo performance; and
Literary studies of Christian medieval drama, 20th-Century Global Avant-Gardes, and Contemporary and Historical Latinx American theater and performance.
Introduction to Dramaturgy: Reading Theater
This course introduces students to dramaturgical analysis of playscripts and the role of the dramaturg in theater. Through an attunement to research and pattern, students will learn to read performance texts as specialists of drama.
Overarching Questions:
How do I “read” a play?
What makes research meaningful?
How do I learn?
Syllabus.
Dramaturgy Seminar: Models of Dramaturgy
This advanced seminar builds on the performance/text interpretation skills developed in Introduction to Dramaturgy and has students theorize and practice the various tasks of a production dramaturg, literary manager, and performance curator. Throughout, students will encounter the writing of fellow dramaturgs to construct a historical and personalized understanding of our craft.
Overarching Questions:
What is dramaturgy?
How do I research?
Syllabus.
Dramatic Structures: Story, Genre, Culture, Theory
What shapes do stories take in theater? This course surveys select dramaturgical structures and theories of dramatic composition across performance histories and cultures. In particular, the course focuses on the relationship between dramatic shapes and how these forms continue to exert their influence today.
Overarching Questions:
How does a story take shape?
Why do we use the words that we use?
What do we gain by reflecting on drama, theater, and performance through theory?
Syllabus.
Dramaturgy Studio: Production, Feedback, Archives, and Profession
This course is presented as a four-part series for students in the Dramaturgy Emphasis to work on production assignments, strengthen habits of critical feedback, conduct archival research, and prepare for careers in dramaturgy or related areas of interest.
Overarching Questions:
What is the value of dramaturgy?
What does it mean to reflect on the work of others?
Why commune with the past?
Where do I go next?
Syllabus.
Season, Sequence, Script: The Art of Critical Selection
Modeled after artistic office discusions and design presentations at regional theaters, as well as conferences and working groups in academic settings, this course asks students to practice the art—and dramaturgy—of critical selection. Through weekly meetings, students will interact with the season selection process at the School of Drama and University Theatre, meet with artistic leaders of regional theater institutions, produce play reports for the School of Drama’s Season Selection Advisory Committee, and pitch a final project of their own. This course ultimately presents a unique opportunity for students across various disciplines to collaborate outside of rehearsal rooms and develop a roundtable appreciation for literary management, artistic leadership, project curation, and institutional outreach.
Syllabus.
Playwriting
This is a semester-long playwriting workshop that students may take up to two times. Participants will present their works-in-progress, receive feedback from their colleagues, and give feedback in kind, taking turns to moderate group discussion. Students will also commit to supplementary readings/viewings and writing exercises to spark their imaginations and help them solve problems creatively.
Overarching Questions:
Why write for the stage?
What makes feedback meaningful?
What does it take to believe in myself?
Syllabus.
US Latinx Theater & Politics: 1950s to Today
This class looks at US-based Latinx theater and performance from the mid-twentieth century to today. In its discussions of artists, productions, aesthetics, themes, and companies, the class takes into account important contributions from theorists in Latinx studies. Throughout, students will also consider the sociopolitical contexts that surround and shape Latinx theater and performance.
Overarching Questions:
What does it mean to declare an identity?
What’s at stake to belonging to one in the first place?
In what ways is Latinx a helpful umbrella category?
In what ways is it limited?
Syllabus.
Introduction to Theater
Through the study of play texts, theoretical treatises, and relevant criticism, this course promotes the curiosity, sense of wonder, and passion for pattern vital to an understanding of theater arts. The first unit offers methodologies for beginners to engage various theater texts and theatrical productions likely to appear in U.S. and global repertories, while the second unit demystifies the procedural aspects of the artform: how is it made, who makes it, and for whom?
Using an inductive dramaturgical approach derived from contemporary practice and scholarship, Introduction to Theater increases students’ capacity for critical thought and asks them to consider the radical potential of this ancient craft to strengthen social bonds, interrogate the status quo, and affect meaningful change.
Survey of Theater and Performance Practices
Split into two academic terms, Survey of Theater and Performance Practices mines global history for relevant and varied examples of theatrical practice across ancient and modern periods. Rather than observe theater practice laid out on a timeline, the course views its vestiges from a practitioner’s perspective, organizing content based on a simple set of questions: who, what, for whom, where, when, and why? By engaging theater and performance as a living artform, the course makes active connections to the past, enlivening our understanding of history and of what’s possible on stage, without neglecting the specific social, political, economic and cultural contexts that shape practice.
The first part of the courses focuses on who or what performs, what they perform, and for whom they perform. The second part of the course focuses on where, when, and why performance takes place. Both courses culminate in small performances based on class material so students can answer questions these materials ask of contemporary investigators: they will embody the historical archive in order to understand it better.
Contemporary Theater and Politics in Latin America
This class looks at contemporary theater and performance in Latin America and its relationship to pressing political issues—racism, homophobia, misogyny, dictatorial violence, neoliberalism, and land theft. Throughout, the course interrogates theater’s capacity to enact social change. By observing diverse dramaturgical and political strategies across Latin America, the course aims to outline the variety of approaches Latin American theatermakers have taken to talk about ongoing issues in their respective countries and the regions as a whole. Ultimately, after a semester-long study of the class materials, students will create theatrical-political interventions of their own on campus.