Contacts | Undergraduate Program of Study | Requirements for the Major | BA Project | Honors | Summary of Requirements for the Major | Application to the Major | Grading | Minor Program in Theater and Performance Studies | Summary of Requirements for the Minor | Theater and Performance Studies Courses

Department Website: http://taps.uchicago.edu

Undergraduate Program of Study

Theater and Performance Studies (TAPS) seeks to animate the intersection of practice and theory in the arts. TAPS offers studio classes, seminars, and studio-seminars, which combine academic and practice-based inquiry. TAPS courses are taught by distinguished faculty as well as professional artists from Chicago's vibrant theater community.

Students work closely with the Director of Undergraduate Studies and faculty advisors to shape an individual course of study that reflects the student’s interests while fulfilling the program’s requirements. Each student’s coursework may be organized around one or more clusters, including, for example, acting, dance, devising and writing (across media), design, directing, dramaturgy, media arts, performance studies, theater history, or some combination of the above.

Students majoring in other fields of study may double major or complete a minor in TAPS.

Requirements for the Major

The major requires a total of 13 courses, comprising 11 elective courses and a capstone BA project. At least seven of the elective courses counted toward the major must have a TAPS course number. Course selection is subject to the approval of the Director of Undergraduate Studies. It is generally expected that courses in the major will be at the 20000-level or higher; 10000-level courses will be approved sparingly. Coursework includes:

  1. TAPS 22900 Introduction to Theater & Performance Studies, designed to introduce students to foundational ideas and critical skills relevant to the study of theater and performance.
  2. Four elective courses in theater and/or performance theory, considered broadly to include history, theory, aesthetics, or analysis. Theory courses may be selected from the TAPS course offerings below or from related course offerings in the College. At least two of these courses will have a TAPS course number.
  3. Four elective courses in artistic practice. Artistic practice courses may be selected from the TAPS course offerings below or from related course offerings in the College, including Cinema and Media Studies, Creative Writing, Media Arts and Design, Music, or Visual Arts. At least two of these courses will have a TAPS course number.
  4. Three other elective courses selected from the TAPS course offerings listed below or from related course offerings in the College.
  5. TAPS 29800 Theater and Performance Studies BA Colloquium, to be taken in the student's fourth year, is devoted to the preparation of the BA project. Although TAPS 29800 extends over two quarters, students register for the course in only Autumn or Winter Quarter, receiving 100 units of credit and one grade for the course.

BA Project

The TAPS BA project marks the culmination of a student’s studies in TAPS and is typically presented during Spring Quarter of the  student's fourth year. There are two project formats from which to choose: (1) an original artistic work (e.g., staged reading, site-specific installation, solo performance, choreography) with an accompanying critical piece of writing, OR (2) a written academic thesis with an accompanying presentation (in the form of a talk or performative component).

With the support of the Director of Undergraduate Studies and other TAPS faculty, students will select a faculty advisor for their BA project, develop the project proposal, and submit a BA Project Statement during Spring Quarter of the third year. Proposals are subject to the approval of the Chair of Theater and Performance Studies.

In the fourth year, students will enroll in TAPS 29800 Theater and Performance Studies BA Colloquium, which offers a weekly forum in Autumn and Winter Quarters to develop the BA project in collaboration with peers and in accordance with a carefully designed set of deadlines. During Spring Quarter of the fourth year, students will present their artistic work(s) and submit their final complete project by Friday of fourth week for honors consideration, or by Friday of the eighth week for the completion of the major. Students graduating in any quarter other than Spring should consult with the Director of Undergraduate Studies about an appropriate timeline. 

Honors

Eligibility for honors requires an overall cumulative GPA of 3.25 or higher, a GPA of 3.5 or higher in the TAPS major, and a BA project that is judged by the designated advisors to display exceptional intellectual and creative merit. If the faculty advisors recommend the project for honors, the Chair of TAPS in consultation with the TAPS faculty will issue a recommendation to the Associate Dean and Master of the Humanities Collegiate Division, who makes the ultimate decision.

Summary of Requirements for the Major

TAPS 22900Introduction to Theater & Performance Studies100
Four (4) theory and analysis courses400
Four (4) artistic practice courses400
Three (3) elective courses300
TAPS 29800Theater and Performance Studies BA Colloquium100
Completion of the TAPS BA project for majors
Total Units1300

Application to the Major

Students interested in joining the program are encouraged to consult with the Director of Undergraduate Studies in Spring Quarter of their first year or as soon as possible thereafter. Students who have decided to join the program should file an Application to the Major form with the Director of Undergraduate Studies by the beginning of Spring Quarter of their second year or no later than the end of Autumn Quarter of their third year.  

Students must formalize their declaration on my.uchicago.edu and regularly provide documentation to their College adviser of any approvals for the major.

Grading

All courses in the major or minor must be taken for a quality grade.

Minor Program in Theater and Performance Studies

Students interested in joining the minor program are encouraged to consult with the Director of Undergraduate Studies in Spring Quarter of their second year or as soon as possible thereafter. Students who have decided to join the program should file an Application to the Minor form with the Director of Undergraduate Studies by the beginning of Spring Quarter in their third year. The signed form must be submitted to the student’s College adviser.

The TAPS minor requires a total of six courses plus an original artistic work (e.g., staged reading, site-specific installation, solo performance piece, choreography). Required courses include: TAPS 22900 Introduction to Theater & Performance Studies, two (2) TAPS courses and two (2) arts elective courses. Course selection is subject to the approval of the Director of Undergraduate Studies. It is generally expected that courses in the minor will be at the 20000-level; 10000-level courses will be approved sparingly. Many of these courses will be found in the course offerings listed below, as well as the course offerings in Cinema and Media Studies, Creative Writing, Media Arts and Design, Visual Arts, and Music.

In addition, all those minoring in TAPS must register for TAPS 29800 Theater and Performance Studies BA Colloquium. The focus of this course will be the development of the student's artistic project, as described above, to be presented in Spring Quarter of the fourth year. Each student must also submit a brief critical reflection on the project by eighth week of the graduating quarter.

Courses counted toward the minor may not also be counted toward the student's major(s), toward other minors, or toward general education requirements. Courses in the minor must be taken for a quality grade, and more than half of the courses for the minor must bear University of Chicago course numbers.

Summary of Requirements for the Minor

TAPS 22900Introduction to Theater & Performance Studies100
Two TAPS courses 200
Two arts electives 200
TAPS 29800Theater and Performance Studies BA Colloquium100
Completion of the TAPS BA project for minors
Total Units600

Theater and Performance Studies Courses

TAPS 10100. Drama: Embodiment and Transformation. 100 Units.

This course introduces students to a range of theatrical concepts and techniques, including script analysis and its application to staging, design and acting. Throughout, we investigate how theater - as a collaborative art form - tells stories. Students will act, direct, and design. In doing so, they will gain an understanding of a variety of processes by which scripts are realized in the theater, with an emphasis on the text's role in production rather than as literature.

Instructor(s): D. New, P. Pascoe, S. Bockley, L. Danzig, D. Dir, S. Murray     Terms Offered: Autumn Spring Summer Winter
Note(s): Attendance at first class meeting is mandatory. This course meets the general education requirement in the arts. Waitlists for TAPS core courses open after resolution for that quarter is complete. To be considered for the waitlist you must sign up here: https://forms.gle/G62skjnAZFmhHcL88 (do NOT send a consent request to the instructor).

TAPS 10200. Acting Fundamentals. 100 Units.

This course introduces fundamental concepts of performance in the theater with emphasis on the development of creative faculties and techniques of observation, as well as vocal and physical interpretation. Concepts are introduced through directed reading, improvisation, and scene study.

Instructor(s): L. Danzig, G. Pasculli, D. DeMayo, H. Coleman, P. Pascoe     Terms Offered: Autumn Spring Summer Winter
Note(s): Attendance at first class meeting is mandatory. This course meets the general education requirement in the arts. Waitlists for TAPS core courses open after resolution for that quarter is complete. To be considered for the waitlist you must sign up here: https://forms.gle/G62skjnAZFmhHcL88 (do NOT send a consent request to the instructor).

TAPS 10300 through 10699. Text and Performance. Experience in dramatic analysis or performance not required. Attendance at first class meeting is mandatory. Each of these courses meets the general education requirement in the arts. Workshops in dramatic technique and attendance at performances at Chicago theaters, in addition to class time, are required.

TAPS 10300Text and Performance100
TAPS 10500Staging Terror100
TAPS 10600Staging Desire100

TAPS 10300. Text and Performance. 100 Units.

This course offers an introduction to a number of significant dramatic works and seminal figures in the theorization of theater and performance. But the course's aspirations go much further: we will be concentrating upon the intersection of interpretation and enactment, asking how these pieces appear on stage and why. This will not be merely descriptive work, but crucially it will be interpretive and physical work. Students will prepare and present applied interpretations-that is, interpretations that enable conceptual insights to take artistic form. Throughout, we will be searching for that elusive combination of philological rigor, theoretical sophistication, and creative inspiration-probing the theoretical stakes of creativity and testing the creative implications of analytic insights.

Instructor(s): S. Murray, J. Muse, H. Coleman, L. Kruger, N. Ndiaye, J. Zeitlin     Terms Offered: Autumn Spring Winter
Note(s): Attendance at first class meeting is mandatory. This course meets the general education requirement in the arts. Waitlists for TAPS core courses open after resolution for that quarter is complete. To be considered for the waitlist you must sign up here: https://forms.gle/G62skjnAZFmhHcL88 (do NOT send a consent request to the instructor).

TAPS 10700. Introduction to Stage Design. 100 Units.

Approaching theatrical design as a visual art, we will achieve a basic understanding of the theory, methodology and artistic expression fundamental to each area of design for the stage: scenic, costume, lighting, sound, and projections. We will learn how each discipline approaches and executes visual (aural in the case of sound) communication involved in the design process. Students will learn the professional design process, from contracting through production. Projects for this course will be completed using a combination of mediums and materials. Creativity in the execution of visual communication will be of great importance. Students will learn to show collaborators ideas instead of talking about them.

Instructor(s): J. Wardell     Terms Offered: Autumn Spring
Note(s): Attendance at first class meeting is mandatory. This course meets the general education requirement in the arts. Waitlists for TAPS core courses open after resolution for that quarter is complete. To be considered for the waitlist you must sign up here: https://forms.gle/G62skjnAZFmhHcL88 (do NOT send a consent request to the instructor).

TAPS 10800. Contemporary Dance Practices. 100 Units.

This hybrid studio/seminar course offers an overview of the formal techniques, cultural contexts, and social trends that shape current dance practices. Through both scholarly and practical approaches to course content, students will gain a working knowledge of a wide range of formal and aesthetic approaches to dance. Other topics include the influence of pop culture, the role of cultural appropriation, and the privileging of Western-based perspectives within dance presentation, education, scholarship, and criticism. Selected readings and viewings will supplement movement practice. No previous experience with dance or performance is required. This course meets the general education requirement in the arts.

Instructor(s): J. Rhoads, E. Leopold, staff     Terms Offered: Autumn Spring Winter
Note(s): Attendance at first class meeting is mandatory. This course meets the general education requirement in the arts. Wait list requests for TAPS core courses are due several weeks before the quarter begins. Sign up for the wait list at https://forms.gle/G62skjnAZFmhHcL88

TAPS 10900. Moving and Thinking / Thinking and Moving. 100 Units.

Though we often imagine a divide between the physical practice of dance training and the intellectual practice of dance history and theorization, in reality they overlap: movement training is embodied research and a form of intellectual labor, while dance theorization and scholarship is deeply connected to the physicality of thought. This course offers an introduction to dance with an integrated approach to thinking and doing. Students will explore a range of embodied research methodologies that draw from improvisational forms, codified techniques, and social and cultural dance practices. No prior dance experience is required for this hybrid seminar/ studio course.

Instructor(s): T. Post, C. Nizard     Terms Offered: Autumn Spring
Note(s): Attendance at first class meeting is mandatory. This course meets the general education requirement in the arts. For questions regarding this class please contact Vicki Walden, vwalden@uchicago.edu. Waitlists for TAPS core courses open after resolution for that quarter is complete. To be considered for the waitlist, you must sign up here: https://forms.gle/G62skjnAZFmhHcL88 (do NOT send a consent request to the instructor).

TAPS 15500. Beginning Screenwriting. 100 Units.

This course introduces the basic elements of a literate screenplay, including format, exposition, characterization, dialog, voice-over, adaptation, and the vagaries of the three-act structure. Weekly meetings include a brief lecture period, screenings of scenes from selected films, extended discussion, and assorted readings of class assignments. Because this is primarily a writing class, students write a four- to five-page weekly assignment related to the script topic of the week. Equivalent Course(s): CRWR 27102

Instructor(s): P. Wimp     Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): CMST 15500, MAAD 25500

TAPS 20054. Cow, Tree, Corpse: Staging Renaissance Intimacy. 100 Units.

This course will look at the representation of three sexual scenarios that figure prominently in early modern England's media ecology and that raise a lot of ethical, logistical, and interpretive questions. Using Ovid as our foundational treatment of the myths of Io, Daphne, and Adonis, we will read plays by Heywood, Lyly, Shakespeare, and Jonson, and investigate the built environment and embodied repertoire of early modern England to speculate about what playwrights were calling for when they called up Ovidian poses and positions. (Drama, Poetry, Pre-1650)

Instructor(s): Ellen MacKay
Equivalent Course(s): ENGL 10954

TAPS 20110. 20th Century American Drama. 100 Units.

Beginning with O'Neill's 'Long Day's Journey into Night' through the American avant-garde to the most recent production on Broadway, this course focuses on American contemporary playwrights who have made a significant impact with regard to dramatic form in context to specific decade as well as cumulatively through the twentieth century. Textual analysis is consistently oriented towards production possibilities, both historically and hypothetically. ATTENDANCE AT FIRST CLASS SESSION IS MANDATORY.

Instructor(s): H. Coleman
Equivalent Course(s): ARTH 25885, ENGL 24503

TAPS 20235. Empowering the Solo Voice: A Feminist Exploration of Francophone Theater Performance. 100 Units.

In this course, we will delve into the world of contemporary Francophone theater, focusing on the genre of solo performances, or "seules en scène''. We will examine the lineage, history, and practice of this genre, with a special emphasis on feminist playwrights and performers, such as Typhaine D, Jalila Baccar, Fanny Cabon, and Florence Foresti. We will study the underlying components of solo performances and learn how to integrate them into different modes, including storytelling, one-woman or one-man shows, and standup. The selected plays will illustrate how the art of the solo voice can empower under-represented communities and minorities to share powerful narratives and create a new space for visibility and listening. The class will combine history, practice, and creative writing, and will afford students the opportunity to apply this knowledge in a series of live performances that will allow them to creatively connect to the issues raised in the readings and draw from their own experiences, inspirations, and questions. Students will develop creative and critical tools to fully explore the solo voice as a form of artistic expression, honing their talents in writing, devising, composing, producing, and creating work. Performance recordings will be obtained and shared with the class to further enhance the learning experience. One of the unique opportunities of this course is the opportunity to work with texts obtained directly from the playwrights.

Instructor(s): Khouloud Gargouri     Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): Reading knowledge of French.
Note(s): Class will be conducted in English with a separate discussion section available for students seeking credit for the major/minor. Readings will be in French and in English.
Equivalent Course(s): GNSE 23156, FREN 24724

TAPS 20420. Performing Skateboard Poetics: Style, Motion, and Space. 100 Units.

This Gray Center Fellowship course considers the social poetics of skateboard culture, with special attention to style, motion, and physical space. Co-taught by Kyle Beachy, Tina Post, and Alexis Sablone, the course will feature film screenings and panels on embodied style, narrative, time, and the built environment, along with skateboarding's anti-scarcity and communal structures that both subvert and reframe capitalist competition. Students will produce a short performance work as the culminating project of the class.

Instructor(s): Tina Post, Kyle Beachy, and Alexis Sablone     Terms Offered: Spring
Equivalent Course(s): ENGL 20566, AMER 20566

TAPS 20600. Adapting the Unadaptable. 100 Units.

Fiction has always provided rich source material for drama. But much 20th and 21st century fiction can seem unadaptable-it is often sprawling, poetic, interior, fragmentary, or cerebral (or all of the above!). This hands-on course will challenge students to approach modern and contemporary literature with unconventional tools of staging, editing, and design. Students will also be introduced to the work of contemporary theater companies and productions that have taken on seemingly impossible adaptation projects, and closely study adaptations of Jorge Luis Borges, Franz Kafka, Virginia Woolf and others.

Instructor(s): S. Bockley     Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): Attendance at first class is mandatory.
Equivalent Course(s): ENGL 20603

TAPS 20730. What makes a Classic Theater: from Core Mission to Concept. 100 Units.

Instinctively we know what a classic is and does in our culture. From Coca Cola to Air Jordans, a classic is a material artifact that resonates across time, class, race, creed and nationality. A classic has staying power, whether it evolves, remains fresh, or re-invents itself in new contexts. In drama, a classic is a more fraught concept. The tradition of a classic canon has been rightly and thoroughly critiqued as racist, misogynist, and exclusionary. In spite of this, the idea of a classic still abides and holds sway in the cultural imaginary. Taught by Associate Artistic Director Gabrielle Randle-Bent, this course takes as its point of departure that Court Theatre is "The Center for Classic Theatre." We begin with the question: What are the practical, critical, and dramaturgical implications for an institution committing to the production of classic work? We will read literary and dramatic criticism to better understand the idea of classic text, we will study the structure of modern regional theatre to interrogate the economic necessity for the production of classic work on contemporary stages, and finally we will read canonical, a-canonical, and new works of theatre to begin to articulate a dramaturgy of Classic Theatre on our own terms.

Instructor(s): G. Randle-Bent     Terms Offered: Spring

TAPS 21600. Acting Workshop. 100 Units.

This course will develop acting skills required for the professional world. The classes are based in text analysis, physical practices, action work, and scene study with one or many partners. This class will prepare you for various audition scenarios as well as adding to rehearsal room tools and techniques. Previous experience is encouraged.

Instructor(s): M. Lyons     Terms Offered: Autumn
Note(s): Attendance at first class meeting is mandatory.
Equivalent Course(s): TAPS 31600

TAPS 21700. An Actor Observes. 100 Units.

This course addresses techniques and modes of observation and their application to scene study. Observation study is used to strengthen acting choices, build the physical world of the play, and create original, vital characterizations. It also serves to deepen awareness of group dynamics, integrate symbolic, psychological and physical meaning in a character's behavior, and guide the process of breaking down a scene. Students will perform observation exercises and apply their discoveries to scene work.

Instructor(s): P. Pascoe     Terms Offered: Spring
Note(s): Attendance at first class meeting is mandatory.

TAPS 21730. Movement for Actors. 100 Units.

This course will explore how an actor uses movement as a tool to communicate character, psychological perspective and style. The foundation of our movement work will center on the skills of balance, coordination, strength, flexibility, breath control and focus. Building on the skills of the actor both in terms of naturalistic character work and stylized theatrical text. Students will put the work into practice utilizing scene work and abstract gesture sequences through studying the techniques of Michael Chekov, Vsevolod Meyerhold, Anne Bogart, Complicite and Frantic Assembly.

Instructor(s): D. de Mayo     Terms Offered: Spring
Note(s): Attendance at first class session is mandatory.
Equivalent Course(s): TAPS 31730

TAPS 21860. Songwriting for Musical Theater. 100 Units.

This course is a practical introduction to the art and craft of songwriting for musical theater. Students will analyze and practice song form, storytelling through music, and the writing of lyrics and melody for character and tone. In addition to sharing and workshopping new song material weekly, students will learn about orchestration, arrangement, and the structure of the theatrical score by discussing standout examples of the genre. Students will develop a catalog of character- and story-driven songs to be presented at the end of the quarter. A basic knowledge of music theory is expected; experience in songwriting is not required.

Instructor(s): S. Elmegreen     Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): MUSI 34321, TAPS 31860, MUSI 24321

TAPS 22100. Solo Performance. 100 Units.

This is a "maker's" course that takes full advantage of working in a design lab to create a portfolio of short solo performance that could be stand-alone pieces, or further developed into longer works or possibly a TAPS BA thesis. Through the quarter we will examine varied approaches that include personal narrative, adaptation, object work, and projections while investigating the unique performer-to-audience dynamic. Benefiting from a historical approach that originates in the performance art work of the 1970's through contemporary approaches to stand-up, students will research and present on artists including Marina Abramović, Spalding Gray, Anna Deavere Smith, Taylor Mac, Hannah Gadsby, Tig Notaro, Lynn Needle, Heidi Schrek, César Cadabes, and Debra Ann Byrd. Students will generate new works through in-class and take-home assignments and this quarter will culminate in a final showing of selected work for an invited audience. Prior experience is not required.

Instructor(s): H. Coleman     Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): Attendance at first class meeting is mandatory.

TAPS 22310. Performance Art Installations: Performing Diaspora. 100 Units.

We are living in an age of unprecedented movements and migrations of populations, some voluntary, many under extreme duress. The course will focus on the lives of those who have in one form or another lived through this great displacement. On the basis of material developed through our examinations and experimentations, we will create a performance installation piece. The "archive" for the piece will be drawn from a variety of sources: plays, essays, popular and social media, student-conducted interviews. Further material will be generated through acting exercises and our own work with video and visual arts.

Instructor(s): P. Pascoe     Terms Offered: Spring
Note(s): This course is available only by Instructor Consent. Attendance at first class session is mandatory.
Equivalent Course(s): TAPS 32310

TAPS 22315. Performance Art Installation: Imagining the End. 100 Units.

Perhaps the most important American play dealing with the prospect of the end of the world is Thorton Wilder's The Skin of Our Teeth (1942). This class will use this strange and remarkable play that moves through human and geological time to explore contemporary concerns about the end of life as we know it. Our work will culminate in a site-specific performance piece making use of the skills, talents, and experience of the members of the group.

Equivalent Course(s): ARTV 30945, TAPS 32315, ARTV 20945

TAPS 22360. Advanced Musical Theater Writing. 100 Units.

This course is an advanced, project-oriented writing workshop with an emphasis on dramatic structure, storytelling through music, and the exploration of character as practical matters. Each student will propose a new, full-length musical and will work towards the creation of a first draft over the course of the quarter. In addition to presenting and workshopping new scene or song material weekly, students will study, discuss, and draw inspiration from standout examples of the genre. Students will present excerpted readings from their musicals at the end of the course. Some experience in writing for musical theater is expected.

Instructor(s): S. Elmegreen     Terms Offered: Spring
Equivalent Course(s): MUSI 34322, MUSI 24322, TAPS 32360

TAPS 22500. Styles and Practice in Storytelling. 100 Units.

What is storytelling? It can be said that it is the oldest form of observing, synthesizing, and communicating feelings thoughts and information."-Temujin the Storyteller. Every day we use stories to communicate. This course provides students with an overview of the art and practice of storytelling. Chicago is a storytelling town from the Moth to Second Story and from Story Slams to traditional storytelling; performance artists give voice to a wide range of expression. Throughout this learning experience, students will be encouraged to explore the world of storytelling and to nurture their creative voices. Students will create and adapt tales focusing on personal experience, folklore, history, and ethnography. We will learn through participation and observation. The creative experiences in this course will enable students to further their skills in: oral presentation, story construction, performance, artistic critique, and analysis. Students will develop and perform stories from at least three distinct areas of experience. The course provides a creative space for learning and exploration.

Instructor(s): E. Lansana     Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): Attendance at first class is mandatory.
Equivalent Course(s): CHST 22500

TAPS 22670. Queer Performance. 100 Units.

This seminar examines the field of queer theory and its intersections with performance studies. We will consider the many meanings of queerness and multiple modes of queer performance, analyzing dance, dramatic literature, music, film, digital media, and performance art alongside queer nightlife, activist street protest, public health discourses, and underground culture. Looking at processes of identity formation and expression through the body, we will investigate how queerness interconnects with other axes of social difference, including race, class, citizenship, and ability.

Instructor(s): E. Mercer     Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): TAPS 32670, GNSE 23163, GNSE 32670

TAPS 22900. Introduction to Theater & Performance Studies. 100 Units.

This course is designed to introduce students to foundational concepts and critical skills relevant to the study of theater and performance. In addition to wide-ranging readings and discussions, students will attend a variety of performances and screenings representing a cross-section of genres, interpretive styles, and institutional settings. Although the course will be directed by John Muse, it will be divided into discrete units, each led by a different instructor from the TAPS teaching staff. Thus, students will gain exposure to a variety of teaching styles, areas of expertise, and approaches to the field. The course is open to all undergraduate students as an elective; it also serves as a required course for all TAPS majors and minors.

Instructor(s): L. Buxbaum     Terms Offered: Autumn
Note(s): Attendance at first class session is mandatory.

TAPS 22950. Introduction to Production. 100 Units.

This course is designed to introduce students to foundational concepts and critical skills relevant to the production process in theater. Students will track a play's journey from text to stage, working to understand each phase of the production process as well as the various players who create this collaborative art form, including but not limited to, designers and technicians. Additionally, students will attend live performances, tour Chicago-area theaters, meet with guest artists and technicians, and construct their own production guide. Students will engage with a variety of areas of expertise, theater spaces, and approaches to the field of theater and performance production. The course is open to all undergraduate students.

Instructor(s): staff     Terms Offered: Spring

TAPS 23000. Introduction to Directing. 100 Units.

This course employs a practice in the fundamental theory of play direction and the role of the director in collaboration with the development of textual analysis. By examining five diversely different texts using three different approaches to play analysis (Aristotle, Stanislavski, Ball) students begin developing a method of directing for the stage in support of the written text. In alternating weeks, students implement textual analysis in building an understanding of directorial concept, theme, imagery and staging through rehearsal and in-class presentations of three-minute excerpts from the play analysis the previous week. The culmination is a final five-minute scene combining the tools of direction with a method of analysis devised over the entire course.

Instructor(s): S. Murray     Terms Offered: Autumn
Note(s): Attendance at first class meeting is mandatory.
Equivalent Course(s): CHST 23000

TAPS 23410. Camp and Theatre of the Ridiculous. 100 Units.

Looking at the writings of Charles Ludlum and his Ridiculous Manifesto, we will explore the role of camp, homage, collage and The Ridiculous. Students will stage existing works and be asked to create their own original scenes that use camp, collage and the ridiculous to explore current politics and ideas.

Instructor(s): S. Murray     Terms Offered: Spring
Note(s): Attendance at first class session is mandatory.

TAPS 23600. Improv and Sketch. 100 Units.

This course adapts curriculum originally designed for the various schools of modern improvisation (including the iO, the Annoyance and The Second City) and brings it into the classroom. Listening skills, the ability to work well with others as a team, and building scene work organically are highlighted. You will leave this class a better communicator, with interpersonal tools that support other facets of your life.

Instructor(s): S. Messing     Terms Offered: Autumn
Note(s): Attendance at first class meeting is mandatory.

TAPS 23930. Fundamentals of Playwriting. 100 Units.

This workshop will explore the underlying mechanics that have made plays tick for the last 2,500 odd years, from Euripedes to Shakespeare to Büchner to Caryl Churchill, Susan Lori-Parks, and Annie Baker, etc. Students will be asked to shamelessly steal those playwrights' tricks and techniques (if they're found useful), and employ them in the creation of their own piece. Designed for playwrights at any level (beginning or advanced), the workshop's primary goals will be to develop a personal sense of what "works" on stage within the context of what's worked in the past, and to generate a one act play, start to finish.

Instructor(s): M. Maher     Terms Offered: Autumn
Note(s): ATTENDANCE AT FIRST CLASS IS MANDATORY.
Equivalent Course(s): TAPS 33930

TAPS 23980. Writing the Short, Short Play: Investigations in Micro-Drama. 100 Units.

Never in the history of western theater has brevity gotten so much attention. Festivals around the world are devoted to plays five minutes in length or less; perhaps the most revered playwright of the 20th century, Samuel Beckett, guided his career towards the writing of smaller and smaller works; Chicago's Neofuturists have profitably run their show of "thirty plays in sixty minutes" for over thirty years; Twitter accounts disseminate multiple two to three line scripts daily; and sketch comedy continues to evolve and thrive. This course will give an overview of the development of the very short play over the last one hundred and twenty years, but will primarily focus on the writing and development of same, asking students to complete - through workshop prompts - 20 to 30 scripts by end of quarter. A particular effort will be made to bring "traditional" elements of standard-length plays - character, arc, anagnorisis, pathos, backstory, etc - to these miniatures, to test and expand their assumed limitations.

Instructor(s): M. Maher     Terms Offered: Spring
Note(s): Attendance at first class is mandatory.
Equivalent Course(s): TAPS 33980

TAPS 24050. New Play Development: Playwrights and Dramaturgs. 100 Units.

This class explores the new play development process from first to second draft and will culminate in a staged reading at the end of the quarter. All the roles of a traditional production process will be a part of this class, with students serving as: playwrights, directors, actors, and dramaturgs. What happens once the playwright is ready to invite in collaborators to develop a script? How does each person bring their unique point of view to the play? How can this process serve both the play and the artists involved? The class is studying the art, theory and process of development as well as working on our feet to try our hands at what we are discovering. We will work to develop student plays in which a first draft is already written. Playwrights with a complete, first draft of a play are encouraged to submit their work for this course and will be selected the quarter before this course is offered. To apply, please send your script and note of introduction to ddemayo@uchicago.edu. Students interested in taking on any of the other designated roles of a production team (actors, directors, dramaturgs) should select either TAPS 20450 New Play Development: Playwrights and Dramaturgs OR TAPS 20451 New Play Development: Directors and Actors. Once enrolled, course instructors will assign tasks taking into consideration student interest. For further information on the course or how to enroll, please contact ddemayo@uchicago.edu.

Instructor(s): Elizabeth Edele (Calamity West)     Terms Offered: Autumn

TAPS 24051. New Play Development: Directors and Actors. 100 Units.

This class explores the new play development process from first to second draft and will culminate in a staged reading at the end of the quarter. All the roles of a traditional production process will be a part of this class, with students serving as: playwrights, directors, actors, and dramaturgs. What happens once the playwright is ready to invite in collaborators to develop a script? How does each person bring their unique point of view to the play? How can this process serve both the play and the artists involved? The class is studying the art, theory and process of development as well as working on our feet to try our hands at what we are discovering. We will work to develop student plays in which a first draft is already written. Students interested in taking on these designated roles of a production team (actors, directors, dramaturgs) should select either TAPS 20450 New Play Development: Playwrights and Dramaturgs OR TAPS 20451 New Play Development: Directors and Actors. Once enrolled, course instructors will assign tasks taking into consideration student interest. For further information on the course or how to enroll, please contact ddemayo@uchicago.edu. Playwrights with a complete, first draft of a play are encouraged to submit their work for the companion course TAPS 24050 and will be selected the quarter before this course is offered. To apply, please send your script and note of introduction to ddemayo@uchicago.edu.

Instructor(s): Devon de Mayo     Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): TAPS 34051

TAPS 24410. Transmedia Puzzle Design & Performance. 100 Units.

This course will introduce students to the burgeoning field of immersive puzzle design. Students will develop, implement and playtest puzzles that are suited for a range of experiences: from the tabletop to the immersive, from online puzzle hunts to broad-scoped alternate reality games (ARG). Students in this course will work directly with master puzzler, Sandor Wiesz, the commissioner of The Mystery League.

Instructor(s): S. Weisz     Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): MAAD 24410, TAPS 34410

TAPS 24750. Antigone and the Making of Theater. 100 Units.

This class on Sophocles' Antigone will be held in lockstep with the upcoming production of the play at the Court Theatre, which will allow us to think about the construction of the play and its performance, both in its original setting and each time it is adapted and staged. We will attend rehearsals and talk to the director, crew and performers of the play as the play takes shape. We will also attend the production. Readings will include Antigone by Sophocles, as well as adaptions and theory on the play. Greek is not required for the class, but those who have it will be asked to read some passages in the original language.

Instructor(s): Sarah Nooter     Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): CLCV 26123, TAPS 34750, GREK 26123, CLAS 36123, GREK 36123

TAPS 24903. Performance Lab: Devising Dance Theater. 100 Units.

This course offers an intensive laboratory setting in which to imagine and create movement-based performance from an interdisciplinary perspective. Weekly sessions include guided prompts to generate a range of material-writing, choreography, physical theater, song, visual design, improvisational scores, and more-that will serve individual and collaborative projects. An ensemble-based approach and ongoing mentorship from the instructor will support students to develop and refine their performance objectives. The process-based course will culminate with an informal performance of final projects. No prior experience in devised performance is required, but students should come with a willingness to experiment and play across a range of vocabularies.

Instructor(s): J. Rhoads     Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): TAPS 34903

TAPS 25910. Short Form Digital Storytelling: Creating a Web Series. 100 Units.

This course examines the short form storytelling of the digital web series. Through lectures, viewings and discussions in weekly meetings students will determine what makes a strong web series and apply the findings to writing and polishing the pilot episode of their own web series. Students will write weekly 4-5 page assignments building toward the creation of a 5-6 episode series.

Instructor(s): P. Wimp     Terms Offered: Spring
Note(s): Attendance at first class session is mandatory.
Equivalent Course(s): CMST 28915, MAAD 24910

TAPS 26110. Choreographic Methods. 100 Units.

This studio course introduces students to a wide range of methods for creating choreography while considering the complex relationship between bodies, form, aesthetics, cultural contexts, technology platforms, and performance objectives. Grounded by interdisciplinary inquiry and ethical collaboration practices, the course will provide students with a robust toolkit for experimentation and play within dance and movement-based work, including compositional structures, improvised scoring, and choreographic prompts that are inspired by students' unique thematic interests. The course also invites students to consider how choreographic methods can be activated as problem-solving tools across disciplines. Supplementary readings and viewings will drive discussion and analysis while giving students a broad understanding of how choreography engages current social and political issues.

Instructor(s): J. Rhoads     Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): TAPS 36110

TAPS 26210. Modern Dance Technique. 100 Units.

This studio course delves into the principles and practice of contemporary modern dance. Students will learn a series of movement sequences that progress from floor work to standing combinations and traveling phrases, building the skills to move with efficiency, gravity, and dynamics within the body and in space. Explorations of modern dance lineages will also include somatic techniques, improvisation, and the cultivation of an individual movement voice. Readings, viewings, and journal responses will supplement a bi-weekly studio practice, connecting student's embodied experiences to the historical and cultural contexts that gave rise to modern and contemporary dance practices. Prior dance or movement experience is encouraged for this course.

Instructor(s): K. Brody     Terms Offered: Autumn

TAPS 26215. Dance Improvisation in Theory and Practice. 100 Units.

This course has a strong component of movement practice and is open to students of any experience level who are willing to move with creativity and generosity. The course takes a broad look at dance improvisation, exploring in equal parts key theoretical readings, historic and contemporary performance examples, and movement practices in the classroom. On its surface, improvisation is often understood to be based on total freedom or openness, where any movement choice can be made. Here, the notion of freedom in improvisation is reconsidered through the sociopolitical realities of how dancers' bodies move through society, and across the studio or stage.

Instructor(s): T. Willis     Terms Offered: Spring

TAPS 26220. Dance, Identity, and Appropriation. 100 Units.

This survey course will look at the ways that dance-across genres, geographies, and histories-has negotiated, challenged, and complicated ideas of identity and authority. Grounded in histories including the 1893 World Columbian Exposition, where Swedish-American Christine Olson performed Turkish dance on the Midway, as well as modern dance pioneer Ruth St. Denis' imitation of the Indianness she encountered on a cigarette ad, we will explore case studies including American minstrel traditions, hip hop dance, the Nutcracker and other classical ballets, dance tourism like Hula and West African forms, viral K-pop dance tutorials, and more. These case studies will be used to discover how dance, and the dancing body, performs and problematizes appropriation. Part seminar/part practicum, assignments will include short written papers and performance projects including dance reconstructions.

Instructor(s): E. Leopold     Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): RDIN 26220, TAPS 36220, RDIN 36220

TAPS 26240. Black Experimentation in Dance. 100 Units.

In this course, experimentation is explored as a choreographic approach to dancing and making dances. Grounded in process, practice, inquiry, and improvisation, experimentation has a long history in Black expressive culture. This class pairs readings at the intersection of Black performance theory, feminist and queer of color theory, and Black dance studies with examples of dance performances and artists interrogating topics such as the problem of aesthetic categorization, navigating racial visibility/invisibility onstage, and the politics of Black dancing bodies. The class focuses on concert dance in the United States, but may cover examples from social dance, popular entertainment, performance art, and global contexts.

Instructor(s): Tara Aisha Willis     Terms Offered: Spring
Equivalent Course(s): GNSE 26240, TAPS 36240, GNSE 36240, CRES 26240

TAPS 26265. Dance, Labor, Economics. 100 Units.

What is a dance worth? This course offers a critical look at practical skills and structures, with an aim to understand how embodied art is valued (both culturally and financially). How have art markets and cultural ideologies collided within the performing body itself? Case studies come from taxes levied against strip clubs, museum acquisitions of conceptual and choreographic art, artistic estate planning, performance licensing and copyright, and twentieth century mail-order dance instruction. Students take on both historical case studies and tackle contemporary questions of nonprofit management, performer compensation, and market valuation. Students will engage these questions through readings, viewings, and discussion, as well as practical exercises.

Instructor(s): E. Leopold     Terms Offered: Spring
Equivalent Course(s): TAPS 36265

TAPS 26275. Dance as History. 100 Units.

This course explores the relationship between dance and history. Rather than investigating the history of dance, we will focus on how incorporating dance can alter the practice of historical research and representation (including public history), and on how history has informed classical and contemporary concert dance since the late 19th century. Through our weekly studio practice we also hope to develop new ways of representing and embodying history through dance. The course will examine the traditional, historical language of storytelling in certain disciplines of dance, and will seek to create a refreshed, relevant language of gesture and intention in the studio that might effectively convey narrative. Our focus will be European and American classical, modern, and contemporary concert dance since the 19th century, but students are welcome to explore other genres, cultural contexts, and moments in their research and in discussion. Assignments will include readings as well as viewing existing choreographic works on video; discussion of these texts and videos; engaging in conversation with contemporary choreographers, writing analyses of dances informed by the readings; attending relevant performances in Chicago, and participating each week in a studio-based class session in which we explore, through movement, the themes under consideration that week. You do not need to have any dance experience to take this course, but you must be willing to move.

Instructor(s): T. Zarah and M. Dincolo     Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): HIST 39406, HIST 29406, TAPS 36275

TAPS 26290. Mapping Black Social Dance: Hip Hop and House in the Community and Onstage. 100 Units.

This hybrid studio/seminar course offers an overview of the formal techniques, cultural contexts, and social trends that shape current Black social and vernacular dance practices. Modules will be built around Black social culture by looking at key histories and theories around Black dance, music and other cultural aesthetics from hip hop to house. As part of our exploration, we will cover themes such as: the Great Migration, the range of Black social dance forms from blues, jazz, disco, and dancehall that have influenced the evolution of hip hop and house on global scale; and the spectrum of social spaces from clubs to lounges and public events that have been critical to preserving Black cultural heritage and creating safe spaces for belonging and flourishing. Selected readings and viewings will supplement movement practice to give historical, cultural, and political context.

Instructor(s): M. McNeal     Terms Offered: Spring
Equivalent Course(s): MUSI 33620, RDIN 26290, CHST 26290, TAPS 36290, RDIN 36290, MUSI 23620

TAPS 26302. Bodies at Work: Art & Civic Responsibility. 100 Units.

Contemporary artists are quickly adapting their practices to be more inclusive, diverse, accessible and physically safe. In particular, the rise of intimacy design and anti-racist work in theatre, film and television has opened up a dialogue about how artists do their work responsibly. Through practice and investigation, this class will dive into the responsibility of artists in contemporary artistic processes. We will explore both how the tools and capacities of artists can transform civic practice and, conversely, how artists are grappling with the civic issues of body safety, anti-racism and accessibility in arts practice. We will explore how centering the body can create respectful engagement in the arts. We will look at the work of Enrich Chicago, Nicole Brewer, Sonya Renee Taylor, Not in Our House and Intimacy Directors & Coordinators among others.

Instructor(s): D. Serna     Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): RDIN 26302, CHST 26302, MAAD 20302, GNSE 26303

TAPS 27420. Painting with Light in Space. 100 Units.

This course explores projected imagery as a medium to paint ephemeral ideas in the real world through installation and theatrical design. Utilizing visual iconography, architectural forms, objects, and cinema, this course will explore the practical and theoretical applications of video on unorthodox objects and spaces. Using software as an instrument, students will investigate the visceral extents of images both historical and generative to create living light. The course will culminate in student presentations that illustrate and illuminate the ideas and techniques presented throughout the course.

Equivalent Course(s): ARTV 20944, ARTV 30944, MAAD 20420

TAPS 27550. Costume Design and Technology for the Stage. 100 Units.

In this course, students will learn the basics of designing costumes for theatrical productions, encompassing the skills of theatrical rendering and sketching, as well as the implementation of the design and basic sewing techniques. Students will learn to adopt a vocabulary using the elements and principles of design, understand and experience the process intrinsic to producing costumes for the theater, analyze the production needs related to costumes, and prepare a finalized costume design for a theatrical production.

Instructor(s): N. Rohrer     Terms Offered: Autumn
Note(s): Attendance at the first class meeting is mandatory.
Equivalent Course(s): ARTV 24554

TAPS 28320. The Mind as Stage: Podcasting. 100 Units.

Audio storytelling insinuates itself into the day-to-day unlike other narrative forms. People listen to podcasts while they do the dishes, drive to work, or walk the dog. In this hands-on course, we will learn to produce a podcast from idea to final sound mix, and explore the unique opportunities that the podcast form affords the storyteller. Students will complete several short audio exercises, and one larger podcast project.

Instructor(s): S. Geis     Terms Offered: Autumn
Note(s): Attendance at first class session is mandatory.
Equivalent Course(s): MAAD 23820, TAPS 38320

TAPS 28330. Oral History & Podcasting. 100 Units.

This class explores the potential of the podcast as a form of ethical artistic and social practice. Through the lens of oral history and its associated values - including prioritizing voices that are not often heard, reciprocity, complicating narratives, and the archive- we will explore ways to tell stories of people and communities in sound. Students will develop a grounding in oral history practices and ethics, as well as the skills to produce compelling oral narratives, including audio editing, recording scenes and ambient sound, and using music. During the quarter, students will have several opportunities to practice interviewing and will design their own oral history project. This class is appropriate for students with no audio experience, as well as students who have taken TAPS 28320 The Mind as Stage: Podcasting.

Instructor(s): S. Geis     Terms Offered: Spring
Equivalent Course(s): TAPS 38330, CHST 28330, MAAD 23833

TAPS 28475. Introduction à la comédie: rire, société et genre. 100 Units.

In this introductory-level literature course we will study the evolution of French comedy from the seventeenth-century until today, probing issues such as the problem of laughter, theatricality and performance practices, and the depiction of social and political change. We will in particular study representations of gender from the Ancien Régime (Madame de Villedieu, Molière, Françoise de Graffigny), through the Revolution (Olympe de Gouges), and to twentieth-century experiments in queer performance (Genet) and biting social satire (Yasmina Reza).

Instructor(s): Larry Norman     Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20300.
Note(s): Taught in French. This is an introductory-level course.
Equivalent Course(s): FREN 23180

TAPS 28479. Theater and Performance in Latin America. 100 Units.

What is performance? How has it been used in Latin America and the Caribbean? This course is an introduction to theatre and performance in Latin America and the Caribbean that will examine the intersection of performance and social life. While we will place particular emphasis on performance art, we will examine some theatrical works. We ask: how have embodied practice, theatre and visual art been used to negotiate ideologies of race, gender and sexuality? What is the role of performance in relation to systems of power? How has it negotiated dictatorship, military rule, and social memory? Ultimately, the aim of this course is to give students an overview of Latin American performance including blackface performance, indigenous performance, as well as performance and activism.

Instructor(s): Danielle Roper     Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): Undergraduates must be in their third or fourth year.
Note(s): Taught in English.
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 29117, SPAN 39117, GNSE 29117, LACS 29117, RDIN 29117, GNSE 39117, LACS 39117, TAPS 38479, RDIN 39117

TAPS 29800. Theater and Performance Studies BA Colloquium. 100 Units.

This two-quarter sequence is open only to fourth-year students who are majoring and/or minoring in theater and performance studies.

Terms Offered: Autumn Winter
Prerequisite(s): Consent of Director of Undergraduate Studies.
Note(s): 100 units credit is granted only after successful completion of the Winter term.

TAPS 29900. Reading and Research. 100 Units.

This is a reading and research course for independent study.


Contacts

Chair

Chair for Theater and Performance Studies
Ellen MacKay
Walker 503

Email

Director

Director of Undergraduate Studies
Leslie Buxbaum Danzig
LC 225
773.834.1936
Email