Exploration of courses in the liberal arts tradition combines in the Bachelor of Fine Arts with conservatory approach to the study of the theatre. The Bachelor of Fine Arts is a preprofessional degree which emphasizes the creative process and prepares for future completion of the performance-oriented Master of Fine Arts degree. The Bachelor of Fine Arts student chooses an area of concentration in acting, design (costume, lighting, scenic) and theatre technology, directing, or theatre management. Any of these degrees may possibly serve as sufficient basis for direct entry into the job market. In the B.F.A. program, all classroom work, whether traditionally academic, e.g., theatre history, criticism; or studio, e.g., acting, scenic design, is complemented by prescribed work in the theatre laboratory - the production season. Each year a series of major studio projects is undertaken to provide students with the opportunity to explore, apply, and test the theory and skills studied in the classroom. In addition, the production season is one arena in which faculty explore areas of creative research such as an innovative conceptual approach or the development of new work. URI/Theatre is unique among university theatre departments in that there has been a commitment to the development of new plays and playwrights for the past twenty years. The work of playwrights-in-residence is produced regularly in workshops or full productions. To date, the department has produced over 140 new plays in the form of staged readings, workshop productions, or season offerings. Many of these plays have gone on to professional production. Philosophically the commitment to new work puts a theatre department on the cutting edge of artistic developments. Many of the Theatre Department's former playwrights-in-residence have gone on to write for regional theatre productions, Broadway and Off-Broadway, as well as film and television. As a research institution, the University provides an environment that encourages risks, allows failure, and promotes growth while simultaneously meeting an institutional mission to make seminal contributions to the field. The program is highly selective and, through an annual review process, only the best students are encouraged to continue in what is highly recognized as one of the most competitive fields. At present there is a growing number of students who minor in theatre - the textile major who studies costume history and design, the business major who studies theatre management. The popularity of theatre as a minor represents new interdisciplinary trends in fields such as museum studies or arts management. BACHELOR OF FINE ARTS REQUIREMENTS The program offers concentrated study in acting, management, directing, or design and theatre technology. All B.F.A. students are required to complete a core of 34 credits distributed as follows: Introduction to Acting; Introduction to Stagecraft; Script Analysis; Stage Management; Costume Laboratory; Introduction to Theatre Design; Orientation to Directing; Production Laboratory; Advanced Production Laboratory; Individual Problems in Theatre Studies or Special Group Studies; Advanced Individual Problems in Theatre Studies or Advanced Special Group Studies; Principles and Theories of Theatrical Costuming; History of the Modern Theatre or American Theatre History; History of Theatre to 1642; History of Theatre, Neoclassical Through the Nineteenth Century. In addition to these requirements, each student selects one of the following areas of specialization. ACTING Students selecting acting must complete an additional 38 credits distributed as follows: Introduction to Voice and Movement, Basic Acting I and II; Intermediate Acting I and II; and Scene Study. Additional credits in special workshop classes are completed as students play roles in major productions or student-directed workshops. DESIGN AND THEATRE TECHNOLOGY Students selecting design and theatre technology must complete an distributed as follows: Individual Problems in Theatre; Special Group Studies; Principles and Theories of Theatrical Costuming; Stage Costume Design; Scenic Design; Stage Lighting; and 12 credit selected from: Scene Painting, Advanced Individual Theatre Studies; Advanced Special Group Studies; Professional Internship; Stage Costume Technology; Advanced Costuming; Special Workshop in Design and Technical Theatre; Advanced Scene Design; Advanced Stage Lighting. MANAGEMENT Students selecting stage management must complete an additional 30 credits distributed as follows: Introduction to Management and Supervision; Oral Communication for Business and Professions; Individual Studies in Theatre; Special Group Studies; Theatre Management; Stage Costume Design or Scene Design; Stage Lighting; Advanced Individual Studies in Theatre; Advanced Special Group Studies; Advanced Theatre Management. DIRECTING Students selecting directing must complete an additional 33 or 35 credits distributed as follows: Individual Problems in Theatre Studies or Special Group Studies; Play Direction; Playwriting; Theatre Management; Stage Costume Design or Scene Design or Stage Lighting; Advanced Individual Problems in Theatre Studies or Advanced Special Group Studies; the following courses:: Topics in Theatre, Theatre Architecture in Western and Non-Western Drama, Aesthetics and Criticism of the Theatre, Special Research Project; completion of a one year sequence in acting selected from either o the following (1) or (2): (1.) Basic Acting I, Basic Acting II; Acting Workshop I, Acting Workshop II: (2) Scene Study I, Scene Study II; Acting Workshop I, Acting Workshop II. THEATRE COURSE DESCRIPTIONS http://www.uri.edu/catalog/cataloghtml/courses/the OPTIONS In addition to required courses, students are encouraged to elect courses in related fields such as anthropology, studio art, art history, music, literature, psychology, history, speech, and sociology. Students selected for an internship program may substitute up to 12 credits from theatre courses in their area of specialization subject to the approval of the department. Internship opportunities have been arranged with a number of organizations including New York costume production houses, regional theatres, touring companies, Off-Broadway, Off-Off Broadway, and summer stock theatres. Goodspeed Opera House East Haddam, CT http://www.goodspeed.org The Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre Pawtucket, RI http://www.gammtheatre.org Trinity Repertory Company Providence, RI http://www.trinityrep.com LongWharf Theatre New Haven, CT http://www.longwharf.org Perishable Theatre Providence, RI http://www.perishable.org 2nd Story Theatre Warren, RI http://www.2ndstorytheatre.com Interns have worked in acting, management, design theatre technology, publicity, audience development, and arts administration. The department offers numerous elective courses in special projects such as musical theatre, audition technique, scene painting, playwriting, improvisation, and in-depth studies of specific dramatists or genres. FURTHER STUDIES The B.F.A. degree is designed to prepare students for further study in the professionally-oriented M.F.A. degree. In addition, there are numerous non-degree conservatory programs that specialize in advance training for highly motivated and talented individuals. |