Academic program

The major in theater combines the study of dramatic literature from the Greeks to the present with work in acting, directing, dance, design, and film. Students thus acquire skills in production and performance while learning the history and literature of one of the world's major forms of artistic expression. Majors are prepared for graduate work in the humanities or for further professional training in theater, dance, or film. The theater major is also a valuable asset for a wide variety of careers—such as business, law, or teaching—requiring collaborative effort, public poise, imagination, and a broad background in the liberal arts.

In addition to its academic work, the department annually produces more than a dozen plays, films, dance concerts, and other performance events in its three theaters. These require the participation of large numbers of students, both majors and nonmajors. The department invites all members of the community to join in the creation of these events.

Majors in theater who are interested in secondary school teaching should consult the Department of Education about requirements for teacher certification.

Majors in theater interested in acting should consider junior-year study at the British American Drama Academy or the London Drama Academy. Majors in theater interested in narrative film production should consider junior-year study at the Queen's University (London) Film Production Program or the Prague Film and Television School of the Academy of Performing Arts.

More information on the theater curriculum is available on the website (www.bates.edu/THEA.xml).

Major Requirements.
Option 1. Theater majors in the classes of 2012, 2013, and 2014 have the option of completing either the following requirements or those listed below in Option 2.

1) a) All of the following:
THEA 101. An Introduction to Drama: Theater and Film.
THEA 130. Introduction to Design.
THEA 200. The Classical Stage.
THEA 261. Beginning Acting.

b) One of the following:
THEA 132. Theater Technology.
THEA 231. Scene Design.
THEA 232. Lighting Design: The Aesthetics of Light.
THEA 233. Costume Design.

c) One of the following:
DANC 251. Dance Composition.
THEA 227. Seventies and Eighties Avant-Garde Theater and Performance Art.
THEA 370. Directing.
THEA 371. Acting and Directing for the Camera.

d) Two additional courses in theater.

2) Two courses from two of the following: art and visual culture, music, and dance. At least one of these courses must be in the history of the field.

3) A comprehensive examination in the senior year, except for those majors invited by the department to enroll in Theater 457 or 458. Majors not completing a thesis may fulfill their [W3] requirement by completing a [W2] course in art and visual culture, dance, English, a foreign language, music, or rhetoric. Students pursuing this option must consult with their advisors before selecting the [W2] course, which may not be taken pass/fail.

Theater majors must enroll in one semester of dance or in a physical education activity course approved by the Department of Theater and Dance.

Option 2. Requirements for the theater major beginning with the Class of 2015.

The theater major comprises two tracks, each requiring ten courses. Track A, Drama on Stage, focuses on the study and production of live theater. Track B, Narrative Film and Video, combines work in digital video production with the study of film as a dramatic medium. Upper-class students may elect to complete the requirements for either of these tracks.

Required Courses for Track A: ten courses as follows:

1) All of the following:
THEA 101. An Introduction to Drama: Theater and Film.
THEA 130. Introduction to Design.
THEA 200. The Classical Stage.
THEA 220. The Modern Stage.
THEA 261. Beginning Acting.

2) One of the following:
THEA 132. Theater Technology.
THEA 231. Scene Design.
THEA 232. Lighting Design: The Aesthetics of Light.
THEA 233. Costume Design.

3) One of the following:
DANC 251. Dance Composition.
THEA 227. Seventies and Eighties Avant-Garde Theater and Performance Art.
THEA 370. Directing.

4) Two additional courses in theater, which may include one course credit for THEA 290
performance.

5) THEA 457 or 458, the senior thesis, by departmental invitation. Students who are not
invited to complete a thesis must fulfill their [W3] requirement by completing an additional
course in theater with an augmented writing component making it a [W2] course.
Alternatively, they may fulfill their [W3] requirement by completing a [W2] course in art
and visual culture, dance, English, a foreign language, music, or rhetoric. Students
pursuing this option must consult with their advisors before selecting the [W2] course,
which may not be taken pass/fail.

Required courses for Track B: ten courses as follows:

1) All of the following:
THEA 101. An Introduction to Drama: Theater and Film.
THEA 130. Introduction to Design.
THEA 232. Lighting Design: The Aesthetics of Light.
THEA 242. Screenwriting.
THEA 265. Acting for the Camera.
THEA 271. Acting and Directing for the Camera.
THEA 372. Directing for the Camera.

2) Two additional courses in film theory or history chosen from the Bates curriculum in
consultation with the major advisor.

3) THEA 457 or 458. Senior Thesis.

Courses completed in off-campus or study-abroad programs in film may substitute for one or more of these requirements.

Pass/Fail Grading Option. There are no restrictions on the use of the pass/fail option within the major, except for a [W2] course taken in lieu of the [W3] requirement (see above).

Minor in Theater. The minor in theater consists of six courses drawn from the following:

1) THEA 101. An Introduction to Drama: Theater and Film.

2) Five courses from the following two lists:

a) Two or three of the following:
DANC 251. Dance Composition.
THEA 130. Introduction to Design.
THEA 132. Theater Technology.
THEA 227. Seventies and Eighties Avant-Garde Theater and Performance Art.
THEA 231. Scene Design.
THEA 232. Lighting Design: The Aesthetics of Light.
THEA 261. Beginning Acting.
THEA 262. Acting for the Classical Repertory.
THEA 263. Voice and Speech.
THEA 363. Playing Comedy.
THEA 364. Advanced Voice and Speech.
THEA 370. Directing.
THEA 271. Acting and Directing for the Camera.
THEA 372. Directing for the Camera.
THEA s22. Contemporary Performance Poetry.
THEA s26. Theater Production Workshop I.
RH/TH s40. Digital Video Production.

b) Two or three of the following:
THEA 200. The Classical Stage.
THEA 220. The Modern Stage.
AA/TH 225. The Grain of the Black Image.
AA/TH 226. Minority Images in Hollywood Film.
THEA 240. Playwriting.
THEA 242. Screenwriting.
THEA s33. Central European Theater and Film.

Pass/Fail Grading Option. There are no restrictions on the use of the pass/fail option with the minor in theater.