NMH Arts : Theater

Emphasis in theater courses is placed on seeing drama as a performing art. Students are expected to take part in play reading and scene work, as well as in discussing and writing analysis of the plays they read. Trips to area productions may be included. All courses are half-credit offerings.

Minor Courses

Major Courses

Theater Minor Courses

MIS128  Stagecraft
Stagecraft is a "hands-on" experience in backstage work for theater.  Students will be constructing the set(s) for the current production as well as hanging the lights.  Students will not only experience the building process, but will have a unique opportunity to witness and take part in the design phase and creative process that goes into the technical part of theater.  This course will meet two 90-minute periods a week
Offered: Fall  Spring

STU180  Action Theater
Are you a person who is comfortable with acting like a fool? Do you like to act on stage: If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, then you should be in this class. Here we will create a relaxed, enjoyable environment where you can learn how to be free with your body on stage.
Offered: Winter

THE099  Theater Production Role
Students who are cast in this term's major Theater Program production are automatically enrolled in THE99.  Students may not sign up for THE99.
Offered: Fall Winter Spring

Theater Major Courses

THE 111 Theater Production I
Half credit. Prerequisite: None.
This course is an introduction to the fundamental elements of technical theater: stagecraft, scenic design, lighting design, and set construction. Students divide their time between regular classes and practical, hands-on work in the theater program’s various shop and work spaces. Students apply what they are learning by helping to develop and construct the actual elements of each term’s major production and/or one-act productions.

THE 112 Playwriting
Half credit. Fall only. Prerequisite: None. Fulfills ninth-grade writing seminar requirement.
This course gives students a structured opportunity to write original one-act plays, some of which are performed in the annual Student-Directed, One-Act Play Festival. In Playwriting, students consider various one-act models exemplified in the works of Chekhov, Mamet, Durang, Henley, and others, as they create three successive drafts of their own original scripts. Daily class work involves both writing exercises and the collective critique of each others’ material. Final scripts must be capable of production in the NMH theater.

THE 114 Acting
Half credit. Prerequisite: None.
This course offers students an opportunity to develop new skills and refine or extend existing ones in such performance areas as stage movement, voice, scene study, character development, improvisation, and ensemble technique. Students are responsible for the preparation and presentation of monologues and scenes, as well as for participation in class critiques and specific exercises. Readings include selections from Stanislavsky, Mamet, Hagen, and others. The course may be repeated for credit.

THE 115 Acting (if repeating THE 114 for credit)
See description for THE 114.

THE 116 Modern Stage and Screen
Half credit. Spring only. Prerequisite: None.
This course examines developments in both theater and film from the latter part of the 19th century to the present. Questions fundamental to the course include: How have acting styles evolved within each medium, and how do they differ between the two media? How has the role of the director evolved? What have been the major influences of technology? The course entails reading and discussing both screenplays and stage scripts, viewing live productions and/or films of assigned material, preparing specific scenes for both live and videotaped performance, and writing on a regular basis.

THE 211 Theater Production II
Half credit. Winter and spring only. Prerequisite: THE 111 or permission of instructor.
This course offers an opportunity for students to learn and apply intermediate to advanced design theory in one of three major technical areas: scenic design, lighting design, and costume design. Classroom theory is applied first to conceptual design projects in the student’s chosen area of concentration; this work culminates in a practical project, perhaps one as ambitious as creating the actual design of a major production. This course may be repeated for credit in a different design area.

THE 212 Theater Production II (if repeating THE 211 for credit)
See description for THE 211.

THE 213 Directing
Half credit. Winter only. Prerequisite: THE 114 or permission of instructor. Not open to ninth graders.
Students in this class learn the fundamental principles and skills of play directing. These include script selection, casting, blocking, rehearsing, and production. Each student applies these skills to the staging of a scene or one-act play of between ten and 40 minutes in length. The course requirement is satisfied by a “low-tech” production of this material at term’s end for an invited audience. Any student may elect to have her or his production reviewed for possible inclusion in the annual student-directed One-Act Play Festival.

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