Theatre and Dance

This course is designed for those students who are part of the dance company for any given year. Class time will be given to choreographing and rehearsing pieces for the annual Dance Concert. Students will learn and rehearse choreographic works of both Hillsdale faculty members and guest artists, culminating in a fully produced performance. Students will also learn basic principles of dance theatrical staging and production values as related to the production of this concert. 

Exempt from tuition overload charges. 

This course is an introduction to improvisation and its use as a basis for dance choreography. Students will be taught the fundamentals of spontaneous movement and learn how to craft this material into set choreography. Students will explore improvisations based on the principles of Laban Movement Analysis and the effects of shape, space, rhythms, props and other stimuli upon movement. 

Building on the basics learned in Social Dance, the student will learn new dances and combinations, building confidence, rhythm and musicality. 

A continuation of Pilates I, this class will focus on mastery of the essential matwork exercises learned in Pilates I, and then add new skills and intermediate matwork exercises. 

Building on the skills learned in DNC 220, students will be challenged with more complex improvisations and will use improvisational material to create solo and group choreography. Students will continue to explore a variety of internal and external stimuli as the basis for their artistic expression. 

A continuation of Pilates II, this class will focus on mastery of the intermediate matwork exercises learned in Pilates II, and then add new skills and advanced matwork exercises. 

This course is an advanced level modern dance technique class, designed to build upon the skills learned in DNC 290. Movement dynamics and qualities, rhythmic and spatial patterns, and personal expression will be explored in depth. Traditional modern dance techniques as well as contemporary and cutting-edge dance techniques will be utilized. 

Open to all Hillsdale College students (including freshmen) interested in working on Hillsdale College theatre productions either as actors; as members of technical crews in set construction and painting, lighting, properties, costumes or makeup; or in promotion, ticket sales and house management. Students can earn one credit each semester that they are enrolled during the four-year course of study.

Exempt from tuition overload charges. 

The history of drama and theatre in Europe from approximately 1500 to approximately 1800. Renaissance, Neoclassical, Elizabethan, Spanish Golden Age, English Restoration, and early German Romantic periods are considered with particular emphasis on the relationship between dramatic literature and the social, political, religious, and theoretical thinking that is reflected in the plays. This course satisfies the general college core requirement for a second-tier literature course.

Practical works, readings, rehearsed scenes and discussion supply the basics of creating a character. Students learn techniques of character analysis and the interaction of roles in scenes. Attention is given to rehearsal techniques and to considering the choices made by the actor, emphasizing the techniques of psychological realism. 

The creative design process as it relates to a specific area of theatrical design, chosen from among the following types: scenic, lighting or costume. Students will build on the material from Design for the Theatre I to focus their learning in one of the three areas listed. Both artistic and practical drawings will be emphasized. Opportunities for realized designs or assisting faculty designers will be provided when possible. May be repeated for credit in each of the three design areas.

Intended for the serious performer, this class will prepare students to proceed from character analysis to finished performance makeup. Topics include understanding, emphasizing and changing basic facial structure; application of wigs and hairpieces; special-effects makeup; prosthetics and plastics; aging; and historical period effects. 

Provides an introduction to the techniques of directing for the theatre. Students will study the history of directing and the performance theories of several important directors. The course will provide discussion and practical experience in script analysis, conceptualization, use of the stage, derivation of ground plan, choosing and working with actors, and the development of a set design for a production.

This course will directly involve students in the research, conceptualization, and production of a main-stage play. Students will embark on a rigorous study of the author, the author's other works, the theatre history and the cultural history of the time period of the play. Students will be expected to incorporate their research into all aspects of the production and produce a substantial essay on some aspect of the play. This essay will be included in a dramaturgical pamphlet presented to each audience member. 

This course explores period styles of acting from ancient Greece, the Elizabethan/Jacobean era, the Restoration, and Neoclassical Europe. Students will engage in intensive verse work, period movement and manners, and character research methods.

Under faculty guidance, each student will choose, research, plan, cast and rehearse a sizable one-act play for public audiences. Throughout the projects, emphasis will be placed on the challenges of style: by period, genre or clearly projected experiment.