UBC Theatre and Film has wonderful courses that you can take as an elective – an opportunity to study with our fabulous professors. Please see the courses listed below:
THTR 120 – Introduction to Theatre
Term 1.
Instructor: Keltie Forsyth
https://courses.students.ubc.ca/
Course Description:
Theatre is one of the oldest art-forms and one of the most dynamic. What defines theatre? What are its dominant elements and how can they be manipulated to shape affecting performances? This course is a practical study on contemporary and classical theatre explored through attendance at local performances combined with introductory theatre theory. Students will learn both what makes up a theatrical experience and begin interpreting live art in the contemporary context.
Theory and practice of the theatrical arts. Attendance at plays is required.
THTR 330 – Performance Study II
Instructor: Stephen Heatley
http://bit.ly/2ajp3sn
Course Description:
In 1968, Quebec society changed forever because of the production of a play! Michel Tremblay’s Les Belles-Soeurs opened at Theatre du Nouveau Monde in Montreal that year. It was a play that, for the first time, was written in the language of the common people. The Department of Theatre and Film at UBC will produce that play in 2017. To celebrate this event, THTR 330 will focus on all the works of this master of Canadian playwriting. The course will consist of a study of Tremblay’s works for the stage and will include work on monologues and scenes from several of Tremblay’s plays. The course will conclude with a public presentation of our exploration.
THTR 340B – Studies in Non-Western Theatre: Modern Asian Theatre
Winter 1, M&W, 3-4:30pm
Instructor: Dr. Siyuan Liu
Email: Siyuan.Liu@ubc.ca
http://bit.ly/2aiApkY
Course Description:
This class focuses on the modern, Western-style spoken theatre in Asia in the 20th and 21st centuries by studying plays from China, Japan, India, Indonesia, Korea, and Vietnam. Modern Asian theatre started in late 19th and early 20th centuries as a result of global colonialism, either as part of colonial cultural hegemony in occupied countries, such as India and Indonesia, or to stage nationalism in nations facing colonial threat, such as Japan and China. Over the past century, modern Asian theatre has gone through various stages in terms of its relations with nationalist ideologies and indigenous theatrical aesthetics. Through reading and discussing representative plays in the past century and watching production videos, we will examine the process in which this Western dramatic format became part of the Asian theatrical landscape.
Some of the questions we will consider include: What were the roles of nationalism and modernity in the creative process of modern Asian theatre? What were the dramatic and theatrical influences from both indigenous and Western traditions as reflected in these plays? How were these influences utilized to stage social realities? How was the issue of gender negotiated and performed in modern Asian theatre? Who were the audiences and what were their reactions to these plays?
440D – History of Musical Theatre
Instructor: Cathy Burnett
Thursdays 10:00-12:00
Contact: Cathy Burnett: cburnett@interchange.ubc.ca
http://bit.ly/2aQsJlX
Course Description:
This course serves as an overview of the development of musical theatre from the 19th -21st century. Musical theatre will be studied from a variety of perspectives including factual-historical, cultural, aesthetic to hands on.
The course format will look like the following: one week the study of musical theatre from a factual reference point and the following week the student will learn an example of simple choreography from a show that has been studied the previous week. Non dancers are welcome as the professor does not grade the students on their dancing ability. The dance component is there to serve as another way to experience musical theatre.
At the end of term, several weeks will be dedicated to visiting musical theatre professionals from the community who will be attending class to share their knowledge and experience.
THTR 445 – Majors and Honours Seminar
Archival Research and the History of Vancouver Theatre
Winter 1: T, 9:30am – 12:30pm
Instructor: Jerry Wasserman
Email: jerrywas@mail.ubc.ca
http://bit.ly/2ax8kUc
Course Description:
This seminar for 4th year Theatre Majors and Honours students employs hands-on archival research to investigate the history of theatre in Vancouver from its beginnings to the present day. Students will be required to go to the City of Vancouver Archives, Vancouver Public Library main branch and UBC Library Special Collections, as well as utilizing online sources, to unearth materials related to a wide range of performance genres and styles tracking the evolution of theatre and related arts in Vancouver and region. Required readings, available online and in UBC Library Reserve, will provide contexts for students’ seminar presentations and more detailed papers. Some play reading and attendance at plays in production during the term will be required.
In addition to identifying trends and highlights over 14 decades of Vancouver theatre, the seminar will explore the question of what exactly constitutes “theatre,” especially in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when Vancouver’s performance venues were populated by a broad variety of popular performance genres.
