Download Perfa 147 Costume Design

TO:
Beth Dobkin, Provost
FROM:
Hisham Ahmed, Chair
Academic Senate
DATE:
April 28, 2016
RE:
Senate Action S-15/16-62CA
Prerequisite Changes for:
Perfa 147 Costume Design
Perfa 148 Lighting Design
Perfa 149 Scenic Design
At the April 27, 2016 meeting of the Academic Senate, the attached Proposal for prerequisite
changes for Perfa 147 Costume Design, Perfa 148 Lighting Design and Perfa 149 Scenic Design
was approved on the Consent Agenda.
The proposal was submitted to the Academic Senate from the Undergraduate Educational Policies
Committee, where it was approved by a vote of 8-0-0 at the April 25, 2016 meeting.
This action was assigned Senate Action #S-15/16-62CA.
Attachment
cc: President James A. Donahue
Dean Sheila Hassell Hughes
To:
Cc:
Kathy Porter, Chair of UEPC
Huang Vu, Vice Chair of UEPC
From: Deanna L. Zibello, Assistant Professor Department
of Performing Arts, Theatre Program Head of Design and
Technical Theatre Track
Proposal to Change Course Prerequisite: Perfa 147 Costume Design
This proposal is one of four representing an effort to bring our upper-division courses in Design
and Technical Theatre, including Perfa 147 Costume Design, up to date with recent curricular
changes, as noted below. As part of a larger restructuring of the curriculum in Design and
Technical Theatre, the Performing Arts Department is requesting that the following course have
its prerequisite changed. Further, we request that this change be approved for inclusion in the
course catalog for the 2016-2017 school year.
School: SOLA
Department: Performing Arts, Theatre Program
Course title: Perfa 147 Costume Design
Current prerequisite: Perfa 48 Stagecraft
Proposed Prerequisites: Perfa 35 Theatre Masterpieces: Western Drama or Perfa 36 Theatre
Masterpieces: Modern Drama
Rationale: Theatrical design and technical theatre are two distinct but related disciplines, akin
to architecture and engineering. Like engineering, technical theatre requires an understanding
of materials and working processes, of their possibilities and limits. On the other hand,
theatrical design, like architecture, deals with the artistic impulse, aesthetics, and the
expression of a concept in a visual medium. For this reason, theatrical designers work very
closely with the text of a play, developing a concept and a visual language that will support (or
even invoke) the story, action, and characters of the performance event.
This clarification of purpose suggests that the most appropriate prerequisite for a course in
Costume Design is not, in fact, a lower-division technical theatre course like Perfa 48 Stagecraft.
Rather, a course that familiarizes students with the skills of reading and analyzing dramatic
literature provides better preparation for developing a design concept that is dramaturgically
sound, and for exploring costume design as a visual language that reveals both character and
the world of the play. We feel that either Perfa 35 Theatre Masterpieces: Western Drama or
Perfa 36: Theatre Masterpieces: Modern Drama would provide solid preparation for Perfa 147
Costume Design, as both courses offer an intensive study of the skills of reading and analyzing
dramatic literature.
To:
Cc:
Kathy Porter, Chair of UEPC
Huang Vu, Vice Chair of UEPC
From: Deanna L. Zibello, Assistant Professor Department
of Performing Arts, Theatre Program Head of Design and
Technical Theatre Track
Proposal to Change Course Prerequisite: Perfa 148 Lighting Design
This proposal is one of four representing an effort to bring our upper-division courses in Design
and Technical Theatre, including Perfa 148 Lighting Design, up to date with recent curricular
changes in our lower division courses. As part of a larger restructuring of the curriculum in
Design and Technical Theatre, the Performing Arts Theatre Program is requesting that the
following course have its prerequisite changed, and hope that the change will be approved in
time for inclusion in the course catalog for the 2016-2017 school year.
School: SOLA
Department: Performing Arts, Theatre Program
Course title: Perfa 148 Lighting Design
Current prerequisite: Perfa 48 Stagecraft
Proposed Prerequisites: Perfa 42 Introduction to Technical Theatre or Perfa 48 Stagecraft
Rationale: The Theatre Program has two major tracks, Performance and Theatre Studies, and
Design and Technical Theatre. In Fall 2014, a new introductory course, Perfa 42 Introduction to
Technical Theatre, was piloted to provide appropriate orientation to the subject matter for our
Performance and Theatre Studies majors, and for general interest students. UEPC granted Perfa
42 permanent course status the same year, and the course has been included in the course
catalog beginning in the 2015-2016 academic year.
Subsequently, Introduction to Technical Theatre (Perfa 42) was approved as the replacement for
Stagecraft (Perfa 48) as the lower division requirement for students in the Performance and
Theatre Studies track of the Theatre major. (The lower division requirement for Design and
Technical Theatre students remains Perfa 48 Stagecraft.) Depending on their individual
backgrounds, theatre minors may now elect between Perfa 42 or the slightly more advanced
course, Perfa 48 Stagecraft.
Because both lower division courses—Perfa 42 Introduction to Technical Theatre and Perfa 48
Stagecraft—offer an overview of the basics of lighting technology (e.g. instrument types,
control, hanging and focusing) we feel that either lower division course option provides solid
preparation for Perfa 148, Lighting Design. For these reasons, we request that Perfa 42
Introduction to Technical Theatre be included as an alternative prerequisite for Perfa 148
Lighting Design.
Anticipated Effect on Enrollment: We note that Perfa 148 Lighting Design is offered only once
every two years. By providing two prerequisite options, this proposed change allows for more
flexible course planning and greater ease for Theatre majors and minors in completing the
prerequisite for Perfa 148 Lighting Design, and the other upper division design courses.
NB: Students with general interest may take Perfa 148 Lighitng Design concurrently with one of its
prerequisites (all three are 0.5 credit courses) or seek the permission of the instructor
To:
Cc:
Kathy Porter, Chair of UEPC
Huang Vu, Vice Chair of UEPC
From: Deanna L. Zibello, Assistant Professor Department
of Performing Arts, Theatre Program Head of Design and
Technical Theatre Track
Proposal to Change Course Prerequisite: Perfa 149 Scenic Design
This proposal is one of four representing an effort to bring our upper-division courses in Design
and Technical Theatre, including Perfa 149 Scenic Design, up to date with recent curricular
changes, as noted below. As part of a larger restructuring of the curriculum in Design and
Technical Theatre, the Performing Arts Department is requesting that the following course have
its prerequisite changed. Further, we request that this change be approved for inclusion in the
course catalog for the 2016-2017 school year.
School: SOLA
Department: Performing Arts, Theatre Program
Course title: Perfa 149 Set Design
Current prerequisite: Perfa 48 Stagecraft
Proposed Prerequisites: Perfa 35 Theatre Masterpieces: Western Drama or Perfa 36 Theatre
Masterpieces: Modern Drama
Rationale: Theatrical design and technical theatre are two distinct but related disciplines, akin
to architecture and engineering. Like engineering, technical theatre requires an understanding
of materials and working processes, of their possibilities and limits. On the other hand,
theatrical design, like architecture, deals with the artistic impulse, aesthetics, and the
expression of a concept in a visual medium. For this reason, theatrical designers work very
closely with the text of a play, developing a concept and a visual language that will support (or
even invoke) the story, action, and characters of the performance event.
This clarification of purpose suggests that the most appropriate prerequisite for a course in Set
Design is not, in fact, a lower-division technical theatre course like Perfa 48 Stagecraft. Rather, a
course that familiarizes students with the skills of reading and analyzing dramatic literature
provides better preparation for developing a design concept that is dramaturgically sound, and
for exploring set design as a visual language that reveals both action and the world of the play.
We feel that either Perfa 35 Theatre Masterpieces: Western Drama or Perfa 36: Theatre
Masterpieces: Modern Drama would provide solid preparation for Perfa 149 Scenic Design, as
both courses offer an intensive study of the skills of reading and analyzing dramatic literature.
Anticipated Effect on Enrollment: We note that Perfa 149 Scenic Design is offered only once
every two years. By providing two prerequisite options, this proposed change allows for more
flexible course planning and greater ease for Theatre majors and minors in completing the
prerequisite for Perfa 149 Scenic Design, and the other upper division design courses. NB:
Students with general interest may take Perfa 149 Scenic Design concurrently with one of
its prerequisites (all three are 0.5 credit courses) or seek the permission of the instructor.
Background: Committee members wishing for more historical context on the changes in
this area of the theatre curriculum may read on. A new major track in Design and
Technical Theatre was approved by the UPEC in Fall 2010; at the time, the UPEC charged
us with
reviewing all existing technical theatre course offerings. This curricular
redevelopment spanned the next several years, and has included the hiring of Saint
Marys’ first tenure-line faculty member in Design and Technical Theatre. My role here at
Saint Mary’s has thus included providing academic leadership in the Design and
Technical Theatre track, as I carry forward the work of reviewing and redeveloping its
curriculum.
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