UWM Undergraduate Catalog 2009-10 Peck School of the Arts Theatre

Other UWM Web Pages UWM Undergraduate Catalog: - the Arts -- Schools and Colleges -- Contents -- How to Use This Book -- Administration -- Calendar -- About UWM -- Academic Opportunities -- Campus Resources -- Admission -- Registration -- Financial Information -- Academic Information -- Index ------------------- Student Services/Activities Admission & Registration UWM Home Page ------------------- Comments

• Theatre
• Courses: Theatre BA
• Courses: Theatre PTTP
  

Theatre

Undergraduate Programs

The Department of Theatre offers comprehensive course work, leading to a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Theatre or a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Theatre. The BA degree is designed for students interested in a broad-based theatre education or who intend to go into the areas of design, management, applied theatre, PK4-12 education or performance-related studies. The Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Theatre is an intensive degree for students seeking a specialized in-depth study of Acting, Technical Production, or Costume Production. BA, BFA and Theatre Education emphasis degree options are designed to build on the basic theatre skills developed in the required department core. The following courses of study are available.

The Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Theatre is a 130-credit program which provides intensive specialized coursework for students seeking professional training in one of three separate tracks: acting, costume production, or technical production. Admission to each BFA track is selective and competitive. Students enrolled in the Bachelor of Fine Arts curriculum gain practical experience and apply the skills developed in the classroom through participation in the department’s active production program as well as in workshops, classroom projects, and related activities in conjunction with other disciplines in the Peck School of the Arts. Studio, rehearsal, and performance courses constitute a major component of the BFA program.

Students follow an integrated curriculum, based on a focused and specialized array of courses. Students select from a limited array of electives, specific to their particular area of specialization. The senior year offers flexibility to participate in advanced studio work, internships, and independent projects both on and off campus. The following BFA tracks are offered:

• BFA Acting: Acting students acquire technical proficiency in voice, speech, movement, and theatre performance styles. The curriculum emphasizes public performance in a wide variety of theatrical styles and genres, supported by ongoing studio work to build artistic development.
• BFA Costume Production: Costume Production students acquire proficiency in costume construction, patternmaking, draping, painting and dyeing, tailoring, millinery, and shop management.
• BFA Technical Production: Technical Production students acquire proficiency in drafting, properties production, audio production, scenic construction and rigging, lighting production, and shop management.

The Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Theatre is a 120-credit program providing broad-based coursework in a wide range of subjects within the discipline of theatre and encouraging an open exploration of the art form. Theatre BA students gain practical experience through participation in the department’s active production programs as well as in workshops, classroom projects, and related activities in conjunction with other disciplines in the Peck School of the Arts. Because of the general nature of the degree, students are afforded the opportunity to emphasize in areas of theatre that are best supported by a broad-based theatre education. All of the emphases allow for significant elective study in related areas of theatre, minors, and disciplines specific to a student's individual interest. The following emphases are offered:

• Acting: This emphasis provides a limited range of performance techniques, voice, production, and stage movement skills for students who desire to study a wide range of related theatre subjects.
• Applied Theatre: This emphasis focuses on using theatre as a catalyst for individual and social change, and as an educative tool. Students widen their skill set to include theatre careers in non-traditional settings, such as professional trainers, activities directors, activists, educators, facilitators, and interdisciplinary artists.
• Design Emphasis: This emphasis provides students with a strong background in design graphics, conceptualization, and production styles in costume, scenery, lighting, and sound design areas.
• Playwriting and Dramaturgy: This emphasis gives students in-depth experience studying the structure of plays through writing and research. Students develop scenes/plays, work on staged readings of new plays, and act as a dramaturg for university and/or community productions.
• Stage Management: Students develop practical management, communication, and technical theatre skills and techniques to successfully manage rehearsals and performances of theatrical and related entertainment events.
• Theatre Education: This program prepares future Theatre teachers of grades PK4-12. After the culmination of fieldwork and practice teaching, students will be recommended for certification by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

Laptop Requirement. Theatre students in all BA areas will be encouraged to have a laptop computer during their course of study in the department. Students in the BA PK4-12 Theatre Education Program will be required to have a laptop computer once they are admitted to the program. Please see Theatre Program Manager for more information.

Admission Requirements. To be admitted in good standing to all of the BA Emphasis Tracks, applicants must meet General University Requirements. Additional admission requirements to the Theatre Education Emphasis and BFA tracks are described below.

Minors. Students may also earn a Theatre minor, or a Theatre minor with teacher certification.

Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Theatre

The Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Theatre is a 130-credit program with intensive specialization in the areas of Acting, Costume Production, and Technical Production. Admission is selective and competitive based on an audition, portfolio review, or interview. BFA requirements are distributed as follows:

Application Process. Application to the BFA Theatre Program occurs after a student has successfully completed the freshman foundation sequence (Theatre 110, 214, 225, 230) with a GPA of 3.0 in the major. BFA program applicants must submit the following:

1. A separate application form.
2. A statement of purpose.
3. A current resume (and 8"x10" black & white photo for acting candidates, or interview and samples of work for costume or technical production candidates).
4. An in-person interview (and audition for actors).
5. Copies of high school or appropriate college transcripts (for transfer students). Unofficial copies are acceptable for departmental purposes.
6. Two letters of recommendation.

Continuation in the Program. Students must continue to show artistic growth and progress and meet academic grade requirements (generally a 3.00 GPA in the BFA specialization with exceptions subject to faculty review) to be continued in the program. Progress reviews are conducted each semester. Any theatre student who is dropped from the program (due to failing a review or to grades that do not meet the theatre program requirements) has the right to an appeal. The appeals committee will consist of three full-time tenure track or tenured theatre faculty, a faculty member of the student's own choosing, and the Theatre Department chair. In addition, a Peck School of the Arts Student Services advisor will be present as a non-voting member.

Laptop Requirement. Theatre students in the Technical Production area will be required to have a laptop computer for the integrated curriculum semesters following admittance into the BFA program. Please see Theatre Program Manager for more information.

BFA DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

UNIVERSITY CORE CURRICULUM: 45 cr.

THEATRE DEPARTMENT CORE: 32 cr.

BFA TRACK REQUIREMENTS: 53 CR.

Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Theatre

The minimum degree requirement is 120 credits, at least 12 of which will be in interdisciplinary courses from other areas in the arts. Theatre BA students must complete the university core curriculum. Math and English proficiency requirements must be completed prior to enrolling in upper- level theatre courses. Students may select one of five emphasis areas. The degree allows for 20 credits of elective courses to enable students to tailor the emphasis tracks to their own interests. BA Theatre requirements (excluding the BA Theatre Education Emphasis) are distributed as follows :

(See BA Theatre Education Emphasis for distribution requirements for that program.)

BA DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

UNIVERSITY CORE CURRICULUM: 45 cr.

THEATRE DEPARTMENT CORE: 32 cr.

BA TRACK REQUIREMENTS: 43 CR.

BA Theatre Education Emphasis: 43 cr.

The PK4-12 Theatre Education program prepares future theatre teachers for grades PK4-12. After the culmination of fieldwork and practice teaching, students will be recommended for certification by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. The course distribution for the PK4-12 Certification in Theatre Education program is as follows:

Admission Requirements (Sophomore to Junior Year). All students admitted to UWM after July 1987 must take the Pre-Professional Skills Test (PPST) required by the Department of Public Instruction of the State of Wisconsin. Students must pass the PPST before acceptance to the certification program in theatre.

Students entering UWM after July 1, 1988, must have at least a 2.75 cumulative grade point average (general university) and a 3.0 within the major to apply for admission to the certification program in theatre. UWM Theatre students must have a 2.75 cumulative grade point average (theatre and general university) to be certified and apply for a teaching license after graduation.

Students must have successfully completed communication competency and English/math proficiency and have at least 58 credits (completed or in progress) before applying to the theatre certification program.

Criminal background checks and an application of intent will be required prior to student teaching.

After meeting the above requirements, students submit an official application form to the Peck School of the Arts Student Services Office. Application deadlines are October 15 and March 15. The student then schedules an interview with the Theatre Education faculty. The interview will include:

1. A discussion of the student’s professional goals.
2. A portfolio review of the student’s past theatre work. Portfolio may include materials such as:
a. Resume
b. Rehearsal/production diaries
c. Documentation of directing/performance experience showing representative roles or productions
d. Practicum/design/production work (photos/renderings/working drawings/samples) in costumes, scenery, sound, and lighting
e. Work with learners in urban environments

Students who are not accepted into the certification program at the time of their interview may reapply in the following semester.

Human Relations Requirement. The Human Relations Requirement provides prospective teachers with awareness and understanding of intercultural relations within the educational setting. The requirement is met with course work and classroom experience.

Effective July 1, 1992, and pursuant to 1987 Wisconsin ACT 31, a license to teach may not be granted unless the applicant has received instruction in the study of minority group relations, including instruction in the history, culture, and tribal sovereignty of American Indian tribes and bands located in this state. Currently, this requirement is met through satisfactory completion of Ethnic 203, or Hist 263, or Anthro 213, or English 276 (special topic "Literature, History, & Sovereignty of Upper Midwest Indians"), or Wisconsin ACT 31 seminar attendance. Questions regarding this requirement should be directed to the student's academic advisor.

Following admission to the Theatre Education Program (see admission requirements), and successful completion of the specified Theatre Education course of studies, a student seeking recommendation for teacher certification must successfully fulfill the following requirements:

1. Fulfill all degree requirements.
2. Fulfill the Field Experience Requirement.
3. Compile at least a 2.75 cumulative GPA.
4. Pass the Pre-Professional Skills Test (PPST).
5. Pass the Praxis II Theatre Content Exam.
6. Successfully complete student teaching.
7. Demonstrate mastery of the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary for a career in the field of theatre education through the use of a teaching portfolio (see explanation below).

Teaching Portfolio. The Theatre Education Area and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction require that students compile a teaching portfolio that demonstrates teaching proficiency in their area of expertise. Students are responsible for developing a professional portfolio that is developmental in nature and is evaluated at the beginning, middle, and end of their program. An e-portfolio system is provided to facilitate this process. The portfolio will be compiled as a part of their major theatre education methods and field experience requirements. Evidence of teaching proficiency must include:

1. Record of PPST passing scores.
2. Transcript demonstrating 2.75 GPA.
3. Copy of current resume.
4. Lesson plans written and taught in early field experiences and student teaching.
5. Examples of student work in video and/or photo formats.
6. Statement of teaching and learning philosophy.
7. Written evaluations from cooperating teachers, university supervising teachers, and methods class instructors.
8. Self-evaluations and/or teaching journal based upon early field experience teaching and student teaching experiences.
9. Computer mediated and/or generated projects.

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

UNIVERSITY CORE CURRICULUM FOR THEATRE EDUCATION EMPHASIS: 45 cr.

*Commun 101 or Commun 103 must be taken for teacher certification. Commun 101 is a Social Science course; Commun 103 is a Humanities course.

THEATRE DEPARTMENT CORE: 32 cr.

MINOR

As theatre training is extremely relevant to a number of other areas of academic endeavor, students pursuing other degrees at UWM may elect theatre as a minor area of study. The following courses constitute a minor:

MINOR IN THEATRE EDUCATION

The Department of Theatre offers a teaching minor leading to certification in Theatre. This program is open only to students pursuing, and accepted into, a teaching major in an appropriately related field (e.g. English). Admission requirements for a minor are the same as those of a major (see Theatre Education Emphasis admission requirements).

Students accepted into the program will be expected to take and pass the Praxis II Theatre Test prior to, and as prerequisite for, their fieldwork and student teaching (Theatre 484, 485 and Theatre 486).

Courses

Web Home Pages:
[ Peck School of the Arts ]

---

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Undergraduate Catalog 2009-10:
Theatre
[ Peck School of the Arts ]
[ Schools and Colleges ]
[ Contents | How to Use This Book | Calendar | Index ]
[ Admission | Registration | Financial Information | Academic Information ]
[ Administration | About UWM | Academic Opportunities | Campus Resources ]

---

---

Last update: Dec. 29, 2008. --- URL: http://www.uwm.edu/ugbulletin/SC/D_FA_T.html
Copyright 2008 by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, all rights reserved.
If you have questions or comments about this page please send email to: www@uwm.edu