Division of Theatre
Website: https://twu.edu/theatre/
Division Head: Noah Lelek, Associate Professor
Location: REDBUD 222
Phone: 940-898-2510
Email: theatre@twu.edu
Graduate Degrees Offered
The Division of Theatre, housed within the School of the Arts and Design, offers a Master of Arts degree in theatre.
Coursework and stage experience are combined to train well-rounded theatre practitioners who have the ability to function creatively, critically, and skillfully in a variety of theatrical environments. Committed to exceptional theatre performance and excellence in scholarship, the graduate theatre program provides practical as well as academic training for students pursuing careers in professional and educational theatre. Degree concentrations may emphasize acting/directing, design/production, or literary criticism/history.
Successful completion of a professional paper is required for the Master of Arts Degree. The culminating project can be creative, scholarly, or a creative/scholarly hybrid and must meet professional standards. In all projects, a scholarly paper of no less than 45 pages is required. Projects may be selected from such areas as directing, acting, stage management, playwriting, technical direction, design, theatre history, or criticism. With the permission of the faculty, a project may be completed off the Denton campus.
Faculty
Courses
Contact hours identified in the course descriptions are based on a 15-week term. Students who enroll in Summer or mini-terms are expected to meet the same total number of contact hours as a 15-week term.
THEA 5403. Problems in Production. Advanced theory and practice in the areas of theatrical design, play directing, and acting; practical experience provided by TWU Theatre productions. May be repeated for up to nine hours of credit. Two lecture and two laboratory hours a week. Credit: Three hours.
THEA 5433. Contemporary Theatre. A study in the trends and developments in the 20th and 21st century theatre, focusing attention on the major theorists and practitioners whose writings and work shaped contemporary understandings of theatre and performance. Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.
THEA 5473. Dramatic Criticism and Play Analysis. Analysis of dramatic literature for the theatrical practitioner. Special consideration will be given to the major theories of drama as they pertain to the production of plays. Three seminar hours a week. Credit: Three hours.
THEA 5483. Theatre History I. A history of the theatre from the Age of Orality through the English Restoration. Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.
THEA 5493. Theatre History II. A history of the theatre from the 18th century to the present. Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.
THEA 5503. Styles of Acting. Lecture and laboratory experience in the theories and styles of performance, from presentational to representational. Two lecture and two laboratory hours a week. Credit: Three hours.
THEA 5513. Theatre Management. Instruction in budgets, season selection, grants preparation, long range planning, house management, techniques, and marketing as related to educational and professional theaters. Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.
THEA 5521. Graduate Theatre Practicum. Laboratory experience course required of all theatre master's candidates. Minimum 40 clock hours in rehearsal, performance, or technical crew work. May be repeated for credit. Three laboratory hours a week. Credit: One hour.
THEA 5533. Advanced Theatrical Design. Lecture and studio experience in the theories and principles of scenic, lighting, costume, or makeup design. May be repeated for up to nine hours of credit. Two lecture and two laboratory hours a week. Credit: Three hours.
THEA 5543. Voice and Diction for the Actor. Instruction and laboratory study of the mechanisms of speech for the actor; training in breath control, articulation, enunciation, pronunciation, and speech melody for the stage. Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.
THEA 5553. Playwriting. Process of writing for the theatre. Principles that guide theatre narrative writing and inform reactions to scripted theatrical works. Foundations for completion of a full-length play. Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.
THEA 5901. Special Topics. An organized class for the study of particular area or subject not offered in another scheduled course. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. One lecture hour a week. Credit: One hour.
THEA 5903. Special Topics. An organized class for the study of particular area or subject not offered in another scheduled course. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Three lecture hours a week. Credit: Three hours.
THEA 5911. Independent Study. Individual supervisory and tutorial instruction; content might include directed readings, a research project, or other similar studies. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Credit: One hour.
THEA 5913. Independent Study. Individual supervisory and tutorial instruction; content might include directed readings, a research project, or other similar studies. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Credit: Three hours.
THEA 5973. Professional Paper. This capstone course serves as the cumulative analytical project for Master's candidates in Theatre. Students will conduct independent, high-level research culminating in a comprehensive professional paper that bridges theatrical theory with practical application. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Credit: Three hours.
