University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · Courses
DRAM
136 courses with the subject DRAM, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
DRAM 10Beginning Ballet1
The technique and vocabulary of classical ballet are presented. Exercises at the barre are followed by practice and combinations in the center. Previously offered as PHYA 208.
This course is an introduction to the positions, exercises, and steps common to ballet, jazz, and modern dance. It is designed for students with no previous dance experience and is a prerequisite for EXSS 10, 12, and 13. Previously offered as PHYA 212.
A survey of plays from the Greeks to the present, analyzed through such elements of the dramatic text as action, character, structure, and language. Honors version available.
DRAM 116Perspectives in the Theatre: Page to Stage3
A survey of the interrelationships of acting, directing, designing, and playwriting through the study of major periods of theatrical expression and representative plays. Honors version available.
Students will explore the principles of movement that define modern dance, gaining some understanding of the use of weight, the shape of the body in space, an awareness of timing and energy, and individual creative potential. Previously offered as PHYA 224.
Development of the skill to analyze plays for academic and production purposes through the intensive study of representative plays. DRAM 120 is the first course in the major and the minor in dramatic art. Honors version available.
Students will explore the roots of the jazz style through rhythm, principles of isolation and opposition, shape and energy through center work, stretches, movement across the floor, and simple routines. Previous ballet training is highly recommended. Previously offered as PHYA 220.
The course explores how to gain facility in expression and truthfulness in action while communicating through a dramatic song. Challenges include how to navigate a scene that moves into song and how to manage breath and vulnerability in performance. Permission of the instructor required.
Introduction to acting tools, emphasizing playing actions and pursuing an objective by personalized given circumstances. Performance work drawn from short scripted, improvised, and contemporary scenes.
DRAM 151Introduction to the American Stage Musical3
A topical survey of musical theater repertoire from its early inception in 18th-century Europe to current 21st-century incarnations. Various stylistic approaches, historical periods, and creative contributions to the genre will be explored. Examination of case studies through diverse perspectives of class, gender and race will situate the repertoire in a broad artistic and social context.
This course focuses on developing body and mind awareness and undoing habits (including habits of thought) which restrict the performer. The class explores strategies for reducing tension, re-discovering natural alignment, and replacing self-judgement with self-confidence.
Introduction to physical training. Individual/group exercises explore relaxation, breath, concentration, flexibility, and imaginative response that become physical tools for acting. May include stage combat, juggling, mime, improvisation, games, and yoga.
DRAM 156Physical Comedy, Farce Techniques, and Clown3
Beginning with a history of physical comedy and performance techniques, this experiential class will explore vulnerability and self-discovery through clown. Students will learn farce techniques which strengthen physical agility and comic timing. Through a process of rediscovering innocence in sound and movement, the student will begin to forget the filter of the socialized body, achieving a heightened presence.
DRAM 191 or 192 required for dramatic art majors. Permission of the instructor for nonmajors. Introduction to equipment, procedures, and personnel in the design and execution of plans for scenery, lighting, properties, and sound for theatrical productions.
DRAM 191 or 192 required for dramatic art majors. Introduction to equipment, procedures, and personnel in the design and execution of costumes for theatrical productions. Permission of the instructor for nonmajors.
Permission of the instructor for nonmajors. Required for the dramatic art major. Practicum in production with PlayMakers Repertory Company in costuming, scenery, lighting, sound, or theatre management.
Permission of the department. May be repeated for credit. Restricted to juniors and seniors majoring in dramatic art. Intensive individual work in major areas of theatrical production: design, technical, directing, acting, playwriting, management.
For the dancer with a solid understanding of the basics of ballet and several years' dance training. It emphasizes more sophisticated steps in longer combinations. Previously offered as PHYA 308.
Students will explore the jazz style in greater complexity plus gain understanding of jazz music as it relates to jazz dance. It includes center work, complex movement phrases across floor, adagio, and routines using large movement vocabulary. At least two years of dance and familiarity with jazz style are recommended. Previously offered as PHYA 320.
This course will serve an initial music rehearsals for the spring production. Students will learn their role's songs, focusing on proper vocal technique and accurate notes and rhythms. By audition and permission of instructor.
Students will work to develop greater technical skill and continue a more advanced exploration of modern dance principles of effort-shape through center work and phrases of greater length and complexity in the center and across the floor. At least two years of modern dance training are recommended. Previously offered as PHYA 324.
This course introduces students to theatre histories and cultures from India, Asia, Africa, and Latin America, with reference to Western European/North American traditions. Students will investigate how drama, theatre, and performance develops both within individual cultural milieus and through contact with other cultures.
This course, with a theatre and social justice theme, is structured to give students an understanding of the role of the speaker before the public, the logical and sequential development of an idea, and the methodology for organizing and presenting materials and information. The course will cover information gathering, speech outlining, small group discussion, and provide extemporaneous, informative, and persuasive speaking opportunities.
The process of acting and its relationship to the technical and artistic demands of television/film production. Problems of continuity and out-of-sequence filming. Concentration and thinking on camera.
A deeper exploration of fulfilled actions prompted by an objective, with emphasis on developing techniques required by more formally structured texts such as Sophocles, Molière, Ibsen, Shaw, and Chekhov.
Development of balance, flexibility, strength, focus, grace, and precision through martial art of T'ai Chi Ch'uan. Emphasis on applying T'ai Chi principles to acting. Chinese philosophical bases for T'ai Chi explored.
The course provides practical applications of principles and techniques used in technical theatre. Lectures are supported by individually scheduled workshop sessions where techniques are applied to a theatrical production.
An overview of the major functions of management in the American nonprofit theatre including marketing, fundraising, finances, strategy and operations. Presentation skills will be practiced.
This course investigates the history and legacy of African American drama through the study of its literary texts, performance styles, and cultural history.
This course assesses different models of theatre for social change through change theory, playwriting, and collaboration. Students will be guided through the process of creating new works.
DRAM 292"Corner of the Sky": The American Musical3
This course considers the anatomy and diversity of the American musical, exploring its history and aesthetics and employing an interdisciplinary approach to examining and celebrating its shows, sounds, stars, structures, styles, and sensibilities, within the genre's dominant contexts of Broadway, Hollywood, and Utopia.
An introduction to the principles of arts criticism through study of the work of a variety of critics, by distinguishing between the nature of criticism and reviewing the arts (both performing and plastic), and through the students' own practice of critical writing by means of a series of short essays.
For the dancer with substantial background in ballet. Speed, endurance, multiple turns, beats, and complicated combinations are emphasized. Previously offered as PHYA 408.
Generally limited to majors. An introductory course in the principles of stage directing; analysis for concept, organization of production, and methodology of staging.
This course builds on the skills acquired in Acting the Song and applies them in the context of a full scene. The course addresses how and why songs occur in the text of musicals, how to transition from dialogue to song and back again, and how to incorporate underscoring in scene work. It incorporates material from different styles and genres: the ''Golden Age'' (Oklahoma, Guys and Dolls, Gypsy) through the 60's/70's (Sweet Charity, Baby, Company) to the present (Rent, Wicked, Parade).
Development of the actor's technique in verse drama with emphasis on scansion and textual analysis as guidelines for actions, characterization, and given circumstances. Scene and monologue work drawn from the works of Shakespeare.
DRAM 360Original Theatre Works: Methods, Aesthetics, and Creation3
This course harnesses the creative imagination of those wanting to create their own original performances. Using the tools of devised theatre, an ensemble-based, collaborative approach to creating original works, the course focuses on ensemble collaboration, expanding aesthetic vocabularies, devising new creation methods, and developing unique voices.
DRAM 365Introduction to Projection Design and Mapping3
This course aims to provide an in-depth understanding of projection mapping in the context of theatre and entertainment design. Through a combination of theoretical and hands-on learning, students will gain the skills necessary to conceptualize, design, and implement projection mapping projects.
Exploration of the way citizens have impacted and transformed American society through their active participation in local, state, and federal governments. Students will examine plays written about or inspired by legal cases and political arguments. Students will research journals, government reports, interviews and correspondence to learn how theatre artists engage in writing about laws and government actions, and will write their own plays based on court cases and current events.
Permission of the department. Individual programs or internship in acting, directing, design, management, and playwriting under the guidance of professional practitioners in conjunction with PlayMakers Repertory Company or other professional theatre organizations.
Subject
DRAM
Credits (min)
1
Credits (max)
12
Credit unit
Credits
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for credit; may be repeated in the same term for different topics; 12 total credits.
Advanced Directing (Directing II) will delve further into the role of director and what is needed to achieve successful storytelling for the stage. With an emphasis on text analysis and communication, the classroom becomes a laboratory where students have the opportunity to direct multiple scenes, devised work, and enhance their vocabulary for discussing the work. They will also explore the current world of professional directors and their approaches to the work. By the end of this course, students will know the importance of having a point of view and what it means to be a leader within the creative process.
As image makers, the work we do has a powerful and lasting impact on perception. When writing beyond ourselves and our experience, special care must be given the development of characters and exploration of the world of the play. This class explores the impact of social identity on playwriting and how we can use the power of storytelling to reflect a greater vision for humanity.
The study of general principles of sound design for the theatre. Theory and application of sound design techniques for the stage, including script analysis, staging concepts, special effects, sound plots, and technology.
Permission of the instructor. General principles of visual design as applied to scenery for the theatre. Instruction in standard techniques of planning and rendering scene design.
Permission of the instructor. Studies and practicum in play analysis and costume design for the theatre. Instruction in techniques of planning and rendering costume design.
Permission of the instructor. General principles of lighting design as applied to the performing arts. Theory and instruction in standard techniques of lighting for the stage.
This seminar seeks to introduce students to the principles of arts criticism through study of the work of a variety of different critics, by distinguishing between the nature of criticism and reviewing the arts, and through the students' own practice of critical writing.
This course explores the historical and aesthetic development of Latin American theatre, focusing on particular factors that distinguish this theatre from the Western European tradition.
Investigation of United States Latino/a theatre texts and performance practices as a discreet genre. United States Latino/a theatre will be distinguished from the dominant culture, and the diversity of forms and styles will be discussed.
Practicum in theatre management procedures and business of the theatre involving box office, audience development, research, publicity, operational, and contract procedures in regard to artists, technicians, managers, and producers. Students actively engage in management areas of the PlayMakers Repertory Company and productions of the Department of Dramatic Art.
DRAM 586Costume Seminars I: Dyeing and Painting1-3
Permission of the instructor. Taught in a four-semester rotation. May be repeated for credit for a total of six hours for undergraduates and 12 hours for graduate students. Series of topics in costume for use in design and production for the stage.
Subject
DRAM
Credits (min)
1
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Credits
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for credit for a total of six hours for undergraduates and 12 hours for graduate students.
DRAM 590Advanced Special Topics in Dramatic Art0.5-3
The study of a topic in dramaturgy, theatrical design, or theatrical production for advanced undergraduates and graduate students. Content and instructor will vary. May be repeated for credit.
Required preparation, one performance studies course above COMM 400. Permission of the instructor for students lacking the required preparation. Project-based class where students acquire skills and critical approaches to create collaborative, professional, multimedia works.
Required preparation, 3.3 cumulative grade point average and permission of the department. The commencement of a special project (essay or creative endeavor), approved by the department, by a student who has been designated a candidate for undergraduate honors.
Close study of the interrelationships between theory and practice in contemporary world theatre, placing developments in their cultural contexts, and exploring current theatrical trends in an international framework.
Admission to the second year of the M.F.A. Acting program required. Expansion of the individual's vocal versatility in performance. Must be taken fall and spring.
Acting program required. Advanced projects in movement. Special sessions in Physical Comedy and Clown. Must be taken fall and spring. Admission to the second year of the M.F.A.
Admission to the M.F.A. Acting program required. Rehearsal and performance of special ensemble projects. Must be taken fall and spring. May be repeated for credit.
Admission to the second year of the M.F.A. Acting program required. Practical application of techniques in rehearsal and performance in studio and main stage production. Must be taken fall and spring. May be repeated for credit.
Admission to the third year of the M.F.A. Acting program required. Intense practicum as a member of the PlayMakers Repertory acting company. Preparation and presentation of assigned projects and work in departmental productions. Work in voice and movement as scheduled.
Advanced costume production techniques with an emphasis on decorative arts, with an emphasis on fans and shoes. This class requires permission of the instructor.
Explores a variety of techniques and understanding of traditional garments as it pertains to non-Western cultures. The goal of the class is learning from outside experts utilizing their perspective and knowledge to bring an in-depth examination of clothing from around the world.
DRAM 79First-Year Seminar: The Heart of the Play: Fundamentals of Acting, Playwriting, and Collaboration3
This seminar is designed to get the student doing theatre, sparking creativity, and making connections with the deeper lessons of this dynamic art form. Students will write, stage, and perform their own 10-minute plays.
Intensive practicum in Costume Arts, with tutorial and class assignments on an individual basis as required. Fall or spring. May be repeated for credit.
DRAM 80First-Year Seminar: Psychology of Clothes: Motivations for Dressing Up and Dressing Down3
The course seeks to help students find ways to articulate their own motivations for dress and then apply the ideas they have discovered to the ways in which individuality as well as group attitudes are expressed through clothing. Honors version available.
Study of the technical and engineering problems in production and standard theatrical drafting and construction conventions. Must be taken fall and spring.
Admission to the second year of the M.F.A. Technical Production program required. An advanced study of the management, technical, and engineering problems involved in theatrical production. Must be taken fall and spring.
Admission to the third year of the M.F.A. Technical Production program required. An advanced study of the management, technical, and engineering problems involved in theatrical production. Must be taken fall and spring.
DRAM 805Special Studies: Technical Production0.5-12
Advanced scenic construction techniques leading to specific project or production responsibility in the area of scenic construction in Department of Dramatic Art productions and PlayMakers Repertory Company. A minimum of fifteen hours per week is required during the rehearsal period. Faculty evaluation at the close of the production. May be repeated for credit.
Admission into the third year of the M.F.A. Technical Production program required. Intensive practicum in production projects for departmental and PlayMakers Repertory Company productions. Must be taken fall and spring.
DRAM 81First-Year Seminar: Staging America: The American Drama3
This seminar examines American drama from its colonial origins to the present as both a literary and commercial art form. The focus throughout will be on the forces that shaped American drama as well as drama's ability to shed light on the national experience. Honors version available.
Technical graduates only. Continuation of advanced scenic construction techniques with specific project or production responsibility in the area of scenic construction.
This course will teach the Technical Production Graduate Candidate and those going into administrative leadership of producing theaters a greater perspective and insight into what a Production Manager does during a season at a professional theater.
Permission of the instructor. This course acquaints the student with professional practice in lighting design through lecture by faculty and visiting professionals and through evaluation of lighting designs executed by students and critiqued by professionals.
DRAM 83First-Year Seminar: Spectacle in the Theatre3
This course examines how the theatrical designer uses scenery, costumes, and lighting to help create a production. Students will apply these techniques in creating their own design projects.
DRAM 830Seminar in Professional Practice: Technical Production1-21
Admission to the M.F.A. program in Technical Production required. An examination of professional theatre practice through contact with students, staff, faculty, and visiting artists in technical theatre. Generally taken fall and spring. May be repeated for credit.
Intensive practicum in production projects for departmental and PlayMakers Repertory Company productions, with independent studies as assigned on an individual basis. May be repeated for credit.
This course explores the political and social ramifications of documentary theatre in the United States. Students will investigate a local community of their choosing and create an interview-based performance. Honors version available.
DRAM 87First-Year Seminar: Style: A Mode of Expression3
This seminar studies the elements of design in their pure form, surveys a history of period styles and theatre, and identifies their causes. Honors version available.
Admission to the M.F.A. program in any area required. An examination of the literature of the theatre in terms of dramatic construction, theory, and interpretation. May be repeated for credit.
