Courses in Drama and Theatre
Courses fulfilling Pathways (WCGI, EC2, CE) and PLAS (AP) requirements are noted with the corresponding abbreviations.
Introductory Courses
Introduction to the study of drama and theatre, including playwriting, directing, acting, design, and technical theatre. No experience in dramatic production is required. Lecture discussions, performances, demonstrations, films, tapes, and guest appearances by playwrights, directors, actors, and designers may be included. There may be some opportunity for student performance. (WCGI / AP) Fall, Spring
DRAM 100. Introduction to Acting. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
A course intended for nonmajors or beginners in theatre with no previous training or experience, and for majors who intend to take a single course in acting to fulfill the major requirement. Introduces all aspects of acting, including philosophy and different methods; physical, sensory, and emotional work; improvisations; theatre games; monologues; character analysis; scene study; script interpretation; performing and working relationship with director. Students intending to take more than one course in acting must take Drama 121 instead of, or in addition to, this course. (CE / AP)
DRAM 130. Writing About Performance. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: ENGL 110. DRAM 130 fulfills the College Writing 2 requirement and builds on the work of English 110 (College Writing 1), in order to teach the conventions of writing in the discipline of drama. In this writing seminar students will examine and practice the art of writing about performance in order to develop their eyes as audience members and their voices and technique as writers. Different iterations of this course will focus on mastering performance writing genres such as the review essay or professional arts/ grant writing; all iterations will conclude with a research paper on a performance-based topic. (EC2)
Play and Performance, History and Criticism Courses
DRAM 101. Play and Performance: Introduction. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
A study of plays and playwrights with particular attention to the relationship between text and performance. (AP) Fall, Spring
DRAM 110. Musical Theatre Workshop I. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Practice of basic performance techniques, including auditioning, for the performer in musical theatre. (AP)
DRAM 201. History of Theatre from Antiquity to Renaissance. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
A multi-cultural approach to the origins and evolution of theatre in Europe (Greece, Middle Ages, Renaissance), India, China and Japan with special reference to performance conventions. Fall
DRAM 202. History of Theatre from the Renaissance. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
The classical age in Europe and its evolution with special reference to performance. Spring
DRAM 203. Play and Performance: Modern Theatre. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
A study of plays, theatres, and production practices of the latter part of the nineteenth century and the early part of the twentieth century through World War II, with particular emphasis on production theory and the development of representative styles of drama and theatre.
DRAM 204. Play and Performance: Contemporary Theatre. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Study of plays, theatres, and production practices since World War II; particular emphasis on performance, theory, and the development of representative styles of contemporary drama and theatre.
DRAM 205. History of Musical Theatre. 3 hr.; 3 cr. Fall
DRAM 206. Play and Performance: Black Drama in America. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
A survey of dramas dealing with the black experience in America. Fall
DRAM 210. Musical Theatre Workshop II. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: Musical Theatre Workshop I, or permission of the department. Investigation, through exercises and performance, of the skills and techniques needed to perform songs and scenes from the American Musical Theatre catalogue. The course will examine the distinctive structure of musical comedy; how a scene in a musical comedy leads characters to a song and that song heightens the characters’ scene. Students will stage, produce, direct, and perform a public performance of a staged concert of a classic musical comedy or a review presentation of musical scenes and songs will be presented.
DRAM 308. Studies in Play and Performance. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: Junior or senior standing and permission of department. Topic varies from semester to semester. Advanced study of one or more playwrights, theatre companies, theatrical theories, or methods. May be repeated for credit if different topic is studied.
DRAM 309. Studies in Theatre History. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Advanced study of a particular period of theatre history. Topic will vary from semester to semester. May be repeated for credit if a different topic is studied. Spring
Design and Technical Courses
Analysis of design elements as they apply to stage scenery and costumes. Projects developed in various media for selected plays. (CE / AP) Fall, Spring
DRAM 115. Introduction to Technical Theatre. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Survey of types of theatres, their physical plants, and production techniques, with a concentration on drafting, scenery construction, and methods of handling. Fall, Spring
DRAM 155. Theatrical Texts and Times. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Connection of dramatic literature from various time periods with the culture and beliefs of people who lived during those times. Reading and analyzing plays written by Christopher Marlowe and several early plays of William Shakespeare with the opportunity to handle Elizabethan text by performing monologues and scenes; familiarization with Elizabethan society and the issues facing the playwrights who wrote during that era. (AP)
DRAM 211. Scenic Design I. 3 hr.; 3 cr
Prereq.: Drama 111 or Art 260 or permission of department. Students will design stage scenery for plays, operas, and musical theatre. Fall
DRAM 312. Scenic Design II. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: Drama 211 or permission of department. Students will design stage scenery for multiscene productions including operas, musicals, and at least one play by Shakespeare. Spring
DRAM 213. Costume Design I. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: Drama 111 or Home Economics 157 or Art 260, or permission of department. Projects in costume design for plays, operas, musical theatre, and dance performances. The course deals with earlier periods of theatrical history. Fall
DRAM 314. Costume Design II. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: Drama 111 or Home Economics 158 or Art 260, or permission of department. Projects in costume design for plays, operas, musical theatre, and dance performances. Continues from the periods covered by Drama 213 to contemporary theatre. May be taken independently of 213.
DRAM 215. Theatre Lighting I. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: Drama 115 or permission of department. Aesthetics and practice of lighting design with reference to historical development, color theory, basic electricity, control equipment, and optics for stage lighting. Fall
DRAM 316. Theatre Lighting II. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: Drama 215 or permission of department. Advanced study of color, optics, and production for the stage. Emphasis on lighting design, script analysis, plotting, cueing. Spring
DRAM 318. Projects of Theatre Design. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: Drama 111 and permission of department. Advanced individual projects in design of stage scenery, lighting, or costumes that may involve the execution of a Queens College production. May be repeated for credit if a different project is undertaken. Fall, Spring
DRAM 319. Projects in Technical Theatre. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: Drama 115 and permission of department. Projects in technical theatre. May be repeated for credit if a different project is undertaken. Fall, Spring
Acting Courses
An introduction to basic physical and emotional work, improvisations, technique, and theatre games. The first courses for the professional actor. (See also DRAM 100).
DRAM 222. Acting II. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: Drama 121 and permission of department. Scene analysis and performance, audition techniques, and the preparation and presentation of monologues.
DRAM 323. Acting III. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: Drama 222, audition, or permission of department. Character study, script interpretation, role preparation, and scene work.
DRAM 324. Acting IV. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: Drama 323, audition, or permission of department.
DRAM 225. Voice and Articulation for the Actor. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: Drama 121 or permission of department.
DRAM 227. Physical Training for The Actor I. 3 hr.; 2 cr.
Prereq.: Drama 121 or permission of department. Physical techniques for performance. Fall
DRAM 328. Physical Training for the Actor II. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: Drama 121, 227, or permission of department. Continuation and expansion of physical techniques studied in Drama 227, as well as improvisation, movement, and mime.
DRAM 329. Acting Projects. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.:Audition. Acting in performances directed by faculty or by students under faculty supervision. May be repeated for credit if different work is involved. Fall, Spring
Play Direction and Stage Management
Prereq.: Permission of department. The practical application of stage managing techniques in production. May be repeated for credit if different work is involved. Fall, Spring
DRAM 231. Introduction to Directing. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
A beginning course in the craft of stage direction including play and character analysis, staging techniques, production styles, and rehearsal methods. Classroom staging exercises and direction of a scene as a final project are required. Fall, Spring
DRAM 332. Intermediate Directing. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: Drama 231 and permission of department. Continuation of study of directing. Student will direct one act of a play or a one-act play. May be repeated for credit if different work is involved. Fall
DRAM 333. Advanced Directing. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: Drama 332 and permission of department. Advanced projects in directing a full-length production in the Goldstein Theatre. May be repeated for credit if different work is involved. Spring
Workshops
A study of group-created drama. Students will create a group production through improvisations, theatre games, vocal and physical exercises. The group participates in writing a play, shares responsibilities as directors, actors, and designers, rehearses the production, and performs it before an audience. May be repeated for credit if a different project is undertaken. Fall, Spring
DRAM 248. Black Drama Workshop. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
The production of a play or plays dealing with the black experience. Spring
DRAM 342. Shakespeare Workshop I. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: Permission of department. A study of Shakespeare’s comedies and tragicomedies integrating scholarship, criticism, and theatre art. Fall
DRAM 343. Shakespeare Workshop II. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: Permission of department. A study of Shakespeare’s histories and tragedies integrating scholarship, criticism, and theatre art. Spring
DRAM 344W. Playwriting Workshop. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: Permission of department. Spring
DRAM 349. Workshop in Repertory Theatre Management, Production, and Performance. 349.1 349.6, 1-6 hr.; 1-6 cr.
Prereq.: Audition, interview, and permission of department. Students will be involved in organizing and operating a theatre under faculty supervision. They will, as a team, take responsibility for all aspects of theatre operations including producing, directing, acting, designing, publicity, management of budget, box office, house management, and all other matters pertaining to the operation of a theatre.
Special Theatre Projects and Seminars
DRAM 390.1 – 390.3, 1-3 hrs.; 1-3 credits.
Prereq.: Permission of the department. Individual research under the direction of a member or members of the department and resulting in a written report. May be repeated for credit.
DRAM 397. Seminar in Drama and Theatre. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: Permission of department. Topic to vary from semester to semester.