TAPS 1:
Introduction to Theater and Performance Studies
TAPS 1 provides you with a solid foundation in Theater Studies and traces the development of the burgeoning field of Performance Studies. We will consider a range of canonical plays and emerging performance forms, and explore how performance can also function as an interpretive framework for analyzing a broad range of social behaviors, sites, and institutions. Through a series of close readings, discussions, written and practical exercises, and viewings of live performance, this course will help you achieve a richer understanding of the performances you see and the performances you may wish to make. This quarter, TAPS 1 will serve as the platform for the Theater & Performance Studies professionalization series. We will host several guest speakers (directors, actors, playwrights, and dance practitioners), who will give you some real connections in the theater world and will provide you with information and skills to help you build a career in the arts.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
TAPS 11:
Introduction to Dance Studies (CSRE 11, DANCE 11, FEMGEN 11)
This class is an introduction to dance studies and the complex meanings bodily performances carry both onstage and off. Using critical frames drawn from dance criticism, history and ethnography and performance studies, and readings from cultural studies, dance, theater and critical theory, the class explores how performing bodies make meanings. We will read theoretical and historical texts and recorded dance as a means of developing tools for viewing and analyzing dance and understanding its place in larger social, cultural, and political structures. Special attention will be given to new turns in queer and feminist dance studies. This course blends theory and embodied practice. This means as we read, research, and analyze, we will also dance. Students enrolled should expect to move throughout the quarter and complete a two-part choreographic research project. TAPS 11 has been certified to fulfill the Writing in the Major (WIM) requirement.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
TAPS 11N:
Dramatic Tensions: Theater and the Marketplace
Preference to freshmen. The current state of the American theater and its artists. Conventional wisdom says that theater is a dying art, and a lost cause, especially in an age of multi-media entertainment. But there are more young playwrights, actors, and directors entering the field today than at any other time in American history. Focus is on the work of today's theater artists, with an emphasis on an emerging generation of playwrights. Students read a cross-section of plays from writers currently working in the US and UK, covering a spectrum of subjects and styles from serious to comic, from the musical to the straight play. Hits and misses from recent seasons of the New York and London stages and some of the differences of artistic taste across the Atlantic. Hands-on exploration of the arts and skills necessary to make a play succeed. Students develop their own areas of interest, in guided projects in design, direction or performance. Conversations with playwrights, designers ,and directors. Labs and master classes to solve problems posed in areas of creative production. Class meets literary managers and producers who are on the frontlines of underwriting new talent. Class trips include two plays at major Bay Area Stages.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
TAPS 11Q:
Art in the Metropolis (ARTSINST 11Q, ARTSTUDI 11Q, ENGLISH 11Q, FILMEDIA 11Q, MUSIC 11Q)
This seminar is offered in conjunction with the annual "Arts Immersion" trip to New York that takes place over the spring break and is organized by the Stanford Arts Institute (SAI). Enrollment in this course is a requirement for taking part in the spring break trip. The program is designed to provide a group of students with the opportunity to immerse themselves in the cultural life of New York City guided by faculty and SAI staff. Students will experience a broad range and variety of art forms (visual arts, theater, opera, dance, etc.) and will meet with prominent arts administrators and practitioners, some of whom are Stanford alumni. In the seminar, we will prepare for the diverse experiences the trip affords and develop individual projects related to particular works of art, exhibitions, and performances that we'll encounter in person during the stay in New York. Class time will be divided between readings, presentations, and one studio based creative project. The urban setting in which the various forms of art are created, presented, and received will form a special point of focus. A principal aim of the seminar will be to develop aesthetic sensibilities through writing critically about the art that interests and engages us and making art. For further details please visit the Stanford Arts Institute website: https://arts.stanford.edu/for-students/academics/arts-immersion/new-york/
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
TAPS 11SC:
Learning Theater: From Audience to Critic at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Who doesn't love going to a play: sitting in the darkened theater, a member of the audience community waiting to be entertained, charmed, and challenged? But how many of us know enough about the details of the plays, their interpretation, their production, and acting itself, to allow us to appreciate fully the theatrical experience? In this seminar, we will spend 14 days in Ashland, Oregon, at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF), where we will attend these plays: Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. Macbeth, and Coriolanus; Jane Eyre, adapted by Elizabeth Williamson from the novel by Charlotte Bronte; Liz Duffy Adams' Born With Teeth; Lizard Boy, Books, Music, and Lyrics by Justin Huertas; and Behfarmaheen (If You Please), a one-person show by and with Barzin Akhavan. (To read more about these productions, go to www.osfashland.org). We will also spend time backstage, meeting with actors, designers, and artistic and administrative directors of OSF. Students read the plays before the seminar begins, attend these productions together, and have the time to study one play closely through a second viewing. In Ashland, students will produce a staged reading and design a final paper based on one or more of the productions. These reviews will be delivered to the group and turned in on Thursday, September 19.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 2
TAPS 21T:
StoryCraft: Sexuality, Intimacy & Relationships (FEMGEN 21T)
What are the roles of sex, sexuality, intimacy, and relationships in my life? How do I tell a compelling story? In this class, you will learn about these topics from the inside out. We will explore various perspectives on sexuality, intimacy, and relationships and then dive into our own stories to discover the richness and vibrancy of our lived experience. Due to the personal nature of the topic, we will emphasize safety, trust, and confidentiality throughout. The class offers the structure and guidance to 1) mine your life for stories, 2) craft the structure and shape of your stories, and 3) perform with presence, authenticity, and connection. Students will be selected from this class to tell their stories in Beyond Sex Ed during NSO 2024. Please fill out this short application for enrollment: bit.ly/Spring2024StoryCraft.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 2
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE
TAPS 22AX:
Theatre of the People: Performance Based Acting
Theatre of the People is a performance-based course that guides students through the process of creating and performing an original play that draws on popular theatre traditions to address burning social issues. Students will learn how the touring Commedia Dell'Arte troupes of Renaissance Italy subverted the Catholic Church's dominion over public performance and served as a channel for expressing the voice of the people and challenging the dominant power structure. By studying the plays of Dario Fo, the San Francisco Mime Troupe, Mbongeni Ngema, and Percy Mtwa, students will see how this subversive tradition has continued to inform theatrical resistance to oppressive systems all over the world. The historical context will be supplemented with training in physical theatre techniques and writing for the stage. Students will apply these lessons to the ongoing development of an original play, based on their burning issues, which will be performed for the public at the culmination of the course.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 2
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE
TAPS 22N:
Culture, Conflict, and the Modern Middle East
In this course, you will encounter the Middle East through places, peoples, and performances, beyond the basic study of identifying the region and learning its history. The main question that we will contend with is: how can one achieve an ideal encounter with a people? Through experience and experimentation, we will attempt to approach the region from different angles, perspectives, and disciplines. You can expect to be surprised again and again as we find ways to see, hear, touch, smell, and taste the Middle East through carefully curated readings, viewings, practices, assignments, and events, each teaching us a different way of thinking, creating, and living. Yet, in all these encounters, the theme of performance will return to remind us that knowledge of ourselves and the other is but a tangible exhibit of performances of everyday life. From virtually visiting architectural wonders such as Petra and the Pyramids, to encountering classic literatures such as the Arabian Nights, to finding the best Shawarma in town, to performing the Middle East, to confronting political realities and investigating historical myths, you can expect to immerse yourself with a region and its people. In our search for an ideal encounter, we will be sure to shed some fantasies, experience some realities, imagine some possibilities, and find a version of ourselves.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
TAPS 23AX:
Acting Anton Chekhov: Three Sisters
In this course, students will explore creating characters by rehearsing Chekhov's Three Sisters with a particular focus on relationship, ensemble building, physical play, subtext, and sensory life. The humor, absurdity, mystery, and empathy found in Chekhov's work will be explored through rehearsal play. Through research into 19th century Russian culture, students will discover how clothing, art, manners, music, and food affect movement and behavior. Students will practice techniques developed by the great acting teacher Stanislavsky, including text analysis and improvisation, to connect with and embody the play's characters and events, as well as exploring gesture, tempo-rhythm, physical centers, and archetypes. The class will watch contemporary and older films that are influenced by Chekhov's characters and plays and consider how various of his short stories connect with his plays. The class will culminate in a performance of several scenes from Three Sisters. Note: Interested students will have an opportunity to get to know Three Sisters in advance through informal play readings to be held in the Roble Gym building on March 15 and April 7. Auditions for acting roles will be held on April 9-10 with callback auditions on April 13. There will be additional places for students (who are not auditioning) that are interested in dramaturgical research, rehearsal techniques, text analysis, and improvisation. Actors who are cast, Assistant Directors, and Dramaturgs will participate in the summer Arts Intensive as part of the rehearsal and research process, which will continue with the acting company during the fall quarter of 2024.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 2
TAPS 26N:
Can Beauty Save the World?: Climate Change and the Arts
Climate failure is caused, among other things, by our failure to imagine a more sustainable way of living on and with our planet. In this class, our main effort is to move away from dystopian visions of climate futures, and to try to imagine new ways of picturing climate crisis, so that we can engage it more effectively. This is a hands-on, project-based class. Its main goal is to help students develop their art projects addressing climate crisis, and inform them with resources available to realize their projects.
Terms: Aut, Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE
TAPS 28:
Makeup for the Stage
Techniques of make-up application and design for the actor and artist including corrective, age, character, and fantasy. Emphasis placed on utilizing make-up for development of character by the actor. Limited enrollment.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2
TAPS 29:
TAPS Production Units: Acting
Students cast in department productions receive credit for their participation as actors; 1-2 units for graduate directing workshop projects and 1-3 units for major productions (units determined by instructor). May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1-3
| Repeatable
for credit
TAPS 30:
Introduction to Theatrical Design
Introduction to Theatrical Design is aimed at students interested in exploring the fundamentals of design for the stage. Students are introduced to the practical and theoretical basics of design and are challenged to answer the question: What makes good design? Students should expect to try their hand at communicating their ideas visually through research, drawing, sketching and model making. Readings, field trips, guest lecturers and class discussion will complement these projects. This course is intended as a gateway to more specialized courses in set, costume and lighting design and is also an excellent primer for actors, directors and scholars who wish to know more about design. Collaboration will be emphasized. No prior experience in these areas is necessary.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE
TAPS 31:
Introduction to Lighting and Production
Good visual storytelling begins and ends with good lighting. All visual storytelling forms--from photos to films to stage productions--provide a canvas in which lighting paints the scene. Lighting sets a mood, a tone, and can shape character and stories. This course teaches critical thinking, how to conduct thorough research, practical skills, and a mindfulness for live artforms.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
TAPS 34:
Stage Management Techniques
TAPS 34 examines the role and responsibilities of the Stage Manager within a live performance production organization. This includes exploring and creating methods for documenting, recording and 'calling' a production. The purpose of TAPS 34 is to provide an understanding of the complex and collaborative process involved in mounting a live production, the relationship of the stage manager to this process, and the basic skills and techniques of a stage manager.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
TAPS 39:
Theater Crew
Class for students working on TAPS department productions in the following role: backstage/run crew, scenic technician, or costume technician. Night and weekend time possible. Pre-approval from Tyler Osgood (tosgood@stanford.edu) is required for enrollment. Read the information below to determine enrollment section. TAPS has a variety of roles available. No experience is necessary; this is a class and we will train you to fill any assigned position. Section 01 - BACKSTAGE/RUN CREW: will need light board operators, sound board operators, camera operators, deck crew and dressers. Section 02 - SCENE SHOP: Students will be immersed in the utilization of tools and equipment to construct scenery and install theatrical audio/visual systems. Sections 03 & 04 - COSTUME SHOP: Students will learn hands-on costuming techniques including hand sewing, machine sewing, safety standards, costume construction and costuming crafts. (Section 03 meets on Weds. Section 04 meets on Thurs.) Note: Scenic- and costume-shop appropriate clothing and closed-toed shoes are required for this class. Securely fasten long hair/loose clothing/jewelry to protect catching it in machine parts/when using machines. Project specific clothing may be suggested occasionally for work with paints, dyes or when in storage spaces. Aprons, masks, gloves, goggles and other PPE will be provided and available.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1-3
| Repeatable
4 times
(up to 15 units total)
TAPS 89SI:
The Last Great American Songwriter: Storytelling with Taylor Swift through the Eras
This course delves into the art of songwriting, exploring the intricate interplay between literary references, lyricism, and storytelling techniques in Taylor Swift's discography, taking it "era by era." Students will analyze Swift's repertoire and draw parallels to classic works of literature and poetry, gaining a deep understanding of the narrative power of music. The course encourages viewing albums and songs as texts, aiming to understand how emotions and feelings are encapsulated through lyrics and how they connect with listeners. Students will explore how the structure of a song can resemble that of a novel, with the climax of the story akin to a song's bridge. This course will dissect Taylor Swift's evolution as a lyricist and her lasting impact on the music industry. We will also highlight what sets her apart from her contemporaries and her ability to influence cultural conversations beyond music. The course is capped at 20 students, so this application will be used to provide enrollment codes for selected students. Unfortunately, no auditing of this course will be allowed. The application is due March 1st at 12:00pm PT (noon). You will be notified by March 5th if you've been accepted into the course [enrollment opens March 6th]. Apply here: http://tinyurl.com/TaylorSwiftStanford2024.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1
TAPS 99:
Kinesthetic Delight: Movement and Meditation (LIFE 99, WELLNESS 99)
The words meditation and mindfulness often conjure images of people sitting quietly in peaceful contemplation. However, as contemplatives and scholars from various fields have argued, though the brain resides in the cranium, the mind functions throughout the body. Students in this class will playfully explore embodied and dynamic forms of meditation and mindfulness through movement in an effort to integrate the mind and body. Examples of modalities include Lisa Nelson's Tuning Scores, Barbara Dilley's Contemplative Dance Practices, and other movement practices including qigong, laughter yoga, and psychogeography. Students will work in teams to develop their own movement-meditation scores inspired by these practices.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1-2
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 4 units total)
TAPS 100:
Introduction to Theater Practice (TAPS 211)
Two-time OBIE-winning instructor Young Jean Lee has written and directed ten shows with her theater company, toured her work to over thirty cities around the world, and directed three short films that showed at festivals including Sundance and Locarno. In this class, students will be given space and support to research and experiment with areas of interest in theater and performance practice that are relatively new to them. Potential subjects for study include acting, directing, designing, choreographing, and writing. You can choose to focus a little on everything, investigate one new area, or try out a few different things. In-class work will include collaboration on projects to practice new skills. If interested, please email the instructor at yjl@stanford.edu on or after December 14 (any request sent sooner will not be considered) with the following: 1) Your year of study; 2) Your major/prospective major; 3) Your previous theater and performance practice experience; 4) Potential area/s of interest for this class.
Terms: Aut, Win
| Units: 1-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE
| Repeatable
6 times
(up to 24 units total)
TAPS 100C:
History of World Cinema III: Queer Cinemas around the World (ARTHIST 164, ARTHIST 364, CSRE 102C, CSRE 302C, FEMGEN 100C, FEMGEN 300C, FILMEDIA 100C, FILMEDIA 300C, GLOBAL 193, GLOBAL 390, TAPS 300C)
Provides an overview of cinema from around the world since 1960, highlighting the cultural, political, and economic forces that have shaped various film movements over the last six decades. Specific topics may vary by term/year/instructor. This term's topic, Queer Cinemas around the World, engages with a range of queer cinematic forms and queer spectatorial practices in different parts of the world, as well as BIPOC media from North America. Through film and video from Kenya, Malaysia, India, The Dominican Republic, China, Brazil, Palestine, Japan, Morocco, the US etc., we will examine varied narratives about trans experience, same-sex desire, LGBTQI2S+ rights, censorship, precarity, and hopefulness. This course will attune us to regional cultural specificities in queer expression and representation, prompting us to move away from hegemonic and homogenizing understandings of queer life and media. Notes: Screenings will be held on Fridays at 1:30PM in Oshman Hall. Screening times will vary slightly from week to week.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 10 units total)
TAPS 101F:
Close Cinematic Analysis - Caste, Sexuality, and Religion in Indian Media (ARTHIST 199, ASNAMST 108, FEMGEN 104, FILMEDIA 101, FILMEDIA 301)
(Formerly FILMSTUD101. If you have taken this course before, please reach out to the instructor) India is the world's largest producer of films in over 20 languages, and Bollywood is often its most visible avatar, especially on US university curricula. This course will introduce you to a range of media from the Indian subcontinent across commercial and experimental films, documentaries, streaming media, and online cultures. We will engage in particular with questions of sexuality, gender, caste, religion, and ethnicity in this postcolonial context and across its diasporas, including in the Caribbean. Given this course's emphasis on close cinematic analysis, we will analyze formal aspects of cinematography, editing, mise-en-scene, and performance, and how these generate spectatorial pleasure, star and fan cultures, and particular modes of representation. This course fulfills the WIM requirement for Film and Media Studies majors. Note: Screenings will be held on Thursdays at 5:30 PM. Screening times will vary from week to week and may range from 90 to 180 minutes.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
TAPS 101P:
Theater and Performance Making (TAPS 371P)
A creative workshop offering a range of generative exercises and techniques in order to devise, compose and perform original works. Students will explore a variety of texts (plays, poems, short stories, paintings) and work with the body, object and site. Students will be encouraged to think critically about various compositional themes and ideas including: the relationship between form and content, aesthetics, space, proximity, and audience. Students will work independently and collaboratively creating original performances.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE
TAPS 103:
Beginning Improvising
The improvisational theater techniques that teach spontaneity, cooperation, team building, and rapid problem solving, emphasizing common sense, attention to reality, and helping your partner. Based on TheatreSports by Keith Johnstone. Readings, papers, and attendance at performances of improvisational theater. Limited enrollment. Improv, Improvisation, creativity and creative expression. Limited enrollment. 20 students enrolled on first come, first served basis. Remaining available filled by students on the waitlist, with priority given to TAPS majors/minors and those who have been unable to take the class previously due to limited capacity. In order to claim your spot off the waitlist, please attend the first day of class.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE
TAPS 104:
Intermediate Improvisation
This class is the continued study of improvisational theater with a focus on stage skills, short and long form performance formats, and offstage applications of collaborative creativity. It is open to any students who have taken TAPS 103 or have previous onstage improv experience AND consent of the instructor. May be repeat for credit.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 6 units total)
TAPS 105:
Advanced Improvisation
This course is a deeper dive into performance improvisation. Designed to be a small ensemble experience, we will focus on the skills of character and environment creation, narrative and performance to co-create a longer sustained story in the Bay Area Longform Improv tradition. The class culminates in a weekend of performances of improvised stories for the wider Stanford community. Available to students who have taken 103 and 104 or are members of the Stanford Improvisors. Students must confirm eligibility with instructors. Email Dan (kleinimp@stanford.edu) and Lisa (lrowland@stanford.edu) with a description of your training including quarters that you took 103 and/or 104, and with whom. If you have additional training, please describe it. Include a few lines about what you are hoping to learn in TAPS 105.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
TAPS 108:
Introduction to Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (AMSTUD 107, CSRE 108, FEMGEN 101)
Introduction to interdisciplinary approaches to gender, sexuality, queer, trans, and feminist studies. Topics include social justice and feminist organizing, art and activism, feminist histories, the emergence of gender and sexuality studies in the academy, intersectionality and interdependence, the embodiment and performance of difference, and relevant socio-economic and political formations such as work and the family. Students learn to think critically about race, gender, disability, and sexuality. Includes guest lectures from faculty across the university and weekly discussion sections.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
TAPS 120A:
Acting I: Fundamentals of Acting
A substantive introduction to the basics of the craft of acting, this course gives all incoming students the foundation of a common vocabulary. Students will learn fundamental elements of dramatic analysis, and how to apply it in action. Topics include scene analysis, environment work, psychological and physical scoring, and development of a sound and serviceable rehearsal technique. Scene work will be chosen from accessible, contemporary, and realistic plays. Outside rehearsal time required.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE
TAPS 120B:
Acting II: Advanced Acting
In this course, students will learn how to expand character work beyond what is immediately familiar. We will continue basic practices from the first part of the sequence, and look beyond the strictly contemporary. We will approach roles drawn from more challenging dramatic texts, including those with heightened language and circumstances.nnWe will begin with a focus on strengthening the actor's skill as an interpretive artist, utilizing exercises that build the capacity for physical and emotional expressiveness. We will explore how a performing artist researches and how that research can be used to enrich and deepen performance. We will practice how to act truthfully and vividly in a variety of theatrical styles. nnStudents will practice techniques developed by Michael Chekhov, Jerzee Grotowski, and Rudolf Laban, among others. Through monologue and scene work, we will explore performance styles including commedia dell'arte, the comedy of Molière, and postmodern theatre. Our scene and monologue work will culminate the last week of school in a final performance.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 6 units total)
TAPS 120M:
Audition and Monologue
Auditioning is an essential part of being an actor. This class will demystify the process, so that students develop the skill and confidence to prepare an effective audition. Cold reading and making committed clear acting choices in scenes and monologues will be covered. Students will learn how to choose exciting and suitable monologues that reveal the actor's individuality and skill. In the class, students will practice addressing stage fright through preparation, warmup, and breathing to focus nerves into performance vitality and ease. Several guest speakers from the theater and film industry may be featured. Students will complete the class with at least two dynamic contrasting monologues that will serve them in auditions. This class is ideal for students auditioning for theater productions, recorded media, or for acting conservatories and graduate schools. Enrollment preference given to TAPS majors and minors. Prerequisite: Fundamentals of Acting (TAPS 120A), or approval of the instructor.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE
TAPS 121J:
Singing in the Main Stage Theater Performance Project: Assassins
This course provides singing technique and vocal coaching to students participating in the TAPS Spring 2024 main stage production of Assassins. During ensemble and solo sessions, students will learn about the physical process of healthy singing and work on the musical phrasing of the songs they perform in the musical. Both will be applied to the art of acting their songs and creating their characters.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-3
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 6 units total)
TAPS 121V:
Voice for the Actor
This course will focus on releasing a voice that effectively reaches the listener and is responsive to the actor's thoughts and feelings. Through work on breath awareness, alignment, resonance, and muscularity, students will learn to identify habits that help or hinder performance. Students will practice exercises to develop vocal strength, clarity, ease, and expressiveness while exploring the vocal demands of various texts and performing environments. Course will culminate in a presentation of classical and contemporary monologues. This course is a good preparation for auditions, rehearsal, and performance, and is appropriate for all levels. Priority space reserved for TAPS majors and minors.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE
TAPS 122M:
Main Stage Theater Project (MUSIC 122M)
The Main Stage Theater Project provides students the opportunity to receive units for participating in a TAPS Main Stage Show. About the Autumn 2023-24 show: Performance maker, director, and choreographer Erika Chong Shuch will return to TAPS to engage a group of student collaborators to develop a new performance work that will premiere through TAPS in Fall 2023. Leaning into Jenny Odell's book How To Do Nothing as a springboard, the cast will devise playful, performative structures that invite audiences into a contemplation of time, memory, and stillness.
Terms: Aut, Win
| Units: 3-5
| Repeatable
4 times
(up to 20 units total)
TAPS 122P:
Undergrad Performance Project
The Undergraduate Performance Project provides students the opportunity to study and perform in major dramatic works. Students learn to form an artistic ensemble, develop dramaturgical materials, learn professional arts protocols and practice, devise within the ensemble, and develop live performance ability. Audition required. Preference to majors/minors. Evening rehearsals are required. Full schedule will be released during casting. Maybe repeated for credit. 3 maximum completions allowed. If repeated, 15 total units allowed.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-9
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE
| Repeatable
3 times
(up to 15 units total)
TAPS 122V:
Voice II: Shakespeare and Greeks
How does the actor authentically meet a passionate text that goes beyond everyday speech? In this course, students will practice bringing to life the language of Shakespeare and classical Greek playwrights. Students will explore passionate thought, including metaphor, argument, rhythm, imagery, and sound to realize these powerful texts fully and joyfully. The course will involve discovering the structures in the speeches and scenes which provide clues to the actor as to how to perform them. Using the voice safely with full breath support (so as to avoid injury) while releasing extended sounds like laughing, wailing, crying, and screaming will be explored. Various translations of the Greek texts will be used including those of Luis Alfaro, Declan Donnellan, Anne Carson, Timberlake Wertenbaker, Rush Rehm, Ellen McLaughlin, and others. This class is designed to be the natural next class after taking Voice for the Actor (Voice 1). Students will leave the class with at least one classical monologue suitable to use for auditions. Pre-requisite: Voice for the Actor (TAPS 121V) or approval of the instructor
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
TAPS 124D:
Acting for Non-Majors
This is a non-major studio class designed to introduce fundamental acting techniques and to provide performers with foundational exercises upon which to build an ever more sophisticated practice for performing onstage. Cooperative group exercises and close observation of human behavior in oneself and in one's environment will form the core of this course's exploration. Through psychophysical exercises, theatre games, improvisation, rehearsal, and presentation of assigned work, students will develop the actor's most valuable tools: the body as our essential instrument, point of view, imagination, relaxation, spontaneity, listening and responding truthfully, and creating with an ensemble.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1-3
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE, way_ce
TAPS 127:
Movement for the Actor
This course is an exploration of movement techniques for the actor, designed to provide a foundation for performance practice. Students will develop a more grounded sense of ease and breath onstage, learn fundamentals of physical partnership, and acquire an expanded physical vocabulary. Areas of study include Laban movement analysis, observation and embodiment, basic contact improvisation, and physical characterization. Students will also engage a personalized warmup process for rehearsal and performance. All coursework will be entirely experiential, practical, and participatory. No previous experience necessary. Some outside rehearsal/investigation time required.
Terms: Aut, Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE
TAPS 127M:
Introduction to Mask
This course is an exploration of the use of masks for the theatre - as a performance tool, a method of character creation, and a means of training for actors. Through the use of a wide range of mask types and techniques, we will identify and practice a variety of methods for performance and character creation. Areas of study include neutral mask, body mask, found-object mask, and character masks. Students will develop an understanding of breath, play, size and scale, stillness, ensemble, and character point of view. Mask study enables actors to become more physically clear, expressive, and present onstage in any form: it requires a heightened degree of awareness, observation, and embodiment - necessary attributes for any performer. Performance experience or movement training are not required, though they are recommended. All coursework will be practical and participatory. Some weekly outside rehearsal time required.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
TAPS 127P:
The Spirit of Play
This course is designed to liberate actors and other human beings through immersion in the 'state of play,' and by providing a set of tools for its cultivation. Awareness, availability, fun, and spontaneity are natural components of playing - but they often fade when actors step onto the stage (or when non-actors step into an important task). Students will develop their capacity to respond freely and to innovate with joyful freedom. In this course, we seek to dissolve the barriers between playfulness and our actions, in order to become more free, authentic, comfortable, and happy - onstage and off. In addition, students will learn creative methodologies for using 'play' to develop new material for the theatre. Developed specifically for Stanford students, this course takes perspectives from clown and physical theatre practice. Using games, improvisation, inquiry, and self-reflection, we will attend the capacity for 'play' like a muscle that can be strengthened. No previous experience is necessary; out-of-class investigation will be required weekly.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE
TAPS 127W:
Introduction to Clown
This course is an introduction to the world and play of the theatrical clown, constructed for actors to explore truth in size, vulnerability, and a personal sense of humor. Students will develop their ability to play with the audience, a greater capacity for freedom and abandon onstage, and a healthier relationship to failure and human idiocy. Areas of study include partnership and status play, comic rhythm and timing, the structure and development of comic material, and the beginnings of a personal eccentric Clown character. All coursework will be experiential and practical. Some stage experience is recommended but not required. Some outside rehearsal/investigation time required.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE
TAPS 131M:
Light in Art & Architecture
This course will introduce students to light artists working historically and today. We will also cover basic architectural lighting concepts and the relationship between installation light art and architecture. Students will create several light art pieces and a site-specific architectural re-design of a building on campus.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
TAPS 132F:
Costume in Film
Costume in Film will explore the process of costume design from the page to the screen. This course will discuss a range of period and contemporary films in order to discover how character development, storytelling and iconography relates to clothing and costume. In addition to film analysis, there will be assignments where students will explore the practical process of design and how it relates to film.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
TAPS 133:
Set Design
This class introduces students to the creative and collaborative process of Scenic Design. The course covers an overview of basic design theory and its applications and explores how styles in art, architecture and design have evolved over time. The class provides a vocabulary for the discussion, appreciation, participation and evaluation of theatrical design specifically as it relates to the scenic elements of the production. Students will become comfortable with expressing ideas and relaying information through sketching, storyboarding, and rendering- both by hand and using available digital tools. This is a project-based class and course work involves engaging with readings, lecture material, research, critical analysis, and rendering with basic digital tools and physical prototyping.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 8 units total)
TAPS 134:
Stage Management Project
For students assigned to a Stage Management team for productions in the Department of Theater and Performance Studies. TAPS 34 is a prerequisite.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 3-8
| Repeatable
for credit
TAPS 134E:
Drawing the Body- Rendering for Costume and Fashion
This class will explore figure drawing as it pertains to costume and fashion rendering. The class will begin with the basics of figure drawing and a study of anatomy, form, proportion, shading, and the ability to draw various poses. We will learn to draw clothing on the body and how to show a variety of textures, patterns, and sheens. A variety of media will be explored, both physical (charcoal, ink, marker, etc.) and digital media. Assignments will be in both costume and fashion design and students will create presentation quality renderings. Occasional live models will be used.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 2
TAPS 134S:
Dressing the Set: Property Design for Stage and Screen
This course is a hands-on, maker-style, introduction to property design for both theatre and film. The definition of a prop is very broad and can be anything from an upholstered chair to a dagger to a severed hand. The objects on set are clues to the characters in the story and we will learn how to research, select, and create these special objects. Students will complete a variety of projects that will develop a wide array of skills. These include light construction, painting, mold making, sewing, foam carving, 3D printing and laser cutting, and special effects (blood) to name a few. We will discuss the role of a prop master as it relates to both theatre and film and learn tricks and methods for success on a tight timeline and budget.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 2
TAPS 135:
Drafting in Vectorworks
Every great creation starts with a single line on a page. The ability to articulate ideas in 2D and 3D space is key to communicating our design ideas and documenting our process. This course will delve into drafting techniques in Vectorworks, an industry standard CAD software for live performance, architecture, and design. Starting with foundational tools and workflow, the course will expand to include 3D modeling and previsualization for live events.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
TAPS 135M:
Introduction to Multimedia Production
Students will learn filmmaking basics and apply them by creating a number of short multimedia projects to be shown and discussed in class. Hands-on practical instruction will cover the fundamentals of story, cinematography, sound recording, picture and sound editing, directing for camera, and producing. Critical analysis will focus on a variety of uses of prerecorded sound and video in theater productions, podcasts, web series and other digital media, as well as film and television.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE
TAPS 139:
Pacific Ocean Worlds: A Sea of Islands (HUMCORE 139)
How do we think about the modern Pacific Ocean world? Here in California, we border this vast waterscape, which is larger than all the world's remaining oceans combined and which could easily fit all of the planet's landmasses within it. What lessons can we learn from the region's diverse and dynamic island cultures, its entangled histories, and its urgent contemporary issues? How has the Pacific impacted ideas about modernity elsewhere in the world? And what unique Oceanian modernities are emerging from the region? Engaging with a rich array of literary and performance texts, films, and artworks from the 19th to the 21st centuries, we will consider different ways in which the Pacific has been imagined. We will further explore how Pacific Islander scholars, artists, and activists have drawn on their cultural traditions and knowledge systems to create new works that respond to current challenges facing the region, including colonialism, globalization, tourism, migration, climate change, militarization, and nuclearization. This course is part of the Humanities Core: https://humanitiescore.stanford.edu.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
TAPS 140:
Introduction to Projects in Theatrical Production
A seminar course for students performing significant production work on Theater and Performance Studies Department or other Stanford University student theater projects. Students serving as producers, directors, designers or stage managers, who wish mentorship and credit for their production work sign up for this course and contact the instructor, Laxmi Kumaran. nPrerequisite: consent of instructor.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1-4
| Repeatable
for credit
TAPS 151D:
Ethical STEM: Race, Justice, and Embodied Practice (AFRICAAM 151, ARTSINST 151C, CSRE 151C, ETHICSOC 151C, STS 51D, SYMSYS 151D)
What role do science and technology play in the creation of a just society? How do we confront and redress the impact of racism and bias within the history, theory, and practice of these disciplines? This course invites students to grapple with the complex intersections between race, inequality, justice, and the STEM fields. We orient to these questions from an artistically-informed position, asking how we can rally the embodied practices of artists to address how we think, make, and respond to each other. Combining readings from the history of science, technology, and medicine, ethics and pedagogy, as well as the fine and performing arts, we will embark together on understanding how our STEM practices have emerged, how we participate today, and what we can imagine for them in the future. The course will involve workshops, field trips (as possible), and invited guests. All students, from any discipline, field, interest, and background, are welcome! This course does build upon the STS 51 series from 2020-21, though it is not a prerequisite for this course. Please contact the professor if you have any questions!
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
TAPS 153D:
Close Listening: Sound, Media, and Performance (FEMGEN 153D, FILMEDIA 153E, MUSIC 153E)
Are there ways to listen? This new course approaches the question by exploring artist works that have challenged the norms of sonic experience. We will discover that in life, as in the arts, there are practices of listening. We will cover a range of texts on sound media, and we will experience a number of works that reinvent practices of listening. There will be particular attention to the work of feminist sound artists. In conversation with art and theory, we will develop wider awareness for the sounds of everyday life. This course meets once a week, and group listening of select works is part of the class.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
TAPS 153H:
History of Directing (TAPS 253H)
There is a lot of great theater out there waiting to be made, and the primary goal of this class is to help students prepare to achieve that goal. In this class, "history" is not only a narrative about the past and its interpretations, but a repository of ideas and techniques that can provide students with useful techniques and sources of inspiration for their own practice. In the graduate component of the class, we will take a historiographic approach to this art form that has often veered towards the biographical and the anecdotal. This is not a history of directors, but a history of directing. That does not mean that we won't look at the work of individual artists: we will do that, while keeping in mind the historical, social, economic as well as aesthetic circumstances under which directing evolved as a distinct profession in the theater.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
TAPS 153P:
Black Artistry: Strategies of Performance in the Black Diaspora (AFRICAAM 153P, CSRE 153P, TAPS 353P)
Charting a course from colonial America to contemporary London, this course explores the long history of Black performance throughout an Atlantic diaspora. Defining performance as "forms of cultural staging," from Thomas DeFrantz and Anita Gonzalez's Black Performance Theory, this course takes up scripted plays, live theatre, devised works, performance art, and cinematic performance in its survey of the field. We will engage with theorists, performer, artists, and revolutionaries such as Ignatius Sancho, Maria Stewart, William Wells Brown, Zora Neale Hurston, Derek Walcott, Danai Gurira, and Yvonne Orji. We will address questions around Black identity, history, time, and futurity, as well as other essential strategies Black performers have engaged in their performance making. The course includes essential methodological readings for Black Studies as well as formational writings in Black performance theory and theatre studies. Students will establish a foothold in both AAAS (theory & methodology) and in performance history (plays and performances). As a WIM course, students will gain expertise in devising, drafting, and revising written essays.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
TAPS 154G:
Black Magic: Ethnicity, Race, and Identity in Performance Cultures (AFRICAAM 154G, AFRICAAM 254G, CSRE 154D, FEMGEN 154G, TAPS 354G)
In 2013, CaShawn Thompson devised a Twitter hashtag, #blackgirlmagic, to celebrate the beauty and intelligence of black women. Twitter users quickly adopted the slogan, using the hashtag to celebrate everyday moments of beauty, accomplishment, and magic. The slogan offered a contemporary iteration of an historical alignment: namely, the concept of "magic" with both Black people as well as "blackness." This course explores the legacy of Black magic--and black magic--through performance texts including plays, poetry, films, and novels. We will investigate the creation of magical worlds, the discursive alignment of magic with blackness, and the contemporary manifestation of a historical phenomenon. We will cover, through lecture and discussion, the history of black magic representation as well as the relationship between magic and religion. Our goal will be to understand the impact and history of discursive alignments: what relationship does "black magic" have to and for "black bodies"? How do we understand a history of performance practice as being caught up in complicated legacies of suspicion, celebration, self-definition? The course will give participants a grounding in black performance texts, plays, and theoretical writings. *This course will also satisfy the TAPS department WIM requirement.*
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
TAPS 164:
Race and Performance (AFRICAAM 164A, CSRE 164A, CSRE 364A)
How does race function in performance and dare we say live and in living color? How does one deconstruct discrimination at its roots?n nFrom a perspective of global solidarity and recognition of shared plight among BIPOC communities, we will read and perform plays that represent material and psychological conditions under a common supremacist regime. Where and when possible, we will host a member of the creative team of some plays in our class for a live discussion. Assigned materials include works by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Amiri Baraka, Young Jean Lee, Ayad Akhtar, Susan Lori Parks, David Henry Hwang, Betty Shamieh, Jeremy O. Harris, and Christopher Demos Brown.n nThis class offers undergraduate students a discussion that does not center whiteness, but takes power, history, culture, philosophy, and hierarchy as core points of debate. In the first two weeks, we will establish the common terms of the discussion about stereotypes, representation, and historical claims, but then we will quickly move toward an advanced conversation about effective discourse and activism through art, performance, and cultural production. In this class, we assume that colonialism, slavery, white supremacy, and oppressive contemporary state apparatuses are real, undeniable, and manifest. Since our starting point is clear, our central question is not about recognizing or delineating the issues, but rather, it is a debate about how to identify the target of our criticism in order to counter oppression effectively and dismantle long-standing structures.n nNot all BIPOC communities are represented in this syllabus, as such claim of inclusion in a single quarter would be tokenistic and disingenuous. Instead, we will aspire to understand and negotiate some of the complexities related to race in several communities locally in the U.S. and beyond.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
TAPS 165:
Introduction to Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity (CSRE 100, EDUC 166C, ENGLISH 172D, PSYCH 155, SOC 146)
Race and ethnicity are often taken for granted as naturally occurring, self-evident phenomena that must be navigated or overcome to understand and eradicate the (re)production of societal hierarchies across historical, geopolitical, and institutional contexts. In contrast, this transdisciplinary course seeks to track and trouble the historical and contemporary creation, dissolution, experiences, and stakes of various ethnoracial borders. Key topics include: empire, colonialism, capital/ism, im/migration, diaspora, ideology, identity, subjectivity, scientism, intersectionality, solidarity, resistance, reproduction, and transformation. Cardinal Course certified by the Haas Center for Public Service . (Formerly CSRE 196C)
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 10 units total)
TAPS 167:
Introduction to Greek Tragedy: Gods, Heroes, Fate, and Justice (CLASSICS 112)
Gods and heroes, fate and free choice, gender conflict, the justice or injustice of the universe: these are just some of the fundamental human issues that we will explore in about ten of the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
TAPS 169R:
Reality TV and American Society
Class will explore the ways reality tv over the past 25 years has affected the way Americans see and relate to one another, then consider what comes next. Students will analyze and discuss seminal reality tv shows and print criticism thereof, and in groups will conceive and develop reality show ideas to effect social change.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
TAPS 170B:
Directing Workshop: The Actor-Director Dialogue (TAPS 372)
This course focuses on the actor-director dialogue. We will work with actors and directors developing approaches to collaboration that make the actor-director dialogue in theater. TAPS Ph.D. students are required to enroll in TAPS 372 for 4 units. This course must be taken for a minimum of 3 units and a letter grade to be eligible for Ways-AII credit.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 2-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
| Repeatable
for credit
TAPS 173:
Making Your Solo Show (TAPS 273)
Are you tired of the classics? Were you frustrated by casting choices in the past? Sometimes, you have to step away from the canon and create your own work. Do you have something to say about race, class, gender, ethnicity, nationalism, sexuality, yourself, or any other issues? Did you ever want to create and perform your own show but didn't know how to start? This is your chance. In this course, you will learn techniques for creating your own solo show. nnThe contemporary solo performer is descended from a long line that includes the griots of Africa, the troubadours of medieval Europe, and the solo performance artists of the twentieth century. In this course, we will view examples of historical and contemporary live solo performance and uncover principles and practices that will help us develop our own solo shows.nnThrough exercises in acting, writing, and embodied contemplation, students will learn to discover the stories within and around them, and to give voice(s) to their burning issues in a theatrical form that is intimate, idiosyncratic, and deeply personal. The course will culminate in a workshop performance of solo pieces developed by the students.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE
TAPS 177:
Dramatic Writing: The Fundamentals (TAPS 277)
Course introduces students to the basic elements of playwriting and creative experimentation for the stage. Topics include: character development, conflict and plot construction, staging and setting, and play structure. Script analysis of works by contemporary playwrights may include: Marsha Norman, Patrick Shanley, August Wilson, Suzan-Lori Parks, Paula Vogel, Octavio Solis and others. Table readings of one-act length work required by quarter's end.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-CE
TAPS 178C:
Dramatic Writing Workshop (TAPS 278C)
Instructor Young Jean Lee is the first Asian-American woman to have had a play produced on Broadway. This workshop will guide you through the process of creating a script for a full-length play, musical, or screenplay, and will focus on helping you to make significant progress on and/or complete a draft. You will be required to write every week and give feedback on each others' work. You can be anywhere in your process, from having no idea what you want to do to being close to a final draft. This class is open to a wide range of approaches and styles, including adaptations and devised work. If interested, please email the instructor at yjl@stanford.edu on or after December 15 (any request sent sooner will not be considered) with the following: 1) Your year of study; 2) Your major/prospective major or field of study; 3) Your previous writing and/or theater experience, and your experience level with watching and/or reading plays; and 4) Whether or not you already have a project. If you do have a project, please also include: 5) How far along it is; and 6) A brief description of it. Preference given to second years and above.
Terms: Aut, Win
| Units: 1-4
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE
| Repeatable
for credit
TAPS 180Q:
Noam Chomsky: The Drama of Resistance
Preference to sophomores. Chomsky's ideas and work which challenge the political and economic paradigms governing the U.S. Topics include his model for linguistics; cold war U.S. involvements in S.E. Asia, the Middle East, Central and S. America, the Caribbean, and Indonesia and E. Timor; the media, terrorism, ideology, and culture; student and popular movements; and the role of resistance.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-ER, WAY-SI
TAPS 183C:
Interpretation of Musical Theater Repertoire (MUSIC 183C)
By audition only: Contact instructor prior to enrolling (mlcats@stanford.edu). Ability to read music expected, but students with experience singing in musical theater can be accepted. For singers and pianists as partners. Performance class in a workshop setting along with lecture/discussion of important eras of musical theater history. Composers include Kern, Porter, Gershwin, Rodgers, Sondheim, Lloyd Weber, Jason Robert Brown and others. May be repeated for credit a total of 2 times. Enrollment limit: 20 (ten singers maximum). Prerequisite: consent of instructor. Recommended prerequisite: 170 (pianists).
Terms: Win
| Units: 1-2
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 4 units total)
TAPS 184B:
Topics on the Musical Stage (MUSIC 184B)
This course is a practical workshop in vocal repertoire for the stage. Each quarter's offering emphasizes a specific genre or period, therefore the course can be repeated with permission of the instructor. In addition to broadening the student's knowledge of vocal repertoire, the following skills are developed: text preparation, foreign language translation and diction; rehearsal etiquette for performance and/or recording. Enrollment by audition only. Prerequisite: vocal or instrumental instruction, as the class is open to singers or collaborative artists. May be repeated for credit a total of 4 times. Zero unit enrollment option available with instructor permission. See website: (http://music.stanford.edu) for policy and procedure. By enrolling in this course you are giving consent for the video and audio recording and distribution of your image and performance for use by any entity at Stanford University.
Terms: Aut, Win
| Units: 1-3
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE
| Repeatable
4 times
(up to 12 units total)
TAPS 184C:
Dramatic Vocal Arts: Songs and Scenes Onstage (MUSIC 184C)
Studies in stagecraft, acting and performance for singers, culminating in a public performance. Repertoire to be drawn from the art song, opera, American Songbook and musical theater genres. Enrollment by audition only. May be repeated for credit a total of 4 times. Zero unit enrollment option available with instructor permission. See website: (http://music.stanford.edu) for policy and procedure. By enrolling in this course you are giving consent for the video and audio recording and distribution of your image and performance for use by any entity at Stanford University.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-2
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE
| Repeatable
4 times
(up to 8 units total)
TAPS 190:
Special Research
Individual project on the work of a playwright, period, or genre. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1-5
| Repeatable
for credit
TAPS 200:
Senior Project
All TAPS Majors must complete a Senior Project that represents significant work in any area of theater and/or performance. The project must be an original contribution and can consist of any of the following: devising a performance, choreographing a dance, stage managing a production, designing a large theater work, performing a major role, writing a play, directing a show, or researching and writing a senior essay. Work for this project normally begins in Spring Quarter of the junior year and must be completed by the end of the senior year. Students receive credit for senior projects through TAPS 200. A minimum of 4 units is required, but additional units are available for larger projects. Students pursuing senior projects must submit a two-page proposal to a faculty advisor of their choice, which must be approved by the Undergraduate Advisor and the department faculty no later than the end of Spring Quarter of the junior year.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1-4
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 4 units total)
TAPS 202:
Honors Thesis
An advanced written project to fulfill the requirements for the Honors degree in TAPS. There are two ways to undertake an honors thesis. The first is to write a 40-50 page essay, which presents research on an important issue or subject of the student's choice. The second option is a 30-page essay that takes the student's capstone project as a case study and critically analyzes the creative work. Students are expected to work consistently throughout the year with their advisor, whom they identify at the time of application. Advisors can be selected from Academic Council faculty or artists-in-residence. Students should enroll in TAPS 202 each quarter during the senior year (1 unit in Autumn; 1 unit in Winter; 2 units in Spring).
Terms: Win, Spr
| Units: 1-2
| Repeatable
for credit
TAPS 211:
Introduction to Theater Practice (TAPS 100)
Two-time OBIE-winning instructor Young Jean Lee has written and directed ten shows with her theater company, toured her work to over thirty cities around the world, and directed three short films that showed at festivals including Sundance and Locarno. In this class, students will be given space and support to research and experiment with areas of interest in theater and performance practice that are relatively new to them. Potential subjects for study include acting, directing, designing, choreographing, and writing. You can choose to focus a little on everything, investigate one new area, or try out a few different things. In-class work will include collaboration on projects to practice new skills. If interested, please email the instructor at yjl@stanford.edu on or after December 14 (any request sent sooner will not be considered) with the following: 1) Your year of study; 2) Your major/prospective major; 3) Your previous theater and performance practice experience; 4) Potential area/s of interest for this class.
Terms: Aut, Win
| Units: 1-4
| Repeatable
6 times
(up to 24 units total)
TAPS 231:
TAPS Production Units: Lighting Design
Credit for lighting design students participating in a TAPS production. Units determined by instructor. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1-4
| Repeatable
55 times
TAPS 232:
TAPS Production Units: Costume Design
Credit for costume design students participating in a TAPS production. Units determined by instructor. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1-5
| Repeatable
for credit
TAPS 233:
TAPS Production Units: Scenic Design
Credit for scenic design students participating in a TAPS production. Units determined by instructor. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1-4
| Repeatable
for credit
TAPS 234:
TAPS Production Units: Advanced Stage Management
Credit for advanced stage management students participating in a TAPS production. Units determined by instructor. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2-4
| Repeatable
for credit
TAPS 238:
TAPS Production Units: Sound Design
Credit for sound design students participating in a TAPS production. Units determined by instructor. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-5
| Repeatable
for credit
TAPS 239:
TAPS Production Units: Music
Credit for dance students participating in a TAPS production. Units determined by instructor. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1-5
| Repeatable
for credit
TAPS 250J:
Baldwin and Hansberry: The Myriad Meanings of Love (AFRICAAM 250J, AMSTUD 250J, CSRE 250J, FEMGEN 250J)
This course looks at major dramatic works by James Baldwin and Lorraine Hansberry. Both of these queer black writers had prophetic things to say about the world-historical significance of major dramas on the 20th Century including civil rights, revolution, gender, colonialism, racism, sexism, war, nationalism and as well as aesthetics and politics.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
TAPS 253H:
History of Directing (TAPS 153H)
There is a lot of great theater out there waiting to be made, and the primary goal of this class is to help students prepare to achieve that goal. In this class, "history" is not only a narrative about the past and its interpretations, but a repository of ideas and techniques that can provide students with useful techniques and sources of inspiration for their own practice. In the graduate component of the class, we will take a historiographic approach to this art form that has often veered towards the biographical and the anecdotal. This is not a history of directors, but a history of directing. That does not mean that we won't look at the work of individual artists: we will do that, while keeping in mind the historical, social, economic as well as aesthetic circumstances under which directing evolved as a distinct profession in the theater.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
TAPS 258:
Black Feminist Theater and Theory (AFRICAAM 258, CSRE 258, FEMGEN 258X)
From the rave reviews garnered by Angelina Weld Grimke's lynching play, Rachel to recent work by Lynn Nottage on Rwanda, black women playwrights have addressed key issues in modern culture and politics. We will analyze and perform work written by black women in the U.S., Britain and the Caribbean in the 20th and 21st centuries. Topics include: sexuality, surrealism, colonialism, freedom, violence, colorism, love, history, community and more. Playwrights include: Angelina Grimke, Lorriane Hansberry, Winsome Pinnock, Adrienne Kennedy, Suzan- Lori Parks, Ntozake Shange, Pearl Cleage, Sarah Jones, Anna DeVeare Smith, Alice Childress, Lydia Diamond and Zora Neale Hurston.)
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
TAPS 273:
Making Your Solo Show (TAPS 173)
Are you tired of the classics? Were you frustrated by casting choices in the past? Sometimes, you have to step away from the canon and create your own work. Do you have something to say about race, class, gender, ethnicity, nationalism, sexuality, yourself, or any other issues? Did you ever want to create and perform your own show but didn't know how to start? This is your chance. In this course, you will learn techniques for creating your own solo show. nnThe contemporary solo performer is descended from a long line that includes the griots of Africa, the troubadours of medieval Europe, and the solo performance artists of the twentieth century. In this course, we will view examples of historical and contemporary live solo performance and uncover principles and practices that will help us develop our own solo shows.nnThrough exercises in acting, writing, and embodied contemplation, students will learn to discover the stories within and around them, and to give voice(s) to their burning issues in a theatrical form that is intimate, idiosyncratic, and deeply personal. The course will culminate in a workshop performance of solo pieces developed by the students.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
TAPS 277:
Dramatic Writing: The Fundamentals (TAPS 177)
Course introduces students to the basic elements of playwriting and creative experimentation for the stage. Topics include: character development, conflict and plot construction, staging and setting, and play structure. Script analysis of works by contemporary playwrights may include: Marsha Norman, Patrick Shanley, August Wilson, Suzan-Lori Parks, Paula Vogel, Octavio Solis and others. Table readings of one-act length work required by quarter's end.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
TAPS 278C:
Dramatic Writing Workshop (TAPS 178C)
Instructor Young Jean Lee is the first Asian-American woman to have had a play produced on Broadway. This workshop will guide you through the process of creating a script for a full-length play, musical, or screenplay, and will focus on helping you to make significant progress on and/or complete a draft. You will be required to write every week and give feedback on each others' work. You can be anywhere in your process, from having no idea what you want to do to being close to a final draft. This class is open to a wide range of approaches and styles, including adaptations and devised work. If interested, please email the instructor at yjl@stanford.edu on or after December 15 (any request sent sooner will not be considered) with the following: 1) Your year of study; 2) Your major/prospective major or field of study; 3) Your previous writing and/or theater experience, and your experience level with watching and/or reading plays; and 4) Whether or not you already have a project. If you do have a project, please also include: 5) How far along it is; and 6) A brief description of it. Preference given to second years and above.
Terms: Aut, Win
| Units: 1-4
| Repeatable
for credit
TAPS 290:
Special Research
Individual project on the work of a playwright, period, or genre.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1-4
| Repeatable
for credit
TAPS 300C:
History of World Cinema III: Queer Cinemas around the World (ARTHIST 164, ARTHIST 364, CSRE 102C, CSRE 302C, FEMGEN 100C, FEMGEN 300C, FILMEDIA 100C, FILMEDIA 300C, GLOBAL 193, GLOBAL 390, TAPS 100C)
Provides an overview of cinema from around the world since 1960, highlighting the cultural, political, and economic forces that have shaped various film movements over the last six decades. Specific topics may vary by term/year/instructor. This term's topic, Queer Cinemas around the World, engages with a range of queer cinematic forms and queer spectatorial practices in different parts of the world, as well as BIPOC media from North America. Through film and video from Kenya, Malaysia, India, The Dominican Republic, China, Brazil, Palestine, Japan, Morocco, the US etc., we will examine varied narratives about trans experience, same-sex desire, LGBTQI2S+ rights, censorship, precarity, and hopefulness. This course will attune us to regional cultural specificities in queer expression and representation, prompting us to move away from hegemonic and homogenizing understandings of queer life and media. Notes: Screenings will be held on Fridays at 1:30PM in Oshman Hall. Screening times will vary slightly from week to week.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 10 units total)
TAPS 301:
World Theater History
This seminar offers a global survey of theater and performance from antiquity to 1945. Students will read plays and historical texts to broaden and enrich their knowledge of theater history and research. The course takes place during the Fall and Winter quarters, with students attending class every other week. This extended course structure is designed to allow more time for students to work through the course material. The final two sessions in each quarter will be reserved for students to present material of their own interest.nnPlease note: TAPS 301 is a required course for TAPS first-year PhD students. It is designed to prepare them for the comprehensive exam, which takes place at the end of the Winter quarter. Other students are welcome to take the course as a regular theater history seminar. Regardless, students should treat the course as one integrated sequence and enroll in both quarters (not just one or the other). nnnThe course will be graded Pass/Fail for first-year TAPS PhD students taking the exam; any other students may take the course as Pass/Fail or for a letter grade at the discretion of the instructor.
Terms: Aut, Win
| Units: 2
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 4 units total)
TAPS 302:
The Interruption of the Machine: Introduction to Sound Studies through Literature (COMPLIT 333, ENGLISH 303A, ITALIAN 302, MUSIC 303)
This course will introduce students to the field of Sound Studies (methodology, vocabulary, main claims) with a focus on the various sonic articulations of human-machine interactions in literature. The world of fiction as a sonic machine that articulates noise, sound, music, voice, or silence offers an excellent archive. We will read works by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Eça de Queirós, Mark Twain, the Italian Futurists, Zora Neale Hurston, and Luigi Pirandello. Secondary readings will include seminal contributions by R. Murray Schafer (the soundscape), Leo Marx (U.S. industrialization), Jacques Attali (noise and music), Mladen Dolar (philosophy and voice), Adriana Cavarero (gender, voice, and the body), Jonathan Crary (culture, aesthetics, and perception), Friedrich Kittler (media), and Daphne Brooks (black feminist sound).
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
TAPS 311:
Performance and Historiography
This graduate seminar focuses on questions of historiography and the archive as they relate to studies of theater, dance, and performance. It blends rigorous discussion and theoretical exploration with practical experience in libraries, museums, and other local archival repositories. Throughout the course, we will explore representation, memory, repertoire, and narrative through examples in theatre and performance history. We will examine how events have been historicized, how absence has been represented, and how individuals are remembered and refigured. Important principles and practices of documentation will also be addressed throughout our discussions and activities. Our discussions and field trips will examine the status of data and various forms of evidence in constructing critical performance history (including prompt scripts, set designs, costumes, publicity material and other ephemera, actorly life-writing, video and digital documents, artifacts, visual material, and embodied traces). TAPS 311 also functions as a gateway course for TAPS PhD students in your first quarter of study at Stanford, familiarizing you with resources at the university and in the broader Bay Area.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
TAPS 313:
Performance and Performativity (ENGLISH 313, FEMGEN 313)
Performance theory through topics including: affect/trauma, embodiment, empathy, theatricality/performativity, specularity/visibility, liveness/disappearance, belonging/abjection, and utopias and dystopias. Readings from Schechner, Phelan, Austin, Butler, Conquergood, Roach, Schneider, Silverman, Caruth, Fanon, Moten, Anzaldúa, Agamben, Freud, and Lacan. May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| Repeatable
for credit
TAPS 314:
Performing Identities (FEMGEN 314)
This course examines claims and counter-claims of identity, a heated political and cultural concept over the past few decades. We will consider the ways in which theories of performance have offered generative discursive frameworks for the study of identities, variously shaped by vectors of race, gender, sexuality, religion, class, nation, ethnicity, among others. How is identity as a social category different from identity as a unique and personal attribute of selfhood? Throughout the course we will focus on the inter-locking ways in which certain dimensions of identity become salient at particular historical conjunctures. In addition, we will consider the complex discourses of identity within transnational and historical frameworks. Readings include Robin Bernstein, Ann Pellegrini, Tavia Nyong'o, Jose Munoz, Michael Taussig, Wendy Brown, Talal Asad, Jasbir Puar, among others.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
TAPS 321:
Proseminar
Prepares PhD students for the academic profession by honing skills in presenting and publishing research, navigating the job market, and managing a career.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
TAPS 335:
Introduction to Graduate Production
This course introduces first-year TAPS PhD student to the TAPS production process and resources. Meetings will be scheduled ad hoc.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1
TAPS 353P:
Black Artistry: Strategies of Performance in the Black Diaspora (AFRICAAM 153P, CSRE 153P, TAPS 153P)
Charting a course from colonial America to contemporary London, this course explores the long history of Black performance throughout an Atlantic diaspora. Defining performance as "forms of cultural staging," from Thomas DeFrantz and Anita Gonzalez's Black Performance Theory, this course takes up scripted plays, live theatre, devised works, performance art, and cinematic performance in its survey of the field. We will engage with theorists, performer, artists, and revolutionaries such as Ignatius Sancho, Maria Stewart, William Wells Brown, Zora Neale Hurston, Derek Walcott, Danai Gurira, and Yvonne Orji. We will address questions around Black identity, history, time, and futurity, as well as other essential strategies Black performers have engaged in their performance making. The course includes essential methodological readings for Black Studies as well as formational writings in Black performance theory and theatre studies. Students will establish a foothold in both AAAS (theory & methodology) and in performance history (plays and performances). As a WIM course, students will gain expertise in devising, drafting, and revising written essays.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
TAPS 354G:
Black Magic: Ethnicity, Race, and Identity in Performance Cultures (AFRICAAM 154G, AFRICAAM 254G, CSRE 154D, FEMGEN 154G, TAPS 154G)
In 2013, CaShawn Thompson devised a Twitter hashtag, #blackgirlmagic, to celebrate the beauty and intelligence of black women. Twitter users quickly adopted the slogan, using the hashtag to celebrate everyday moments of beauty, accomplishment, and magic. The slogan offered a contemporary iteration of an historical alignment: namely, the concept of "magic" with both Black people as well as "blackness." This course explores the legacy of Black magic--and black magic--through performance texts including plays, poetry, films, and novels. We will investigate the creation of magical worlds, the discursive alignment of magic with blackness, and the contemporary manifestation of a historical phenomenon. We will cover, through lecture and discussion, the history of black magic representation as well as the relationship between magic and religion. Our goal will be to understand the impact and history of discursive alignments: what relationship does "black magic" have to and for "black bodies"? How do we understand a history of performance practice as being caught up in complicated legacies of suspicion, celebration, self-definition? The course will give participants a grounding in black performance texts, plays, and theoretical writings. *This course will also satisfy the TAPS department WIM requirement.*
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
TAPS 362:
Political Performance
In this graduate seminar, we will explore the relationship between performance and ideology in the "long contemporary" (20th - 21st century). In addition to asking what is political performance, we will also raise the question of the politics of performance: is there such a thing, and if so, what is it? Among other topics, we will revisit the debates about autonomous and committed art, emancipatory potential of performance, and live performance in relation to an increasingly automatized sociality. In this exploration, we will study the work of Bertolt Brecht, Walter Benjamin, Louis Althusser, Ng¿g¿ wa Thiong'o, Tania Bruguera and many others.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
TAPS 371P:
Theater and Performance Making (TAPS 101P)
A creative workshop offering a range of generative exercises and techniques in order to devise, compose and perform original works. Students will explore a variety of texts (plays, poems, short stories, paintings) and work with the body, object and site. Students will be encouraged to think critically about various compositional themes and ideas including: the relationship between form and content, aesthetics, space, proximity, and audience. Students will work independently and collaboratively creating original performances.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
TAPS 372:
Directing Workshop: The Actor-Director Dialogue (TAPS 170B)
This course focuses on the actor-director dialogue. We will work with actors and directors developing approaches to collaboration that make the actor-director dialogue in theater. TAPS Ph.D. students are required to enroll in TAPS 372 for 4 units. This course must be taken for a minimum of 3 units and a letter grade to be eligible for Ways-AII credit.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 2-4
| Repeatable
for credit
TAPS 376:
Projects in Performance
Creative projects to be determined in consultation with Drama graduate faculty and production advisor
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 10 units total)
TAPS 390:
Directed Reading
Students may take directing reading only with the permission of their dissertation advisor. Might be repeatable for credit twice for 6 units total.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 1-6
| Repeatable
4 times
(up to 12 units total)
TAPS 391:
Summer Research
Independent study course for TAPS PhD students conducting research as part of their preparation to complete upcoming milestone requirements during the summer quarter. Enrollment only permitted for TAPS PhD students in their first, second, or third summer who have not applied for TGR.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 1
| Repeatable
5 times
(up to 5 units total)
TAPS 460:
Decolonization and Decoloniality: Theory, Praxis, and Pedagogy (ARTHIST 460, FILMEDIA 460)
In the past few years, campus protests and petitions have brought about a remarkable reckoning with systemic, curricular structures of inequality, underscoring the epistemic violence of the privileging of white, western, cisheteropatriarchal intellectual traditions in the academy. This seminar mobilizes multiple approaches and orientations from anti-colonial, postcolonial, and decolonial traditions to study discourses of race, caste, indigeneity, gender, and sexuality across a variety of regional and cultural contexts. We will engage with a range of materials -- written texts, films, visual and performance art. In addition to theoretical and historical engagements with decolonization and decoloniality, we will begin to explore decolonial praxis through somatic workshops (including basket-weaving and dance) and through radical pedagogy and critical university studies frameworks.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
TAPS 802:
TGR Dissertation
(Staff)
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 0
| Repeatable
for credit
Instructors: ;
Al-Saber, S. (PI);
Brody, J. (PI);
Jakovljevic, B. (PI);
Looser, D. (PI);
Menon, J. (PI);
Phelan, P. (PI);
Rehm, R. (PI);
Robinson, A. (PI);
Ross, J. (PI);
Smith, M. (PI)
