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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
Instructors: ; Jakovljevic, B. (PI)

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 | Units: 1-3 | Repeatable for credit

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 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)
Instructors: ; Lee, Y. (PI)

TAPS 101F: Close Cinematic Analysis - Caste, Sexuality, and Religion in Indian Media (ARTHIST 199, ASNAMST 108, FEMGEN 104, FILMEDIA 101, FILMEDIA 301)

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
Instructors: ; Iyer, U. (PI)

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 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 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
Instructors: ; Hunt, S. (PI)

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 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
Instructors: ; Agbabiaka, R. (PI)

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
Instructors: ; Chapman, M. (PI)

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
Instructors: ; Chapman, M. (PI)

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
Instructors: ; Bodurtha, R. (PI)

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
Instructors: ; Kumaran, L. (PI)

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
Instructors: ; Ball, N. (PI)

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
Instructors: ; Mejia, C. (PI)

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
Instructors: ; Kumaran, L. (PI)

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 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
Instructors: ; Lee, Y. (PI)

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
Instructors: ; Rehm, R. (PI)

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 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 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)
Instructors: ; Lee, Y. (PI)

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
Instructors: ; Mejia, C. (PI)

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
Instructors: ; Bodurtha, R. (PI)

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
Instructors: ; Ball, N. (PI)

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 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
Instructors: ; Lee, Y. (PI)

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 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
Instructors: ; Phelan, P. (PI)

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 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)
Instructors: ; Rau, M. (PI)

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 802: TGR Dissertation

(Staff)
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum | Units: 0 | Repeatable for credit
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