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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
Instructors: ; Jones, T. (PI)

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
Instructors: ; Booth, B. (PI)

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 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
Instructors: ; Bodurtha, R. (PI)

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
Instructors: ; Mejia, C. (PI)

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 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)
Instructors: ; Iyer, U. (PI)

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 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)
Instructors: ; Agbabiaka, R. (PI)

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
Instructors: ; Hunt, S. (PI)

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 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)
Instructors: ; Gutierrez, K. (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 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
Instructors: ; Chapman, M. (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 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
Instructors: ; Ball, N. (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 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
Instructors: ; Adair, D. (PI)

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: 3-4 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
Instructors: ; Robinson, A. (PI)

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
Instructors: ; Al-Saber, S. (PI)

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 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
Instructors: ; Freed, A. (PI)

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)
Instructors: ; Catsalis, M. (PI)

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 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 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
Instructors: ; Smith, A. (PI)

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 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 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
Instructors: ; Freed, A. (PI)

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)
Instructors: ; Iyer, U. (PI)

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
Instructors: ; Brody, J. (PI)

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 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: 3-4
Instructors: ; Robinson, A. (PI)

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
Instructors: ; Jakovljevic, B. (PI)

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 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 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
Instructors: ; Iyer, U. (PI)

TAPS 802: TGR Dissertation

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