Each track has classes that overlap with the other tracks. Each track requires 10 courses to fulfill the concentration requirements. Each track culminates in a collective senior seminar in which concentrators work with advisers to present a culminating project, as well as explore possibilities for careers in their area of study after graduation.

For acting and directing and the history and craft of theatre-making -- consider the Theatre Arts track.

For the broad spectrum of live art in global, historical, and theoretical perspective -- consider the Performance Studies track.

For the writing of plays or performance-based live art -- consider the Writing for Performance track.

Dancers might find a home in Performance Studies or Writing for Performance -- please consult Julie Strandberg or Michelle Bach-Coulibaly for guidance.

Design students might select the Theatre Arts track -- please consult with Michael McGarty about shaping your design interests.

Theatre Arts Track

This concentration combines the study of dramatic literature, theatre history, performance theory, and studio work in the various theatre arts. All concentrators in Theatre Arts will gain practical experience through the study of acting and directing as well as in the technical production of plays, preparing students in the practical study of a cross-section of the vital aspects of theatre craft, including one class in either dance or speech. An essential aim of the concentration track is the engagement of students in performance procedures (acting, dancing, directing, choreography, design, playwriting, dramaturgy, etc.) in order to experience the inter-relationships among social contexts, dramatic texts and theatrical enactments. Along with practical study in craft, concentrators will graduate having studied theatre history and performance theory in global perspective. The study of theatre history provides a Theatre Arts concentrator with the necessary background to understand a variety of dramatic and theatrical forms. The study of performance theory enhances a student’s ability to ask fundamental questions about the role of theatre in social, political, cultural, and cross-cultural arenas.

Of the ten courses required, at least four must be in theatre history and dramatic and theatrical theory that forms a backbone for further study in these areas. Students should take at least one course that exhibits geographic or topical breadth beyond what might loosely be called “mainstream” Euro-American tradition. Basic courses in technical theatre and design are required of all students, as is a senior seminar, taken by most students in their seventh semester. The remaining three courses for the concentration may be taken in areas of applied theatre arts (though this is not a requirement); there are sequences of courses available in acting/directing, playwriting, design/technical theatre, and dance.

Students wishing to enroll as concentrators in Theatre Arts and Performance Studies and take the Theatre Arts track should see Professor Lowry Marshall, who serves as the undergraduate Theatre Arts track advisor, in order to discuss options that will best serve their interests.

Required Courses

1.	TAPS 0230 - Acting/Directing
2.	TAPS 0250 Technical Production of Plays
3.	TAPS 1230 Performance Theory: Ritual, Play and Drama in Context
4.	TAPS 1240 Performance Historiography and Theatre History
5.	TAPS 1250 Twentieth-Century Western Theatre and Performance
6.	One course in Dramatic or Performance Literature, Theory, History and/or Criticism offered or cross-listed in the department.*
7.	Either TAPS 0220 or any dance history or practice course.
8-9.	Two electives to be selected from applied areas and/or from relevant theoretical and text-based studies throughout the university.
10.	TAPS 1520 Senior Seminar

* At least one course in the mix of a concentrator’s elective requirements (6,7,8,9) should demonstrate enhanced geographical breadth.

Performance Studies Track

The Performance Studies track in the Theatre Arts and Performance Studies concentration offers a base for students interested in a variety of performance forms, performance media, or in intermedial art. A concentrator in this track will study the multiple modes in which live performance articulates culture, negotiates difference, constructs identity, and transmits collective historical traditions and memories. Because Performance Studies is not primarily invested in one performance mode over another (such as theatre or dance), a concentrator will gain exposure to a broad spectrum of performance modes. Studying ritual, play, game, festival, spectacle and a broad spectrum of “performance behaviors” under the umbrella of Performance Studies, a concentrator will graduate having investigated the role of performance in culture, including performative acts in everyday life, political enactment, ritual behavior, aesthetic or representational practices, and social role or the performance of subjectivity. The history of aesthetic performance practices (such as the histories of theatre and/or dance) will be an important part of this track, serving to ground inquiry into the broader spectrum of performance study. Students will craft their electives on this track from a wide selection of courses both within the Department of Arts and Performance Studies and across the university. The study of performance behavior across mediums such as dance, theatre, ritual, and orature allows for geographic and historical flexibility as not all cultures parse theatre from dance, nor, historically, genres of religious or political ritual from genres of entertainment, play, or game.

At least two of the ten required classes must show geographic or cultural breadth, and be approved as such by the undergraduate concentration advisor. Participation in practical classes in modes of performance is also required.

Students wishing to enroll as concentrators in Theatre Arts and Performance Studies on the Performance Studies track should see Professor Eng-Beng Lim, who serves as the Performance Studies track advisor, in order to discuss options that will best serve their interests.

Required Courses

1.	TAPS 1230 Performance Theory: Ritual, Play and Drama in Context
2.	TAPS 1240 Performance Historiography and Theatre History
3-5.	Three of the following, one of which must show geographical breadth:
	TAPS 1250 Twentieth-Century Western Theatre and Performance TAPS 1270 Performance in the Asias TAPS 1330 Dance History: The 20th Century TAPS1280N New Theories for a Baroque Stage TAPS 1281H-S01 Black Diaspora, Dance and Vernacular Embodiments TAPS128.5o Contemporary Mande Performance TAPS 1380 Mise en Scene TAPS 1430 Russian Theatre and Performance TAPS 1610 Political Theatre of the Americas TAPS 1610 Performativity and the Body: Staging Gender, Staging Race TAPS 1640 Theatre and Conquest TAPS 1650 21st Century American Drama TAPS 1670 Latino Theatre and Performance TAPS 1690 Performance, Art, and Everyday Life TAPS 2120 Revolution as a Work of Art AFRI 0990 Black Lavender: Black Gay/Lesbian Plays/Dramatic Constructions in the American Theatre AFRI 1110 Voices Beneath the Veil AFRI 1120 African American Folk Traditions and Cultural Expression
6-7.	Two full credit courses based in performance craft in either Acting, Directing, Speech, Dance, Design, Literary Arts (with a performance emphasis), Visual Arts or Music. These classes must be approved by the concentration advisor.
8-9.	Two additional courses in the academic study of performance and performance culture(s) to be culled from those listed above as well as other courses in the Department of Theatre Arts and Performance Studies or throughout the university in consultation with advisor. An extensive list of courses that might be considered Performance Studies can be made available to interested students.
10.	TAPS 1520 Senior Seminar

Writing for Performance Track

Concentrators explore the craft and sensibility of writing for live performance in the broad context of art in a changing society. Moving through a graduated series of skill-based writing classes, students additionally encounter theater history in core courses and focused seminars, engage with the practical aspects of production, and relate theatre to other disciplines. Writing is viewed neither as an alienated cause nor a terminal outpost, but as a co-equal aspect of a creative ecology, sharing space with orature, acting, scenography, ethics, and all fields that focus attention, invoke fascination, and alert the will to the possibilities of transformation.

Ten courses are required: A minimum of two writing-skills classes relevant to live performance; a writing or composition class outside of live performance (literature, screenplay, computer programming, video editing); a technical production class; a performance-based class; TAPS 1230 and 1250; one elective drawn from inside or outside the department that broadens the cultural and disciplinary reach of the track, for example concerning the study of social phenomena from a scientific, philosophical, or political perspective (chosen in consultation with an advisor); senior seminar.

Students wishing to enroll as concentrators in Theatre Arts and Performance Studies on the Writing for Performance track should see Professor Erik Ehn, who serves as the Writing for Performance track advisor, in order to discuss options that will best serve their interests.

Required Courses

1.	One writing course from the following:
	TAPS 0060 Introduction to Playwriting Workshop TAPS 0100 Playwriting I
2.	One Course from the following:
	AFRI 1050A, D, E RPM Writing LITR 0610A S01 Unpublishable Writing LITR 1150Q S01 Reading, Writing, Thinking for the Stage LITR 1010C Advanced Playwriting LITR 1150S What Moves at the Margin TAPS 0200 Playwriting II TAPS 1500 series (A-Z)
3.	One writing/composition class outside of playwriting:
	LITR 1010B S01 Advanced Poetry LITR 1010D S01 Advanced Electronic Writing LITR 1010G S01 Cave Writing TAPS 1280F Introduction to Set Design
4.	Other courses to be approved by advisor:
	TAPS 0250 Technical Production of Plays
5.	One performance-based class. Options include Acting, Directing, Speech, Dance, Visual Arts, Music, or Sign Language.
6-7.	Two classes in theatre and performance history:
	TAPS 1230 Performance Theory: Ritual, Play and Drama in Context TAPS 1250 Twentieth-Century Western Theatre and Performance
8-9.	Two additional Theater/Performance History/Theory classes:
	TAPS 1240 Performance Historiography and Theatre History TAPS 1270 Performance in the Asias TAPS 1330 Dance-History: The 20th Century TAPS 1280N New Theories for a Baroque Stage TAPS 1281H Black Diaspora, Dance and Vernacular Embodiments TAPS 1280T Contemporary Mande Performance TAPS 1380 Mise en Scene TAPS 1400 Advanced Performance TAPS 1420 Global Queer Performance TAPS 1430 Russian Theatre and Performance TAPS 1440 Seminar on Selected Figures TAPS 2120 Revolution as a Work of Art TAPS 2200A Abstraction and Resistance TAPS 1610 Political Theatre of the Americas TAPS 1610 Performativity of the Body TAPS 1640 Theatre and Conquest TAPS 1650 21st Century American Drama TAPS 1670 Latino Theatre and Performance TAPS 1690 Performance, Art, and Everyday Life AFRI 0990 Black Lavender AFRI 1110 Voices Beneath the Veil AFRI 1120 African American Folk Traditions and Cultural Expression
10.	TAPS 1520 Senior Seminar

For All Concentrators, Regardless of Track

In cases where dual concentrations are declared, the Department allows two courses to be counted toward both concentrations.

Honors

The standard pattern above, plus an honors thesis (TAPS 1990), the topic of which would be determined before Semester VII. Candidates for the honors program should have an outstanding academic record and should apply to the Department by Semester VI. The honors advisor is Professor Patricia Ybarra.

Honors Theses-Theatre Arts and Performance Studies

Honors are awarded for theses in all concentration tracks. All theses are substantive pieces of writing. Some theses are strictly academic. Other honors theses may include a creative component (such as the directing of a play, a solo performance piece, the study and performance of a major role, or the design of a production), but the thesis itself will be a critical, written work based in research relative to that artwork. For plays submitted for honors, an essay should accompany the play, reporting on the research and process of the writing, though the play itself counts as the substantive written work.

Honors theses proposals are due April 1 of the student’s junior year. These proposals can be submitted electronically. They should be sent to Patricia Ybarra, Patricia_Ybarra@brown.edu, who is the undergraduate thesis coordinator.

The proposal should include:

1) An abstract of the thesis that indicates the topic and set of questions you are asking about the material/subject you are researching. If you are submitting a play for honors in the playwriting track, submit a short description of the play or project and the themes or forms the play or project will explore.

2) A transcript (unofficial is OK, as we can access the official one from the Department). Please note that we look for students with a majority of A’s and S’s on their transcripts. It will not be possible to receive honors for the concentration if your grades have been sub-par.

3) A preliminary bibliography and a research plan. For a play, simply submit a research plan.

4) The name of the advisor you will work with. Also include names of potential additional readers for your thesis, if you wish to have them. Students must have an advisor and often have one or two additional readers. Please contact your advisor and readers before submitting their names.

Additional information:

There is no set length for this proposal, but 4-10 double spaced pages is a generally acceptable range.

Students are notified about their approval to write an honors thesis by the end of the Spring semester. Every proposal is considered by the Department as a whole, and voted on, in Department meeting. That is, the decision for honors is not made by your advisor alone.

Thesis Guidelines

Honors theses are generally between 60 and 100 pages long.

Plays submitted for honors should be accompanied by an essay 10-30 pages in length.

A preliminary draft of the thesis is due on or before March 15 of the student's senior year to all readers. You may arrange chapter submissions before this date with your advisor.

A final draft is due on April 15 the student's senior year at the latest. Students should submit one copy to each reader, and also one copy for the Department. These copies must be bound.

Most students require two semesters to plan and complete an Honors Thesis. Generally, research occurs during the summer before and the fall of senior year. Writing usually begins by the end of the fall term.

All theses must use a consistent citation style, and must include a full bibliography. See Patricia Ybarra for sample cover pages, etc. Prior honors theses can be perused in the Becker.

Assuming that your thesis is approved for honors by all readers, you will be recommended for honors from the department. This will occur by the beginning of May of the student's senior year and honors will be conferred upon graduation.

Further Aides to Successful Concentration Experiences

Capstone Experiences: The tracks come together in several courses but also in a culminating senior seminar. In addition to the senior seminar there are a wide variety of ways students who concentrate can construct a “capstone” experience– such as directing a production, a solo performance, a dance piece, an honor’s thesis, or a design project.

Senior Slot Production – Open to Directors and Writers

An excellent opportunity for a capstone experience is the annual Senior Slot Production. Every year, one junior (or .5 senior) TAPS concentrator is selected to direct a mainstage production in the Sock and Buskin Season. We have now opened this opportunity playwrights, as well as directors. This opportunity is thus open for proposals from:

A director submitting any play or project of their choice
A writer submitting their own play
A director and a writer co-submitting a proposal for a student-written play

The chosen play is given a budget, full production, and faculty mentorship. (Professor Kym Moore is currently Senior Slot advisor.) The play is usually mounted in Leeds Theatre in early December of the concentrator’s senior year, but other spaces may be considered from time to time (e.g. for site specific work). To be selected for senior slot, directors and/or writers must submit a proposal to be adjudicated by a committee composed of TAPS faculty. Juniors and/or .5 seniors with a proven track record, quality grades, as well as sustained interest and achievement in the art of directing or writing for performance are encouraged to apply.

Proposals for the following academic year will be accepted until midnight on April 1st and should be emailed to Kym Moore (Kym_Moore@brown.edu).

How to Propose:

Write a proposal and address the following in detail:

What play do you propose to direct (or have produced) and why?
Provide a brief analysis of your chosen play.
What are you goals or objectives for this production?
What will be your approach to realizing these goals?

If you foresee unusual or specific technical requirements (regarding costume, set design, lights and/or sound) that might require advance attention, please note that in your proposal.

If you are submitting as a writer/director team, please include sections from each of you on the questions above – that is, we would like to hear from both the writer and the director in co-submitted proposals. WE HIGHLY ENCOURAGE THIS CATEGORY BY THE WAY!

If your proposal is selected, a design team will be assigned to you. If you are a writer submitting without a director, we will assign a student director as well. However, any thoughts you wish to share with the selection committee regarding your Doris to Darlene potential production needs or desires will be helpful and can be stated in the proposal. For questions regarding the process, contact Kym Moore or discuss with your concentration advisor.

Word of advice: It is best to choose something that has not been recently produced on campus. Check the Past Seasons page on this site. Recent Senior Slot projects include:

Kaspar by Peter Handke, directed by Ioana Jucan ('11).

From Doris to Darlene by Jordan Harrison, directed by Chris Tyler (‘10) (at left)

Death and the King’s Horseman by Wole Soyinka, directed by Michael Dean (‘09)

Hamletmachine by Heiner Muller, directed by Jose Macian (‘08)

Macbett by Eugene Ionesco, directed by James Rutherford (‘07)