Requirements for the Major in Theater and Dance

A nine-course* (36-credit) major with the addition of three faculty-led production experiences, one each in the areas of performance and stage management, and an additional experience determined in consultation with the major advisor.

*All courses below are four credits unless otherwise noted. **Fulfills core or focus curriculum but not both.
 
Core Curriculum (20 credits, with four credits in each of the following five areas):
   (1) Dancing or Acting: 115, 116, 117, 119 (all two credits); or 171**
   (2) Design or Stagecraft: 135, 139
   (3) Directing or Choreography: 258**, 281**, 285**
   (4) Performance History I: 224
   (5) Performance History II: 226

Focus Curriculum (eight credits in one of the following areas):

•     Acting/Directing: 171**, 261, 271, 281**, 361
•     Dancing/Choreography: 258**, 259, 262, 285**, 361
•     Design/Stagecraft: 235, 239, 265, 339, 365
•     Scripting: 141, 241
•     History/Literature/Theory: 248, 368, English 271  
  

Self-designed (must be chosen in consultation with the student's Theater and Dance advisor)

Elective (four credits)

•    Must be chosen in consultation with the major's Theater and Dance advisor
•    Preferably at the 200 or 300 level
•    Can be taken in another department with prior approval

 
Senior Capstone (four credits)
TD 493, must be taken in the spring semester of the senior year

Requirements for the Major in Theater and Dance–Interdisciplinary Computation

The theater and dance-interdisciplinary computation major focuses on the growing relationship between computation and performance scenography and the multiple applications of software technologies to stage design. It offers a sequenced, stage design-based curriculum while also providing students with exposure to the theory and practice of dance, acting, choreography, and directing. Students should begin by taking Theater and Dance 113 or 114, and Computer Science 151 in their first year; then Theater and Dance 135 and Computer Science 231 (fall) and 251 (spring) in their second year. The remaining requirements may be taken in any other semester in consultation with the major advisors in theater and dance and computer science.

Required Courses in Theater and Dance
Theater and Dance 113 or 114; 135; 171 or two courses chosen from 115, 116, 117, and 119; 281 or 285; 235 or 365
 
Required Courses in Computer Science
Computer Science 151, 231, 251, 351, and 369 or 451
 
Senior Capstone (four credits)
Designed in consultation with major advisors in both departments

Requirements for the Minor in Theater and Dance
 

  A six-course* (24-credit) minor with the addition of two faculty-led production experiences in the areas of performance, stage management, or design/technical production.

*All courses below are four credits unless otherwise noted. **Fulfills core or focus curriculum but not both.

Core (16 credits, with four credits in each of the following four areas):

•   Dancing or Acting: 115, 116, 117, 118, 119 (all two credits); or 171**
•   Design or Stagecraft: 135, 139
•   Directing or Choreography: 258**, 281**, 285**
•   Performance History: 224, 226

Focus (four credits)

•   Acting/Directing: 171**, 261, 271, 281, 361
•   Dancing/Choreography: 258**, 259, 262, 285**, 355, 361
•   Design/Stagecraft: 235, 239, 265, 339, 365
•   Scripting: 141, 241
•   History/Literature/Theory: 228, 248, 268, 368, English 271

Elective (four credits)

•   Must be chosen in consultation with the minor advisor
•   Preferably at the 200 or 300 level
•   Can be taken in another department with prior approval

Honors in Theater and Dance

Theater and Dance majors with a minimum cumulative grade point average in the major of 3.5 and an overall GPA of 3.25 at the end of the January term of the junior year and with unanimous approval of the department faculty are eligible to apply for the honors thesis. These projects signify a serious engagement with independent scholarship, and interested students should plan to devote a large segment of their academic time to the project during their senior year. Interested students should contact a faculty sponsor during the spring semester of the junior year to discuss a project and secure that faculty member’s sponsorship. Students must then petition the department for permission to undertake honors work no later than April 11. With unanimous approval from the department, students can register for Theater and Dance 483. Students wishing to change their honors project must petition the department for approval. Honors research projects will be a total of six to eight credits and will be conducted during the student’s last two semesters (one of which may be Jan Plan). Successful completion of the honors thesis will include an approved thesis and an oral presentation at the Colby Undergraduate Research Symposium as well as the completion of the required course work for the major. The students fulfilling these requirements and receiving at least an A- for the honors thesis will graduate “With Honors in Theater and Dance.” In cases where requirements have not been fulfilled at the end of either semester, Theater and Dance 483 and 484 (Honors Thesis) will revert to graded Theater and Dance 491 and 492 (Independent Study). For specifics on the procedures and expectations for Honors in Theater and Dance (depending on the proposed area of study, i.e. dramatic literature, acting, dance, design, history, technical direction, or sound), please consult faculty in the Department of Theater and Dance.

The point scale for retention of the major applies to all courses offered toward the major. No requirement for the major or minor may be taken satisfactory/unsatisfactory.