Notes: Course Repeatable for Credit. Category: PRAXIS What is comedy? WHY do we laugh at all? WHAT makes us laugh? How is comedy today different from yesterday; how is it the same? Combining theory with practice, this class endeavors to explore comedy both critically and in performance, embodying the comic even as we theorize about it. We will look at comedy historically, and as it manifests in various genres, as well as break it down structurally – all the while keeping an eye to the cultural influences that inform all comedy. The primary mode of exploration for this class will be stand-up. Arguably the most prevalent form of comedy of our age, stand-up offers us a window into how all comedy works, including: the importance of surprise; comedic timing; comedic structure; and comic situations and characters. In terms of content, we will address status as a location for humor; the importance of the body in comedy; and cultural taboos. In addition to working on our stand up routines, each class will have a critical component, and class discussions will serve to deepen our evolving routines. Of particular interest is the examination of (and distinction between) comedy that affirms cultural norms versus comedy that subverts these norms. Open to All students during summer.

Notes: Course Repeatable for Credit. Category: PRAXIS This class will take a detailed look at Augusto Boal and the impact of his body of work, known collectively as the Theatre of the Oppressed. Boal, one of the most well known theatre artists from Latin America, has influenced a wide number of areas in applied and political theatre. The class will begin by locating Boal autobiographically and through his idea of the facilitator or Joker. We will then investigate Boal in light of some of his central influences including Aristotle, Brecht, Freire and others. We will continue with hands on and theoretical investigations of the many stages of the Theatre of the Oppressed such as Image Theatre, Forum Theatre, Invisible Theatre, Rainbow of Desire, and Legislative Theatre. In the later parts of the class, we will investigate a number of case studies where Boal’s techniques have been applied in other contexts, some more successfully than others. Throughout, Boal’s idea of the spect/actor, an animated audience member who co-creates the material, will guide us philosophically and pedagogically. This means that students are fully expected to co-create the class alongside the teacher. This course is open to all students during summer.

Notes: Course Repeatable for Credit. Category: GEOGRAPHIES or TOPICS While Omi & Winant (1994) describe the 1950s and '60s in the US as representing a "racial break," a transformation in the nation's understanding of race and ethnicity, Melamed (2011) expands this understanding of race and ethnicity in culture from the 1980s to the 2010s. Beginning from Melamed's periodization, this class takes up questions of race and ethnicity on and through the US stage from the Reagan era to the Obama years. Prioritizing playwrights of color, we will study plays and musical about Black and Indigenous people of color, whether those are people indigenous to what is now known as the US, or people who have been, or the descendents of people who have been displaced, kidnapped, enslaved, or who are otherwise diasporic. We'll place these works within their rich theatrical paratexts: the contextual artifacts that surround and distinguish these plays, including critics' reviews, billboards, playbills, marketing campaigns, newspaper articles, and televised debates. By grounding our understanding of the American theatre's representations of race and ethnicity in a Black Marxist historical materialism, we'll seek to understand the relationship between the message of a play and its impact on the world. Open to All students during summer.