Professional Theatre Diploma

Speak without obligation to Dawson College

To contact you must accept the privacy policy

Comments about Professional Theatre Diploma - At the institution - Montreal - Québec

  • Objectives
    Professional Theatre is a three-year career program designed to train students to work as professional actors. The program offers training in a wide range of acting techniques and allows students to apply acquired skills in classroom workshops, as well as in studio and full scale theatrical productions staged in Dawson’s new theatre facility on campus. The skills that you will learn in the program include the ability to: * create believable characters on stage and before the camera * analyze a script * explore one’s creativity and imagination * speak effectively, sing and use dialects * move effectively, dance and carry out combat sequences * understand the cultural and sociological context of roles * participate behind the scenes in the production elements of theatre
  • Academic title
    Professional Theatre Diploma
  • Course description
    Term 1
    Course Number     Course Name     C - L - H     Hrs
    561-111-DW    Movement I    0 - 5 - 0    75

    Description:    Stage movement: The objective of this course is to enable the student to develop physical awareness and the ability to maintain and improve an acceptable level of physical fitness, coordination and stamina. Dance: Students will develop an understanding of space, energy, tempo and intensity. Stage combat: Focusing on the fundamental skills of generic sword techniques, this course will include basic fight choreographies, an introduction to sword fighting terminology for the theatre as well as a brief look at the history of the evolution of the sword.
     
    561-121-DW    Improvisation I    0 - 3 - 0    45

    Description:    In this course, students acquire self-knowledge and confidence through movement exercises and basic improvisations. They develop the ability to create the imaginary space and to work cooperatively with others in the creative process.
     
    561-131-DW    Voice I    0 - 3 - 1    45

    Description:    Students learn the preliminary methods of exercising and extending the uses of the voice. They become familiar with the importance of the voice as a tool of interpretation.
     
    561-142-DW    Acting I    2 - 4 - 2    90

    Description:    The student will explore character development through, for example, the use of the character mask, improvisation exercises, dialects and character analyses. These elements will then be employed in the creation of a role in a short scene from a modern or contemporary play.
     
    561-161-DW    Text I    1 - 2 - 1    45

    Description:    The focus of this course is an introduction to and the discovery of the language, techniques and codes employed by a playwright to create text where students will learn the definition, exploration and practical application of “through line”, “sub-text”, “super-objective”, as well as a systematic breaking down of a text into “beats” and the “scoring” of a text.
     
    561-171-DW    History and Literature of Theatre I    4 - 1 - 4    75

    Description:    History and Literature: This course offers an overall view of the origins of theatre in the Classical worlds of Greece and Rome, and its rebirth in the Church of the Middle Ages to merge as the dominant art form of that era. Students will study from each period as well as examine the artistic theories, social interactions and theatrical practices that helped define the early days of theatre. 4 hrs. per week Technical Production: In this portion of the course, the students acquire an understanding of the technical, artistic and management hierarchies within professional, producing theatres. The students are also expected, during the laboratory section of this course, to develop a practical working knowledge of the stage craft techniques needed to produce costumes, lighting, properties, sound, set construction and painting for the stage.
     
    General Education
    • 602-10_-03    French: Bloc A    2 - 1 - 3    45
    • 603-101-04    Introduction to College English    2 - 2 - 4    60
    • COMP 1    Complementary          

    Term 2
    Course Number     Course Name     C - L - H     Hrs
    561-211-DW    Movement II    0 - 5 - 0    75

    Teacher(s) for Winter 2009:    Kimberley Barfuss teaching section(s) 01 02
    Elissa Bernstein teaching section(s) 01 02
    Description:    Stage movement: Students will explore the various forms movement can take in creating a role. 1.5 hrs. per week Dance: Students will acquire familiarity with dance forms commonly required of an actor in the theatre today. 1.5 hrs. per week Stage combat: This course will explore more advanced skills of generic sword techniques, more advanced fight choreographies and cardio/physical endurance exercises.
     
    561-221-DW    Improvisation II    0 - 3 - 0    45

    Teacher(s) for Winter 2009:    Barbara Kelly teaching section(s) 01 02
    Description:    Students continue to develop body awareness, imagination and the ability to create the imaginary space while projecting physically and vocally. Furthermore, they learn the importance of “status” as a tool for creating characters and circumstances for improvisations.
     
    561-231-DW    Voice II    0 - 3 - 1    45

    Teacher(s) for Winter 2009:    W. Steven Lecky teaching section(s) 01 02
    Description:    Students build a closer cooperation between body, breath and voice. They break down the sounds, elements and structures of text in order to closely examine the re-creation of speech.
     
    561-242-DW    Acting II    2 - 4 - 2    90

    Teacher(s) for Winter 2009:    Bertrand A. Henry teaching section(s) 01 02
    Winston Sutton teaching section(s) 01 02
    Description:    The student will engage in a more detailed study of character development that expands the work of the first semester to include concentrated body-awareness exercises. The student will then create a more complex role in a scene from a modern or contemporary play.
     
    561-261-DW    Text II    1 - 2 - 1    45

    Teacher(s) for Winter 2009:    Frederick Ward teaching section(s) 01 02
    Description:    In this course, “through line”, “sub-text”, “super-objective”, “beats”, and “scoring” of a text will be applied to short plays and scenes. Reading along the line, finding the verbal action and relating lines to the playwright’s meaning will be studied, as well as an introduction to first readings.
     
    561-271-DW    History and Literature of Theatre II    4 - 1 - 4    75

    Teacher(s) for Winter 2009:    Douglas Buchanan teaching section(s) 01
    Stephen Schon teaching section(s) L1 L2
    Description:    History and Literature: This course continues the study of dramatic literature, and the society that lies behind it, from the Medieval into the time and works of Shakespeare. Great importance is placed on ways of using the Elizabethan script and the acting practices of Shakespeare and his contemporaries.4 hrs. per week Technical Production: This portion of the course delves more deeply into the management of time, resources and manpower needed to produce a piece of theatre. The students will be made aware of the need for safety, discipline and vigilance, with regard to elevated and raked platforming, the flying of actors and scenery, pyrotechnics, and stage firearms.
     
    General Education

    • 109-103-02    Health and Physical Education    1 - 1 - 1    30
    • 602-B__-03    French: Bloc B    2 - 1 - 3    45
    • 603-102-04    Literary Genres    2 - 2 - 3    60

    Term 3
    Course Number     Course Name     C - L - H     Hrs
    561-311-DW    Movement III    0 - 3 - 0    45

    Description:    Stage movement: This course increases physical stamina, coordination, endurance and the ability to express oneself through body/mind awareness. Students achieve a better balance between thinking, feeling and moving. Dance: Students will learn more complicated dance combinations and class choreographies.
     
    561-321-DW    Improvisation III    0 - 3 - 0    45

    Description:    In this course, students use the neutral mask in a variety of exercises to develop neutrality, stage presence and imagination. They also draw upon contemporary plays as the basis for improvisations to discover characters, relationships and the narrative of the play.
     
    561-331-DW    Voice III    1 - 4 - 1    75

    Description:    Voice and Speech: Students consolidate acquired skills in warm-up and vocalization. They acquire a personal, daily regimen for vocal training. The course will also continue the exploration of the sounds of English with a focus on dialect work. Studio Voice: Students acquire knowledge in how to use the voice for recording film, video, radio and audio.
     
    561-342-DW    Acting III    1 - 2 - 1    45

    Description:    point of view, the similarities and differences between specific styles of dramatic writing, for example, Modern Tragedy and Modern Melodrama. Scene work will involve excerpts from Modern plays.
     
    561-352-DW    Acting Lab I    0 - 5 - 0    75

    Description:    Studio performance: This course will enable the student to explore more fully the sense of process in the development of a character and the creation of a role in a play. Make-up: Students will learn to identify the material required for the different types of make-up, and learn to disguise or accentuate facial characteristics depending on the character being played.
     
    561-361-DW    Text III    1 - 2 - 1    45

    Description:    A study of theatre text and dramatic structure, this course will give the student tools that will assist in discovering and defining major and minor thematic material and the elements of structure and dramatic confrontation.
     
    561-371-DW    History and Literature of Theatre III    3 - 0 - 3    45

    Description:    A wider survey of the theatre of Europe from the popular improvisers of Italy, to the Neo-Classical world of Spanish Golden Age Theatre and the Royal Stage of France, from Macchiavelli to Molière, from Calderon to Congreve, this course will look at the social world of Europe and its theatre from the 15th century until the English Restoration stage in the late 17th century.
     
    General Education

    • 109-104-02    Physical Activity    0 - 2 - 1    30
    • 345-103-04    Knowledge    3 - 1 - 3    60
    • 603-103-04    Literary Themes    2 - 2 - 3    60

    Term 4
    Course Number     Course Name     C - L - H     Hrs
    561-411-DW    Movement IV    0 - 3 - 0    45

    Teacher(s) for Winter 2009:    Kimberley Barfuss teaching section(s) 01 02
    Elissa Bernstein teaching section(s) 01 02
    Description:    Stage movement: Students will explore different physicalities for character development as well as begin to clarify a personal warm-up. Dance: Students will be exposed to period dance styles in ensemble sequences.
     
    561-421-DW    Improvisation IV    0 - 3 - 0    45

    Teacher(s) for Winter 2009:    Barbara Kelly teaching section(s) 01 02
    Description:    In this course, students sharpen basic improvisational skills (i.e. mental and physical agility, development of character, relationship, objective and space). They gain a working knowledge of narrative skills and their function in improvisation.
     
    561-431-DW    Voice IV    1 - 4 - 1    75

    Teacher(s) for Winter 2009:    Victor Knight teaching section(s) 01 02
    Judith Beny teaching section(s) 01 02
    Description:    Voice and Speech: Students develop more sophisticated exercises in vocalization and incorporate them into a personal warm-up. Dialect work continues, as well as work on heightened emotion and vocal quality. Studio Voice: A continuation of the study of the voice in the recording Studio.
     
    561-442-DW    Acting IV    1 - 2 - 1    45

    Teacher(s) for Winter 2009:    Winston Sutton teaching section(s) 01 02
    Description:    Students will understand, from the actor’s point of view, the similarities and differences between specific styles of dramatic writing, for example: Modern Comedy and Modern Farce. Scene work will involve excerpts from selected Modern plays. Students will also learn techniques in the audition process that include the preparation of résumés and headshots, monologue selection, the audition event and cold-readings.
     
    561-452-DW    Acting Lab II    0 - 5 - 0    75

    Teacher(s) for Winter 2009:    Pierre Lafontaine teaching section(s) 01 02
    Barbara Kelly teaching section(s) 02
    Winston Sutton teaching section(s) 01
    Description:    Studio performance: This course will enable the student to explore more fully the sense of process in the development of a character leading to the performance of a full length play before the public. Make-up: Students learn to identify the various types of faces and facial characteristics, and to identify the ideal proportions of the face and the head as well as the skill to modify them when necessary with the help of prostheses (moustache/facial hair, etc.) and make-up.
     
    561-461-DW    Text IV    1 - 2 - 1    45

    Teacher(s) for Winter 2009:    Victor Knight teaching section(s) 01 02
    Description:    A continuation of Text III, this course will continue to address issues arising out of the structural and thematic material of plays. Students will be asked to examine the codes of gesture and language of the playwright, and their application and meaning to human interaction.
     
    561-471-DW    History and Literature of Theatre IV    3 - 0 - 3    45

    Teacher(s) for Winter 2009:    Douglas Buchanan teaching section(s) 01
    Description:    This course continues to examine the social reality behind the theatre, engaging some of the specific features of the theatre of the 18th and 19th centuries. It will examine the rise and the dominant role of the great actor-managers (i.e. Betterton, Sir Henry Irving), as well as the monumental changes in theatrical architecture. The course will also look at the early days of Opera and its relationship to the development of the musical.
     
    General Education

    • 109-105-02    Active Living    1 - 1 - 1    30
    • 345-102-03    World Views    3 - 0 - 3    45
    • 603-BXE-04    Applied Themes in English    2 - 2 - 2    60

    Term 5
    Course Number     Course Name     C - L - H     Hrs
    561-512-DW    Movement V    0 - 5 - 0    75

    Description:    Stage movement: This course will continue to build the physical and expressive skills of the student.
     
    561-521-DW    Improvisation V    0 - 3 - 0    45

    Description:    In this course, students apply all of their improvisation skills to the collective creation of a piece of theatre based on a theme that they explore and research in depth. They also work on developing narrative skills and improvising monologues.
     
    561-531-DW    Voice V    2 - 4 - 2    90

    Description:    Voice and Speech: Students assimilate all previous training into comprehensive exercise routines for personal and group use. More emphasis is placed on controlling speech components and structures. Singing: Students gain skill in solo and choral singing - melody and harmony, intonation and rhythm.
     
    561-542-DW    Acting V    2 - 4 - 2    90

    Description:    Acting: Students will acquire the skills necessary for playing roles in selected styles, for example: Classical Greek and Roman tragedy and comedy. Scene work will involve excerpts from appropriate scripts. Text: Students will learn a working approach towards reading and performing a new play, discovering and playing the intention of the playwright, and when feasible, working with the playwright on the text. An introduction to semiotics will complete the course. Acting for the Camera: Students will acquire basic vocabulary for film and video, learn rudiments of operating video equipment, and practice basic techniques of acting for the camera.
     
    561-552-DW    Acting Lab III    0 - 6 - 0    90

    Description:    Approaches to Shakespeare: An advanced and specialized training in an actor’s approach to Shakespeare’s text. This workshop will look at such things as detailed scansion techniques, authorial blocking and direction, and how to solve textual problems specific to Shakespeare’s (and other Elizabethan dramatists’) play texts. Major stage production (1 of 3): The audition and rehearsal for and performance of a role in a full-length play, supported by full production elements, taken from first reading through to a two-week run before a public audience.
     
    561-571-DW    History and Literature of Theatre V    3 - 0 - 3    45

    Description:    History And Literature Of Theatre V 1900 brings into play a variety of distinct theatrical styles and purposes against the background of middle class and social realism. This course will examine the development of the modern in a wide variety of theatrical texts and production styles, culminating in the theatre of the absurd. The key here is theatre as an aesthetic form, as a political force and as an expression of the age.
     
    General Education

    • COMP 2    Complementary          

    Term 6
    Course Number     Course Name     C - L - H     Hrs
    561-611-DW    Movement VI    0 - 3 - 0    45

    Teacher(s) for Winter 2009:    Kimberley Barfuss teaching section(s) 01
    Elissa Bernstein teaching section(s) 01
    Description:    Stage movement: Students will explore more advanced techniques of physical characterization as well as develop and continue to hone personal warm-up skills. Dance: Students will gain skill in social dance styles in solo, partner and ensemble sequences.
     
    561-631-DW    Voice VI    2 - 4 - 2    90

    Teacher(s) for Winter 2009:    W. Steven Lecky teaching section(s) 01
    Description:    Voice and Speech: Students assimilate and integrate all acquired vocal skills and bring them to bear on practical performance. Students are encouraged to integrate vocal techniques into the acting process, and to master the tools of voice in order to make the technique automatic. Singing: Students prepare solo songs from the musical theatre repertoire.
     
    561-642-DW    Acting VI    2 - 4 - 2    90

    Teacher(s) for Winter 2009:    Bertrand A. Henry teaching section(s) 01
    Winston Sutton teaching section(s) 01
    John Gary Plaxton teaching section(s) 01
    Description:    Acting: Students will learn the techniques and skills for playing period plays and apply them to the performance of, for example, a role in a Restoration or 18th century comedy. Career Management: An introduction to the business of being a professional actor. With the help of various guest speakers and resource persons, students will be introduced to a variety of career management topics that will enable them to apply strategies for looking for work and managing their careers.
     
    561-652-DW    Acting Lab IV    0 - 6 - 0    90

    Teacher(s) for Winter 2009:    Bertrand A. Henry teaching section(s) 01
    Douglas Buchanan teaching section(s) 01
    Pierre Lafontaine teaching section(s) 01
    Description:    Major stage productions (2 and 3): The audition and rehearsal for and performance of a role in each of two full-length plays, supported by full production elements, taken from first reading through to a two-week run before a public audience.
     
    561-671-DW    History and Literature of Theatre VI    3 - 0 - 3    45

    Teacher(s) for Winter 2009:    Douglas Buchanan teaching section(s) 01

    General Education

    • 345-BXH-03    Applied Themes in Humanities    3 - 0 - 3    45

Other programs related to theatre

This site uses cookies.
If you continue navigating, the use of cookies is deemed to be accepted.
See more  |