CONRAD SCHOTT

DRAM 102: Introduction to Theater-Making: Theory and Practice

This course is designed to offer a series of entry points and strategies that theater artists use in the collaborative process of theater-making. Theater making is the process of collectively encountering a dramatic text—or an idea for making a theatrical experience—and articulating a means of translating literary or intellectual ideas into an evocative, visceral live event. By presenting weekly collaborative responses to a variety of dramatic texts, students are introduced to the challenges and opportunities provided by the theatrical medium over a range of styles and genres.

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DRAM 200: Drama Department Production

This course focuses on putting theory and technique into practice through participation in the performance, design, or technical aspects of department productions in the Experimental Theater of Vassar College. Overseen productions include: Mosquitoes, Pippin, Hilda, Barbecue, Mr. Burns, Or, Measure for Measure, Intimate Apparel, Vespers, Hit Me.

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DRAM 203: The Actor’s Craft

This course is an introduction to the tools and methods with which an actor may build a reliable artistic process. Through the use of targeted exercises, games, improvisation, scene study, and reflection, students will establish a basic technique to support their acting work. The course places greatest emphasis on the principles of actor training introduced by Stanislavsky, but students’ exploration will be enriched by the techniques and practices of many theater masters, including but not limited to Uta Hagen, Anne Bogart, Sanford Meisner, Michael Chekhov, and Jacques LeCoq.

 

DRAM 205: The Actor’s Voice

This course is an introduction to the tools and methods with which an actor may develop an efficient, nuanced, and clear vocal instrument. A primary focus on breath work provides actors with a foundation for healthy and robust vocal usage while deepening emotional access. Targeted exercises in speech and rhetoric expand the actor’s ability to communicate large and complex thoughts and make creative choices more legible. Through an exploration of the particular demands and opportunities of Shakespeare’s verse, the course prepares students to tackle challenging text with confidence. 

 

DRAM 227: Staging Intimacy and Violence

At first glance an odd pairing, the disciplines of stage combat and intimacy work are often practiced by the same professionals in the theater industry—and upon closer examination, the combination makes sense. Whether staging a fight or a moment of intimacy, performers must work together to tell a convincing story with care for each other’s safety. This course introduces tools and strategies for safely and effectively handling the violence and intimacy that abound in theatrical storytelling. By practicing the skills required to communicate boundaries and to work within the boundaries of a partner, students can build a culture of consent that is the foundation of safe theatrical collaboration. Within that context, the course examines the choreographic vocabulary of staged intimacy and provides a practical grounding in the techniques of Unarmed combat along with a sampling of other weapon styles recognized by the Society of American Fight Directors. These specialized subjects ultimately return theater artists to the fundamentals of partnering: listening and responding, taking care of each other, and working together to tell a live, embodied story.

 

DRAM 304 The Art of Acting: Shakespeare

This course offers an advanced study of classical acting with a focus on the works of Shakespeare. Students explore in depth some of the most challenging and popular dramatic material available in the English language, preparing them not only for classical repertoire but also for texts of any style. Techniques for confronting the demands of Shakespeare are applied in a laboratory setting with an emphasis on language, breath, and connection.

 

DRAM 308 Auditioning and Acting for the Camera

This course provides an introduction to acting technique for television, film, and other media beyond the stage. Special focus is placed on preparing auditions via self tapes, the most common form of audition for both stage and screen in the industry today. Students will practice working with material from a variety of on-screen formats including half hour comedy, hour-long drama, feature film, and material adapted from the stage and other sources. The course culminates in the development of an acting reel to explore areas of strength and deepen self knowledge, as well as to support the pursuit of acting work beyond the classroom.

 

DRAM 397 The Actor’s Text

This course will introduce the essential work an actor must do to understand and make practical use of a dramatic text. Students will use the tools of script analysis, scansion, scoring, and research to become more effective collaborators at the table and clearer storytellers in performance. Students explore in particular the unique challenges and rich rewards of Shakespeare’s plays in order to develop an actor’s toolkit applicable to a wide range of genres and styles, and then they apply those techniques to plays from a variety of eras throughout the course.