Fundamentals
Fundamentals of Drama is the first class that all students seeking this fine arts class must take. This is and in-depth class that dives in and teachs students the history of the theatre as well as the names for the different areas of the stage, the names or the equipment used, the genres of theatre and how they have evolved of the years, and an introduction to the technical departments backstage in theatre. In this class, students will learn Improv skills in order to project, improve diction, amplify their awareness, and most of all, it helps the students learn to trust and work with one another. These students will also get to perform short, performance-based skits to showcase what they learned. During these presentations, students will be given a role on stage whether it be a main character or a walk-on role. They might also get the chance to work in a tech department such as set, costumes, props, or publicity to learn the importance of Performance Theatre and Technical Theatre. These skits account for a large portion of their final grade as it properly assesses their knowledge of the theatre.
Advanced Theatre
Advanced theatre consists of a series of classes taken after Fundimentals of Drama. All of these classes focus on what was learned in Fundamentals and it puts it to practical use where students are expected to know the anatomy of the theatre and the auditorium. The advanced classes are broken up to work on specific branches of drama. In these classes, students can choose to focus on technical theatre, the arts and acting, and musical theatre. Select students in this class also have the opportunity and privilege to be stage managers or directors for one of the Fundamentals classes.
Arts and Acting
The Arts and Acting classes comprise the group of classes where students focus on honing their acting skills through mastering inflection, maintaining the desired oral posture, and working on master gesture which all allows performers to get into their characters. These classes focus on a full-length play at the end of the semester that is meant to tie everything learned throughout the semester together into the performance. This class is predominantly during the first semester although the skills learned are used in all of the drama classes.
Technical Theatre
The Technical Theatre classes are courses that focus on the backstage side of each performance. This is where students can choose what tech departments to be in. These include: , , , , , and . In their department, students will learn and focus on how to execute their jobs to build the background of the play whether that means dressing each character, creating the scenery, spreading awareness about the play, or giving the characters certain elements to interact with to further explain the scene or play. Each department is lead by a department head who organizes what need to be done and they arrange dead lines for when specific tasks need to be completed. In charge of the department heads is the stage manager who is in charge of everything done backstage and therefore checks on each department to make sure they are on schedule with their deadlines.
Musical Theatre
Musical Theatre is a course usually during the second semester where the students will get to focus on the structure and work needed for musicals. This class contains many of the skills learned from the Arts and Acting classes. This class also teaches the importance of proper breathing techniques needed to sing and/or perform choreography. A lot of work is needed for this class to create the sound and synchronization that is needed for the final performances. As far as the technical aspect goes, there will also be choreographers who are tasked with compiling the dance moves that are needed and then teaching them to the actors. A choir director is also needed to work on singing and breathing in order for the actors to be able to sing and dance simultaneously.
