Performing Arts

After a review of various artists—directors, writers, composers and choreographers, students will immerse themselves in the practice and study of collaboration, experimenting with and gaining skills in co-creation and shared authorship as they move along. Students will have the opportunity to develop creative abilities through experiences in performance-based arts and apply these in a collaborative project.

This course explores the role and importance of an artist manager, what they do, and how they impact the career of the artist and their brand. The course begins with the basics: why an artist needs a manager, the keys to finding the right partner, and a typical management contract. From there, students will cover the details of planning an artist’s career, money management and what to do when things go wrong.

This class, completed over two semesters, encourages performers to deepen their respective practices through critical engagement and the active exploration of issues and ideas tied to contemporary performance art-making practices. Students will be encouraged to experiment and take risks to discover a personal voice to communicate artistic intent. Students are introduced to ongoing guest critics during group critiques or workshops, produce critical writing centered in their work, develop the technical schematic and support necessary to bring their vision to life and participate in a year-end performance. Students may work alone but are encouraged to cast classmates in their pieces. Students must justify artistic choices and explain how they are used to intensify artistic intent.

This course will introduce and engage the history, topics, theoretical guideposts, and landmark figures/performances central to the genre of solo performance. Working between critical examination and practice, participants will analyze the form and content of leading solo performers while also composing a series of short exercises that activate solo performance strategies and methods. The course will culminate in the creation of a participant’s self-authored, short solo performance piece, and the compilation of a performance portfolio which documents the artistic processes involved.

Introduction to Arts Entrepreneurship is a survey of a business strategies, including money management, investing, insurance, taxes and all the other details behind a successful career in the arts. This course also emphasizes the importance of entrepreneurial thinking, engages students with the fundamentals of the arts “business”, and explores ways to influence and shape the industry’s future. The course will explore the inner workings of the arts industry, using creative problem-solving exercises, discussion questions, collaborative projects, case studies, and hands-on activities. Students will have firsthand experience with guest experts in the fields of promotion, management, and artist representatives, and thus begin creating their own networks and a path to their future activities in the arts.

This class, completed over two semesters, encourages performers to deepen their respective practices through critical engagement and the active exploration of issues and ideas tied to contemporary performance art-making practices. Students will be encouraged to experiment and take risks to discover a personal voice to communicate artistic intent. Students are introduced to ongoing guest critics during group critiques or workshops, produce critical writing centered in their work, develop the technical schematic and support necessary to bring their vision to life and participate in a year-end performance. Students may work alone but are encouraged to cast classmates in their pieces. Students must justify artistic choices and explain how they are used to intensify artistic intent.

This course introduces students to notions of space, time, shape, rhythm and movement, as components to be used in ensemble improvisational practices as well as developing choreographic material. The material created through collaboration with fellow students and following different prompts will be introduced as an ensemble-building tool, and further developed as a foundational vocabulary for composition across disciplines.

This class offers a comprehensive study of media options available for the promotion of artists, products, and services. It includes a brief discussion of marketing plans, followed by a detailed look at both old and new media. Concepts such as integrated marketing communication are melded with creative tools for branding. Students will analyze an existing promotion plan, as well as create one of their own for a new product. Particular attention is given to the use of the internet for communication and the location and retrieval of business-related data.