Performance and Communication Arts
Major and minor offered
The curricular and extra-curricular activities of the department of performance
and communication arts (PCA) are guided by a number of fundamental assumptions:
• all performances are acts of communication, and all acts of communication
are performances;
• all humans communicate, and all humans perform;
• performance entails not merely the disingenuous act of faking
but more important the creative and constructive act of making;
• communication
entails not merely the transmission and reception of messages but more
important the community-inducing communion among humans that the transmission
and reception of messages makes possible;
• performance and communication are not just acts in which humans sometimes
engage but rather the fundamentally humanizing acts that shape who we are and
how we negotiate our relationships with others and with the material world
in which we live; and
• examination of the basic components of performance and communication
theory, when coupled with repeated practice in the art of shaping performances
and engaging in communicative acts, enables students to become more effective
and ethical producers and more discriminating and critical consumers of performances
and other communicative behaviors.
Theatre studies engage students in critical
inquiry into previous performances and previous performance
texts, as well as artistic engagement with the craft of producing
original texts and performances. Performance studies, a
broader term, includes theatre studies, but also encompasses a broader
array of performance behaviors,
including (among others) the performance of gender, the
performance of self in everyday
life, the performance of texts other than plays, ritual
performances, and political performances, both mainstream
and activist.
Rhetorical studies focuses on the use of symbols to alter attitudes and
induce others to act in a particular manner, and students
engaged in rhetorical studies are challenged to critically examine previous
attempts at persuasion, as well as to enter creatively into the production
of original persuasive messages. Communication studies, a broader term,
includes rhetorical studies, but also encompasses a broader array of communication
behaviors in a broader variety of contexts, including among others interpersonal
communication, small group communication and intercultural communication.
In addition to regular course offerings, the department also
regularly sponsors public events, including (among others) faculty-directed
productions, student-directed productions, showcases and performance hours,
town hall debates, faculty and guest lectures, and a variety of workshops
related to the intellectual and artistic mission of the department. These
events are designed to serve multiple purposes (e.g. to entertain, to inform,
to celebrate, to critique, to provoke) and multiple constituencies (e.g.,
departmental majors and minors, particular communities within the University,
the University at large, and the North Country community). All events are
free and open to the public, and we encourage your participation in the
shaping and mounting of the department’s season of events.
Major Requirements
The requirements for the major described here do not pertain
to students who declared a speech and theatre major, and
those students should consult their advisors for details
regarding the requirements of that major.
Most students
who major in the department begin with an interest primarily
in one of the two broad areas of inquiry described above: theatre/performance
studies or rhetoric/communication studies. The department’s
major is designed to enable students to pursue that interest
passionately and in depth. However, we are also committed
to a philosophy that emphasizes both depth and breadth
of study, and, accordingly, the curriculum requires majors
to enroll in courses that span the various areas of inquiry.
Thus, majors explore the rhetorical and communicative dimensions
of performance and the performative dimensions of rhetoric
and communication.
The major is designed to enhance
students’ competency
in seven specific areas:
• Reading texts (with “texts” broadly
defined to include written and oral texts, as well as visual
and physical/kinetic texts). Before graduating, majors
must demonstrate the ability to attribute reasonable meanings
to texts, as well an understanding of why they attribute
the meanings they do to texts.
• Creativity. Before
graduating, majors must demonstrate the ability to engage
in creative problem-solving strategies and a facility in creative
expression.
• The production of knowledge. Before graduating,
majors must demonstrate an understanding of what inquiry
entails, the ability to initiate and successfully pursue
a line of inquiry, and an understanding of knowledge as
constructed, embodied in individuals, and embedded within
larger structures of power which value different types
of knowledge differently.
• Audience-centered performance/communication. Before
graduating, majors must demonstrate the ability to accurately
analyze an audience and the ability to adapt messages and
performance/communication strategies to meet the exigencies
of particular audiences.
• Solo and collaborative
endeavors. Before graduating, majors
must demonstrate the ability to conceive and execute a
solo project and the ability to collaborate successfully with others.
• Critique
and self-reflexivity. Before graduating, majors must
demonstrate the ability to respond critically to others’ work
in a manner that is informed, informative, constructive
and humane, as well as the ability to engage in sustained
and meaningful assessment of their own work and the processes
involved in the generation of that work.
• Communication and performance ethics. Before graduating,
majors must demonstrate an understanding of the responsibility communicators/performers
have to themselves, their audiences and society; the ability to interrogate
the ethics underlying the communication/performance of others’ texts;
and the ability to construct/communicate/perform texts in an ethical and responsible
manner.
While some departmental courses address all of these competencies,
most focus sustained energy on enhancing a few of them.
The department assumes that growth in the above areas is
incremental, occurring over the course of the students’ completion
of the major. This trajectory culminates with majors’ senior
projects, in which they must demonstrate proficiency in
all of the competency areas described above.
Majors choose one of the two areas as their primary area
of concentration and the other as their secondary area of
concentration. Eleven courses are required to complete the
major.
Fulfillment of the major requires the following:
1. Majors must take six courses in their primary area
of concentration, at least two of which must be introductory
courses and at least four of which must be advanced courses.
Introductory courses in rhetoric/ ommunication
studies include:
111.
Rhetoric and Public Speaking.
126.
Persuasion: Analyzing Rhetorical Texts.
127.
Introduction to Communication Studies.
212. Special
Topics in Rhetoric/ Communication
Studies.
221. Intercultural
Communication.
Introductory courses in theatre/performance
studies include:
103.
Stagecraft.
107.
Beginning Acting.
113.
Introduction to Performance Studies.
125.
Introduction to Dramatic Scripts.
202.
Sound for the Stage.
204.
Costume History and Construction.
215.
Dramatic Texts in Context.
223.
Playwriting.
255.
African-American Drama.
Advanced courses in rhetoric/ communication
studies include:
211.
Advanced Public Speaking.
216.
Argumentation and Debate.
222. Interpersonal
Communication.
312.
Special Topics in Advanced Disciplinary Texts.
315.
Gender and Communication.
316.
Communication Theory. .
322.
Native American Oral Traditions.
326.
American Public Address.
329.
Rhetoric of Social Movements.
330. Ritual
Studies.
331. Presidential
Campaign Rhetoric.
Advanced courses in theatre/ performance
studies include:
203.
Stage Lighting.
207.
Characterization.
209.
Acting Styles.
213. Special
Topics in Theatre/Performance
Studies.
214.
Group Performance.
270. Collaboration
Across the Arts.
309.
Directing.
313.
Special Topics in Advanced Disciplinary Practice.
319,320.
Shakespeare.
322.
Native American Oral Traditions.
323.
African Drama.
324.
Elizabethan/Jacobean Drama.
327. Drama
By and About Women.
330.
Ritual Studies.
338.
20th-Century Avant-Garde.
340.
Performance Art.
355.
Studies in World Dramatic Literature.
437. Contemporary
British Theatre. (London)
2. Majors must take three courses
from the above list from their secondary area of concentration,
at least one of which must be an introductory course and
at least two of which must be advanced courses. While a
few courses appear in both areas of concentration, students
are not allowed to “double dip” — that
is, all courses must be designated as fulfilling a course
requirement in one of the two areas of concentration.
3.
Majors must complete a seminar in disciplinary methods
during their junior year. This course will culminate in
the production of a senior project proposal, which will
be reviewed by the department as a whole.Majors will
not be allowed to enroll in 489/490, Senior Project, or
498/499, Honors Senior Project, until the department approves
their project proposals. When submitting proposals, students
should designate whether they wish to be considered for
enrollment in 498/499. The department will determine which
proposals warrant enrollment in 498/499, Honors Senior
Project.
4. Majors
must complete either 489/490,
Senior Project, or 498/499, Honors Senior Project. Students
enrolled in 489/490 are assigned a senior project advisor
who is solely responsible for overseeing the execution and
evaluation of the project. Students enrolled in 498/499 are
assigned a three-person senior project committee, one of
whom will be designated as the student’s primary
senior project advisor, with the other two serving as readers.
Students enrolled in 498/499 must orally defend their senior
project.
Minor Requirements
The requirements for the minor described here do not pertain
to students who declared a speech and theatre minor, and
those students should consult their advisors for details
regarding the requirements of that minor.
Minors choose
one of the two areas — rhetoric/communication
studies or theatre/performance studies — as their
primary area of concentration and the other as their secondary
area of concentration. Fulfillment of the minor requires
the following:
1. Minors must take four courses in
their primary area of concentration, at least two of which
must be introductory courses and at least two of which
must be advanced courses;
2. Minors must take two courses
from the above list from their secondary area of concentration,
at least one of which must be an introductory course and
at least one of which must be an advanced course. While
a few courses appear in both areas of concentration, students
are not allowed to “double dip” — that
is, all courses must be designated as fulfilling a course
requirement in one of the two areas of concentration.
Electives
In addition to the courses listed above that fulfill major
and minor requirements, the department also offers the
following electives which do not count for major or minor
credit:
100. Beginning Ballet.
101. Production Credit.
200. Intermediate Ballet.
225.
Rhetoric & Communication: Theory
and Practice for Peer Mentors.
226. Introduction to Japanese Drama.
244. Techniques of Screenwriting.
300. Advanced Ballet.
306. Advanced Screenwriting Workshop.
400. Independent Study in Ballet.
480. Independent
Study.
Honors
To graduate with honors, a major must maintain
a 3.5 GPA in the department and a 3.0 GPA overall, the major’s
senior project proposal must be approved for enrollment in 498/499,
Honors Senior Project, and the student must earn at least
a 3.5 in 498/499.
Associate Professors
Rebecca C. Daniels, B.A., Stanford; M.F.A., Portland;
Ph.D., Oregon
Associate Professor of performance and communication arts
Kirk Wayne Fuoss (co-chair), B.S., Baylor; M.A.,
North Carolina/Chapel Hill; Ph.D., Louisiana
Associate Professor of performance and communication arts
Randall T. Hill (co-chair), B.A., M.A., Chapel Hill;
Ph.D., Louisiana
Associate Professor of performance and communication arts
Andrea J. Nouryeh(co-chair), B.A., Wisconsin; M.A.,
Columbia; Ph.D., New York
Associate Professor of performance and communication arts
Assistant Professors
Traci Fordham-Hernandez (co-chair), B.A., M.A., Wisconsin;
Ph.D., Syracuse
Assistant Professor of performance and communication arts
Ann Marie Gardinier Halstead, B.A., LeMoyne College;
M.F.A, Virginia Commonwealth University
Assistant Professor of performance and communication arts
Production Manager/Lighting
Designer
John C. Larrance
Costume Shop Supervisor
Selina French
