BFA Devised Performance/Physical Theatre

Lower Division Courses

• THTR 110 Oral Communication of Literature (GE A.1)
• THTR 140B Fundamentals of Acting
• THTR 141A Voice and Movement I: Breath and Awareness
• THTR 141B Voice and Movement II: Text and Narrative
• THTR 160 Intro to Acting (GE C.1)
• THTR 175 Musical Theatre History
• THTR 181 Basic Music Reading and Sight Singing
• THTR 193 Private Voice I: Foundations
• THTR 200 Script Analysis
• THTR 236A Fundamentals of Musical Theatre Performance
• THTR 236B Fundamentals of Musical Theatre Performance
• THTR 240A Beginning Scene Study and Rehearsal Techniques
• THTR 240B Scene Study and Developing the Role
• THTR 275 World Theatre I
• THTR 277 Costume Design or THTR 285 Theatrical Makeup
• THTR 278B Production Activity (1 unit)

Upper Division Courses

• THTR 293 Private Voice II: Building Techniques
• THTR 300 level courses (3 units, GE C.3 & Z): THTR 300 Cultural Diversity in Theatre, THTR 315 Chicano/Latino Theatre, THTR 320 Theatre and Issues in Society, THTR 357 Blacks in the Performing Arts, DANC 301 Dance and Cultural Diversity, DANC 371 African American Concert Dance History
• THTR 375 World Theatre II
• THTR 393 Private Voice III: Styles
• THTR 436B Musical Theatre Workshop
• THTR 437A Musical Theatre Practicum
• THTR 437B Musical Theatre Practicum
• THTR 475 World Theatre III
• THTR 478A Performance Activity (4 units)
• THTR 478B Production Activity (3 unit)
• THTR 482A Acting IV: Camera Techniques for Actor and Director
• THTR 493 Private Voice: Building Repertoire
• THTR/DANC Electives (18 units)
• DANC 112 Ballet I
• DANC 132 Jazz I
• DANC 336 Dance for Musical Theatre

This degree is for students who desire a professionally oriented education and training in musical theatre. This concentration seeks students who exhibit exceptional talent, motivation and commitment.

*This degree requires an audition before being accepted into the program.  For more information about the audition process go here .

 

Program Experiences

Program Overview

Grounded in rigorous training in acting, voice, speech, movement, playwriting, directing and design, Devised Performance/Physical Theatre BFA actors are challenged to create studio, main stage and multimedia projects that showcase ingenuity and flexibility. Students make meaningful connections between traditionally separate fields and disciplines, as they imagine and execute original live performances, films, podcasts, solo shows, voice-over for video games and animation, as well as aerial arts, stage combat and dialects. Students learn formal skills for successful collaboration, and train in processes for providing productive and meaningful feedback that make them highly sought-after following graduation.

Students in CSUF’s Devised Performance/Physical Theatre BFA Concentration:

• Create and/or perform in original, adapted and/or scripted material
• Create original work exploring prescient social issues and/or current events
• Write, perform, direct and/or design devised and physical theatre productions for
our theatres, site-specific venues and non-traditional spaces.
• Participate in interdisciplinary collaborations that integrate original compositions,
live music, film, projections, graphic design, puppetry, trapeze and animation

Global partnerships offer the potential for international study and performance opportunities.

Our Devised Performance/Physical Theatre program is one of three Theatre B.F.A (Bachelor of Fine Arts) concentrations offered here at CSUF alongside a B.F.A in Acting and B.F.A in Musical Theatre. CSUF is also home to a diverse and thriving Bachelors of Arts in Theatre.

 

STUDENT/FACULTY RATIO
Students in Devised Performance/Physical Theatre can expect varying student/faculty ratios based on subject matter and optimal learning conditions. Most performance/studio classes boast an average 12:1 student faculty ratio.
Our CSUF Department of Theatre & Dance faculty consists of award-winning professional actors, directors, musicians, choreographers, dancers and designers with careers ranging from Broadway, Off-Broadway, national tours, regional theatre, film, television, commercials and voiceovers. You will study under professionals who walked the very path you intend to walk, and who are eager to share their knowledge and expertise with you.

We select up to twelve (12) students for each incoming class. Everyone in a Devised Performance/Physical Theatre cohort will perform in productions and projects, while some may develop additional interests in writing, directing or design.
We are not a “cut” program. Individual Learning Plans track student progress and target areas of recommended growth and/or improvement. These are revisited and updated at the end of each semester. Once you are accepted into the BFA in Devised Performance/Physical Theatre, it is our commitment to train and support you for as long as you wish to study with us.

 

PERFORMANCE OPPORTUNITIES
Devised Performance/Physical Theatre students audition for all department productions and are eligible for casting beginning their freshman year or first semester in residence.

Every Fall and Spring, there is a Devised Performance/Physical Theatre production in our Main Stage season. Each semester, there are numerous additional performance opportunities in plays, musicals, showcases, studio productions and special projects directed by faculty, guest artists, MFA and BA students.

After Graduation

Our Devised Performance/Physical Theatre training significantly increases our students’ marketable skills and employment opportunities after graduation:

• A rapidly changing entertainment industry necessitates a constant need for original content and new talent. Devised performers are trained to conceive, produce, direct and perform their own material and thrive in this marketplace.
• In addition to traditional avenues for actors in film, television and commercials, many alumni pursue emerging platforms to showcase their work, such asnational and international fringe festivals, webisodes, podcasts, video games, voice acting, animation, social media and filmed theatre.
• Increasingly, professional theatres include many productions with devised aesthetics in their seasons.
• The modern workplace is characterized by collaboration, teamwork, improvisation, innovation and creativity. Effective leadership requires astute levels of emotional intelligence. Devised Performance students cultivate these skills as they shift from leader to follower, learning to integrate multiple initiatives, think on their feet, structure ideas, tactfully articulate feedback and respectfully disagree. These skills increase marketability and employment opportunities across a spectrum of entertainment and non-entertainment industries.
• Our training supports an industry-wide call for more female diverse directors, writers, producers, actors, choreographers and artistic directors.
• The highly collaborative nature of devised work creates a strong sense of community, comradery and friendship amongst practitioners across disciplines that will sustain them professionally beyond CSUF.

 

Course Work and Preferred Pre-Requisite Courses

Innovative training is required for 21st Century storytelling – training that enhances traditional actor training, to include the demands of new styles of storytelling.

• Degree Roadmap
• Second Year Placement - pending assessment
  • 2 Beginning Acting courses
  • 2 Voice and Movement courses
  • Script Analysis (preferred)
• Third Year Placement - pending assessment
  • 2 Beginning Acting courses
  • 2 Intermediate Acting courses
  • 2-4 Voice and Movement courses
  • Script Analysis (preferred)