This course aims to enable students to present visual and performing arts criticism in correct scholarly form, to introduce them to different methods of carrying out research and to acquaint them with the methodology used in classifying bibliographies and reference works relevant to the subject area.

Discussion of essential issues in esthetics of theater and drama based on philosophy of art and theories of the theater.

Selected studies in the development of theatrical production and dramatic writing in Arab theater.

Investigation of the work of theater artists and the literature of the theater, as manifested in one or more of its major forms or genres.

Development of directional skills of analysis, planning, staging, and criticism through the medium of written preparations and directing of scenes under minimal production conditions.

Selected studies in the development of theatrical production and dramatic writing in Greek theater.

Playwriting of selected literary work from literature, and demonstration of competence in playwriting through the completion of a short play.

Critical and constructive study of dramatic techniques as employed by playwrights and screenwriters in selected examples of contemporary work.

Selected studies in symbolism and avant­garde theater. Exploration of dream experience and private psyche, religious experience, and revitalization of myth and ritual.

Demonstration of competence in the practice of dramaturgy through completion of an approved dramaturgical assignment.

Advanced study and practice in scenic design for theater. Imagination as impetus for design, text analysis, metaphor, and conceptualization. Investigation of the design research process, composition, and style leading to visual presentation of the design.

Investigation of the study of semiotics, Saussure, Peirce, Barthes, Derrida, and Beneveniste and its relation to theater.

Studies in theory and criticism of theater, dramatic literature, and performance, through the 16th to the 19th century.

Students will use this course to complete an independent or team project. This project will help round out a student’s portfolio and will demonstrate an appropriate level of professional challenge. These projects may be a narrative film, documentary, animation, website, or mobile application, or they may be a thesis relevant to the field of specialization. Students will form a contract with the faculty concerning the content of their project. Completed projects will assist students in the professional or in the academic field.