Brown University

Source: https://bulletin.brown.edu/the-college/concentrations/taps/ Parent: https://bulletin.brown.edu/the-college/concentrations/

The Department of Theatre Arts and Performance Studies (TAPS) is the intellectual and artistic center for the aesthetic, historical, literary, practical, and theoretical explorations of performance in global perspective – theatre, dance, speech, time-based art, and even performative “roles” in everyday life. The TAPS concentration offers three tracks with many points of overlap among them: Performance Studies, Theatre Arts, and Dance. Concentrators gain exposure to a broad spectrum of performance modes  and methods -- acting, directing, dance, and writing, and chose an avenue of focus among them. Everyone graduates having studied craft, gained familiarity with history, and investigated the role of performance arts in culture.

Theatre Arts Track

This concentration combines the study of dramatic literature, theatre history, performance theory, and studio work in the various theatre arts. All concentrators in Theatre Arts will gain practical experience through the study of acting and directing as well as in the technical production of plays, preparing students in the practical study of a cross-section of the vital aspects of theatre craft, including one class in either dance or speech. An essential aim of the concentration track is the engagement of students in performance procedures (acting, dancing, directing, choreography, design, playwriting, dramaturgy, etc.) in order to experience the inter-relationships among social contexts, dramatic texts and theatrical enactments. Along with practical study in craft, concentrators will graduate having studied theatre history and performance theory in global perspective.  The study of theatre history provides a Theatre Arts concentrator with the necessary background to understand a variety of dramatic and theatrical forms. The study of performance theory enhances a student’s ability to ask fundamental questions about the role of theatre in social, political, cultural and cross-cultural arenas.

Students wishing to enroll as concentrators in Theatre Arts and Performance Studies and take the Theatre Arts track should see the undergraduate Theatre Arts track advisor, in order to discuss options that will best serve their interests.

Performance Studies Track

The Performance Studies track in the Theatre Arts and Performance Studies concentration offers a base for students interested in a variety of performance forms, performance media, or in intermedial art. A concentrator in this track will study the multiple modes in which live performance articulates culture, negotiates difference, constructs identity, and transmits collective historical traditions and memories. Because Performance Studies is not primarily invested in one performance mode over another (such as theatre or dance), a concentrator will gain exposure to a broad spectrum of performance modes. Studying ritual, play, game, festival, spectacle and a broad spectrum of “performance behaviors” under the umbrella of Performance Studies, a concentrator will graduate having investigated the role of performance in culture, including performative acts in everyday life, political enactment, ritual behavior, aesthetic or representational practices, and social role or the performance of subjectivity. The history of aesthetic performance practices (such as the histories of theatre and/or dance) will be an important part of this track, serving to ground inquiry into the broader spectrum of performance study. Students will craft their electives on this track from a wide selection of courses both within the Department of Theatre Arts and Performance Studies and across the university. The study of performance behavior across mediums such as dance, theatre, ritual, and orature allows for geographic and historical flexibility as not all cultures parse theatre from dance, nor, historically, genres of religious or political ritual from genres of entertainment, play, or game. At least one of the ten required classes must show geographic or cultural breadth, and be approved as such by the undergraduate concentration advisor. Participation in practical classes in modes of performance is also required.

Students wishing to enroll as concentrators in Theatre Arts and Performance Studies and take the Performance Studies track should see the undergraduate Performance Studies track advisor, in order to discuss options that will best serve their interests.

Dance Track

The Dance track of the Theatre Arts and Performance Studies concentration engages students in the study of dance, movement, and other forms of kinesthetic performance.  Emphasizing dance technique, choreography/composition, and theories and histories of global forms of dance practice, concentrators in this track will study how multiple global dance forms articulate culture, negotiate difference, construct identity, and transmit collective historical traditions.  Concentrators will receive instruction in composition and technique, and engage with dance, theatre, and performance production within the department to understand dance within a network of performance practices.

For all concentrators, regardless of track:

In cases where dual concentrations are declared, the Department allows two courses to be counted toward both concentrations.

Capstone Project

Every concentrator will complete a capstone and 5-page reflection paper by the final semester of their senior year. The purpose of the capstone is to synthesize the core tenets of theory and practice from our concentration learning objectives in the form of a student-initiated creative project, experience, or a non-honors research paper. Students pursuing Honors fulfill the capstone requirement by successfully completing a senior thesis (see Honors section).

Please note that while the experience being reflected on for the Capstone may occur as early as the junior year, the reflective paper must be written and submitted in the senior year.

The 5-page reflection paper must be written and submitted in the final semester of the senior year, and completes the capstone requirement. The following options can qualify as the experiential component of a capstone project, and can be executed during junior or senior year.

• Participation in a Senior Slot Production.
• Major participation in a TAPS Department / Sock & Buskin Production. (i.e. acting, assistant directing, designer, dramaturg, stage manager)
• Extension of an existing curricular, co-curricular, or extra-curricular project.
• Revision or expansion of an existing final paper from any prior TAPS theory or history class.
• Major participation in a non-departmental campus production, performance or academic event. (i.e. student theatre, student dance groups, self-produced performance or event at the Granoff)

Students must create a Capstone project plan in consultation with the TAPS DUS. Finalized project proposals must be submitted via email for approval by the DUS no later than October 1st for students graduating in spring, and September 15th for students graduating in fall.

Capstone proposals must be approved the TAPS DUS.

Capstone Reflection Paper Due Dates

• For students graduating in spring, the capstone reflection paper is due March 1st of the senior year.
• For students graduating in fall, the capstone reflection paper is due November 1st of the senior year.

Capstone Reflection Paper

Please email the DUS a 5-page reflection paper addressing the following writing points:

• A brief description of the project completed, including details about who, what, when and where the project took place. If you revised a paper, detail which class the paper was originally written for; and how you revised the paper, etc.
• An examination of how you used knowledge, skills and research methods acquired in the concentration to conceptualize, do and complete the project, with a frank assessment of the project’s success or ways in which it could have been improved.

The DUS will assess and approve the paper if all of the criteria above are met. The reflection will be assessed for clarity, honesty and depth of self-reflection and encapsulation of your experience of the TAPS curriculum.

Please note: Students should refer to the Brown Arts Institute student funding opportunities and consult with the staff regarding space availability and support.

Senior Honors Thesis

Honors are awarded for theses in all concentration tracks, and satisfies the capstone requirement. Candidates for the senior honors program should have an outstanding academic record, must apply to the Department for approval, and enroll in TAPS 1990 in Semesters VII and VIII. All theses are substantive pieces of writing. Some theses are strictly academic. Other honors theses may include a creative component (such as the directing of a play, a solo performance piece, the study and performance of a major role, or the design of a production) but the thesis itself will include a critical, written work based in research relative to that artwork. For creative work submitted for honors, the essay should accompany the play/ performance, reporting on the research and the process of creation although the play/ performance itself can count as the substantive written work. Please note that departmental support is not available for productions at this time.

Students should refer to the Brown Arts Institute student funding opportunities and consult with the staff regarding space availability and support.

Students should contact the honors advisor by the end of Semester V to discuss proposals, thesis guidelines, and scheduling TAPS 1990 the honors thesis course in Semesters VII and VIII.

• For students graduating in spring submit proposals to the Department in Semester VI by April 1st.

• For students graduating in fall submit proposals to the Department in Semester VI by October 1st.

Proposals should be submitted electronically to taps@brown.edu.