Graduate Courses

Theatre Pedagogy and Professionalization is designed to prepare MFA and PhD students to excel at effective teaching within both the academy at large and the unique demands of the field of Theatre and Performance Studies. The course emphasizes the support and development of first-time teachers, while simultaneously providing graduate students with foundational skills, information, and resources that will aid them throughout their graduate career and beyond.

Student serves as actor, director or coach in two productions in the University of Pittsburgh Stages seasons. Emphasis is placed on using the academic production as a teaching environment. The class can occur during any semester in the program. Rehearsal time functions as class time and credits may be adjusted for specific production requirements.

Techniques in Performance Pedagogy is designed for graduate students to address the unique needs of teaching theatre performance at the college level. Students will examine various Stanislavski-based training methods and compare those methods with physical and/or ensemble-based methodologies as they apply to university training programs.  Students will formulate their own style and teaching philosophy as they develop lesson plans, create innovative pedagogical exercises, conduct warm up sessions, coach acting scenes and develop methods of grading performance work.  In addition, students will create a sample master class in order to be competitive on the academic job market.

The topic for this course changes each semester. Recent seminars have included Performance Historiography, Histories, Presents, and Futures of Performance Studies, Global Perspectives on Race and Performance, Mobility and Performance, Transnational Performance in the Long Nineteenth Century.

Please click here for detailed seminar descriptions.

The Immersive Practice Credential is 12-15 credits of required coursework and practical experience in an area of artistic practice or training for a humanities career beyond academia. The credential helps students gain practical experience on campus and in the community that supports their research and career goals. Students must earn at least half their credits for this requirement through practical experience (as opposed to seminar work). Students may focus on directing, dramaturgy, playwriting, public humanities, or education and community engagement as outlined in this section or may propose a different area of focus.