Graduate Course for Undergrads

WSU’s Theatre Department offers acting and directing students a new class.

This semester is only the second time that the level three acting/directing class has been offered. The class was first presented two years ago as a trial course. This time around, the professors can take what they learned from the previous trial and make it a beneficial learning experience for students.

"I'm so glad they offered it again because it's a once in a lifetime opportunity for undergrads," says Emily Ligman, junior theatre arts major.

The main component in this course is mask work, which is only offered in graduate-level courses. WSU, however, is the only theatre department in the United States that brings this technique to undergraduates.

With plans to continue offering the unique course every other year, professors Terry Converse and Stan Brown are encouraging undergrads to take serious advantage of the graduate-level mask work.

"Using masks takes the directors and actors out of reality," says course professor Terry Converse. "Performance relies more on fantasy."

The final class project is putting together a full lenth production of Mary Zimmer's The Arabian Nights.