School of Dramatic Arts

Degree Requirements

Master of Arts, Applied Theatre Arts

The Master of Arts in Applied Theatre Arts explores the intersection of theatre and cultural fieldwork, encompassing the fields of theatre and therapy, theatre in education and theatre for social change/community-based theatre. This combined area of study weaves all three disciplines together under the aegis of training practitioners in the art of popular theatre with primarily marginalized communities. Practitioners of applied theatre arts supplement their work as classroom teachers, therapists, social workers, case managers, community organizers and social activists to engage public groups to obtain their goals and desires by using the tools of theatre to expedite dialogue and foster an atmosphere of greater critical consciousness and increased agency. A written and oral examination is required upon completion of course work.

International Study

All students will participate in an international externship during the summer following their academic year. This externship takes place in an approved overseas site where the practice of applied theatre arts is well established, with whom the university has a contractual agreement for supervised observation. This externship intends to provide a supervisory, logistical and theoretical container for students to explore cultural fieldwork in the international arena.

Curricula for the Master of Arts Degree

APPLIED THEATRE ARTS		UNITS
THTR 505	Staging Community-based Theatre	3
THTR 521	Engaging Community Narratives	3
THTR 544	Embodied Poetics	2
THTR 568	Popular Theatre for Education and Development	3
THTR 577	Theatre and Therapy for Cultural Fieldwork	3
THTR 578	Theatre of the Oppressed Theory, Games, and Techniques	4
THTR 579	Writing Culture	3
THTR 586ab	Applied Theatre Arts: Los Angeles Residency	2-2
THTR 587	Liberation Arts and Community Engagement — Theory	4
THTR 588	Liberation Arts and Community Engagement — Praxis	3
THTR 592ab	Participatory Action Research for Community-based Theatre	2-2
THTR 598	Applied Theatre Arts: International Externship	2
		38