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C-ID: THTR 191.

• Prerequisite: Pre-enrollment audition required. Co-enrollment in TH ART 51 is required.

This course includes rehearsals and performances of a theatrical production geared specifically for a younger audience. It explores acting skills through the application and development of progressive performance techniques. Emphasis is placed on cooperative blending of all theatre activities into a finished public performance. Students will rehearse and prepare material and learn about the processes of performing for the live theatre.

Students enrolled in this course are required to purchase tickets for and attend SMC theatre productions.

• Prerequisite: Pre-enrollment auditions required.

This course includes rehearsals and performances of the department’s summer theatre productions, including related production activities.

C-ID: THTR 191.

• Prerequisite: Pre-enrollment audition required.

This course involves rehearsals and performances of a theatrical production designed for a smaller venue. Such a production includes, but is not limited to any of the following: Non-traditional themes, newer or lesser-known playwrights, student or faculty-written works, multi-cultural works and multiple theatrical genres. The course applies advanced acting skills in the selected genre to the development and performance of a production. Emphasis is placed on cooperative blending of all theatre activities into a finished public performance. Students rehearse and learn about the processes of performing for the live theatre.

• Prerequisite: Pre-enrollment audition required.

On-site or Online exploration and application of progressive audition techniques for students hoping to advance to higher levels of education and performance goals. Students will prepare audition material and learn about the processes of auditioning at the more advanced levels of theatre and the education system. Many will proceed to audition for prestigious schools and contests.

Please see “Independent Studies” section.

Please see “Independent Studies” section.

Please see “Independent Studies” section.

Please see “Internships” section.

Please see “Internships” section.

Please see “Internships” section.

Please see “Internships” section.

This course allows older adults to explore the human condition in historical and contemporary dramatic literature, fairy tales, myths, and legends, satire, and parody. By learning how to analyze and interpret these texts, older adults will be able to craft the characters that inhabit these stories. Through the transformative process of creativity, older adults improve their acting skills and participate in a public performance, which builds self-confidence and self esteem.

This course expands older adults’ knowledge of play production methods and the history of the theater as it relates to current society and the life experiences of older adults. Older adults will learn about theater production from the viewpoint of the director, actor, critic, and viewer.

This course increases older adults’ knowledge of how to present dramatic literature and allows them to express themselves by reading scenes, poetry, illuminating literature, or speeches in front of an audience. Older adults also interpret plays and practice acting skills with their peers. This course expands older adults’ experience with dramatic literature without requiring perfect recall from memory.

Formerly HUMDEV E15.

This course is designed to help Emeritus students improve their outlook on life, stimulate their minds and imaginations, improve peer group interaction and communication, and increase their sense of positive aging through humor. Students will engage with their peers in a positive and up-lifting manner while learning about the use of humor through the ages. They will learn about comedy in theater, literature, film, and music from the beginnings of recorded civilization to the present, and will discuss: changes in stereotypes such as comedic images of older adults and other subgroups of the community; different types of humor; and/or popular trends in comedy, stand-up comedy, comedy of stage and screen, musical comedy, musical satire, with a special emphasis on the connection of rhythm and comic timing.

This course encourages older adults to awaken their childhood by introducing them to the fundamentals of theatre improvisation. Students will joyfully explore essential improvisation performance techniques like spontaneity, creating an environment, character development, and structuring a scene. Build community with classmates through exercises, games, and group activities while having fun developing transferable life skills like quick-thinking, playfulness, imagination, and self-discovery. No improv experience necessary.

Formerly HUMDEV E22.

This course is designed to help Emeritus students learn about Jewish culture, from the historical backdrop of the 19th Century’s worldwide advances, pogroms, and immigrations, to the flowering of Jewish art, culture and entertainment in 20th Century United States and beyond. The course aims to improve students’ outlook on life, stimulate their minds and imaginations, improve peer group interaction and communication, and increase their sense of positive aging and cultural identity with particular attention to Jewish humor and tenacity as survival mechanisms in the face of adversity. Students will engage with their peers in a positive and up-lifting manner while learning about the use of art and humor through the last century. They will learn about Jewish theater, literature, film, art and music, and how American culture has flourished as a result of the Jews’ contributions. We will discuss: changes in stereotypes such as comedic images of older adults and other subgroups of the community; different types of art, self-expression and humor; and/or popular trends in all aspects of culture and entertainment.

In this performance-based class, students will be expected to learn and perform Close-up and Stage Magic. From card tricks to dinner table gags, the illusions covered in this class are practical, easy, and fun to do. Students will focus on entertaining friends and family while mastering the physical and mental concentration needed to create a successful trick. We will also discuss performance skills and presence on stage.

Formerly ENGL E28.

This course engages Emeritus students in the rich theatrical material available in the Los Angeles area by exposing them to an assortment of American, English, and other theatrical works, playwrights, and screenwriters. Students will learn about plots, characters, and the many interpretations of plays through comparative analysis, will relate plays to their life experiences, and will engage in respectful discussions with their peers.

This course helps older adults explore the art, technology, language and appreciation of film from the point of view of the older adult. Older adult students analyze the fundamentals of film production as a means of encouraging mental stimulation and peer socialization. Film examples are shown in class for comparison and discussion.