Reed College
Reed College

Theatre Department

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 Senior Will Stevens, directing Blue Heart. Spring 2023.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the Theatre major, a student will have developed a broad understanding of theatre history, theory, and practice; the ability to think and produce creative work as a collaborative artist; and demonstrate the ability to complete a significant independent research project (sometimes with a creative component) and to present that work in writing and in discussion. Majors will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate a broad understanding of theatre history, theory, and practice and think and work as a collaborative artist:
    • Perform a close reading of a play
    • Analyze a play in its historical and cultural context
    • Engage in a deep dramaturgical analysis of a play
    • Envision their own production of a play and articulate that vision
    • Work in a collaborative process to contribute to making a stage production
  2. Complete a significant independent project that serves to critically explore a topic:
    • Choose and define a central question from the major field
    • Develop a methodology or framework, whether through production or library-based research, for testing the question
    • Develop and produce a bibliography
    • Conduct independent work with the support of an advisor
    • Respond appropriately to feedback
    • Contribute to the larger field, whether through synthesis, innovation or creation
    • In the case of production work, be able to lead the creative process in their area of focus 
  3. Communicate work done
    • Write a clear and coherent document that is substantially longer than a traditional term paper or project and formatted in a style appropriate to the approach
    • Orally present, discuss and defend work done

The primary assessment tool for learning in the major at Reed and the level of student achievement in the major area is the senior thesis; the junior qualifying examination, which assesses a student's readiness for thesis, provides a second assessment tool. For more information on the senior thesis and the junior qualifying examination, see Degree Requirements.