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McGill.ca / Overview / Faculty of Arts / Undergraduate / Programs

Major Concentration English - Drama and Theatre (36 credits)

Offered by: English     Degree: Bachelor of Arts

Program Requirements

The Drama and Theatre option tries to place its subject in as broad a social and philosophical context as possible. The Drama and Theatre program is not designed to provide professional theatre training. The aim is rather to encourage students to explore the subject as a liberal arts discipline.

For the most up-to-date information on Department requirements and detailed course descriptions, please see the English Department Handbook at http://www.mcgill.ca/english/.

Required Courses (6 credits)

6 credits to be taken in the first two terms of the program

  • ENGL 230 Introduction to Theatre Studies (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : An introduction to dramatic literature, text analysis, textual and performance theory, and theatre history.

    Terms: Fall 2024

    Instructors: Zien, Katherine (Fall)

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

    • Fall

  • ENGL 355 The Poetics of Performance (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : This course, normally taken in tandem with ENGL 230, examines and tests theories of acting, directing, and design through scene work and practical exercises.

    Terms: Fall 2024

    Instructors: Carney, Sean (Fall)

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

    • Fall

    • Restriction: Limited to students in the English Major Concentration, Drama and Theatre Option

Complementary Courses (30 credits)

30 credits selected as described below.

3 credits from the following practice-based courses:

  • ENGL 269 Introduction to Performance (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : The focus of this course is on the actor as communicator, and on those things (material, physical, and textual) which are inescapably central to the theatrical performance.

    Terms: Winter 2025

    Instructors: Johnson, Amber Rose (Winter)

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

    • Winter

    • Restriction: Restricted to Drama and Theatre Majors

    • Open to Drama and Theatre Majors

  • ENGL 365 Costuming for the Theatre 1 (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Introduction to costume-making for the theatre, covering fabrics, textiles and costume decoration.

    Terms: Fall 2024

    Instructors: Bradley, Catherine A (Fall)

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

    • Fall

    • Restriction: Permission of instructor required.

    • Restriction: Not open to students enrolled in ENGL 368

  • ENGL 368 Stage Scenery and Lighting 1 (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : An introduction to the technical aspects of stage settings and theatrical lighting.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

    • Fall

    • Restriction: Permission of instructor required.

    • Restriction: Not open to students enrolled in ENGL 365

  • ENGL 372 Stage Scenery and Lighting 2 (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Aspects of stage scenery and theatrical lighting.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

    • Winter

    • Restriction: Not open to students enrolled in ENGL 377.

  • ENGL 377 Costuming for the Theatre 2 (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Advanced topics in costume-making for the theatre, including millinery, dyeing, costume breakdown, and silk painting techniques.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

    • Winter

    • Prerequisite: permission of instructor.

    • Restriction: Not open to students enrolled in ENGL 372.

Performance-Oriented Courses

3 credits from the list of Performance-Oriented Courses:

  • ENGL 365 Costuming for the Theatre 1 (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Introduction to costume-making for the theatre, covering fabrics, textiles and costume decoration.

    Terms: Fall 2024

    Instructors: Bradley, Catherine A (Fall)

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

    • Fall

    • Restriction: Permission of instructor required.

    • Restriction: Not open to students enrolled in ENGL 368

  • ENGL 367 Acting 2 (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : The actor as analyzer of scripts and characters; textual analysis, practice in character development through improvisations, mask work and physical training.

    Terms: Fall 2024

    Instructors: Carney, Sean (Fall)

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

    • Fall

    • Prerequisite: ENGL 269 and permission of instructor.

    • Restriction: Not open to students who have taken 110-469D

  • ENGL 368 Stage Scenery and Lighting 1 (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : An introduction to the technical aspects of stage settings and theatrical lighting.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

    • Fall

    • Restriction: Permission of instructor required.

    • Restriction: Not open to students enrolled in ENGL 365

  • ENGL 372 Stage Scenery and Lighting 2 (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Aspects of stage scenery and theatrical lighting.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

    • Winter

    • Restriction: Not open to students enrolled in ENGL 377.

  • ENGL 376 Scene Study (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Scene study for the theatre.

    Terms: Winter 2025

    Instructors: Schantz, Edward (Winter)

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

    • Fall

  • ENGL 377 Costuming for the Theatre 2 (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Advanced topics in costume-making for the theatre, including millinery, dyeing, costume breakdown, and silk painting techniques.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

    • Winter

    • Prerequisite: permission of instructor.

    • Restriction: Not open to students enrolled in ENGL 372.

  • ENGL 396 Theatre Practicum 1 (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Training in acting and other on-stage roles in theatrical performance.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    • Students enrol by permission of the instructor (the director of the play) after they have been cast.

    • Occasionally, students in non-acting roles (such as choreographer or assistant director) may enrol in the course.

  • ENGL 397 Theatre Practicum 2 (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Training in acting and other on-stage roles in theatrical performance.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    • Students enrol by permission of the instructor (the director of the play) after they have been cast.

    • Occasionally, students in non-acting roles (such as choreographer or assistant director) may enrol in the course.

  • ENGL 465D1 Theatre Laboratory (4.5 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Workshop in theatre practice and drama interpretation.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

    • Prerequisites: ENGL 230, ENGL 269 and ENGL 367 or sufficient relevant experience in related drama courses or permission of the instructor.

    • Students must register for both ENGL 465D1 and ENGL 465D2.

    • No credit will be given for this course unless both ENGL 465D1 and ENGL 465D2 are successfully completed in consecutive terms

  • ENGL 465D2 Theatre Laboratory (4.5 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Workshop in theatre practice and drama interpretation.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

    • Prerequisite: ENGL 465D1

    • No credit will be given for this course unless both ENGL 465D1 and ENGL 465D2 are successfully completed in consecutive terms

  • ENGL 466D1 Directing for the Theatre (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : The direction of a theatrical performance: preparation, casting, rehearsal, and performance are the areas of concentration.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.

  • ENGL 466D2 Directing for the Theatre (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : See ENGL 466D1 for course description.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.

  • ENGL 469 Acting 3 (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Advanced training in acting involving study of some of the major European and North American acting theories and practices.

    Terms: Fall 2024

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

    • Winter

    • Prerequisite: ENGL 269 and permission of instructor.

    • Restriction: Not open to students who have taken 110-469D.

Drama and/or Theatre Courses with a Canadian Component

3 credits from the list of Drama and/or Theatre courses with a Canadian component:

  • ENGL 313 Canadian Drama and Theatre (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Dramatic forms and theatrical practices in Canada from beginnings to the present day.

    Terms: Winter 2025

    Instructors: Hurley, Erin Jane (Winter)

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

    • Winter

  • ENGL 413 Special Topics in Canadian Drama and Theatre (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Advanced study focused on a period or issue in Canadian drama and/or theatre history.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

    • Prerequisite: Students not registered in English programs require permission of instructor.

Theory or Criticism Courses

3 credits from the list of Theory or Criticism courses:

  • ENGL 317 Theory of English Studies 1 (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Philosophical approaches.

    Terms: Fall 2024

    Instructors: Yachnin, Paul (Fall)

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

    • Fall

    • Restriction: Limited to students in English Major and Honours Programs

  • ENGL 318 Theory of English Studies 2 (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Socio-Historical approaches.

    Terms: Winter 2025

    Instructors: Hensley, David C (Winter)

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

    • Fall

    • Restriction: Limited to students in English Major and Honours Programs

  • ENGL 319 Theory of English Studies 3 (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Cultural theory now.

    Terms: Winter 2025

    Instructors: So, Richard (Winter)

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

    • Winter

    • Restriction: Limited to students in English Major and Honours Programs

  • ENGL 322 Theories of the Text (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : A course focusing on textuality (as opposed to, say, intentionality and interpretation) and on how specific effects are made - how texts work and produce meaning, including rhetoric and form.

    Terms: Winter 2025

    Instructors: Hickman, Miranda Brun (Winter)

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

    • Fall

    • Restriction: Limited to students in English Major and Honours Programs.

  • ENGL 346 Materiality and Sociology of Text (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Writing, printing, distribution, marketing, and placement within canon-making institutions; the influence of material forms of production and transmission on the creation and reception of literature, film, and theatre.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

    • Winter

    • Restriction: Limited to students in English Major and Honours Programs.

  • ENGL 352 Theories of Difference (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Introduction to a selection of theories that have influenced thinking about difference across the humanities and social sciences, including gender, sexuality, race, class and hierarchical structures, language, religion, ethnicity, and personal identity.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

    • Fall

    • Restriction: Limited to students in English Major and Honours Programs.

Theatre History Courses

3 credits from the list of Theatre History courses:

Drama and Theatre Before 1900 Courses

3 credits from the list of courses in Drama and Theatre before 1900:

Drama and Theatre Option's Offerings - Additional Courses

12 additional credits from the option's offerings.

This category includes all the courses listed above except required courses, as well as the courses listed below.

Note: Any English course not on the lists specifically for the Drama and Theatre option—such as unlisted courses in Cultural Studies—may not count toward the Drama and Theatre program. Please consult a departmental adviser for guidance on course choices.

  • ENGL 314 20th Century Drama (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : A study of selected representative works in modern drama and theatre.

    Terms: Winter 2025

    Instructors: Carney, Sean (Winter)

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

    • Winter

  • ENGL 375 Interpretation Dramatic Text (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : A study of the dramatic text as literature, and as a basis for theatre production. Emphasis on character and character development, on structure and motivational units, and on the visualization of the play in performance.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.

  • ENGL 430 Studies in Drama (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : A study of a period or genre of drama. Topic varies by year.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

    • Winter

  • ENGL 431 Studies in Drama (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : A study of a period or genre of drama. Topic varies by year.

    Terms: Winter 2025

    Instructors: Zien, Katherine (Winter)

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

    • Fall

  • ENGL 434 Independent Theatre Project (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : Supervised independent work on an approved theatre project.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

    • Fall and Winter

    • This course will allow students to undertake special projects, frequently involving background readings, performances, and essays. This course is normally open only to Major or Honours students in the Department. Permission must be obtained from the Department before registration

  • ENGL 458 Theories of Text and Performance 1 (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : This course provides an historical perspective on advanced theoretical problems affecting both dramatic texts and theatrical performance up to the 19th Century. The historical periods covered in this course may vary from year to year.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

    • Prerequisites: ENGL 230 and ENGL 269 or permission of instructor

  • ENGL 459 Theories of Text and Performance 2 (3 credits)

    Offered by: English (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    English (Arts) : This course provides an historical perspective on advanced theoretical problems affecting both dramatic texts and theatrical performance starting from the 19th Century to the present. The historical periods covered in this course may vary from year to year.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    • For the most detailed and up-to-date descriptions of course and seminar offerings please see the Department of English website at www.mcgill.ca/english.

    • Winter

    • Prerequisites: ENGL 230 and ENGL 269 or permission of instructor

Drama and Theatre - Courses of Interest - Other Departments

Students are normally permitted to count 6 credits from other departments toward their English programs. In exceptional circumstances, an adviser, approached by a student with strong academic grounds for including a third such course, may grant permission, to a maximum of 9 extra-departmental credits, and must so indicate in advance by signing the departmental program audit sheet.

This list comprises courses in other departments that might be accepted by an adviser for credit toward the student's Drama and Theatre program. This list applies only to these courses as they are offered in the current academic year.

There might be other courses in the Faculty of Arts for which a student could receive Drama and Theatre program credit. A student who has identified a course not noted below, should show their program adviser the course syllabus in advance and, if he or she agrees, get the adviser's initialled approval of the course on their program audit sheet. The Department requires a complete signed audit sheet in the student's file in Arts 155 in order to process the file for graduation.

Included in the list are courses taught in languages other than English and courses that have prerequisites.

* Note: The courses in the list below with an asterisk ("*") have an historical dimension and may count toward this program requirement. Other courses could count toward the "option's offerings" component of the program.

  • EAST 464 Image, Text, Performance (3 credits)

    Offered by: East Asian Studies (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    Asian Language & Literature : Drawing on theoretical approaches from a variety of cultural and media studies, including cinema, performance and performativity, and elsewhere, this course addresses cultural production in premodern and/or modern East Asia. Topics to be addressed range from calligraphy and writing, to theatre, and film.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    • Prerequisite: Any East Asian Studies course above the introductory level, or permission of the instructor

  • MUAR 387 The Opera (3 credits) *

    Offered by: Music Research (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    Music-Arts Faculty : A survey of opera from c.1600 to the present. Opera as ritual, opera as spectacle, opera as catharsis, opera as business, opera and its literary models. The continuing relevance of the operatic experience today.

    Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.

    Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.

  • PHIL 242 Introduction to Feminist Theory (3 credits)

    Offered by: Philosophy (Faculty of Arts)

    Overview

    Philosophy : An introduction to feminist theory as political theory. Emphasis is placed on the plurality of analyses and proposals that constitute contemporary feminist thought. Some of the following are considered: liberal feminism, marxist and socialist feminism, radical feminism, postmodern feminism, francophone feminism, and the contributions to feminist theory by women of colour and lesbians.

    Terms: Fall 2024

    Instructors: Deslauriers, Marguerite (Fall)

    • Note: Since this course is being taught abroad, the Victoria Day statutory holiday will not be taken into consideration. Therefore, students are expected to attend their lecture on Monday, May 19, 2014.

  • PSYC 212 Perception (3 credits)

    Offered by: Psychology (Faculty of Science)

    Overview

    Psychology : Perception is the organization of sensory input into a representation of the environment. Topics include: survey of sensory coding mechanisms (visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, gustatory), object recognition, spatial localization, perceptual constancies and higher level influences.

    Terms: Fall 2024, Winter 2025

    Instructors: Roy, Mathieu (Winter)

    • Fall 2 Lectures, 1 conference

Faculty of Arts—2024-2025 (last updated Apr. 3, 2024) (disclaimer)
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