Offered annually in the spring term, Introduction to Stagecraft is a hands-on course that gets students working with the tools and techniques of theatrical production in a practical way. It is not a design course but one devoted to artisanship. Among the many remarkable final projects that have been proposed and presented at the end of the course have been a Renaissance hourglass blown in the MIT glass shop and set into a frame turned on our set shop lathe; a four harness loom built by a student who then wove cloth on it; a number of chain mail tunics and coifs; a wide variety of costume and furniture pieces and electrified period lighting fixtures.

A Final Project worth one third of the course grade--the design and construction of a major costume item, property, scenic piece or piece of furniture--is required in lieu of an exam. The midterm proposal for your final project should be a written report with visual support (plans, drawings, pictures, patterns etc.). It needs to be complete enough to define the scale of the project, and to show the faculty that you have begun to think through the process to accomplish your project. This report must be submitted on or before Class #13 for discussion at the Mid-Term class meeting due in Class #14.

In addition, production work (a total of 24 hours: six hours in each of the three shops and an additional six in a shop of the student's choice) is required for successful completion of the course, and is worth one third of the final grade. Production hours must be recorded on the accompanying time record and verified by the supervising staff member's initials. The time record is to be submitted with the Final Project. All hours must be completed and grading is based on quality of work and attitude supportive of the production. Only hours spent on Theatre Arts productions (Dramashop, Workshops, Playwrights-in-Performance) supervised by Theatre Arts faculty/staff can be used to satisfy this requirement as we are unable to supervise, monitor, or guarantee the type of work done by other producing organizations on campus.

Upcoming Productions:

Workshops open on March 7 and April 11
Dramashop Spring Production opens April 8
Playwrights-in-Performance opens May 6

No text is required for this course, but the purchase of art supplies and materials for the Final Project should be expected.

The Design Staff may be contacted by phone, e-mail, or by notes in our boxes in the front office. All staff and students will be on the mailing list.

Students are urged to call the shops or otherwise confirm work times specifically with the staff before arriving at any site to fulfill production hours.