Alex Draper, Department Chair
Associate Professor of Theatre
adraper@middlebury.edu
work802.443.5806
Mon 10:00 am - 11:00 am, Wed 11:15 am - 12:15 pm, Fri 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Mahaney Center for the Arts 333
Alex Draper is a founding member and the Associate Artistic Director of PTP/NYC (formerly the Potomac Theatre Project), appearing in the company’s critically acclaimed productions of Pentecost, Gertrude: the Cry, Serious Money, Scenes from an Execution, No End of Blame, Pleva: Meditations on Hatrted, One for the Road, and Love Song of the Electric Bear. As a professional stage, film and television actor, his twenty-five-year career includes performing with the Mabou Mines in Paris, France, filming the Bollywood extravaganza Kalapani in the Andeman Islands, and appearing in the New York premieres of Dare Clubb’s Obie Award-winning Oedipus, starring Billy Crudup and Frances McDormand, Erin Courtnry’s A Map of Virtue, the Presnyakov Brothers’ Terrorism, Neil Simon’s Rose’s Dilemma and Phillip Ridley’s The Pitchfork Disney. Regional work includes productions at Arena Stage, Yale Rep, the McCarter, Williamstown, the Westport Playhouse, the Huntington, and the Berkshire Theatre Festival. Film and television credits include: No Pay, Nudity (upcoming),Yellowbrickroad (Best Feature, New York Horror Film Festival), Joshua, Hysterical Blindness, Simply Irresistible, The Photographer, Hard Shell, John Adams, The Good Wife, Sex and the City, Law and Order, Law and Order SVU, Law and Order: CI, Suddenly Susan, Ed, and Dellaventura. He received his BA from Middlebury, and his MFA from the Yale School of Drama, where he was the recipient of the Oliver Thorndike Acting Award.
Courses
Courses offered in the past four years.
▲ indicates offered in the current term
▹ indicates offered in the upcoming term[s]
ARDV0116 - The Creative Process ▲
The Creative Process
In this course, students will have the opportunity to dig deeply into their own creativity and explore the processes by which ideas emerge and are given shape in the arts. The experiential nature of this course integrates cognition and action, mind and body. Students will engage a range of modes of discovering, knowing, and communicating, which are designed to push them beyond their present state of awareness and level of confidence in their creative power. Practical work will be closely accompanied by readings and journaling, culminating with the creation and performance of a short project. (First- and second-year students only; Not open to students who have taken FYSE 1364) 3 hrs. lect. ART
Fall 2016
FMMC0349 / THEA0349 - Acting/Directing for theCamera
Acting and Directing for the Camera
In this advanced workshop we will focus on the relationship between actors and directors in the context of live action media production (film, television, advertising, web series). Students will gain practical knowledge of actor-director engagement and insight into both facets of this process. Students will also analyze produced screenplays, practice actor-director communication, and direct and perform for the camera. All students will take turns fulfilling the roles of director and performer, culminating in recording and editing workshopped scenes. (FMMC 0105 or THEA 0102) ART
Spring 2016
FYSE1222 - Playing the Part
Playing the Part: Text Analysis and the Revelation of Character
In this seminar we will apply the actor’s techniques of text analysis and character development to the study of dramatic literature in the hopes that these tools can illuminate the texts in ways conventional approaches might not. This is not a performance class nor is acting experience a prerequisite. We will read six plays, and, using the technical tenets of Stanislavsky-based method acting, chart the characters’ progress through the script. We will watch plays on film, and travel to see a professional production. 3 hrs. sem. ART CW LIT NOR
Fall 2012
THEA0102 - Acting I: Beginning Acting
Acting I: Beginning Acting
Rigorous physical and psychophysical exercises attempt to break through the cultural and psychological barriers that inhibit an open responsiveness to impulses, to the environment, and to others. Attempt is made to free personal response within improvised scenes and, eventually, within the narrative structure of a naturalistic scene. Attention is given to various theories of acting technique. Students are expected to audition for departmental shows. (First- and second-year students only) 3 hrs. lect./individual labs ART
Spring 2013, Fall 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016
THEA0126 - 20th Century Amer. Drama
Analyzing Characters in Twentieth-Century American Drama
This is a dramatic literature course that analyzes characters' emotional and psychological motivations from the perspective of the actor. It is not an acting course and there will be no performance component, although reading scenes will occur to make clear those choices arrived at through textual analysis. In addition, the course will provide students with analytical tools to aid in the appreciation of dramatic literature. We will read and analyze eight plays from the twentieth century American canon using methods derived from an essentially subjective perspective. 3 hrs. lect. (Dramatic Literature)/ ART LIT NOR
Spring 2014
THEA0202 - Acting II: Voice for the Actor ▲
Acting II: Voice for the Actor
Using the Linklater technique for the voice, students will study the physiological foundations of voice and alignment. By means of interrelated physical and vocal exercises, students will discover ways of changing patterns that restrict a full range of physical and vocal expressiveness. Students will study and present passages from Shakespeare to explore ways in which their new physical and vocal skills may be used to express a greater range of intellectual and emotional understanding. (THEA 0102 and ARDV 0116; Approval required) 4 hrs. lect.
Fall 2013, Fall 2014, Fall 2015, Fall 2016
THEA0210 - Fall Production Studio: Acting
Fall Production Studio: Acting
The cast works as part of a company interpreting, rehearsing, and performing a play. Those receiving credit can expect to rehearse four to six nights a week. Appropriate written work is required. Participation in the course is determined by auditions held the previous term. (Approval required) 3 hrs. lect. ART
Fall 2012, Fall 2013, Fall 2015
THEA0220 - Spring Production Studio: Act
Spring Production Studio: Acting
The cast works as part of a company, interpreting, rehearsing, and performing a play. Those receiving credit can expect to rehearse four to six nights a week. Appropriate written work is required. Participation in the course is determined by auditions held during the term prior to the performance. (Approval required) 3 hrs. lect. ART
Spring 2015
THEA0302 - Acting III: Monologue & Scenes
Acting III: Scene and Monologue Study
Designed primarily for majors who have had experience on stage or have otherwise demonstrated a serious interest in performance. The skills introduced in Acting I and Acting II are given intensive application to different kinds of dramatic texts, primarily realistic in nature. Attention will be given to expanding the performer's range of emotional and intellectual expressiveness. (Approval required) 4 hrs. lect.
Spring 2013, Spring 2014
THEA0500 - Intermediate Indep Project ▲ ▹
Intermediate Independent Project
In consultation with their advisors, theatre majors in design may propose a THEA 0500 Intermediate Independent Project. Preliminary proposal forms approved by the student's advisor will be submitted to the program by March 1st of the preceding academic year for those wanting credit in the fall or winter terms and by October 1st for those wanting credit in the spring term. Projects will conform to the guidelines that are available in the theatre office. Students are required to attend a weekly THEA 0500/0700 seminar.
Fall 2012, Winter 2013, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Winter 2014, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Winter 2015, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Winter 2016, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Spring 2017
THEA0505 - Intermediate Ind. Project ▲ ▹
Intermediate Independent Project
(Approval Required)
Fall 2012, Winter 2013, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Winter 2014, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Winter 2015, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Winter 2016, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Spring 2017
THEA0700 - Senior Project ▲ ▹
Senior Independent Project
Senior work is required. In consultation with their advisors, theatre majors may propose a THEA 0700 Independent Project. Preliminary proposal forms approved by the student's advisor will be submitted to the program by March 1st of the preceding academic year for those wanting credit in the fall or winter terms and by October 1st for those wanting credit in the spring term. Projects will conform to the guidelines that are available in the theatre office. Students are required to attend a weekly THEA 0500/0700 seminar.
Fall 2012, Winter 2013, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Winter 2014, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Winter 2015, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Winter 2016, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Spring 2017
THEA1005 - Closing Arguments: Court Stage
Closing Arguments: The Courtroom on Stage
In this course we will examine the relationship between the courtroom and the theatre: what is it about the trial setting that makes it so intrinsically dramatic? Starting with four great plays (Inherit the Wind, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, A Few Good Men, and Twelve Angry Men), we will chart components of a court case (opening arguments, presentation of evidence, examination and cross examination of witnesses, etc.), and assess the degree to which “performance” can contribute to a good prosecution or defense, focusing specifically on that ubiquitously dramatized legal aria, the closing argument. Additional source material will include court transcripts, Supreme Court opinions, films and excerpts of televised trials, as well as a selection of famous closing arguments. (Dramatic Literature)/ ART LIT WTR
Winter 2015
THEA1015 - Art/Science of Preparation
The Art and Science of Preparation
In this course we will introduce students of theatre to various areas of the discipline, including audition techniques, portfolio preparation, critical analysis of text, and appropriate research for plays and characters. Our work will include readings, practice auditions, interviews, and on-camera work for those students with an acting focus. Students will be required to keep a journal of their process and research. Specific opportunities may arise for off campus work in the areas of acting, directing, dramaturgy, and criticism. (THEA 0102; Approval Required) ART WTR
Winter 2013
