Dana Yeaton
Associate Professor of Theatre
- Office
- Hesselgrave House 223
- Tel
- (802) 443-2423
- dyeaton@middlebury.edu
- Office Hours
- Fall semester: held at 132 Blinn Lane, aka Innovation Hub Mondays, 12:30-2:00 PM, Tuesdays, 3:30-5:00 PM
Dana Yeaton is the recipient of the “New Voice in American Theatre” award from the William Inge Theatre Festival. His play “Helen At Risk” won the Heideman Award from the Actor’s Theatre of Louisville and his full-length drama “Mad River Rising” received the Moss Hart Award from the New England Theatre Conference. His two-person show, “Swing State,” was selected for the New York Musical Theatre Festival. Dana has received three fellowships in playwriting from the Vermont Arts Council and two from the Shenandoah International Playwrights Retreat. His plays in print include “Alice In Love,” “The Big Random,” “Helen At Risk,” “Mad River Rising,” “Men In Heat,” and “Midwives.” He has taught at the University of Tennessee, University of Vermont and at the Vermont Governor’s Institute on the Arts. He is Founding Director of the Vermont Young Playwrights Project.
Courses Taught
CRWR 0701
Upcoming
Senior Thesis:Creative Writing
Course Description
Senior Thesis: Creative Writing
Discussions, workshops, tutorials for those undertaking one-term projects in the writing of fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction.
Terms Taught
INTD 0103
Upcoming
Persuasive Storytelling
Course Description
Persuasive Storytelling: An Oratory Lab
Imagine a gymnasium designed to increase, not your physical health, but your fitness as a speaker. The Ancient Greeks called it “progymnasmata,” a progression of fourteen exercises that began with storytelling, advanced through reasoning and ceremonial speechmaking, and only then, in lesson 14, allowed students to argue a thesis. This classical approach aligns with modern brain science: the most essential tool of persuasion is story. Like the progymnasmata, each class session in Persuasive Storytelling will feature a new speaking exercise building on the previous one. We’ll practice the rhetorical arts of pitching, advocating, and interviewing, but our primary focus will be on delivery; how we use the voice and body to captivate an audience and move them to respond.
Terms Taught
Requirements
INTD 0500
Upcoming
Independent Study
Course Description
Independent Study
Approval Required
Terms Taught
INTD 1035
Oratory Lab: Speechwriting
Course Description
Oratory Lab - Speechwriting
What changes when, instead of writing to an imagined reader, we stand and speak to a live audience? Can learning to present with more clarity and conviction make us better writers? And what about coaching? Does learning to help others communicate more effectively make us more effective as well? These are among the questions we’ll explore in the O-Lab – Oratory Now’s new research and development wing. Students will progress through a series of short writing and speaking assignments designed to increase both comfort and connection to the audience. The course will culminate in a speechwriting showcase open to the public.
Terms Taught
Requirements
PHED 0249
Oratory: Trng the Instrument
Course Description
10/23-12/1/23. TTh 5:30-6:30. Adirondack Coltrane. Designed to increase confidence and reduce stress connected to oral presentation, this class will combine speaking drills with high energy movement, chi gung, and other body awareness exercises. Taught in collaboration with the Oratory Society.
Terms Taught
Requirements
PHED 0449
OratoryX: Public Spkng Workout
Course Description
2/12 - 3/15/24. T / TH 5:30 p.m. in Adirondack Coltrane. Designed to increase confidence and reduce stress connected to oral presentation, this class will combine speaking drills with high energy movement, chi gung, and other body awareness exercises. Taught in collaboration with Oratory Now.
Terms Taught
Requirements
THEA 0218
Playwriting I: Beginning
Course Description
Playwriting I: Beginning
The purpose of the course is to gain a theoretical and practical understanding of writing for the stage. Students will read, watch, and analyze published plays, as well as work by their peers, but the focus throughout will remain on the writing and development of original work. (Formerly THEA/ENAM 0218)
Terms Taught
Requirements
THEA 0318
Upcoming
Playwriting II: Advanced
Course Description
Playwriting II: Advanced
For students with experience writing short scripts or stories, this workshop will provide a support structure in which to write a full-length stage play. We will begin with extended free and guided writing exercises intended to help students write spontaneously and with commitment. Class discussions will explore scene construction, story structure, and the development of character arc. (ENAM 0170 or THEA/CRWR 0218 or FMMC/CRWR 0218; by approval) 2 1/2 hrs. lect./individual labs
Terms Taught
Requirements
THEA 0500
Upcoming
Intermediate Indep Project
Course Description
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.
Terms Taught
THEA 0505
Upcoming
Intermediate Ind. Project
Course Description
Intermediate Independent Project
(Approval Required)
Terms Taught
THEA 0700
Upcoming
Senior Project
Course Description
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.
Terms Taught
THEA 0708
Joint Senior Work: THEA-ENGL
Course Description
Senior Work: Joint Majors in Theatre and English & American Literatures
Approval required.
Terms Taught