Department of Theatre & Dance
Survival Guide
Answers to common questions for UCSD Undergraduates / 2011-2012 Edition
Download the full Theatre Department Survival Guide HERE.
DEPARTMENT OFFICES
The Department is located on the second floor of Galbraith Hall on the opposite side of the building from the CLICS Library, facing "Stonehenge" and the Mandell Weiss Center on the Revelle campus.
OFFICE HOURS
Faculty and teaching assistants (TAs) set their own office hours. These may vary each quarter. Theatre and Dance Department Administrative Office and mailroom are open Monday through Thursday 8-noon and 1-4:30 p.m. and Friday 8-noon and 1-4 p.m., except for published University holidays.
CONTACTING YOUR INSTRUCTOR OR TA
All instructors are required to hold office hours during the quarter they are teaching a class. You should refer to your syllabus for their appointments or walk-in schedule. Office hours and contact information are also posted by the third week of each quarter or as we receive it from the instructors on the bulletin board in the lobby of Galbraith Hall. If you have any questions about a class, or your progress in a class, you should contact the instructor via phone or email.
TAs do not have voicemail or phones in their offices. The Front Desk does not take messages for faculty or TAs. Be sure to ask your TA how they can be contacted if they do not provide that information in the syllabus.
All faculty, instructors and TAs have mailboxes in the mailroom on the main level of Galbraith Hall, adjacent to the elevator (GH 220). You may leave written messages for them there. The Department encourages faculty and TAs to check their mailboxes regularly.
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UNDERGRADUATE ADVISING
The Undergraduate Coordinator, Laura Jimenez is available for both walk-ins and appointments.
Walk-ins: First week of every quarter and every Friday 9:00-11:00 and 1:00-3:00
Appointments: Start second week of the quarter through finals week, Monday-Thursday 9:00-11:00 and 1:00-3:00
Walk-ins are 5-10 minute walk-in sessions that deal with simple questions such as: changing your current quarter classes, clarification of major/minor requirements or other immediate concerns.
Appointments are 15-minute sessions to deal with more involved questions such as: developing a long-term academic plan, updating your degree audit and discussing a double major. Appointments must be made at least 24hrs in advance. To set up an appointment please ask the front desk in GH 202 or call 858-534-3791.
The Theatre and Dance faculty are also available to advise what types of courses and internships you may want to pursue to further your career interests. You can speak with any faculty member working in your area of interest about your goals and the best way to achieve them.
Students should visit their College advising office for information about their College requirements.
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UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES
Student Representatives from the Theatre and Dance Department are also available to answer your questions. The Reps meet with prospective and incoming students, show students and parents around the facilities, and host an undergraduate meeting each quarter. This informal meeting is open to all students (from within and outside the Department) and is typically held on the Wednesday evening of the third week of each quarter. Upcoming events, special projects, general information and occasional guest speakers are presented at the meeting. Students are encouraged to offer feedback to the Department at these meetings, pass along information about what is working or what is not and tell us what type of classes they would like to see offered in future quarters. We hope students will feel free to contact the Reps with any questions or comments about the Department. The Representatives serve as student liaisons and bring any special problems or concerns to the Department attention. You can contact the reps at: tdugreps@ucsd.edu.
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EMAIL, LISTSERVERS, & WWW
All incoming students receive a UCSD email account. Be sure to check your email regularly as it is the official means of communication at UCSD. If you are using an off-campus email address (e.g., AOL, Google, Earthlink, Hotmail, Yahoo, etc.), please contact the ACT Helpdesk in the AP&M building to have your @ucsd.edu account mail forwarded to your off-campus account at no charge. You can also reach ACT Helpdesk by email at: acthelp@ucsd.edu or call: 858-534-1853.
The Theatre and Dance Department often sends information to students through an undergraduate mail listserv entitled ‘Ug-theatre’. Messages sent through the ‘Ug-theatre’ listserv include announcements about courses, scholarship information, upcoming auditions, performance opportunities, and other useful information. We recommend that you subscribe to this listserv. To subscribe to the mailing list, send an email to listserv@ucsd.edu with a blank subject line. In the body of the message, type:
Add networkusername@ucsd.edu ug-theatre
example: add johnsmith@ucsd.edu ug-theatre
To remove yourself from the list, do exactly the same, but change add to delete. You may leave the subject line blank, if you wish. Any technical problems with the listserv should be addressed to postmaster@ucsd.edu.
The Theatre and Dance website (http://theatre.ucsd.edu/) is full of useful information including degree requirements, course descriptions, production calendars, and faculty information.
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REQUIRED COURSES
The courses required for the major are those listed in the UCSD Catalog starting the first quarter you enroll. Transfer students will be held to the requirements in effect two years previous to their first year at UCSD, even if the requirements have changed since then. If you lose your UCSD Catalog, the Geisel Library, your College advising office, and the department all have copies. The Catalog is also available online: http://www.ucsd.edu/catalog/. You should read and be familiar with your major and minor requirements. Remember, you are responsible for completing all the major/minor requirements. University policies and procedures including those for challenging a grade and/or for matters relating to residency are listed in your Catalog.
Visit or email the Undergraduate Coordinator if you are confused about the major/minor requirements. You can also pick up major and minor checklists at the Department office or on the Theatre and Dance website.
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IMPORTANT PRACTICUM INFORMATION
Practicum is a requirement for all Theatre and Dance majors and minors. Theatre majors are required to take two different practicum courses. Dance majors and theatre and dance minors are required to take one practicum course. Transfer students who have taken an equivalent course may petition to transfer one practicum course from their community college. If the petition is approved, the student will then take a second practicum course at UCSD in an area different from the petitioned course.
Practicum is an opportunity to gain experience through working behind the scenes of a production. You are strongly encouraged to start your practicum work within your first year of declaring your major/minor, as spaces are limited and you must finish the practicum requirement to major or minor in Theatre or Dance. The practicum requirement will not be waived. Practicum is available every quarter except summer session.
You cannot pre-register for practicum. Seats in this class are assigned by lottery at the first class meeting. This meeting is held at 2:30 pm on the first Friday of every quarter, the room location will be announced on the ‘Schedule of Classes’ in TritonLink. Assignments to show crews will also be made at that time. If you do not attend this meeting, you can not get into the class.
Advanced practicum are available for students interested in further work in technical theatre within the lighting, costume, sound or design area. You can use these opportunities to earn upper division credit for your major or minor while gaining valuable technical skills. To learn more about advanced practicum contact Mark Guirguis at mguirguis@ucsd.edu. An upper division practicum class (TDPR104) is available for students interested in Stage Management. Please contact Lisa Porter at ljporter@ucsd.edu to discuss Stage Management opportunities that may be available. It is best to investigate these options a quarter in advance before taking these courses.
DANCE MAJORS – PLEASE NOTE: If you are planning to fulfill the design requirement with TDDE 121, Lighting Design, it may be a good idea to consider TDPR 3, Lighting Practicum, as it is a prerequisite for TDDE 121. TDDE 1 Intro to Design would also fulfill this prerequisite if you are interested in taking one of the other Practicum classes (i.e. Sound, Costumes, or Scenery).
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PRODUCTIONS
There are at least two plays and three dance concerts staged for undergraduate performers each year. Additionally, some advanced acting classes (TDAC108 or TDAC120) may hold a performance at the end of the quarter. Past class projects have included a "Street Theatre" project staged in the Price Center courtyard, a collaborative work that traveled to Los Angeles, and a "Page-to-Stage" project which students wrote, designed, and performed their own, original pieces.
Students can often audition for the graduate productions. Be sure to have audition material ready to go. Information on audition opportunities will be posted on the bulletin board in the main lobby of Galbraith Hall as soon as it becomes available.
Dancers have the opportunity to perform in three shows produced by the Department each year. The Winter Dance Concert, choreographed by our faculty members, grad dance students and visiting choreographers, occurs at the end of winter quarter. Students join the choreographers in repertory classes and receive academic credit for their work on the Winter Concert. For Spring quarter, dancers create, choreograph, and audition new works to be performed by their peers in a Mainstage concert. Faculty selects the most interesting pieces and works with the dancers to help them perfect their performances. Academic credit is given for participation in Dance concerts. Dancers may also stage Cabarets, normally held in the Molli and Arthur Wagner Dance Facility.
Family and friends are welcomed to attend all Department performances. Ticket prices are minimal for Mainstage productions, and Cabarets are free of charge (although seating is usually limited). Previews of upcoming performances can be found on the Department website at http://theatre.ucsd.edu .
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CABARETS AND COMPANY 157
Undergraduate students may propose and produce their own Cabaret productions. Cabarets are entirely student-run, including casting, directing, acting, and design. Contact Laura Manning, the Department's Assistant Production Manager, for details on Cabarets. You can email her at lmanning@ucsd.edu. To submit a proposal or to learn more information visit: http://theatre.ucsd.edu/season/cabaret/
Company 157 and ONPS are some undergraduate production companies that help support student cabarets. Their mission is to provide information, access to technical support, and a network of students, graduates and faculty members. For more information contact your student reps at: tdugreps@ucsd.edu
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AUDITIONS
Theatre production auditions are posted on Galbraith Hall’s bulletin board. Many students have adopted the habit of making regular (if not daily) visits to Galbraith Hall in order to check the bulletin boards in the main lobby for audition and casting notices. Any student who has completed TDAC 1 can audition for any Theatre production, unless otherwise advertised.
Dance production auditions and announcements are posted on the Molli and Arthur Wagner Dance Facility bulletin boards near the faculty office (between Studio 1 and Studio 2).
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TICKETS TO DEPARTMENT PRODUCTIONS
Declared theatre and dance majors are eligible to receive one complimentary ticket to each of the Department’s Main Stage, Second Stage, and Wagner New Play Festival shows. Information about Departmental productions is located at http://theatre.ucsd.edu/season/tickets/staffcomp.html. Go to the tickets section for the show you want to see. You will be able to request comp tickets from there.
Another way to see a show is to be a volunteer usher. When a student volunteers, he or she will receive a complimentary ticket and a guaranteed seat to a performance in exchange for carrying out easy but important front of house tasks (such as tearing tickets, seating patrons, or handing out programs). Ushering is fun and easy – no experience is required and all majors are welcome.
To inquire about usher availability, contact the Theatre and Dance promotions manager at promotions@ucsd.edu and put the word “USHER” (in all caps) in the subject line. Someone will respond to your inquiry with more information in a timely manner.
Other opportunities may present themselves during the year. Keep checking the bulletin boards for any other chances to see free shows.
Tickets can be purchased at the Potiker Theatre Box Office or by calling (858) 534-4574. Their hours are 12 noon to 6 pm and two hours prior to scheduled performances.
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RESERVING REHEARSAL SPACE
Students currently enrolled in any Theatre or Dance class can use rehearsal spaces in the Dance Studios and/or Galbraith Hall. You can reserve a space by using the "Space Sign-out Book" located in the Theatre and Dance main office. Rehearsal space is not available on Sundays. Reservations for a given week can be made as early as 8 a.m. the previous Friday morning. Be sure to list a phone number next to your name in the reservations books in the unlikely event that we need to notify you of any changes. It is always a good idea to check the schedule book on the day of the reservation to confirm you still have a space.
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THEATRE AND DANCE CONTACT INFORMATION
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