Skip to main content

Special Topics in Theatre Studies (240-0-20)

Topic

Popular Music as Theatrical Performance

Instructors

Heather Elizabeth Grimm

Meeting Info

Wirtz 240 Seminar Room 2: Mon, Wed 2:00PM - 3:20PM

Overview of class

This course is for music lovers from Theatre and Music backgrounds who want to learn how their favorite artists use the same tools as theatre makers, and how we can look at their work just like we would a theatrical performance. Why do we understand David Bowie as playing different characters in his music, but assume Beyoncé is singing as herself? Does a guitar player in street clothes on a sidewalk communicate as much visual meaning as Taylor Swift's Eras tour? We will answer these questions and many more by using tools from theatre and performance studies to understand how our favorite music performances activate our perceptions of narrative and identity. You'll combine the intuitive knowledge you have as consumers of popular culture with scholarly methods of interpretation to collaboratively examine examples ranging from spectacle-laden glam rock to the bare aesthetics of the blues; from the karaoke bar to the big-budget arena concert. You'll be able to bring in the artists and songs that you love for the class to consider, and for your final, you'll choose your favorite concert film to analyze.