Fall 2025 Courses

Information for Students

The program changed its name to Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies on July 1, 2024, and as of Fall 2025, our new course code is “TDPS.” 

At the bottom of Yale Course Search, please read the Class Notes section for each course you are interested in. This section contains important information that you may not find on the course’s Canvas page. 

Read the Expanded Course Description on Canvas for each course you are interested in. Expanded descriptions of most THST courses will be available by clicking the “Syllabus” button on the YCS listing for the course. If the Canvas page is missing or it does not have the information you need, please email the instructor of the course, the faculty member overseeing the course (Coates, Egan, or Brooks), or the TDPS Registrar, Alana Conti (alana.conti@yale.edu). 

All courses are subject to change and cancellation until the start of the semester. Courses may also be added until the start of the semester.  

FAQ: Courses

Each semester there are a number of courses offered in other departments and programs that may fulfill a requirement in Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies (TDPS) but, for a variety of reasons, do not have a cross-listing with our program.

If you would like to take a course that you believe should be counted as a TDPS course, but isn’t currently cross-listed, please let Prof. Brooks know as soon as possible (hal.brooks@yale.edu). You might be able to take the course for TDPS credit, but you must get written permission from the DUS to do so. 

You may be invited to meet to discuss the matter or contact the course instructor for a syllabus. You may need to request written confirmation from the instructor that you will be able to write or present on topics that would allow you to earn credit in TDPS (theater, dance, opera, digital media, performance studies, etc.). You also may be told that the course will count for credit towards the major once you are able to demonstrate, usually at the end of the semester, that one or more of your assignments focused on topics relevant to the major. In all such cases, you will not be able to receive credit for the course until you have express written permission (via email) from the DUS of Theater and Performance Studies. It is possible to obtain permission once you have enrolled in the course, but again, there is no guarantee.

THST 471 is our independent study course. Let Prof. Brooks know if you want to pursue a Directed Independent Study. The information/application form is due the first week of the semester. 

If you are interested in taking courses at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale or any of the professional schools, please see Enrolling in Graduate and Professional School Courses for Credit for information about which courses are currently approved for credit by Yale College.

Please note that these courses have been offered in the past and are not necessarily offered in upcoming semesters. In addition, DGSD typically does not publish its courses until the start of the semester. TDPS does not influence which DGSD courses are approved for credit. Once you determine that the course is being offered and that you can either take it for credit or are willing to audit, contact the DGSD instructor for permission. Once you receive permission, email Prof. Brooks (hal.brooks@yale.edu) and Registrar Ms. Conti (alana.conti@yale.edu) in order to complete the relevant forms. 

If you are not sure if a course counts towards the TDPS major or if you are not sure which category or categories a course may count towards, email the TDPS Registrar, Alana Conti (alana.conti@yale.edu). In most cases, this information will be clear from the course’s YCS listing. 

Graduate-level courses may or may not be open to undergraduates on a limited basis. Please contact the course’s instructor and the DUS if you are interested.

Fall 2025 Required Courses For The Major 

Number Instructor(s) Title
TDPS 1000 Brooks, Hal & Robinson, Renee Collaborations
TDPS 4901 Egan, Dan & Roberts, Nathan Senior Project in Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies

Fall 2025 TDPS Courses (All Domains)

Number Instructor(s) Title
TDPS 0001 Vazquez, Alex Worlds in Performance
TDPS 0006 Brooks, Hal Composing and Performing the One Person Play
TDPS 2000 Rossmy, Michael & Rainwater, Kelsey Intro to Theatrical Violence
TDPS 2003 Nyong’o, Tavia Introduction to Dramaturgy
TDPS 2004 TBD Performance Concepts
TDPS 2011 Singleton, Dexter Introduction to Directing
TDPS 2012 Reid, Amanda Queer Caribbean Performance
TDPS 2017 Chang, Jiji Introduction to Scenic Design
TDPS 3000 Dorfman, Toni The Director and the Text I
TDPS 3006 Roberts, Nathan & Margolin, Deb Performing  Design
TDPS 3018 Dorfman, Toni Waiting: “Tragicomedy” 
TDPS 3053 Chambers, David From Sodom to Stonewall: The Queer Past on Stage
TDPS 3054 Profeta, Katherine Dramaturgy for Dance and Devised Performance
TDPS 3403 Margolin, Deb Advanced Playwriting
TDPS 4004 Reid, Amanda & van Hensbergen, Rosa Special Topics in Performance Studies
TDPS 4016 Morrison, Elise Feminist Theater and Performance Art
TDPS 4020 Wallace, Gregory Acting: Constructing a Character

Fall 2025 Dance Studies (All Domains)

Number Instructor(s) Title
TDPS 2301 Seibert, Brian Writing Dance
TDPS 3301 Robinson, Renee Embodying Story
TDPS 3302 Coulibaly, Lacina West African Dance: Traditional to Contemporary
TDPS 3303 Ulbricht, Daniel Ballet Now
TDPS 3307 Coulibaly, Lacina Choreographic Landscapes: Space, Time, and Contexts for Movement Composition
TDPS 3308 Coates, Emily Choreographies of Everyday Life
TDPS 4304 Coulibaly, Lacina & Robinson, Renee Yale Dance Lab

Fall 2025 Shen Curriculum for Musical Theater (All Domains)

Number Instructor(s) Title
MUSI 185 Egan, Dan American Musical Theater History
MUSI 230 Rosenblum Composing for Musical Theater
MUSI 228 Jolles, Annette  Musical Theater Performance I
TDPS 4501 Korie, Michael Lyric Writing for Musical  Theater
TDPS 4027 TBD The Spirit of the Original: Adaptation Lab

Fall 2025 Related Courses In Other Departments and Programs (All Domains)

Number Instructor(s) Title
     

Yale Course Search (YCS)

Interested in seeing Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies courses (past or present)? Visit the course search website!

Yale Course Search