Job description
Berkeley, CA
The Department of Theater, Dance and Performance Studies (TDPS) at the University of California, Berkeley, invites applications for a pool of qualifiedtemporary instructors to teach in Acting, Public Speaking, and/or Performance Studies courses. Screening of applicants is ongoing and will continue as needed. The number of positions varies from semester to semester, depending on the needs of the department. Positions may range from 33% to 67% time.
Seeking applicants to teach the following types of courses: Fundamentals of Acting, Intermediate Acting; Advanced Acting; Public Speaking and Presentation Skills; Introduction to Performance Studies; and/or Performance Workshop. It is expected that instructors will reside in the Bay Area during the term of employment.
Lecturers are responsible for the delivery and grading of course material. It is expected they attend at least one meeting per semester with teaching colleagues. Instructors are expected to uphold the mission of the department which includes teaching performance as a mode of critical inquiry, creative expression, and public engagement, with an institutional priority to make diversity and inclusion a key part of our teaching, art making, and public programming. Lecturers may volunteer for department service, including committee work. When possible, course material should connect to the department’s performance programming.
Basic Qualifications(by time of application): Bachelor’s degree (or international equivalent degree) or professional certificate.
Additional Qualifications(by start date): Three years of teaching experience (within the past five years).
Preferred Qualifications(by start date): B.A. or B.F.A. (or international equivalent degree) in Theater or professional certificate in specific field/subject to be taught.
Professional experience in the applicant’s area of expertise. Experience teaching students with various levels of training and ability. Experience mentoring students in a university/college setting.
Three years of teaching experience (over the past five years) at the college/university level.
Salary Range: Commensurate with college teaching experience, in accordance with the current Unit-18 lecturer salary scale and its provisions. Minimum starting annual full-time (100%) salary rate is based on an academic year salary of $56,381.
UC Lecturers are academic appointees in an organized bargaining unit and are exclusively represented by American Federation of Teachers – Unit 18.
The Department of Theater, Dance & Performance Studies is part of the Division of Arts and Humanities in the College of Letters and Science. Its programs integrate undergraduate and graduate instruction with student participation in theater, dance, and performance studies. There are approximately 100 majors in addition to 25 students pursuing a Ph.D. in the Graduate Group in Performance Studies. Approximately 400 students are enrolled per semester in courses that engage in participation in productions as actors, dancers, builders, stage crew, stage managers, directors, choreographers, or designers. The department has an active performance season and offers upper division courses in theatrical design and technical theater.
The Department is interested in candidates who will contribute to diversity and equal opportunity at UC Berkeley through their work. The Department seeks candidates whose teaching and service has prepared them to contribute to our commitment to diversity and inclusion and to increasing the participation of individuals from groups historically underrepresented in higher education. The University of California is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer. The University undertakes affirmative action to assure equal employment opportunity for minorities and women, for persons with disabilities, and for covered veterans. UC Berkeley has an excellent benefits package as well as a number of policies and programs to support employees as they balance work and family.
Course Descriptions:Acting Courses:
These courses focus on releasing and cultivating the actor’s inherent creativity. Through exercises, improvisation, scenes, and monologues, students are taught to develop basic techniques designed to stimulate the imagination, develop vocal and physical ability, increase awareness of self and others, introduce effective ways to analyze texts, think critically about the craft of acting, and enhance self-confidence and communication skills. As students progress, students are taught to increase focus, develop heightened language, and learn about the complexities of characterization and style. Emphasis is also given to achieving an understanding of dramatic action, developing technical proficiency and clarity, attaining emotional availability, and cultivating an enriched relationship with text. Through exercises, improvisation, scenes, and monologues, the actor learns how to transform intuitive creativity into performative excellence.
Public Speaking and Presentation Skills:
Students will learn to present themselves and material clearly, confidently, and persuasively, using age-old arts of oral communication. They will learn techniques for overcoming stage fright, developing clear enunciation, finding and using their natural, unaffected vocal register, varying tone and intonation to hold audience interest, controlling pacing, moving with assurance and purpose, using appropriate gestures, and eye contact as well as exploring methods to change behaviors that bar effective communication and structure speeches to maximize persuasiveness.
Performance Studies Courses:
Introduction to Performance Studies: This course introduces the critical terms and practices of the contemporary study of performance. Several key terms and important genres of artistic and social performance will be engaged; the course will draw critical and disciplinary methods from anthropology and ethnography, from the theory of dance and theater, from literary and cultural theory. Critical and theoretical concepts will be used to analyze a wide range of live and recorded performances, as well as performance texts. Students are asked to share short performances and presentations on the material covered in class.
Performance Workshop or Performance Research Workshop: Performance workshop with research including performance-based methodology, theory, and analytical research skills in developing written and performance works. Topics include cross-disciplinary arts, dramaturgy, and collaborative practice.
How to apply
To apply, please go to the following link: https://aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF02560
All letters will be treated as confidential per University of California policy and California state law. Please refer potential referees, including when letters are provided via a third party (i.e., dossier service or career center), to the UC Berkeley statement of confidentiality (http://apo.berkeley.edu/evalltr.html) prior to submitting their letters.
Please note: The use of a lecturer pool does not guarantee that an open position exists. See the review date specified in AP Recruit to learn whether the department is currently reviewing applications for a specific position. If there is no future review date specified, your application may not be considered at this time.
Please direct questions to Megan Lowe – Office Manager of Theater, Dance, & Performance Studies – *****@berkeley.edu
The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age or protected veteran status. For the complete University of California nondiscrimination and affirmative action policy see: http://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4000376/NondiscrimAffirmAct.
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