Freshman Discovery Seminars offered for Fall 2008

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Everyday Performances: From Interviews to Public Speaking
Professor Eric Barr
HASS 092-20B
Call# 20154
Wednesdays, 1:10-2:30pm, ARTS 213


This course examines everyday events that require people to present themselves to others and explores acting and performance techniques that will aid in these situations. Special attention will be paid to overcoming Œstage‚ fright, focusing messages, speaking in public, and communicating clearly.


Reading List:

Reading List. A reader will be compiled that includes sections from Powerspeak by Dorothy Leeds, Social Intelligence by Karl Albrecht, How to Get Your Point Across in 30 Second by Milo Frank, Acting Techniques for Everyday Life by Jane Marla Robbins,


Brief Biographical Statement:

Eric Barr is the Chairman of the Theatre Department and the Founding Director of the Palm Desert MFA in Creative Writing and Writing for the Performing Arts. He teaches acting and directing classes and regularly directs in the UCR season. In recent years he has directed such departmental productions as The Rocky Horror, The Sea Gull, Angels in America, and Nickel and Dimed. For was the Artistic Director of the Porthouse Theatre, a professional summer stock company in Cleveland, Ohio and has directed in and around the LA area. He taught acting and movement for actors at the Stella Adler Conservatory of Acting in Los Angeles and worked as an acting coach with the National Theatre of the Deaf. He received his M.F.A. from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, where he was an acting and directing fellow in the Hilberry Repertory Theatre and he studied movement, masks, and theatre at Ecole Jacques LeCoq in Paris, France. His screenplays have received honors at the Telluride IndieFest and the Sundance Festival.