Dramaturgy and Moment WorkTM: Stranger than Fiction
THEA S4122 - 3 POINTS
SESSION B: July 6–August 14, 2026
INSTRUCTORS: Leigh Fondakowski with Moises Kaufman/Tectonic Theatre
Day & Time: TTh 1–4:10 PM
THEATRE
SUMMER 2026
This course has been cancelled for the Summer 2026 term.
Students will be empowered to tell stories from history through engaging with special collections and primary historical sources. We will spark students' curiosity as we explore one specific historical event and work together over the course of six weeks to devise “moments” of theater.
Moment WorkTM is Tectonic Theater Project’s method of devising new theater works, and of analyzing and re-imagining existing works, used to create classic works such as The Laramie Project, Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, and 33 Variations. By the end of the course, we will create a short presentation of “Moments” by investigating the themes and dramatic throughlines that the material offers. This is much like what a first presentation might look like at Tectonic Theater Project, a proof of dramatic and theatrical concept.
Each session will begin with a quiet and reflective writing prompt, associated with the historical event that we are researching. Responses will be used over the course of the class to spark devised moments.
This course is a complementary course to THEA S4120 Introduction to Moment WorkTM. Although it would be helpful to take both courses, neither is prerequisite for the other.
Columbia students do not need to apply, but they do need to register. All visiting students will need to apply to the School of Professional Studies and register upon acceptance.