Yale Curriculum Initiative The Shen Family Foundation has provided the funding for the Yale University undergraduate musical theater curriculum ("Shen Musical Theater Curriculum") since the inception of the program, which was developed in 2004 and initially supervised by Professor Richard Lalli of the Yale Department of Music. The 2011-2012 curriculum will offer eight accredited courses in musical theater composition, musical theater libretto and lyric writing, musical theater performance, vocal arranging, plus a special course on "Dance in Musical Theater." The libretto writing course is cross-registered with the Yale School of Drama and the Yale Department of Theater Studies. The courses are augmented by a series of lecture/master class seminars given by guest professionals from the musical theater community. The program director of the Shen Musical Theater Curriculum is Daniel Egan, who also teaches the program's history of American musical theater and Stephen Sondheim courses. The instructors for 2011-2012 will be Emily Coates, Daniel Egan, Andrew Gerle, Annette Jolles, Joshua Rosenblum, Rachel Scheinkin and Jeanine Tesori. Past instructors in the musical theater program also include: Victoria Clark, Joel Fram, Ricky Ian Gordon, Michael Korie,Tina Landau, Vicki Shaghoian, Joseph Thalken, Richard Pearson Thomas and Anne Tofflemire. A principal goal of the curriculum, besides developing basic skills, is to encourage its students to challenge both their own creative limits and the boundaries of musical theater convention in their approach to musical composition, lyric and book writing, and direction and performance. Additional information can be found through the following link; http://theaterstudies.yale.edu/news/shen-curriculum-musical-theater