Playwriting Commons^™

Artmaking On The Edge Of A Cliff: Directing Iphigenia 2.0, Shannon E. Cameron

Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film: Theses, Student Research, and Creative Work

This thesis contains written documentation regarding the process of directing a theatrical production in fulfillment of the partial requirements for Master of Fine Arts in Directing for Stage and Screen at the University of Nebraska Lincoln.

Topics addressed include play selection, script analysis, director/designer collaboration, coaching and actors and evaluation of final product.

Advisor: Virginia Smith

Room 314: A Comedy In Two Acts, Hannah Blough

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis is an original play consisting of two acts. Using the traditional structure and plot constructs of a murder mystery, the thesis also incorporates elements of comedy to create a unique work. A young couple on their honeymoon hears a strange noise from the room next door and attempts to find an explanation. As they search for a satisfactory conclusion, Emma and Peter meet some of the other guests at the hotel, making new friends and encountering new challenges along the way. This thesis attempts to answer the question “can an actor tell a good story with her own …

Grundy, Sydney, 1848-1914 (Sc 2434), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 2434. Letter, 7 April 1891, of English dramatist Sydney Grundy to Richard M. Field, manager of the Boston Museum Company in Boston, Massachusetts, discussing the royalty payment scale for production of his play "Lady Jess."

The Lab Report, Volume 04, Issue 11, Todd Ristau

Lab Reports

• Theatrical Gems and the Broadway for Broke People Cabaret
• Student Spotlight: Rebecca Quirk
• To The New Girl From the Former Mrs... by Samantha Macher at Manhattan Rep
• The White Door by Royal Shiree read at Randolph College
• Nicole B. Adkins wins National Playwriting Workshop Award
• Book Roots
• From the Director: Controversial Work and the Writer's Responsibility

Witness For The Prosecution

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 2011 performance of Witness for the Prosecution by Agatha Christie.

Witness for the Prosecution tells the story of a trial of a man named Leonard Vole for the murder of a wealthy older woman who made him her principle heir. During the trial his wife, Romaine, comes to testify not in his defense, but on the side of the prosecution.

Swan Day, Rebecca Saunders

Rebecca Saunders

March 5, 2011 -- SWAN Day Celebration featuring Rebecca Saunders. A Boston SWAN Day Celebration with Staged Readings of the Work of Twenty Boston Area Women Featuring the work of Rosanna Alfaro, Shelby Allen, Ludmilla Anselm, Lynne S. Brandon, Jyl Lynn Felman, Kate Carney, Patty Catalano, Hortense Gerardo, Cassie Seinuk, Deidre Girard, Catherine O'Neill, Regina Eliot Ramsey, Martha Patterson, Michele Markarian, Diane Ripstein, Marlena Merrin, Rebecca Saunders, Lee Roscoe, Robbie D'Allesandro, Debra Wiess. With appearances by some of Boston’s finest actors.

The Lab Report, Volume 04, Issue 10, Todd Ristau

Lab Reports

• Summer 2011 Course Offerings
• Student Spotlight: Yulia Gray
• BOOTH by W. David Hancock
• SETC 2011
• From the Director: Backtalk, Navigating Post Show Discussions

The Count Of Monte Cristo

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 2011 performance of The Count of Monte Cristo, adapted by Charles Morey from the novel by Alexandre Dumas.

The Count of Monte Cristo is the story of Edmond Dantès, who is falsely accused of treason and is sent to prison. He and a fellow prisoner escape and discover a treasure, he returns as the Count of Monte Cristo to take revenge on the men who framed him.

The Lab Report, Volume 04, Issue 09, Todd Ristau

Lab Reports

• The (Brand) New Testament by Kenley Smith
• Student Spotlight: Anne G’Fellers-Mason
• Guest Profile: Ken Dingledine
• Out of Control,Two One-Act Plays by Maura Campbell
• SkyPilot's Showcase of Short Plays Features Hollins Playwrights
• Neeley Gossett to Participate in Ethel Woolson Lab
• Royal Shiree's dun been thru it
• From the Director: Are there really too many theatres?

The Country Wife, Andrew Vorder Bruegge

College of Visual and Performing Arts Faculty Publications

A production adaptation of William Wycherley's "The Country Wife."

Rabbit Hole: A Prologue, Elizabeth Davis

A with Honors Projects

A short, one act play about the childhood of Becca, Arthur, and Izzy.

The Lab Report, Volume 04, Issue 08, Todd Ristau

Lab Reports

• New No Shame in San Luis Obispo
• Student Spotlight: Wendy-Marie Foerster
• Guest Profile: David Gothard
• Fast & Loose Features Hollins Playwright and Faculty Member
• Nicole B. Adkins Published and Named Children's Programming Director at SkyPilot Theatre
• From the Director: Passing of Ellen Stewart

They Reckon I Need A Dramaturg : Examining The Value Of A Dramaturg To Both The Playwright And The Professional Theatre Company In Australia, Polly Low

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis examines aspects of dramaturgy delivered by a dramaturg, and the practical contributions of dramaturgs to both the writer and the theatre industry in Australia. It investigates elements of the working relationship between dramaturgs and playwrights, looks at the chameleon-like nature of the theatre dramaturg and examines how Australian writers, directors and dramaturgs perceive the role/s of the dramaturg. The thesis is partly a reflective investigation of personal practice, partly an historical investigation of the emergence of Australian ideas about dramaturgy, and partly an active investigation into what can help to make a constructive playwright/dramaturg relationship. A major aim …

The Affray: Lincoln's Last Murder Trial, Jared Brown, Robert Bray

Jared Brown

The Country Wife, Andrew Vorder Bruegge

Andrew Vorder Bruegge, Ph.D.

A production adaptation of William Wycherley's "The Country Wife."

Safe Schools: The Threat From Within?, Donn Short

Donn Short

Safe school policies in many urban schools in Ontario have featured security guards, electronic surveillance, student identification tags, discipline, and zero tolerance. In 2000, the Ontario Ministry of Education passed the Safe Schools Act, which set out a list of offences that could trigger expulsion, suspension, and other disciplinary responses. Interestingly, it did not define safety. In a parallel move, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) adopted The Equity Foundation Statement in 1999 – a comprehensive commitment to equity and a rally against racism, homophobia, sexism, and oppression based on class. This article explores the disconnect between students’ and teachers’ …

Stopping For Death: Plays, Poetry, And Prose, Sally Johnson

Honors Theses

Thesis consists of plays and poetry composed by Sally Johnson.

The Lab Report, Volume 04, Issue 07, Todd Ristau

Lab Reports

• Mitzi’s Abortion Published by Original Works Publishing
• Student Spotlight: Kevin Ferguson
• Guest Profile: Jason Aaron Goldberg
• Open Me Last, Three Short Plays by Maura Campbell
• Un-Holy Nite: 5 Short and Charmingly Irreverent Christmas Plays for High Schoolers by Samantha Macher
• From the Director: Think of the Arts When Thinking About Year End Giving

Recasting Genre In Tennessee Williams's Apprentice Plays, Christina Ilona Hunter

Dissertations

This dissertation investigates Tennessee Williams’s earliest full-length plays, also known as the apprentice plays—Candles to the Sun, Fugitive Kind, Not About Nightingales, Spring Storm, and Stairs to the Roof—by comparing, contrasting and contextualizing them in relation to Daniel Chandler’s generic criteria of drama; namely, narrative, characterization, setting, topics, iconography, and staging techniques. The present study also draws upon an extensive body of scholarship pertaining to genre theory, Williams’s cultural contemporaries, and the historical and psychological backdrop of Depression-era America. In these early plays, Williams diverged sharply from the dramatic generic conventions of his day, manipulating them in new …