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Using Laughter To Inspire Change: Absurdist Theatre In Oppressive Societies, Mia Villeneuve

Honors Theses

The 1959 play Rhinoceros by French playwright Eugène Ionesco is one of many plays considered by Martin Esslin to be a part of "Theatre of the Absurd" a genre of plays written by mostly European playwrights in the late 1950's. These plays typically center around ideas of existentialism, and seem to lack any type of logical consistency. Rhinoceros centers around a small French town in which all the inhabitants slowly turn into rhinoceroses, and was a response to the uprising of fascism in Nazi Germany and a commentary on how social ideas spread.

This thesis will discuss the use of …

“Ang Kuwento Ng Araw At Buwan” (“The Story Of The Sun And Moon”): What It Means To Be Filipino-American., Rochelle-Leah Barcelona Nuqui

Honors Theses

As a Filipina American from Southern California, my cousins got to experience our Philippine culture through their college’s Filipino American Student Associations, while I had a hard time learning about our culture as I attend a school that has a low Asian American population and miniscule Filipino American population. Although the populations are small, my senior thesis has pushed me to learn about my ethnic identity through the arts and especially through the power of storytelling. This journey in learning the importance of authentic folklore untouched by the western influence has shown me as a Filipina American, that the original …

The North Pool, Matthew Mintz

Honors Theses

The North Pool is set in Sheffield Massachusetts, in a typical American public high school. The entirety of the show takes place on Friday, April 13, 2007. The play takes place during spring time, so it can be assumed that it is mildly warm but not too hot. Specifically, it is known that the meeting time between the two protagonists, and the start of what the audience witnesses, begins at 4 in the afternoon. In terms of evaluating the economic environment, the most valued thing throughout this play is the memory of Lia Whinston, the student who committed suicide. She …

Laramie Project Lighting Design, Jay Foster-Grover

Honors Theses

After establishing a concept and an internal image of the lighting environment for The Laramie Project came the process of creating a lighting plot, hanging and focusing the plot, and programming ques. This stage occupied the two weeks before the show opened, because before this point, the director had not solidified blocking choices or done run-thrus. The goal of this stage was to evaluate the resources available to me and the way that they could best be used to create the looks I wanted, followed by precise implementation of those resources. This process also involved collaborating with and responding to …

Concubine: A Play, Jasmine Roth, Robyn Belt

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Back To The Beginning, Carla Duval

Honors Theses

In terms of simple science, time is a force that moves in one direction: forward. This, however, is not the way time is usually interpreted by people experiencing it. Works of fiction can capture human perceptions of time far better than the hard facts surrounding it. For my thesis, I wrote a play in anachronic order. My play has scenes that alternate between the past (1960s) and the present (1980s). The present scenes move forward in time, and the past scenes move backward in time as the play progresses. The final scene is simultaneously the first and last scene of …

El Mortífero Machismo: La Representación De La Hipermasculinidad En El Teatro Mexicano Contemporáneo, Laura Crowe

Honors Theses

This paper explores two Mexican plays from the 1980s that denounce rigid societal demarcations that force men to exude hyper‐masculine facades, a cultural phenomenon, which both playwrights expose as problematic and dangerous. In their respective plays, La daga (1982) and Dulces compañías (1987), Víctor Hugo Rascón Banda and Oscar Liera employ villainous male characters of the working class who project hyper‐masculine identities in order to hide their own insecurities. In so doing, the playwrights reveal the hypocrisy and danger of a system in which society cares more about preserving heteronormative values than promoting the safety and acceptance of all of …

Gruesome Playground Injuries, Jaclyn Toop

Honors Theses

For my fall term 2011 and winter term 2011 senior theater project I would like prepare and perform in the show “Gruesome Playground Injuries” by Rajiv Joseph. It is a two person cast that shows an emotional rollercoaster endured by a man and a woman from elementary school until their early thirties. There is obviously feelings shared for one another, but they are so trapped in their own darkness that they cannot be all that the other person needs. The injuries they endure throughout the years are out of chronological order, which is a unique styling to a play that …

Labeling Abigail, Annora E. Brennan

Honors Theses

Three Plays I Like and Why- first research paper that explored my own personal interests in plays and what made them entertaining to me The Demands of Playwriting- second research paper that outlined the requirements of a play and how I would incorporate these demands in my own writing process Final Performance Script- Labeling Abigail: my final script with performance stage notes included Director’s Concept- third paper that detailed my intentions for the performance and my rehearsal process Director’s Calendar- created to present my intent for each rehearsal and when my tech and dress would be for the show; this …

The Theatre As An Examination Of Power: Combining Political Theory And Theatre History, Richard A. Leahy

Honors Theses

Theatre and politics are intrinsically connected. The art of politics is extremely theatrical and the art of theatre has always been infused with political relationships. This congruity stems from the fact that both fields of practice originate from the same fundamental source: power. Both arts are different expressions of the same concept. This can be seen in the shared theatrical/political focus on argument; both theatre and politics have the same goal - convincing people by leading them to certain conclusions. Both politics and theatre necessitate getting others to believe what one is saying. The performer requires his audience to believe …