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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities
Fantastical Body Narratives : Cosplay, Performance, And Gender Diversity., Tiffany M. Hutabarat-Nelson
Fantastical Body Narratives : Cosplay, Performance, And Gender Diversity., Tiffany M. Hutabarat-Nelson
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This dissertation aims to explore how the phenomenon of cosplay has been able to produce and sustain a diversity of gender expression due to its emergence from an activity-based community that emphasizes creative play. This creative energy is manifested through cosplay as an active, ritualized practice in which gender diversity is invited to be realized as a distinct possibility, resulting in a display of a full range of masculinities and femininities as well as crossplays and genderbend cosplays. I argue that cosplay can therefore be understood as a phenomenon that destabilizes the gender binary—its active practice promotes the production and …
Building The Bastard : Confidence Through Preparation In Shakespeare's King Lear., Shaleen Tarun Cholera
Building The Bastard : Confidence Through Preparation In Shakespeare's King Lear., Shaleen Tarun Cholera
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This thesis is to chart my discovery that confidence is essential to an actor’s craft. This thesis focuses on my performance as Edmund in King Lear, as well as my production the previous summer playing Hussein in Ayad Akhtar’s Disgraced. I draw from a variety of sources, such as meditation and formal acting exercises, to achieve confidence. Most importantly, I distill my missteps as an actor for a better understanding of what hinders confidence when building a role for performance.
Labor And Happiness., Tyler Reid Madden
Labor And Happiness., Tyler Reid Madden
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This thesis reflects my process and my development of performing Troy Maxson in August Wilson’s Fences. I will be exploring the parallels that I have found on the concept of labor, between the history of labor as a black man in America and the labor of an actor. More specifically, I will be explaining my process in finding happiness in the laboring process of building a character. This is also an exploration of how I transformed myself from a 29-year-old black man to a 53-year-old black man. Also, transitioning from a black man in the 21st century, to a black …
Finding Exuberance For The Role Shelby In Baltimore., Danielle Smart
Finding Exuberance For The Role Shelby In Baltimore., Danielle Smart
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This thesis documents my discovery of exuberance as the key to a successful performance and reveals the challenges I faced in developing a character whose major actions in the play fall into the category of masking (i.e. hiding, avoiding, dodging). I define exuberance and discuss how I came to understand that sustaining exuberance requires a great deal of technical expertise specifically in acting, movement and voice in order to accommodate the demands of the character. I contend that exuberance also requires commitment and nurturing of the actor’s personal artistic vision. This thesis will discuss some of the difficulties I faced …