Arts and Humanities Commons^™

A Conversation With Rita Moreno: Examining The Employment Challenges Of The Latino Actor, Valente Rodriguez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Rita Moreno has worked as an actress for more than 70 years. Her first acting job was in the play Skydrift, on Broadway, at age 13, in 1944. She is in an unusual position having garnered all the major acting awards and the presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest award bestowed upon a non-military person in the United States. She is the only Latino EGOT as she has an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony, the top awards in the field of entertainment. I thought it would be interesting to ask her what her biggest challenge was in …

Generations Apart: Exploring The Generation Gap In Theatre, Jesus Briones

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This thesis attempts to find relationships among three different ethnic groups (Jewish, Chinese, and Italian) presented in the following plays. First, there is an explanation of four different types of generation gaps that are discovered throughout the first play of examination, Fiddler on the Roof. There is a technology gap, a cultural gap, a religion gap, and an assimilation gap. Each of these gaps is present within Fiddler on the Roof and is varied throughout the remaining plays examined (Flower Drum Song and Over the River and Through the Woods). Each “gap” will be given an explanation and how it …

My Purple Summer: A Comparative Analysis Of Frank Wedekind's Play "Spring Awakening" And Steven Sater's Adaptation "Spring Awakening: A New Musical", Joel A. Garza

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The purpose of this academic thesis is to study and analyze Frank Wedekind’s Spring Awakening and its adaptation Spring Awakening: A New Musical, written by Steven Sater. This study includes an analysis of musical theatre and its history, an analysis of Frank Wedekind’s original work and a comparative analysis with Sater’s adaptation. Also, the thesis explores the “Post-Modern Musical,” a new form of production currently being produced on Broadway. The main focus of the thesis is to analyze how Spring Awakening affects contemporary audiences, this is done through an analysis of the music and themes associated with the modern production.

The Conditions Of Production Surrounding “Crawling With Monsters”: A Way To Create Social Consciousness Through Theatre In South Texas, Jorge Augusto Contreras

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Evaluating theatre's actual contribution to social development is subjective. There is a specific field of study that has been born from the need to incorporate all theatre outside the mainstream that seeks to do more than entertain an audience: “Applied Drama” or “Applied Theatre.” This study argues that through the process of creating the play Crawling with Monsters a group of UTPA students were empowered to make social change and ended up doing a critically acclaimed applied drama project regarding Mexico's drug war. After an introduction to the formation of the group and the situation to which it was responding, …

The Imagineknights: An Experiment In Imagination, Rachel Saldana

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

I planned to write an experimental children’s play that would entertain an audience of children and promote the importance of imagination. The final draft starts out immersed in imaginative design elements to grab the audience’s attention from the start. The Witch sets the mood, entering in an elaborate costume, casting a spell that will carry throughout the play. As far as whether my play will entertain, I did not produce this play to get concrete results. Instead, I utilized some techniques that have been consistently successful in other children’s plays. I have done much research and shown my play to …

Con Mis Manos / With My Hands: A Documentation Of Specific Cultural Elements Required For A Play Set In South Texas, Emily Ruby Fierros

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This paper attempts to explain the significant cultural elements necessary for a play set in South Texas. Three important elements that are needed to justify the importance of this production are addressed: Preplanning, Production Record, and Evaluation. Chapter 1: The Preplanning explains the purpose and approach of the play through internal and external analysis. Both of these concepts will help develop the understanding of the culture of a play. Chapter 2: The Production Record contains the complete record of the elements used throughout the production of the play. Chapter 3: The Evaluation of the production describes the success of this …

Set And Light Design For “Con Mis Manos/With My Hands”: A Play In Two Acts By Misael Martinez, Lawrence Andrew Lopez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

An examination and analysis of the process of creating and executing a set and light design for a new show in a new space. This thesis will delve into the problems and solutions that helped to create the set for Con Mis Manos/With My Hands, a play by Misael Martinez, for production in the Albert L. Jeffers Theatre at the University of Texas-Pan American.

“Charley's Aunt” Revisited, Willie Camina

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This is a Creative Study involving the directing of Charley's Aunt . This thesis comprises three elements: Preplanning, the Production Record and an Evaluation. The Preplanning Section will communicate the meaning of the play through an external and internal analysis. The Production Record contains the materials used in the execution of this production. The third chapter is an evaluation of the project. There is an essay reporting the audience's reaction and the quantitative results of an exit survey given to audience members to quantify how effectively "the story" was communicated.

Producing “The Diary Of Anne Frank” In The 21St Century, Nancy Camina

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This thesis is a Creative Study involving the directing of The Diary of Anne Frank . Three basic areas are addressed: Preplanning, Production and Evaluation. The Preplanning chapter entails discovering every aspect of the play through an external an internal analysis of the script. The external analysis examines various historical events that preceded and are concurrent to the action of the play. The internal analysis looks at various elements within the play that may be unfamiliar to both the actors and the audience. The production chapter details every phase involved in producing the play. The last chapter, Evaluation, uses both …

John Millington Synge And The Irish Women's Suffrage Movement, Nicholas A. Ewen

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

John Millington Synge is considered to be among the greatest playwrights of the English language. During his lifetime, however, his plays caused controversy and even riots. Of particular interest is the fact that much of the controversy surrounded Synge's portrayal of Irish women. Because of the radical Irish nationalism that developed in the early 20 th century, much of Synge's work has been interpreted in light of this movement. This thesis, however, explores the theory that Synge was more closely connected with an another movement that was taking place in the early 1900's: women's suffrage. His sympathies for the enfranchisement …

Where In The Hell Is Dorothy Parker?, Thomas J. Fuschetto Jr.

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The famous members of The Algonquin Round Table once got together to write and produce a play called No, Sirree! Since very little is known about the production, questions remain of how the members decided to do such a production, what was the production, and what they later thought about the production. Since such information is missing, then I filled in the gaps with my imagination of writing and producing an original play that represents my research and my imagination of how the members of The Algonquin Round Table decided to do a play production, how they prepared for the …

Herstory, Rita Kathryn Roney

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The purpose of this paper is to examine the history of Theatre at the University of Texas - Pan American in the 20th Century, from its inception in the Fall of 1934 through the Summer of 2001. It is written as a series of oral interviews with two women whose tenure at The University of Texas - Pan American covers that period. Mrs. Ruth Owings Blalock founded Theatre at the then Edinburg Junior College in 1934. Dr. Marian F. Monta was hired as her replacement in 1971 and continues to serve as area head of Theatre.

“To Please A Child”: A Practical Analysis Of A Children's Theatre Production From Planning To Performance, Brian James Warren

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The purpose of this creative thesis and study was to examine, through a comprehensive analysis of the processes, how an original children's play was conceived, written, and produced, using the play Enough of the Huff and Puff, as the study's basis.

The study begins with an examination of goals of the drama program at South Texas Community College, and subsequently establishes a justification for children's theatre. It continues with a detailed analysis of how the play came to be written. Also included are, as the title indicates, explanations of practical considerations such as staging difficulties encountered and overcome, casting …