Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Puppy Love And [Information] Play: An Intersection Of Theatre, Queer Kink, And Consent, Emily Kitchens

Faculty and Research Publications

This note from the field centers on a nexus of queer kink subcultures and consent-based intimacy work in theatre. I report, investigate and wrangle with the process of incorporating queer kink aesthetics into the production of Love and Information by Caryl Churchill I directed at KSU February 2023. What I have learned and hope to demonstrate throughout the paper, is that queer kink subcultures are often paradigmatic examples of communities built on consent, and we as performing arts practitioners can more visibly expand the margins of our cultural competency dialogues to not only include them but look to them as …

The Benefits Of Drama Therapy With Children And Adolescents, Rebecca Gallant

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Drama therapy, as defined by the North American Drama Therapy Association is “the intentional use of drama and/or theater processes to achieve therapeutic goals…an embodied practice that is active and experiential. This approach can provide the context for participants to tell their stories, set goals and solve problems, express feelings, or achieve catharsis” (NADTA 2021). NADTA was established in 1979 as an organization to advocate for drama therapy and to ensure that drama therapists are upholding the proper qualifications to practice. As noted by the organization, drama therapy can be used in a variety of different settings, including classrooms, nursing …

Revolutionizing The Stage: The Impact Of The Revolving Stage In 'Hamilton', Amanda L. Padilla

Publications and Research

This research delves into the captivating features of the revolving stage in the Broadway musical "Hamilton," examining both its significance in modern theater for the American Revolution, dynamically mirroring the ever-evolving political landscapes of the time. Focusing on design and engineering, the study sheds light on the motor-driven control of the central pivot point, enabling a unique 360-degree view that significantly heightens audience immersion. The research underscores the stage's role in enhancing visual clarity, unraveling complex scenes, and enriching the comprehension of choreography and narratives. Beyond its narrative function, the revolving stage plays a pivotal role in shaping the visual …

Mapping The Theaters Of Brooklyn's Past (1825-1925): A Gis Project, Elena Shefsky

Publications and Research

Despite its rich performance culture, Brooklyn remains underrepresented in theater history, eclipsed in fame by the well-known theaters of Manhattan. One of the most populous areas in America, Brooklyn has been an artistic home to actors, playwrights, directors, and impresarios for centuries. That said, there is a dearth of accessible information and scholarship on Brooklyn theaters. My objective was to update an ongoing mapping project, The City Performs, to include information and images of theater buildings from Brooklyn. The project is an interactive, open-source digital map that uses ArcGIS software to georeference data about NYC theaters. I collected data …

Fall Faculty Dance Concert

Dance Programs

No abstract provided.

“Coming-Of-Age” In South Pacific, The Sound Of Music, And Kimberly Akimbo, Sabrina Shah

Honors College Theses

This paper discusses the ways in which the theme of “coming-of-age” is explored in South Pacific, The Sound of Music, and Kimberly Akimbo. I use the term “coming-of-age” because that is the colloquial phrase for stories about maturation, however this term can include any transition from an innocent mindset to an enlightened one. This change often results from encountering harsh realities of the real world and learning to accept them. Although the transformation often happens in tandem with growing older, it is the process of experiencing the world which catalyzes it. Growing older can mean challenging your beliefs, exploring where …

The Psychology Of The Stage: Intersections Of Cognitive Science And Theatre, Ariya Selvakumar

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

By engaging audiences in a stranger’s story, theatre often depends on emotional contagion and empathetic responses to strike interest and investment in characters and their circumstances. Mirror neuron systems are those highly tied to the activation of empathy. These neurons are brain cells that activate when we perform an action and witness an action being performed. For example, when someone is crying, a subset of neurons that fire when we cry will also fire in response to seeing this action, thus often leading to emotional contagion. With an understanding of cognitive science, we can closely examine the perspective-taking and emotion-prediction …

The Dancer's Unspoken Superpower: Consciousness Of Mind And Body, Mandy Fang

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

“Dancing is visceral, but it is more than just physical,” my jazz professor Steven Sofia likes to say. Dancing is an art of multitasking; it’s interdisciplinary in that it is physically, but also mentally overwhelming on a dancer’s conscious mind. Psychologically, dancers can be more efficient in how they approach training, but there’s a lack of prioritizing the conscious connection between mind and body in the dance community.

So, what mindfulness tactics can contemporary dancers utilize to most efficiently bridge their conscious mind with their physical body? Made possible with funding from the Center of Undergraduate Excellence, I attended Alonzo …

Behind The Scenes: Shining A Spotlight On Veiled Theatre Workers, Ariel Bradshaw

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

My thesis aims to highlight traditionally underrepresented theatre artists. I wish to dive deeply into the many backstage, or “veiled” workers, who continue to go unacknowledged. Why is there an aspect of “veiled” theatre created to stay hidden? Even in technical theatre, some specialties receive more credit or recognition than others. For example, the Tony Awards offer categories for direction, sound, light, costume, and scenic design, yet no award for stage management. How are institutions working to create more representation in an intentionally hidden space? This project will specifically focus on the representation of stage managers, arguably the most invisible …

The Lost Story Of Frank Jackson, Hayden Jackson

Honors Colloquium

This is the promotional poster for Hayden Jackson's Honors Colloquium, "The Lost Story of Frank Jackson: A One-Act Play," held on November 27, 2023, in Walker Room A.

No Sex For Me: Female Influence And Power Through The Lens Of Hrotsvitha, Madison Patoto

Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

No Sex for Me: Female Influence and Power Through the Lens of Hrotsvitha

Madison Patoto

Male playwrights dominated the theatre world until Hrotsvitha, a German nun and playwright, broke the silence of The Dark Ages. She adapted the works of the ancient Roman playwright, Terence, with a more favorable depiction of faith and women. In the midst of a patriarchal world, Hrotsvitha explored the theme of sexuality through strong female characters who gained power and influence in a world that degraded them and considered them impotent. This essay dives into the main differences between Terence’s Roman secular views and Hrotsvitha’s …

Fall Dance Concert (November 9-11, 2023), Lindenwood University

Student Dance Programs

Event program for the Fall Dance Concert (November 9-11, 2023).

Mother Courage And Her Children

Theatre Programs

No abstract provided.

Carrie, The Musical (October 26-28, 2023), Stephen King

Student Theatre Programs

Event program for Carrie, The Musical (October 26-28, 2023).

To view the photos from this production of Carrie, The Musical, please click here.

Middleton’S The Witch Costume Design, Sceviour Brianna

Honors Program Theses and Projects

This Honors capstone is a costume design for the main characters of Thomas Middleton’s play The Witch. Although it was published in 1778, the play is thought to be written between 1606 and 1620. This places its origin in the Jacobean Era, directly after the Elizabethan Era which ended in 1603.

Small Mouth Sounds

Theatre Programs

No abstract provided.

Active Analysis In The Beginning Acting Classroom, Michael Shipley

Theatre Arts Faculty Publications

Often, the exercises in the acting classroom can feel at odds with the processes used in the rehearsal room. I believe Konstantin Stanislavsky’s rehearsal method of Active Analysis provides tools and perspectives for dealing with these challenges. At The S Word Symposium in November 2022, I outlined a process I developed for teaching beginning acting using principles of Active Analysis as a tool to bridge the gap between training and rehearsing. This article outlines the experiences and thought processes that went into creating this class structure and reviews the benefits for students. Applied in this way, Stanislavsky’s impulse to place …

Historian-For-A-Day, Elyse Singer

Open Educational Resources

Each student will select a class session in which to present a brief (1-2 minute) "fun fact" based on their own research that relates to the time/place being studied. It should be something that is of interest to you, and (hopefully) to the whole class – cultural, political, sociological, scientific, medical…. For example, for the class on Roman Tragedy, the factoid might be about what a citizen in ancient Roman ate for supper! Originality counts.

Due on date of presentation: A one-paragraph description of the fun fact, in your own words, and cite at least one source--that is not Wikipedia. …

Chaos, Damon Stone

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Over the duration of the summer and this past semester, I have revised a story which I wrote in middle school, known as ChAos. The story focuses on fictionalized version of friends of mine from middle school, as they survive a zombie apocalypse together, while bringing down the corporate entity that started it, and dealing with the political aftermath of such an event. Throughout this, I have started work on an audiobook as well, consulting with several different voice actors to help with the project.

Throughout this process, several changes had been done to add to the quality of the …

Perspectives On Practice: Building A Better Environment For All – An Interview With Jane Daly And Siobhán Bourke, Tanya Dean

Articles

In this Perspectives on Practice interview, Tanya Dean speaks to SiobhánBourke and Jane Daly about their work with Irish Theatre Institute in supporting Irish theatre and fostering positive change in the industry. The discussion explores how the purpose of Irish Theatre Institute has evolved, and how it has adapted to and reflected the changes and challenges facing Irish theatre over the decades

Theatre Of The Sphere: Exploring A Generative Acting Methodology, Daphnie Sicre

Theatre Arts Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Fusion Dance: Exploring Identity And Social Possibilities, Katie Taylor

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

In this collection of personal essayettes about partner dance, particularly fusion dance, I explore themes of discovering social possibilities, evolving identity, finding connection, healing shame and celebrating joy. Fusion dance, besides being a partner dance, often seems to defy definition, but I sought to capture my experiences of attending fusion events, falling in love with the dance, navigating ups and downs on the path of becoming a dancer and allowing it to transform the way that I view myself and the world. In the interdisciplinary, exploratory spirit of the Honors College, I essay (in the original sense of “to try” …

I Was Crazy Once: An Examination Of Elizabethan Insanity In Shakespeare’S Work, Hope L. Kobus

Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

William Shakespeare wrote numerous works, diving into the common motifs of love, revenge, power, but most importantly, madness. While Elizabethan audiences were more accustomed to seeing madness as a ploy for comedy, Shakespeare changed the appeal through shows such as King Lear, Hamlet, and Macbeth. He presents the power and ambition of women, as well as the failings of the upper-class, but he disguised them through the idea of insanity. At a time when the public had little understanding of mental health, it was easy to blame madness on gender, social status, and even the supernatural. Through …

The Power Of Play: Theatre’S Potential For Healing The Wounds Of Capitalism, Danielle Phillips

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Capitalist hegemony wreaks havoc on the psyche through exploitation, isolation, and encouragement of worry. Actor training offers healing in the ways in which it encourages self value, connection, and mindfulness, therefore serving as a powerful tool for coping with anxiety and depression exacerbated by life under a capitalist system.

Programa De La Conferencia Segundo Congreso Internacional De Iconografía Precolombina

Segundo congreso internacional de iconografía precolombina. Barcelona, 2023. Actas.

Barcelona, 2023.

Victòria Solanilla, organizador

17 al 20 de octubre de 2023.

En el Museu de Cultures del Món de Barcelona. Calle Montcada, nº12-14, 08003, Barcelona.

Y en el Institut d’Estudis Catalans. Calle del Carme, nº 47, 08001, Barcelona.

Organizado por el GRUP d'ESTUDIS PRECOLOMBINS· con el apoyo del MUSEU ETNOLÒGIC I DE CULTURES DEL MÓN· INSTITUT D'ESTUDIS CATALANS· SOCIETAT CATALANA D'ESTUDIS HISTÒRICS

Kodachrome (September 27-30, 2023), Adam Szymkowicz

Student Theatre Programs

Event program for Kodachrome (September 27-30, 2023).

To view the photos from this production of Kodachrome, please click here.

Is Ai An Actor?, Emily Wirkus

AI Assignment Library

Students are taught a system of marking scripts and monologues using a series of steps to highlight the flow of action, including shifts in objectives and tactics (what the character wants, and the active language describing how they hope to get what they want). Students are challenged to mark a monologue themselves using these criteria taught in class. Students will then upload their monologue into ChatGPT and ask it to score the monologue using the same criteria. Students will compare and contrast the two monologues and evaluate what ChatGPT created that was useful, and what ChatGPT may have missed. Students …

Ai Costume Design Assignment, Kylie Mcdonald

AI Assignment Library

I used this rubric in class to go over the understanding of Chat GPT and how we can use it for costume design. I emphasized that Chat GPT is generated and not reliable in the search for knowledge but can be used to start the creative process. In my assignment, I have created two random picker wheels that the students use to get a character and a play. They use Chat GPT to give them the summary of the play they were randomly assigned using the voice of the character they were assigned. The goal of the assignment is to …

Masters At Chapman, Julianne O'Brien, Ido Tadmor, Dwight Roden

Dance Programs

No abstract provided.

Topic Proposal Assignment Sheet, Emily Cherry Oliver

AI Assignment Library

This assignment asks students to utilize Chat GPT to help narrow a topic for a research paper and then ensure there is enough support for that research question.