Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Scorched Earth: Unlocking The Mysteries Of Shakespeare's Greatest Villain, Iago In Othello, Christopher P. Hunter Jr

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The following thesis is an in-depth actor analysis chronicling my approach to the role of Iago in TheatreUNO’s 2019 production of Othello by William Shakespeare. This thesis will include analysis of the text, character objectives, techniques used, observations about the application of contemporary realistic acting technique to classical verse text, self-evaluation and personal reflection. This thesis will be supported by production materials including a fully scored script.

This play was directed by David W. Hoover, and performed April 25- May 4, 2019,as part of the TheatreUNO 2018-2019 academic season, presented by the Department of Film and Theatre in the School …

What A World – What A World: Scene/Script Analysis For Fight Plays, T. Fulton Burns

T. Fulton Burns

“While perfection is a wonderful goal, there comes a point where you have to let your creation out into the world or it isn’t worth a tinkerer’s damn.” This is a fantastic quote by Twyla Tharp from her book The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It For Life: A Practical Guide. So what does this have to do with you, the stage combatant? Well you are working hard but you are being told not to strive for perfection because perfection can never truly be achieved in the arts, so naturally itwarrants the question “then for what exactly do you …

The Games People Play: Rehearsal Games & Approaches For Fight Scenes, T. Fulton Burns

T. Fulton Burns

There are as many approaches to the rehearsal period as there are directors, actors and acting texts combined. Rehearsals are the time that we all look forward to because we truly get to do what we do best in theatre, which is “play.” The games and approaches in this article are intended to spice up the life of your stage combat scene and enhance the time spent in rehearsal; following the initial time period of learning choreography and discovering initial acting choices. Many people see the rehearsal process as the time to work. I couldn’t agree more but, as stated …

Just Before Dawn: Pre-Test Rituals And Preparation For Test Day, T. Fulton Burns

T. Fulton Burns

In Asian martial arts films there are usually beautiful moments that reveal the fighters in deep meditation before they are to meet on the field of battle. The process appears to center and calm the individual while preparing them for the final moments of their lives. The day of a skills proficiency test (SPT) can feel the same way. The day of the test can be frustrating for the testers as well as those around them. Nerves can run high during this stressful time. I can still recall the excitement and nerves of my first test day at the 2000 …

Random Acts Of Violence: Bringing John Cage’S Chance Techniques To Fight Choreography And Stage Combatant Acting, T. Fulton Burns

T. Fulton Burns

The concept of chance utilized by John Cage is a frightening, exciting, and liberating process for any artist. It was so effective that other musical artists such as Morton Feldman, Earle Brown and Christian Wolff used it. In the world of theatre these concepts are constantly used today by the Neo-Futurists in Chicago and New York in their production of Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind and by Improv Troupes throughout the country.

Dueling With Spt Questions: Members Of The College Of Fight Masters Share Their Ideas For Skills Proficiency Tests, T. Fulton Burns

T. Fulton Burns

As the rehearsal process grows closer and closer to the Skills Proficiency Test (SPT) common questions arise regarding what is needed in order to pass. Many of these questions involve the same basic idea – “What are the Fight Masters looking for so that I can pass the test?”, but the most important question that is asked is – “Do you think I will pass?”

...And Scene: A Guide To Locating Fight Scenes, T. Fulton Burns

T. Fulton Burns

It is one of the most daunting tasks: trying to find a strong fight scene for a Skills Proficiency Test or even a class project. The truth of the matter is that your main focus is to pass your skills test while hopefully leaving an impression on your peers(especially the adjudicator!). Passing, and hopefully receiving an Examiner’s Award for Excellence, is the best result; or if you are at a National Stage Combat Workshop, you could possibly receive a Certificate for Best Actress or Actor. At the very heart of the issue, you need a scene that will work for …

Beating The Punches: Scene And Fight Break Down Techniques, T. Fulton Burns

T. Fulton Burns

As a fight choreographer it is my responsibility to sit down with the director and discover her/his vision for the production. Similarly, actors need to serve the script and work with the choreographer in connecting the action to the playwright’s words. Each preceding article, relating to the exploration of the skills proficiency tests (SPTs), has offered tools for connecting the scripts, stories, and characters with the language of the choreography. We are now ready to move deeper into directly linking fight choreography with the script and vice versa.

Some actors see pre-planning objectives for a scene and rehearsal as an …

Fighting The Elements: Determining The Best Scenes For Skills Proficiency Tests, T. Fulton Burns

T. Fulton Burns

In the last edition of The Cutting Edge I provided tips for locating fight-specific scenes. Now let’s narrow our search from the vast quantity of scenes to a playing field of only the best quality. For a Skills Proficiency Test (SPT), choreography comes first to ensure that the proper techniques are included within the fight. Following these lessons in technique and choreography, the scene selection process begins. In a traditional acting class, the scene selection occurs first and is followed by the explored action. So even though the cart may be before the horse, as it were, with an SPT, …

A Violent Character: Stage Combat Character Analysis, T. Fulton Burns

T. Fulton Burns

It is so deceptively easy stating who your character is but it is over looked more often than you may think. A good character analysis is important in the actor/character relationship and here we will look at the key elements of character research and their specific relationships to the stage combatant.

Vocal Hygiene For Musical Theatre Performers, Anne M. Koziara, Dr. Ron Scherer

Honors Projects

There have been numerous “do’s - and - don’t’s” vocal hygiene pamphlets made for voice users, however, a guide for vocal hygiene for musical theatre performers is not typically included in these pamphlets. Musical theatre performers differ from other professional voice users, because in addition to singing, they also have the taxing responsibilities of acting and dancing. As a result, many musical theatre performers have questions and often seem confused about what proper vocal hygiene should be for them. The goal of this honors project was to create an advisory brochure on vocal hygiene specifically for musical theatre performers. This …

Blackting: The Inseparable Act Of Being Black And Acting: For The Magical Negro, Austin Dean Ashford

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

I am honored to present my Thesis for my M.F.A. in Theatre, in the form of a multidimensional project, drawing inspiration from the structure of Moby Dick by Herman Melville. As an undergraduate, the structure of Moby Dick intrigued me as it defies the form we call “a novel.” The book includes traditional prose, an entire play, verses of poetry, and even an essay. The structure of Moby Dick further influenced my love for Speech and Debate, especially around the event of Program Oral Interpretation (POI). POI places multiple genres of literature in conversation with each other and centers them …

Dwight Sora Interview, Jay Lee

Asian American Art Oral History Project

Artist Bio: Dwight Sora is half-Japanese (father) and half-Korean (mother) actor who grew up in the Chicago suburb of River Forest. He has studied the Japanese martial art of aikido since 1993, when he was an exchange student attending Waseda University in Tokyo. He holds a rank of sandan (third degree black belt).

Acting Styles Of Caryl Churchill Performance, Mischa Hutchings

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis contains materials pertaining to my thesis performance and one-person show. This thesis also includes my headshot, resume and link to my website.

Privileged Eyes: How A Look In The Mirror Informed The Creation Of Marilyn And Desiree, Halley Electra Mayo

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is for the performance of Desiree in A Little Night Music, by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler; the development, writing, and performance of the one-person-show Privileged Eyes; and development of a website and statement of artistry.

The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time An Actor’S Reflection, Emily Austin

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis delves into the creative process of creating characters for the play The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. The characters that were created include: Mrs. Shears, Woman on Train, and Voice One. This thesis highlights the creative process through methods of research that dissect the authors, story, autism, and the actor’s experience throughout the rehearsal process. Sources such as interviews with autism consultants and family members of those with autism added useful information towards the creation of the characters. Research on the performance aspect was centered around the exploration of a character’s past through diagrams …

Under Construction : Acting, Creativity, Collaboration, And Siti Company., Carol Stewart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a case study of New York’s Saratoga International Training Institute (known as SITI Company), one of the most innovative American theatre companies of the last twenty-five years. Research for this study was based in part on the author’s experience with the work of SITI throughout those years, including participation in intensive training with the company and observations of rehearsal and performance of the 2014 world premiere production of Steel Hammer at the Humana Festival of New American Plays, at Actors Theatre of Louisville. SITI Company is defined by their dedication to actor training, and to a democratic …

Learning Dramatically With Linfield Theatre, Calder Ifft

Student Engagement Posters

Calder Ifft discusses student engagement at Linfield College with regard to learning outside the classroom through participation in the Linfield Theatre program.

“The Ground On Which I Stand” Healing Queer Trauma Through Performance: Crafting A Solo Performance Through The Investigation Of Ritual Poetic Drama Within The African Continuum, Ashley W. Grantham

Theses and Dissertations

“The Ground On Which I Stand”

Healing Queer Trauma through Performance:

Crafting a Solo Performance through the investigation of Ritual Poetic Drama within the African Continuum.

By: Ashley W. Grantham

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts in Performance Pedagogy at Virginia Commonwealth University

Virginia Commonwealth University

April 16^th, 2019

Thesis Adjudicator: Dr. Tawnya Pettiford-Wates

Committee: Dr. Keith Byron Kirk, Director of Graduate Studies and Karen Kopryanski, Head of Voice and Speech

How does this method of Ritual Poetic Drama within the African Continuum, by extension, solo performance, …

Acting The Author: Observations On Authority In Collective Performance, Max Tapogna

Summer Research

Authorship in theatre is divided – and divisive. The focus of this essay is on actors, and how actors engage with authorship in the theatre. In contemporary Western theatre, the division of authorship is composed of three primary fields: playwrights, directors, and actors. This essay challenges the hierarchy inherent to commercial theatres and advocates for actors who think like authors, not as the creators of solely characters, but as the co-authors of the theatrical event as a whole. In result, theatres and theatre-makers might be fortified by a shared sense of authorship, enriched by a steadfast sense of collaboration and …

Monologuing The Music: A New Actor Training Practice For New Times, Nicole Stinton

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The myth that musical theatre actors cannot act is alive and well. Director, musician and lecturer Dr Zachary Dunbar asserts that the industry frequently chooses between actors who cannot sing or singers who cannot act (2016, 71). Popular blogger WestEndProducer purports that the musical theatre ‘twirley’ is often considered as a jack of all trades but a master of none (2017). In conservatoire style training, could traditional triple-threat skill-focused courses include more holistic educative approaches that integrate the three disciplines of acting, singing and dancing and, longer-term, contribute to dispelling the aforementioned myth? Whilst this question cannot be answered without …