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Working For Yourself: A Guide For Performers With Learning Difference., Sa'id "Nxttime" Kelly May 2023

Working For Yourself: A Guide For Performers With Learning Difference., Sa'id "Nxttime" Kelly

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Working For Yourself a Guide For Performers with Learning Differences is a combination of advice and tips that are intended to help performers especially those living with learning differences. The thesis helps performers find ways to work with their true selves on stage as well as in preparation for a role. There is no final result to this process, just multiple ways to be more confident with the choice you’ll make while performing and preparing for a role.


Regeneration: Restorative Theatre Practice In Theatre Education., Sarah Elston May 2023

Regeneration: Restorative Theatre Practice In Theatre Education., Sarah Elston

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Regeneration: Restorative Theatre Practice in Theatre Education aims to harness the holistic benefits of theatre as a discipline and create an intentional restorative practice for performers. This thesis serves as a proposal; an attempt to prioritize restorative and self-care practices within the theatre industry, specifically pre-professional training programs. This proposal takes the form of a curriculum that builds upon the current model of theatre training (Voice, Movement, Acting) with the addition of Regeneration. Regeneration provides theatre artists with specific areas of study to offer the psychosocial support a theatre artist may need during their pre-professional training. This thesis will discuss …


“The Urgent Necessity For More Original Creative Works By Transgender And Gender Expansive Artists" Is Not The Title Of My Thesis., Alicia Fireel May 2023

“The Urgent Necessity For More Original Creative Works By Transgender And Gender Expansive Artists" Is Not The Title Of My Thesis., Alicia Fireel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a mix of personal reflection, academic research, and an examination of The Girl Crazy Queer and Other Fairy Tales, a play I wrote and performed in October of 2023, co-produced by The University of Louisville’s Department of Theatre Arts and Pandora Productions, a Louisville-based theatre company dedicated to Queer theatre. This thesis and the play mirror each other; both contemplate Queer experiences, Queer histories, Queer trauma, and Queer stories. In the thesis I accomplish this through examining four subjects: myself, my play, the connection between modes of storytelling and aspects of transgender Queerness, and the perils that …


Developing The Nonprofit Theatre: Building A Foundation For The Emerging Theatre Company, Kelsey Mcmillan May 2023

Developing The Nonprofit Theatre: Building A Foundation For The Emerging Theatre Company, Kelsey Mcmillan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper aims to guide entrepreneurial theatre artists in beginning a nonprofit theatre arts venture. It will provide an in-depth analysis of the foundations required to begin a nonprofit theatre organization and analyze the need for expanding upon traditional structures and styles. Incorporating evidence and research from relevant literature, coursework, and market data as well as analysis of a strategic plan for The Common Theatre Company, this paper finds that non-profit theatre companies can be positively served by developing unique products and services and a nontraditional governance model as an extension of the foundational needs of a nonprofit organization. The …


Contemporary Blackface Theatre: Exploring Split Second From An Authentic Black Lens To Combat White Stereotypes., Lamar Alonzo Hardy May 2022

Contemporary Blackface Theatre: Exploring Split Second From An Authentic Black Lens To Combat White Stereotypes., Lamar Alonzo Hardy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This MFA thesis defines Contemporary Blackface Theatre as exemplified in Dennis McIntyre’s Split Second, which was produced in Fall 2021 by the Department of Theatre Arts at the University of Louisville. Cast as Val Johnson, I aimed to find the truth within a Black character created from the white playwright’s limited perspective. In addition to an analysis of Split Second, my study of Contemporary Blackface Theatre examines the racist ideologies from F.M. Alexander’s point of view on black people and how I create truthfulness in my own black body. I detail how I used the Black Acting Methods: …


In Bloom: Nurturing The Liberation Process Of Performer And Character As Rose In August Wilson's Fences., Paula O. Lockhart May 2021

In Bloom: Nurturing The Liberation Process Of Performer And Character As Rose In August Wilson's Fences., Paula O. Lockhart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Rose Maxson is the 43-year-old matriarch of the Maxson household in August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Fences. She is a character with an inviolable spirit. The unwavering force she possesses rattles the pages as she relives past loves, loss, experiences heartbreak. Imagine, how I, a then 24-year old devoid of the immense life experience that Rose encompasses found my way into her. The answer is through nurture. To nurture is a process of feeding, protecting, or rearing someone or something. It is a journey with or without a destination. Rose is in a constant state of nurturing her family, …


[Re]Fashioning A Means: Exploring And Adapting Anna Cora Mowatt's Fashion Through A Feminist Lens., Jordan Tudor Haggard May 2021

[Re]Fashioning A Means: Exploring And Adapting Anna Cora Mowatt's Fashion Through A Feminist Lens., Jordan Tudor Haggard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This MFA thesis explores gender representation in Anna Cora Mowatt’s Fashion (1845) and the adaptation [Re]Fashion presented by the University of Louisville’s Department of Theatre Arts in Spring 2021. Directed by Dr. J. Ariadne Calvano, University of Louisville faculty, staff, and students worked together to repurpose the script for a modern audience. Cast as the governess, Gertrude, I aimed to find truth in my character without ignoring the social prescriptions of mid-19th-century America. Gertrude values purity and honesty, virtues considered innately feminine by the period’s cultural feminists. I argue that Fashion is a cultural feminist work and Gertrude …


Igniting The Imagination : Tenaciously Building A Character., Lois Abdelmalek May 2018

Igniting The Imagination : Tenaciously Building A Character., Lois Abdelmalek

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As an actor, my goal is to achieve full transformation to perform any character. During my final year of graduate school, I auditioned and received the roles of Liz Morden and Lieutenant Faddy in Our Country’s Good. I had been exposed to several acting methods in graduate school; however, I questioned if I had a solid technique to rely on. My thesis role was an opportunity to become self-aware of my process. Through imagination, I explored the historical circumstances, the text, and physical and voice work. I became conscious as never before how my creation of a character demands trusting …


Thinking Before You Act: A Constructive Logic Approach To Crafting Performance-For- Development Narrative, Angela Duggins Dec 2017

Thinking Before You Act: A Constructive Logic Approach To Crafting Performance-For- Development Narrative, Angela Duggins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The intent of this thesis was to test the feasibility of constructing performance-for-development narrative using a constructive logic approach. I created an equation which expressed the sum of non-human-elements as the sum of a narrative with each element serving as a variable. I used a review of persuasion literature to provide insight into the selection and manipulation of each variable. I provided my family as a hypothetical example and used my knowledge of their preferences and communication styles in conjunction with the literature and the equation to craft a narrative which might increase pro-school attitudes in other families like my …


Opal Clark On Directing Stop Kiss An Exploration Of The Directorial Process, Opal Clark Aug 2017

Opal Clark On Directing Stop Kiss An Exploration Of The Directorial Process, Opal Clark

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The intent of this thesis and thesis project was to execute a successful run of the play, Stop Kiss by Diana Son while achieving the playwright’s intended message. Opal Clark directed this production of Stop Kiss at East Tennessee State University under special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc. It was performed to sold out audiences in ETSU Theatre and Dance Studio 205 October 2-7, 2017. The play explores experiences and hostility toward same sex couples, their relationships with one another and how one individual discovers sexuality. The discovery and actualization of the characters’ struggles were communicated in the play …


Finding Exuberance For The Role Shelby In Baltimore., Danielle Smart May 2017

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 …


An Actor’S Approach To Claire In Proof By David Auburn, Kathryn Patterson May 2016

An Actor’S Approach To Claire In Proof By David Auburn, Kathryn Patterson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The areas of study in the Proof thesis contain research on the play, the playwright, and the acting style utilized in the performance and character analysis. The acting style in this process focuses on the actor’s creative work in preparation of portraying a female character. This character is a controlling woman that is unable to manipulate others. By using relaxation techniques involving the Alexander Technique, the actor was able to transition into the character with honest emotions and motives. Finding similarities to the character by using personal relationships gave the actor the ability to discover connections with the character in …


Move, Interact, And Connect Personally Barter Theatre’S Project Real Gets Implicit In Order To Learn, Megan E. Atkinson May 2015

Move, Interact, And Connect Personally Barter Theatre’S Project Real Gets Implicit In Order To Learn, Megan E. Atkinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Body movement, hands-on activity, embodiment, social interaction, emotions, and self-reflection allow teaching artists of Barter’s Theatre’s Project REAL to conduct a lesson with an implicit learning experience as the focus. Barter Theatre’s Project REAL exists as a theatre for education program that collaborates with regular classroom teachers on delivering the curriculum through specific theatre exercises in order to connect the material personally to the students’ lives. Theatre tools provide a human experience that enhances learning for the student by use of kinesthetic movement, social learning, emotions and interpersonal skills. To understand the effects of Barter Theatre’s Project REAL, the director …


The Branding, Creation, And Promotion Of A Solo Comedienne, Anna Mccorison Jan 2015

The Branding, Creation, And Promotion Of A Solo Comedienne, Anna Mccorison

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Comedy exists as a stronghold in American culture as a coping mechanism throughout history, but is often limited to the male headliner. From Charlie Chaplin to Jackie Gleason and Bill Cosby to Will Ferrell, men have kept us laughing from stages to screen throughout the last century. Thus, I inquire: who are the prominent women who rose to the top of this male-dominated industry and how did they create a brand for themselves that was distinguishable and celebrated? What is it about being a woman in the last century that made making a name in comedic entertainment more cumbersome, and …


Almost Mirror Image: Exploring The Similarities And Dissimilarities Of Identical Twins In Theatrical Solo Performance, Elizabeth Mignacca Jan 2015

Almost Mirror Image: Exploring The Similarities And Dissimilarities Of Identical Twins In Theatrical Solo Performance, Elizabeth Mignacca

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Almost Mirror Image: Exploring the Similarities and Dissimilarities of Identical Twins in Theatrical Solo Performance Is an exploration of the psyche of identical twins within the context of devised solo performance. The author, an identical twin herself, has long been interested in twins' ability to cultivate both highly independent personalities as well as intensely co-dependent tendencies during development. What can twins tell us about the way we create close relationships and how is their upbringing radically different from the majority of the world that is born alone? Equally intrigued by society's growing technological dependence, the author would like to delve …


The Artistry Of Accessibility: Creating Theatre With And For Students On The Autism Spectrum, Sara Brunow Jan 2015

The Artistry Of Accessibility: Creating Theatre With And For Students On The Autism Spectrum, Sara Brunow

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Theatre is a place where all can come together and have an experience regardless of ethnicity, gender, sexuality, or ability. As a theatre maker and teaching artist, how do I create inclusion and augment social awareness by designing and implementing theatrical experiences for a specific audience? In this personal exploration of inclusive theatre practices (Sensory Friendly Theatre, Inclusive Arts Integration, and Multi-Sensory Theatre) I will examine my experience of creating and adapting theatre with and for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. My process has a three-pronged approach: adapting an established production using a Sensory Friendly model; adapting an arts integration …


When Oppressed Women Attack: Female-Enacted Violence Through Minority American Female Playwrights' Works, Kate Busselle Jan 2015

When Oppressed Women Attack: Female-Enacted Violence Through Minority American Female Playwrights' Works, Kate Busselle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As an Actor Combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors, theatrical violence is something that has always captivated me. When a female combat instructor once told me that even though I throw a great punch I will never be able to use it because women are always on the receiving end of violence in theatre, I wondered if this was truly the case. After a thorough exploration of several works with theatrical violence, I am glad to say that it is not the case. When most scholars examine violence in theatre, the focus is either male-centric or specifically on …


Writes Of Spring 2014: Fostering Creativity In Theatre, Education, And Leadership, Alexandra Hodson Jan 2015

Writes Of Spring 2014: Fostering Creativity In Theatre, Education, And Leadership, Alexandra Hodson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Creativity is valued in many fields. In theatre, creativity celebrates the imaginative power of a theatrical experience. In theatre for young audiences (TYA), creativity is extended from the stage to the classroom, where theatre empowers learning through creative and imaginative teaching. Teaching artists and theatre makers in the field of theatre for young audiences utilize creativity as a means of connecting artistic and educational value. Through professional development and qualitative research, this project demonstrates the importance of creativity and its role in the classroom and on stage. This study examines my role as Project Coordinator in Orlando Repertory Theatre's (The …


Seeking A Vision, Finding A Voice: Exploring The Musicality Of Theatre Through Multidisciplinary Practice, Tara Kromer Jan 2015

Seeking A Vision, Finding A Voice: Exploring The Musicality Of Theatre Through Multidisciplinary Practice, Tara Kromer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In classrooms and textbooks the “Director's Vision” is often identified as the unifying concept for the production, and my goal in returning to graduate school was to explore my own vision as a director. In my own practice as a director, I tend to “hear” the play in my head before visualizing it. From my interpretation of the text, to the staging of the performers, to my collaboration with design team, my approach to the production of theatre stems from a place of musicality. Seeking a Vision, Finding a Voice explores my creative journey as multi-disciplinary theatre artist through a …


The Forging Of Modern Broadway Sound Design Techniques Amid The Fires Of The Rock Musicals In The Late 1960s And 1970s., Timothy Tracey Jan 2015

The Forging Of Modern Broadway Sound Design Techniques Amid The Fires Of The Rock Musicals In The Late 1960s And 1970s., Timothy Tracey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

From the ancient Greek theater, through the dawn of the Renaissance, beyond the development of Shakespearean theater, to the Broadway theater boon in the 1920s, sound reinforcement within the theater remained virtually unchanged. Through Broadway's Golden Age, directors and producers relied on architectural acoustics to carry sound throughout the theaters. This is not surprising given that most of the theaters were built in the early 1900s, before the invention of any electric sound reinforcement technology. Moreover, early attempts at amplification in the 1940s yielded dismal results. Eventually, the maturation of the integrated book musical and the invasion of the rock …


Directing Stop Kiss By Diana Son Within A Nontraditional Training Model, Rebecca Dilks Jan 2015

Directing Stop Kiss By Diana Son Within A Nontraditional Training Model, Rebecca Dilks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite the generally held view that the best way for a stage actor to give a strong theatrical performance is through a traditional training model, I hoped to develop a way for inexperienced actors to perform beyond expectation within the context of one production through a system of mentorship, expectation-setting, and tapping into young peoples' natural desire to identify with people and characters. I directed a production of Stop Kiss by Diana Son with a blend of experienced and inexperienced actors to see if I could make this work, with mixed results. This thesis is a reflection on the process …


Halloween Horror Nights And/Or Visceral Theatre, Patrick Braillard Jan 2014

Halloween Horror Nights And/Or Visceral Theatre, Patrick Braillard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Visceral [vis-er-uh l] -adj 1. of, relating to, or affecting the viscera 2. characterized by intuition or instinct rather than intellect ("visceral," def. 1-2) The above words speak to define far more than merely the word "visceral." They speak to also embody and classify a previously untitled form of theatre. Visceral Theatre: A form of theatre that uses the instinctual awareness of the audience- the audiences' perception of popular culture, societal contexts both historical and geographical, as well as their instinctual-physical aversion to danger- to cause physiological and emotional responses through the overstimulation of the senses in a non-tactile attack. …


An Examination Of The Actor's Approach To Playwriting: Are Playwrights Able To Write About What Is Unfamiliar To Them?, Kayla Zaniboni Jan 2013

An Examination Of The Actor's Approach To Playwriting: Are Playwrights Able To Write About What Is Unfamiliar To Them?, Kayla Zaniboni

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Playwrights write about what is familiar to them. Their inspiration comes from their childhood, past relationships, and their personal view of the world. But could a playwright write about something to which they have no personal connection? Using the book Triggered: A Memoir of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, I will write a one act play about mental illness. I have no personal experience or personal connection to mental illness, but I will approach the process the same way as an actor does a character. I will go into the writing process as an actor, completing character analyses for the characters and using …


Boy Meets Boy: Envisioning Queer Youth Novels For Translation To The Stage, Daniel Davis Jan 2013

Boy Meets Boy: Envisioning Queer Youth Novels For Translation To The Stage, Daniel Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Queer Youth, or young people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning, is a demographic with an increasing presence in contemporary society. Along with this increased presence has come an increase in support groups available to these youths that range from Gay-Straight Alliances at their schools, community groups from their local gay and lesbian center to, most recently, theater companies that have begun to offer workshops and performance opportunities within the Queer Youth Theatre genre. Queer Youth Theatre is an emerging form of topical theatre that deals with issues and situations queer youth may face in their daily …


Interactionz: Engaging Lgbtq+ Youth Using Theatre For Social Change, Jonathan Jackson Jan 2013

Interactionz: Engaging Lgbtq+ Youth Using Theatre For Social Change, Jonathan Jackson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Theatre for social change is a term used to describe a wide range of theatre-based techniques and methods. Through implementation of performance techniques, participants are encouraged to creatively explore and communicate various ideas with the specific intention of eliciting a societal or political shift within a given community. Through this thesis, I will explore the impact of applying theatre for social change in a youth-centered environment. I will discuss my journey as creator, facilitator, and project director of interACTionZ, a queer youth theatre program in Orlando, FL formed through a partnership between Theatre UCF at the University of Central Florida …


Attention Must Be Paid: A Critical Study Of The Non-Traditional Leading Man In Twentieth Century Drama, Trevin Cooper Jan 2013

Attention Must Be Paid: A Critical Study Of The Non-Traditional Leading Man In Twentieth Century Drama, Trevin Cooper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The role of the non-traditional leading man has painted a strong image which mirrors the cultural development of our identities; we turn to these men/characters to understand who, or why, we are. Their contributions require acknowledgement. This thesis is a study of the vital role the non-traditional leading man has played in the evolution of twentieth-century theatre. It will examine, through the use of ten plays, one from every decade of the twentieth century, and twelve male roles, the theory that some of the greatest leading male characters in modern theatre are not epitomized by the qualities identified with the …


Applying Historiography To Fictional Works: A Case Study Of William Inge's Picnic, Nicholas Murphy Jan 2013

Applying Historiography To Fictional Works: A Case Study Of William Inge's Picnic, Nicholas Murphy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Historiography is the writing of history based on the examination of sources and synthesizing these sources into a narrative that will stand the test of critical methods. Historiography is not the study of history but rather provides a tool to analyze each written account of a historical event. The concepts of historiography are traditionally reserved for the study of factual based history and not for fictional events or people. However, just as history seems to evolve over time, authors also revise their fiction work. If history is adapted and changed over time to fulfill the historian’s desires, can fictional works …


An Actor's Approach: Stepping Into A Role And A World Of The Past, Danielle Gosselin Jan 2013

An Actor's Approach: Stepping Into A Role And A World Of The Past, Danielle Gosselin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

To step into a character and a world of the past, the actor must not discard the present, but seek to find connections and links between the worlds. I was cast in the Orlando Shakespeare Theater production of Sense and Sensibility, a Jon Jory adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel, in the role of Lucy Steele. This was an equity production, and it ran February 6th – March 17th, 2013, in the Orlando Shakespeare Theater’s Margeson Theater. Lucy is a female character from England in a period often referred to as the Regency era. As a woman from today’s United States …


Immediacy In Comedy: How Gertrude Stein, Long Form Improv, And 5 Second Films Can Revolutionize The Comedic Form, Alexander Hluch Jan 2013

Immediacy In Comedy: How Gertrude Stein, Long Form Improv, And 5 Second Films Can Revolutionize The Comedic Form, Alexander Hluch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Comedy has typically been derided as second-tier to drama in all aspects of narrative. Throughout history, comedy has seen short shrift in both critical reception and academic investigation. Merit is simply placed on drama far before that of comedy. This is not for comedy’s own lack of skill or craft, but simply for comedy’s misappropriation as a narrative form. Throughout the years, by way of either competition or economic superiority, comedy has been pigeonholed into the typified dramatic structure that drama so thoroughly encapsulates. Being forced into a form that exemplifies complex, climactic structure and explicit character development, comedy in …


Digital Illustration: The Costume Designer’S Process For East Tennessee State University’S Spring Dance Concert 2012, Christine Michele Waxstein Dec 2012

Digital Illustration: The Costume Designer’S Process For East Tennessee State University’S Spring Dance Concert 2012, Christine Michele Waxstein

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper's objective is to document the research and developmental processes of creating East Tennessee State University's Spring Dance Concert 2012 costume designs and renderings. This thesis describes design creation from research stage to idea formulation to the conception of costumes using inspirational images, illustrations, and performance photos and videos. The show was a challenging undertaking because it involved the collaboration of many in a compressed timeframe: 1 artistic director, 9 choreographers, 20 dances, 46 performers, 10 lighting designers, 1 costume designer, and 3 weeks to put it all together. Incorporating digital technology into the rendering process saved time, expenses, …