Dramatic Literature, Criticism and Theory Commons^™

The Unruly Womb In Early Modern English Drama: Plotting Women's Biology On The Stage, Ursula Potter

Late Tudor and Stuart Drama

This study provides an accessible, informative and entertaining introduction to women’s sexual health as presented on the early modern stage, and how dramatists coded for it. Beginning with the rise of green sickness (the disease of virgins) from its earliest reference in drama in the 1560s, Ursula Potter traces a continuing fascination with the womb by dramatists through to the oxymoron of the chaste sex debate in the 1640s. She illuminates how playwrights both satirized and perpetuated the notion of the womb’s insatiable appetite.

The Mixed Reception Of The Hamilton Premiere In Puerto Rico, Daniel Pollack-Pelzner

Faculty Publications

In this article originally published in The Atlantic, Daniel Pollack-Pelzner wonders about the challenges of premiering the famed Broadway musical, Hamilton, during a time of political discord in the aftermath of 2017's Hurricane Maria, in Puerto Rico.

Kinship And Twinship In Jacob And Esau, Kent R. Lehnhof

English Faculty Articles and Research

"The implications of these early stage directions are upheld and amplified elsewhere in the play. In what follows, I demonstrate this to be the case by reviewing some of the ways the interlude seeks to justify Jacob’s usurpation, most interestingly in its systematic and strategic deployment of kinship ties and familial terms. After explaining how the play leverages family relations to elevate Jacob and overthrow Esau, I concentrate on one family relation in particular: namely, the complicated bond between twin brothers. As I will make clear, the interlude’s treatment of twinship raises pressing questions about the way wealth, affection, and …

Direction Of The Imaginary Invalid By Molière Translated By Charles Heron Wall Adapted By Kimberly Dorman, Kimberly S. Dorman

All Graduate Projects

This project comprises of the selection, research, casting, adaptation, production and post-production process of The Imaginary Invalid. Documentation and research include adaptation, analysis of the play as a production vehicle for our program, research, script analysis, outcome goals, a record of the production period, and a postproduction evaluation.

Dramatic Themes: Active Learning And Thematic Teaching In The Theatre History Classroom, Brandon Lareau

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores major texts dealing with pedagogical theory and active learning in the context of a theatre history class. By comparing a class which is taught in the traditional, chronological format relying heavily on lectures to a class taught in a newer, thematic format utilizing active learning the thesis defines what student-centered learning means. Active learning, its benefits, and its implementation are explained and explored, along with the advantages and benefits of teaching thematically instead of chronologically. All of this is applied to a theatre history class in the resulting syllabus in chapter three. The syllabus creates a curriculum …

“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, …

Who Is Paying For God: A Thematic Analysis Of Henry Arthur Jones's Religious Plays In Relation To The Modernist Trend, Jay Tyler Sharma

All Master's Theses

This thesis project argues for the value of Henry Arthur Jones’s work in the late 1890s and seeks to illustrate that Jones’s contribution to the larger Modernist movement in the theatre. Using a close textual analysis of Jones’s plays Michael and His Lost Angel, Judah, and Saints and Sinners, this project examines Jones’s use of popular theatrical genres to provide commentary on the religious and fiscal tensions in the surrounding Victorian society. The critical commentary in Jones’s plays is then used to draw a connection between Jones’s work and his fight for dramatists to have greater freedom in the topics …

Myrrha Now: Reimagining Classic Myth And Mary Zimmerman's Metamorphoses In The #Metoo Era, Claire A. Pukszta

Scripps Senior Theses

This paper represents the final culmination of a theater senior project. The project consisted of an analytical research paper, performance in a mainstage department production, and supporting process documentation. I portrayed Myrrha, Hunger, Zeus, and others in a production of the play Metamorphoses.

Through research on Mary Zimmerman’s 1998 play Metamorphoses, adapted from the works of Roman poet Ovid, this thesis grapples with the historical meaning of the myth of Myrrha. A polarizing figure, Myrrha was cursed to fall in lust with her father. By exploring of portrayals sexual assault onstage, I tackle themes of audience relationships to …

"Must Be Heavyset": Casting Women, Fat Stigma, And Broadway Bodies, Ryan Donovan

Publications and Research

This article surveys how contemporary Broadway musicals cast fat women and focuses on Hairspray. The use of fat suits and contractual weight clauses figure into the discussion of fat stigma and casting practices. Seemingly body-positive musicals both celebrate and undermine the identities staged in them.

การเขียนบทละครเพลงว่าด้วยเรื่องเล่าเกี่ยวกับชีวิตของจิตร ภูมิศักดิ์, นฤทธิ์ ปาเฉย

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

งานวิจัยนี้ศึกษาวิธีการเขียนบทละครเพลงว่าด้วยเรื่องเล่าเกี่ยวกับชีวิตของจิตร ภูมิศักดิ์ โดยใช้การนำเสนอรูปแบบละครเพลง (musical theatre) และใช้วิธีการนำเสนอแบบหลายโครงเรื่อง (multiple plots) เพื่อแสดงให้เห็นว่าเรื่องเล่าเกี่ยวกับชีวิตของจิตร ภูมิศักดิ์ ถูกผลิตขึ้นและนำไปใช้ด้วยวัตถุประสงค์ที่แตกต่างกัน การยึดติดบุคคลต้นแบบที่ผ่านการประกอบสร้างจากเรื่องเล่า อาจทำให้เกิดความแตกแยกทางความคิดในสังคมที่บานปลายสู่การใช้ความรุนแรงได้ ผู้วิจัยศึกษาแนวคิดเกี่ยวกับการผลิตเรื่องเล่า ละครเพลง การเขียนบทละครเพลง การเขียนคำร้องในละครเพลงและวิธีการนำเสนอแบบหลายโครงเรื่อง จากนั้นจึงดำเนินการเขียนบทละครเพลงร่างที่ 1 โดยพัฒนาบทละครเพลงจากการจัดแสดงในรูปแบบการอ่าน (stage reading) แล้วนำความคิดเห็นของผู้ชมมาประมวล เพื่อพัฒนาเป็นบทละครเพลงร่างที่ 2 ก่อนนำเข้าสู่กระบวนการผลิตและจัดแสดงอย่างเต็มรูปแบบ จากการประเมินผลการวิจัยผ่านการจัดแสดงอย่างเต็มรูปแบบ ผู้วิจัยได้ข้อสรุปว่า การนำเสนอด้วยรูปแบบละครเพลงสามารถส่งเสริมการถ่ายทอดประเด็นสำคัญของเรื่องที่เต็มไปด้วยความขัดแย้งทางความคิดในประเด็นทางสังคมและการเมือง ด้วยการยกระดับประสบการณ์ทางอารมณ์ของผู้ชมควบคู่ไปกับการทำงานทางความคิด และการใช้วิธีการนำเสนอแบบหลายโครงเรื่อง โดยออกแบบปฏิสัมพันธ์ของเหตุการณ์บนโครงเรื่องตามวัตถุประสงค์ของบทละครเพลง สามารถกระตุ้นความคิดเชิงวิพากษ์ (critical thinking) ของผู้ชมให้มีต่อเรื่องราวและประเด็นสำคัญของเรื่อง และเผยให้เห็นการประกอบสร้างบุคคลต้นแบบผ่านเรื่องเล่า รวมถึงอิทธิพลชองการสืบทอดอุดมการณ์ทางการเมืองผ่านบุคคลต้นแบบ

Monstrosity As A Problem Of Moral Proximity In Shakespeare’S Othello, Kyle Ward

Student Works

Abstract

In Othello, Shakespeare explores the idea of monstrosity through his titular character. This paper argues that Othello exemplifies the idea that monstrosity is not an inherent evil, but rather that it is a problem of Moral Proximity. The Problem of Moral Proximity, as it is explained in the paper, is the idea that good and evil are the moderation of or corruption of neutral traits. This paper not only argues that monstrosity is one of these neutral qualities, but also explores how Iago corrupts this monstrosity to bring about Othello's downfall.

Masks: A New Face For The Theatre, Alexi Michael Siegel

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

This study seeks to reimagine and reinvigorate modern theatre’s relationship with mask work through text-based historical research and practice-based artistic research. It focuses on three ancient mask traditions: pre- and early Hellenistic Greek theatre, Japanese Noh theatre, and Nigerian Egungun masquerades. Research on these mask traditions and recent masked productions informed the development and staging of a masked performance of Charles Mee’s Life is a Dream. The production featured sections for each of the ancient masking styles and a final section that explored masks in a contemporary theatrical style. As a whole, this creative project pulls masks out of …

The Challenges And Limitations Of Adapting Mozart's Così Fan Tutte For A Small University Setting, Christopher Lovely

Dissertations

In this dissertation, challenges and limitations related to presenting Così fan tutte within a small university setting are conveyed, as well as offering innovative ideas to create a manageable presentation. I recall my personal experience as Korepititor/Vocal Coach for The University of Southern Mississippi’s 2014 production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte. This document presents topics on the various workings of an opera production: pre-rehearsal preparation, language issues, rehearsal preparation, selection of singers, and production issues. It offers practical solutions to overcome various challenges a small university may encounter. Smaller university opera programs were surveyed regarding their adaptations of …

Defending Eulalie, Mimi Ayers

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Scottish Demotics And Russian Soul: Liz Lochhead’S Adaptation Of Chekhov's Three Sisters, Ksenija Horvat

Studies in Scottish Literature

Explores theatrical issues and theoretical approaches to translating, adapting and staging Chekhov's classic play Three Sisters, through adaptations by the Irish playwright Brian Friel and (briefly) the Scot John Byrne, and then discusses more fully the adaptation by Liz Lochhead, premiered at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, in 2000.

Did Hollywood Take Theatre "By Hook Or By Crook?", Catherine S. Wright

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Hollywood and Theatre have been partners in producing entertainment for over 100 years. The relationship was fruitful for both parties, but Hollywood moguls and playwrights battled over ownership of the work and crafting of its creative nucleus, story and character. Theatre was the dominant entertainment right before the rise of motion pictures. Once Hollywood’s talkies closed the curtain on silent films, playwrights had a high creative worth to movie makers. In the cinema, story and dialogue were essential for its survival and growth. Playwrights were courted by the Hollywood studio heads but were not offered equal partnership as they were …

Review Of Charlotte Lennox: An Independent Mind By Susan Carlile, Alexis Mcquigge

ABO: Interactive Journal for Women in the Arts, 1640–1830

This article reviews Susan Carlile's recent biography of Charlotte Lennox, Charlotte Lennox: An Independent Mind. Because much of Lennox's life story, and many of her works, remain mysterious to contemporary readers, Carlile's work highlights some unique and important aspects of the life of a - at least in the eighteenth- and nineteenth-centuries, a celebrated literary minds. Carlile's work is an important and necessary addition to the study of women's writing in the period, and contributes a great deal to those studying the works of Charlotte Lennox.

Review Of Royal Shakespeare Company Production Of Mary Pix’S The Beau Defeated, Retitled The Fantastic Follies Of Mrs. Rich, Aparna Gollapudi

ABO: Interactive Journal for Women in the Arts, 1640–1830

Jo Davies’s reprise of Mary Pix’s comedy The Beau Defeated, Or The Lucky Younger Brother,performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company at Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon under the title The Fantastic Follies of Mrs. Rich refocuses the comedy from its original engagement with primogeniture and middling class masculinity towards the female characters. It also diffuses Pix’s Whiggish moralism in Mrs. Rich's portrayal, highlighting instead her energy and verve. Overall, a very successful production, the performance is more Restoration comedy than the transitional work that Pix's play was when it opened in 1700.

Editing Aphra Behn In The Digital Age: An Interview With Gillian Wright And Alan Hogarth, Laura Runge, Gillian Wright, Alan Hogarth

ABO: Interactive Journal for Women in the Arts, 1640–1830

This interview provides a view of the work in progress for the Cambridge University Press edition of the Complete Works of Aphra Behn. Gillian Wright serves as a general editor (with Elaine Hobby, Claire Bowditch, and Mel Evans) as well as the volume editor for Behn’s poetry. Alan Hogarth is the Postdoctoral Research Associate working with Mel Evans on the computational stylistics and author attribution testing. The discussion focuses on the scope and principles of editing the poetry of Aphra Behn, the role of stylometry in establishing the corpus, the status of work, a few particular poems, and some surprises.

Reading Her Queenly Coiffure: A Collaborative Approach To The Study Of Marie-Antoinette's Hairstyles, Hélène Bilis, Jenifer Bartle, Laura M. O'Brien, Ruth R. Rogers

ABO: Interactive Journal for Women in the Arts, 1640–1830

Four colleagues--a faculty member, a digital services librarian, a research librarian, and a curator of Special Collections--take turns describing their role in creating an undergraduate student project around an eighteenth-century almanac that belonged to Marie-Antoinette. In recounting the steps taken, the collaborative process, the student research, and the analysis of the contents of the Trésor des Grâces almanac, we share the lessons learned for completing a digital exhibit over the course of one semester.