Other Theatre and Performance Studies Commons^™

Pura Belpré’S Puppetry At The Nypl Children’S Rooms: 1921-1982, Lisa Sánchez González

Living Objects: African American Puppetry Essays

An extraordinary public intellectual of the Puerto Rican diaspora, Pura Belpré was born in Cidra, Puerto Rico in 1899 and died in New York City in 1982 after a prolific career as a children’s author, librarian, advocate, and puppeteer. Among other firsts, Belpré wrote the first mainstream Latino storybook in U.S. publishing history: Perez and Martina (House of Warne, 1932). The American Library Association has named a major children’s literature (now including Young Adult fiction) medal in her honor. In many ways, Belpré is the Zora Neale Hurston of Afro-Caribbean American literary history—with a flamboyant, polyglot twist.

This essay discusses …

Itsy, Dirk Joseph

Living Objects: African American Puppetry Essays

The famed Itsy Bitsy Spider realizes that climbing up the spout only leads to a rain gutter, and so goes off on a sidewalk journey to find a better life. After encountering two men arguing about money, a fraudulent salesman, and a girl afraid of spiders, Itsy finds a tree in a meadow where it can build a web and catch flies.

Alma W. Thomas: “The Marionette Show As A Correlating Activity In The Public Schools”, Jonathan Frederick Walz

Living Objects: African American Puppetry Essays

The wider world primarily knows Alma W. Thomas as an African American visual artist who, despite the challenges of race, gender, and age, produced a coherent body of brightly colored nature-based abstractions that made her world famous in the late 1970s. What remains virtually unknown, however, is the artist’s involvement with puppet theater and related professional activities. During the summers of 1925, 1930, and 1934, Thomas studied at Columbia University’s Teachers College, where she earned an M.A. in arts education; post-graduate coursework with acknowledged marionette expert Tony Sarg followed. The pedagogical theories of John Dewey, who taught at Columbia 1905–1930, …

Teeth, Tau Bennett

Living Objects: African American Puppetry Essays

Brooklyn-based puppeteer Tau Bennett’s shooting script for a television puppet comedy employs dark humor and surreal slapstick to tell the story of a man whose offhand wish to lose his “pesky teeth” becomes unfortunately true, thanks to larger-than-life forces, two bumbling hoodlums, and a boss looking for teeth.

Puppetry And Inside Change, Al Tony Simon, Tychist Baker

Living Objects: African American Puppetry Essays

Al Tony Simon and Tychist Baker describe their experiences as formerly incarcerated individuals, and their work with puppetry through the group Inside Change. Simon became involved in theater in prison, and then with prison activism through RAPP (Release Aging People from Prison), and Milk Not Jails’ efforts to reform New York State parole boards. Great Small Works theater company introduced Simon to puppetry, which he has used in his work with young people in youth detention centers, schools, and at-risk communities through the One Foot In and One Foot Out program, and later the creation of Inside Change. During his …

Shape-Shifter, Tarish Pipkins

Living Objects: African American Puppetry Essays

Tarish Pipkins’s early experiences with the “shape-shifting beast” of racism as he grew up near Pittsburgh, and later his growing awareness of African American history, have influenced his poetry, visual art, and puppetry: a “weapon of mass destruction to fight the beast.” His work with puppets and special-needs children led him to create larger puppet productions such as Just Another Lynching and 5P1N0K10: The Android Who Wants to be Real b boy, which allow him to “[fight] back using puppets as my swords.”

Five-Star Review And Other Responses, Sheila Gaskins, Tau Bennett, Nate Puppets, Akbar Imhotep

Living Objects: African American Puppetry Essays

Living Objects Festival and Symposium attendees Sheila Gaskins, Tau Bennett, Nate Puppets, and Akbar Imhotep offer their appreciation of the events, illustrated with photographs by Gaskins.

El Paseo De José Moreno Arenas: Fotografiando Los Rincones Lorquianos Con Una Lente Miope En Federico, En Carne Viva, Polly J. Hodge

World Languages and Cultures Faculty Books and Book Chapters

"Un gallo con su canto de quiquiriquí es la primera imagen que pinta Federico García Lorca en su obra breve escrita en 1925, El paseo de Buster Keaton. Un estudioso de esta obra de Lorca ha interpretado esta imagen simbólicamente en términos históricos: el anuncio de un nuevo amanecer para la industria cinematográfica, ya que en 1927 el cine mudo experimentó su transición al cine sonoro (Allen 23) .1 De una manera semejante, aunque se abre sin quiquiriquí, la obra Federico, en carne viva (2019)2 anuncia una nueva etapa en la producción teatral de José Moreno Arenas. Este experto en …

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, …

Direction Of The Musical: The Drowsy Chaperone, Jed Broberg

All Graduate Projects

This project encompasses the selection, research, casting, production, and post-production process of the musical, The Drowsy Chaperone for Ogden High School's Theatre Arts Department. Documentation includes analysis of the play as a production vehicle for our program, research, script analysis, a record of the production period and a post-production evaluation.

Clown Eggs, David Fagundes, Aaron Perzanowski

Faculty Articles

Since 1946, many clowns have recorded their makeup by having it painted on eggs that are kept in a central registry in Wookey Hole, England. This tradition, which continues today, has been referred to alternately as a form of informal copyright registration and a means of protecting clowns’ property in their personae. This Article explores the Clown Egg Register and its surrounding practices from the perspective of law and social norms. In so doing, it makes several contributions. First, it contributes another chapter to the growing literature on the norms-based governance of intellectual property, showing how clowns—like comedians, roller derby …

Constructed Languages And Their Role In Drama, Emelie Vandenberg

Honors Theses and Capstones

This paper covers the history and use of constructed language and dialect on stage and screen as well as the issues that arise concerning social awareness and intellectual property.

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 …

Best Practices To Promote Racial Unity In Theatre, Cassandra Epps

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis I will be presenting a variety of practices that I believe will promote racial unity in theatre. I have included lesson plans and games that will help instructors create an open environment for students of all races. I will present research from theatre experts to conclude my best practices to create a more unified ensemble and culturally diverse curriculum in my theatre program, as well as present a list of activities, lesson plans, and production methods for directors and teachers to consider implementing. We as instructors must look critically at ourselves and our world view to begin …

"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.

Informed Hearing Loss Prevention For Theatre Uni, Mallory Park

Honors Program Theses

This study explores the opinions and behaviors related to hearing loss and hearing loss prevention in the demographic of theatre workers at Theatre UNI. Data was collected through a survey dispersed in a department-wide email and by measuring sound level in the scene shop and the costume studio. Survey responses from 11 participants indicated that theatre workers at Theatre UNI may be at risk for noise-induced hearing loss and that further education may aid in prevention of hearing damage.

0858: Society Of American Fight Directors, 1927-2021, Marshall University Special Collections

Guides to Manuscript Collections

This collection consists of various stage directions and fight choreography, books and magazines about weapons, armor, and theatre, SAFD administrative and financial documents, videos, photographs, and various SAFD artifacts. Please download the finding aid for full list of contents.

Tone And Texture, Leather And Lace : A Case For Making Strong Choices In The Costume Design For The Three Musketeers., Emily L. Tappan

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores and describes key factors in the design process leading to production of The Three Musketeers by Catherine Bush. The document encompasses the justification and discussion of the choices made during the research, design, and production stages of developing the play for the stage, as well as impressions gained throughout the process to use in future design projects.

Exploring The Standard: A Look Into Modern Voice And Speech Curriculum, Taylor L. Bosta

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the current state of voice and speech education to discover if there is a standard of learning from university to university. By examining the history of voice and speech, discovering basic skills, breaking down teaching methodologies, and taking a look at current university and conservatory acting programs, the thesis discovers there is not a standard way of teaching, but there is a standard set of skills that should be upheld when planning voice and speech curriculum.