Other Theatre and Performance Studies Commons^™

Teaching Technical Theater: Learning, Not Just Doing, Christian J. Hershey

Theses and Dissertations

I have seen a trend in the teaching of technical theatre towards a more practical and less theoretical education. This has brought about a change in viewpoint by professional technicians, as well as students, in regards to an academic degree. Due to this change and the rise of student debt, the impulse has been to encourage going directly into the field and learning the craft there instead of spending four years in an academic institution.

There has also been increased pressure on theatre departments to produce larger and more involved shows; both to draw in new students and to justify …

An Exploration Of Costume Design For David Emerson Toney's "Frankenstein: Dawn Of A Monster", Emily Atkins

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis details the Costume Design process for David Emerson Toney’s Frankenstein: Dawn of a Monster at Virginia Commonwealth University. Toney’s original adaptation interprets Mary Shelley’s genre-defying novel as biography, directly influenced by the tragic events of her young life. Costumes differentiate the two narratives, with Mary Shelly in gray scale, regency-inspired modern dress and the novel in period and color. This follows the design process from concept to production to execution.

Lost In Austen: An Immersive Approach To Pride & Prejudice, Erica Hughes

Theses and Dissertations

This paper is an account of the Theatre VCU mainstage production of Pride & Prejudice, in which I played the roles of Mrs. Bennet and of the vocal coach. In order to address the various skill levels of the cast, I planned to coach the production in a manner inspired by immersion language learning programs, with the cast speaking in dialect throughout the rehearsal process so as to learn the necessary vocal skills and to grow together as a theatrical ensemble. When the director of Pride & Prejudice was not receptive to this plan, I had to compromise and adapt …

The Orphanage Of Things: A Narrative Of Abandonment, Malaz Elgemiabby

Theses and Dissertations

In Sudan, 110 babies are abandoned in the streets of Khartoum every month. The majority of abandoned children are born out of wedlock. Young women with illegitimate pregnancies are often ostracized by their families and society, and the lack of emotional, financial and legal support has led many to take desperate measures, including the abandonment of their children. Relinquishing mothers exist like ghosts in Sudanese society. The only evidence of the mother’s experience is her anonymous, abandoned child. In order to understand and examine this phenomenon, I used ethnographic performance art informed by design research practice (Performative Research Design). I …

Enter The Movement: Generating Stimulus From Sceneography And Proposing 'De-Sign' As A Tool For Choreographic Invention, Helene Gee Markstein

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The purpose of this study was to provide the notion of ‘de-sign’ as a proposed aid for movement composition and is the core framework of my research, which is aimed at empowering the dancer/choreographer with a multi-disciplinary aesthetic and a focus for dialectic discussion and experimentation with all material enclosed within the scenographic. De-sign is a method for decoding scenography (as a deconstruction tool to extract the components of composition classified as elements and principles). The play on words is a deliberate acknowledgement of the ‘design’ in the scenographic environment which, in this study, takes into account that all forms …

Directing A Piece Of My Heart, Matthew L. Caron

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This document is a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the Masters of Fine Arts degree in Theatre Arts at Minnesota State University, Mankato. It is a detailed account of Matthew Caron's directorial process for A Piece of My Heart by Shirley Lauro. The play was produced in the Andreas Theatre and ran from September 17 to 23, 2014. The thesis chronicles the director's artistic process from pre-production through performance in five chapters: a pre-production analysis, an historical and critical perspective, a rehearsal and performance journal, a post-production analysis and a process development analysis. Appendices and works cited are included.

Through The Eyes Of The Homeless, Aisha M. Soto

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

When reviewing the entire project from start to completion, I can honestly say, Through the Eyes of the Homeless is a play about ten women and their plight. It illustrates their dealings with everyday issues of hurt, disappointment, abuse, love, and hope. I believe the true impact of this play is the undeniable prayer for help and hope within each monologue. Despite the horrors that are unveiled and released through hidden secrets, the undertone of betterment is truly resonating. My own expectation for this play is simply to strike awareness and understanding in the eyes of the people. It is …

Dancing On Checkers' Grave By Eric Lane, Allison Kump

Honors Projects

My proposed honors project consists of directing my own, fully-actualized production of Eric Lane’s play Dancing on Checkers’ Grave within the BGSU’s Department of Theatre & Film Elsewhere season. As the director, I must hone in on the play’s relevance to today’s society and shape my storytelling tools to clearly communicate the narrative, establishing a relationship between the performers and the audience.

Dancing on Checkers’ Grave is a play about two very different teenage girls who come to bond over homework, “munchkining,” relationships, and nail polish. Rooted within the text are topics of sexual identity, what it means to be …

Inside The Boudoir: Designing The World Of Lynn Nottage’Sintimate Apparel, Megan Parish

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Scenic artistry and set decorating help build the world of a production and reinforce the themes woven into the plot of a script. For my project, I will be exploring the world of Lynn Nottage’s “Intimate Apparel.” This will include researching the historical context of the piece, which in this case is New York City at the turn of the century, alongside the role of the seamstress in society, in order to accurately convey the environment of this piece. Lynn Nottage’s piece is based in socioeconomic statuses, attitudes on race and femininity as well as women’s rights movements. Therefore, I …

Dreams Of A Motley Graduation Cap: A Proposal For Stand-Up Comedy In Higher Education, David Patterson

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

It is said that the most valuable tool an education at a liberal arts university is how it produces well rounded people with a better understanding of themselves and the world around them. To produce people not only aware of current issues, but with the toolbelt needed to assess them and shed new light. If this is true, then I propose that the goals of liberal arts university are synonymous with the goals of a comedian.

In this thesis, I mean to draw ties to the world of stand up comedy and within the world of liberal arts academia. I …

Devising: Improving A Perceived Glistening Community!, Katie Laner

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Theatre for social change has long relied on devising methods to create pieces reflecting current cultural and societal issues. Through exercises, games and workshops, theatre for social change devising practices are as distinct and numerous as the many different communities they work with. The leading pioneer, Augusto Boal, created Theatre of the Oppressed, which utilizes many kinds of practices meant to address local issues effecting a group of people who have suffered from repression or whose needs have been invisible from greater society.Since his initial groundbreaking theories and practices, many modern artists and groups have adapted and changed his methods …

Mind+Body: An Ethnodrama About Adolescent And Young Adult Oncology, Jake Russell Thompson

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

The first thing many people think of as a “cancer patient” tends to be an elderly person, or perhaps a child too young to understand what’s happening — pink ribbons and fundraising walks, weak and feeble bodies too sick and delicate to function. These notions of a “quintessential cancer patient” are both limiting in their scope of what the disease actually is, and isolating to younger people going through it. For people who don’t fit this predetermined idea of the psychological, physical, and emotional development of a cancer patient (specifically, the seventeen to thirty-five age range), isolation becomes another side …

Birth By Sleep: An Immersive Adventure Through Wonderland, Edd Bass

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

When Lewis Carroll wrote down Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland he never expected it to become a worldwide sensation. His work has gained a following as psychoanalysis has allowed people to dive deeper into Alice’s dream world. Many books and movies based on the Alice books have been released, such as Sucker Punch. On a seemingly unrelated topic, a company called Punchdrunk has created an immersive theatre piece known as Sleep No More in which the audience runs around a “hotel” following different actors and trying to unveil the story unfolding. Immersive Theatre allows for the audience to be swallowed up …

The Balanced Approach To Literacy Instruction In Middle Schools, Tenicia Rae Helmberger

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if the frequency with which middle school teachers implement research-based literacy strategies serves as a predictor of success on the English/language arts portion of ISTEP+. The study looked at research-based strategies in fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary. Teachers of English, language arts, social studies, science, and a combination of the above subjects were surveyed. Seven questions from each area were posed relating to the frequency of implementation per quarter. The study was split into two groups, high-poverty schools and low-poverty schools. Of those teachers surveyed, teachers in low-achieving, low-poverty schools reported using research-based …

Analytical Modeling And Feasibility Study For Adoption Of Renewable Energy Sources In A Single Family Dwelling, Jimmy B. Linn

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the last four or five decades, increased political and social pressure has been placed on commercial and residential consumers to reduce consumption of fossil fuels and invest in alternative methods of energy production for electricity, heating and cooling. Commercially, wind turbines and photovoltaic energy production equipment has sprung up all over the country. Other forms of energy production such as hydroelectric and geothermal energy production facilities have also been built. During this time however, very few residential ‘green energy’ investments have been made. Only in recent years have residential home owners begun to “wet their feet” on ‘green’ energy …

The Fight Master, Fall 2014, Vol. 36 Issue 2, The Society Of American Fight Directors

Fight Master Magazine

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Corporate Sustainability Behavior On Financial Performance In Aerospace Companies, Petulia Blake

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sustainability is increasingly becoming an integral part of how organizations communicate their business operation to stakeholders. As it is common knowledge that organizations are more inclined to invest in programs that contribute to their bottom-line, this study presents an analysis of the relationship between corporate sustainability behaviors and their impact on financial performance. The sample size was 40 United States (U.S.) aerospace companies, selected from the “Top 100 Aerospace Companies” world-wide in a report produced by Candesic consulting firm in 2012. Of the 40 U.S. companies, 21 were found to provide some form of sustainability report. Quantitative and qualitative instruments …

Using Analogues To Simulate Intensity, Trajectory, And Dynamical Changes In Alberta Clippers With Global Climate Change, Jamie L. Ward

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Alberta Clippers are extratropical cyclones that form in the lee of the Canadian Rocky Mountains and traverse through the Great Plains and Midwest regions of the United States. With the imminent threat of global climate change and its effects on regional teleconnection patterns like El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), properties of Alberta Clipper could be altered as a result of changing atmospheric circulation patterns. Since the Great Plains and Midwest regions both support a large portion of the national population and agricultural activity, the effects of global climate change on Alberta Clippers could affect these areas in a variety of ways. …

Searching For Something A Little Visionary: Anthony Nikolchev Interviews Matej Matejka, Director Of The Studio Matejka, Anthony Nikolchev

Mime Journal

Anthony Nikolchev, an American actor studying and performing under the auspices of the Studio Matejka, a resident group at the Grotowski Institute in Poland, interviews Matej Matejka, the director of Studio Matejka. Matejka is a Slovak actor, teacher, and director who started the Studio in order to work with a dedicated group of multinational performers to explore physical approaches to acting and performance. Matejka and his actors search for intuitive, energetic exchange rather than just explanation or interpretation.

Actor Training And Techniques In Pieśń Kozła Theatre, Anna Zubrzycki

Mime Journal

Anna Zubrzycki, one of the founders of the Pieśń Kozła (Song of the Goat) Theatre, describes the working methods of the theatre, which seeks to develop the the actor’s tools—text, song, rhythm, physicality, spatial relations—and to help actors coordinate those tools with each other and with the text through physical and vocal exercises. They also work on the actors’ ability to respond to each other’s impulses in a physical way. Zubrzycki also describes five of the productions that Song of the Goat has created using this physical/vocal method of creation.