Other Theatre and Performance Studies Commons^™

Static Evolution, Leah R. Scantlen

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In Justin Maxwell's theatrical works, the stasis and stagnation of central characters are importantly made materially evident through costuming. For instance, in the play, Marie Antoinette's Head, the stagnation of civilization and society is explored while time zigzags over two thousand years. The movement of time and epochs is told through a colorful array of costumes, also indicating the growth and evolution of characters in each period. The protagonist, Leonardo, however, remains stuck in 1793. In another of Maxwell's works, the one-man, one-act play Exhausted Paint, the painter Vincent Van Gogh experiences a similar inert characterization. In both …

Sexing The Stage: Designing Sets For Queer Plays, Elliot Cetinski

Theater Summer Fellows

How can we design queer plays in a way that acknowledges challenging content and celebrates queer theater history? How does a set designer use the research on a play’s challenging content and its historical relevance to influence the design and aid in telling the story? What are the tools and processes indispensable to a scenic designer’s creative process? Answers to all of these questions are the goal of my project, where I am exploring the queer plays of 1920s’ playwright Mae West and designing the set for her play The Pleasure Man through a modern queer lens. As a queer …

Limp Wrists, Clenched Fists: An Analysis Of Queer Performance Art As A Tool For Political Resistance, Neha Verma

Bridges: An Undergraduate Journal of Contemporary Connections

This paper explores the use of queer performance art as a tool for community mobilization and resistance to socio-legal oppressions. This essay is grounded in movements for queer liberation in the Global South, racialized working-class queer communities, and queer disability justice. As queer culture and aesthetics are often misappropriated for wider cisheteronormative audiences, this work reminds the revolutionary nature of queer performance art.

Does Participation In Extracurricular Theatre Productions Influence Emotional Wellbeing?, Francis V. Sada Gutiérrez

International Graduate Program for Educators Master's Projects

The purpose of this study was to research whether or not participating in extracurricular theatre productions had an impact on the emotional wellbeing of students in middle and high school. Students involved in extracurricular theatre productions during the 2021-2022 school year were surveyed and asked to rate their level of confidence, self-esteem, among others. They were also asked open-ended questions regarding their experience in the theatre department and the learnings or benefits they perceived to have gained as a result. The multiple-choice questions showed data ranging from students claiming they were very confident to not confident at all, but the …

'Night, Mother: A Thesis Production, Naomi R. Bowers

University Honors Theses

This paper is my reflection on the process of directing and producing the 1981 play 'Night, Mother by Marsha Norman. Overall, the mission of this piece is to catalog the journey from pre-production to the final product. I decided on this script in particular because of my own experiences with Epilepsy and mental illness, and the ways the play raises awareness of these often taboo topics. The cast was composed of two actors of a similar age, and due to time constraints, blocking was reduced to only what was essential. With help from my advisers and team, the end product …

An Embodied Drama Therapy Approach To Restorative School Practices: A Method, Sarah Harmer

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Restorative School Practices offer schools a circle structure to shift the punitive mindset and power dynamics commonly found in America’s schools, to a model that focuses on relationship, connection, and mutual respect. Drama therapy interventions utilize embodied or active work that engage the entire person. The purpose of this thesis was to create a method to explore the addition of embodied drama therapy techniques to deepen the experience of the restorative school circle process. Three community-building and social emotional learning focused circles, in a second, fourth, and sixth grade class, were compared using the traditional scripts and then the same …

Sharing Walks As A Witnessing Practice: Exploring Movement-Based Pedagogies, Catalina Hernandez-Cabal

Feminist Pedagogy

How we walk—or our inability to do so—is telling of who we have been. I propose this simple movement practice as a pedagogical engagement with the concept of faithful witnessing, which refers to attending to modes of power unbalance that might go unnoticed, and to people's creative and resistant possibilities (Lugones, 2003; Figueroa-Vásquez, 2015). This activity is suggested to provoke reflections about how we understand and experience social difference and power unbalances. The work introduces a simple score (a creative prompt) to explore walking-with others, creating instructions to teach others our movement, learning others', and delving into conversations concerning the …

Spinning Plates, Anikó K.L. Sáfrán

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Spinning Plates is an intermedia exhibition based on multitasking, at times to an absurd level, to address the gendered division of care labor in a typical, heteronormative household. One hundred years into the pursuit of passing an Equal Rights Amendment, women are still taking on the majority of duties related to managing and caretaking the household and its children, even though most women have also joined the income-generating labor force. At the core of the exhibit are performance-based videos of the mother-artist multitasking, completing household chores, exercising, and creating art. Some of the artworks are action paintings, others are drawings …

Reclamation: The Crown Of African American Identity, Lindsey Kellogg

English MA Theses

African American voices have been the main sources of influence on society and culture. For this reason, it is important that African Americans speak up and reclaim their voices. Not only are their voices important, but the stories that lie behind the voices are what need to be amplified. With the application of postcolonial theory, this thesis takes modern stories located in North America depicting racist behavior towards African Americans from the year 1970 to present-day New York City in order to fully amplify the process of social struggle. As these narratives are passed down through generations serving as a …

Dontrell, Who Kissed The Sea: An Exploration Of Scenic Design Process, Emma Laine Hoffbauer

Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film: Theses, Student Research, and Creative Work

The purpose of this thesis is to provide research, supporting paperwork, production photographs, and other pertinent materials which document the scenic design for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln/Nebraska Repertory Theatre production of Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea by Nathan Alan Davis. This thesis contains the following: research images collected to develop and communicate ideas regarding location, shape, texture, scale, mood, and historical and architectural reference to the production team; preliminary sketches and digital renderings, and photographs of the 1⁄4” scale model; a full set of drafting plates and painter’s elevations used to communicate finished appearance of each scenic element, a list …

"To Control A Human Destiny:" Sound Design For Henrik Ibsen's Hedda Gabler, Allison Bucher

Honors Theses

This undergraduate thesis details the sound design process for the University of Southern Mississippi’s Fall 2021 production of Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen. Through analysis of the script style of the play, research of the playwright, and collaboration with the artistic team, this student created and implemented an effective sound design for this production.

Keywords: sound, design, theatre, Hedda Gabler, Ibsen

Methods In Costume And Projection Design For Theatre, Jessica Wallace

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

A report detailing multiple practices for theatre design in costumes and projection. It is focused on playscript analysis, the design process, and the final build of the design for production.

Selected Projects In Scenic Design, Sera Shearer

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

A selection of scenic design projects completed in fulfillment of the Master of Fine Arts degree in scenic design at Utah State University.

The Shape Of Things: A Theatrical Examination Of The Progression Of Emotional Manipulation, Kylee Lorio

Honors Projects

In Neil LaBute's work, The Shape of Things, graduate art student Evelyn Thompson meets security guard and future muse, Adam Sorenson, in an art museum during his late-night shift. Their meeting poses the question of just how far humans are willing to go for love. In less than two hours, LaBute’s insight regarding manipulation between intimate partners calls the integrity of our own interpersonal relationships into question. This project encapsulates the materials of Bridgewater College student Kylee Lorio while directing this production during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Reflections: Battling Body Image As A Dancer, Erika Shaffer

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Reflections is a dance I choreographed and performed on February 25, 2022 in studio 205 Campus Center Building at East Tennessee State University. The dance explores the relationship between a dancer’s mind and body and uses mirrors and repetition to express the dancers’ perception of their flaws and insecurities. The following thesis, Reflections: Battling Body Image as a Dancer, analyzes the artistic elements of the choreographic process, my experiences as a dance student at ETSU from 2018-2022, as well as my training in my youth. My research for this thesis involves exploring the history and craft of choreography including the …

Once In A Lifetime: Designing Hair And Makeup For The Era Of Sound, Olga Goupalova

Honors Theses

This thesis describes the design process of an undergraduate theatre student creating hair and makeup looks for a production of George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart’s Once in a Lifetime, presented by the University of Southern Mississippi in the Fall of 2021. This thesis involved a detailed analysis of characters, the collection of primary research from the Roaring Twenties period, and constant communication with both the production team and the performers in order to achieve the most functional yet aesthetically pleasing hair and makeup designs possible.

Keywords: Hair, Makeup, Design, Theatre, Once in a Lifetime, Roaring Twenties, George S. …

Dontrell, Who Kissed The Sea: An Expedition Into Technical Direction, Joseph J. Shelly Jr

Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film: Theses, Student Research, and Creative Work

The Nebraska Repertory Theatre, in partnership with the Johnny Carson School of Theater, Film, and Emerging Media Arts at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, chose to produce Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea in March of 2021. Playwright Nathan Alan Davis completed the play in 2017. He is originally from Rockford, Illinois, and a graduate of Indiana University. Dontrell was his second produced play, premiering in June 2014 at the Source Festival in Washington, DC. Several theatres since 2014 have produced the play, and ours was the third show of the 2021-2022 season. The director was Ron Himes, the Founder …

Zanna, Don't! A Musical Fairy Tale

Theatre Programs

No abstract provided.

Theoretical Lighting Design: Little Shop Of Horrors, Lou Hillman

Student Research Submissions

This senior project includes design concepts, storyboard images, a light plot, a magic sheet, three cue lists, and three videos of songs from the show cued in the EOS augmented 3D software.

First Year Showcase: Producing The First Year Showcase As A Capstone To My Last Three Years At Umw Theatre, Cathryn Puglia

Student Research Submissions

For the Department of Theatre at UMW, the First Year Showcase is one of the first opportunities to involve new students. It gives them an opportunity to learn more about the department in a friendly and casual environment during the fall semester. In Fall 2021 Cathryn Puglia took on the challenge of producing the show. The documentation is a journal and reflection of the entire process.