Theatre and Performance Studies Commons^™

How Screendance Embraces What Cannot Be Done On Stage, Maya Reddy

Theatre and Dance Honors Projects

Due to the recentness of the field of dance filmmaking, little research exists on the difference between dance films designed to be watched as films (referred to as screendance) and dance videography (videos of performances created to be viewed by a live audience). This paper contends that what separates screendance from dance videography is the unique appeal screendance has for the viewer. Through the use of instantaneous location changes or inaccessible locations, unusual camera perspectives (such as a birds’ eye shot) that allow the viewer to feel as if they or the dancers are defying gravity, and technology-mediated changes to …

Our Sheep To Slaughter, Courtney Collado

Dance (MFA) Theses

This thesis paper and accompanying film explore the reality of mothering a school-aged child in America. The written document describes the creative manifestation and explains the stalemate at which American parents and gun sense advocates find themselves: over the past four decades of documented school rampage shootings in America, precious few laws have been enacted to protect American schoolchildren from gun violence. By June of 2021, a year in which many children were taught virtually, nine children have been murdered by gunfire on school grounds. Rampage shootings are a distinctly American issue, with little to no action being taken on …

A Mexican American’S Introspective On Identity And Embodiment Of The Lester Horton Technique, Fernando Carrillo

Dance (MFA) Theses

In this thesis, I analyze the cultural complexity I embody as a Mexican American. By revealing and naming the invisible power dynamics of white supremacy through a multiplicity of perspectives, I explain and give examples of stereotypes imposed on me and how it benefits whiteness. Having adapted to American culture, I have created a cultural multiplicity that has steered me away from my Mexican culture. I express the conflict of my consciousness when I feel I do not belong in specific spaces because of my heritage or tokenism. The embodiment of the Lester Horton Technique is my passport to navigate …

Beginnings, Elizabeth Becker

Dance (MFA) Theses

Researcher Elizabeth Becker uses personal experiences of pregnancy alongside scholarly research on the developmental movement patterns of the human embryo, fetus, and newborn’s first year of life to explore the multiplicity of these movement patterns within and outside the womb. Becker explores the relationship between the fertilization, germinal, embryonic, and fetal stages in relation to a newborn and its mother. These movement patterns within the beginning stages of life are valuable to research because they simulate neurodevelopmental patterns, which help wire the central nervous system in early childhood. These movements also help lay the foundation for sensory-motor development and life-long …

Trauma-Informed Performance Art Education, Yvonne Houy, Kymberly Mellen, Alethea Inns, Morgan Iommi

Creative Collaborations

Trauma is the emotional response to a disturbing event or series of events, and can cause symptoms such as unpredictable emotions, flashbacks, headaches, and nausea, according to the American Psychological Association (2022). Learning activities in the performing arts - such as adjusting the body through touch, or the emotional content of scenes - can retraumatize students unintentionally. In contrast, creating the conditions for emotional states that enhance learning is a science, and an art, that can support conditions for optimal performance including Flow states

Performing arts educators can proactively support students and performances by becoming trauma-informed and actively using intimacy …

Transdisciplinarity In Experience Design: A Global Survey Of Higher Ed Programs In Exd/Xd, Yvonne Houy

Creative Collaborations

In our age of ubiquitous devices and digital media it is the perceived value of the end-to-end experience that brings people to a place. Designing inspiring and emotionally engaging end-to-end experiences requires experts in a wide range of disciplines committed to an interdisciplinary collaboration that can arrive at transdisciplinary design - the sum becomes greater than its parts.

Civil engineering, hospitality, business, psychology, digital User Experience (UX) design, and experience data analysis need to be seamless integrated with the fine and performing arts and design fields:

• Architecture, interior, landscape and sound design actively engage the senses.

• Graphic and fine arts …

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Tradition-Innovation [In Arts, Design, Media Higher Education]: A New Peer-Reviewed Open Access Journal, Yvonne Houy, Maryrose Flanigan

Creative Collaborations

How can we build a future for teaching/mentoring creative work and research that honors and enhances core disciplinary traditions? This new peer reviewed open access eJournal—collaboratively brought to life by the international Alliance for the Arts Research Universities network (a2ru), and a2ru member UNLV—provides a forum to address this question by exploring the intersection of teaching, creative work and emerging research practices.

In the challenging crucible of the pandemic, educators forged new techniques and innovative practices. Faculty in disciplines underserved by typical digital learning tools—such as in the Arts, Design and Media disciplines—explored and developed creative solutions as they shifted …

Designing And Achieving Airness: Theatrical Lighting Design Of Airness By Chelsea Marcantel, Colleen Marie Doherty

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This is the account of the lighting design process for Airness by Chelsea Marcantel. This show was designed using all my learned skills and the equipment available. This account will take the reader through an analysis of the play, the design process, research, technical process, and it concludes with a self-evaluation. This thesis is supported by outside sources, images, and documentation.

V.1 Winter 2022, Center For Arts & Language, Students Of Risd, Risd Archives

All Student Newspapers

v.1 is a publishing platform for the ongoing work, ideas, discussions, debates, and aspirations of students at the Rhode Island School of Design. The Winter 2022 issue is a special edition "art writing capsule," with three zines that each feature a student writing about a work of art, and a fourth zine with an editor's note and postscript. Writing 1 is Angelina Rogers on Salman Toor's "Two Boys with a Dog," Writing 2 is Maxwell Fertik on Shahzia Sikander's "Epistrophe," and Writing 3 is Sabo Kpade on Lynette Yiadom-Boakye's "Any Number of Preoccupations."

“What We Ought To Say”: Debating The Morality Of Dishonesty And Equivocation In King Lear, Markelle Jensen

Criterion: A Journal of Literary Criticism

King Lear does not reveal the nature of honesty but provides a stage on which the morality of honesty can be debated. The play questions whether honesty is inherently moral at all, or if there are ways in which honesty can be considered harmful and even immoral. Other scholars have noted this as well in characters such as Edgar and Kent, but missing from the critical conversation are the ways in which Cordelia is the pillar of moral goodness in the play, and how her own paradoxical honesty and dishonesty were what enabled Lear to “see better” and ultimately, to …

Getting Back: The Chiffons’ Sonic Reclamation, Hilarie Ashton

Publications and Research

Sixties girl group the Chiffons are famous for their soaring 1964 hit “He’s So Fine,” a song in turn remembered almost as often for its plagiarism by George Harrison than in its own right. Much of the rest of their catalogue, including the tremendous “I Have a Boyfriend,” gets shunted into historical and critical gaps that paint rock music history as controlled by men. In this article, I examine the Chiffons in their own right, reframing a story of well-worn sonic theft to center on the group it obscured, through and alongside interpretative contradictions, assumptions, and historical lacunae. I show …

"How To Succeed": Determining And Comparing The Musical And Non-Musical Influences Behind The Broadway Adaptation Of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, Gary Bogers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The following research project is the result of comparing and contextualizing the original non-musical and musical drafts of the original 1961 Broadway production of How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying. The intention is to detail the process of musically adapting a non-musical source, specifically the 1952 satirical text How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying: The Dastard's Guide to Fame and Fortune by businessman-turned-satirist Shepherd Mead. Research was predominantly completed through analysis of the non-musical draft written by television writers Jack Weinstock and Willie Gilbert in the 1950s and acquired from the Billy Rose Theatre Division of …

Choreographing Closeness: The Effects Of Intimacy Choreography Best Practices In Educational Theatre, Morgan Cobb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Power dynamics between teacher/director and student/actors in an educational theatre setting are inevitable and directly impact the way consent is viewed and given, specifically with youth performers. In response to the #MeToo movement within theatre and film, the role of intimacy choreographer emerged with the goal of creating a consent-based rehearsal process that ensured the mental, emotional, and physical safety of the actor (Pace 25) while conveying the intimacy required to effectively support the script. The use of intimacy choreographers is almost exclusively used in professional film and theatre settings. Applying the pedagogies created and taught by leading intimacy organizations …

Integration Of Video Game Play And Storytelling In Theme Park Environmental Design, Alexandria Marcello

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This thesis presents a visual design exploration of video game storytelling in physical themed environments, specifically, theme parks. The theme park industry has only recently begun to tap into the video game market, with seasonal attractions and events in parks, and the first fully video game dedicated land, Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan. As theme park companies further seek out the most popular and profitable video game Intellectual Properties (IP), it will be imperative to create the most authentic video game experiences possible. The guest experience will hinge upon the successful adaptation of gameplay; creating the story around …

For The Very First Time: A Process Of Rehearsal And Performance In The Beginnings Of Covid-19., Andrew Hansen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Acting is a discipline that changes over time not only for the audience, but for the actors who create it. Not only is their craft shaped through study, practice, and repetition that we as individuals have towards the art form, but it is strongly influenced by our environment and personal histories. As actors, we have to bear in mind what we are presenting, when we are presenting it, and why. These choices are a collaborative effort made through the discussion of various artists including, actor, director, writer, etc. For my thesis, I would like to show you what my journey …

Musicals, Murders, And Motivation: A View On The Audience And Their Support Towards Musical Murderers Through Maslow, Lesly Nuñez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Audiences relay morbid support towards the enjoyment of horrific entertainment. Such examples are the success and long-standing allure spectators hold towards musicals such as Phantom of the Opera, Spring Awakening, Heathers, and more. These are shows that include themes of death, darkness, and tragedy which are presented. Using Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Motivation, The Jungian Archetype of Shadow, and Catharsis I will show how audiences are supportive of protagonists who portray actions resulting in death, darkness, and murder despite the societal pressure to find such subject matter as offensive, vile, repugnant, or obscene. By referencing the characters found …

¿Dónde Están? Latin American Representation In Theatre For Young Audiences, Ximena Gonzalez Toledo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

¿Dónde están los Latinos? As a Latina theatre practitioner born and raised in Venezuela now studying Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) in the United States, I perceive a generalization and oversimplification of Latin American culture or culturally specific pieces across available TYA dramatic literature and other forms of children's entertainment, with Mexican culture as a monolith for all Hispanics and Latin Americans. My thesis asks: What tropes exist within the representation of Latin American cultures? What might those tropes offer about authentic representation, and opportunities for broadened representation, within the field of TYA? My research pulls from two formative experiences …

Journey To The Dragon's Gate: A Study Of Hybrid Ride Systems And How They Enhance Attraction Storytelling, Matthew Moore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The purpose of this thesis is to explore a new type of ride design which integrates one or more transitions between formats. Theme Park visitors have come to expect a certain type of immersive experience from attractions. Most rides in the parks are very predictable such as roller coasters which offer loops, drops, speed and quick turns, while dark rides offer a slower pace with the attention on storytelling. The solution to this situation is to combine two ride systems or more into a single ride. The ride system for my attraction begins with a free-floating boat ride navigating its …

Theme Park Queues As Diegetic Worlds: Using Star Wars: Rise Of The Resistance As A Case Study For Core Design Elements, Jordan Zauha

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This thesis seeks to establish core design elements for use by theme park designers to complement the guidelines established by Ledbetter and his colleagues for theme parks. Building upon Rose Biggin's "strands of enquiry" for examining immersive theatre, the suggested core design elements for immersive theme park queues serve as guidance to craft queues where audiences can actively engage with the queue's storyworld and narrative. Implementation of the core design elements alongside the already established queue design guidelines should assist designers in crafting queues that minimize discomfort and maximize narrative immersion. Theme parks offer location-based narrative landscapes, often contributing to …

Bridging A Need: Audience Participatory Theatre For Non-Profit Fundraising, Ralph Krumins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

One of the largest goals for any non-profit organization is to continually retain donors and increase fundraising on a yearly basis. Fundraisers and auctions have been reliable methods for financial stability, but as more nonprofit organizations look to a shrinking pool of donors, non-profits must change the way they ask for support. To stand out in a competitive market, theatre practitioners have the opportunity to create content that connects donors to non-profits through theatrical means. As a new performing arts hire for a non-profit, Seacrest Country Day School, our artistic team was approached by the school development team to find …