Theatre and Performance Studies Commons^™

Psycho Beach Party: A Vocal And Physical Exploration Of Gender, Megan Persinger

Theses and Dissertations

On September 24, 2009, Theatre VCU opened its production of Psycho Beach Party, written by Charles Busch and directed by Steve Perigard. In our production, two male actors, Tommy Callan and Kyle Cornell, were cross-sex cast to play female characters, Chicklet and Marvel Ann respectively. In addition to serving as vocal coach for the production, I was to help Callan and Cornell vocally transform into female characters. I have documented our exploration of gender, specifically the vocal transformation from male to female, in Theatre VCU’s production of Psycho Beach Party. Neither actor had played a female character onstage before, and …

Giving Voice To The Hero Within: The Combination Of Two Methodologies For Training The Actor/Performer-- The Use Of Ritual Poetic Drama Within The African Continuum And Archetypes For The Actor/Singer As Explored In The Performances Of A Thousand Faces: Every Day Heroes A Deconstruction Of The Hero With A Thousand Faces By Joseph Campbell, Olisa-Mequella F. Enrico-Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Joseph Campbell tells us that if you look closely at all cultures you find the story of “The Hero's Journey”, the vehicle for my thesis project, a devised theatre piece titled A Thousand Faces: Everyday Heroes. Though the subject of A Thousand Faces is the exploration of “The Hero's Journey” the foundation of the work is the application of the pedagogical principles of Ritual Poetic Drama Within the African Continuum (RPDWAC) as outlined in the practices of my mentor Dr. Tawnya Pettiford-Wates, Assistant Professor of Performance at Virginia Commonwealth University Theatre (VCU). I apply RPDWAC pedagogical principles to Archetypes for …

The Michael Chekhov Technique: In The Classroom And On Stage, Josh Chenard

Theses and Dissertations

Referred to by Constantin Stanislavski as “My most brilliant pupil,” Michael Chekhov’s approach to acting is founded in an understanding of the artist as a whole being whose thoughts, feelings, desires, voice, and physical body are intimately interwoven. The Michael Chekhov technique trains these aspects jointly while encouraging the actor to fully explore and utilize his or her unlimited, rich, and fertile imagination. I have seen the powerful benefits of this technique as an actor (which I have been utilizing for 13 years) and as a teacher and director (for almost 10 years). In my thesis, I will firstly describe …

The Relationship Of Depression With Intrinsic And Extrinsic Components Of Religiosity In The Older Adult Female, Jacqueline Anne Nuval

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this doctoral research was to determine whether religious activity and general health would predict depression in older adult women living alone in the community who are widowed, divorced, separated, or never married. Variables considered included intrinsic and extrinsic components of religiosity, level of depression, anxiety and panic attacks, general health, and a group of behaviors classified as Religious Attitudes and Behaviors (RAB), which considered importance of religion, religious participation, regularity of religious observance, and religious organization/social support. Components of extrinsic religiosity and intrinsic religiosity were measured by Intrinsic/Extrinsic – Revised (I/E-R). Levels of depression were measured by …

Science Museums, Centers And Professional Development: Teachers' Self Reflection On Improving Their Practice, Queen O. Ogbomo

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case study research was to ascertain the significance of the professional development programs workshops organized by a science museum and a science center in two Midwestern cities. The research investigated the effect the workshops had on the instructional practice of the participating elementary science teachers. More specifically, this study was guided by the following research question: How do the professional development programs at museums help teachers change the way they teach and consider science in their classroom? The core of this study consists of case studies of six elementary school teachers who were identified as …

The Lab Report, Volume 03, Issue 12, Todd Ristau

Lab Reports

• 2010 Guest Speaker Series
• Course Listings for Summer 2010
• Neeley Gossett Breadcrumb Sins at Coastal Empire New Plays Festival
• Under a Banner of Shadow, by Todd Ristau at Studio Roanoke
• From the Director: Leaving Studio Roanoke

Port St. Johns Theater Project, Arielle Lever

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

For my Capstone Project, I chose to teach drama in Port St. Johns, a rural village in South Africa. My original intent was to develop a drama curriculum to implement at the Sisonke School, a local primary school and the Eluxoweni Boys Home, a nearby orphanage for boys. I spent the summer researching Augosto Boal’s work and ultimately developed the curriculum based on my research, past teaching experience, and material I had learned as a student here in the drama department. My original goal was to have some sort of final production, to give the children the empowering tool of …

Theatre For A New Theater: A Play On Architecture, Alex Coulombe

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

The project entails transforming a former military fort into a theater. The scopic parameters native to both fort and theater can provide a field of operation for an architecture that simultaneously mobilizes and exposes the machinery of spectacle. In tandem, amplifying and distorting existing conditions of the fort and repurposing them for a theatrical program can provide catalytic parameters for design that are typically absent when designing from a clean slate.

Quiet Virtue Or Roaring Indignation: One Actor's Quest, And Ultimate Failure, To Reveal Complexity In Shakespeare's Cordelia, Mary Lucy Lockamy

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

This thesis documents the performance process I underwent while tackling the role of Cordelia in William Shakespeare’s King Lear in the November 2009 production at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This document is the culmination of a three-year endeavor to attain a Master of Fine Arts in Acting. There are three main sections. In Part One, I focus on Cordelia’s presence in the story of King Lear, before Shakespeare ever wrote his version, in order to compare and contrast earlier Cordelias to Shakespeare’s Cordelia. In this discussion and the ones that follow, I focus on the traditional conception of the character …

The Heroic Struggle Of Pleasing A Mad King: An Actor’S Exploration Of The Earl Of Kent In William Shakespeare’S King Lear, Robie A. Hayek

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

This thesis is the research and analysis of the creative process I used in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film’s 2009 production of King Lear. It is comprised of three main parts. Part One: Research explores the life and work of William Shakespeare. Part Two: A Study of King Lear examines the history of King Lear including major themes and performance history. Part Three: Process provides insight to the thought process of an actor while building a character. Additional materials include documentation of the rehearsal and performance, script analysis, and critical responses to the …

Becoming The Bastard: An Exploration Of The Creative Process For Preparing The Role Of Edmund In King Lear, Daniel Gilbert

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

This thesis is a documentation of the creative process I utilized in the preparation of the role of Edmund in the 2009 UNL production of William Shakespeare’s King Lear. It is comprised of three main parts. Part One: Research consists of all complied materials pertaining to the life and work of William Shakespeare and his play King Lear; including play structure, language and themes. Part Two: Process is an examination of the rehearsal process and methodology used in character development. Part Three: Evaluation is a conclusion of the process and provides faculty responses as well as self examinations …

Goneril: Jealousy And Thirst For Power Caused By The Loss Of A Father's Love, Beth L. King

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

The challenge for every actor is to bring something of yourself to a role. The more real it can become for you the more real it will be for the audience. Goneril is a caricature. She is rich, powerful and she does horrible things like throwing her father out into the cold, having an affair, poisoning her sister and ultimately killing herself. She is one of Shakespeare’s “evil” women. I have to say I do not consider myself evil. So what could I have in common with this monster of a woman? One of our fellow classmates died while we …

Two Kings: An Account Of The Preparation And Performance Of The Role Of Edgar In William Shakespeare's King Lear, Ryan Kathman

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

This work is my graduate thesis documenting the creative process behind my performance of the role of Edgar in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s 2009 production of King Lear by William Shakespeare. It is comprised of five sections including an introduction, pre-rehearsal research, rehearsal and performance journal, post-production responses and conclusion. The introduction outlines my impressions of Edgar and King Lear prior to researching or rehearsing the role. In my research section, I attempt to better understand Shakespeare, his play and the role of Edgar by studying the playwright’s life and the history of the character and play, while also making …

"Persona Non Grata" A Tragicomic One-Act, Maria K. Genovese

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

No abstract provided.

Inspiring Creativity And Self-Confidence: The Power Of Theatre In A Child’S Life, Laura Borgwardt

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

The main concept of this project was the transference of what I’ve learned at Syracuse University about drama and about myself to a group of young theatre students, for some of whom this was their first encounter with the theatrical process of putting on a play. Drama has played such an influential role in my life, giving me more confidence, a direction to head towards, and goals towards which I strive. I wanted to instill that same sense of self-worth in each of the students I worked with, giving them the tools necessary to explore a piece of theatre and …

Theatre For A New Theater: A Play On Architecture, Alexander Coulombe

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Not Included

Red Rock: An Original Dramatic Tv Series, Jared Shalek

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

The concept of my Capstone Project is a screenplay for an original, dramatic television series. The idea was conceived during the summer going into my senior year, as I examined the script I had just written for TRF 400: Dramatic Writing for Television, a class I took in spring 2009 with Tom Seeley. I had labored over the script for the second half of that semester, and Professor Seeley really liked the idea from the start, but ultimately I did not fare as well I wanted to in terms of the final grade. Thus, I decided that I would redraft …

Amanda Green, Alex Piliouras

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

I have submitted for my Capstone Project three interactive scripts for the series Amanda Green. The series features a fourteen-year-old girl, Amanda Green, who solves mysteries with her friend Jerome relating to school and social life. In the pilot episode, submitted here, Amanda hopes to ask the school heartthrob to the dance, but is robbed of the opportunity when the principal announces that the dance is canceled due to an act of vandalism. After her grandmother regales her with an inspirational story, Amanda decides to head an investigation of the crime scene in the hopes of solving the mystery …

Incidental Music: Enhancing The Emotional Experience Of The Audience, Daniel Edward Nelson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Environmental psychologists, like Robert Gifford who study transactions between individuals and their physical settings, maintain that as an individual's environment is changed, the environment also changes his/her behavior and experience. (Gifford, 2002) Like other segments of a theatrical setting, manipulation of the environment can enhance or constrain a broad range of audience actions from traditional theatre audiences to shoppers in a mall or guests at a wedding. Physical elements, as well as other ambient factors such as lighting, color, and quality of materials, set design, music, fragrance, and room temperature are a sample of the dramatic elements used to orchestrate …

Beneath The Waves, Allison Nast

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Beneath the Waves is an original, feature-length screenplay. It is a fairy tale set in Ireland, where a woman dives to the bottom of the ocean to reclaim her husband, who had been taken by mermaids. She succeeds in rescuing her husband, and in doing so discovers that mermaids are not the beautiful women of legend, but rather man-eating deep-sea creatures. I wrote the short story Brigid and the Mermaids in my junior year in order to get the basic storyline down in an understandable form. In writing the screenplay I used the free screenwriting program Celtx, which formats easily …