Playwriting Commons^™

[Insert Play Title Here] Collage Assignment, Thomas L. Rothacker

Open Educational Resources

Approaching analysis of Dramatic Literature can easily be accomplished via class discussion and through writing. Since plays are “written to be performed”, other approaches of analysis must be explored. The collage assignment and synthesis focuses on the visual aspects of the writing and how the playwright offers clues as to what can or should be focused on.

Renouncing Chance: A Comprehensive Analysis Of Brian Friel’S Faith Healer, Forest Clark, Forest C. Clark Mr.

Honors College Theses

Faith Healer by Brian Friel is a play about trauma, addiction, co-dependency, and the inconsistencies of multiples perspectives upon the same narrative. This in-depth academic analysis attempts to examine the themes at play, as well as break-down the script and the characters who are a part of it.

Purchased, Becky Retz

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

A play in two acts, Purchased tells the story of Francois DeLord and his journey from being a French Creole of New Orleans to becoming a Black man in America. In 1803, Napoleon sold France’s North American holdings to the United States in what became known as the Louisiana Purchase. Americans flooded into the city, bringing with them boatloads of money and a social philosophy that clashed with long-held local traditions. The sale doubled the size of the young nation, and ignited a culture war in New Orleans,

Lemonade Stand: An Original Theatre For Young Audiences Play For Neurodiverse Children, Kate Tayler

Honors Projects

Lemonade Stand is an original play a Theatre For Young Audiences-style play written with accessibility in mind for neurodiverse children, especially with ADHD and autism.

The Gilded Finch: An Exploration Of Class Conflict, Mattea Harrison

Senior Honors Theses

Research is applied to create a play exploring the conflict between two women in the American upper class at the end of the nineteenth century. Both Mrs. Astor and Mrs. Vanderbilt’s family, wealth, and relationships were researched through studying primary and secondary accounts of their lives and times. A study of the women has produced a comprehensive picture of their motivations in their lives’ actions. The relationships between the women and their daughters has also been examined and applied. These two women are interesting characters in history to examine due to their family history and the families that they married …

Dance 2020: The Wild Within, Otterbein Theatre And Dance Department

2020-2021 Season

The Dance Concert, inspired by Maurice Sendak’s children’s classic, “Where the Wild Things Are,” will include a collection of solos, duets and trios which will illuminate the immense power of imagination and prove without a doubt that there’s a wild thing within us all.

An Enemy Of The People, Otterbein Theatre And Dance Department

2020-2021 Season

When a water contamination crisis puts their community in peril, siblings face off in a battle of political ambitions and moral integrity.

Making A Musical: The Art Of Adapting A Film Or A Book For The Stage, David Wohl

Winthrop Faculty and Staff Publications

Over the past 100 years, stage musicals have been made from original works as varied as straight plays, novels, magazine articles, movies, short stories, poems, and biographies. This article explores two original works (a film and a novel) created separately by two faculty members at a historically black university in West Virginia and which were turned into staged musicals produced by professional theatre companies in 2019. The article includes information and advice on the adaptation process from composers, playwrights, and other collaborators.

The Theory Of Relativity, Otterbein Theatre And Dance Department

2020-2021 Season

Whether you're allergic to cats, in love for the first or tenth time, a child of divorce, a germaphobe, or simply a unique individual, you’re sure to find yourself in this fresh new musical.

A Reflective Practitioner Case Study Approach To Researching Verbatim Theatre, Sarah Peters

The Qualitative Report

The Reflective Practitioner Case Study (RPCS) methodology, as defined by John O’Toole in Doing Drama Research (2006), is situated within the broader category of qualitative practice-led research, with a focus on inducing practice based data for analysis and research. This article details my application of the RPCS methodology when researching the process and impact of verbatim theatre practice within the context of writing and performing the verbatim play bald heads & blue stars. I provide examples of the triangulated documentation of the creative process, demonstrate strategic planning for the induction of data in order to research the values that influence …

A Screenplay For Bystander Intervention For Sexual Harassment Scenarios For College Students, Shanti Herzog

Journalism

This project was developed to describe the drafting of a screenplay for an interactive, virtual reality sexual harassment training module for students of the California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo. The research began with the examination of the prevalent and persisting issue of sexual harassment within college campus communities, and how to present college students with the tools to intervene as bystanders, thus encouraging them to intervene when encountering sexual harassment scenarios. The resulting screenplay was written to provide college students at Cal Poly with strategies to identify and take action when encountering sexual harassment, especially in small group gatherings …

Planning An Effective Class Session, Carol Damgen, Carol L. Damgen

Q2S Enhancing Pedagogy

This reflection is based on an educational assignment from my Intro to Theatre course at California State University, San Bernardino, April 2019.

As an educator, I am always interested in combining new techniques with tried and true approaches. My hope is twofold- enhance my students learning and keep me inspired.

The concept of a beginning, middle and end in all classes, provides structure for your students and keeps the pedagogy focused.

I incorporated the “I do, we do, you do” approach to support a well-balanced framework for the class period. This technique is a creative take on a beginning, middle …

Developing And Using Grading Guides, Checklists, And Rubrics, Carol Damgen, Carol L. Damgen

Q2S Enhancing Pedagogy

This reflection is based on an educational assignment from my Intro to Theatre Arts course at California State University, San Bernardino, May 2019.

Providing students guidance when taking on a new assignment is essential. This direction may be achieved through a variety of sources: lectures, videos, examples of past students work, rubrics etc.

One approach, which may benefit the learner in the immediate and have a lasting impression, is teaching students to use the grading tool at hand (rubric/checklist) to improve assignments.

Following an example you have provided, the instructor will work with their students to use either a checklist …

Aligning Assessments With Course Outcomes, Carol Damgen, Carol L. Damgen

Q2S Enhancing Pedagogy

This reflection is based on an educational assignment from my Oral Interpretation of Literature course at California State University, San Bernardino, May 2019.

A consistent focus and goal for me as an educator is to align assessments with course outcomes.

The learning outcome for this class session focused on the cognitive approach- “students will develop the skills to communicate an oral interpretation of literature to an audience with believability, dramatic action and honesty.”

The intention of this class period was for my students to clearly understand the difference between acting, reading and oral interpretation. Oral Interpretation is a type of …

Selections From & The Process Of Creating "My Blue Scarf: The Story Of Ruth, A New Play", Abigail Jane Ayulo

Honors Projects

My Blue Scarf: The Story of Ruth, A New Play, provides an adaptation of the Hebrew Book of Ruth that is focused on minority and female voices and experiences. It employs Hebrew poetic verse forms to pay homage to the story’s origins. This style contributes to diversity of voices in English-speaking theatre outside of Western poetics. My Blue Scarf shares a well- known and multicultural story to contribute to the diversity of contemporary American theatre and promote conversation about cross-cultural relationships in a time of division and prejudice. This project consists of eight selected scenes from the larger play and …

Black Expressions Of Dillard University: How One Historically Black College Pioneered African American Arts, Makenzee Brown

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The proposed public history project, Within These Walls (WTW), will be one component of a larger exhibit produced by Dillard University’s, Library Archives and Special Collections entitled The Star Burns Bright: History of Dillard’s Theatrical and Musical Arts, Faculty and Students. WTW will focus on Dillard’s historic African American faculty, students and alumni who became prominent painters, musicians, writers, actors and directors among them Adella Gautier, Randolph Edmonds, Ted Shine Frederick Hall, Theodore Gilliam, and Brenda Osbey. This exhibit will also highlight the many art programs, across genres, offered at the university between 1935 and 1970. This exhibit will demonstrate …

An Actor's Process In Bridging The Gap Between First-Generation And Multi-Generational African-American Identities., Mutiyat Ade-Salu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis reflects my process assimilating into the role of Chelle in the production of Detroit '67 at the University of Louisville. Although there have been instances of actors crossing lines of gender, nationality, race, and even sexuality, to perform roles in contemporary theatre, discussion about generational differences is almost non-existent. Through historical research, first-hand interviews, and conventional acting methods, I explore the world of my role, searching for spirituality, authenticity, and identity. Additionally, I explain my use of The WAY Method ®, a process I began creating in 2014 to help actors be clear with who they are before …

A Poetic Ethnodrama: Discussing The Impact Of The Pressure To Publish On Creative Writers' Production, Abby N. Lewis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the presence of the pressure to publish while in college as an undergraduate or graduate student, and the impact that pressure has on students’ ability to produce creative work. After interviewing participants, the researcher created an ethnodrama to best represent participants’ emotions and unique experiences with publishing while in school. An examination of the literature reveals that master’s-level students are often overlooked in scholarly research on the subject of publishing. This study uses a qualitative research method to identify key emotional experiences from students at the master’s and undergraduate level in the hopes of providing a platform …

The Green Poem: An Original Play In Two Acts, Emily Arancio

College Honors Program

An original play in poetic dialogue based on the philosophy of Lucretius.

Flaws In My Father | Better Engaging With Trauma, Grief, Loss, And Pain Through Storytelling., Neil Fontano

Theatre & Dance ETDs

In this essay, I will review my playwriting methodology and growth as an artist during my time as a Dramatic Writing Candidate at the University of New Mexico. I will begin by examining my personal narrative and the initial impulse to apply for and accept a position in the Dramatic Writing Program. I will continue by dissecting my own writing methodology and its numerous influences: a sense of place, character, and time. Further, I will give an explanation of and demonstrate my own methods developed during my second year work on “Thelonius | My Brother’s Keeper.” In addition to academic …