Playwriting Commons^™

Eye For The Gap: Frenzy, Liberty, And The Nietszchean Chorus In Conor Mcpherson's The Weir And Shining City, Frances Krieg

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This study situates The Weir and Shining City by Conor McPherson as embodying elements of Dionysian aesthetics as elucidated by Friedrich Nietzsche. Working through the lenses of Samuel Beckett’s linguistic philosophy and the premium of theater as established by Nietzsche, Artaud, and Brecht, the aim of this paper is to demonstrate how McPherson pierces the boundaries of language in drama by establishing his audience as chorus. Background information on Nietzsche’s The Birth of Tragedy and McPherson’s own comments on the plays are included with the research on the plays themselves. This work articulates the chorus itself but also the choral, …

Depaul Alumnus Tarell Mccraney Awarded Macarthur Fellowship

DePaul Magazine

In fall 2013, playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney (THE ’03) was awarded a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship—the so-called genius grant. At only 33, McCraney has already made a substantial mark. He is an ensemble member of Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company, a resident playwright at New Dramatists in New York, and a member of Teo Castellanos D-Projects in his native Miami. Formerly an International Writer in Residence for the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), he is now an associate artist working on “Antony and Cleopatra,” an RSC coproduction with New York’s Public Theatre and Miami’s Gable Stage.

Josep M. Benet I Jornet I L'Herència De «Desig», Sharon G. Feldman

Latin American, Latino and Iberian Studies Faculty Publications

Corria l'any 1988. El muntatge d'Ai carai! de Josep M. Benet i Jomet acabava de fer temporada amb èxit al Teatre Uiure. Domènec Reixach havia assumit el càrrec de director artístic del Centre Dramàtic de la Generalitat de Catalunya i, des de la seva històrica seu al Teatre Romea, va crear un programa d'ajuts amb la intenció d'estimular i impulsar les naves dramatúrgies catalanes. No va sobtar, doncs, que Reixach convidés Benet i Jornet a participar-hi. Les circumstàncies, però, van agafar un caire una mica sorprenent quan Reixach va demanar al ja consolidat dramaturg català que seleccionés un director perquè …

The Birth Of A Playwright Through The Evolution Of The One-Act Play Stripped, Bear; The Film Stripped, Bear; And The Full-Length Play American Bear, Larry Michael Mitchell

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Birth of a Playwright through the Evolution of the One-act Play Stripped, Bear; the film Stripped, Bear; and the Full-Length Play American Bear follows the inception, birth, and evolution of a ten-minute, one-act, film, and full-length play: three major iterations of the same source material. Through this exploration, the reader will not only see how the work was changed through outside forces such as form and function but internal struggles within a young playwright as he struggles to find a final form for his first major work while attempting to establish himself as a playwright both within the field …

Writing The Wrongs: How Gay And Lesbian Playwrights Use The Paranormal In Autobiographical Writing, George William Zorn

Dissertations

Playwrights have been using ghost and spirit-characters in stage works since the classical era. From their beginnings as speechless, vengeful catalysts and informational narrators, the ghost-character has evolved to something that would not be recognizable to Greek playwrights. This is no more evident than in the works of contemporary gay and lesbian dramatists. Examining the selected works of playwrights Claudia Allen, Larry Kramer and Victor Bumbalo will illuminate the use of ghosts and the paranormal by these playwrights as a way to overcome personal trauma by either creating closure with autobiographical scenes or by using the absence of these characters …

Kiss Me, Kate

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 2013 performance of Kiss Me, Kate by Cole Porter and Samuel and Bella Spewack.

Kiss Me, Kate follows the story of divorcees Fred and Lilli and their onstage/offstage drama as they rehearse and perform a musical version of William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew.

Though The Earth Give Way

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 2013 performance of Though the Earth Give Way by William Gebby, commissioned and presented by the Taylor Theatre Touring Company.

Though the Earth Give Way is a reimagined telling of the story of King Hezikiah and his resistance of the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem in 701 B.C.. The story is found in the Old Testament, in 2 Kings 18-20 and Psalm 46.

Freud's Last Session

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 2013 performance of Freud’s Last Session by Mark St. Germain.

Freud’s Last Session focuses on psychoanalyst Dr. Sigmund Freud who has invited Oxford professor C. S. Lewis to his London home. The two men enter debate about the existence of God, love, sex, and the meaning of life – only two weeks before Freud chooses to take his own.

The play was suggested by the best selling book The Question of God by Armand M. Nicholi, Jr..

The Process Of Bringing An Original Playscript To Production--Flamingo & Decatur, Todd Taylor

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this dissertation is to present my play, Flamingo & Decatur, to the thesis committee, to illuminate the process of writing it, and to place it within the context of the entire body of dramatic writing I've done here at the University of Arkansas.

The dissertation opens with a narrative essay that details the process of bringing Flamingo & Decatur to production. It describes the germination of the idea for the play and follows the process through the initial drafts--detailing the ways in which the script was reshaped through its various iterations. Special attention is given to the …

Caught In The Net--The Development And Production Of An Original Playscript, Prince Duren

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Department of Drama at the University of Arkansas provides students with the opportunity to take part in classes, workshops, stage readings, and productions as part of its new play development process. The purpose of this thesis document is to clearly and concisely track the process of developing, rehearsing, and producing the world premiere of Caught in the Net, a play involving an African American woman whose life is forever changed when she enters into an online relationship. The document also includes research information, the play's most recent draft, and production photos. The play was presented by the University Theatre …

And They Flew, Juli R. Van Brunt

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Curious Savage

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 2013 performance of The Curious Savage by John Patrick.

The Curious Savage is the story of Ethel P. Savage, an elderly lady whose husband has died and left her approximately ten million dollars. When she sets up a memorial fund for average people to pursue their dreams, her three stepchildren commit her to a sanatorium and try to discover where she has hidden the fortune. As the search for the fortune plays out the question becomes who is really crazy, the residents of the sanatorium or Ethel’s stepchildren.

Letters From God To The Civilization, Emily Withers

Gandy Dancer Archives

No abstract provided.

Bear In Mind, Janelle Marxhausen

Gandy Dancer Archives

No abstract provided.

Experimental Ambiguity, Meghan Barrett

Gandy Dancer Archives

No abstract provided.

His Right Eye: A Modern Radio Drama Adaptation Of Edgar Allan Poe’S “The Tell-Tale Heart”, Carson Burkett

Senior Honors Theses

Watching an actor manipulate emotions and physicality to breathe life into a character is extraordinary. Even more impressive is the ability of a performer to do this without being seen. Radio drama is an intriguing aspect of performance that is often underappreciated in current culture, but it can play an incredible role in communicating and allowing for emotion and truth to be presented richly.

Using Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Tell-Tale Heart” as the basis for this thesis, I have written a script for a radio drama that adapts the story for a modern culture. The Department of Theatre …

Grandma’S Dictionary, Leiquan Jeremiah

Academic Symposium of Undergraduate Scholarship

Act 1:

We are introduced to the Baileys who live in a modest neighborhood in Gary, Indiana. The family has lived in the same house for generations.

Grandma Athena is the family glue and holds true to her role. She serves as a mediator and voice of reason for family and friends.

Cecile is the main voice of the play who finds herself learning about different people and their lives by being at the right place at the right time. Besides her bold listening in, she loves to tell people’s stories.

Susie-Ann is Cecile’s long-time, childhood friend. Susie-Ann lives in …

The Art Of Adaptation, Katharine E. Jordan

Honors Theses and Capstones

My honors thesis The Art of Adaptation discusses the process of adapting old stories and theatrical pieces for modern audiences through the exploration of various adaptations (theatrical, operatic, dance and film) of Euripides' Medea. It also touches on my own short, modern, adaptation; FURY: A Rock Musical Inspired by Medea. All of this research was important in making the performance aspect of my capstone the best it could be.

Godspell

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 2013 performance of Godspell by Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak.

Gospell is a musical telling the parables and life of Jesus found in the gospel of Matthew.

Sheridan's Promising Tale Is Half Told, Ian Kilroy

Articles

Review of 'Break a Leg', the memoir by Irish theatre artist Peter Sheridan. First published in the Sunday Business Post Magazine.