Theatre History Commons^™

Robot Saints, Christopher B. Swift

Publications and Research

In the Middle Ages, articulating religious figures like wooden Deposition crucifixes and ambulatory saints were tools for devotion, techno-mythological objects that distilled the wonders of engineering and holiness. Robots are gestures toward immortality, created in the face of the undeniable fact and experience of the ongoing decay of our fleshy bodies. Both like and unlike human beings, robots and androids occupy a nebulous perceptual realm between life and death, animation and inanimation. Masahiro Mori called this in-between space the “uncanny valley.” In this essay I argue that unlike a modern person apprehending an android (the uncanny human-like object that resides …

Understanding Theatre And Its Social Implications In A Modern Context, Sara Curtis

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Theatre has been fighting for a proper place in society since its inception in Ancient Greece. Although the ancient civilizations of the western world adored theatre and incorporated it into their daily lives, in later years it struggled to find acceptance. Theaters and theatre professionals often received blame for the spread of disease and rises in miscreant behavior. This yoyo-like trend between acceptance and ostracism continued throughout the ages as theatre and the encompassing societies evolved and changed. Thusly, the theatre has always been a point of contention and discussion. Even to this day, critics and scholars alike theorize and …

Oral History Of Professional Theater Beaders In New York City, Mary Lalon Alexander

Theses & Dissertations

A historic division between fine and mechanical arts led to a marginalization of certain art forms including textile beading and embroidery. Despite the opulence of beading and embroidery in theater costumes, there is limited documented history and scant scholarly literature about professional beading and the beaders who create the costumes. The aims of this study were to construct a history of professional theater beading in New York and to examine the oral histories of professional theater beaders. This qualitative oral history study included 12 participants who work in the professional beading industry. Open-ended interviews took place in New York City …

Dance Usm! Program [2014], University Of Southern Maine Department Of Theatre

Programs 2014-2015 Season

Directed by Maria Tzianabos

Dance 2014: Tell Tale Poe, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2014-2015 Season

Mystery and Macabre...Beauty and Horror...Love and Abandonment...Edgar Allen Poe has been documented as a complex genius who found both beauty and horror in the world and then described all of it in his abundance of writings. In honor of this man and his genius we have joined a group of artists and visionaries in dance, sound, lighting, costuming, and digital projections to create a portrait of sensations, sweet sound and the wild beauty of Poe's echoing and enduring dreams.

Tollerators And Con-Tollerators (1703) And Archibald Pitcairne: Text, Background And Authorship, John Macqueen

Studies in Scottish Literature

Discusses the historical background and theatrical characteristics of a short satirical play set in Edinburgh in 1703, giving the background to the Scottish Parliament's divisions over (and presbyterian hostility to) an act to give religious toleration to Episcopalian ministers; argues that the most probable author is the Jacobite poet and playwright Dr. Archibald Pitcairne (1652-1713); and presents the first modern annotated text of the play.

Decolonizing Shakespeare: Race, Gender, And Colonialism In Three Adaptations Of Three Plays By William Shakespeare, Angela Eward-Mangione

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

What role did identification play in the motives, processes, and products of select post-colonial authors who "wrote back" to William Shakespeare and colonialism? How did post-colonial counter-discursive metatheatre function to make select post-colonial adaptations creative and critical texts? In answer to these questions, this dissertation proposes that counter-discursive metatheatre resituates post-colonial plays as criticism of Shakespeare's plays. As particular post-colonial authors identify with marginalized Shakespearean characters and aim to amplify their conflicts from the perspective of a dominated culture, they interpret themes of race, gender, and colonialism in Othello (1604), Antony and Cleopatra (1608), and The Tempest (1611) as explicit …

Tartuffe

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 2014 performance of Tartuffe by Molière.

Taylor University's Theatre department proudly presents, "Tartuffe", a pinnacle of classical comedy. Written by renowned French playwright Molière in 1664, "Tartuffe" follows a hypocrite's attempts to sabotage the domestic happiness of an unsuspecting family.

Bus Stop Program, University Of Southern Maine Department Of Theatre

Programs 2014-2015 Season

A comedic drama by William Inge

Directed by Thomas Power

This production was a Participating entry in the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KC/ACTF).

The Fight Master, Fall 2014, Vol. 36 Issue 2, The Society Of American Fight Directors

Fight Master Magazine

No abstract provided.

Friends Of Musselman Library Newsletter Fall 2014, Musselman Library

Friends of Musselman Library Newsletter

Table of Contents: From the Director: Gettysburgreat: The Campaign for Our College (Robin Wagner); Popular Middle East Series Continues; Letter from Edgar Rice Burroughs Explains Origin of Tarzan's Name; Library Celebration Owl & Nightingale's 100th Anniversary (Chelsea Bucklin '10, Chris Kauffman '92, Elyse Bennett '10); Encore! Owl & Nightingale Players Take Center Stage at Homecoming (Paul Di Salvo '13, Chelsea Bucklin '10, Aliena J. (Fischer) Garnard '93, Kelsey Lamagdeleine '09, Sean Valentine '05); Research Reflections: Shakespeare Folio (Chris Kauffman '92); GettDigital- The Story Continues: Professor Visits Italy and Recreates WWII Photos (Alan Perry, Catherine Perry); Don't Be Antisocial; Obama Awards …

Playback Theatre

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 2014 performance of Playback Theatre.

Interactive and spontaneous, Playback Theatre bases its material on the stories of the community. During a performance, audience members respond to questions from the conductor and share their stories, then watch as the company immediately “plays back” their words as a theatrical moment.

Playback is an opportunity for stories to be heard and acknowledged in a meaningful way. In every occasion, central to our theatre experience is our faith in Jesus Christ and applying the truth of Scripture to the reality of the everyday stories presented throughout the evening.

Ridiculous Geographies: Mapping The Theatre Of The Ridiculous As Radical Aesthetic, Kelly Aliano

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation is a comprehensive study of the artists associated with the Theatre of the Ridiculous. The discussion begins with Charles Ludlam, the most famous practitioner of the form and then extends to artists with whom he collaborated, including Jack Smith, the Play-House of the Ridiculous, Ethyl Eichelberger, and Charles Busch. The argument traces the overlapping aesthetic qualities of all of these theatre practitioners; they all shared a reverence for popular culture of the twentieth century; they all blended references from high and low culture in their dramaturgy; and they all created performances that took a unique approach to cross-dressed …

Sweet Charity, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2014-2015 Season

Charity Hope Valentine always tries to look on the bright side of life, despite working in a rundown dance hall and contending with a seemingly endless run of bad dates. Determined to find love, Charity falls for suave actor Vittorio Vidal, but their romance is all too brief. However, when Charity finds herself stuck in an elevator with the reserved Oscar Lindquist, it turns out that she may have finally met her match.

Wit

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 2014 performance of Wit by Margaret Edson.

Wit (or W;t) takes place over the final hours of Dr. Vivian Bearing, a university English professor, who is dying of Ovarian cancer. The course of the play is her reflecting on her life through the intricacies of the English language, particularly focusing on the wit found in the poetry of John Donne.

In this program the Jason Francis Memorial Scholarship Fund is announced.

The Well Of Horniness Program, University Of Southern Maine Department Of Theatre

Programs 2014-2015 Season

A comedic radio play by Holly Hughes

Directed by Meghan Brodie

This production was a Participating entry in the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KC/ACTF).

Nineteenth Century Views On Theater And Drama In English, Rebecca Unetic

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

With the passing of the Licensing Act of 1737 and until its repeal in 1969 the Lord Chamberlain’s office has been legally able to censor any drama to be performed at established theatres in England. However, the 1737 Act left inconsistencies in the definition of censorship and the role of censor. People who were involved in theatre believed the Lord Chamberlain’s office gained too much power from the Act. In the nineteenth century, actors, playwrights and members of Parliament agitated for the reform of the 1737 Licensing Act, which led to the establishment of three special parliamentary committees in 1822-1823, …

2014 - 2015 Season Brochure, Otterbein University Department Of Theatre And Dance

Theatre and Dance Annual Brochures

Annual promotional piece of the upcoming season's shows.

Searching For Something A Little Visionary: Anthony Nikolchev Interviews Matej Matejka, Director Of The Studio Matejka, Anthony Nikolchev

Mime Journal

Anthony Nikolchev, an American actor studying and performing under the auspices of the Studio Matejka, a resident group at the Grotowski Institute in Poland, interviews Matej Matejka, the director of Studio Matejka. Matejka is a Slovak actor, teacher, and director who started the Studio in order to work with a dedicated group of multinational performers to explore physical approaches to acting and performance. Matejka and his actors search for intuitive, energetic exchange rather than just explanation or interpretation.

Actor Training And Techniques In Pieśń Kozła Theatre, Anna Zubrzycki

Mime Journal

Anna Zubrzycki, one of the founders of the Pieśń Kozła (Song of the Goat) Theatre, describes the working methods of the theatre, which seeks to develop the the actor’s tools—text, song, rhythm, physicality, spatial relations—and to help actors coordinate those tools with each other and with the text through physical and vocal exercises. They also work on the actors’ ability to respond to each other’s impulses in a physical way. Zubrzycki also describes five of the productions that Song of the Goat has created using this physical/vocal method of creation.