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Hotel De Vagabundos: Reviewing African American Theatre Journey., Manuel Francisco Viveros

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This analysis examines how Hotel de Vagabundos, a play written by a black playwright from Colombia, fits into the core of definitions of Black Theatre in the United States. I will examine six documents I consider relevant to shape the idea of Black Theatre in the US from 1900 through 2005. The author's experience in New York during the 1940s inspires Hotel de Vagabundos. The author navigates the globalized ethos idea unleashing clashes about identity to criticize aspects of American culture about immigrants, poor people, and internalized racism within African American and Black diasporic communities. The play “like a …

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 …

True Theatricality: What Separates Live Theatre From All Other Entertainment, Sarah Michelle Beattie

Senior Honors Theses

In order to better understand the art of live theatre in comparison to its many counterparts, an in-depth study of the elements of live theatre that separate it must be accomplished. Through Aristotle’s The Poetics, to many contemporary studies of theatricality, to recent scripts incorporating those elements and effectively using them, the analysis of theatricality can be applied to an original script of its own kind. Some elements that have been discovered are double casting, expression through song, and even a break in the classic two act structure. The application of these elements of theatricality present a lot more issues …

In The Pit: The Sight And Sound Of Broadway Pit Orchestras, Kyle Krygielski

Undergraduate Distinction Papers

The number of musicians in a Broadway pit orchestra has always been a point of contention between the American Federation of Musicians, Local 802 and the League of American Theatres and Producers. These two organizations have had many collective bargaining agreements that have helped dictate and alter the size of orchestras on Broadway. On one side you have the musicians, who are concerned with preserving jobs and the musical integrity of a show, and on the other you have the producers who are trying to ensure the overall and financial success of the show. This thesis examines these orchestral changes …

Convents And Novices In Early Modern English Dramatic Works: In Medias Res, Vanessa L. Rapatz

Late Tudor and Stuart Drama

Convents and Novices in Early Modern English Dramatic Texts: In Medias Res attends to the religious, social, and material changes in England during the century following the Reformation, specifically examining how the English came to terms with the meanings of convents and novices even after they disappeared from the physical and social landscape. In five chapters, it traces convents and novices across a range of dramatic texts that refuse easy generic classification: problem plays such as Shakespeare's Measure for Measure; Marlowe's comic tragedy The Jew of Malta; Margaret Cavendish's closet dramas The Convent of Pleasure and The Religious …

Roman Women In Shakespeare And His Contemporaries, Domenico Lovascio

Late Tudor and Stuart Drama

This volume highlights the crucial role of Roman female characters in the plays of Shakespeare and his contemporaries by exploring with an unprecedented thoroughness and variety of perspectives the diverse issues connected to female identities in the early modern English plays set in ancient Rome. Roman Women in Shakespeare and His Contemporaries puts Shakespeare’s Roman world in dialogue with a number of Roman plays by writers as diverse as Matthew Gwinne, Ben Jonson, John Fletcher, Philip Massinger, Thomas May, and Nathanael Richards. Thus, the collection seeks to challenge conventional wisdom about the plays under scrutiny by specifically focusing on their …

Twinship And Marriage In The Comedy Of Errors, Kent R. Lehnhof

English Faculty Articles and Research

This article proposes that Shakespeare uses twinship and marriage in The Comedy of Errors to reflect on the importance of individuality and interrelation in the formation of identity. Specifically, this article shows how The Comedy of Errors sets the twin relation against the marital relation, ultimately implying that marriage—imperfect, everyday marriage—has as much subjective impact as the extraordinary bond between identical twins. As amazing as it might be to see two persons sharing "one face, one voice, one habit," The Comedy of Errors suggests that the twin relation does not surpass in significance the equally marvelous relation whereby husband and …

The Fight Master, Spring 2020, Vol. 42 Issue 1, The Society Of American Fight Directors

Fight Master Magazine

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Between Lgbtq+ Representation On The Political And Theatrical Stages, Brett V. Ries

Honors Thesis

This thesis examines the relationship between LGBTQ+ representation on the political and theatrical stages. During some decades, LGBTQ+ theatre was dictated by the politics of the time period. During other times, theatre educated and filled the silence when the government and society turned the other way. By examining LGBTQ+ plays, musicals, and political events over the past century, there are clear themes that emerge. In both the theatrical and political arenas, LGBTQ+ representation has been limited by a concept called “repressive tolerance.” Every step of progress has been met with another restriction, ranging from stereotypical caricatures to legal discrimination. In …

Political Theatre: Entertainment Or Instrument Of Social Change?, Olivia M. Matthews

Senior Theses

This paper explores political theatre as a means of conveying information and inspiring action regarding socio-political issues. Through a staged reading of The Exonerated, and subsequent audience discussion and survey, the effectiveness of theatre as a means of commenting on political problems was explored. The conclusion was reached that theatre is uniquely suited for this role due to the emotional human connection forged by seeing examples of real people dealing with the addressed issues.

An Enemy Of The People

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University's performance of An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen.

Performed February 28-March 1, 6-8, 2020 at the Mitchell Theatre.

An Enemy of the People explores themes of truth, integrity, and the conflict between individual and societal interests. The story centers on Dr. Thomas Stockmann, a medical officer in a small Norwegian town, who discovers that the local baths, a major source of income for the town, are contaminated and pose a serious health risk. When he attempts to go public with his findings, he faces intense opposition from the town's leaders, including his brother, …

Performing Nyc Latinidades: Building A Diasporic Home At Pregones And The Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, Oriana E. Gonzales

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In December 1966, Miriam Colón, a Puerto Rican actress, starred in The Oxcart at the Greenwich Mews Theatre in New York City. The play, written by Puerto Rican playwright René Marques in 1951, told the story of a Puerto Rican family’s migration from the countryside to San Juan, and finally, to New York City. One-year post-production Colón founded the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater (PRTT) as a response to the lack of diversity she saw in the audiences at the Greenwich Mews and everywhere else she performed during her prolific acting career in the 1950s and 1960s. Thirteen years later, Rosalba …

International Influence On The Development And Reception Of Cello Playing In England, 1870–1930: Robert Hausmann, Auguste Van Biene, And Guilhermina Suggia, Hannah E. Collins

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The development of cello playing in England in the late nineteenth century was driven largely by the efforts of expatriate and visiting performers trained elsewhere. Performers from abroad, with the support and admiration of British institutions and audiences, elevated the technical level of cello playing and helped to increase the quality and quantity of solo repertoire being written and performed. They also expanded the degree of acceptance that British audiences held for the cello, both as a solo instrument and as an instrument that could be played in public by women. This study explores the impact that three such cellists, …

The Argentines Of Paris: Theatrical Networks And Assemblages, Stefano Boselli

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This work investigates key theatre productions written or directed by Argentines who left Buenos Aires, for personal, artistic, and/or political reasons, and established themselves in Paris. Case studies refer to the lives, visual art, theatre companies, official appointments, and global networks that contributed to their creations between the 1960s and 1990s. Although others are mentioned briefly, the main focus remains on a cluster of theatre practitioners who more frequently connected with each other around playwright, performer, and graphic artist Copi (nom de plume of Raúl Damonte Botana). These included director Jorge Lavelli; director and performer Jérôme Savary; director and visual …

Opera And Children’S Literature: 1895-Present, John P. Delooper

Publications and Research

This presentation discusses the findings resulting from the creation of a comprehensive bibliography of English Language children’s opera books published from 1895 to present. Historically opera was often assumed to be an elitist art in the United States and was thus seldom discussed in library collection development literature, and equally rarely highlighted in children’s literature periodicals. Recently, two librarians, supported by a Carnegie Whitney grant from the American Library Association, investigated the impact of opera themed children’s books by compiling a bibliography which documented instances of opera in published English Language children’s literature over the last 125 years. By analyzing …

Lgbtq+ Representation In Musical Theatre, Courtney Thompson

Merge

No abstract provided.

Sites Of Performance And Circulation, Christopher B. Swift

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Directing Nocturne, Trevor Belt

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This document is a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the Master of Fine Arts degree in Directing. It is a detailed account of author Trevor Belt’s artistic process in directing Nocturne as a part of Minnesota State University, Mankato’s studio theatre season in the fall of 2019. The thesis chronicles the director’s artistic process from pre-production through performances in five chapters: a preproduction analysis, an historical and critical perspective, a rehearsal and performance journal, a post-production analysis and a process development analysis. Appendices and works cited are included.

The Nightingale Revisited : Adapting H.C. Andersen's Fairy Tale The Nightingale For Theatre For Young Audiences, Alyssa Fox

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Hans Christian Andersen has been intriguing audiences with his works for ages. These tales are enduring and being reimagined in many different ways today. To explore not only the power of these tales, but the power of theater as a visual storytelling medium, the author has adapted Andersen’s The Nightingale as a play for theatre for young audiences (TYA). This work incorporates not only adaptation theory, but the history of fairy tales, current culture, and trends in TYA in the United States.

Mabou Mines’ Dead End Kids And Performing Artists For Nuclear Disarmament, Hillary Miller

Publications and Research

Performance studies scholar and theater historian Hillary Miller offers a new study of the 1980 production of Dead End Kids: A History of Nuclear Power by the New York-based avant-garde theater collective, Mabou Mines. Through a close reading of the play, Miller explores the relationship between this production and the little researched organization, Performing Artists for Nuclear Disarmament (PAND), revealing the correlations between collaboratively-generated theater practices and concurrent protest movements.

Rethinking Early Modern Sexuality Through Race, Mario Digangi

Publications and Research

When English Literary Renaissance launched in 1971, early modern sexuality studies did not exist. Then again, neither did the feminist, new historicist, post-colonialist, or other “political” approaches that have significantly reshaped early modern literary studies (and the humanities) over the last forty years. Yet whereas feminist and new historicist essays began thickly to populate the pages of Renaissance journals in the early 1980s, studies of sexuality—and of lesbian, gay, or queer sexualities in particular—were slow to arrive. During the 1980s, ELR published only a handful of essays that centered on sex or eroticism. The first explicit treatment of homoeroticism in …

L’Ètica De L’Estètica ¿Caldria Debatre L’Antijudaisme Del ‘Misteri D’Elx’?, Antoni Pizà

Publications and Research

Al final de la representació de la segona jornada del Misteri d’Elx hi ha un moment d’indescriptible intensitat emocional. La catarsi que experimenten els espectadors, actors i músics sol manifestar-se en aclamacions, víctors i fins i tot llàgrimes. Els ventalls de les dones aletegen agilíssims, pràcticament posseïts. Primer tímidament —per a no interrompre la màgia del moment— però gradualment amb gran intensitat, comencen, ja al final de la representació, els aplaudiments, sempre in crescendo, acompanyats, poc després, per la coneguda i emfàtica expressió: «Visca la Mare de Déu!».

Too Young Or Too Old? Age And The Politics Of Performing King Lear - Successfully!, Jim B. Wallace

The Kennesaw Journal of Undergraduate Research

“It is sometimes said that the problem with the part of Lear is that by the time you are old enough to play it, you are too old to play it.” (Jonathan Bate)

Theatre critics rarely see an outstanding performance of King Lear. The thesis of this paper is that it is possible to successfully perform the role of Lear however it takes much more than excellent acting skills to do so. To successfully play Lear requires a visceral understanding of the profound psychological and physical changes that generally begin around age sixty-five. This paper demonstrates that what one learns …

Sarah Kane's Post-Christian Spirituality In Cleansed, Elba Sanchez

All Master's Theses

The existing scholarship on the work of British playwright Sarah Kane mostly focuses on exploring the use of extreme acts of violence in her plays. However, few scholars like Dr. Graham Saunders and Anabelle Singer can trace it back to the rejection of her Christian beliefs during her adolescence. This thesis explores how Kane used violence and images of impalement, dismemberment, and cross-dressing in her third play, Cleansed as a vehicle to examine and validate her notions of gender and sexuality as well as her developing post-Christian spirituality. Through the critical textual analysis of Cleansed in conjunction with scholarly literature …

The Surabhi Theatre–An Oasis Of Telugu Theatre, Pradeep Aswini Gurrala

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This document is a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the Master of Arts degree in Theatre Arts. It is a detailed account of author Pradeep Aswini Gurrala’s study of the Surabhi Theatre in Telangana, India. The thesis follows the journey of a 134-year-old theatre company in four chapters: puppet show to stage show; the evolution of the Surabhi Theatre; the decline of Surabhi Theatre; and Surabhi Theatre as a cultural heritage. Appendices and works cited are included.

‘...Arranged In A Fanciful Manner And In An Ancient Style’: The First Scenic Realisations Of Scott’S Work And The Desire For A New “Realism” On Scottish Stages, Barbara Bell

Studies in Scottish Literature

An illustrated essay examining the stage design and scenery in early dramatizations of Scott's fiction, specifically the designs by Alexander Nasmyth for versions of Scott's stage adaptations of Scott's The Heart of Mid-Lothian, in London in 1819 and in Edinburgh in 1820, arguing that the rise of scenic realism strengthened the relationship between the theatre and the broader population.

Someday We'll Look Back On This And Laugh, Ben Masten

Capstones

The People's Improv Theater was an oasis for young New York comedians. Its own success-- and a volatile owner-- changed that. Project contains a narrative journalism piece and an an audio documentary.

Full Project here: https://medium.com/@benmasten/someday-well-look-back-on-this-and-laugh-e6b1dc8468db

Symbolism In The Allegory: A Look At Apollo’S Lyre, Keri Meinert, Emily Keiner, Anne Bak

2019 Festscrift: Claudio Monteverdi's Orfeo

This paper analyzes the symbolic meaning within Monteverdi’s operatic version of the fable of Orpheus, a demigod who has a talent for music. When Orpheus’ bride Eurydice died suddenly from a snake bite, he decides to seek her soul in the Underworld and bring her back to the land of the living. This task does not prove to be as easy for Orpheus as he initially thinks, when he finds himself losing her twice during the course of the five acts. To show how his journey unfolds, and the meaning behind each step, we will develop the symbolic meaning in …

Mapping Urban Performance Culture: A Common Ground For Architecture And Theater, Ting Chin, Christopher B. Swift

Publications and Research

Our co-taught course focuses on theater history, with an emphasis on performance architecture. Assignments are designed to illuminate the ways in which architectural design and technology inform performance practices and audience reception. The pivotal assignment for exploring interdisciplinarity is a three-week module on mapping historical theaters in New York City. Open-source Global Information Systems (GIS) software serves as a common mechanism for students to situate theatrical productions in the context of the built urban environment, deepening their understanding of the social, economic, and artistic forces that contributed to performance culture. Mapping is a shared pedagogy for analyzing and presenting research …

Much Ado About Nothing

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University's performance of William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing.

Performed November 15-17 & 22-24, 2019 at the Mitchell Theatre.

Much Ado About Nothing is a comedic play that revolves around the romantic entanglements and misunderstandings of two couples. The witty and sharp-tongued Beatrice and Benedick engage in a "merry war" of words, while the young lovers Hero and Claudio face obstacles due to deceit and false accusations. The play is set in Messina and features themes of love, honor, and the consequences of deception. Through clever dialogue and humorous situations, William Shakespeare explores the complexities …