Digital Commons Network^™

The Man From Figueras, Chris Burnside

The Man from Figueras

Chris Burnside is an artist/choreographer who was inspired to tell stories on stage after seeing performance artist Spalding Gray at an international theater festival in the early 1980s. After retirement and with the encouragement of a lifelong friend, Mr. Burnside started writing some of those stories down, eventually including others. The stories in The Man from Figueras focus on learning experiences, aha moments, and events that have, over the years, changed his perspective and shaped how he has lived his life. The ninety stories are in chronological order and are grouped by the eight decades of his life.

Burnside attended …

“You Are Not Obligated To Complete The Work, But Neither Are You Free To Desist From It.” Richmond Jews In Social Activism Post Civil Rights, Tracy S. Herman

Theses and Dissertations

For centuries, the Jewish people have faced expulsions, pogroms, massacres, and Propaganda. that runs so deep it would be like staring into an abyss. This oppression has motivated Jewish activists worldwide to fight back not only on behalf of the Jewish community but for many areas of perceived need. Jewish involvement in social activism in the U.S. has been particularly recognized by scholars of the labor and Civil Rights movements. This thesis is based on eighteen oral history interviews focused on social activism in Richmond, Virginia since the Civil Rights era. The author conducted these interviews in 2021, 2023, and …

Notes On A Centrifugal Chiller: Listening And Breathing The Boundaries Of Circulatory Architecture, Chrystine Rayburn

Theses and Dissertations

"Notes on a Chiller" unfolds as a series of site responsive and performative exercises that activate, modulate, and translate the immense voice of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Siegel Center water-cooled chiller, a climate control system that regulates the atmosphere of the university’s sports arena. Using individual and collective listening and sound-making practices to harness the building’s noisy system, the piece culminates in a multi-channel, audio-visual installation and performance that explores the multi-sensory exchange and entanglement of listening, breathing, and moving with a building’s circulatory system.

Expect: A Speculative Documentary Filmed In Vr Utilizing The Role-Playing Method To Explore Disabilities And Ableism In Science Fiction, Leilei Xia

Theses and Dissertations

Expect is a speculative documentary filmed in Virtual Reality (VR) that features Chinese actors with disabilities to explore, challenge and reimagine the conventional ableist Sci-Fi tropes and the transhumanistic tendency to “fix” or eradicate disabilities through technological enhancement. I invited people with disabilities who are interested in Sci-Fi to do a Role-Playing with me in Virtual Reality (VR), in which they imagine themselves to be living in a future civilization, an alien planet, or an alternate universe. The participants came up with their own fictional characters and built their own world views. I interacted with them by asking questions and …

Sense Make Before Book, Bradley Sinanan

Theses and Dissertations

“Sense Make Before Book” is an Indo-Caribbean turn of phrase which refers to common sense being more important than book smarts. My sister sent me a post the other day on Instagram of an Trinidadian woman using this phrase, saying it was one of Indo-Caribbean origin. I was interested and asked my mom about it. My mom says that when she was younger my grandpa said it often around their house in Princes Town, Trinidad and Tobago. This adage feels charged thinking about the history of indenture and its effects on the Indo-Caribbean diaspora.

The written word of archival history …

Reflection: Cultivating Creativity And Healing Through Art Therapy, Caroline Ciccone

Theses and Dissertations

I was first introduced to the healing powers of art after working in an orphanage in Jamaica with children who had a wide range of disabilities. Some children were mute or unable to communicate, but art was a form of communication that brought us all together. Within the City of Richmond public school system, 31.7% of students are economically challenged and 13.1% of students are disabled (Education, 2022). Giving more resources in the arts and mental health support to students outside of their school environments is the goal. Art therapy helps reduce the dropout rate and improve mental health (10 …

The Merit Of Adaptation: An Exploration Of Adaptation In Regard To Sophocles’ Theban Plays And The Role Of Antigone Within The Story, Hogan T. Holt

Theses and Dissertations

The creation of an adaptation is extremely challenging and time-consuming, but with the right tools and inspiration, that task of creation can be eased. By looking at three different adaptations of the Theban plays, the goal of creating a new adaptation of this series of plays can be achieved. At the same time, this adaptation can achieve a goal of highlighting an important character from the original set of plays, Antigone, and give her a role that elevates her to the main protagonist across all three plays, thus allowing the Theban plays to become a more feminine piece that works …

Growth In Appalachia: Downtown Revitalization Strategies For Covington, Virginia, Tucker L. Keener

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Capstone Projects

This plan was created for the City of Covington, Virginia which is located in the Western part of the state in the Blue Ridge Mountains. This plan aims to identify the goals and desires of local community members and business owners that prioritize economic growth in the downtown core. The City of Covington has many great assets, and the goal of this plan is to leverage these assets to assist with downtown revitalization. Recommendations in this plan relate to ideas of enhancing downtown, creating and strengthening anchor institutions, and create downtown as a tourist destination.

Commonwealth Times 2023-11-29

Commonwealth Times, 1969-

No abstract provided.

Street Index And Baist Atlas Of Richmond, Va 1889

Baist Atlas Indexes

Index created by VCU Libraries for the Baist Atlas of Richmond, VA 1889.

Commonwealth Times 2023-10-04

Commonwealth Times, 1969-

No abstract provided.

Commonwealth Times 2023-04-26

Commonwealth Times, 1969-

No abstract provided.

Commonwealth Times 2023-02-15

Commonwealth Times, 1969-

No abstract provided.

Commonwealth Times 2023-02-01

Commonwealth Times, 1969-

No abstract provided.

Commonwealth Times 2023-01-18

Commonwealth Times, 1969-

No abstract provided.

Virginia Commonwealth University Undergraduate Bulletin [2023], Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Bulletins

Undergraduate bulletin for Virginia Commonwealth University for the academic year 2023-2024. It includes information on academic regulations, degree requirements, course offerings, faculty, academic calendar, and tuition and expenses for undergraduate programs.

Virginia Commonwealth University Graduate Bulletin [2023], Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Bulletins

Graduate bulletin for Virginia Commonwealth University for the academic year 2023-2024. It includes information on academic regulations, degree requirements, course offerings, faculty, academic calendar, and tuition and expenses for graduate programs.

Virginia Commonwealth University Courses [2023], Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU Bulletins

Listing of courses for the 2023-2024 year.

George Maclean, Letitia Landon, And The Rumour Of An Edinburgh Fiancée, David E. Latane

English Publications

Brief discussion of an unindexed note found in the microfilmed archives of the publisher Richard Bentley and Son that makes a claim regarding the puzzling marriage of the poet Letitia Elizabeth Landon ("L.E.L.) and the Scottish colonial administrator George Maclean. The note retails gossip about Landon's seduction by William Jerdan, and makes claims that her later marriage to George Maclean was marred by Maclean's having made a prior engagement with a Scottish woman, who later died when her dress caught fire.

Utilization Of Occupational Therapy Services For Patients With Cancer In Acute Care Settings, Christine Mcnichols

Theses and Dissertations

For patients with cancer diagnoses, effects from the disease or as a result of cancer treatments can cause profound impairments impeding patient functioning and independence. These assaults to the independent achievement of activities have far reaching implications and linkages to a patient’s length of stay and their likelihood of a hospital readmission. Unfortunately, occupational therapy services have frequently been found not to be ordered for patients with cancer, even when there have been demonstrated functional deficits and needs. Through the analysis of patient records from a National Cancer Institute hospital over 5 years, the current study investigated occupational therapy services …

Adapting Higher Education: Revamping Curricula For The Inclusion Of Theatre Students With Disabilities, Kevin Kemler

Theses and Dissertations

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion initiatives in higher education have been largely driven by administrators who have little to no contact with the students for whom they are working for. This top-down approach negatively impacts marginalized students and disproportionately affects the quality of experience for students with Disabilities, an often-overlooked demographic. For Disabled students enrolled in performance programs, barriers to access and inclusion don’t just exist at the institutional level, they also exist in the traditional classroom or studio as well. Through a dismantling of ableist structures inherent within higher education (i.e., American grading practices, the Western and Theatrical Canons), I …

A Methodology Of Paradoxes: Investigating Authenticity In The Representation Of Queerness On The Contemporary Stage, Kendall C. Walker

Theses and Dissertations

In my experience as a queer theatre practitioner, performer, and student, I have always had questions of ownership and authenticity when it comes to LGBTQIA+ narratives on the contemporary theatre stage. The question of: “Who is allowed to tell what story?” and the many complex ideas that this leads to, is what has inspired this thesis and my own pedagogy of intersectionality and inclusivity.

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the relationship between authenticity and queerness on the contemporary stage in order to develop a methodology for how all theatre practitioners—no matter their identity—can effectively tell queer-identifying stories …

An Introduction To Theatrical Scent Design As Compared To Traditional Design Areas With A Consideration For The Scientifically Notated Physical And Emotional Effects On The Human Body As It Potentially Relates To Future Creative Endeavors: A Framework, Katherine R. Holland

Theses and Dissertations

Traditional areas of theatrical design are established to the point of having a solid foundation for current and future designers to rely on as they strive to innovate. The same cannot be said for scent. I believe that art, like science, is a sector where the imagination is used to push the boundaries of what we currently know and can do. Artists are therefore entrusted with the responsibility to continue testing those boundaries, and that is what my topic lays the foundation for when it comes to scent. With my topic, I plan to look at the practical and ethical …

Investigating Actor Speech Training History Through The Lens Of Knight-Thompson Speechwork: How A Nonprescriptive Approach Revolutionizes The Field And Applications Outside Of A Theatrical Context, Harrison G. Runion

Theses and Dissertations

Speech training for actors in the United States has a history deeply rooted in prescriptive practices. Many speech trainers have and still do teach from a model that they consider to be the “correct” way to speak. These practices have proven to be quite damaging to students’ emotional and cultural identities, as speech is an inherent part of who we are as individuals. This thesis first examines such speech training pedagogies of the past, specifically the progression of William Tilly’s World English to Edith Skinner’s Good American Speech. Doing so establishes the necessary contextual understanding required to provide an alternative …

Welcome To The Sitting Garden At The Busy Hands Museum, Stacie Sabady

Theses and Dissertations

I wanted to attend VCU to learn how to unravel my mind and find the words to describe it. While I did make progress in that area, my surprise discovery is that I need to unravel my body too. It has become unbalanced from years of neglect. When working, I find solace through escape. I find a positive outlet for my perfectionist tendencies. I find a way to visually illustrate my obsessive qualities. Throughout the years of these findings, I have ignored my body pleading with me to take it easy. I have always honored the materials and the tools, …

The Five Senses: Fundamentals In Acting Training, Landon A. Nagel

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

THE FIVE SENSES: FUNDAMENTALS IN ACTING TRAINING

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MFA Theatre Pedagogy at Virginia Commonwealth University

by

LANDON NAGEL

Thesis Chair: Aaron Anderson, PH.D.

Theatre Graduate Program Director, Department of Theatre

The following is presented as a tool for new acting teachers, students and potentially parents. It identifies and explores the fundamental lessons that I believe are necessary inside a beginning acting studio, inspired by that which I believe is necessary when raising a young child. Rather than focusing on one particular technique, system or method - I …

Laying Out A Space: Spectral Geographies, Fictions Of The Soul, Erin D. Yerby

Theses and Dissertations

Laying out a Space: Spectral Geographies, Fictions of the Soul, arises out of my artistic practice, and thoughts behind my current project and MFA exhibition, Spectral Geographies.

Linking the problem of the world ‘out there’ or external space, to inner experience through painting as both medium and practice, my work expresses what I call inner geographies, spaces where intimate immensities, folding inside and outside, find expression. I think of my paintings as beginning with this gesture of laying out a between-space where the intimacies of waking dreams and visions are opened by, and grow into, actual places, …

To, From: Of Time, Of Distance, Of Body And Mind, Fanxi Sun

Theses and Dissertations

This paper introduces the concepts, theories, and techniques associated with my thesis project “To, From.” The paper consists of three parts: Time as Structure, Distance as Premise, and Body and Mind. Each chapter is written in a mixture of personal narration and a general introduction to materials that are directly or implicatively relevant and important to the creation of my project. In this experimental narrative comprises film screening and live performance with multi-channel sound, I tell a story of non-story. Words and the exchange of words, movements and non- movements, objects that are being handled and subjects that are handling... …

Buckets In A Deep Well: Essays About Shakespeare’S History Play Characters And An Original Drama, Brian C. Bassett

Theses and Dissertations

Buckets in a Deep Well is a set of essays that examines various characters portrayed in Shakespeare’s history plays, as well as parallel figures in 20th and 21st century works. Each essay primarily focuses on a single character’s response to a power structure: Richard Gloucester to the Tudor England of his audience in Richard III; Richard Nixon’s campaign-produced version of himself to 20th century American democracy in “Checkers;” Falstaff to organized society in Henry IV, Part 1; Marlo Stanfield to the drug economy of early 2000’s Baltimore in The Wire; the Duke of York to the disrupted monarchy of The …

Incorporating Noh Training Into Contemporary Western Theatre: An Examination Of The Benefits To Implementing Noh Theatre And Suzuki Training Into Western Performance Pedagogy, Baylee A. Holloran

Theses and Dissertations

Noh theatre is a traditional Japanese theatre practice that focuses on isolated and intentional physicality and separating actor personality from character. It is an imaginative and heightened performance that differs greatly from Western theatrical realism. This thesis examines Noh theatre, its origins, and why it should be more implemented into Western acting pedagogy. I start by describing what Noh is as an art form, from the ritualistic aspects to how it is staged and performed. Then I outline the religious and historical significance of Noh and how they are showcased in its storytelling and performance. I analyze the pedagogies of …