Digital Commons Network^™

The Impact Of Cultural Orientation On Antisocial Personality Disorder With Northern Plains Native Americans, Samantha L. Chase

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Space For Absence, Timothy Dalton

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis focuses on the evolution of my work created during my two years of study at Virginia Commonwealth University. Although I touch upon my influences what I am writing is a reflection after the fact that does not necessarily encompass my original intent or inspirations for these works. I find my inspiration from personal discoveries within my daily life. Light flickering through the rails of a fence as I walk by makes me more aware of my body's movement in space. Watching the steady condensation of water droplets forming on a fountain creates a moment of pause within the …

Contribution Of Family Leisure To Family Functioning Among Families With Adolescents In Mental Health Treatment, Jasmine Aileen Nutter

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between family leisure involvement and family functioning among families with an adolescent in mental health treatment. The sample (N=181) was obtained by sampling parents and adolescents enrolled in mental health treatment at Heritage Schools. Of the 181 participants, 52 cases consisted of matched parent and youth responses, 24 cases consisted of just parent responses, and 53 cases consisted of just adolescent responses. It was hypothesized that there would be a relationship between family leisure involvement and family functioning among families with youth in mental health treatment, and that when comparing …

Blurring The Lines: The Intermingling Of Garden And Theater In Seventeenth Century France, Abbie Elizabeth Rufener

Theses and Dissertations

Seventeenth century French society was a time in which the arts flourished and were used to create an eminence of power and absolutism. The gardens of Vaux-le-Vicomte were commissioned by Nicolas Fouquet and designed by André Le Nôtre. The gardens created a political and social space through the characteristics of design and standards of order which together conveyed power and absolutism. Louis XIV, newly crowned king, recognized at Vaux the perfect vehicle for the portrayal of power. French theater at the same time was gaining popularity and establishing itself as a great art form. Similar to the gardens at Vaux …

The Ugly Side Of The Beautiful Game - Hooliganism In French Football, Carlos Josue Amado

Theses and Dissertations

Football violence was a rare phenomenon in France until the nineteen eighties. Harsh economic times coupled with the challenges of unemployment brought a different type of fanatic to football stadia. To vent their frustration about the economic difficulties of their time, some fans found an easy scapegoat: the increasing number of African immigrants in France. These fans, known as hooligans, have become organized and can be found supporting most major French football clubs, disrupting what once was a relatively tranquil national pastime. This thesis traces their development in France, looks at what they borrowed from Italian and English fan groups, …

The Reflection Of The Wastelands Of Waiting For Godot And Endgame In Electronic Media, Anya M. Cronin

Theses and Dissertations

The Reflection of the Wastelands of Waiting for Godot and Endgame in Electronic Media is a study of the wasteland settings of Waiting for Godot, Endgame, and the Internet according to the method of play analysis established by Bruce McConachie in American Theatre in the Culture of the Cold War: Producing and Contesting Containment, 1947- 1962. Chapter One establishes my justification, methodology, structure, and survey of literature. Chapters Two-Four explore isolation and language, magic, and death in regard to Godot, Endgame, and the Internet, respectively. Chapter Four also briefly concludes the work. This thesis invites …

Dropping Knowledge And Breaking Barriers: My First Year Teaching At John Marshall High School, Jeffrey Cole

Theses and Dissertations

The following thesis draws from my experiences during my first year teaching at an inner city public school, John Marshall High School, from September 2007 to June 2008. It details apprehensions, conflicts, adjustments and corrections, both in my instructional method and personal interaction with students. I seek to illustrate mistakes and insights any first-year teacher might experience, as well as synthesize my own impressions regarding my evolving teaching philosophy.

Teaching With Creative Drama: Effects On Behavior In The Elementary Classroom, Meghan K. Hiney

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Matoaka: Pocahontas In The Age Of Identity, Matthew Shifflett

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis details the labors of research and judgment that informed the writing of Matoaka, a Play in Three Acts. Specifically, the thesis explores the historical puzzles surrounding the life of Pocahontas and justifies the decisions made in dramatizing her life in the aforementioned play. Non-fictional works of the last four hundred years are considered, as well as popular dramatic performances of the nineteenth century. These works are examined closely in order to reveal the Pocahontas story as a point of contact between many concurrent social discourses. Reflections are also offered on the production of the aforementioned play and its …

Alba Emoting: A Safe, Effective, And Versatile Technique For Generating Emotions In Acting Performance, Angela Katherine Baker

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis proposes that Alba Emoting™ is a safe, effective, and versatile technique of generating emotions for acting performance. Alba Emoting is safe because it resolves four major problems some actors experience while generating emotions for acting performance. These problems include, &ldqup;emotional hijacking,” “emotional hangover,” “emotional blockage,” and using emotional memories which are faded, incomplete, inconsistent, or full of mixed emotions. Alba Emoting solves these four problems through the help of certified trainers, the step-out procedure, and the emotional effector patterns, which allow actors consistent access to a large range of emotions. Alba Emoting is effective because it enables actors …

Nineteenth-Century Theatrical Adaptations Of Nineteenth-Century Literature, Kathryn Hartvigsen

Theses and Dissertations

The theatre in the nineteenth century was a source of entertainment similar in popularity to today's film culture, but critics, of both that age and today, often look down on nineteenth-century theatre as lacking in aesthetic merit. Just as many of the films now being produced in Hollywood are adapted from popular or classic literature, many theatrical productions in the early 1800s were based on popular literary works, and it is in that practice of adaptation that value in nineteenth-century theatre can be discerned. The abundance of theatrical adaptations during the nineteenth century expanded the arena in which the public …

The Rhetoric Of Violence, James Christiansen Gunter

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis seeks to understand how we read and understand the use of depictions of violence by examining its rhetorical presentation. Although the media gives us a mixed understanding of the way that experiencing violence secondarily (that is, through all types of media) affects us, scholarship in this area has proved clear connections between viewing/experiencing depictions of violence and raised levels of aggression. On the other hand, there is a clear difference between gratuitous depictions of violence and socially useful depictions of violence (i.e., the difference between a slasher movie and a holocaust movie) that that area of scholarship does …

Wwjd, Anna Christina Kohler Lewis

Theses and Dissertations

This creative thesis includes one full length play followed by a critical essay. The play is a comedy revolving around an apartment of college students who are visited by Jesus. Jesus washes their dishes, skateboards with them and otherwise accompanies them throughout their daily activities. Tom, one of the college students, is unable to see Jesus and believes that his roommates are playing a joke on him. Trying to ignore his friends' insistence that Jesus is indeed in their apartment, Tom attempts to pursue his long term crush. Things become complicated when Tom goes on a date and Jesus tags …

Promotion Of Self-Esteem Through Character Education, Rebecca Ann Muller

Theses and Dissertations

This action research project is on the topic of self-esteem in the classroom done through character education activities and high levels of positive interaction with student and teacher. The study incorporated field notes, observations, and interviews with students through surveying which were done in a third grade classroom in New Jersey. It portrays the idea that self-esteem is vital and invaluable to students in elementary education, which can be achieved simply through interaction between teacher and student on a regular basis. It also brings forth the idea that in order for students to be successful, they must first understand the …

Marina Carr's Hauntings: Liminality And The Addictive Society On And Off The Stage, Hillary Jarvis Campos

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an examination of the trapped lives of Marina Carr's female protagonists and their relevance to contemporary Irish women. In her six plays from The Mai to Woman and Scarecrow, each of Carr's female protagonists is trapped either in a liminal state, defined by Victor Turner as a phase in a rites of passage process, or in a patriarchal addictive society, defined by Anne Wilson Schaef as a society in which the power is maintained and perpetuated by white males with the help of all members of society including women. Portia (Portia Coughlan), Hester (By the Bog of …

Exploring The Ba And Bfa Curriculum, Jane Frazier

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a picture of my journey as an educator. I taught at the University level from Fall 2001 – Summer 2006 before I became a graduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University in Theatre Pedagogy where I continued to teach until 2008. My education and real life experiences over the last seven plus years have contributed to my teaching methodology which is ever evolving. There were several trials and tribulations as I progressed as an educator and this is an exploration of my experience teaching in the BA and BFA curriculums.

The Man In The Transatlantic Crowd: The Early Reception Of Edgar Allan Poe In Victorian England, Brian Robert Wall

Theses and Dissertations

An important anomaly in transatlantic criticism is the contrast between transatlantic theory and the applied criticism of literature through a transatlantic lens. While most transatlantic scholars assert the value of individual strands of thought throughout the globe and stress the importance of overcoming national hegemonic barriers in literature, applied criticism generally favors an older model that privileges British literary thought in the nineteenth century. I claim that both British and American writers can influence each other, and that mutations in thought can travel both ways across the Atlantic. To argue this claim, I begin by analyzing the influence of Blackwood's …

After August: Museums As Mirrors, William Pinholster

Theses and Dissertations

The After August Museum collects and exhibits an open, user-generated body of content. Its primary objective is to help heal the post-Katrina Lower Ninth Ward community. It is respectful and considerate of the area's established traditions, present concerns, and future goals. The museum assumes multiple shapes and plays multiple roles as it acts as the center of the transitioning community.

A Study Of The Life And Work Of Christopher Durang: Laughing Wild Amidst Severest Woe, Jeannine M. James

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis maps Durang's struggle with faith and demonstrates how his personal journey to discover and document his pain acts as a catalyst for his creative work. It will explore his style of masking and unmasking himself in his characters revealing his innermost pain and suffering. I also surmise that his work serves as a kind of therapy by allowing him to constantly unravel and unveil his investigation of self.

This thesis examines Christopher Durang's personal history and family struggles in an effort to understand the experiences that shaped the work of one of America's premier authors of absurdist comedy. …

Evolution Of Urban Design In Practice (Case Studies Of Chicago, Detroit And Cleveland Through Time), Sulabh Aryal

Theses and Dissertations

Throughout the twentieth century various urban design theories came into light. These theories were sometimes original and sometimes derivative of some previous theory.These theories can be broadly categorized in different urban design models. The chronological study of different urban design theories gives us the theoretical and generic evolution of urban design. The practical evolution of urban design in any city can be different from the generic evolution of urban design. This thesis examines the urban design of three Midwestern American cities from their origins to the present day. The urban design of these cities, related to different time periods is …

Storming The Castle: Non-Secular Subversion Of The Pas D'Armes In The Castle Of Perseverance, John Moss

Theses and Dissertations

It is important to remember that the categories of medieval performance were established far removed from their period in history. As a genre, the morality play includes a wide diversity of time, geography, content and performance styles. Such disparities have made it difficult to develop a comprehensive definition, without which comparisons between works cannot be consistent. As scholarship continues to explore these works in context of their performance, it becomes increasingly important to identify which performance styles best inform their production. In examining The Castle of Perseverance within the parameters of pas d’armes, new meanings can be drawn from its …

Typography As Performance: Bringing The Stage Into The Design Process, Ann Ford

Theses and Dissertations

Graphic design is historically a visual language consisting of text and image composed for the purposes of sending messages in print format. The voice of graphic design is typography—structuring and arranging letter forms into visual language. Over the past two decades, new communication formats such as motion and interaction have frequently been related to performance. My intention, however, is to explore how performance can influence typography in two and three dimensions, and even in digital environments.

Unlisted Properties: An Exploration In Solo Performance, Jason Smith

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis studies the process of creating, producing and performing a solo performance titled UNLISTED PROPERTIES. We intend to intertwine historical text and contemporary narratives to create portraits of women throughout different periods of history/her-story dealing with the theme of women as property or owning others as personal property. The historical text will be taken from the self-written works of Mary Chesnut, Harriet A. Jacobs, and Elizabeth Packard. The contemporary pieces have been pulled from a variety of sources, which include an interview with Mary Ford, an Army bride during World War II, Pagan Moss, a website blogger describing her …

Unlisted Properties: An Exploration In Solo Performance, Lauren White

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis studies the process of creating, producing and performing a solo performance titled UNLISTED PROPERTIES. We intend to intertwine historical text and contemporary narratives to create portraits of women throughout different periods of history/her-story dealing with the theme of women as property or owning others as personal property. The historical text will be taken from the self-written works of Mary Chesnut, Harriet A. Jacobs, and Elizabeth Packard. The contemporary pieces have been pulled from a variety of sources, which include an interview with Mary Ford, an Army bride during World War II, Pagan Moss, a website blogger describing her …

The Effect Of Home Musical Environment On Child Attitude And Aptitude, Donna Lyon

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent the home musical environment affects a child's attitude towards and aptitude in music. Factors that were explored were parent attitudes, parent music background, child attitudes, child aptitudes, age, and gender roles. Parents (N=95) from a suburban elementary school completed an online survey to determine the nature of the musical environment of their home. Their children (N=121), who were first and fourth graders, completed a student attitude survey. The Intermediate Measures of Music Audiation was administered to determine student aptitude. Descriptive and inferential statistical methods were used to analyze the data …

An Analytical And Educational Survey Of Kenneth Hesketh's Vranjanka, Alisha Marie Wooley

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis will explore Kenneth Hesketh's "Vranjanka" in both analytical and educational domains. Timothy and Hilary Reynish commissioned this piece in 2005 in memory of their son William. Tim Reynish is the former conductor of the Royal Northern College of Music's Wind Ensemble. He has also been deeply involved with the Commissioning Project of the Royal Northern College of Music (1982-2002), which produced over seventy compositions for wind band, and the William Reynish Commissioning Project (2002-2007) that has commissioned over twenty works for wind band. The piece is based on the Serbian Folksong Sano Duso. Vranjanka, literally translated, means "from …

An Application Of Acting Methodologies Of Lee Strasberg, Stella Adler, And Sanford Meisner To Roles In Anton In Show Business, Misti D. Koop

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine and assess my approach to acting in Anton in Show Business, in pursuit of honest and truthful acting. This thesis will explore major principles of the acting methods of Lee Strasberg, Stella Adler, and Sanford Meisner. This thesis will illustrate the application of these select principles to my roles of Kate, Ben, and Jackey in Jane Martin’s Anton in Show Business.

Chapter One will examine an overview of select principles of the acting methods of Lee Strasberg, Stella Adler, and Sanford Meisner. Strasberg’s select principles of relaxation, concentration, and affective memory; Adler’s …

Swimming In The Shallows: Drowning The Standard Conventions Of Directing, Debra A. Berger

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the challenges I encountered while directing Adam Bock’s play Swimming in the Shallows. Specifically, this thesis addresses staging issues that stem from the problematic conventions required by Bock’s specific instructions regarding any mounting of the play. In particular, Bock suggests an abandonment of some traditional conventions in the fundamentals of directing, particularly the creation of three- dimensional picturization for the use of stage depth. In Bock’s staging notes, he proposes that contrary to fundamental principles: The action should be pressed flat. Like a screen. The actors’ physical work should be vertical and horizontal rather than three-dimensionally horizontal. …

Childless Women In The Plays Of William Inge, Tennessee Williams, And Edward Albee, Suzanne Macdonald Winkel

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an examination of three major twentieth-century American playwrights—William Inge, Tennessee Williams, Edward Albee—and their dramatic use of childless women characters in Come Back, Little Sheba (1950), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955), and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1962) respectively. Although the plays of Inge, Williams, and Albee have been analyzed individually by numerous scholars, they have not been studied together as works about procreation and childlessness. The study's historical focus is the post World War II era during which time the three plays proposed for analysis were written and produced. Commonly called the baby boom …

Healing, Learning And Play, Kangana Bhatnagar

Theses and Dissertations

Research suggests that the first five years of life are critical for building the foundation for children’s success throughout their schooling and life. Throughout these first years of life there are a number of essential windows of opportunity during which certain kinds of stimuli are needed to help the brain develop and maintain critical connections necessary for learning. This project is a unification of a Child Development Center and a therapeutic center. This center includes children who suffer from bereavement; a broken home, death of a parent or child abuse. These children are provided with therapy by a specialist, and …