Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Speak The Speech: Lessons In Projection, Clarity And Performance, James Hagerman

Masters Theses/Capstone Projects

This study compared two classes and their responses to a controlled curriculum versus an experimental curriculum based on teaching high school students in acting classes to project and speak with clarity during onstage performances. The experimental group had fifteen days of instruction, extensive feedback and an additional two lessons, while the control group participated in two out of the four lessons and had eight days of instruction with limited feedback. The driving question of this study was, “How do you get teenagers to project and speak with clarity on stage, so the audience is not left asking, ‘What did they …

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 …

Pilgrimage: True Belonging: Exploring The Human Desire To Belong Through Dance And Storytelling, Lincoln K. Belford

Undergraduate Distinction Papers

The human sense of belonging morphs and changes as we mature and gain life experience. The relationships we make, or choose not to, affect the way we perceive ourselves, which directly correlates to our understanding of how we belong to the universe as a whole. Perception of self and belonging are inextricably connected, therefore by focusing on belonging to ourselves rather than to the world around us, we experience self-acceptance, allowing us to forge deeper, more meaningful connections with those we choose. True belonging is an active practice that takes effort, and involves reflection and critical evaluation of self. A …

The School For Scandal, Otterbein Theatre And Dance Department

2019-2020 Season

The London gossip scene is buzzing. Masquerading behind the veneer of polite society, malicious prattlers trade gossip like gamblers and ruin reputations for sport. As much as we are all familiar with reports of lies, rumors, backhanded comments, and fake-news, this is 1777 England, and the newspaper industry is just getting started. Two brothers are tested for their trustworthiness by their wealthy uncle amidst a myriad of hilarious twists and subplots involving a crazy cast of characters including Lady Teazle, Lady Sneerwell, Surface, Backbite, Snake, and more. In what is often considered one of the best comedy of manners plays, …

Dance 2019: Together Again, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2019-2020 Season

It is a joy to collaborate with Kathy Bartelt, Maria Glimcher and Tammy Plaxico, and to gather together again in recreating some of our past favorites. It is wonderful to see a new generation of students tell these stories with a fresh and unique perspective in movement and design. As we share these stories of community, family and love, we remember a special member of our family, Andy Baker. Andy, a 2009 Otterbein Theatre Design Technology graduate, created beautiful magic in his many lighting designs for the Department of Theatre and Dance and with his mentorship of so many Otterbein …

Radium Girls, Otterbein Theatre And Dance Department

2019-2020 Season

Inspired by a true story, Radium Girls traces the efforts of Grace Fryer, a dial painter, as she fights for her day in court. ... As the case goes on, however, Grace finds herself battling not just with the U.S. Radium Corporation, but with her own family and friends, who fear that her campaign for justice will backfire.

www.dramaticpublishing.com › radium-girls

Chicago, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2019-2020 Season

Set in Jazz-age Chicago, the musical is based on a 1926 play of the same name by reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins about actual criminals and crimes she reported on. The story is a satire on corruption in the administration of criminal justice and the concept of the "celebrity criminal". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_(musical)

Smoke On The Mountain, Otterbein University Department Of Theatre And Dance

2019 Summer Theatre

n this delightful tale of the Sanders Family Singers, the audience is invited to go back to 1938 and pull up a pew for an evening of more than two dozen songs, many of them vintage pop hymns. The more-or-less devout members of the family don’t just sing, but also have hilarious stories, which are delivered despite the mild protestations of the Reverend Oglethorpe.

Otterbein Aegis Spring 2019, Otterbein Aegis

Aegis: The Otterbein Humanities Journal

Editor's Introduction, Book Reviews and Essays including: To Keep or Not to Keep by Lindsay Lisanti, Fantastic Beasts and How to Value them by Casey Hall, Sex, Youth, and the Pill b Hannah Schneider, How Historiography is Crucial in Comprehending the Leading Circumstances of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 by Josh Wolf, Magic is no Cure by Casey Hall, The Ever-Evolving Relationship of the Supreme Court, Women and Homosexuals by Amanda Reed, Vietnam: A Love Story by Abigail Fahmi, Gender and Sex in 1920' America by Raven Manygoats.

Greek Tragedy At Marion Correctional: An Exploration Of Directing Theatre In Prison, Elise G. Woods

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

In this project, I describe and analyze forces of freedom and coercion through the process of directing Trojan Women by Euripides at Marion Correctional Institution. This analysis documents each stage of the theatrical process—from project proposal to final performance and discussion—through ethnographic, arts-based research using personal observations, primary accounts from performers and audience members, and secondary sources. By exploring the experience of directing Trojan Women in the prison setting, I analyze forces of coercion and freedom in both theatre-making practices and prison. As a result, I assert the uniquely positive aspects and productive utilization's of coercion through theatre in a …

Singin' In The Rain, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2018-2019 Season

Singin’ in the Rain gives us the heightened reality of an MGM musical to highlight the ways in which we create our own realities. Whatever we believe can become true. If we just close our eyes and imagine, we can make anything happen, even a BROADWAY MELODY production number. The heightened reality of a musical allows us to witness what might be possible.

Dance 2018: Gloriously Grimm, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2018-2019 Season

No abstract provided.

The Launch 2018: A Senior Cabaret, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2018-2019 Season

The senior Acting and Musical Theatre Majors will take their final bows on the Fritsche Theatre stage in this 90 minute program of songs, dance, scenes, and monologues. See performances from some the students' favorite productions, including Thoroughly Modern Millie, Dreamgirls, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Rumors, My Fair Lady, and Hamilton!

Arcadia, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1998-1999 Season

The Underlying theme throughout the show is Classicism vs. Romanticism. The Classic ideals of balance and intellect, seen in Greek Geometry and the ordered universe, become challenged by the emotion and chaos of the Romantic World. The tensions that two completely conflicting philosophies create drive Arcadia forward, making a potentially academic play fun and exciting to watch.

Macbeth...The Tragedy Of, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2018-2019 Season

A brave Scottish general named Macbeth receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the Scottish throne for himself. He is then wracked with guilt and paranoia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macbeth

Big Fish, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2018-2019 Season

When Edward Bloom becomes ill, his son, William, travels to be with him. William has a strained relationship with Edward because his father has always told exaggerated stories about his life, and William thinks he's never really told the truth. Even on his deathbed, Edward recounts fantastical anecdotes. When William, who is a journalist, starts to investigate his father's tales, he begins to understand the man and his penchant for storytelling.

Creating A Digital Theatre Collection, Sarah L. Whybrew

Library Faculty & Staff Scholarship

This presentation documents the project undertaken in 2017-2018 to digitize 60 years of Otterbein University Theatre History and create a web based online special collection in the Institutional Repository. It includes a discussion of how collaboration and partnerships were developed as well as a detailed description of the methods used to manage the project, student workers, and volunteers.

The Pavilion, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2005 Summer Theatre

Hailed by critics as an "an Our Town for our time," this play is by turns poetic and comic, romantic and philosophical. Peter returns to his twenty-year high-school reunion with dreams of winning back Kari, the girl he left behind after an unexpected pregnancy ended their relationship. Standing in Peter's way is Kari's bitter-as-ever resentment, her husband and the fact that Peter still hasn't grown up. As the night progresses, both Peter and Kari are led, through their interactions with a host of characters all played by a virtuosic Narrator, to face the consequences of choices made long ago and …

Crimes Of The Heart, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2005 Summer Theatre

The three MaGrath sisters are back together in their hometown of Hazelhurst, Mississippi for the first time in a decade. Lenny, the eldest, never left Hazelhurst -- she is the caretaker of the sisters’ cantankerous Old Granddaddy. Meg, the middle sister, left home to pursue stardom as a singer in Los Angeles, but has, so far, only found happiness at the bottom of a bottle. And Babe, the youngest, has just been arrested for the murder of her abusive husband, Zackery Bottrelle. Under the scorching heat of the Mississippi sun, past resentments bubble to the surface and each sister must …

Rounding Third, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2005 Summer Theatre

Don is a coach who believes that winning is what is most important in baseball, and he is all about the game. Michael is his assistant coach, a businessman who believes that kids should have fun when they play baseball. These conflicting personalities instantly clash. Don's kid is the star pitcher of the team, and Michael's kid can barely remember to keep his shoelaces tied. In addition, there are extramarital affairs going on (though the truth of them is well-hidden), and Michael's job is not all that it seems.

https://stageagent.com/shows/play/1899/rounding-third

The Taming Of The Shrew, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1985-1986 Season

A ribald, raucous, rowdy look at the eternal “battle of the sexes.” The beautiful Catherine has acquired a reputation as “Kate the Curst” because she apparently does not like the kind of potential suitors encouraged by her father. Enter the swashbuckling but roguish adventurer, Petruchio, who wants both Catherine and her dowry. The father happily agrees to the match and the resulting “battle” ends up as one of Shakespeare's most famous love matches.

Snoopy!, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2018 Summer Theatre

The musical sequel to YOU’RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN – deserves each of its three exclamation points. Based on the beloved Peanuts comic strip by Charles Schulz, the show sparkles with wit and warmth as it depicts life as seen through the eyes of Schulz’s unforgettable characters.

Oklahoma!, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2018 Summer Theatre

Rodgers & Hammerstein's first collaboration remains, in many ways, their most innovative, having set the standards and established the rules of musical theatre still being followed today. Set in a Western Indian territory just after the turn of the century, the high-spirited rivalry between the local farmers and cowboys provides the colorful background against which Curly, a handsome cowboy, and Laurey, a winsome farm girl, play out their love story. Although the road to true love never runs smooth, with these two headstrong romantics holding the reins, love's journey is as bumpy as a surrey ride down a country road. …

The Fantasticks, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1974 Summer Theatre

The Fantasticks is a 1960 musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones. It tells an allegorical story, loosely based on the play The Romancers by Edmond Rostand, concerning two neighboring fathers who trick their children, Luisa and Matt, into falling in love by pretending to feud.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fantasticks

Otand Alumni Network Newsletter, Otterbein University Theatre & Dance Department

OTAND Alumni Newsletter

OTAND (Otterbein Theatre & Dance Alumni Network) brings together graduates of the Department of Theatre and Dance as well as alumni who participated in theatre and dance activities before we became an official department, to provide networking support for each other, mentoring of current students, assistance with recruiting, and fundraising for the department.

Written With Love: An Interpretation Of Love Stories Through Movement And Emotion, Olivia Crawford

Undergraduate Distinction Papers

What is love? People all over the world have different stories pertaining to this phenomenon, but do the experiences in our personal lives stop us from understanding the experiences of others? Although it may be difficult to see other points of view besides, it is possible to connect to stories that are not our own. The purpose of this study is to assess how people perceive and connect to different love stories, and how these perceptions differ between those in the fine arts and those in the arts & sciences. Participants in this study will be exposed to a dance …

The Picture Of Dorian Gray: An Immersive Experience, Natalie Love

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

This project studied the effects of immersive theatre on an audience using a script adapted from The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. This project explored how to best adapt a literary work into a performance piece, and rather than creating a traditional piece of theatre, creating an immersive work. The process included research in literature, new work creation, and theatre devising as well as the rehearsals and preparation necessary for the production. Using a small cast of Otterbein performance students, the piece was performed four times in one day with different audience groups in so that I could …

Thoroughly Modern Millie, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2017-2018 Season

The year was 1922 and to live in Manhattan meant, for many, an era of wild optimism, carefree abandonment of antiquated social constraints and for women, unprecedented advancement in how they were perceived by those around them. Everything was lovely and in this age of liberated sensibilities, our heroine, Millie Dillmount enters with just such a need to rewrite her personal narrative. Thoroughly Modern Millie is, to me, a valentine to optimism and a love letter to love itself.

Thom C. Warren, Director

Visualizing The Narrative: A Modernization And Extension Of Ernest Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants"., Koryn N. Naylor

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

For this project, I completed a screenplay for a short film. For my preliminary research into screenplay writing and form, I studied key concepts in narrative cinema, including theories of visual and narrative content. I wanted to enhance my understanding of the relationship between the writing of film and the way it translates to the screen. In particular I studied the relation between the narrative (plot and story) and visual (cinematography and mise-en-scène) in film theory, and the dichotomy of classical Hollywood vs. Avant-garde cinema. My research enhanced my understanding of how visual narrative can offer elements to a story …

An Historical Analysis Of The Relationship Between Organized Religion And Dramatic Theory, Emily Bubeck

Undergraduate Distinction Papers

Theatre artists and organized religion both use the same tactics and strategies in order to connect to their audiences. This isn’t a coincidence: Over the course of human history organized religion and performance traditions developed, grew and evolved together. Performance practices grew out of religious traditions and often incorporated elements of spiritual celebration and religious ritual into their practices. In ancient Greece dramatic practices developed as a celebration of the god Dionysus, Sanskrit theatre of Ancient India evolved as a means of communicating Hindu myths to the masses and Noh theatre of ancient Japan started as shamanistic dance traditions. During …