Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Old Versus The New Equestrian Circus: Demonstrating And Promoting Equine Welfare, Veronica Painter

Theses and Dissertations

Circus is an art form that was originally considered as a humanitarian art, promoting equine welfare by shedding a new light on the horse and human relationship. During a time where horses were used for war, work, and transportation; fancy riding and liberty stood as the framework for a new togetherness between man and beast. The animal activist revolution centered on exotic animals in circus, yet the effects of these demanding pressures caused a major blow to the equestrian circus. This comparative study examines possible improvements to the industry in order to keep this art alive. Keeping up with eclectic …

Co-Creating Our Lives, Performing Our Multi-Cultural Worlds, Aidah Nalubowa

Theses and Dissertations

In his Foreword for Theatre and Migration (Cox 2014), director Peter Sellars writes, “None of us are the picture in our passports” (viii). Neither are we the person that we look or sound like at first glance or the first meeting. Rather, who we are is shaped by among other factors our environment and cultural upbringing. Because traditionally people from different places perform and participate in social and cultural events that are naturally “scripted” differently, we are so much more than the pictures and names we carry on our identification documents. Migration, Sellars continues, is “one of the most basic …

Women Of The Future: The Performative Personhood Of Elizabeth Robins, Djuna Barnes, And The Baroness Elsa Von Freytag-Loringhoven, Michelle Feda

Theses and Dissertations

The New Woman is the term used to describe the changing social norms around women's involvement in public life during the fin-de-siècle. New Women were bold and brash, educated and independent, and, importantly young; the term encapsulated any particular woman who stepped outside of her mother's Victorian social norms. The New Woman was as much a construct of the time as it was a description. The playwright and suffragette Elizabeth Robins performs "new womanhood" on the stage, and her play Votes for Women! enacts this struggle between New Women and the older generation. Djuna Barnes started her career as a …

Murmur/Murmuro, Paola M. Di Tolla

Theses and Dissertations

By using repetition or misplacing intonations and accents, etc. one can imitate the slipperiness of spoken language. However, it is the accidental slippage that I find most revealing and exciting because it allows for two conversations to exist in one. Once spoken language is transcribed as text, it is put through another filter and the risk of [accidental] slippage increases by a different measure. Fingers don’t keep up or autocorrect insists on taking matters into its own hands.

Private Rainbows, Mikey F. Estes

Theses and Dissertations

I make art that refers to how the self is mediated through structures, objects, and images — a kind of self-portraiture that circles around its subject, reflecting a state of simultaneous formation and disintegration. Over the past few years, I have used my iPhone as a tool to make images of everyday life. As the user of this device, I am defined by both my presence and absence. I am interested in the process of locating the self within the scattered yet ordered space of the screen.

Making Sounds, Patrick Costello

Theses and Dissertations

Using collaboration and performance as tools, I situate my personal story, my body, and my skills and interests within a contemporary landscape that is intersectional, full of partialities, and rooted in evolving ecologies.

Turn Of The Century British Musical Comedy In An American Performance Library, Victoria Peters

Theses and Dissertations

The genre label 'musical comedy' gained its stride in the 1920s, but the term emerged as early as the 1870s. These early musical comedies are often overlooked in the historical discussion of musical theater, due to a lack of integration between the storyline and musical numbers. With the help of the Tams-Witmark collection, housed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mills Music Library, this paper examines how two of these early musical comedies, composed by England’s Ivan Caryll and Sidney Jones, were exported and used by touring theater companies in The United States. These flexible musical comedies complicate the kinds of …

A Natural Pairing: Social Justice And Theatre Education, Danielle Wright

Theses and Dissertations

Social justice curricula are often solely geared toward middle and high school students. I intend to prove that a social justice curriculum can be creatively paired with a theatre curriculum. I also intend to prove that social justice can be taught as young as pre-kindergarten. I will design a social justice curriculum for various grade levels, beginning with pre-kindergarten. Through research and age-appropriate strategies, I will develop curriculum goals and learning experiences for all grade levels. The curriculum is not an end point for teachers, but rather a starting point for theatre teachers who want to integrate social justice into …

Should You Judge A Book By Its Cover? The Authentic Relationship Between Religion And The Stage In Fiddler On The Roof, Godspell, And The Book Of Mormon, Patricia H. Oliver

Theses and Dissertations

Theatre and religion have often found themselves at opposing spectrums since Thespis stepped out from the chorus. This conflict usually plays out in the audience's response to what is presented on the stage. Fiddler on the Roof relies on the tradition and values of the Jewish faith to create an authentic experience for the audience. Godspell is based on the parables, mostly from the Gospel of St. Matthew. Some people have an issue with the fact that the musical doesn't have a resurrection, but Tebelak and Schwartz meant the play to reflect joy and community. Experiencing The Book of Mormon …

The Effects Of Dance Therapy On Voice In Patients With Parkinson's Disease In A Multicultural Population, Ivon N. Ramirez

Theses and Dissertations

Current literature suggests that dance therapy in individuals with Parkinson’s disease shows noticeable improvement in motor functions, for example gait and balance improvement. Additionally, patients with Parkinson’s disease who participate in dance therapy may perceive positive benefits on their quality of life. Therefore, it is believed that increases in core support and improvements in posture, as a result of dance therapy, will have effects on the voice in patients with PD.

This thesis pulls from literature supporting treatment approaches in the field of speech-language pathology for voice patients with Parkinson’s disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the …

Speech-Language Pathologist's Perspectives On The Efficacy Of Bilingual Education Programs In South Texas Public Schools For English As A Second Language Learners, Alexandra Rosas

Theses and Dissertations

Current research in regard to the assessment and treatment of ESLs is limited. Other problems found within the school setting, is that fact that SLPs have very limited resources and large caseloads. Hence, the fact that previous studies have found that SLPS working the school setting do not feel competent in serving ESL students.

The aim of this study is to investigate the efficacy of bilingual programs and explore the factors that impact English as a second language learners (ESLs), in public schools across the Rio Grande Valley. School based speech-language pathologists were surveyed for information concerning their perceptions and …

Tya Adaptations For The Theatre Educator, Laura Ashley Butler

Theses and Dissertations

Over the last century, adaptations in the field of Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) have been the subject of some debate. While adaptations are currently the most produced type of play by children’s theatre companies and professional theatre organizations, original TYA scripts are the ones that receive the majority of the praise and acclaim, In addition, theatre educators throughout the United States struggle to produce quality plays with the limited funds they have been allotted. This paper serves multiple purposes. It aims to give theatre educators the tools they need to overcome the stigmatized opinions of adapted works. Additionally, it …

Mobile Enchantment: The Virginia Theatre Machine Llc, A New Twist On Drive-In Theatre, Mark J. Lerman

Theses and Dissertations

A disassembling of the Virginia Theatre Machine (VTM), LLC and its annual restaging of an adaption of Charles Dickens’ novella, A Christmas Carol. The VTM is a custom-built trailer theater that combines the performance energy of street theater with the magic and wonder of a fully designed theatrical production. I provide a historical context for this 21^st century revising of mobile theater that switches the paradigm of the traditional theater experience by bringing the stage to audiences, for free. I draw from critical social and cultural theory to make sense of the audience impact in public and private outdoor …

One-Third Of A Nation, The Second Amendment, A Living Newspaper Play, Linda Ann Watt

Theses and Dissertations

One-Third of a Nation, the Second Amendment, a Living Newspaper Play

Thesis By Linda Ann Watt for a MFA Degree in Theatre Pedagogy

Documentary theatre, including living newspapers and verbatim theatre, use socio-political commentary at critical moments in history to disseminate facts and offer ideological critique dramatizing the crisis through the lens of emotion, which can incite societal change. This thesis explores this didactic medium with a written play about the second Amendment and gun violence.

Devising Empathy: Working With Devising, Theatre For Young Audiences, And The Snow Queen, Mary C. Lennon

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents a workbook for creating a course that combines researching both theatre for young audiences and devised theatre to create a touring production and company. Devised theatre is a form of theatre where the script originates from collaborative creation, improvisation, and physical movement. This course explored the past, present and future of theatre for young audiences both domestically and abroad. Students worked in a collaborative effort devising and producing a TYA piece based on Hans Christian Anderson’s The Snow Queen and studied the child audience through reading assignments and practical experience. This thesis is intended to showcase the …

Acting Mindfully, Dawn Souza

Theses and Dissertations

Acting Mindfully, is a form of embodiment pedagogy that investigates the ways in which actors can explore their craft through a lens that connects them closer to their mind, body, and voice. The document draws content from a wide variety of theatrical movement and vocal practitioners in combination with mindfulness techniques including yoga, meditation, and energy work. Embodiment pedagogy allows the acting student to approach and perform scenes and monologues with truth and authenticity; while allowing them the ability to tell their own stories.

In order to explore this work, a course, Acting and Mindfulness, was introduced at Virginia …

I Am An Author: Performing Authorship In Literary Culture, Justin R. Greene

Theses and Dissertations

Authorship is not merely an act of putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard; it is a social identity performance that includes the use of multiple media. Authors must be hyper- visible to cut through the dearth of information, entertainment options, and personae vying for attention in our supersaturated media environment. As they enter the literary world, writers consciously create characters and narratives around themselves, and through the consistent and believable enactment of these features, authors are born. In this dissertation, I analyze the performance of authorship in U.S. literary culture through an interdisciplinary framework. My work pulls from …

The Feldenkrais Method In The Voice And Speech Classroom: Intertwining Linklater Voice And The Feldenkrais Method, Janel Miley Knipple

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

INTEGRATING THE FELDENKRAIS METHOD INTO THE VOICE AND SPEECH CLASSROOM: INTERTWINING LINKLATER VOICE AND THE FELDENKRAIS METHOD

By Janel R. Miley Knipple, MFA

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Virginia Commonwealth University, 2018.

Major Director: Karen Kopryanski, Head of Voice and Speech, Assistant Professor

Department of Theatre

Proprioception and kinesthetic awareness are important factors in actor training as performers strive to increase their physical and vocal prowess in order to respond to the demands of roles. The Feldenkrais Method, a somatic approach to …

Candor & Ebb: Searching For My Truth Through Solo Performance, Andrew Ross Wynn

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an examination of autobiographical solo performance. It explores the use of personal trauma and illness in the dramatic form. In addition to investigating how other solo performing artists utilize their medical conditions in their work, this thesis gives some historical context to the author’s own process and development. The thesis culminates in the author’s solo performance script and a desire for its audience to find solace and compassion through the experience of witnessing it being performed.

More Than The Moon: Building The World Of Into The Woods, Katherine Field

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis details the evolution of my scenic design for VCU’s 2018 production of Into The Woods. The document explains key factors for my design concept featuring a unit set instead of implementing traditional staging methods for James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim’s classic musical, based on the fairytales of the Brothers Grimm.

Of The Crickets, Kathryn Lien

Theses and Dissertations

Of the Crickets imagines the overlapping worlds of ethical ecological solutions to climate changed sustenance and the potential for collective excellence in female exclusive environments. Using garments, furniture, site-specific installation and directed performance, the project harnesses social and material sensitivity to mine solutions for idealized living.

A Cape As Red As Blood And A Slipper As Pure As Gold: Vision And Visuality In The Costume Design Of Into The Woods, Hannah E. Chalman

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the costume design for Theatre VCU’s 2018 production of Into the Woods. It outlines my concept for the design focusing on the origins of these archetypes. This concept is further expanded on by discussing Cinderella and the Witch characters and analyzing the choices within their costumes. This thesis also includes renderings, swatches, and photos.