Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Scare If You Dare: A Look Into Scare Acting, Hana Goss

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Scare acting has always been the unsung villains of the entertainment industry. For three months of the year, for about five minutes of a haunted house, they get attention. However, the work scare actors do to is way more than just a five second “boo.” Scare actors have been at the beginning of theatre and continue to influence modern entertainment. Even though the patrons may be the ones feeling the danger, scare actors may be even more in danger than them. Each scare actor is unique from their looks to their moves. It might be take a lot of nerve …

Snacks, Rebecca Maine

The Oval

No abstract provided.

Dear Eideth Ii, Rally Belcher

The Oval

No abstract provided.

The Manly Poem, Henry Seipp

The Oval

No abstract provided.

Grief Is Not Indicative Of Death, Tessa Macklin

The Oval

No abstract provided.

Blowback Hangover, Kate Alexander

The Oval

No abstract provided.

Grace, Zane Segal

The Oval

No abstract provided.

Chat Is This Real? Perceived Authenticity Of #Naturecore Via Tiktok Comments, Anna Madison

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to understand how people perceive the authenticity of nature-based TikTok content by analyzing the comments left on videos that featured the hashtag #naturecore. Comments posted on relevant videos were observed using qualitative content analysis to evaluate how people use comments to express perceptions of authenticity. Prior literature on the perceived authenticity of mass-oriented computer mediated communication was used to inform decisions made during data analysis. Of the 138,389 comments collected as data, 1,031 were identified as relevant for this scope of this study. The final sample was analyzed using constant comparison to establish codes …

The Effects Of Student Choice On Motivation And Writing Skills, Laura Annunziata

Master's Theses

This mixed methods action research study investigates the potential effects of student choice on motivation and academic performance in writing-based assignments in a fourth-grade classroom. Baseline data was collected prior to implementation of student choice writing activities and then used to compare writing samples collected post intervention. The baseline data suggests that students’ attitudes towards autonomy are positive. Having choices was important to them and helped them learn better. However, data also indicates that while students were motivated to write using choice, many of the reading and writing competency scores dropped during journal entry writing samples. Data shows that while …

Beyond The Veil: A Contemporary Reimagining Of Chinese Shadow Puppetry, Yuheng Jiang

Theatre and Dance Honors Projects

Chinese shadow puppetry is a traditional art-form of storytelling that requires highly-skilled craftsmanship. Though it enjoyed great prestige in the past, at present Chinese shadow puppetry struggles to survive as it is difficult to recruit apprentices and to appeal to contemporary audiences. This honors project explores how to adapt the art-form with alternative materials and performance techniques, so that it may welcome younger generations as practitioners and spectators. For example, a simpler crafting process makes the art-form more accessible for novice puppeteers while preserving key traditional elements; or a Chinese horror-themed story that tailors more towards the youth’s interest.

Cultural Immersion In Gaming: Ethiopian Influences In Horizon Forbidden West, Henoch Tilahun

ART 108: Introduction to Games Studies

This paper examines the immersive incorporation of Ethiopian culture in the video game "Horizon Forbidden West," focusing on visual, narrative, and thematic themes. It explains how the game represents Ethiopian legacy and custom by examining architectural design, landscape portrayal, mythological integration, and character representation. The paper uses different academic works and gaming articles and emphasizes the game's ability to inspire empathy, curiosity, and enthusiasm for cultural diversity, as well as cross-cultural appreciation and understanding. It also investigates the importance of ethical and responsible game production approaches in ensuring accurate cultural portrayal. Finally, this paper examines the transformative power of cultural …

Scientific Frontiers In Game Studies, Prthvi Kapilavai

ART 108: Introduction to Games Studies

Video game studies as a dynamic field has benefited from this synthesis of the scientific method and critical theories that, together, enrich our understanding of video games as both technological artifacts and cultural products.(Girina and Jung, 2019). More than a mere shadow-boxing between disciplinary echo chambers, this kind of integration enriches our understanding of video game form and experience while projecting a more informed path forward into game design and game scholarship. It demonstrates how findings from psychology and cognitive science describe or explain video games’ enticement or their potential for learning, and how theories of media from the humanities …

Implementing Music To Increase Elementary Student Focus, Kathryn Garceau

Master's Theses

This action research project used a mixed methods design to address the effect of different types of music on student focus while performing an independent task. Despite its success with memorization, does music work equally as well on student focus? Data was collected over a period of three weeks for 30 minutes each morning for 5 days each week. The music played while students completed the task changed each week. This included lyrical songs during week one, classical music during week two, and instrumental versions of songs students knew the lyrics to during week three. Four behavior markers were observed …

"Everybody" Dramaturgical Casebook, Hannah Wylie

Theatre Casebooks

This casebook provides background research and analysis for the fall play of Taylor Theatre’s 2023-24 season, "Everybody" by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins.

An Exploration Of Procedural Methods In Game Level Design, Hector Salinas

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Video games offer players immersive experiences within intricately crafted worlds, and the integration of procedural methods in game level designs extends this potential by introducing dynamic, algorithmically generated content that could stand on par with handcrafted environments. This research highlights the potential to provide players with engaging experiences through procedural level generation, while potentially reducing development time for game developers.

Through a focused exploration on two-dimensional cave generation techniques, this paper aims to provide efficient solutions tailored to this specific environment. This exploration encompasses several procedural generation methods, including Midpoint Displacement, Random Walk, Cellular Automata, Perlin Worms, and Binary Space …

That We May Learn All The Ways To Hold Tender This Land, Nevaeh Starr

The Oval

No abstract provided.

Insatiable Hunger, Kaisha Gerhardt

The Oval

No abstract provided.

Contributors, Honorable Mentions, Sponsors

The Oval

No abstract provided.

Title Page, Staff List, Editor's Note, Contents

The Oval

No abstract provided.

Eureka!, Kelsea Spotts

The Oval

No abstract provided.

"You've Got Termites!", Kennedi Clark

The Oval

No abstract provided.

Fake Creativity, It Has No Story, Sophie Kotz

The Oval

No abstract provided.

Winter Gloom, Lindsay Hause

The Oval

No abstract provided.

All Said And Done, Henry Seipp

The Oval

No abstract provided.

In My Father's Yard, Lindsay Hause

The Oval

No abstract provided.

Creatures, Rally Belcher

The Oval

No abstract provided.

Fresh Meat, Savannah Miller

The Oval

No abstract provided.

Through Keyhole Roots, Lindsay Hause

The Oval

No abstract provided.

We Who Are Not As Others: Costuming The Godspell Ensemble As Historical Circus Performers, Anderson Palmer

Theatre Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper examines the Bible as well as circus history and American history to determine the most effective way to design costumes for the musical Godspell by John-Michael Tebelak for a modern audience. The aim of all of this research is to re-center Tebelak’s original inspiration: The Feast of Fools by Harvey Gallagher Cox. Over the years since the premiere of Godspell in 1970, it has become heavily associated with hippies rather than clowns, despite the importance of clowns and clowning to the play’s inception.

Taking inspiration from primary research of circus performers, religious iconography, and early 20^th century …

School Shooters Are Men: Let’S Talk About It, Lily Lockwood

Student Zines

This zine was created for the course WS 268: Men and Masculinities, taught by Prof. Roxanna Azari.