Theatre and Performance Studies Commons^™

Theatre And The Overwhelming Question: Why Make Theatre In These Times?, Mónica Valeria Sánchez

Theatre & Dance ETDs

The following essay communicates my journey as a longtime theatre artist as I have navigated my way through the discipline, and towards the craft of playwriting. My intention to study in the program was soon escalated by an existential turning point subsequent to the neoliberal agenda that gained momentum pre, post, and during the election of 2016. This thesis is in response to the question, "Why make theatre now?" I approach this query through the themes and the characters in my plays; through a socio-cultural-historic lens, and via an examination of the creative process as it relates to the metaphysics …

The Amish Project

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University's performance of The Amish Project by Jessica Dickey.

Performed September 13-16, 2018 at the Mitchell Theatre. This was the 2018 Jason Francis Memorial Scholarship Show.

The Amish Project is a powerful and thought-provoking play by Jessica Dickey that explores the fictionalized aftermath of the real-life 2006 West Nickel Mines Amish School shooting. The play delves into themes of forgiveness, compassion, and community resilience in the face of tragedy. It portrays the complex emotional journey of the Amish community as they navigate their grief and the necessity of forgiveness to heal and survive.

Should Theatre Disappear Like Soap Bubbles?, Erin Lee

Proceedings from the Document Academy

I recently read an excerpt from a 2004 interview with Peter Hall where he claims that he was happy for his materials to disappear "like soap bubbles" (Reason, 2006). One of the fundamentally difficult things about archiving theatre, aside from its ephemeral nature, is the approach that creatives take to their work. Not only do we need to battle the format of live performance but we also need to convince many creatives, not all I must add, that their work can and should remain in the Archive for use in the future. There are glimmers of potential in the area …

The Lab Report, Volume 12, Issue 02, Todd Ristau

Lab Reports

Vol. 12, No. 02 (July, 2018)

• Summer 2018 Comes to a Close
• Student Spotlight: Ally Thomas
• Guest Profile: Erin Quinn Purcell and Jay Reiss
• Overnight Sensations
• Emma in Complexland
• Sean Abley Plays Open in Two Different Festivals
• Decision Height at New River Stage
• Jonathan G Galvez play in Planet Connections Fetivity
• Cabaret Workshop with Ruth Margraff
• Susie Young in Spring Awakening at MMT
• Dramaturgy Research Luncheon
• Song of Bernadette Jones at Fresh Fruit Festival
• Kevin D. Ferguson Wins Grant
• Neeley Gossett Recognition
• Kate Lowry Teaching in Texas
• Showcases for Advanced Performance, Directing, and Advanced Scene Study
• Playwright’s Festival
• Guest Respondent …

#Parlezvousfemme - A One-Woman Show, Victoria G. Lindbergh

Oglethorpe Journal of Undergraduate Research

#parlezvousfemme is a one-woman show set in 2018 that reimagines the lives of several infamous French women. Each character approaches modern life differently based on her given circumstances and reveals several universal truths about being a woman in today’s society. The famous military leader Joan of Arc is a 19-year-old youtuber criticizing the far-right for using her as their symbol, while revolutionary Olympe de Gouges is a modern-day women’s rights activist. Marie Antoinette is a housewife being interviewed by Vogue and scientist Marie Curie hosts a PBS telethon and addresses the lack of women in science. Designer Coco Chanel is …

Bringing Life To Theatre: A Scenic Designer's Role In Creating "The Wild Party", Matthew Carlin

Honors College Theses

The purpose of this paper is to examine the research that goes into designing the scenic elements of a musical. I was the scenic designer for Pace School of Performing Arts’ production of Michael John LaChiusa and George C. Wolfe’s The Wild Party in the fall of 2017. Directed by Roger Ellis, our version of the vaudeville-style musical was done in an immersive, in-the-round style. As the scenic designer for this production I was strongly focused on the research aspect of the design process. We consulted several art movements and architectural styles, as well as mythology, film and literature in …

The Director's Role In The Development Of A New Play, Andrew Mullins

Honors College Theses

Over the course of May 2017 - February 2018, I examined the role of a theatre director in the development of a new play. The play that I directed was written by Brandon Adam, and is titled Nice Jewish X. We developed the play using three different forms of performances as guideposts and opportunities for feedback. The three forms of performance were a closed cold reading, a rehearsed open reading, and a fully staged and produced production. Over the course of this process, I worked closely with the playwright and helped facilitate his creative process, as well as explored …

Swimming With Shoes On, Juliet Mueller

Honors College Theses

Swimming With Shoes On is a creative writing thesis containing four short stories all revolving around one central character, Lottie. Each story enters the reader into a different chapter of Lottie's life, and we watch as people move in and out of her life, as she learns more about herself and her friends, as she develops certain understandings about the construction of the world she's living in.

Mia Park Interview, Justin Fernandez

Asian American Art Oral History Project

Bio: Mia Park is a multidisciplinary artist acting, writing, playing music, producing events, teaching yoga, and volunteering in Chicago, IL. She shares her passion for discovery and self-inquiry with hope and optimism. Mia began professionally acting in 1997 hosting the cult favorite cable access dance show Chic-A-Go-Go. Her acting career has brought her on stage, in film, on television and on the radio. Mia currently plays the recurring character Nurse Beth Cole on NBC's Chicago Med. She has advocated for Asian American representation in acting since 2006 when she co-founded A-Squared Theatre and hosted educational theater workshops for the Chicago …

The Lab Report, Volume 12, Issue 01, Todd Ristau

Lab Reports

Vol. 12, No. 01 (June, 2018)

• Focus on the Faculty: Art Borreca
• Student Spotlight: Bev Parsons
• Guest Profile: Annalisa Dias
• Kennedy Center Summer Playwriting Intensive
• Gender Equity in the American Theatre
• Gut by Megan Wheelock at CenterPieces
• Students of Hollins Playwright Publish Plays
• No Shame Theatre Returns
• Ben Jolivet, Dramaturg
• Lauren Ellis Leads Audition Workshop
• Unified Local Auditions
• From the Director: Welcome First year Students!

Lüge Und Wahrheit, Amalie Von Sachsen

Drama and Film

No abstract provided.

Creating A Happy Ending For Socially Relevant Television, John Thomas Cunha

Senior Honors Projects

Television is accessible to millions from the comfort of their own homes and shapes the way we view the world. It has the power to bring people together, but often presents diversity with a strong emphasis on labels. Characters are defined by the one trait that, to the majority of viewers, is unrelatable. This maintains the separation of “us” and “them,” isolating those in the minority. Representation is essential for progress, but it’s more than just including diversity. Instead of dwelling on differences and indulging in stereotypes, characters should all treat each other equally.

The focal TV show of this …

The Creation And Development Of Rise, Paul Randall Mcinnis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In “The Creation and Development of Rise”, I will explain how my play evolved from the initial writing process until the actual production of the show. The Department of Theatre allows students to experience the development of new work through the functions of the classroom. The goal is to simulate how a process would occur in the professional world. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the journey of creation within Rise. Rise tells the story of the community of St. Marie, Louisiana during Mardi Gras, 1972. The play highlights the city’s triumphs and downfalls, and it is set …

The Visit: A Full Length Play, Rosalia A. Portillo

Theses

The Visit served as my thesis production to fulfill the requirements for a Masters of Fine Arts from Lindenwood University. This paper details my role as director in the production from its conception, to production, to evaluation. I will explore the details of my process for the project as well as what I have learned.

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 …

Digging Into Playwriting, Gleason Holt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The intent of this thesis was to write an original play and detail the writing process. Themes dealt with in Jane (or, Dug In) are family, coping with grief, survivor’s guilt, and exploration (both literal and personal). In addition to the full script, this thesis explores the inspirations for the play and its title. The play’s genre is analyzed, and reasoning is given for this selection. Included are omitted scenes from the latest draft to offer additional insight into the playwright’s previous versions. A reading of the third draft was presented and detailed in this thesis. A section about future …

Disney And Cameron Mackintosh's Mary Poppins: The Broadway Musical

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s performance of Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s Marry Poppins: The Broadway Musical.

Performed April 27-29 and May 4-6, 2018 at the Mitchell Theatre.

Young Jane and Michael have sent many a nanny packing before Mary Poppins arrives on their doorstep. Using a combination of magic and common sense, she must teach the family members how to value each other again. Mary Poppins takes the children on many magical and memorable adventures, but Jane and Michael aren't the only ones upon whom she has a profound effect. Even grown-ups can learn a lesson or two from the …

Planeta Solitario: Dramatizing Autobiography, Diego Miguel Gomez

Theatre & Dance ETDs

Hola. Me llamo Diego Miguel Gomez. I am a Chicano from Santa Fe, New Mexico, a screenwriter, an athlete, and now a playwright. Through this dissertation, I guide you through my personal and artistic journey leading up to this point. In the abstract, I reflect the process of production for my thesis play, Planeta Solitario, along with my aspirations beyond the Master of Fine Arts in Dramatic Writing program at the University of New Mexico. Throughout this essay I switch languages and employ slang from different cultures and sub-cultures because I don’t speak in one language or tongue, I speak …

Holding On/Letting Go: Situating Trauma And Memory In Theatrical Spaces, Caroline T. Graham

Theatre & Dance ETDs

In this essay, I review my development as a playwright in the MFA Dramatic Writing program and examine the shifting, overlapping goals of playwright-as-educator and playwright-as-entertainer. In Part One, I position my academic exploration of trauma in relation to ethics in journalism, embodied knowledge, and intersectional feminism and outline my creative experiments in staging trauma through the process of witnessing, retelling, and abstraction. In Part Two, I detail the artistic and personal roots of my dissertation play, The Great Maverick Adventure of 2007, and the structural and dramaturgical tools I employed to rebuild a sense of play and theatricality …

Waiting, Jennifer Nesbitt

Theatre Student Works

The play Waiting, looks at two couples who are presently waiting for a next big thing, so much that they are taking for granted what is happening in the present and this causes conflict; evermoreso, when the one you’re waiting for is not aware that you’re waiting.

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 …

From London With Love

DePaul Magazine

No abstract provided.

Why We Must Die So Young: The Story Of The White Rose Martyrs

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s performance of Why We Must Die So Young: The Story of the White Rose Martyrs by William Gebby.

Performed February 23-25, 2018 at the Mitchell Theatre.

During the darkest days of WWII, a handful of German college students distributed thousands of anti-Nazi leaflets and worked toward unifying resistance across Germany. They called themselves the White Rose, and their faith drew them to engage in a fight that would cost them their lives. William Gebby’s brand new play celebrates the lives of these brave young people who would not and will not be silent. The TU …

"The Habits Of History": A Research-Based Play Script, Dorothy Morrissey

The Qualitative Report

In this article, derived from her doctoral dissertation, the author (a teacher educator in drama in Ireland) presents her students’ initial responses to her performance of a one-woman play, “Goldilocks’s Testimony.” The play, written by the author, concerns the marginalisation of women in workplaces. In the play, women’s “real” experiences of workplace marginalisation are transposed to Fairyland. In this article, the author represents her postgraduate student teachers’ responses to her performance in play script format. In this play script, “The Habits of History” (Olsen, 2003), the students’ responses are also transposed to Fairyland.

And She Runs, Caroline Collet

Undergraduate Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Radical Black Drama-As-Theory: The Black Feminist Dramatic On The Protracted Event-Horizon, Jaye Austin Williams

Faculty Journal Articles

In this essay, I elaborate my present project, grounded in what I call drama theory, the critical theoretical dimensions of dramatic writing, and address the deeply troubling intramural tensions across Black Studies, between those who read blackness, and black cultural production, through largely futurist, celebratory lenses; and those who apply a structural analysis to blackness as the site against, upon, and through which the world coheres its soci(et)al apparatuses and machinations. I situate myself within the latter constellation, and sample here two plays by Suzan-Lori Parks to demonstrate how I translate the analyses of antiblack violence by black feminist …

When Coquis Sing: Introducing Young Audiences To Death And Bereavement Through An Original Play, Michelle Loricco

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis documents the play development process of When Coquis Sing, an original play for young people that introduces the death of a parent on stage. Through the analysis of research from leading child psychologists and practical instruction from the Dougy Center, the National Center for grieving children and their families, this research defines important terms and demystifies language surrounding death to aid caregivers in having clear and concise conversations with children about death. The purpose of this document is to counter the American cultural perception of death as a taboo topic for children. Hosting open conversations about death leads …

Whispering Together In The Dark: Rereading Samuel Beckett's Homosociality Through Harold Pinter, Aaron Botwick

Publications and Research

In a 1960 letter to a friend, Harold Pinter wrote of Samuel Beckett, “I’ll buy his goods hook, line, and sinker, because he leaves no stone unturned and no maggot lonely. He brings forth a body of beauty; his work is beautiful.” What do we learn if we take the word “beautiful” seriously? Rereading Waiting for Godot backward through Betrayal, this article argues that Beckett’s landscape, typically read as a realization of postwar angst, is in fact one released of the pressures of contemporary living and for Pinter a homosocial Eden. Jerry’s joke upon discovering the adultery—“Maybe I should …

Paul Ibell: Tennessee Williams, Verna Foster

Department of Fine & Performing Arts: Faculty Publications and Other Works

A review of Paul Ibell's Tennessee Williams, written by Verna Foster.