Theatre and Performance Studies Commons^™

Summary Of Creative Development Of “Fields Of Light” Screenplay, T. Ryan Little, Sharon Swenson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The objective of this project was to write a screenplay for a film that would share gospel insights without being didactic in its presentation. Did I succeed? I believe I’m on the right track. I felt that a good place to start would be to view films made by LDS film makers such as Keith Merrill, Blair Treu, Matt Whitaker, Russ Holt and Stan Ferguson. Some of these wonderful films are The Lamb of God, Mountain of the Lord, Nora’s Christmas, Easter Dream and Legacy. These are great films that have touched the lives of members of the church as …

Terry Nails The Sale: Senior Narrative Film Project, Dustin Condren, Stan Ferguson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

After filming my third-year narrative film project, I felt ready for a significant change. Everything that I had done up until that point had consisted of stories of college-age men struggling to come to terms with their own weaknesses and desires. Essentially they were all “inner-struggle” pieces. The project that I had just completed was good, but I wanted something else. Something real, something that told a story, and would allow me as a director to explore dramatic structures.

At Our Crossroads, Jocelyn Lockhart, Jennie Creer-King

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Dance is a unique art form in that it utilizes body movement to express ideas beyond the capacity of the spoken or written word. My project was to choreograph a ballet that explored some of the many transitions faced in life. I chose this subject because, although everyone does not undergo the same transitions, we all experience times of change in our lives. It is a universal subject that we can all relate to. Transitions are times that force us to define who we are, what we are doing, and where we are going. They are moments where we stand …

A Choreographic Medley Of Latin American Dances, Divina Teruel Wakefield, Cathy Black

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Dance productions often involve several different numbers or dances. A single number in a production is usually created with one selection of music. Everything else such as the style, mood, and theme relate to the music. When a medley or suite of dances are arranged in a single number, the components become much more complicated.

“Earthcries” Experimentation On Elements Of Choreography Within The Frame Of Creating A Performance Piece Under Request Of The Ballet Division Of Dance At Brigham Young University, Anna Manja Larcher, Jennie Creer King

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In my ORCA project, my aim was to create a contemporary ballet piece for the BYU Theater Ballet Dance Company that would then be performed and judicated at the ACDF (American College Dance Festival) choreography competition and art festival in New Mexico, March 2001. I have focused on four major areas of choreography, experimenting with a.) dance form and movement (dance choreography), b.) lighting, film and costume (scenery), c.) music, and d.) the whole piece as a work of art.

Dramatic Elements In The Seminary/Institute Classroom, Daniel P. Stowell, George Nelson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Gordon B. Hinckley, current president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, recently stated, “The schooling of our spirits is as important as the schooling of our minds, if not more important”(67). Hinckley here underlines the importance and reason for this study. Religious studies should have all the benefits dramatic elements provide. The purpose of this research project is to explore the possible effects of infusing theatrical or dramatic elements in the Seminary/Institute classroom. I have observed classes, interviewed a number of teachers, and researched the elements of theatre I thought the most pertinent to this portion of …

Inspire Or Damage: A Documentary Film About Travis Eberhard, Brad Barber, Thomas Lefler

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In making this documentary film, my original intent was to document Travis Eberhard’s personality, humor, and goals as a recently BYU-graduated film student. Specifically, I wanted to achieve this by not asking him any questions about what it was like to live with a wheelchair. This was not to be what I consider “a typical film” highlighting how Travis overcomes the obstacles life has dealt him, or how he deals with being treated differently. However, I believe the project was unique in that I still wanted to achieve some of the same goals such a film might seek after. By …

Images Of Earth And The Human Form, Heather Heiner, Pat Debenham

Journal of Undergraduate Research

There is much beauty in the natural world that leaves me, as a dancer, stimulated with choreographic ideas. It was through the collaborative medium of dance and photography that I sought to share those experiences with others. I traveled with three other dancers from the BYU dance department and a photographer, Erin Holmberg, to Arches National Park, where we explored the connections and similarities between the human form and the elements of the natural environment. The visual aspect of the experience was captured through photography. We utilized the environment on both a large and small scale, with some improvisations being …

An Exploration In Learning, Thayer Jonutz, Rebecca Wright Phillips

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Dance instructors teach using different methods. The three most common pedagogical practices are by imitation, imagery and the use of kinesiological principles. Teaching by imitation consists of showing the student what it is you are trying to teach with very little verbal communication and then having the student mimic you. There are different forms of imagery and I chose to explore sensory imagery specifically. Sensory imagery is the use of all the senses: sight, touch, hear, smell, taste. Teaching by sensory imagery consists of using the five senses to bring out different qualities in the movement. Teaching by dance kinesiology …

Casting Calder: Using Choreography In Dance To Express The Works Of Alexander C, Rhonda Rooker, Raymond Robinson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Alexander Calder, one of the greatest creators of sculpture in the twentieth century, was the first American artist of his generation to win an international reputation for his achievements. He spent his lifetime creating works labeled “mobiles” and “stabiles”, according to the size and permanency of each sculpture. He used various materials including sheet metal, bolts, and paint, as well as wire and wood. His artwork can be found in major museums throughout the world, and is installed in urban spaces in the United States and abroad.

Victory From The Dust, A Senior Project In Dance, Kristi D. Brubaker, Susanne Davis

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Victory From The Dust, was the result this grant. The project was a 20 minuet dance that consisted of seven sections. Each section represented a dispensation of time. The work was choreographed, rehearsed and performed between January and April 1998. It was viewed on the Senior Showcase #2, in the Richards Building Dance Theater. As a whole I felt this project was a success.

Unfolding, Christian Vuissa, Stanley Ferguson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

For my last film project at BYU, I wanted to do something special that would help me get started in the film industry. Unfolding is a film that explores the struggle of a young woman. She learns to reconnect with her father who suffers from retrograde amnesia. The project was ambitious from its beginning due to its length and the many different props and locations needed for its realization. The scope of the project could easily compare to a masters program thesis film.

Documentary On Homeless And 2002 Winter Olympics, Emily Lewis, Dr. Dean Duncan

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Emily Lewis Documentary on Homeless and 2002 Winter Olympics Faculty Mentor: Dean Duncan, Media Arts Studies The original project that I intended to complete for this scholarship was a documentary film on juvenile delinquents and the Utah court system. This project became impossible to do because of a lack of access and information, so my focus has since changed.

Unwilling Soldaten: The Story Of Slovene Conscripts In Hitler’S Army, Stacy Snider, Thomas Russell

Journal of Undergraduate Research

“[They said] we were called by the Furer and by God to help defend our home.”

So they were told, but of the 90,000 Slovene men, young and old, forced from their provincial homes and into German uniforms at the beginning of WWII, few were convinced. Swayed instead by commanders with rifles, threats to life and family, and stories of torture, hanging, even beheading, nearly one fifth the population of the tiny European country chose hell over death and became part of Hitler’s expansive and short-lived military force between 1942 and 1945.

Time Vindicated: Looking Behind The Masque, Amy Elizabeth Jensen, Dr. Megan Sanborn Jones

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The English courtly masque was an elaborate theatrical form of poetry, dance, music, and scenery that flourished under the reign of the Stuarts, James (1603–1625) and Charles I (1625– 1649). The masque’s spectacle, both highly theatrical and financially extravagant, reflected the magnificence of the king and the ideals of the court. Courtiers and royalty took part on stage as well as in the audience. The masques were also self-reflective; attention moved between the audience and the performers as each watched the other. As masque writer Ben Jonson wrote, masques were “the mirrors of man’s life.” Through the masque’s unique relationship …

Preserving The Past Through Historic Clothing, Janae R. Judd, Mary Farahnakian

Journal of Undergraduate Research

What we wear reveals a great deal about us, not only as individuals, but also as a society. Likewise, historic clothing allows us to see into the past. For example, in the 1940s cloth was used for war efforts. To help conserve fabrics, women made straight skirts with little flare. Such a simple thing as a skirt helps us understand the past a little better. Over a year ago, the Costume Institute of Utah desired to donate their entire historic clothing collection to Brigham Young University. The university already has an existing collection, however it is limited and this addition …

“A Spooky Evening” Chinese Film Project, Randy Astle, Dr. Darl Larsen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Chinese folklore has been a rich mine for artistic production for hundreds of years, and continues to be so today. For example, Chinese ghost stories, such as in the medieval compilation of dozens of ghost stories in the work Strange Tales of Liao Zhai, have inspired artists for centuries. Many modern filmmakers have exhibited interest in this particular subgenre, giving it both serious and comical treatment. In particular, the New Wave in Hong Kong cinema that began in the 1980’s initiated the creation of innumerable films, usually slightly comic, that dealt in some way or other with magicians, vampires, ghosts, …

"You've Got To Be Carefully Taught": Reflections On War, Imperialism And Patriotism In America's South Pacific, Jayna D. Butler

Theses and Dissertations

Underneath the romance, comedy and exoticism, South Pacific is a story that questioned core American values, exploring issues of race and power at a time when these topics were intensely relevant-the original opened just four years post WWII, on the heels of Roosevelt's aggressive expansionist response to domestic instabilities. Much has been written about the depiction of war and racial prejudice in South Pacific. However, examining such topics in the context of their cultural and political moment (both in 1949 and 2008) and through the lens of Terry Eagleton's unique take on morality, is not only a fascinating study, but …

The Great Divorce: An Experience Together — How Relationships In A Company Affect The Relationship Between Actors And Audience In Performance, Isaac Walter, Dr. Roger Sorensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Both Peter Brook1 and Jerzy Grotowski,2 two of the most important theatre directors and theoreticians of this century, have stated that the basis for all theatre is the actor/audience relationship. It is what makes theatre a unique art form. Without this relationship you may have another art form, such as film, but the real power of theatre comes from actors and audience communing with one another.

“Water In The Desert” A Creative Project In Film, Jonathan Walker, Stan Ferguson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The ORCA grant allowed me to make a short narrative film about the struggles of a pioneer mother to maintain her temporal and spiritual survival. It is set in Southern Utah shortly after Brigham Young sent the first settlers to that region. Because of the harsh and environment, survival, not prosperity, is the primary concern. This young pioneer woman faithfully looks to the words of Isaiah to understand the Lord’s promised blessings. As her temporal necessities are stripped away, she comes to an understanding of the more significant blessings of the spirit. And even then, the blessing manifest itself to …

Film: A Stranger At Hamilton, Bradley E. Wilson, Stanley P. Ferguson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The concept of the research and creative film project revolves around the life changing conversion of John Taylor to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in April of 1836. The research and pre-development work on this project has opened many new vistas that would have been unreachable had I chosen to create a cinematographic piece on another topic. The Lord has definitely had a hand in the progress of this project.

Soldaten: The Story Of Slovene Conscripts In Hitler’S Army, Stacey Snider, Thomas Russell

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In May of 2002 I sat in the riverside backyard of Igor Slavec on a picnic bench with my camera poised. As the Alpine river Sava moved slowly behind him, Igor told me about his family’s history in their village, Struževo, about his father’s experience in WWI, and finally about the predicament in which he found himself in 1943, as an unwilling conscript in the foreign army occupying his homeland. Igor is one of a unique group of WWII participants, confused and exploited, whose story I want to share in the form of a documentary film.

Troika: A Collaboration Between Schools, Corina Kay Thompson, Thomas Russell

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In the summer of 2002 I was introduced to the story behind the painting “Troika.” It is a story of compassion between the classes, as Vasily Perov, the Russian artist who created the masterpiece, is contacted by a peasant woman who is the mother of one of the children featured in the painting. With a loaf of bread and some small coins, she tries to purchase the work from Perov. Having already sold the painting, Perov decides to create a separate painting of the boy when he realizes that the child had since died.

The Promethean, A Short Film, D. Kohl Glass, Stan Ferguson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The Promethean, a modern retelling of the Greek myth Prometheus, was completed in March of 2003.

Manifestation Of Morality In Theatre, Ashley Ogzewalla, Barta L. Heiner

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In the fourth century, the Western World, once forbidden to practice Christianity, suddenly found itself under the rule of an Emperor who abolished paganism and demanded Christian doctrine be observed. This abrupt alteration of religion changed the Romans’ ideas of life, worship, and views on the abilities of mankind. Having lived with the belief that in order for a person to become immortal, he or she must appeased a myriad of gods to hopefully attain favor, the people of the Roman Empire, now accepting the principles of Christian redemption, were empowered to govern their own destiny. Consequently, their change in …

Filming In The Land Of Fire And Ice: Iceland As The Next Hotspot For Independent Filmmaking, Meredith A. Bak, Dr. Dean Duncan

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Each year, film school graduates face the difficult challenge of finding employment in the professional world. Though the dominant Hollywood model of production offers some opportunities for those entering the workforce, such opportunities are becoming increasingly limited. However, numerous less established production centers exist worldwide, providing viable alternatives and other sources of funding, which, if explored, can offer both work and artistic freedom to new and independent filmmakers.

The Promethean, A Modern Retelling Of The Greek Myth Prometheus, Was Completed In March Of 2003., J. Chad Erekson, Kelly Loosli

Journal of Undergraduate Research

At this point in time, most BYU animation projects have avoided lip sync. The Industrial Design Department produced a computer animated film called Rupert which had some crude imprecise mouth movements to suggest lip sync, but for the most part every traditionally animated project has tried to do complete pantomime, or use narration. With the undertaking of Lion & the Mouse, accurate lip sync was to be attempted, but as production progressed, students still only tackled the non-speaking scenes in their animations. Thus was my motivation for this project. If the lip sync in Lion & the Mouse was to …

Rags And Riches, Angela Marie Jensen, Dr. Mary Farahnakian

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Antique clothing is a valuable resource and asset to researchers in costuming, clothing, textiles, and historical fields of study. My goal has been to inform the public of the collection and its inherent value, and to extend knowledge of the collection to researchers around the world. In order to accomplish this goal there were many things that had to be done.

Youth And Family Theatre: A History For Tomorrow, Elizabeth Moss, George D. Nelson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The field of Youth and Family Theatre is a relatively new and burgeoning aspect of the overall theatre world. In the next five to ten years, almost all of the original pioneers of the Youth and Family theatre field will have passed away leaving much of their work and wisdom unavailable to future generations. What we have of their personal histories, besides their published texts and articles, is archived at Arizona State University (ASU). The nature of this archival record, however, makes it almost completely inaccessible to individuals who are not actually on site. Through this mentoring project, I have …

Mary Demorgan’S A Toy Princess, Anthony R. Petersen, Thomas Blair Russell

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Before describing the particulars of the project, it may be helpful to describe the story of the film I made as part of this ORCA grant. Mary DeMorgan’s A Toy Princess is about a young princess named Ursula who was born into an extremely stuffy and regimented kingdom where she wasn’t able to act as herself—nor was she even able to act as a human being would normally act, being restricted from laughing, crying, or displaying any sort of emotion. Seeing her unfortunate state, her fairy godmother, Taboret, offered her the chance to leave the kingdom to live with some …