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Articles 301 - 330 of 467
Full-Text Articles in Theatre and Performance Studies
Projection Design For A Contemporary Dance Work By Iván Angelus In Hungary, Tennessee Dixon
Projection Design For A Contemporary Dance Work By Iván Angelus In Hungary, Tennessee Dixon
Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this thesis is to document and analyze my projection design for a new dance piece, "VŰ", directed by Angelus Iván and staged at Trafó in Budapest, Hungary. Included is an account of the design process, the concept and projection development described scene by scene, execution, performance and evaluation. The paper ends with reflections on the relatively new field of image projections, and my professional goals in scenic design.
Emotional Storytelling Choreography—A Look Into The Work Of Mia Michaels, Bethany Emery
Emotional Storytelling Choreography—A Look Into The Work Of Mia Michaels, Bethany Emery
Theses and Dissertations
One of the top television reality shows today is So You Think You Can Dance? This show showcases many talents of top choreographers, including Ms. Mia Michaels. But what makes her stand out from the other choreographers in her field? With this thesis I explore why I believe Mia Michaels to be the best emotional storytelling choreographer of the twenty-first century. Analyzing examples from the show, four from Michaels and four from other choreographers and using a movement scoring method, I find why her work stands out. I will also explain how Michaels got her start in choreography, her philosophy …
A Hell House Divided: Performing Identity Politics Through Christian Mediums Of Proselytization, Allan N. Davis
A Hell House Divided: Performing Identity Politics Through Christian Mediums Of Proselytization, Allan N. Davis
Theses and Dissertations
Every year, during the month of October, hundreds of Christian churches throughout the United States open the doors of their Hell House to surrounding communities. Hell Houses are Christian haunted houses designed to literally scare the Hell out of visitors so they will accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. In the place of vampires or zombies, Hell Houses portray the sins Satan is mostly likely to tempt teenagers to commit. Scenes include young girls receiving abortions, young men believing lies that they were born gay, and careless individuals drinking and driving. As para-theatrical performances, Hell Houses lead …
Co-Learning Pedagogies In The Media Literacy Education Classroom, Erika Hill
Co-Learning Pedagogies In The Media Literacy Education Classroom, Erika Hill
Theses and Dissertations
This qualitative research project describes the experiences of students in BYU's Hands on a Camera Project as they were introduced to co-learning pedagogies. Hands on a Camera is a media literacy service-learning project where university students are placed in public schools to teach K-12 students documentary production and media literacy. The project consists of a preparation phase and a teaching phase. In the research project, students were required to complete peer-learning and peer-teaching assignments during the preparation phase as in order to prepare for the teaching phase. This ethnographic study describes student experiences—positive and negative—with peer learning during both phases …
Lady Libertines, Female Fops, And Lady Julia Fulbank: Aphra Behn's Extraordinary Female Characters., Sarah Audine Amundsen
Lady Libertines, Female Fops, And Lady Julia Fulbank: Aphra Behn's Extraordinary Female Characters., Sarah Audine Amundsen
Theses and Dissertations
Aphra Behn has, throughout her life and subsequent years, been both demonized as a writer of bawdy and licentious plays and poetry as well as being hailed as the forerunner of female writers. She was a woman writing in a man's world, and not only survived the experience, but was exceptionally successful in her efforts. While so little is known about her background, the numerous plays she has left behind demonstrate a skilled author in many forms, as well as a creative and innovative storyteller. This thesis will examine how Behn used the traditional theatrical forms of the time and …
Between Scenic Designer And Director: The Collaborative Process Of Four Productions, Elizabeth R. Muller
Between Scenic Designer And Director: The Collaborative Process Of Four Productions, Elizabeth R. Muller
Theses and Dissertations
This thesis presents the unique designs for four productions: Ain’t Misbehavin’, Is He Dead?, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, and Legacy of Light. Presented here are the research images, conversations, situations and their resulting designs represented in my renderings and photographs of the fully realized production. Throughout, I will state my objectives in bettering the quality of interaction with each director and my reflections on the ongoing process of creating a trusting and balanced collaborative process, one that expertly serves the production.
Cry The Beloved Media: New Media And Student Perceptions In A World Literature Classroom, Timbre Janiece Newby Greenwood
Cry The Beloved Media: New Media And Student Perceptions In A World Literature Classroom, Timbre Janiece Newby Greenwood
Theses and Dissertations
This qualitative action research project addressed the infusion of media literacy and new media into a standard secondary English language arts curriculum. In examining students' perceptions of South Africa as they interacted with new media texts in conjunction with the traditional literary text Cry, the Beloved Country, this study also explored the manner in which students' media interactions informed their reading of the novel. As a result of the research data, the author asserts that media literacy education can, in fact, play an effective role in teaching literature within the world literature classroom.
The Saylove Project: Conception To Fruition And Everything In Between, Jennifer Catton
The Saylove Project: Conception To Fruition And Everything In Between, Jennifer Catton
Theses and Dissertations
The SayLove Project is an account of the process of developing and producing an original collaborative work, as well as a script that has been compiled and developed over the past. This is a LGBT based project and script.
Audition Technique: A Survival Guide (For College Undergraduate Students), Meghan Kelleher
Audition Technique: A Survival Guide (For College Undergraduate Students), Meghan Kelleher
Theses and Dissertations
Many great actors don’t work and many mediocre actors do. Why? The perfect monologue and great song isn’t enough to get you hired. Sadly, students are not prepared and equipped with the necessary skill set to take control of their careers. In this economic climate, the ability to audition could not be more imperative. In this thesis, readers will be introduced to the basics of audition technique as developed for Theatre majors at Virginia Commonwealth University as a precursor to their senior year. It will guide them through the first stage of their career. Furthermore, there are unspoken rules, etiquette, …
Meeting Sanford Meisner: An Investigation Of The Origins, Development, And Practical Application Of The Meisner Technique, Mandy Butler
Meeting Sanford Meisner: An Investigation Of The Origins, Development, And Practical Application Of The Meisner Technique, Mandy Butler
Theses and Dissertations
The Sanford Meisner Technique is among the most mysterious and misunderstood approaches to the craft of acting. Very often, it is taught poorly, incompletely, or even dangerously. Through the exploration of Meisner’s private life, as well as a detailed analysis of his system, this work aims to dispel some of the common misconceptions which plague the Technique and its most fervent supporters. After being made privy to his biography, readers will be taken through Meisner’s foundational exercises, beginning at the first phase of Repetition and ending with the introduction of text. In addition to the descriptions of student responsibilities, the …
Movement For The Actor: A Practical Approach To The Application Of Movement Training, Elizabeth Ressegger-Slone
Movement For The Actor: A Practical Approach To The Application Of Movement Training, Elizabeth Ressegger-Slone
Theses and Dissertations
An essential tool in actor education, movement training is often viewed as esoteric and difficult to apply directly to an actor’s craft. It varies widely from institution to institution, and covers anything from stage combat to Alexander Technique. One never knows what they will encounter upon entering a movement class, and students frequently have difficulty connecting work done in the movement studio to work done in the acting studio. In order for movement training to become better integrated and more easily identifiable as a necessary part of actor training, it is important to get to the essential qualities that all …
Designing A Musical Theatre Curriculum For The Modern University, Justin Amellio
Designing A Musical Theatre Curriculum For The Modern University, Justin Amellio
Theses and Dissertations
The world around us has changed so much, socio-economically, that musical theatre departments around the country are facing budget shortfalls, staff attrition and even vertical cuts leading to full departmental closings. This paper attempts to divert these measures, as well as address the new role of student as consumer, by way of proposing a new musical theatre curricular model to satisfy the needs of both student and university alike. Topics such as fiscal responsibility in academe, departmental expectations, current employment statistics in the musical theatre field and current student learning outcomes are covered. The current student learning outcomes are then …
Video Game Theatre, A Willoughby
Video Game Theatre, A Willoughby
Theses and Dissertations
Video games are becoming the fastest growing and most lucrative form of entertainment across the globe. The goal of this project was to take gaming to the next level; to the theatre. I have devised an original piece of theatre using the CIC’s of video gaming: Creativity, Interaction, and Community and put on a production from members of the VCU community. Aside from the project, I have detailed why video games are growing in popularity at an alarming rate and why they belong in the category of ‘Art.’ With new technology and new stories being told, the gaming industry is …
Completing The Circle: The Actor's Cool Down, Anna Kurtz
Completing The Circle: The Actor's Cool Down, Anna Kurtz
Theses and Dissertations
Physically, vocally, and physiologically something happens to the actor in rehearsal and performance that can impact the actor’s everyday life. Practitioners have described this as boundary blurring, emotional hangover, and post-dramatic stress. Even acting as a profession can breed stressful situations for the actor. Actors can combat the blurring, the hangover, and the stress through awareness and process. As a part of process, actors warm-up to prepare their bodies and voices and to transition from real life to stage life. An often ignored aspect of process, but no less significant than the warm-up, is the cool down. After researching the …
The Actor As Vessel: A Journey Towards Citizen Artistry, Joseph Carlson
The Actor As Vessel: A Journey Towards Citizen Artistry, Joseph Carlson
Theses and Dissertations
This thesis is a personal journey examining the applications of Ritual Poetic Drama Within the African Continuum as developed by my mentor Dr. Tawnya Pettiford-Wates, to the profession of the dramatic artist whether they are actor, director, educator or producer, to the training of the dramatic artist as a means of empowering generative, self defined, self validating artists, and as a means of developing community specific dramas in the hopes of facilitating individual and personal revelation. Using the author’s personal experiences as evidence, it intends to affirm Ritual Poetic Drama Within the African Continuum as an emergent methodology for theatrical …
Staying True To The Script: A Dramaturgical Examination Of From The Mississippi Delta: Endesha Ida Mae Holland, Margarette Joyner
Staying True To The Script: A Dramaturgical Examination Of From The Mississippi Delta: Endesha Ida Mae Holland, Margarette Joyner
Theses and Dissertations
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Ensemble Rehearsal Practices: The Evolution And Application Of Rehearsal Technique As Explored In Harold Pinter’S Betrayal, Wilson Kerry Mcgee
Ensemble Rehearsal Practices: The Evolution And Application Of Rehearsal Technique As Explored In Harold Pinter’S Betrayal, Wilson Kerry Mcgee
Theses and Dissertations
Three years ago, Bonnie Gabel and I started an ensemble theatre company called Night Light Collective (NLC). Our company was inspired by the work of Anne Bogart and the Dah Theatre in Belgrade, Serbia. We used many of their techniques and exercises to develop a rehearsal process that would help our ensemble connect to each other as well as contribute to the artistic direction of our productions. In the fall of 2010, I directed Harold Pinter’s Betrayal. I used the rehearsal practices that we developed with NLC and created a few of my own. This thesis documents the evolution of …
Rebonding Anomic Communities With Theatre Of The Oppressed, Amanda Hauman
Rebonding Anomic Communities With Theatre Of The Oppressed, Amanda Hauman
Theses and Dissertations
This thesis explores whether Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) can help anomic communities, affected by deindustrialization and globalization, in the U.S. Midwest, specifically looking at Saginaw, MI. After presenting a paper at the American Symposium for Theatre Research (ASTR) conference in 2009, the author attended a Theatre of the Oppressed facilitator training in Port Townsend, WA under the direction of Marc Weinblatt. She then conducted her own Theatre of the Oppressed workshop in Saginaw, MI to analyze the abilities of Theatre of the Oppressed in an anomic community. Each experience is detailed and followed by the author’s conclusions …
The Konami Code: An Experiment In Dialect Pedagogy, Thomas Cunningham
The Konami Code: An Experiment In Dialect Pedagogy, Thomas Cunningham
Theses and Dissertations
The Konami Code is a tool for teaching stage dialects that I have been developing for the past three years. I wanted a method that didn’t rely on students’ having a keen ear for phonetics; rather one that offered context for each dialect, and presented individual sound-changes as small parts of an easy way to digest the whole. Most importantly, I wanted a process that was portable: a set series of applications that my students could incorporate easily into their actor’s tool-kit and carry with them into the professional world. The Konami Code incorporates kinesthetic and imaginative elements into the …
Planting: One Director's Approach To Cultivating And Nurturing Within A Female Ensemble, Erin Snyder
Planting: One Director's Approach To Cultivating And Nurturing Within A Female Ensemble, Erin Snyder
Theses and Dissertations
A director, just like a pastry chef, must be delicate. Actors are fragile, fearful human beings. And just like a pie crust requires the perfect balance of water and flour, an actor requires a similar balance in both comfort and companionship. Eryn Snyder worked for three months to create a space where her actors could live freely in the world of the characters. With a cast of four, rehearsals were intimate, demanding, and playful. Theatre requires a director to lay down the sort of soil that encourages growth. It nurtures, it listens, it plays, and it asks questions. A director’s …
Welcome To The Circus: Finding Ways To Artistically Express The Martial Way, Donzell Lewis
Welcome To The Circus: Finding Ways To Artistically Express The Martial Way, Donzell Lewis
Theses and Dissertations
This thesis explores various artistic and ritual practices of martial arts in relation to its presentation on stage. As a martial artist and actor I believe there are complementary practices in both crafts interdisciplinary of each other. For a martial artist, the individual’s performance and execution of martial arts techniques can be enhanced through emotional availability and characterization. For the actor, the martial arts can help condition the body physically, mentally and emotionally to create a grounded presence of connectivity to the earth. However, sometimes the martial arts are viewed as a militaristic discipline and not as artistic expression. I …
A Plantation Family Wardrobe, 1825 - 1835, Jennifer Lappas
A Plantation Family Wardrobe, 1825 - 1835, Jennifer Lappas
Theses and Dissertations
An examination of the Shirley Plantation Collection, Hill Carter, Mary B. Carter, their children, the plantation workers and their wardrobe between 1825 and 1835.
The Roads Are Bumpy Ones: A Study Of Body Image Through Abstract Performance, Alexis Goldstein
The Roads Are Bumpy Ones: A Study Of Body Image Through Abstract Performance, Alexis Goldstein
Theses and Dissertations
An overwhelming number of contemporary adolescents struggle with difficult issues. Many of these problems are socially related whereas others can be directly related to the degradation of the family unit. Among the most damaging of issues is distorted body image, which infect youth, often causing them to communicate aggressively, and even landing them in compromising situations. I have sought to challenge my students to redefine themselves through expressive movement and the creation of abstract rhythmic sounds. In teaching these techniques, I have given my former students the means to combat negative thoughts and actions, as well as an excellent tool …
A Midsummer Night's Dream On The Radio: Technology In Voice And Speech, David Becker
A Midsummer Night's Dream On The Radio: Technology In Voice And Speech, David Becker
Theses and Dissertations
Recent advances in sound technology have had significant implications for the teaching of voice and speech that are only now becoming apparent. As more students become “plugged in” it becomes more difficult, both for the instructor and the student, to communicate, let alone find a voice. We are becoming increasingly addicted to communicating through our devices, rather than through the traditional and accepted modes of the past: using the human voice. In light of these rapid and various new developments, voice training, especially at the introductory level, needs to be examined anew. A number of traditional approaches and teaching methods …
Vaudeville: A How To Guide, Evan Anderson
Vaudeville: A How To Guide, Evan Anderson
Theses and Dissertations
At the turn of the twentieth century vaudeville was the most prevalent form of theatrical entertainment. With more than 1,500 houses across the country, vaudeville reached in excess of 30 million audience members each year. It directly led to the advent of film and radio. Yet barely one hundred years later vaudeville has been forgotten by the once loyal masses. This guide is meant to help counter vaudeville’s fall. By adding together a basic script consisting of comedy and dramatic sketches, original works and classic vaudeville acts with music and information on the how and whys of vaudeville, this guide …
Physicians, Society, And The Science Fiction Genre In The Film Versions Of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers: Or Doctors With A Serious Pod Complex, Brett S. Stifflemire
Physicians, Society, And The Science Fiction Genre In The Film Versions Of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers: Or Doctors With A Serious Pod Complex, Brett S. Stifflemire
Theses and Dissertations
Close textual analysis of the four extant film versions of Invasion of the Body Snatchers reveals that each film modifies the original story such that it reflects changing societal attitudes toward physicians and the medical profession, as well as depictions of military and government in the science fiction genre. The changing depictions of characters and events in these films respond to changes in medical history, social history, and the science fiction genre across five decades. Each film reflects the contemporary anxieties of its time and the perceived ability of physicians to relieve those anxieties. Doctors are important semantic elements of …
Styling The Sound: Vocal Coaching The Big Knife, Melissa Carroll-Jackson
Styling The Sound: Vocal Coaching The Big Knife, Melissa Carroll-Jackson
Theses and Dissertations
Styling the Sound: Vocal Coaching The Big Knife explores the journey from research, to rehearsal and finally concludes with a post-production evaluation of the Theatre VCU production of Clifford Odets’s The Big Knife, directed by Tawnya Pettiford-Wates. In Chapter 1 I discuss the process I went through in preparing myself, the director and actors for the demands of the production. This section of the thesis focuses on the research aspect of the work I did. Chapter 2 focuses on the auditions for the show, first read-through and rehearsal process. Also, the one-on-one time spent with actors is also analyzed in …
The Uses Of Applied Theatre, Matthew Mckay
The Uses Of Applied Theatre, Matthew Mckay
Theses and Dissertations
Applied theatre is an umbrella term describing the practice of borrowing concepts from the conventional theatre and applying them to different disciplines. This thesis focuses on the use of applied theatre in teaching effective communication skills. Using the work of the Ariel Group and personal experiences working with the VCU da Vinci Center as examples, this paper demonstrates ways that underlying theatre concepts are used to teach communication skills. Additionally, this paper argues that there are many advantages for using theatre professors to teach communication skills to non-theatre students in other disciplines through the use of applied theatre methods. To …
The Fourth Level Of Theatrical Awareness, Gregory Scurria
The Fourth Level Of Theatrical Awareness, Gregory Scurria
Theses and Dissertations
Abstract The Fourth Level of Theatrical Awareness By Greg Scurria, MFA A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts in Theatre Pedagogy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, Master of Fine Arts in Theatre Pedagogy Virginia Commonwealth University, 2010 Major Director: Dr. Noreen C. Barnes, Director of Graduate Studies, Theatre Department This text is a partial record and narrative of the production of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men that opened on May 1st 2009 for a three day run ending May 3rd 2009 and Shel, a collection of Shel …
Psycho Beach Party: A Vocal And Physical Exploration Of Gender, Megan Persinger
Psycho Beach Party: A Vocal And Physical Exploration Of Gender, Megan Persinger
Theses and Dissertations
On September 24, 2009, Theatre VCU opened its production of Psycho Beach Party, written by Charles Busch and directed by Steve Perigard. In our production, two male actors, Tommy Callan and Kyle Cornell, were cross-sex cast to play female characters, Chicklet and Marvel Ann respectively. In addition to serving as vocal coach for the production, I was to help Callan and Cornell vocally transform into female characters. I have documented our exploration of gender, specifically the vocal transformation from male to female, in Theatre VCU’s production of Psycho Beach Party. Neither actor had played a female character onstage before, and …