Theatre and Performance Studies Commons^™

Direction Of The Musical: You're A Good Man Charlie Brown, Megan Ann Ahern

Master of Theater Production Graduate Projects

This project entailed the selection, background research and documentation, musical analysis, casting, direction, vocal coaching, and post-production analysis of K.O. Knudson Middle School's production of Megan Ann Ahern's You're A Good Man Charlie Brown. Documentation includes research and analysis of the play, its music, and an evaluation of the musical as a production vehicle for the department of Theatre Arts at Central Washington University. The analysis also includes a discussion as to the non-traditional directorial vision of this production.

A Contemporary Poetic Play, Stephen Levine

Bridgewater Review

No abstract provided.

Nine, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2008-2009 Season

Guido Contini, famous Italian film director, has turned forty and faces double crises: he has to shoot a film for which he can't write the script, and his wife of twenty years, the film star Luisa del Forno, may be about to leave him if he can't pay more attention to the marriage. As it turns out, it is the same crisis. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine_(musical)

Theatre Students To Perform One-Act Plays, Jessica Block ‘09

News and Events (Discontinued Series)

No abstract provided.

Mary's Wedding, Amelia Gay Hammond

Honors Theses

As the market for actor training programs becomes more competitive, university theatre departments are attempting to generate the most production opportunities possible to attract the highest quality students. Crucial to this agenda‟s success is remaining cost effective while finding new conduits of artistic growth and production experience to enrich the students‟ development. Coastal Carolina University‟s Department of Theatre forged an answer to this departmental balancing act. With almost all budget and faculty resources pledged to the full mainstage season, smaller, student produced work had begun to supplement the production offerings. These projects can provide a much-needed venue for actively engaging …

Rules Of Misrule, Meghan Forgione

Honors Scholar Theses

The project seeks to offer an alternative interpretation of sport culture in Renaissance England with respect to theater and football. I seek to show how sport culture, although seemingly threatening to the state, actually reinforces the monarchy due to its ability to provide the people with a controlled social release. The prose explores the function of carnival in sport culture and the way in which the two are manifested in football and theater in the Renaissance.

Comparative Study Of The Ritual Aspects Of Western And Asian Performance, Hyung Don Lee

Theses and Dissertations

This comparative study focuses on ritual aspects of Western and Asian performance. We may say that ritual in contemporary theater production has limitation to become realization. The limitation arises from contemporary period’s nature. We know that these days we do not have common or collective psyche. However, some theatre artists are trying to get back ritual function and process to recover real communion between spectator and performer throughout performance.

A Comparative Analysis Of Directing & Choreographing Musical Productions For Professional, Academic And Community Theatres, Alison Angelone

Theses and Dissertations

In my thesis, I plan to explore the realms of academic, professional and community theatre through the eyes of a director and choreographer. Highlighted themes will consist of the varying approaches to the script, music and choreography. This thesis will also include specific teaching and or non-existent teaching methods for professional, academic and community theatre. Included will be three definitive case studies which will consist of one musical production per academic, community and professional theatrical setting. I will focus on the director/choreographer’s overall approach to the research, rehearsal and final performance processes for the Pioneer Theatre Company’s production of My …

Musical Theatre Handbook For The Actor, Maggie Marlin

Theses and Dissertations

MUSICAL THEATRE HANDBOOK FOR THE ACTOR By Maggie Elizabeth Marlin, 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, 2009 Major Director: David S. Leong Chairman, Department of Theatre Musical Theatre is a performance style deeply woven into the fabric of the American theatre. We live in time and social climate where over half of the productions open on Broadway right now are musicals. If actor training institutions profess a mission to prepare their students for a career in the entertainment industry, why are …

I Can’T – I Have Rehearsal: Rehearsal Guidelines And Techniques With Fight Scene Work, T. Fulton Burns

Theatre Faculty Research

The rehearsal process often contains excitement, uncertainty, and, at times, stress for all involved. It is at this stage of the process where the culmination of skills acquired (research, character study, and embodying choreography) all come together. The following guidelines and techniques are aimed toward helping the actor address and conquer both acting and fight needs during the rehearsal process

The Games People Play: Rehearsal Games & Approaches For Fight Scenes, T. Fulton Burns

Theatre Faculty Research

There are as many approaches to the rehearsal period as there are directors, actors and acting texts combined. Rehearsals are the time that we all look forward to because we truly get to do what we do best in theatre, which is “play.” The games and approaches in this article are intended to spice up the life of your stage combat scene and enhance the time spent in rehearsal; following the initial time period of learning choreography and discovering initial acting choices. Many people see the rehearsal process as the time to work. I couldn’t agree more but, as stated …

Beating The Punches: Scene And Fight Break Down Techniques, T. Fulton Burns

Theatre Faculty Research

As a fight choreographer it is my responsibility to sit down with the director and discover her/his vision for the production. Similarly, actors need to serve the script and work with the choreographer in connecting the action to the playwright’s words. Each preceding article, relating to the exploration of the skills proficiency tests (SPTs), has offered tools for connecting the scripts, stories, and characters with the language of the choreography. We are now ready to move deeper into directly linking fight choreography with the script and vice versa.

Some actors see pre-planning objectives for a scene and rehearsal as an …

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

Lab Reports

• Confirmed Guests for Summer 2009
• Student Spotlight: Ben R. Williams
• Ant Farm by Ben R. Williams
• Neeley Gossett Interns at the Alliance Theatre
• Adam Hahn Commissioned by Kaiser Permanente
• From the Director: How we select our guests and visiting faculty

Scenic Design For Syracuse University Drama Department's The Way Of The World, Rachel A. Slotnick

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Abstract not Included

Adapting The End: Responding To Standards Of Learning In Theatre For Children, Jamie Lish

Theses and Dissertations

Theatre is the passport to the creation of a balanced educational system in the United States (US), while standardized testing is the downfall of the ideology behind ‘No Child Left Behind’ (NCLB). As an educator, I was greatly influenced by Howard Gardner, theorist of Multiple Intelligences and Neil Fleming theorist of learning modalities. This work has carried over into my work in theatre as a director. Theatre does not have to didactically serve formal education, which emphasizes mathematics and reading/writing, nor does it have to be merely a spectacle. Theatre can be experimental, artistic, cathartic, foster social and intrapersonal skills …

Jane, The Quene, Kathleen Wrinn

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

I wrote and performed a one-woman show entitled Jane, the Quene, about the life, reign, and death of Lady Jane Grey, the 9-day Queen of England in 1553. With the help of my advisor, Lauren Unbekant, I created my piece in a physical storytelling style in which I played all of the characters, adopting different voices, physicalities, and slight costume modifications to distinguish between them. I collaborated with film, costume, set, lighting, and sound designers to create my final product, and the whole project took about a year to complete. I had begun my research in London the previous …

Crossing Borders In Leonard Bernstein’S Mass, Theresa Hubbard

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

On September 8, 1971, Mass by Leonard Bernstein premiered at the inauguration performance at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Arts in Washington, D.C. Subtitled “A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players, and Dancers,” Mass possess examples of several different types of music, making the piece very eclectic in nature. It is a huge work which requires close to 200 performers who are well-versed in several musical genres.

Bernstein composed Mass using the form of the Roman Catholic Mass celebration, as many composers have done in the past. Bernstein was a bit more daring, however, and instead of composing music …

Bj: A Musical Romp, Eric Jarboe

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Through a series of rather unpredictable events, I was asked to write a piano and vocal score for an original musical. After over two years of working on the project, I am very pleased with the size and scope of the finished product, but more importantly, I feel that I actually understand the job of a musical composer. It was my misconception that a composer only writes melodies that are catchy and sound fun to sing. After researching the process of other musical composers, it became evident that my task was to simply tell a story, but through a different …

Corsets: The Foundation Of Fashion, Leigh-Ayna Josele Passamano

Honors College Theses

No abstract provided.

In Passing, Julia Allisson Cost

Scripps Senior Theses

My intentions for "In Passing" were to build the beginnings of an education philosophy through a richly varied choreographic process. I wanted my dancers to come away from this work with a heightened eagerness to explore the unfamiliar and an increased confidence in their ability to support one another and be supported, and I wanted to learn to more effectively and tenderly lead a group of many different personalities through a long-term creative experience. I think we have been successful.

De-Masking The Silence - Drama Therapy: For Children With Asd, Joshua M. Galligan

Theses and Dissertations

This dynamic form of pedagogy attempts to cross the interdisciplinary boundaries between theatre, psychology, and modern medicine. What I attempt to present in this thesis is a systematic developmental framework for the theoretical use of drama therapy with children suffering from Autism Spectrum Disorder. This approach has been based on in-depth interdisciplinary study which makes use of the most current research looking at the neurological makeup of the autistic brain. This systematic approach examines the mirror neuron system which has been labeled as a major defect in children with ASD. Through the use of theatrical techniques such as acting, movement, …

Ralph Vaughan William's The Pilgrim's Progress: Problems And Solutions For Future Performances, Richard Brandon Brunson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The 1951 premier of The Pilgrim's Progress by Ralph Vaughan Williams was not a success. Two years later, Vaughan Williams told Michael Kennedy that "the Pilgrim is dead."1 A handful of attempts have been made to revive the work in the last few years, and a second recording of the opera by Richard Hickox has revived some interest.

Despite this progress, three big problematic areas (outlined by contemporary critics and Vaughan Williams) continue to stand in the way of staging this work. These three areas are the Apollyon scene, the homogeneity of the tempi, and the lack of dramatic elements …

Lighting Design Of "Our Guy" -- Schaeberle Studio, Pace University, February 5th-8th, 2009, Maria Gerhard

Honors College Theses

The intent of this thesis is to provide all of the materials necessary for the complete realization of the lighting design of the Pace University Theatre Department’s 2009 production of the new work Our Guy: A Musical Play. This thesis consists of the following: drafting of lighting design with respect to the architecture of Schaeberle Studio to aid electricians in the hanging of the light plot, as well as channel hookup and an instrument schedule needed in the process of mounting the production. An annotated script with all cues, as well as a cue sheet, is included to aid …

Providence College Save The Date: The Evening Of April 30, 2009 - A Celebration Of The Arts, Providence College

Promotion Materials

Providence College Department of Theatre, Dance & Film

Saint Dominic Chapel & Smith Center for the Arts

Save the date: A Celebration of the arts with a tribute to the late Rev. A Smith, O.P. '63

April 30, 2009

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2008-2009 Season

First published as a book by Ken Kesey in 1962, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was inspired by Kesey's job as an orderly at a veteran's hospital and by the 1960s counterculture movement touting such themes as freedom, rebellion and fearlessness.It's the classic anti establishment tale of one man asserting his individuality in the face of a repressive, conformist system.

The Freedom Quilt, April Jones

Theses and Dissertations

The Freedom Quilt is a play that I have written and adapted from Deborah Hokinson’s book, Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt. This story explores the historic and dramatic implications in the idea of coded quilts as a form of communication among African American slaves; specifically as coded maps to freedom. There is an ongoing scholarly debate challenging the existence of these quilts, let alone that they could have been used in such a complex manner. The Freedom Quilt however, is one girl’s unique and individual story, and does not in any way suggest that maps, encoded in quilts were …

What's A Female Director To Do? The Women Of Medea Redux And The Men Of Someone Who'll Watch Over Me: A Study Of The Sexes, Sarah Mansell Yount

Theses and Dissertations

My thesis will explore the role of the female director. The two plays on which I will focus, Neil LaBute’s medea redux and Frank McGuinness’s Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me, call for quite different casts. The former involves a woman in a police interrogation room; the latter involves three men in a Lebanese prison. Despite the overt masculinity of these plays, traces of femininity permeate. Indeed, my status as a female director provided one of the clearest paths into these plays when I directed them last year at Virginia Commonwealth University. My gender also greatly influenced my direction of the …

The Politics Of Tea And Theatre: How Women’S Suffrage Groups Used Tea And Theatre To Influence Working And Middle Class Women To Become Politically Active, Lisa Kelly

Theses and Dissertations

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the members of the woman’s suffrage movement in the United States and Britain looked to soften their hard masculine image given to them by the press and to increase participation in the cause. They found that by including theatrical performances and benefits at meetings, and hosting tea socials afterwards, they could motivate many women to join without alienating or threatening men. This study looks at how tea socials and theatrical performances were used subversively to recruit new members, to debate ideas, and to disseminate information about the cause. Playwrights wrote plays that …

"Unsex Me Here...:" Looking At Gender In Nude Performance, Vanessa Passini

Theses and Dissertations

"Unsex Me Here…" is an examination of our bodies, what they mean in terms of gender and power, and why they mean what they do. Plucked from Lady Macbeth’s infamous soliloquy, the title suggests the stripping away of something essential that transforms. Sex is not the right word, but gender is. Often, these two are mistaken and interchanged. Myths that support our social structure exist at the intersection of sex and gender. In this production, I collaborated with Pete Guither of the Living Canvas to challenge notions of gender in different textual mediums (via the written text of Shakespeare’s "Macbeth" …

Pedagogy And Performing Shakespeare's Text: A Comparative Study, Sally Southall

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT PEDAGOGY AND PERFORMING SHAKESPEARE’S TEXT: A COMPARATIVE STUDY By Sally Parrish Southall A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University, 2009 Director: Dr. Noreen C. Barnes Professor, Director of Graduate Studies School of the Arts In the Master of Fine Arts program in Theatre Pedagogy at Virginia Commonwealth University, and in a second program, the Master of Letters/Master of Fine Arts in Shakespeare and Renaissance Literature in Performance at Mary Baldwin College - two specific pedagogical approaches to accessing and performing Shakespeare’s text, …