Theatre and Performance Studies Commons^™

Anything But Crazy: How American Musical Theatre Can Change Societal Stigmas Against Mental Illnesses, Benjamin Walton

Honors Undergraduate Theses

There is a societal stigma that villainizes or degrades anyone diagnosed or associated with any mental illness. While many different forms of media have attempted to destroy this stigma through psycho-centric narratives, I wanted to argue that musical theatre has the greatest potential as a live entertainment source to deconstruct and reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness. For my research, I theorized that musical theatre can most effectively change societal stigma about mental illness by communicating a clear understanding of the disease through music, and achieving popularity in the public eye longer than other live forms of theatre. I chose …

Lindenwood University Dance Program Brochure, Lindenwood University

Student Dance Programs & Brochures

Lindenwood University Dance Program Brochure, 2018.

I Am Here Now: A Play – And – Polyvocality, The Unhomely, And The Methods Of Mike Leigh In Playwriting: An Exegesis, Michael Mccall

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The aim of the research was to investigate how the devising methods of theatre and film director Mike Leigh might generate material for a new play text and what the implications were in regards to authorship. Central to the research was an exploration of the collaborative devising processes of Leigh as a point of origin and how this might lead to an intended and deliberate case for a plurality of voices in a written play text. It was conducted with a focus on utilising many voices. In this instance the ‘voices’ were young participants from Perth’s African Australian community. The …

A Conversation Rewound: Queer And Racialized Temporalities In Hamilton, Shereen Inayatulla, Andie Silva

Publications and Research

The authors of this article, two educators and immigrants situated in the United States, consider the exigencies of listening to Hamilton: An American Musical. Shaped as dialogue, this article follows a previous piece where the authors processed their experience seeing Hamilton performed live. The current conversation shifts to the act of listening; it examines the ways in which the soundtrack embeds the audience into Lin-Manuel Miranda’s narrative, reinscribing the racialized immigrant body onto both Alexander Hamilton’s story, and Hamilton, the musical. Additionally, this article asks how the fictional Hamilton’s message to rise up and take a shot grants audience members …

Dance Matters Too: Markets, Memories, Identities, Pallabi Chakravorty, N. Gupta

Dance Faculty Works

Dance Matters Too: Markets, Memories, Identities is a rich intellectual contribution to the growing field of dance studies in India. It forges new avenues of scholarly inquiry and critical engagement and opens the field in innovative ways. This volume builds on Dance Matters (2009), which mapped the interdisciplinary breadth of the field. The chapters presented here continue to underline the uniqueness of a field that is a blend of critical scholarship on aesthetics and performance with the humanities and social sciences. Including diverse material, analytical approaches and perspectives from scholars and practitioners, this multidimensional volume explores debates on dance preservation …

An American Myth In The (Re)Making: The Timeless Fantasy Appeal Of 'The King And I', Lina Purtscher

Scripps Senior Theses

It is now well-known that The King and I has little claim to truth. Recent research has exposed the inaccuracy of the “biographical” works on which the musical is based: Anna Leonowens invented many things about her personal background and experiences. Much of her life, then, is a contrived fantasy. Yet her life of fantasy has been resurrected in countless adaptations, including the 1951 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical and its 2015 revival production, that ceaselessly draw audiences. The fascination of American audiences with Anna’s tale lies their belief in the timeless American ideals that her fantasy employs: those of freedom …

Of The Crickets, Kathryn Lien

Theses and Dissertations

Of the Crickets imagines the overlapping worlds of ethical ecological solutions to climate changed sustenance and the potential for collective excellence in female exclusive environments. Using garments, furniture, site-specific installation and directed performance, the project harnesses social and material sensitivity to mine solutions for idealized living.

The Feldenkrais Method In The Voice And Speech Classroom: Intertwining Linklater Voice And The Feldenkrais Method, Janel Miley Knipple

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

INTEGRATING THE FELDENKRAIS METHOD INTO THE VOICE AND SPEECH CLASSROOM: INTERTWINING LINKLATER VOICE AND THE FELDENKRAIS METHOD

By Janel R. Miley Knipple, 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, 2018.

Major Director: Karen Kopryanski, Head of Voice and Speech, Assistant Professor

Department of Theatre

Proprioception and kinesthetic awareness are important factors in actor training as performers strive to increase their physical and vocal prowess in order to respond to the demands of roles. The Feldenkrais Method, a somatic approach to …

Poster: Audition Notice For Musical 9-5, University Of North Florida

Musical Theatre Club and Swoop Troupe Theatre Corporation Performances

An audition notice for UNF's Musical Theater Club's presentation of 9 to 5

A Program Evaluation Of Performing Arts Instruction Used To Improve Soft Skills, Robert Lawrence Edwards

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Evidence derived from the 2012 and 2015 College Senior Surveys (CSS) noted showed that college seniors, at a historically Black university, graduated with little to average soft skills. Soft skills, such as personal characteristics and relations with others, are needed for students to succeed in postgraduate careers. The purpose of this study was to assess the level to which performing arts instruction (PAI) courses developed college-level students' soft skills. Kolb's experiential learning theory, which defines the learning process as knowledge and skills developed through experiences, and Stufflebeam's evaluation model, which uses context, input, process, and product, were used to guide …

Jenyffer Nascimento’S Epic Poetry Of Black Female Empowerment Jenyffer Nascimento: A Poesia Épica De Empoderamento Da Mulher Negra, Sarah S. Ohmer

Publications and Research

This article presents results of auto-ethnography, literary analysis, and fieldwork research to answer an underlying, perhaps unresolved, concern, relevant to this dossier: how can we produce an ethical dialogue as transnational Black Feminists, among Black Brazilian women, and North American Black women, in an ethical manner, while realizing that one may (not ever) be a part of the “carnival without you in it.” Fertile Earth/ Terra Fertil tells a long overdue epic story to an audience within the poetry: Black women, family members, other times a Black man, Brazil, white women, or “you,” undefined. Joy to pain to chaos, sensuality, …

Governmental Funding Of K-12 Arts Programs, Elizabeth Abbick

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Among the significant political debates of our time is how to dedicate resources to different programs, and what types of ideas will be funded and subsidized by the government. Unfortunately, even the United States is not a nation of unlimited resources. In general, arts programs are one of the first to be cut from schools, as they are not seen to be equal to math, reading, or even sports. However, arts programs could be an integral part of the successes of the elementary, middle, and high school student. In my thesis, I will explore the differences between students who have …

Ua1c6/7 Entertainment Photos, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Images of entertainment events.

Job Analysis Report For Actors Including Selection Procedures And Training Recommendations, Catherine M. Pagliaro

Psychology Graduate Publications

This Job Analysis Report for Actors summarizes the results and recommendations (i.e., selection requirements and training opportunities) for summer positions in a local community theater acting company. The actors selected for this company will perform in a minimum of three shows from June through August. Each actor will work for different directors depending on which shows they are cast in. Successful candidates will be required to collaborate with and take direction from a variety of artistic directors, work with diverse professionals and cooperate with multiple technical crews. The successful candidates will also demonstrate previous acting experience through formal degree programs …

Technical Direction Of Little Women, The Musical, Matt Gilbertson

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This document is a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the Master of Fine Arts degree in theatre. It is a written account of the author Matthew A. Gilbertson's process in creating the technical direction of Minnesota State University, Mankato's production of Little Women, The Musical in the fall of 2017. This document details the process from pre-production to completion of the production. It includes a historical chapter discussing the history of moving scenery and the role it has played shaping modern theatre machines. It also contains a process journal and developmental analysis of the technical director. Appendices and works …

Creating The Role Of O'Brien In 1984, Andoni Marinos

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This document is a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the Master of Fine Arts degree in theatre. It is a detailed account of author Andoni Marinos’s artistic process in creating the role of O’Brien in Minnesota State University, Mankato’s production of 1984 in the spring of 2018. The thesis chronicles the actor’s artistic process from pre-production through performance in five chapters: an early production analysis, a historical and critical perspective, a rehearsal and performance journal, a post-production analysis and a process development analysis. Appendices and works cited are included.

The Directing Of Melanie Marnich's These Shining Lives, Kristin Fox

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of Master of the Fine Arts degree in theatre. It is a detailed account of author Kristin N. Fox's directorial process in directing the play These Shining Lives in the fall of 2017. This thesis chronicles the director's process from pre-production through performance in five chapters: a pre-production analysis, a historical and critical perspective, a rehearsal and performance journal, a post-production analysis and a process development analysis. Appendices and works cited are included.

The Making Of A Raisin In The Sun, Judith E. Smith

American Studies Faculty Publication Series

Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun premiered on the Broadway stage in January 1959 just as the edifice of national segregation was cracking open. Response to the momentous 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Bd. of Education included both the important early challenges to long-accepted practices of white supremacy and the intensified mobilization of widespread white defiance to the ruling. Black Bus boycotters in Montgomery, Alabama, and their young minister leader, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Black high school students attempting to attend Little Rock’s Central High and their families faced organized harassment and dangerous forms …

And She Runs, Caroline Collet

Undergraduate Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

An Embodied Analysis Of Humankind's Development And History As Viewed Through Our Art And Theatre, Mikayla Burr

Undergraduate Distinction Papers

Our theatre practices are just as diverse and rich as everything else in our history and often are products of the climate in which they are created. Medieval European churches utilized the stage to convey their truths to peasants and church services can be described as nothing less than a spectacle. Complete with flying set and prop pieces and grand entrances with echoing chants made for quite a sight. In this way theatre was a teaching tool. In Native American ritual practices, the dances and chanting were often meant to bring upon a literal climate change, asking the spirits to …

A Test Of Perseverance: Creating The Scenic Design For The Three Musketeers, Lindsay Maiorano

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This document is an account of the scenic design process for the West Virginia University School of Theatre & Dance's 2018 production of The Three Musketeers by Catherine Bush. It details the entire scenic design process, including script analysis, research, and design meetings, as well as the processes of construction, scenic art, and technical rehearsals. It illustrates the transformation of a series of renderings and models, which ultimately evolved to the finalized version of the scenic design.

"I Felt That I Could Be Whatever I Wanted": Pre-Service Drama Teachers' Prior Experiences And Beliefs About Teaching Drama, Christina C. Gray, Robin Pascoe, Peter Wright

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Pre-service drama teachers enter teacher training with established ideas and beliefs about teaching. These beliefs, based on experience, are informed by many hours spent in schools, and the pedagogies – both effective and ineffective – utilised by their teachers. This research explores the influence of some of these prior experiences on pre-service drama teachers’ beliefs about teaching drama, this being important in the way that not only shapes their practicum experiences, but also what will then influence their own teaching of drama. Individual interviews with four pre-service drama teachers revealed the complexity and dynamics of these participants’ lived experience with …

Choreographing Conflict: Inspiring Change Through Visual And Physical Representations, Rachel Nayer

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis examines how art can support and stimulate personal and social change. It addresses the natural and ever-present existence of conflict and analyzes how using the body as a tool for communication can viscerally represent themes of disagreement and resolution. The work of Israeli choreographers Yasmeen Godder and Hillel Kogan are analyzed in a case study to explore different methods of choreographing conflict. Both works successfully, yet contrastingly, demonstrate how the body adds power and emotion to an idea. Parallel to the research component of this thesis is the original choreographed work, Ecotones. The creative method behind Ecotones …

The Racial Other’S Dancing Body In El Milagro De Anaquillé (1927): Avant-Garde Ballet And Ethnography Of Afro-Cuban Performance, Lester Tomé

Dance: Faculty Publications

El milagro de anaquillé (1927), a ballet project with libretto by Alejo Carpentier and music by Amadeo Roldán, originated at the intersection of avant-garde art, afrocubanismo, and ethnography. Inspired by the aesthetic experimentation of Les Ballets Russes and Les Ballets Suédois in Europe, Carpentier and Roldán adopted ballet as a vehicle for introducing avant-garde trends in Cuba. Their work referenced two revolutionary ballets: Rite of Spring and, more importantly, Parade. Seeking to restage an Abakuá ritual, their project illustrated the artistic output of afrocubanismo as well as the movement’s ethnographic approach to the study of black culture. The libretto, which …

[Introduction To] Writing And The Body In Motion: Awakening Voice Through Somatic Practice, Cheryl Pallant

Bookshelf

Based upon the author’s lifetime practices as a dancer, poet and teacher, this innovative approach to developing body awareness focuses on achieving self-discovery and well-being through movement, mindfulness and writing.

Written from a holistic (rather than dualistic) view of the mind-body duality, discussion and exercises draw on dance, psychology, neuroscience and meditation to guide personal exploration and creative expression.

Tracing Writer/Reader Identity In, And In Response To, Queer Latinx Autohistoria-Teorìa, Corrina Wells

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This project examines how diverse representation changes the discourse around queer latinx identities. This project extends theories of representation that show how a text changes the imaginary of the reader through a two-part methodology. First, through explicating Spit & Passion and A Cup of Water Under My Bed, this project examines how these texts construct a readers’ imaginary. Then, through a corresponding qualitative assessment on readers’ responses to the texts, this project identifies the extent to which the texts change the beliefs and understandings of a small group of students. Articulating an ecology of identity using the texts under examination, …

Full Cast And Crew Of The Musical 9 To 5, University Of North Florida

Musical Theatre Club and Swoop Troupe Theatre Corporation Performances

The full cast and crew of UNF's Musical Theater Club's production of 9 to 5 post for a picture on the stage.

National Dances Of The Nutcracker : A Study Of Racial, Cultural, And National Depictions In A Classical Ballet, Meredith Hunter-Mason

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Character development is a large component of ballet performance that is integrated into each rehearsal process leading up to the show. In this year’s production of The Nutcracker, I danced the role of Chinese Soloist. As I began my character development, I asked myself, “How does a Chinese girl dance?” When the question is asked about other roles, it is easy to respond; however, when the character is tied to a specific nationality it becomes much more difficult. Generalization and cultural misrepresentation become possible risks. Alastair Macaulay explains in his article Stereotypes in Toeshoes¸ “The ranks of ballet companies contain …

Two Actresses At The Fall Improv Show, University Of North Florida

Fall Improv Show

Two actresses pose for a selfie at the Fall Improv Show

Maureen Mccluskey And Cast Of 9 To 5, University Of North Florida

Musical Theatre Club and Swoop Troupe Theatre Corporation Performances

Adviser Maureen McCluskey with the three leads in UNF's Musical Theater Club's production of 9 to 5