Theatre and Performance Studies Commons^™

Hysteria, Fear, And/Or Delight, Alessandra Ferrari-Wong

Bachelor of Fine Arts Senior Papers

My Bachelor of Fine Arts thesis statement, Hysteria, Fear, and/or Delight, establishes the forms and concepts of my art practice as it stands as of May, 2020: performance-based and interdisciplinary. My practice implies narrative while acknowledging the audience. Physical language, in both dance and gesture, can be a means of communication or subversion. Pieces exist as ephemeral, often private, performances and then separately in archival forms ranging from video, to photography, to installation. The body of the statement details my thesis project, a remaking of Giselle, a 19th century Romantic-era ballet, into a performance series and video trilogy. …

Critical Veganism: A Posthuman Understanding Of ‘Becoming With’ Others, Kensey Dressler

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

This thesis lays the groundwork for a critical vegan orientation to posthuman communication research. Critical veganism attempts to do the least amount of harm to nonhuman beings, a shift that decenters the human in scholarship and focuses on the material realities of nonhuman beings. This orientation helps create a praxis for posthuman research that is in line with a new materialist approach to ontology, is anti-capitalist, and strives to do the least harm. Previous research methods tend to be anthropocentric in nature, thus leaving out nonhuman experiences from communication research. Using both autoethnography and multi-species ethnography as my methods, I …

Putting It Together: Musical Theatre As An Academic Discipline, Madison Finney

Honors College Theses

Musical Theatre is an art form that integrates singing, acting, dancing, and production for the purposes of storytelling. It is an artistic field that is extremely interdisciplinary, and it draws upon many different areas of knowledge for performance and education. Additionally, Musical Theatre has evolved into a viable academic field of study. It incorporates artistry and academic analysis as a way to enhance performance and higher education. This paper will use Practice as Research theory, creativity theory, and disciplinary discourse theory to explore the ways Musical Theatre successfully functions as an art form and an academic discipline.

Peter And The Starcatcher: Creating The Character Of Peter Pan Via Rehearsal, Script Analysis, And Personal Journals, Delaney Jackson

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Theatre, as an art, does an incredible job at making stage life look as organic as the lives we lead on a daily basis. That’s thanks in part to a methodical rehearsal process that the public rarely has a chance to see.

My goal with this creative project was to give the general public an opportunity to join myself and the rest of the cast of UNO’s Peter and the Starcatcher on a journey through our rehearsal process via journal keeping and character analysis before presenting the show on April 15, 2020.

Unfortunately, we had to give a painful goodbye …

“More Beautiful Than God!”: Hair And Makeup Design For Eugene O’Neill’S Ah, Wilderness, Jackson L. Jones

Honors Theses

This thesis follows an undergraduate theatre designer’s process of designing and realizing hair and makeup for the University of Southern Mississippi’s Spring 2020 production of Eugene O’Neill’s Ah, Wilderness! The student conducted a thorough script analysis, researched Edwardian style and society, and collaborated with the production’s artistic team to produce effective hair and makeup designs and fulfill practicum requirements.

The Legend Of Georgia Mcbride: Change In Light Of Passion, Bryce Bassett

Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film: Theses, Student Research, and Creative Work

This thesis describes the research and production processes of the lighting design for the play, The Legend of Georgia McBride by Matthew Lopez, performed in the Johnny Carson Theatre at the Lied Center for Performing Arts from October 2^nd through October 13^th, 2019. The play was directed by guest artist Steve Scott with scenic design by Marty Wolff, costumes by Rebecca Armstrong, sound design by Jeff O’Brien, technical direction provided by Austin Elledge, and master electrician Joshua Mullady.

This thesis contains the entire lighting process including the initial meetings, research, conceptualization, technical rehearsals, critical response, paperwork, and …

The Glass Menagerie: Lighting Design Analysis And Reflection, Adam Jezl-Sikorski

Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film: Theses, Student Research, and Creative Work

The Nebraska Repertory Theatre, in partnership with the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, designated Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie as its second production for the 2019-2020 season. The production began previews on Wednesday, November 06, opened Friday, November 08, and ended their run on Sunday, November 17, 2019. As the lighting designer for this production, it was my responsibility to provide the master electrician with the plans and paperwork necessary to physically realize my artist vision. This included a drawn-to-scale light plot, channel hookup, and instrument schedule denoting the placement of lighting equipment …

The Gambler's Son: A Scenic Design, Jill S. Hibbard

Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film: Theses, Student Research, and Creative Work

The purpose of this thesis is to provide research, supporting paperwork, production photographs, and other materials that document the scenic design for the University of Nebraska, Glenn Korff School of Music opera premiere production of The Gambler’s Son by Tyler Goodrich White. This thesis contains the following: research images indicating an artist’s studio, historical Cozad, Nebraska photos, selected Robert Henri paintings and sketches, shapes, and forms; preliminary sketches and photographs of the ¼” scale model; a full set of drafting plates, projections design, paint samples, a props reference book; paperwork generated during the rehearsal process; and additional touring information. Archival …

An Actor's Process In Bridging The Gap Between First-Generation And Multi-Generational African-American Identities., Mutiyat Ade-Salu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis reflects my process assimilating into the role of Chelle in the production of Detroit '67 at the University of Louisville. Although there have been instances of actors crossing lines of gender, nationality, race, and even sexuality, to perform roles in contemporary theatre, discussion about generational differences is almost non-existent. Through historical research, first-hand interviews, and conventional acting methods, I explore the world of my role, searching for spirituality, authenticity, and identity. Additionally, I explain my use of The WAY Method ®, a process I began creating in 2014 to help actors be clear with who they are before …

The Green Poem: An Original Play In Two Acts, Emily Arancio

College Honors Program

An original play in poetic dialogue based on the philosophy of Lucretius.

The Child Dreams: An Examination Of Gil Shohat’S Adaptation Of Hanoch Levin’S Play, Karin Hochman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

On January 18, 2010, Gil Shohat's operatic adaptation of Hanoch Levin's 1993 play, The Child Dreams, had its world premiere at the Israeli Opera. The opera was commissioned for the opening of that company's twenty-fifth season. Levin's play holds a central place in Israeli culture; given the play's stature, Shohat's musical work raises a number of essential questions about adaptations and their consequent reception. This document will examine the critical perception of the effort: did the critics reviewing the production understand Shohat's intentions and did they "read" the work in the same way that he did?

We possess a wealth …

Managing Cosplay Performance: The Forms And Expectations Of Convention Roleplay, Isaac V. Price

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Costume play (i.e. cosplay) is a performance of fandom rife with rituals and communication practices. Cosplay roleplaying performances are cultural practices that reveal how cosplayers interact with one another and among non-cosplaying members of their fandoms. This study examines the expectations that cosplayers hold for roleplay, the forms of roleplay, and the ways in which roleplay can become an instigator of harassment. Through the lens of Face-Negotiation Theory, the author discusses how roleplay functions to maintain or threaten the public images of cosplayers and their audiences, and what strategies cosplayers implement to avoid the loss of face.

A Poetic Ethnodrama: Discussing The Impact Of The Pressure To Publish On Creative Writers' Production, Abby N. Lewis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the presence of the pressure to publish while in college as an undergraduate or graduate student, and the impact that pressure has on students’ ability to produce creative work. After interviewing participants, the researcher created an ethnodrama to best represent participants’ emotions and unique experiences with publishing while in school. An examination of the literature reveals that master’s-level students are often overlooked in scholarly research on the subject of publishing. This study uses a qualitative research method to identify key emotional experiences from students at the master’s and undergraduate level in the hopes of providing a platform …

Staying In The Moment: Acting Methods Through Video For The Novice And Veteran Actor, Cortland D. Ellis

Theses and Dissertations

High school is a great place to start acting and learn about theatre, but it can also be a place where actors develop substandard practices. Nevertheless, there are several acting methods that can be used to combat these habits. By delivering videos that focus on these techniques and are tailored to both young and seasoned actors, actors can obtain a better understanding of acting and can be more well-equipped as they approach their work. In order to create these videos, research into the different acting methods and their respective creators was conducted. The information gained from this inquiry was then …

Good Grief: An Analysis Of The Character Development Of Tonya In August Wilson’S King Hedley Ii Through The Lens Of “The Five Stages Of Grief”., Kala Ross

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

An actor who is portraying a grieving character can also grieve simultaneously about the character’s given circumstances, which affects the character development and mental health of the actor. This thesis assesses how the character Tonya, in August Wilson’s King Hedley II, engages with grief as an African American woman and offers a process for the actor to engage and disengage with loss. “Good Grief” will unpack Constantin Stanislavski’s system of acting, focusing on the Magic “If” and the given circumstances, while also introducing the “Five Stages of Grief” coined by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. Through the scholarship of theatre practitioners and psychologists …

Hotel De Vagabundos: Reviewing African American Theatre Journey., Manuel Francisco Viveros

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This analysis examines how Hotel de Vagabundos, a play written by a black playwright from Colombia, fits into the core of definitions of Black Theatre in the United States. I will examine six documents I consider relevant to shape the idea of Black Theatre in the US from 1900 through 2005. The author's experience in New York during the 1940s inspires Hotel de Vagabundos. The author navigates the globalized ethos idea unleashing clashes about identity to criticize aspects of American culture about immigrants, poor people, and internalized racism within African American and Black diasporic communities. The play “like a …

Company Management For Dance Space ‘19: A Background And Documentation, Devin Mcmahon

Honors College Theses

The position of Company Manager for Pace School of Performing Arts productions was created for the Fall 2019 semester. I had the privilege of being the Company Manager for the first production of the fall, To Clothe the Naked , and then was asked to fill the role again for the final show of the semester, dance sPace ‘19 . I was excited for this opportunity, as it allowed me to take what I had learned and what had been perfected about the duties of the position and put it into my final show at Pace. Throughout the process, my …

The Musical Style And The Cultural Connotation Of Bright Sheng's Opera 'Dream Of The Red Chamber', Xirui Huang

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

When people speak about the book Dream of the Red Chamber, their hearts soften. This novel is one of the Four Great Classical Novels in China, and the best-known one. Commissioned by the former director of San Francisco Opera David Gockley, the composer Bright Sheng and the librettist David Henry Hwang adopted the novel into the opera version of Dream of the Red Chamber. Since it premiered at San Francisco Opera house in September of 2016, there is no doubt that the opera was aimed for the Western opera audiences. The original book Dream of the Red Chamber is a …

The Magic Circle: An Essential Experience Through Virtual Theatre, Brandon Roye

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the similarities of video game design elements within the world of theatrical scenic design. Using my 2019 scenic design of Marc Camoletti’s bedroom farce Boeing Boeing as the backdrop, I discuss the core concepts of game design. I then describe the scenic process of the production and the journey from concept all the way through to a virtual reality recreation of the design. The study of game design in theatre has the potential to open a wide new world of opportunities in the scenic design industry. This paper examines how the theatre can benefit from game design …

Flaws In My Father | Better Engaging With Trauma, Grief, Loss, And Pain Through Storytelling., Neil Fontano

Theatre & Dance ETDs

In this essay, I will review my playwriting methodology and growth as an artist during my time as a Dramatic Writing Candidate at the University of New Mexico. I will begin by examining my personal narrative and the initial impulse to apply for and accept a position in the Dramatic Writing Program. I will continue by dissecting my own writing methodology and its numerous influences: a sense of place, character, and time. Further, I will give an explanation of and demonstrate my own methods developed during my second year work on “Thelonius | My Brother’s Keeper.” In addition to academic …

Designing Theatre Lighting For New Works Festival 2020, Bridger P. Caicedo

Honors Thesis

Lighting Design encompasses a major part of the theatre experience and this responsibility must not be taken lightly. It requires extensive preparation, expertise, technological expertise, and quite a bit of creativity. I have since experienced most of this process and learned an incredible amount about how to design a show. Over the course of this project, I outlined goals and mile markers to measure my progress until the project was completed and opening night filled the eyes and hearts of the audience. Unfortunately, this progress was harshly and quickly halted by the emergence of the worst global pandemic in almost …

Why I Write In Yiddish, Karen Alkalay-Gut

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

No abstract provided.

“The Poem Is What Lies Between A Between”: Mahmoud Darwish And The Prosody Of Displacement, Ayelet Even-Nur

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish grew up in Israel as an internal refugee living under Israeli military rule, legally classified as a “present-absentee alien.” This article focuses on his 1995 volume of poetry, Limādhā tarakta al-ḥiṣān waḥīdan? (Why Did You Leave the Horse Alone?), to study the manner in which Darwish’s cultivation of the musical and aural aspects of poetry serves as a means of poetically attending to the effects of dispossession and displacement. Through a discussion of the poems in the collection’s fourth section, Ghurfa l’il kalām maʿ al-nafs (A Room to Talk to Oneself …

Poetry In Response To The “Disengagement Plan”: Identity, Poetics And Politics, Tamar Wolf-Monzon

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

This article will examine the corpus of poems written in the years 2004-2005, in response to the Israeli government’s Disengagement plan that unilaterally evacuated all Israeli communities from Gush Katif in the southern Gaza Strip. These poems are explored as a political speech act, whose purpose is to bring about an extra-linguistic outcome: to impact upon the feelings and thoughts of the addressees, as well as to influence them in relation to issues of identity and social affiliation. Indeed, these poems are part of a long and complex tradition of Hebrew political poetry, characterized not only by a response to …

A Review Of Joanna Wharton, Material Enlightenment: Women Writers And The Science Of The Mind, 1770–1830, Kandice Sharren

ABO: Interactive Journal for Women in the Arts, 1640–1830

A Review of Joanna Wharton, Material Enlightenment: Women Writers and the Science of the Mind, 1770–1830, by Kandice Sharren

Review Of Women’S Periodicals And Print Culture In Britain, 1690–1820s: The Long Eighteenth Century, Lisa Maruca

ABO: Interactive Journal for Women in the Arts, 1640–1830

Review of Women’s Periodicals and Print Culture in Britain

Review Of Deborah Boyle, The Well-Ordered Universe The Philosophy Of Margaret Cavendish, Dustin D. Stewart

ABO: Interactive Journal for Women in the Arts, 1640–1830

A review of Deborah Boyle's book The Well-Ordered Universe (2018), by Dustin D. Stewart.

Revolutionary Artistry-- Brecht, Marx, And The Evolution Of Epic Theatre, Wyatt Anderson

Honors Capstone Projects

Playwrights have long drawn inspiration from a variety of muses in order to flesh out their works. The use of art and literature to critique society presents one such example, especially with regard to theatre when it critiques politics and human nature. In the case of German playwright Bertolt Brecht, one cannot fully understand his plays and the concept of epic theatre without looking at the influence of Marxism in his work. Indeed, it permeates his work through the years, with Brecht’s understanding of Marx’s writings evolving with clarity in his later works. Through sampling a variety of plays from …

Ursinus Dance Program: American College Dance Association Conference, March 4-7, 2020, Kevin Harris Ii, Chelsea Stitt

Theater and Dance Presentations

Ten students and two faculty members of the UC Dance Program attended the Mid-Atlantic North regional conference of the American College Dance Association (ACDA) from March 4-7, 2020, at the University of Maryland, at College Park, MD. While at the conference, students performed in two dance works, participated in dance classes, and networked with dancers in peer institutions. A highlight of the event was the selection of Visiting Dance Professor Bailey Anderson’s dance, Ridiculous Rigor: Past, Present, and Possible, for the Gala performance. Included in this document are descriptions of the Student Achievement in Research and Creativity Committee Grants awarded …

Shattered Dolls: An Examination Of Authorship And The Boundaries Of Female Asian Stereotypes In Western Theatrical Literature And Film, Maya Mcgowan

Honors Projects

On March 15, 2018, an event called “Orientalism and the Portrayal of Asian Americans in Musicals,” co-hosted by Center Theatre Group and East West Players, brought to light questions involving misrepresentation of Asian Americans in theatrical literature. At the root of their argument was the idea that American playwrights had created stereotypical caricatures about the Asian and Asian American communities and thus were mistelling their stories. Through my research and a cumulative performance, I have found that authorship is the primary method for combating stereotypes within the theatre. In this paper, I will focus on the importance of authorship and …