Theatre and Performance Studies Commons^™

1990 - 1999: Examining How The Interstate Oratorical Contest Closed Out The 1900s, Judy Santacaterina, Harry Bodell, Jessica Bozeman

National Forensic Journal

This paper examines the top six speeches presented each year during the 1990s at the Interstate Oratorical Contest. Our purpose is to explore how these speeches reflected the political, social, economic and cultural climate of the time as well as the changes our discipline was experiencing in the final decade of the millennium.

“Fantastic Tricks Before High Heaven,” Measure For Measure And Performing Triads, Emily Bryan

English Faculty Publications

Reading Measure for Measure through the logic of substitution has been a long-standing critical tradition; the play seems to invite topical, political, and religious parallels at every turn. What if the logic of substitution in the play goes beyond exchange and seeks out a triadic logic instead? This insistent searching for the triad appears most notably in the performance of Measure for Measure by Cheek by Jowl (2013–2019). Cheek By Jowl’s strategies of touring, simplicity, movement, and liberation create a dynamic and ever-evolving performance. This article puts Cheek by Jowl’s performance of Measure for Measure in conversation with C.S. Peirce’s …

Direction Of The Play: The Importance Of Being Earnest, Sabrina Haesche

All Graduate Projects

The following documentation includes the conceptualization, research, implementation, and reflection of the entire production process of THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST in February 2020. The documentation includes both character and visual production research, historical context and significance, as well as the evaluation of the play as a vehicle for speaking to the community of Moses Lake.

Volume 37 - Editor's Note, Richard E. Paine, Emily M. Cramer

National Forensic Journal

No abstract provided.

The Inter-State Oratorical Contest In The 1800s: The Beginning Of Organized Collegiate Competitive Speaking, Lisa Roth

National Forensic Journal

The purpose of this article is to explore the beginnings of the Inter-State Oratorical Contest (IOC) and the Inter-State Oratorical Association (IOA) and to examine the characteristics of the Inter-State Oratorical speeches from 1874 to 1899. Through an analysis of the top two speeches from each of these years in regard to topic, evidence, organization, style, and delivery, I identify trends and strategies which appeared in competitive collegiate persuasive speaking in the late 1800s.

We Was Somebody, Kyle Rodgers, Abigail Kay, Md

Phase 1

As the number of people who inject drugs (PWID) in Philadelphia increases, more healthcare professionals find themselves treating patients suffering from IV drug addictions. Unfortunately, many of these busy healthcare professionals have little education on the biochemistry of addiction and obstacles between people who inject drugs (PWID) and their recovery. We Was Somebody, a fictional play inspired by the stories of PWID in Kensington, Philadelphia, aims to promote understanding and empathy for the complexity of addiction and ultimately improve the quality of healthcare provided to the human beings affected by it.

The content of the play comes from peer-reviewed …

Memories Made In Fabric, Alexa Lidskin

Whittier Scholars Program

This project consists of two elements: 1) the actual handmade articles of clothing that were created, and 2) the portfolio being presented. With respect to the former, four articles of clothing were made-- a coat, a dress, a pair of pants, and a top-- by hand and by myself over the period of 6 months. Speaking of the latter, the portfolio consists of inspiration images, my initial concept sketches, my final sketches, as well as images of the clothing throughout the stages of their creation. In terms of its development, I had to learn how to sew, along with other …

Addressing The Elephant On The Stage: Mental Health In Theatre Education, Alexandra M. Meridionale

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis examined the ways in which present-day 6^th through 12^th grade theatre educators approach the topic of mental health, both implicitly and explicitly, in theatre education. Through a survey of existing literature, as well as interviews with 6^th through 12^th grade theatre educators, the researcher examined ways in which theatre educators were aware of the mental health needs of their students in any of the following capacities: explicit discussions regarding mental health, theatre curriculum, show selection, script analysis, and casting choices.

The reveal the educator perception that mental health issues are increasingly relevant to 6 …

Gender Disparity Of Women In Theatre Design, Madison M. Valesky

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The question of why there is gender disparity in the field of theatre design continues to be an issue that has been widely debated in the field of theatre; scholars such as Tish Dace argue that workplace environments and family support are two of the main reason women leave the field of design. However, there are works, articles, arguments and perspectives that have not been adequately addressed regarding why the issue of why gender disparity in theatrical design still exists. My thesis addresses the issue of gender disparity in theatre design with special attention to the underlying issues that exists. …

"Becoming-Pite: An Application Of Deleuzian Theory To Crystal Pite’S Choreography, Kyra Laubacher

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Art destabilizes the human, rupturing the concept of the individual as primary universal organizer. The artist recognizes infinite potential in the virtual as expressed through intensity, something semantically inarticulable but nonetheless accessible via artistic production. Chrystal Pite, contemporary dance choreographer, is one such artist in whose creations the workings of affect make themselves perceptibly clear. We may turn to poststructuralist philosopher Gilles Deleuze and his theories of multiplicity, repetition, and nomadism in order to further understand the work that she has put forth. Pite, through art and affect, reminds us of the human condition of the de-centered individual, and Deleuze’s …

Beasts Media Release, Talia Triangolo

Playbill and Promotions

Providence College Department of Theatre, Dance & Film

Beasts media release

January 2020

De-Orientalizing Classical Ballet In The Twenty-First Century, Pamela Gendron

MA Theses

The objective of this thesis is to examine the efficacy of strategies used to de-Orientalize canonical ballets. Of particular interest are contemporary productions of The Nutcracker, La Bayadère and Giselle. Through close readings of digitized performances, I explore the ways in which the best practices for presenting non-offensive stereotypes put forth by community leader Final Bow for Yellowface reinforce the conservative impulse of ballet rather than inspire radical change. I present an alternative option for renegotiating racial stereot��pes in ballet through Akram Khan��s commissions for the English National Ballet, situating his ��ork ��ithin Anurima Banerji��s concept of partatopic performance.

My Hall. A Stage Play And My Hall: Excavating, Shaping And Sharing The Memory Of Hale School’S Memorial Hall Through A Site-Specific, Staged Performance. An Exegesis, Julia Jarel

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis provides a case study which investigates the notion that a building which is historically and architecturally significant to a community holds that community’s memories within its walls. It argues that, in collaboration with the members of that community, these memories can be excavated, revealed and woven together to form a piece of site-specific theatre which can then be performed by and for those community members. It proposes that this intergenerational, creative collaboration may enhance the community members’ understanding and appreciation of the significance of the building, its place in the community and their place within it.

The site …

A Study On Performing The Hungarian Rhapsodies In The Liszt Tradition, Nicholas Mark Williams

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Franz Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsodies (1851, 1853) have long been among the most popular collections of piano music. They have also long garnered a reputation for “superficial brilliance and effect” which seems to have influenced the way that famous pianists play the works in public. But would a performer immersed in the Liszt tradition have approached them differently? This dissertation aims to promote a re-evaluation of the Hungarian Rhapsodies from this perspective: considering Liszt’s own ideas on music and performance, the writings and recordings of his pupils, and Liszt’s book Des Bohémiens et de leur musique en Hongrie (1859).

William W. French. Maryat Lee's Ecotheater: A Theater For The Twenty-First Century (Book Review), Carole K. Harris

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Transforming Trauma: Performing The Works Of William Shakespeare As Rehabilitation For Incarcerated Individuals, Elyssa Mersdorf

Theses and Dissertations

This paper is the summation of my research and exploration into the history, social ramifications, and individual psychological impact of incarceration and the use of theatre as a vehicle of rehabilitation. Throughout my studies, I encountered evidence in the forms of personal accounts from theatre practitioners, scholarly articles, inmate testimonials, and historical journals regarding the success of such carceral theatre programs in the reformation of the prisoners they serve. How have past prison procedures and strategies hindered or helped inmates in their preparation for their transition from life in a penitentiary to reintroduction into larger society? What are the financial …

V.1 Winter 2020, Center For Arts & Language, Students Of Risd, Risd Archives

All Student Newspapers

v.1 is a publishing platform for the ongoing work, ideas, discussions, debates, and aspirations of students at the Rhode Island School of Design. The Winter 2020 issue contains articles on cultural touchstones, family memories, reality tv in paradise, and cultural artifacts in Italy, along with student creative writing.

Theodramatic Themes And Showtime In Nassim Soleimanpour’S White Rabbit Red Rabbit, Charles A. Gillespie

Catholic Studies Faculty Publications

This essay engages the experimental playwright Nassim Soleimanpour’s White Rabbit Red Rabbit alongside the theological dramatic theory of Hans Urs von Balthasar. Every Soleimanpour play can only happen once. Actors receive the script as they begin the show; any given actor must perform Soleimanpour’s drama as a cold reading unique in history. I propose “Showtime” to theorize this theatrical temporality, exemplified by White Rabbit Red Rabbit and shared by von Balthasar’s theology, on analogy to stage space. This article further examines the play’s themes of identity, self-sacrifice, free obedience, and writing about time through a “theodramatic structural analysis” keyed to …

The Specificity Behind The Sparkle: The In’S And Out’S Of Disney Choreography And Park Productions, Laura Theisen

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

The Walt Disney Company has revolutionized the use of choreography and dance in commercial settings to showcase the value, talent, and passion of the dancer while impacting and inspiring their guests. This has led to the development of their signature style felt throughout all of their productions. Dance is vital to the Disney aesthetic as they use the art form to illuminate the “Magic.” People have very high expectations for the Disney brand, especially the theme parks. To make sure that the Disney quality is upheld they utilize their foundational rules and promote their trademark style. The creative teams ensure …

Sites Of Performance And Circulation, Christopher B. Swift

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Direction And Technical Supervision Of "By The Water", Brian Mcmanimon

All Graduate Projects

This project documents the conceptualization, research, implementation and reflection of the production process of By the Water at Wellesley High School from October 2018 through January 2019 by Brian McManimon and the students involved in By the Water. The document includes character and visual production research, historical context and significance, and the evaluation of the play as a vehicle for speaking to larger social issues beyond the local community, as well as documentation of the production period and post-production evaluation.

Is It Okay To Laugh?, Olivia Brier Brown

Whittier Scholars Program

The entirety of my senior project was a forty five minute stand up comedy show which took place on November 20, 2019 and a paper. The paper, which you will soon read, is a thorough analysis of jokes I told during my stand-up show. In this paper I break down the most controversial jokes I told, why I told them and why they weren’t just funny but socially acceptable. As a comic and a storyteller I only feel that it is right to always be respectful and politically correct to all groups in our society, whether I am included in …

Ama: A Short Experimental Film Understanding Deaf Anxiety And Personal Identity With Hearing Loss, Amanda Hessey

Whittier Scholars Program

Ama, is an experimental short film, that is created to educate the audience about the hardships of being deaf and hard of hearing. This artistic piece touches base on deaf anxiety, where a person is easily overwhelmed and triggered in a loud situation. A deaf or a hearing impaired person has to work much harder in a hearing world to be able to survive. These people work hard by piecing together words by words to make sense of it, especially in a busy environment or during a standard two-way conversation. It can be overwhelming stimulation in a social setting, and …

Performing The 2nd Witch’S Character In Macbeth, Martha Juliana Cubillos Caceres

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 Martha Juliana Cubillos Caceres’s artistic process in creating and performing the role of the 2nd Witch in Minnesota State University, Mankato’s production of Macbeth in the spring of 2019. The thesis records 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.

Directing Nocturne, Trevor Belt

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 Directing. It is a detailed account of author Trevor Belt’s artistic process in directing Nocturne as a part of Minnesota State University, Mankato’s studio theatre season in the fall of 2019. The thesis chronicles the director’s artistic process from pre-production through performances in five chapters: a preproduction analysis, an historical and critical perspective, a rehearsal and performance journal, a post-production analysis and a process development analysis. Appendices and works cited are included.

There Is Somebody There: Directing 'Cloud 9', Seth M. Honerman

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This document is a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the Masters of Fine Arts degree in Theatre Arts at Minnesota State University, Mankato. It is a detailed account of Seth M. Honerman’s directorial process for Cloud 9 by Caryl Churchill. The play was produced in the Andreas Theatre and ran from September 18 to 21, 2019. The thesis chronicles the director’s artistic process from pre-production through performance in five chapters: a pre-production analysis, an historical and critical perspective, a rehearsal and performance journal, a post-production analysis and a process development analysis. Appendices and works cited are included.

Lady Macbeth And Queen Gertrude, Missy V. Maramara

Fine Arts Department Faculty Publications

A collection of essays which were originally meant for Dulaang Sibol''s 50th anniversary... There is a lot in this collection about the Sibol classics -- Sa Kaharian ng Araw, Adarna, and of course, Sinta! -- and reading first-hand accounts of how some of these and other plays came to be written is a special treat. But Sibol has never been just about the stage performances or the songs, beautiful as they all are. Many of the writers here insist that in Sibol, unlike in Hamlet, the play''s not the thing, the person is.

The Nightingale Revisited : Adapting H.C. Andersen's Fairy Tale The Nightingale For Theatre For Young Audiences, Alyssa Fox

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Hans Christian Andersen has been intriguing audiences with his works for ages. These tales are enduring and being reimagined in many different ways today. To explore not only the power of these tales, but the power of theater as a visual storytelling medium, the author has adapted Andersen’s The Nightingale as a play for theatre for young audiences (TYA). This work incorporates not only adaptation theory, but the history of fairy tales, current culture, and trends in TYA in the United States.

Volume 37 - Full Volume, Nfa Journal

National Forensic Journal

No abstract provided.

Noire Pixe Dust: The (Royal) Power Of Black Validation Through Imagination/Actualization, Daphne Marcelle Lee

Dance (MFA) Theses

I am creating a world, a futuristic world that imagines all Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) as royalty. Please note that I understand the very concept of royalty is a construct and reflects images of power, hierarchy, and capitalistic rhetoric and, also, not exclusive to a European monarchy alone. I am revising and reclaiming these concepts as superpowers for the world's women of color to redirect and embody them as metaphors and tools to inspire, uplift and carry us through life. I also want to acknowledge the many cultures with different standards of royal practice and ways of being. …