Theatre and Performance Studies Commons^™

Much Ado About Nothing, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2015-2016 Season

The friends include Don Pedro, a prince who is a close friend of Leonato, and two fellow soldiers: Claudio, a well-respected young nobleman, and Benedick, a clever man who constantly makes witty jokes, often at the expense of his friends. Don John, Don Pedro's illegitimate brother, is part of the crowd as well. https://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/muchado/summary/

Rent, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2015-2016 Season

This musical, set at the dawn of the 1990s, follows a group of New Yorkers as they struggle with their careers, love lives and the effects of the AIDS epidemic on their community. Mark,an aspiring filmmaker, and Roger (Adam Pascal), an HIV-positive musician, scramble for money to pay rent to their landlord and former roommate, Benny (Taye Diggs). Meanwhile, their friend Tom (Jesse L. Martin), a professor, has fallen for Angel (Wilson Jermaine Heredia), who is slowly dying of AIDS. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0294870/plotsummary

2015 - 2016 Season Brochure, Otterbein University Department Of Theatre And Dance

Theatre and Dance Annual Brochures

Annual promotional piece of the upcoming season's shows.

Into The Woods, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2014-2015 Season

Into the Woods is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Griimm and Charles Perrault fairy tales, exploring the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests. The main characters are taken from "Little Red Riding Hood,", "Jack and the Beanstalk", "Rapunzel", and "Cinderella", as well as several others. The musical is tied together by a story involving a childless baker and his wife and their quest to begin a family (the original beginning of The Grimm Brothers' Rapunzel), their interaction with a witch who has …

The Greeks: The Murders, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2014-2015 Season

No abstract provided.

Cries From Within: The Struggles And Triumphs Of Creating A Singaporean Voice In Musical Theatre, Caleb Goh

Theses

This research explores the plausibility of replicating a Broadway-type musical theatre industry in Asia. What would it take to establish a similar standard of musical theatre in an Asian country? With the problem being a lack of Asian representation in the genre, my aim has unashamedly been to see whether it was possible to increase the visibility of Asian musical theatre in form and content, with greater representation for makers and audience. By exploring the viability of creating a strong musical theatre platform in Asia, this research aimed to empower student/emerging Asian performers in believing that the dominant paradigm of …

Sweet Charity, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2014-2015 Season

Charity Hope Valentine always tries to look on the bright side of life, despite working in a rundown dance hall and contending with a seemingly endless run of bad dates. Determined to find love, Charity falls for suave actor Vittorio Vidal, but their romance is all too brief. However, when Charity finds herself stuck in an elevator with the reserved Oscar Lindquist, it turns out that she may have finally met her match.

2014 - 2015 Season Brochure, Otterbein University Department Of Theatre And Dance

Theatre and Dance Annual Brochures

Annual promotional piece of the upcoming season's shows.

The Full Monty, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2013-2014 Season

Six unemployed steelworkers in Buffalo, New York are miserable. They have no cash and no prospects. Meanwhile, they catch their wives and other women going crazy over male strippers. The six men then set out to make some quick cash showing off their "real man" bodies by becoming a team of male strippers. As the guys work through their fears, self-consciousness and anxieties they find strength as a group and overcome their inner demons.

https://stageagent.com/shows/musical/2441/the-full-monty

The Importance Of Being Earnest (2014), Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2013-2014 Season

The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is a play by Oscar Wilde. It's the story of two bachelors, John 'Jack' Worthing and Algernon 'Algy' Moncrieff, who create alter egos named Ernest to escape their tiresome lives. www.importanceofbeingearnest.co.uk/synopsis/

Vicarious Villainy: A Critical Literary Analysis Of Sympathetic Villainy In American Musical Theatre, Mary Christopher Grogan

Theses and Dissertations--Theatre and Dance

A disproportionate amount of research into musical theatre focuses on the positive and accessible nature of the books and librettos. Very little, if any, research into musical theatre explores its darker side, specifically the considerable amount of villainy (i.e., traditionally immoral and/or criminal behavior) practiced by some of its protagonists. Moreover, it is important to note that several of the most popular musicals contain villainous characters, and that many of these characters are highly popular and even sympathetic (i.e., understandable, pitiable, and deserving of compassion) to audiences. Therefore, this thesis explores sympathetic villainous personalities in popular American musicals, focusing on …

Dance 2013: Once Again, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2013-2014 Season

No abstract provided.

Speed-The-Plow, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2013-2014 Season

Speed-the-Plow is another of Mamet's business plays, this one exploring the relationship between business and art. Bobby and Charlie are film producers who are considering greenlighting the script for a prison buddy movie that they believe will be a huge blockbuster. Bobby has been reading an apocalyptically spiritual novel that has deep meaning, but Charlie points out that this book would never make a great movie. After the temp, Karen, leaves the office, Charlie bets Bobby that he cannot get her into bed. When she returns, Bobby asks her to read the novel and give him her thoughts later. That …

Les Misérables, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2013-2014 Season

One of the world’s most iconic and longest-running musicals, Les Misérablestells the story of Jean Valjean, a former convict who spends a lifetime seeking redemption. Set against the backdrop of 19th-century France and the aftermath of the French Revolution, this timeless story of intertwined destinies reveals the power of compassion and the quiet evil of indifference to human suffering. As Valjean’s quest for a new life carries him into Paris and to the barricades of the Student Revolution, he is hunted by Inspector Javert and the ghosts of his past. Amidst a battle for the soul of Paris, he …

How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2012-2013 Season

No abstract provided.

Singing For The Actor: An Interdisciplinary Approach To Musical Theatre Training, Valerie Accetta

Theses and Dissertations

Typically, singing training for the musical theatre student is divided into three subjects: music theory, private voice instruction and acting through song. By separating the study of the components of musical theatre performance, musical theatre programs reinforce this compartmentalization and few students are able to make connections between these components in performance. This thesis gives an account of my design of an interdisciplinary approach to the study of musical theatre, specifically a class I developed called Singing for the Actor. In this class, I focused on connecting three components of musical theatre singing: music theory, vocal production (specifically the Estill …

After The Fall, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2012-2013 Season

In the early stages of a new love, paralyzing memories of past relationships haunt Quentin, a liberal New York attorney who questions his own ability to truly connect with the women in his life. Arthur Miller’s most personal and autobiographical play, After the Fall, unflinchingly tackles the emotional brutality that can unfold within a marriage, against a national backdrop of McCarthyism and the commodification of celebrity. In doing so, Miller unravels the political complications in personal relationships while exposing the personal consequences of big-issue politics.

https://stageagent.com/shows/play/5665/after-the-fall

Spring Awakening, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2012-2013 Season

Based on Frank Wedekind’s groundbreaking and controversial play (once banned in Germany), Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik’s brilliant rock score and searingly emotional book take the story of sexual awakening, youth revolt, and self-discovery into a new century. It’s 1891, and grown-ups hold all the cards. Headstrong Melchior and naive Wendla stumble into each others’ arms, passionate and curious, while anxious Moritz struggles to live up to the stringent expectations of society. With only each other for guidance, this group of young men and women travel the fraught and rocky path of adolescence, discovering their bodies, their minds, and themselves …

Noises Off, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2012-2013 Season

Michael Frayn's Noises Off takes a fond look at the follies of theatre folk, whose susceptibility to out-of-control egos, memory loss, and passionate affairs turn every performance into a high-risk adventure. This play-within-a-play captures a touring theatre troupe’s production of Nothing On in three stages: dress rehearsal, the opening performance, and a performance towards the end of a debilitating run. Frayne gives us a window into the inner workings of theatre behind the scenes, progressing from flubbed lines and missed cues in the dress rehearsal to mounting friction between cast members in the final performance. Brimming with slapstick comedy, Noises …

Dance 2012: Spotlight, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2011-2012 Season

No abstract provided.

Carnival!, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2011-2012 Season

Lili, a lonely orphan, is enchanted with a traveling carnival troupe. She finally gets to join the troupe and ends up working with the puppet act. Meanwhile, both the puppeteer, Paul, and the magician, Marco the Magnificent, have fallen in love with Lili. The two men engage in a fierce rivalry for Lili’s affections. In the end, Lili chooses Paul and they live happily ever after.

https://stageagent.com/shows/musical/2440/carnival

August: Osage County, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2011-2012 Season

Winner of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award for Best New Play, August: Osage County centers around the Weston family, brought together after their patriarch, world-class poet and alcoholic Beverly Weston, disappears. The matriarch, Violet, depressed and addicted to pain pills and “truth-telling,” is joined by her three daughters and their problematic lovers, who harbor their own deep secrets, her sister Mattie Fae and her family, well-trained in the Weston family art of cruelty, and finally, the observer of the chaos, the young Cheyenne housekeeper Johnna, who was hired by Beverly just before his disappearance. Holed up in the …

Lessons From Gilead: Producing A Student-Directed Musical At Western Kentucky University, Stephen G. Tabor

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

In recent years there has been a surge of interest in directing musical theatre in the Department of Theatre and Dance at Western Kentucky University. Western’s theatre department offers three directing classes and three musical theatre classes, but no class that teaches how to direct musical theatre. The Musical Theatre History and Repertoire class, however, provides students with the opportunity to present half-hour summaries of musicals, in order to experience the process of succinctly telling a story with scenes and songs. It is because of this class that I and many other students have taken an interest in the art …

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 …

Dance 2011: Trip The Light Fantastic, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2010-2011 Season

No abstract provided.

A Doll's House, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2010-2011 Season

Ibsen's A Doll's House is a revolutionary classic. The play was integral in establishing realism as a theatrical form, and continues to be a provocative portrayal of a woman suffering in a man's world.

https://stageagent.com/shows/play/2344/a-dolls-house

Born Yesterday, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2010-2011 Season

In Garson Kanin’s pointed and hilarious Born Yesterday, personal and political oppression is exposed and outwitted in the intellectual rebirth of the iconic “dumb blonde”, Billie Dawn, who ultimately stands up to Harry Brock’s violent intimidation and shuts down his shady bid for governmental cooperation. https://stageagent.com/shows/play/4838/born-yesterday

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 …

2010 - 2011 Season Brochure, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

Theatre and Dance Annual Brochures

Annual promotional piece of the upcoming season's shows.

Pippin, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2009-2010 Season

As told by a traveling troupe of actors led by the cunning and charming Leading Player, Pippin is the story of a young prince, heir to the throne, who is searching for his own “corner of the sky.” Pippin returns from university certain that he will find a fulfilling purpose in life. As encouraged by the Leading Player, Pippin dabbles in bloody battle, licentious and lusty sexual entanglements, and saavy political maneuvers, only to discover that true happiness is more complicated than he thought. With infectious tunes by Stephen Schwartz and classic choreography from Bob Fosse, Pippin is both …