Theatre and Performance Studies Commons^™

A Method To The Madness: My Quest For A New System Of Acting, Michael Osinski

The Theatre School MFA in Directing Theses

How does one get actors to embrace work and imbue it with the same truth they bring to realistic theatre and how does one prevent them from turning into robots performing meaningless gestures? How does one work in experimental ways while still giving actors something human to hang onto? This thesis will examine a new system of acting to embrace the demands of the work and explore how to articulate and collaborate with actors to create the work.

Humble Me: Increasing Awareness Of Ethnocentrism And Of The Need For Ethnorelativism Through A Spoken Word Performance Event, Corinne H. Sherman

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

Teaching Willmore, James Evans

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

Teaching Aphra Behn’s The Rover for nearly four decades, I have witnessed a considerable shift in students’ attitudes toward the play, especially toward Willmore. More positive about his character in the 1970s and 1980s, they have had a much more negative assessment since then. The only available video version, the Women’s Theatre Trust production, compounds my pedagogical problem through filming techniques and choice of actor; emphasizing male violence against women, its interpretation parallels feminist criticism of the 1990s. Asking students to examine theater history may lead them to see that Behn does not completely match this ideological paradigm. The original …

The Secret Life Of Archives: Sally Siddons, Sir Thomas Lawrence, And The Material Of Memory, Laura Engel

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

This essay is in two parts, in the first I attempt to map out strategies for considering archival materials through the lens of performance, and in the second I enact or perform some of those strategies through a close reading of a letter from Sally Siddons, daughter of the famous actress Sarah Siddons, to the renown portrait painter and rakish bad boy, Sir Thomas Lawrence. I present a methodology that considers archival researchers as tourists who approach archival objects and images as material for curating a virtual exhibition. I argue that this strategy allows us to recognize and attempt to …

Telling Tales As Oral Performance: A Cross-Cultural Comparison Of Storytelling In Ireland, Scotland And Southern Appalachia, Annalee Tull

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

I sought to link, through this paper, cultural performances of identity through storytelling in Ireland, Scotland, and southern Appalachia. I evaluated storytelling practices, whether it was a public or private performance, using symbolic interactionism, dramatist theory, narrative paradigm, and performance theory. The author studied abroad in Ireland and Scotland through the East Tennessee State University Appalachian, Scottish, and Irish Studies Program and experienced an array of stories. She then evaluated her own experiences with storytelling from growing up in southern Appalachia and visited the International Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN. The research is rooted in grounded theory from ethnographies, with …

The Greatdivorce: An Experience Together — How Relationships In A Company Affect The Relationship Between Actors And Audience In Performance, Isaac Walter, Rodger Sorensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Both Peter Brook1 and Jerzy Grotowski,2 two of the most important theatre directors and theoreticians of this century, have stated that the basis for all theatre is the actor/audience relationship. It is what makes theatre a unique art form. Without this relationship you may have another art form, such as film, but the real power of theatre comes from actors and audience communing with one another.

The Ballerina, Natasha M. Dones

Student Publications

Little in the world can be as delicate and poised as the small

ballerina you bought me. She dances motionless upon my

bookshelf, as she did for many years before...

The Big House Poster, Mary Moynihan

Concert Programmes

Poster for The Big House by Peter Sheridan, adapted from Hanna Greally's book Bird's Nest Soup, Rehearsed Reading by the BA in Drama (Performance) First Year Students, directed by Mary Moynihan

Performance, Politics, And The War On Terror: "Whatever It Takes", Lindsey Mantoan

Faculty Publications

Lindsey Mantoan reviews Performance, Politics, and the War on Terror: "Whatever It Takes" (by Sara Brady) for TDR: The Drama Review.

Political And Protest Theatre After 9/11: Patriotic Dissent, Lindsey Mantoan

Faculty Publications

Lindsey Mantoan reviews Political and Protest Theatre after 9/11: Patriotic Dissent (edited by Jenny Spencer) for Theatre Topics.

The Poetics Of Gravity: Performance Experiments From The Natural Environment To The Stage, Russya Connor

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Gravity understood scientifically is normally accepted as a dictate, however when encountered creatively, the possibilities for playing with and learning from gravity in natural environments are plentiful.

This practice-led research explores gravity in both artistic and functional contexts. Two nature-specific sports (ocean diving and rock-climbing) and then later, aerial silk work, acted as springboards for explorations of creative expression derived from the states of submersion and suspension. To ‘really feel’ gravity, I decided to explore its effects and impressions, physically and emotionally, in environments that draw attention to its presence. Attempts were made to capture gravity in a series of …

Dance In The Museum, Claire Bishop

Publications and Research

This paper argues that the art world’s current fascination for dance follows on from a previous high point of interaction in the late 1960s and 1970s, and before that, a moment in the late 1930s and early 1940s. It traces these first, second and third waves of dance in the museum at three institutions: the Tate in London, and the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. Three institutional histories are sketched, drawing out the differences between their approaches. The conclusion presents the four most pressing possibilities/problems of presenting dance in the museum: …

The Great Divorce: An Experience Together — How Relationships In A Company Affect The Relationship Between Actors And Audience In Performance, Isaac Walter, Dr. Roger Sorensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Both Peter Brook1 and Jerzy Grotowski,2 two of the most important theatre directors and theoreticians of this century, have stated that the basis for all theatre is the actor/audience relationship. It is what makes theatre a unique art form. Without this relationship you may have another art form, such as film, but the real power of theatre comes from actors and audience communing with one another.

Performative Primary Research, Sylvia Loehndorf, Dr. Eric Samuelsen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The five weeks I spent in Europe completing the primary research and performance of Enchanted April afforded a different research focus than I had originally intended. The program’s director changed the format of the endeavor before rehearsals ever began. What originated as an endeavor in primary research as it relates to performative dramaturgy quickly became an experiment in compromise and creative downsizing. The story of Enchanted April has three manifestations: a novel, a stage play and a motion picture. When I was cast in the production, I was commissioned by the director, Lynda Linford, to take part in blending the …

Amanda Knox And Bella Figura, Denise Scannell Guida

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Projection Based Design: A Collection Of Acquired Knowledge, Max Brown

Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies

The application of new technology in a classic medium, such as theatre, can be a strong force in creating a unique experience for both the audience and the designer. At first, introducing new media techniques may seem like a novelty and easily dismissed as a gimmick. The fact is the modern audience is more familiar with information displayed in video format and will find projected video elements implemented into the scenic design as another way to access the story the performers on stage are trying to convey. It is our duty as designers to utilize every tool at our disposal …

Founding Clown Town: Applying Classical Methods To Devise New Works, Leslie Miller

Honors Theses

As a senior in high school, I only had one thing I knew I wanted to do with my life. Theatre was my passion and had been for many years. I had elected to attend art-focused schools since middle school and truly felt at home in artistic communities. At the time, I just needed an in-state school; I assumed that I would have to go to graduate school to really pursue my specific passion of physical theatre. Yet I am now in Tuscany, Italy, experiencing the epitome of my scholastic career by creating a piece of physical theatre for myself …

Preserving Dance Forms In India Through Education And Performance: A Curriculum For Bollywood Dance, Kimberly Martin

Masters Theses

This project is a practical curriculum of Bollywood dance that can be used to assist in the preservation of dance forms in India through education and performance. The goal of this curriculum is to systematically equip dancers of all ages with the basic knowledge and experiences needed to excel as dancers and choreographers of Bollywood dance. This will be achieved through practical experience that is built from the basics of Bollywood dance and founded in classical tradition and theory as presented in Bharat Natyam. This curriculum is broken up into four sixteen-week semesters and covers a series of steps, basics …

Performance Of The Role Of Blanche Dubois In Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire", Shannon Leigh Webber

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This is a compilation of my work in both "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "Down the Road." In this thesis you will find a portfolio of my work in both shows containing my artistry statement, programs, photos, and a link to my actor's website.

Fearless: V Rosenberger And Tori Reynolds, Veronica B. Rosenberger, Victoria J. Reynolds

SURGE

“Getting Out,” the compelling prison drama by Marsha Norman, is opening tonight at 7:30pm on Kline Theater at Gettysburg, and bringing this play to life are two very fearless women. [excerpt]

The Art Of Adaptation, Katharine E. Jordan

Honors Theses and Capstones

My honors thesis The Art of Adaptation discusses the process of adapting old stories and theatrical pieces for modern audiences through the exploration of various adaptations (theatrical, operatic, dance and film) of Euripides' Medea. It also touches on my own short, modern, adaptation; FURY: A Rock Musical Inspired by Medea. All of this research was important in making the performance aspect of my capstone the best it could be.

Thoroughly Modern Millie - Theatrical Lobby Poster, Carrie D. Applegate

Department of Theatre Arts Posters

Poster for the production of Thoroughly Modern Millie produced by the Boise State University departments of Theatre Arts and Music, March 2013 in the Morrison Center for the Performing Arts. Poster design by Carrie Applegate. Photographed, Tess Gregg as Millie Dillmount.

Romeo And Juliet Poster, Mary Moynihan

Concert Programmes

Poster for Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, directed by Mary Moynihan, BA in Drama (Performance) Graduating Production at Samuel Beckett Theatre, Trinity College, Dublin, 2013

Programe For Witness - Season Of Plays At Project Arts Centre Dublin By Smashing Times Theatre, Mary Moynihan

Concert Programmes

Theatre Programme 2013 for production of Witness - Season of Smashing Times plays, readings, performances at Project Arts Centre, Dublin, 5-9 November 2013, featuring professional productions of three plays: Testimonies, Thou Shalt Not Kill, Uprising and showcase reading of new work read by BA in Drama (Performance) students from DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama.

Romeo And Juliet Invitation, Mary Moynihan

Concert Programmes

Invitation for Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, directed by Mary Moynihan, BA in Drama (Performance) Graduating Production at Samuel Beckett Theatre, Trinity College, Dublin, 2013

Remembering Thespis: How Former Student Actors Value Their Experiences In High School Plays, Michael Edgar Butterworth

Wayne State University Dissertations

The high school play is an iconic pastime in many schools across the United States. Historically, educators, and scholars often characterize the school play as a performance of a script by an established playwright presented in a school in a manner that replicates the standards of professional theatre. Current scholars and educators discuss the school play as the latter part of a continuum that runs from informal dramatic play to formal presentation in front of an audience. Although scholarship in theatre education regularly discusses the school play as one of the most prevalent forms of theatre education, scholarly studies of …

The Making Of Disgrace Kelly: Dragging The Diva Through Cabarets, Pubs And Into The Recital Hall, Caitlin Cassidy

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This research project investigates the synthesis of cabaret and recital performance as a way to re-invigorate the recital as a performance platform. As a curious classical singer with a passion for cabaret, I have explored cabaret in my own creative practice as a classically trained opera singer through the employment of practice-led research methodologies. This project includes research manifested in rehearsals, performance and exegetical writing, including a unique self-reflexive voice in the writing style, to encompass a practice-led research methodology. The culmination of these approaches was a final performance program entitled Diva Bites the Dust. A study of the diva …

The Aesthetic Of Failure: Authenticity, Effort, And Imperfection In American Contemporary Dance, Delaney Mcdonough

Honors Theses

This research examines a slice of American contemporary dance artists and their audiences. American postmodern choreographers such as David Dorfman, Heidi Henderson, Sara Hook, and Paul Matteson use what I am calling the aesthetic of failure as a method to punctuate their work, momentarily blur clarity, steer the viewer’s gaze, make space for live choice making, and in some cases draw laughter. Almost any emotion can be associated with failure: anger, grief, hilarity, absurdity, etc. The underpinning of failure in live performance is the medium of the craft, human bodies. Consider the phrase “humanly possible:” jump as high as humanly …

Uncovering A Genre : The Integration Of Suspended Aerial Apparatus And Contemporary Dance Practice In Australia, Catherine Ryan

Theses : Honours

Genres in the performing arts are constantly shifting and changing, with many artforms evolving into new spheres of performance. It is not uncommon for creators to employ tools and techniques from various disciplines to support their artistic vision and enhance their work. A number of contemporary dance artists have begun to explore movement in the air by adapting skills or equipment from other disciplines and industries to suit their needs. At the same time, some circus artists and aerialists have been lowering their apparatus to incorporate ground-based movement into their work. It is this cross-pollination between art-forms that has formed …

Performing Communication Without Words: A Dramaturgical Exploration Of Communication Between Caregivers And Children Who Are Nonverbal, Sara Mcgerald

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Recognizing that human communication is highly expressive and it does not cease to exist if an individual is not able to produce spoken language, this thesis is an exploratory ethnographic study which seeks to utilize a dramaturgical perspective in identifying the function and structure of communication between children who are nonverbal (with a diagnosis of cerebral palsy) and their caregivers (Brissett & Edgley, 2009). The main informants for this study were two sets of parents with children diagnosed with cerebral palsy, who agreed to participate in twenty hours of engagement, which included direct interviews, observation, and personal interaction. The study …