Theatre and Performance Studies Commons^™

Tenneriello Studies Theater In Many Forms, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

“My background was in a working class/middle class family, and I had a passion for drawing when I was a kid, but we also put on a lot of theatricals. Lots of dramas, playing with things and staging thing. So, my exposure to theater was not professional, it was more interactive with my friends and family.” That is how Susan Tenneriello explains how she ended up becoming a theater scholar.

A native of Bayside Queens in New York City, she obtained her doctorate in theater from the CUNY Graduate Center, and today she is an associate professor in the Department …

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Died Today. Or, Maybe, Yesterday; I Can't Be Sure..., Christopher R. Fee

English Faculty Publications

50 years on, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead continues to captivate and to entertain audiences with its darkly comic examination of existential themes of life, death, and indecision drawn from the pages, situations, and characters of Hamlet. First produced at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1966, the play opened at the Old Vic in London in 1967, and has been reprised there this season to rave reviews, with none other than Harry Potter in a leading role.

Choteo Cubano: Humor As A Critical Tool In Twentieth-Century Cuban Theater, Rebecca L. Salois

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This project analyzes the incorporation of choteo in specific Cuban theater texts written during three distinct periods in twentieth-century Cuban history, all of which coincide with specific moments of social, political, and/or economic unrest or transition. Choteo in the theater has served as a tool to demonstrate discontent and frustration with authority figures in various contexts. As that need has altered over time, so too has the approach that playwrights have taken to speak out about these issues. I suggest that by responding to changing circumstances with choteo, confronting a difficult situation is more palatable to audiences or readers than …

Agency And Political Engagement In Gide And Barrault's Post-War Theatrical Adaptation Of Kafka's The Trial, Yevgenya Strakovsky

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In her article, "Agency and Political Engagement in Gide and Barrault's Post-war Theatrical Adaptation of Kafka's The Trial" Yevgenya Strakovsky considers the political themes of André Gide and Jean-Louis Barrault's Le Procès (The Trial, 1947), the first theatrical adaptation of Franz Kafka's Der Prozess (The Trial, 1914). Strakovsky demonstrates that Le Procès, written and staged in the immediate aftermath of World War II, levels a critique against the passive complicity of citizens in unjust persecution in both its script and its staging. The paper also considers the elements of Kafka's prose that lend themselves to …

Theater For Social Justice: Sexual Violence Prevention Programming For College Campuses, Jessica Childs

Theater Summer Fellows

My research investigates intersections of theater for social justice, the college campus sexual assault epidemic, and programs for sexual assault prevention. Using this research as a foundation, I have created a proposal for Ursinus College’s sexual assault prevention program. This proposal is informed by the 2011 “Dear Colleague Letter” on sexual violence, the White House “It’s On Us” campaign, and successful theater-based sexual violence prevention programs. My proposal focuses on the definition of consent, bystander intervention, healthy relationships, relationship abuse, sexual expression, and safer sex practices. The proposal demonstrates the ways in which student-written monologues and short scenes in combination …

Caplan Studies, Teaches The Richness Of Yiddish Theater., Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

“I grew up in a family where Yiddish was spoken around me quite a bit. I grew up surrounded by Yiddish and Jewish culture, but I didn’t grow up speaking Yiddish, so it was something that was sort of mysterious that I didn’t know very much about.” That is the way Dr. Debra Caplan explains how she became an expert in Yiddish theater. A native of North Wales in Pennsylvania, she says she was always interested from a very young age in performing arts. “I studied theater in high school and in college and became very interested in theater history. …

Restoration Raillery: The Use Of Witty Repartee To Gain Power Within Gendered Spaces Of Restoration London, Bonnie Soper

Madison Historical Review

“Restoration Raillery: The Use of Witty Repartee to Gain Power within Gendered Spaces in Restoration London,” examines the creation of gendered spaces to gain political and social power through the use of satire and wit in poetry, theater, and the court of Charles II in Restoration London. During the Restoration period, mentions of wit and incivility in print and theatre increased over previous eras due to the heightened importance placed on wit as a tool to gain popularity within the court of Charles II. At the same time, witty repartee and well-executed satire provided political power to men within Parliament, …

A Romantic Comedy Of Boats And Gardens: Selected Projects In Scenic Design And Technical Direction, Trevor Flocco

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

When this play was given to me as one of my production assignments, I was both thrilled and terrified. I thoroughly enjoy Shakespeare, but I realized that this would also be the largest show of the year; it would be the only production to take place in the Morgan Theater, our largest and most challenging space. This was only my second time designing a realized production and I knew it would be a massive undertaking. However, I knew that having a realized Shakespeare design this early in my career would greatly help my portfolio. Also, my advisor told me that …

Behind Valencia: A Contemporary Play, Emily Charbonneau

Honors Projects in English and Cultural Studies

SYNOPSIS The purpose of this play is to highlight the length that modern females go to in order to maintain a desired appearance, especially across social media. These desired appearances are influenced by the glamorous and unrealistic looks and physiques that are prevalent in the media. Essentially, the primary goal of these characters is to attract the attention of their male counterparts because of the gender roles society promotes. This shallow lifestyle can be completely consuming for impressionable, young females.

Not The Truth We Seek: The Story Of A Mime, Fierce Women, Proposals, & Pro Wrestling, Steven Meeker Jr.

Undergraduate Distinction Papers

THE SPARK

I have always believed that the best theater comes from a very real and sometimes very painful place. My parents were undergoing a brutal and very open separation and then divorce throughout my junior and senior year of high school. In the middle of the constant war zone that was our home, my brother and I would simply go from one room to the other with our heads down and as quick as possible. The only day we would linger in the living room would be Mondays. On Monday nights, my brother and I owned the living room …

Women, Politics, And Humor On Stage: Directing “The Taming”, Kayla Minton Kaufman

Honors Thesis

As a culmination of my Theatre Arts degree, I directed Lauren Gunderson's "The Taming." The three-woman cast was composed of Tiffani Williams (Patricia), Jena Fakroddin (Katherine), and Alex Luce (Bianca). In the play, Katherine, a contender for Miss America, kidnaps Patricia, a conservative senator's aide, and Bianca, a liberal blogger, and demands they join her in rewriting the Constitution of the United States of America. The production played for three nights in Foley 110, a black box space, with a full house each night.

Blowing Off Ste(A)M: The Value Of The Creative Arts For Gifted Stem Students (Iagc 2017), Tracy A. Townsend, Michael W. Hancock, Michael P. Dean

Faculty Publications & Research

The following is a collection of teaching documents, including classroom activities and assignment prompts, used in the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy’s Graphic Novels, Creative Writing, and Modern Theater classes. These materials are easily included in courses with broader topical focuses, however, either as single-day activities or units of study. The specific materials included here are especially beneficial as means of encouraging student creativity, building up a variety of communication skills, rewarding experimental work, and providing new outlets for critical thinking and social-emotional development.

Històries De Broadway, Hollywood I Altres Llocs: El Periple Nord-Americà De Terra Baixa D’Àngel Guimerà, Sharon G. Feldman

Latin American, Latino and Iberian Studies Faculty Publications

This article reviews the American tour of Àngel Guimerà's Terra baixa.

El 1903 es representa de ‘Marta of the Lowlands’ (la versió en llengua anglesa de ‘Terra baixa’) a Broadway, amb Corona Riccardo i, després, amb Fernanda Eliscu. Aquest va ser l’inici del periple del teatre de Guimerà pels escenaris dels Estats Units. De fet, entre 1903 i 1914, dues de les seves obres teatrals més conegudes, ‘Terra baixa’ (1896) i ‘Maria Rosa’ (1894), van gaudir d’una presència força continuada en llengua anglesa als escenaris teatrals d’aquest país i del Canadà, passant per més de 80 teatres diferents (amb més …

Georgia Southern College Student Theatre Collection, Zach S. Henderson Library Special Collections

Finding Aids

This collection consists of programs, photographs, and promotional material from Georgia Southern College’s social events as well as campus and local theatre productions from 1936 to 1988. Documented are productions performed on Georgia Southern’s campus, mostly by outside theatre companies.

Find this collection in the University Libraries' catalog.

Creating The Role Of Georgie Bukatinsky In "The Full Monty", Erin Horst

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 Erin Horst's artistic process in creating the role of Georgie Bukatinsky in Minnesota State University, Mankato's production of "The Full Monty" in the fall of 2016. 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 Treasure Of Welks-Kreer, Lance Rasmussen

LSU Master's Theses

This paper is intended to document the process of developing and performing The Treasure of Welks-Kreer, a one-man show written by Lance Rasmussen in fulfillment of the requirement for his Master of Fine Arts in Acting degree at Louisiana State University. Harkening back to the memories of his childhood and his current passions and interests, Lance wrote The Treasure of Welks-Kreer as a story of hope and exploration. The story follows The Metaphor, a superhero who finds himself transported back to the basement where he used to play table-top roleplaying games with the group of friends who eventually formed his …

Crafting Wendla Bergmann In Spring Awakening, Amy R. Weintraub

Honors Papers

This paper explores one actor's approach to the role of Wendla Bergmann in Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik's musical adaptation of Frank Wedekind's Spring Awakening. It will address issues of text analysis, staging, character development, vocal performance, and mental health.

Technical Direction Of Frankenstein 1930, Isaac Sawle

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 Isaac Sawle’s technical direction process for Minnesota State University, Mankato’s production of Frankenstein 1930 in the fall of 2016. This thesis chronicles the author’s process from pre-production through post-production in five chapters: an early production analysis, a historical and critical perspective, a process journal, a post-production analysis and a process development analysis. Appendices and works cited are included.

Theatrical Texts And Contexts: Poe And Hawthorne’S Fictional Women, Savannah M. Singletary

Theses and Dissertations

Edgar Allen Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne are arguably two of the most highly read and heavily debated nineteenth-century antebellum authors in America. Their writings fascinate readers, while their character depictions, particularly their characterizations of fictional women, prompt intense academic debate. This thesis examines the previously less-studied historical developments surrounding Poe and Hawthorne in the antebellum era that shaped their approach to writing fiction. In particular, this study scrutinizes the effects of the development of a newly popular art form, ballet, the ascendency of female authorship, and the impact of American theatrical reform upon antebellum authors’ authorial faculties, especially Hawthorne and …

Behold, Steve Bannon’S Hip-Hop Shakespeare Rewrite: 'Coriolanus', Daniel Pollack-Pelzner

Faculty Publications

In this opinion piece originally published in the New York Times, Daniel Pollack-Pelzner examines The Thing I Am (a contemporary rewrite of Coriolanus, as envisioned by Steve Bannon and Julia Jones) in the context of Shakespeare's original play. Pollack-Pelzner argues that Bannon's political playbook is evident in the script for The Thing I Am — namely, a violent macho conflict to purge corrupt leaders and pave the way for a new strongman to emerge.

Vidigal Nights: Big Dreams In A Small Favela, Christina Thornell

Capstones

This 14-minute documentary follows Tatiane and Rafa, two aspiring actors in Rio de Janeiro's favela of Vidigal in Brazil. They are both performing in “Noites de Vidigal” (Nights of Vidigal) a community play about their favela and the challenges it has faced in the last decades. As we follow Tatiane and Rafa while they rehearse and perform, viewers are offered a window into their lives and the world around them.

Tatiane and Rafa aren't just aspiring actors but community members who experience firsthand the joys and hardships of living in a favela.

Vidigal, the favela Tatiane and Rafa live in, …

The Writers, Artists, Singers, And Musicians Of The National Hungarian Jewish Cultural Association (Omike), 1939–1944, Frederick Bondy

Purdue University Press Book Previews

In May 1938, Hungary passed anti-Semitic laws causing hundreds of Jewish artists to lose their jobs. In response, Budapest’s Jewish community leaders organized an Artistic Enterprise under the aegis of OMIKE Országos Magyar Izraelita Közművelődési Egyesület (Hungarian Jewish Education Association) to provide employment and livelihood for actors, singers, musicians, conductors, composers, writers, playwrights, painters, graphic artists, and sculptors.

Between 1939 and 1944, activities were centered in Goldmark Hall beside the Dohány Street Synagogue in Budapest. Hundreds of artists from all over Hungary took part in about one thousand performances, including plays, concerts, cabaret, ballet, operas, and operettas. These performances appealed …

Harry Potter And Hamilton From The Stage To The Page, Daniel Pollack-Pelzner

Faculty Publications

In this article originally published in Public Books, Daniel Pollack-Pelzner offers commentary on the two best-selling plays on record, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Hamilton. Specifically, Pollack-Pelzner examines how the Anglo-American world’s favorite orphans play at home, adopted, as it were, from the stage to the page.

Jamil Khoury Interview, Dasha Lubitov

Asian American Art Oral History Project

This interview focusses on Silk Road Rising's video play Not Quite White: Arabs, Slavs, and the Contours of Contested Whiteness.

Bio: Jamil Khoury is the Founding Artistic Director of Silk Road Rising. Promoting playwrights of Silk Road backgrounds (Asian and Middle Eastern) is a passion that dovetails well with his experiences living in the Middle East and his eleven years as a cross-cultural trainer and international relocations consultant. A theatre producer, essayist, playwright, and film maker, Khoury’s work focuses on Middle Eastern themes and questions of Diaspora. He is particularly interested in the intersections of culture, national identity, and citizenship, …

Staging Colorism, Mya D. Flood

Theater Summer Fellows

Colorism is a topic not frequently discussed in the African American community. My research focuses on representations of colorism in American drama. Using this research, I am workshopping a creative performance piece about this taboo topic to educate both Ursinus students and community members of all racial backgrounds. The research involves dissecting plays that confront colorism and the everyday struggles dealing with the stereotypes that come along with lighter and darker skin. My research takes the form of an annotated bibliography of plays about colorism and/or racism, a 20 page research paper about colorism in drama, and a draft of …

Ancient Greeks Today: Modern Adaptations Of The Orestes Myth, Arthur L. Robinson

Theater Summer Fellows

This research closely examines the ancient Greek myth of Orestes, the boy who murdered his mother to avenge his father. It first draws upon the works of Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles, who all wrote different variations of the same myth. This is followed by an examination of several more modern day adaptions of the myth, including but not limited to Eugene O’Neill’s Mourning Becomes Elektra, David Foley’s Murders at Argos, and Ferdinando Baldi’s The Forgotten Pistolero. The research highlights differences made to more effectively reach the varying audiences of the time, and the techniques used to create a successful …

Direction Of The Musical: A Year With Frog And Toad, Sioux L. Stoeckle

Master of Theater Production Graduate Projects

This project entailed the selection, background research and documentation, musical analysis, casting, direction, vocal coaching, and post-production analysis of Palo Verde College's production of Willie and Robert Reale's A Year with Frog and Toad. Documentation includes research and analysis of the play, its music, and an evaluation of the musical as a production vehicle for Palo Verde College at Blythe, CA The analysis also includes a discussion as to the directorial vision of this production.

Tapez Le Tam-Tam And The People Will Come: A Study Of Theater For Social Justice In Kaolack, Senegal, Emily Schwerdtfeger

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of theater to create social change and raise awareness of social issues as used by the troupe Bamtaare in Kaolack, Senegal. Further study was done to determine why theater was successful and whether this type of theater can be implemented in the United States. I spent four weeks in Kaolack working with the troupe to understand their methods. While in Kaolack, I observed rehearsals and performances, conducted interview with actors and audience members, and reviewed relevant literature. My research showed that Bamtaare’s performances in urban neighborhoods and rural villages did …

Breaking Surface: Unearthing Meaning In Jenny Schwartz's "God's Ear", Andrew Peters

The Theatre School MFA in Directing Theses

I struggle with language. I don’t trust definitions or labels. Words elude me – articulating a thought becomes a painful exercise for my brain. I often adhere too strictly to meaning, and can pinpoint when an idea I’m mulling over doesn’t quite fit the word I’m using to describe it. My workaround habit is tacking on less definite, open-ended phrases (“This is kind of…” “This might be…”) – the enemies of someone training to be a clearer, well-spoken leader.I am intrigued by messy human stories that can’t be told through realism alone. I seek truth through a more imaginative theatrical …

How I Screwed Up My Thesis Production And Forgot Everything I Knew About Directing, Brian Balcom

The Theatre School MFA in Directing Theses

This was supposed to be my best work; a complete display of not only three years of graduate instruction, but a life’s worth of education and experience. It was supposed to be my introduction to the city of Chicago: a calling card, a conversation starter, a means of validation that would get my foot in the door of any storefront I chose. Instead, it was possibly the most disappointing production I’ve ever directed.