Theatre and Performance Studies Commons^™

Soon-Tek Oh, Jocelyn L. Buckner

Theatre Faculty Books and Book Chapters

An overview of the life, work, and impact of Soon-Tek Oh.

Negro Ensemble Company, Jocelyn L. Buckner

Theatre Faculty Books and Book Chapters

An overview of the work and impact of the Negro Ensemble Company.

Spread Newspapers Around: Students Acting! The Invaluable Role Of Modern Theater Class In A Stem Environment, Leah Kind

Faculty Publications & Research

All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.

This line of William Shakespeare’s, itself often redrawn and refashioned to suit different intended purposes, perhaps never rings as poignantly as during high school. Students speak of trying on a particular personality or character, as they desperately seek for what TRUE player dwells behind the mask. The years between junior high and secondary education exist for many students as their own personal time of remaking. Students exit one wing in adolescence, rush behind the curtain as they take up or cast off whatever masks and accoutrements they …

Anna Deavere Smith, Jocelyn L. Buckner

Theatre Faculty Books and Book Chapters

An overview of the life, work, and impact of Anna Deveare Smith.

Charles Sidney Gilpin, Jocelyn L. Buckner

Theatre Faculty Books and Book Chapters

An overview of the life, work, and impact of Charles Sidney Gilpin.

Earle Hyman, Jocelyn L. Buckner

Theatre Faculty Books and Book Chapters

An overview of the life, work, and impact of Earle Hyman.

Henrietta Vinton Davis, Jocelyn L. Buckner

Theatre Faculty Books and Book Chapters

An overview of the life, work, and impact of Henrietta Vinton Davis.

James Earl Jones, Jocelyn L. Buckner

Theatre Faculty Books and Book Chapters

An overview of the life, work, and impact of James Earl Jones.

Lane Nishikawa, Jocelyn L. Buckner

Theatre Faculty Books and Book Chapters

An overview of the life, work, and impact of Lane Nishikawa.

Mako Iwamatsu, Jocelyn L. Buckner

Theatre Faculty Books and Book Chapters

An overview of the life, work, and impact of Mako Iwamatsu.

Ruby Dee, Jocelyn L. Buckner

Theatre Faculty Books and Book Chapters

An overview of the life, work, and impact of Ruby Dee.

Sidney Poitier, Jocelyn L. Buckner

Theatre Faculty Books and Book Chapters

An overview of the life, work, and impact of Sidney Poitier.

The Fatal Lamp And The Nightmare After Christmas: The 1811 Richmond Theatre Fire, Amber Marie Martinez

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

THE FATAL LAMP AND THE NIGHTMARE AFTER CHRISTMAS: THE RICHMOND THEATRE FIRE OF 1811

By Amber Marie Martinez, Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Performance

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts in Theatre Pedagogy at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Virginia Commonwealth University, 2015

Director: Dr. Noreen C. Barnes, Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Theatre

“How strange a preface the loud laughter excited by a pantomime, to volumes of smoke and fire” (The American Standard, 27 December 1811). Building fires were not exactly uncommon back in the …

"Trigger" For Change: Theatre As A Tool For Social Dialogue, Sydoney B. Blackmore

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Trigger for Change: Theatre as a Tool for Social Dialogue was a project consisting of three main parts oriented toward promoting dialogue on the University of Montana campus about sexual assault. The first part was a company-constructed multimedia presentation that quickly introduced the audience to facts, figures, and perspectives regarding sexual assault. The second was a performance of Carmen Aguirre's The Trigger, a stage play about the playwright’s experience before, during, and after her rape, with other characters’ perspectives interjected throughout. The purpose of this performance was to provide an experience for the audience that promoted empathy and critical …

Sound Design For Our Town, Anna Warda Alex

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 the author, Anna Warda Alex's artistic process in developing the sound design for Minnesota State University, Mankato's production of Our Town in the fall of 2014. The thesis documents the designer's process from the pre-production analysis through the designer's afterthoughts on the design in five chapters: a pre-production analysis, an historical and critical perspective, a process and rehearsal journal, a post-production analysis and a process development. Appendices and works cited are included.

Ten Klicks South Of Whiskey : A Play In Three Acts, Ryan Jeffrey Smithson

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Ten Klicks South of Whiskey is a stage performance in three acts, consisting mostly of monologues from soldiers of various backgrounds. It follows the trials of 4th platoon, Delta Troop, 463rd Cavalry Squadron, a fictional unit that achieves a near-mythic reputation of heroism and invulnerability in Iraq. As the monologues begin to reveal, however, not every tale about the 463rd can be substantiated. The audience is first challenged to search for truth and then to understand that truth is not the ultimate--or even the desired--goal of war stories.

Reupholstery: A Guide For Prop Masters, Kathryn Leigh Brittingham

LSU Master's Theses

Upholstery is something that is often looked upon as a daunting task. With a full guide to reinforcement for stage use, options in foundations, and charts to compute fabric yardages, this thesis will provide professional prop masters with a guide to heighten their standards of upholstery onstage. Featuring options and ideals for varying skill sets; it will assist prop masters with more information regarding the topic with options particular to the theatrical profession. In lieu of an expansive library of upholstery books that feature a variety of techniques, the information included in this document will serve as a supplemental guide …

Directing Stop Kiss By Diana Son Within A Nontraditional Training Model, Rebecca Dilks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite the generally held view that the best way for a stage actor to give a strong theatrical performance is through a traditional training model, I hoped to develop a way for inexperienced actors to perform beyond expectation within the context of one production through a system of mentorship, expectation-setting, and tapping into young peoples' natural desire to identify with people and characters. I directed a production of Stop Kiss by Diana Son with a blend of experienced and inexperienced actors to see if I could make this work, with mixed results. This thesis is a reflection on the process …

When Oppressed Women Attack: Female-Enacted Violence Through Minority American Female Playwrights' Works, Kate Busselle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As an Actor Combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors, theatrical violence is something that has always captivated me. When a female combat instructor once told me that even though I throw a great punch I will never be able to use it because women are always on the receiving end of violence in theatre, I wondered if this was truly the case. After a thorough exploration of several works with theatrical violence, I am glad to say that it is not the case. When most scholars examine violence in theatre, the focus is either male-centric or specifically on …

Robot Saints, Christopher B. Swift

Publications and Research

In the Middle Ages, articulating religious figures like wooden Deposition crucifixes and ambulatory saints were tools for devotion, techno-mythological objects that distilled the wonders of engineering and holiness. Robots are gestures toward immortality, created in the face of the undeniable fact and experience of the ongoing decay of our fleshy bodies. Both like and unlike human beings, robots and androids occupy a nebulous perceptual realm between life and death, animation and inanimation. Masahiro Mori called this in-between space the “uncanny valley.” In this essay I argue that unlike a modern person apprehending an android (the uncanny human-like object that resides …

Estudio Y Edición De La Más Constante Mujer De Juan Pérez De Montalbán, Philip Allen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

La más constante mujer is a Spanish Golden Age play written by Juan Pérez de Montalbán in 1631 and published for the first time in 1632. Although he was once one of the most famous playwrights in Madrid, known for running in the same literary and social circles as Lope de Vega and Calderón de la Barca, the bulk of the dramatist's work has been greatly ignored by scholars, or is referred to as being of second rate, and the author himself has nearly tragically been forgotten throughout the centuries following his short life. Although research has been conducted to …

“I Can Take An Empty Space And Call It A Bare Stage”: Searching For A Through-Line In The Diverse Roles Of The Theatre Director, Bettina Mueller-Tuescher

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

While the director’s role in theatre is longstanding and well established, it is a position that can be approached from a variety of different angles, depending on the nature of the project. In an effort to discover and articulate a directorial philosophy that spans across my work, the first section of this thesis is a literature review discussing and analyzing the directorial beliefs, practices, and philosophies of two revolutionary directors in English-speaking theatre: Anne Bogart and Peter Brook. The second segment will be a reflection and analysis of my own performance as a director on three diverse projects in scale, …

Inside The Boudoir: Designing The World Of Lynn Nottage’Sintimate Apparel, Megan Parish

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Scenic artistry and set decorating help build the world of a production and reinforce the themes woven into the plot of a script. For my project, I will be exploring the world of Lynn Nottage’s “Intimate Apparel.” This will include researching the historical context of the piece, which in this case is New York City at the turn of the century, alongside the role of the seamstress in society, in order to accurately convey the environment of this piece. Lynn Nottage’s piece is based in socioeconomic statuses, attitudes on race and femininity as well as women’s rights movements. Therefore, I …

Devising: Improving A Perceived Glistening Community!, Katie Laner

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Theatre for social change has long relied on devising methods to create pieces reflecting current cultural and societal issues. Through exercises, games and workshops, theatre for social change devising practices are as distinct and numerous as the many different communities they work with. The leading pioneer, Augusto Boal, created Theatre of the Oppressed, which utilizes many kinds of practices meant to address local issues effecting a group of people who have suffered from repression or whose needs have been invisible from greater society.Since his initial groundbreaking theories and practices, many modern artists and groups have adapted and changed his methods …

“The Modern Performance Art Vs. Traditional Theatre: The Division Between The Contemporary And The Conventional”, Sally Woo

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Performance art and theatre are both rooted in the same practices and ideas. Performance art is an art form that utilizes the human body as a tool for creating art. It has no boundaries and past performance pieces have proven that the options are limitless. The human body acts as a type of canvas in which the artist manipulates however they wish, whether it is on the body itself or the movement or placement. Theatre does the same thing, using people to tell stories that illuminate real life situations in a scripted and rehearsed manner. However, while theatre has become …

Exploring Unusual Post-Graduate Careers In The Arts, Caroline Hawkins

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Post-graduation job searching arrives too quickly in most college seniors’ lives, and many of us find ourselves unprepared when the time comes to actually find a career we want to commit to for an extended period of time. To commence this daunting quest, I have decided to explore a few alternative possibilities and options for professions that are related to my passions of theatre and music, but that are a bit more unorthodox, unexpected, and “outside the box.” To aid me in my search, I will communicate with several professional experts in their fields, gaining skilled and experienced opinions. In …

Understanding Theatre And Its Social Implications In A Modern Context, Sara Curtis

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Theatre has been fighting for a proper place in society since its inception in Ancient Greece. Although the ancient civilizations of the western world adored theatre and incorporated it into their daily lives, in later years it struggled to find acceptance. Theaters and theatre professionals often received blame for the spread of disease and rises in miscreant behavior. This yoyo-like trend between acceptance and ostracism continued throughout the ages as theatre and the encompassing societies evolved and changed. Thusly, the theatre has always been a point of contention and discussion. Even to this day, critics and scholars alike theorize and …

Staging Style: The Deconstruction And Reconstruction Of Theatrical Style, Peyton Ashby

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Style. The term itself is used in a plethora of mediums and subjects. When speaking of a painter's style, like Monet, it is describing the technique used and own individualized ways of creating his painting. But what does this term mean in Theatre? The first thing that comes to mind is less of a clear definition of what "style" is, but rather what springs to mind are examples of style. Abstract or Realism are all familiar terms when style is mentioned, but there are many others, and just what exactly is style and how does it affect a piece of …

Kinetic Sculpture In Theatre And Live Entertainment, Francesca Muscolo

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Technology dominates contemporary “theatre,” but the theatre is often the last industry to see innovations. Instead, the technical field operates on leftovers from entertainment, visual art, or industrial settings. The technological differences between these areas begin to blur; the differences lay only in their execution and intention. Some companies such as Cirque du Soliel, Diavolo, and Chunky Move blend technology and performance until the two become indivisible. This technology is being developed in an effort to lessen boundaries and create new opportunities that could not otherwise happen onstage.

Through this thesis I will develop a basic understanding of the machinery …

Lighting Design Proposal For Tom Stoppard's "Rosencratz And Guildenstern Are Dead", Nikolai Eiteneer

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Tom Stoppard’s tragicomedy, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1964), earned the early popularity and the world-wide reputation that such a work deserved, booting Tom Stoppard into the limelight as an up-and-coming young writer. The play itself verges on an absurdist style, but due to the realistic nature of the title characters, the audience members find themselves sympathizing with their plight and lack of knowledge though any theatre goer acquainted with the works of Shakespeare, and Hamlet in particular, will know the final outcome of the play. For those not endowed with such knowledge, however, Stoppard gave the end away. Rosencrantz …