Theatre and Performance Studies Commons^™

Dialogue, 2008, Columbia College Chicago

Dialogue

Fourth issue of the Theater department publication Dialogue. Focus on Theodore Ward African-American Playwriting Contest winners' productions and the expansion of this program to students to direct these plays. Articles include: "Introduction: The Ten Minute Play Festival"; "Black Daisies"; "Work Before Truth"; "Black Rose"; and "Adam and Christian". 20 pages.

Seussical, April 23-30, 2008, Theatre Arts Discipline

Theatre Programs

University of Minnesota, Morris production of Seussical based on the works of Dr. Seuss. Written by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty and directed by Brenna Jones.

Synopsis: A musical perfect for the whole family, Seussical takes us into the world of Dr. Seuss, where we revisit beloved characters including The Cat in the Hat, Horton the Elephant, Gertrude McFuzz, Lazy Mayzie, and JoJo. The Cat in the Hat guides us into The Jungle of Nool where we see Horton, the kind hearted elephant who discovers a speck of dust containing Whoville. He meets JoJo, a Who child sent to military …

The Birds, February 7-9, 2008, Theatre Arts Discipline

Theatre Programs

University of Minnesota, Morris production of The Birds by Aristophanes, adapted by Peter Meineck and directed by Deidre Onishi.

Synopsis: In this classical Greek drama two men are disgusted with life in Athens and seek a new homeland among the birds

Contemporary African American Women Playwrights: A Casebook Edited By Philip C. Kolin (Review), Jocelyn Buckner

Theatre Faculty Articles and Research

Buckner provides a review of Kolin's "Contemporary African American Women Playwrights."

Turning Tricks And The Modern Female Protagonist: An Analysis Of The Portrayal Of The Role Of The Demimonde From Viennese Operet, Melissa Nay

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The demimondaine, an exclusive courtesan in nineteenth-century Europe, and the modern mezzo-soprano protagonist are prevalent characters in American musical theatre and can be observed in various styles throughout European music and drama. In Arthur Schnitzler s The Little Comedy, the female protagonist is both a romantic heroine and mistress; and in Jules Renard s Le Pain de Ménage, the lead player is anything but the classic ingénue. In preparation for performance and to further the research in the contemporary music comedy realm, I prepared for the roles of Josefine and Monica in the University of Central Florida s production of …

Making Victim: Establishing A Framework For Analyzing Victimization In 20th Century American Theatre, Victoria Hahl

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It is my belief that theatre is the telling of stories, and that playwrighting is the creation of those stories. Regardless of the underlying motives (to make the audience think, to make them feel, to offend them or to draw them in,) the core of the theatre world is the storyline. Some critics write of the importance of audience effect and audience reception; after all, a performance can only be so named if at least one person is there to witness it. So much of audience effect is based the storyline itself - that structure of which is created by …

The Shape Of Things, December 5-7, 2007, Theatre Arts Discipline

Theatre Programs

University of Minnesota, Morris production of The Shape of Things by Neil LaBute and directed by Nick Lostetter.

Synopsis: How far would you go for love? For art? What would you be willing to change? What price might you pay? Such are the painful questions explored by Neil LaBute in THE SHAPE OF THINGS. A young student drifts into an ever-changing relationship with an art major while his best friends' engagement crumbles, so unleashing a drama that peels back the skin of two modern-day relationships.

A Lie Of The Mind, November 1-3. 2007, Theatre Arts Discipline

Theatre Programs

University of Minnesota, Morris production of A Lie of the Mind by Sam Shepard and directed by Siobhan Bremer.

Synopsis:Beth has been violently beaten - to the point of brain damage - by her overly jealous husband, Jake. As the play begins, she is being cared for by her family. Her brother-in-law, Frankie soon arrives, trying to figure out if Beth survived Jake’s beating. Beth’s father, mistaking Frankie for a deer, shoots him in the leg, and then brings Frankie into their home to care for his injury. Meanwhile, Jake, convinced that he has killed his wife, is slipping into …

Dialogue, 2007, Columbia College Chicago

Dialogue

Third issue of the Theater department publication Dialogue. Articles include: "Talking About AIDS"; "Mirage"; Manhattan"; "Mister Mister and the AABB"; "Seth and Dex"; "Constant Comment"; "This One Time…"; "Beep"; "Fairy Tale"; "Was Going to Dance". 24 pages.

A Director's Process: The Conception, Preparation And Production Of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, Amy E. Meyer

Theater Honors Papers

This honors paper does not have an abstract.

From Script To Stage: A Costume Designer’S Perspective, Laura M. Gifford

Senior Honors Projects

In the process of designing the costumes for a show, it is important to understand the psyche of each of the characters. The completion of thorough research can give valuable insight into the characters, as well as details of the setting of the play. A designer then takes this information, in the form of photographs, journals, period documents, and modern analysis and combines it to achieve a unified vision of the play’s environment. They must then work with the director and other designers to present this vision to the audience. This semester, I had the opportunity to explore this process …

The Wind In The Willows, April 19-20 & 23-25, 2007, Theatre Arts Discipline

Theatre Programs

University of Minnesota, Morris production of The Wind and the Willows by Kenneth Grahame adapted by moses Goldberg and directed by Amanda J. Holter.

Synopsis: In this animal fantasy, Toad is the rich playboy of the animal kingdom. His current enthusiasm is motor cars, which he embraces passionately without the formality of learning to drive. After several narrow shaves, his friends, Rat, Mole and Badger, ground him for his own safety at his home, Toad Hall. He manages to elude them and appropriates a police car, which lands him in jail. In his absence, the weasels take over Toad Hall, …

Filming Theater: The Audiovisual Documentation As A Substitute Of The Performance, Nestor Fernando Bravo

Theses and Dissertations

Theatre is not a thermometer of society; it is the fever. The archive is the aftermath that recalls that fever. In this thesis I theorize about the status of audiovisual documentation, its functionality, and its ontological relation with the performance. I argue that the film of a performance does not constitute evidence per se, but it acquires such status through the concurrence of other documents and archival artifacts existentially related to the theatrical production. I also propose that the audiovisual document becomes a substitute for the performance when it has disappeared from the historical world, becoming the new referent for …

Dickens's Hamlet Burlesque, Daniel Pollack-Pelzner

Faculty Publications

Daniel Pollack-Pelzner considers what an interlude in Great Expectations involving a spectacularly bad production of Hamlet can do for Hamlet. Specifically, Pollack-Pelzner looks at what Dickens's rendering of Mr. Wopsle's travesty reveals about Hamlet's openness to an audience's derisive laughter. Wopsle’s production may be a travesty, but Dickens’s narrative of that production is a burlesque, with Hamlet as much its target as Wopsle.

The Roles Of Scientist, Narrator, Mother, Pandora, Nursemaid, Therapist, And Baucis In Mary Zimmerman's Metamorphoses: A Production Thesis In Acting, Anna Loft Richardson

LSU Master's Theses

ABSTRACT This thesis is about the evolution and development of the roles of Scientist, Narrator, Mother, Pandora, Nursemaid, Therapist, and Baucis in the Swine Palace show Metamorphoses by Mary Zimmerman. The rehearsal process is detailed here in journal format. Also included is pre-show research, character analyses, production run, and post show summary. This thesis will explore the creation of these characters, the obstacles during the process, and the experience of playing multiple roles.

The Pedagogy And Ethics Of Improvisation Using The Harold, David Dellus Patton

Theses and Dissertations

Scenic improvisation is dramatic performance without a script. Performers develop scenes in real time in front of an audience. They do this by submitting to a set of rules of relating on-stage which allow them, by mutual assent, to develop scenes and stories based on their relationships with one another. This methodology by which improvisers develop their scenes can give us a tangible vocabulary and model by which we can fulfill the requirements of love. The Harold, an improvisational form created by Del Close and Charna Halpern and taught and performed at IO (formerly ImprovOlympic), emphasizes this relational ethic as …

Revitalizing "The Rocky Horror Show" Through Gospel Music, Kip Taisey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In Spring 2007, the University of Central Florida (UCF) Department of Theatre mounted a production of "The Rocky Horror Show." This thesis focuses on the author's process of using the gospel music style to revitalize "The Rocky Horror Show," a cult musical. The author uses defining characteristics of the cult film genre to establish a set of guidelines. "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" is the movie version of the stage musical and is responsible for the show's inevitable cult status. He discusses the history and journey of "The Rocky Horror Show" and how audience participation was integral in establishing this …

Design: Feel It, See It, Speak It, Do It..., Sarah Yates

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Description of Project: This project explores the design process for Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume (adapted for the stage by Bruce Mason) as performed at Orlando Repertory Theatre in Orlando, Florida. In this exploration, I approach the topics of the design process from conceptual discussions with the design team through closing night. I document this process with a lighting design journal (including thoughts about the design approach, renderings, sketches, research images, rough plots and paperwork.) The project concludes with a self evaluation, completed plots and paperwork, and finished production photos.

Gentleman Johnny Plays War: John Burgoyne And The Blockade Of Boston, Catherine Ann Peckinpaugh Vrtis

Theses and Dissertations

John Burgoyne, a British general during the American Revolution, is best known for his defeat by the Continental Army at Saratoga. In addition to serving as a general,Burgoyne was a playwright. While in Boston during the blockade following the Battle ofBunker Hill Burgoyne combined his interests, writing a satire of the war. The Blockade of Boston, Burgoyne's play, was first presented as an afterpiece to a production of The Busybody on January 8, 1776 (Silverman 292).Accounts of the performance differ in detail, but the central event is consistent: during the performance a soldier walked out on stage and announced that …

Reviving The Seventies, Aimee M. Huber

Theses and Dissertations

Design Analysis of the VCU Mainstage production process for The Nerd The comedic farce, The Nerd, written by Larry Shue and directed by Drew Fracher here at VCU, is the production I intend to analyze in terms of the scenic design process. From the initial conception of ideas, to their development through collaboration, to completion of construction, and ultimately, opening night, I plan to breakout my process step by step. I'd like to communicate the transformation of a literary play into the three-dimensional world in my mind.I. Introduction A. Overall description of process as it applies to this particular interaction …

The Art Of Collaboration In The Classroom: Team Teaching Performance, Julie K. Phillips

Theses and Dissertations

The Art of Collaboration in the Classroom: Team Teaching Performance is a co-written masters thesis which records our research in the field of team teaching as it relates to theatre education at the university level. It is our intent that this text be used as a tool for helping universities and teachers decide if a collaborative teaching model is right for their courses. A portion of the text is research-based, examining the scholarly writings which have preceded our work. In Chapter 1, we compiled a set of definitions, in the hopes of codifying the language used within this document as …

Playing The Third Man (Midas' Servant, Ceyx, Morpheus As Ceyx, Orpheus, Apollo, A, Philemon) In Mary Zimmerman's Metamorphoses: A Production Thesis, Ronald Ludlow Reeder

LSU Master's Theses

The role of Third Man in Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses was performed in the Fall of 2006 and elected as a thesis role at that time. This thesis is a written record of the actor’s interpretation of the character. This thesis includes background information on the production, reflections on acting in water, a character analysis, a five column score, reflections on performance issues, and photos.

Dialogue, 2006, Columbia College Chicago

Dialogue

Second issue of the Theater department publication Dialogue. Articles include: "Gravity and the Voice"; "Hollywood Daze"; "Faux Glass"; "Precursor"; "Playing Hermione in 'The Winter's Tale'"; and "Transcendent Unity: Race, Creativity and Performance". 16 pages.

Direction Of The Play: A Raisin In The Sun, Jesse S. Montes

Master of Theater Production Graduate Projects

This project entailed the selection, background research, direction, dialect coaching, choreography, design, and post-production analysis of Salesian High School's production of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun. Documentation includes research and analysis of the play as a production. The analysis also includes a discussion regarding the directorial vision of this production.

“Charley's Aunt” Revisited, Willie Camina

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This is a Creative Study involving the directing of Charley's Aunt . This thesis comprises three elements: Preplanning, the Production Record and an Evaluation. The Preplanning Section will communicate the meaning of the play through an external and internal analysis. The Production Record contains the materials used in the execution of this production. The third chapter is an evaluation of the project. There is an essay reporting the audience's reaction and the quantitative results of an exit survey given to audience members to quantify how effectively "the story" was communicated.

A Few Of My Favorite Scenes, Nancee Farrer

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

I presented my senior project on Wednesday, February 22, 2006, at 5:00p.m. and again at 7:30p.m. It was the final product of several months of research followed by several weeks of rehearsals.

This project was designed, directed, and produced by myself. I chose all of the scenes, managed all of the rehearsals, chose the actors, designed the sets and gathered any technical support that I needed for the run of the recital.

My original task with this portion of the research began as an analytical paper on the background of each of the scenes that I performed for my senior …

Plot Lines, Spring 2006, Columbia College Chicago

Plot Lines

Columbia College Chicago Theater Department Student Newsletter. 5 pages.

Greater Tuna, April 27-29, 2006, Theatre Arts Discipline

Theatre Programs

University of Minnesota, Morris production of Greater Tunal by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears and Ed Howard and directed by Todd Janssen.

Synopsis: Greater Tuna is a comedy about a small town in Texas named Tuna, Texas' third smallest town. The wacky inhabitants of this town -- men, women, children and animals -- are all played by two skillful, transformative actors who must change parts at a rather breakneck speed and use inventive voicework.

The Dark Castle, April 1, 2006, Theatre Arts Discipline

Theatre Programs

University of Minnesota, Morris production of The Dark Castle by Sally Netzel and directed by Siobhan Bremer.

Synopsis: The Dark Castle highlights the journey of a handsome, but not-so-bright, young man, named Dimwit, on his way to save the downtrodden duchess Lumina, who is caught in the clutches of her evil uncle, the Baron. Lumina refuses to give up hope that one day a suitor may overcome the impossible tasks her uncle has set forth and rescue her. Even as Lumina's light begins to fade, her ladies-in-waiting--Lady Nozzle, Lady Ogle, and Lady Murmer--stay faithfully by her side. Inspired by the …

The Unusual Suspects Improve Troupe, February 17-18, 2006, Theatre Arts Discipline

Theatre Programs

No abstract provided.