Theatre and Performance Studies Commons^™

Theatre For The Community: A Practical Application, Megan Larissa Ciszek

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Theatre for the Community: A Practical Application

This paper serves to synthesize and reflect upon my Creative Honors Capstone project entitled “Theatre for the Community: A Practical Application.” The initial steps of the project included research into community based theatre and community outreach. This research was then used to inspire the process necessary for a fully realized production of Annie Baker’s Body Awareness, structured with community collaboration in mind. In this way, Body Awareness’ process acted as my first attempt at the practical application of my research. This paper both acts as the exploration of the concept of creating and …

A Christmas Carol (December 7-9, 2017), Charles Dickens

Student Theatre Programs

Program for A Christmas Carol.

Esports: A New Take On Entertainment In Immersive Theatre, Kayla Pajarito

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

In a technologically growing society, a once quiet community is now rising to become one of the most broadcasted spectacles in the world. When one thinks of sports, one would think about a traditional sport such as football or basketball. Within the last twenty years a new sport has gained a tremendous amount of exposure and continues to grow to this day. eSports is a new genre of sports that focus around the professionalization of playing video games. Combine the rise of eSports with the advancement of technology and media and out comes a new form of immersive theatre. The …

The Artistic And Anthropological Influence Of Lighting Design On Guests At The Disneyland Resort, Jennifer Pershon

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Lighting design, while popularized by theatre, has emerged beyond the stage into real world environments and settings. Its advancement has led to an evolution of light, allowing for light to appear as a work of art independent from objects and productions despite lacking a tangible existence. As themed entertainment has grown into an entire industry of spectacle and performance, the concept of theme parks developed from one man’s dream to bring his animated films to life in a constructed environment for the promotion of imagination. Lighting design within the Disneyland Resort facilitates the ideologies of Walt Disney, utilizing its foundation …

“We Are Going Live In 3, 2, 1...”: Examining Liveness Amidst Streaming Technology, Jessica Jeanne Johnson

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

The products of the theatre, film, and television industries are becoming increasingly homogenized. The modes of entertainment which feature a live audience experience (film and theatre) have seen a gradual decrease in ticket sales to these experiences, while simultaneously there has been a rapidly increasing number of subscriptions to streaming services providing access to productions from all three mediums (film, theatre, television). This fact represents the public’s divergence from the idea of traditional “liveness.” Many scholars believe that liveness has the ability to manifest itself in many mediatized forms (such as in 3D, surround sound, etc.), and while this is …

A Dramaturgical Exploration: Setting Oliver Goldsmith’S She Stoops To Conquer In Post-Civil War Virginia, Amanda Ward

Senior Honors Theses

A reputable theatrical company will hire a dramaturg to implement historical research and to provide reputable information where the director or staff desires it. They ensure that the play’s elements are as truthful to the time period as possible and aid in a performance’s overall success. If a theatrical company were to set Oliver Goldsmith’s play She Stoops to Conquer in 1870 Virginia, it could strengthen the play’s underlying religious, political, and cultural elements.

The paper is comprised of seven sections: a biography of the playwright, a religious exploration, a political analysis, a cultural comparison, a delineation of suggested script …

Théâtre Burkinabè Contemporain Et Dramaturgie De L’Entre-Deux : Aristide Tarnagda Et Sophie Kam, Christophe Konkobo

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

What do contours of contemporary Burkinabe drama look like? By attempting to answer such a question, we analyzed a number of plays written by both Aristide Tarnagda and Sophie Heidi Kam, two young playwrights from Burkina Faso. The works examined in this article show first and foremost aesthetic approaches and thematic concerns not often seen in previous dramatic writings. The contemporary plays are always set in symbolically defined “empty spaces” where characters seek to define their identity against internal and external pressures.

Thinking Before You Act: A Constructive Logic Approach To Crafting Performance-For- Development Narrative, Angela Duggins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The intent of this thesis was to test the feasibility of constructing performance-for-development narrative using a constructive logic approach. I created an equation which expressed the sum of non-human-elements as the sum of a narrative with each element serving as a variable. I used a review of persuasion literature to provide insight into the selection and manipulation of each variable. I provided my family as a hypothetical example and used my knowledge of their preferences and communication styles in conjunction with the literature and the equation to craft a narrative which might increase pro-school attitudes in other families like my …

Aphra Behn On The Contemporary Stage: Behn's Feminist Legacy And Woman-Directed Revivals Of The Rover, Nicole Elizabeth Stodard

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study theorizes the origins and history of the professional female playwright and director from the Restoration period to the present day through the stage history of Behn's most popular play, The Rover. Part one is comprised of two chapters: the first in this section argues the importance of appreciating Behn's proto-directorial function in the Restoration theatre and her significance to the history of feminism and women in professional theatre; the second chapter in this section examines the implications of casting practices and venue changes to eighteenth-century revivals of Behn's canon with a particular eye towards what a contemporary director …

The Visit (November 2-4, 2017), Frederich Dürrenmatt

Student Theatre Programs

Program for The Visit (November 2-4, 2017).

Twelfth Night (Or What You Will) Program [2017], University Of Southern Maine Department Of Theatre

Programs 2017-2018 Season

By William Shakespeare

Directed by Sara Valentine

Avenue Q (October 4-8, 2017), Jeff Whitty

Student Theatre Programs

Program for Avenue Q (October 4-8, 2017).

To view the photos from this production of Avenue Q, please click here.

Global Issues In Plays - Essay [Theater], Stefanie Sertich, Garrett Neergaard

Open Educational Resources

This assignment was developed with the global learning core competency rubric and its dimensions in mind. The objective is for students to understand and articulate the intention of a play and the significance of choices the playwright makes. Students are also expected to articulate how the play fits into a social/political context on a global level and articulate how the student can relate or not relate to the point of view and why. This process provides the student an opportunity to open their minds to plays beyond entertainment purposes and have a deeper understanding of a writer’s intention.

LaGuardia’s Core …

Poetry Slammin’ In The Slammer: Questioning The Limits Of Arts-In-Corrections, Rivka Rocchio

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

Through the process of creating—specifically of shaping new worlds of possibility through poetry and the performance of it—the arts may offer gaps in the punishment of incarceration and attempt the reclamation or claiming of individual expression. But what are the limits of artistic expression in a highly monitored and surveilled location? This reflective essay explores a performance of slam poetry by ten inmates inside Arizona's Eyman State Prison for an audience of twenty-five prisoners. Using Keoni Watson’s winning poem as a frame, Rocchio questions the reported impacts of the slam and the larger culpability of arts-in-corrections in simultaneously supporting and …

Prison Is Not…But It Can Be…, Keoni K. Watson

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

This poem is a clarion call to action to confront our perceptions about what prison is and what it can be. The poem asks the reader to explore how they experience the “prison industrial complex” in their own lives, and how they might shift their views through perspective-taking to create a more holistically integrative prison experience for themselves and others. The value of the poem lay within the context in which it was created: written by person-first prison inmate Keoni Watson—during a three month performative workshop facilitated by Rivka Roccio at an Arizona State Penitentiary—to be performed as a spoken …

Neighborhood 3: Requisition Of Doom Program, University Of Southern Maine Department Of Theatre

Programs 2017-2018 Season

A Play by Jennifer Haley

Director: Dana Wieluns Legawiec

Last Train To Nibroc Program, University Of Southern Maine Department Of Theatre

Programs 2017-2018 Season

by Arlene Hutton

Directed by Andrew Harris

Opal Clark On Directing Stop Kiss An Exploration Of The Directorial Process, Opal Clark

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The intent of this thesis and thesis project was to execute a successful run of the play, Stop Kiss by Diana Son while achieving the playwright’s intended message. Opal Clark directed this production of Stop Kiss at East Tennessee State University under special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc. It was performed to sold out audiences in ETSU Theatre and Dance Studio 205 October 2-7, 2017. The play explores experiences and hostility toward same sex couples, their relationships with one another and how one individual discovers sexuality. The discovery and actualization of the characters’ struggles were communicated in the play …

Theatre For Social Change: Histories & Applications, Samantha J. Hageman

Theater Summer Fellows

Theater is not only an art form, but also a method of communication and community-building. My research investigates how theater can be used to create social change. I study approaches to using theater as a vehicle for social change and a tool to communicate diverse perspectives and cultivate empathy. My work focuses on a history of theater for social change, examples of theater for social change including plays and performance pieces, and ways of both creating and teaching theater for social change. My project culminates in an annotated bibliography, a research paper, an original theater for social change monologue, and …

Theatre Of Trauma, Nathan Devanand Singh

The Theatre School MFA in Directing Theses

In his thesis paper, entitled: Theatre of Trauma , MFA Directing candidate Nathan Singh uses his three years of graduate school to further develop his theories of a theatre of trauma. He uses class-work, productions and the philosophies/works of other theatre-makers to articulate how theatre is a powerful outlet to show survivors processing different types of trauma. In doing this, he has expands his vision and aesthetic on directing (or generating) works about trauma and human suffering. He also investigates how theatre can help heal and/or reclaim trauma. In the first part, he shares his background on how to got …

Night Launch, Cavan Hallman

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

4000 Matches On Fire At Once: Studies In Memory And Performance, Lauren Chapman

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

In examining the journey that has brought me to the position I am in as a dramaturg, artist, and person, it would be at best rude and at worst irresponsible not to acknowledge the universe of people, productions, and ideas that have molded me. Just as plays are composites and amalgams of ideas, emotions, styles, and themes, so is an emerging dramaturg. My experience is both entirely my own, and not my own at all. In reflecting this experience for my thesis exhibit, I feel it’s important to isolate those individuals and ideas that have molded me.

By presenting their …

Masks: A New Face For The Theatre, Alexi M. Siegel

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This paper serves to synthesize and reflect upon the Creative Honors Capstone project entitled “Masks: A New Face for the Theatre.” This project sought to answer the questions: 1. What is the role of masks in theatre today? 2. How can a director use ancient mask traditions to inspire new work? The ancient mask traditions that were the primary focus of this study were Greek Theatre, Japanese Noh Theatre, and Egungun Masquerades of Yorubaland. The initial steps of the project included research into the historical context of these masked traditions as well as contemporary practices. This research was then used …

From Playwriting To Production, Lauren Wade

Senior Honors Projects

Theater has been a beloved art form for centuries, originating in Ancient Greek times and evolving into what we know today. For as long as I can remember I have been involved in theater, performing in my own school plays starting in elementary school and, upon entering high school, assisting the middle school next door in their productions. While I have been studying acting here at the University of Rhode Island, I have also had the opportunity to expand my knowledge in many aspects of stagecraft including stage management, costume and set design, set construction and scenic painting, and more …

Finding Exuberance For The Role Shelby In Baltimore., Danielle Smart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis documents my discovery of exuberance as the key to a successful performance and reveals the challenges I faced in developing a character whose major actions in the play fall into the category of masking (i.e. hiding, avoiding, dodging). I define exuberance and discuss how I came to understand that sustaining exuberance requires a great deal of technical expertise specifically in acting, movement and voice in order to accommodate the demands of the character. I contend that exuberance also requires commitment and nurturing of the actor’s personal artistic vision. This thesis will discuss some of the difficulties I faced …

Expression And Emotion In Music: How Expression And Emotion Affect The Audience’S Perception Of A Performance, Kelly Lynn Palusis

Selected Honors Theses

Expression and emotion in a musical performance affects how the music is perceived by the audience. A study of a song’s composer and the background of the music aids in improving the expression and understanding of vocal music. A study of theatre brings an extra dynamic to a musical performance. Maria Callas, for example, was a pioneer in combining these many factors into her performances. Her application of music and drama in opera makes her an ideal example of a complete and dynamic vocalist. The expression and emotion she poured into each performance transformed how people saw opera and music …

The Female Writer And Her Female Characters: A Coming Of Age Story, Stephanie N. Grilo

Theatre & Dance ETDs

In this essay, I review my growth and learning as a playwright in this MFA program. I position my play, Red Dirt, within the context of psychoanalysis and feminist theory as a study of the behavioral patterns that emerge when female melancholia and violent masculinity collide. I examine the praxis of my writing and research methodologies, as well as the technical, thematic, and academic aspects of my writing practice.

Center For Art & Theater News, Georgia Southern University

Center for Art & Theater (Archived)

• ‘B.F.A. Senior Exhibition’ Opens at Center for Art & Theatre in May

Rapture. Redemption. Religion. Retail. Directing Samuel D. Hunter’S, A Bright New Boise, Chadwick R. Taylor

Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film: Theses, Student Research, and Creative Work

This thesis contains the written documentation of the process of directing a theatrical production of A Bright New Boise by Samuel D. Hunter, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Masters of Fine Arts in Directing for Stage and Screen at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Topics addressed include play selection, background of the play and author, script analysis, concept development, casting, production and rehearsal process, director’s reflection, and critical responses and self-evaluation.

Advisor: Ian Borden

Hamlet: An Illuminating Look At Tragedy, Maxx Finn

Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film: Theses, Student Research, and Creative Work

This thesis describes the research and production process of the lighting design of Hamlet, adapted by Wesley Broulik, performed in Howell Theatre, from November 17 through December 4 at the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film at the University of Nebraska. Hamlet was directed by Wesley Broulik. Maxx Finn acted as the production’s lighting designer, Kaitlyn Peterson designed the set, Haley Williams designed the costumes, Emily Callahan designed the sound, Andrea Besch acted as the properties master, and Travis Smith was the acting technical director.

This thesis contains the entire lighting design process for Hamlet, including initial meetings, conceptualization, …