The Delicacy Of Breath: Tribute To Cystic Fibrosis, Natalie Minns

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

A simple breath is something that we do not completely focus on enough in the art of dance, and it can be something that we often take for granted. For my project, my goal is to not only shed light on the simple breath, but to delve deeper into its importance in someone living with a breathing condition. My ultimate goal is to allow these separate entities to coexist through a piece of choreographic work. Through the art of dance, I want to be able to bring awareness to cystic fibrosis (CF) in a more expansive and exploratory approach. This …

Sarah Kane's Post-Christian Spirituality In Cleansed, Elba Sanchez

All Master's Theses

The existing scholarship on the work of British playwright Sarah Kane mostly focuses on exploring the use of extreme acts of violence in her plays. However, few scholars like Dr. Graham Saunders and Anabelle Singer can trace it back to the rejection of her Christian beliefs during her adolescence. This thesis explores how Kane used violence and images of impalement, dismemberment, and cross-dressing in her third play, Cleansed as a vehicle to examine and validate her notions of gender and sexuality as well as her developing post-Christian spirituality. Through the critical textual analysis of Cleansed in conjunction with scholarly literature …

Memory Bread, Nisiqi

Art + Design Masters Theses

Memory Bread, constituting a daily performance ritual and the post-action objects, seeks to address the generational decline of mother language use in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, a post-colonized province of China. I chose to eat sliced white bread in the performance and later casted concrete sculptures as the extension of the action for both substances’ capitalistic nature. Being an invasive material that took over the traditional architectural lifestyle, the use of concrete mirrors the pervasive cultural and ethnic assimilation in China. Meanwhile, the materiality of concrete being a mixture of various substances also metaphors the mixed culture that Chinese-Mongolians …

แนวคิดการแสดงข้ามวัฒนธรรมในการสร้างสรรค์ละครชาตรีร่วมสมัย : กรณีศึกษาการกำกับการแสดงเรื่อง พายุพิโรธ, ชาคร ชะม้าย

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

งานวิจัยนี้ศึกษาการกำกับการแสดงละครชาตรีร่วมสมัยเรื่องพายุพิโรธผ่านแนวคิดการแสดงข้ามวัฒนธรรม ผู้วิจัยในฐานะผู้กำกับการแสดง ศึกษาการสร้างสรรค์จากบทละครเรื่องพายุพิโรธ แปลจาก The Tempest ของ วิลเลียม เชกสเปียร์ (William Shakespeare) และละครชาตรี เพื่อค้นหาแก่นความคิดหลัก(Theme) และวิธีการนำเสนอ(Style) ที่สามารถสื่อสารหลัก(Message) จากบทละครควบคู่กับอัตลักษณ์ละครชาตรี เพื่อแสดงให้เห็นว่าการแสดงจากต่างวัฒนธรรมสามารถนำมาสร้างสรรค์ร่วมกันได้ ผู้วิจัยศึกษาแนวคิดการแสดงข้ามวัฒนธรรมและการกำกับการแสดงละครชาตรีร่วมสมัยเพื่อสร้างแนวทางกำกับ ก่อนนำเข้าสู่กระบวนการสร้างและจัดแสดง ผลการศึกษาผู้วิจัยพบว่ากระบวนการกำกับการแสดงด้วยแนวคิดการแสดงข้ามวัฒนธรรมหลักสำคัญคือ การกำหนดแก่นความคิดหลักของผู้กำกับการแสดงที่มีความเป็นสากล(Universality) เพื่อผสานอัตลักษณ์การแสดงจากทั้งสองวัฒนธรรม ทั้งในแง่ความคิดและรูปแบบที่จะส่งผลต่อทุกองค์ประกอบการแสดง ในทุกกระบวนการสร้างสรรค์จะต้องตระหนักถึงการแลกเปลี่ยนระหว่างวัฒนธรรม(Cultural exchange) บนพื้นฐานความเคารพอย่างจริงใจต่ออัตลักษณ์และรากเหง้าวัฒนธรรม(Cultural Source) ส่งผลให้การพิจารณาบริบทสังคมและประเด็นร่วมสมัยของการแสดงนั้น ก็เพื่อมองหาศักยภาพในการสร้างสรรค์ร่วมกันของทั้งสองการแสดง เพื่อให้เกิดนิเวศการแสดงข้ามวัฒนธรรม(Intercultural performative ecology) ที่ผลักดันการปะทะสังสรรค์ร่วมกันอย่างเป็นธรรมชาติ ผู้วิจัยได้ข้อสรุปว่าการกำกับการแสดงละครชาตรีร่วมสมัยเรื่องพายุพิโรธ เริ่มต้นจากวัตถุดิบการแสดง ทั้งบทละครพายุพิโรธและละครชาตรีว่าสร้างแรงบันดาลใจอย่างไรแก่ผู้กำกับในฐานะศิลปิน ซึ่งไม่มีหลักการตายตัว ข้อถกเถียงในประเด็นการรักษาสมดุลระหว่างการอนุรักษ์หรือพัฒนาจึงไม่ควรจะต้องแบ่งแยกประเภทเพราะขึ้นอยู่กับเป้าหมายของศิลปิน แนวคิดการแสดงข้ามวัฒนธรรมจึงเป็นการสร้างการแสดงในกระแส โลกาภิวัตน์ที่ส่งผลให้ศิลปินทั่วทุกพื้นที่สามารถเชื่อมต่อและแลกเปลี่ยนการแสดงจากต่างวัฒนธรรม เพื่อนำมาสร้างสรรค์บนบริบทการแสดงร่วมสมัยที่เปิดโอกาสให้นำเอาอัตลักษณ์การแสดงจากทุกพื้นที่วัฒนธรรมมาใช้สร้างสรรค์ ซึ่งเป็นปรากฏการณ์การแสดงที่ยังคงดำเนินต่อไป

Examining Protein-Protein Interactions Within The Esx-4 Secretion System Of Mycobacterium Smegmatis, Sophie Boerboom

CMC Senior Theses

Bacteria use secretion systems to export proteins from inside of the bacterium into the periplasm, extracellular space, or host cell. Within the Mycobacterium genus, the type VII secretion systems (T7SS) transport products across the unusually thick and waxy mycobacterial envelope. T7SS are of particular importance because they are involved in the virulence of pathogenic mycobacteria. Mycobacteria have as many as five distinct T7SS called ESX systems. ESX-1, 3, and 5, have demonstrated roles in viability and virulence in certain pathogenic species like M. tuberculosis and M. marinum. Our research focuses on the ESX-4 apparatus, the ancestral system that gave rise …

Effects Of Sleep Deprivation And The Link To Alzheimer’S Disease In Night Shift Workers, Aracelia Aldrete

CMC Senior Theses

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a degenerative neurologic disorder that is often defined by beta-amyloid (Aβ) plaques. These Aβ plaques are formed from protein pieces that are incorrectly cleaved from an amyloid precursor protein (APP). These protein segments, cleaved from APP, are toxic due to increased “stickiness”. They cling together to create protofibrils that eventually mature into neuronal plaques. Aβ plaques lead to neuronal cell death causing classic AD symptoms: memory loss, a decline in speech and motor control, and personality changes. One connection between high Aβ plaques levels and AD is chronic sleep loss or disruption. Night shift workers, even …

The Mediating Role Of Positive Emotion Socialization On Maternal Alexithymia’S Detrimental Impact Towards Child’S Adaptive Regulatory Capacity, Madeleine Ding

CMC Senior Theses

The current study examined the relations between maternal alexithymia and child’s negative outcomes in the form of behavioral problems and adaptive regulatory capacity, as indexed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). It also explores the main and mediating role of positive emotion socialization. Participants consisted of 155 mother-child dyads within a 25-mile radius of a college in Southern California (Mothers M_age=33.1 years, SD=5.5; Children M_age=42.01 months, SD=4.68; 51% male children). The Toronto Alexithymia Scale-26 (TAS-26) and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) were given to mothers to report on alexithymic traits and their child’s internalizing and externalizing behaviors, …

Frobenius Problem, Geometry And Number Fields, Yingqi Shi

CMC Senior Theses

We introduce the classical Frobenius Problem in Mathematics.

Cruzando La Frontera: Choreographing The Mexican-American Identity, Chloe Vich

CMC Senior Theses

This dance project explores the consequences of assimilation on immigrants’ cultural practices and identity specifically for Mexican-Americans in Southern California. The dance project explores the crossing of borders through mixed contemporary and Mexican ballet folklorico dance styles in order to tell a story of immigrants trying, failing, and succeeding in crossing the U.S. and Mexico border. By exploring the integration of Western dance styles with Mexican ballet folklorico, this paper will analyze how Mexican identity, as expressed through dance or song, is maintained by immigrants to remain connected their culture, but is changed through the process of assimilation.

Mexican ballet …

La Evolución De La Masculinidad En Las Películas De Alfonso Cuarón, Daniel Martinez

CMC Senior Theses

El cine de Alfonso Cuarón representa una oportunidad nueva y emocionante para entender mejor la identidad mexicana y todas sus implicaciones. En esta tesis, analizaré las representaciones diferentes de la masculinidad a lo largo de la carrera de Alfonso Cuarón en México ya que estas películas tratan con el tema de manera directa. Desde sus principios en Sólo con tu pareja hasta Roma ( su proyecto más reciente), el estilo de Cuarón ha llegado a definir la nueva era del cine mexicano y sus películas representan a la masculinidad con un enfoque en el impacto que ha tenido en la …

Ending America’S “Endless” Wars: Is A Left/Right Coalition On Non-Interventionist Foreign Policy Feasible?, Blaise Malley

CMC Senior Theses

Ever since the end of the Cold War, American exceptionalism and militarism have been ascendant, often resulting in a government that is eager and able to engage in military interventions across the world. This reality has been upheld by a strong bipartisan consensus of liberal internationalists and neoconservatives that, while it often disagreed on means, ultimately shared the same worldview. However, a number of recent global and national trends have led to growing voices on both sides of the aisle—progressives on the left, and populists on the right—to question the assumptions driving this consensus. This growing coalition has convergence on …

Aristotle And Mutual Accountability: A Just Theory Of Punishment, Dina Rosin

CMC Senior Theses

How can citizens of a moral community both be held accountable and be accountable for their actions and their character? What is the role of both the state and the citizen in restoring accountability? In this thesis, I apply Aristotle’s conception of virtue to Stephen Darwall and William Darwall’s mutual accountability framework for punishment. I present a theory of punishment that creates an obligation on both the state and the citizen to uphold virtue and be accountable, and posits rehabituation of character as a necessary component of maintaining mutual accountability. I then apply this theory to a paradigmatic case that …

Populism: An Exploration Into The American Case Through The Academic Literature, Data Analysis, And Fiction, Maxwell Knowles

CMC Senior Theses

The twenty-first century has seen a rise in populist leadership and rhetoric throughout the globe, with the United States standing as one powerful case. This thesis hopes to develop the “story” of populism from multiple perspectives, attempting to not only inform but change the way we approach the populist movement in America, and perhaps, the world. In Part I, I summarize and blend much of the core literature written on populism and economic change, developing the story that populism in America today has its roots in the significant techno-economic and cultural paradigmatic shifts of the 1970s. Social media and an …

The Future Self: Promoting Prosocial Decision-Making Through Motivated Episodic Simulation, Su Young (Kevin) Choi

CMC Senior Theses

Vividly imagining the future self can help inform our present decisions. Given that most attempts aimed at understanding the prosocial effect of imagining future episodes have focused on sensory properties, little is known about how prosocial motivations can explain the link between episodic simulation and helping intentions. Here, the current research investigated whether altruistically and reputationally motivated simulation of helping behavior promote a willingness to help a person in need. The study found that imagining helping episodes increased willingness to help relative to a control manipulation, especially when reputational concerns were made salient. Path modeling analyses revealed that the prosocial …

On Voyeurism: Being Seen On The Modern Stage, Megan M. Mobley

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

At the end of the nineteenth century, playwrights grew more interested in exploring the ramifications of the gaze, looking and being looked at. For existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre, the gaze causes a never-ending battle between our subjective selves, how we view ourselves, and our objective selves, or how others view us. The knowledge of the Other’s gaze allows us to self-reflect on our own existence. Sartre and Oscar Wilde each incorporate the gaze into their plays to explore the battle between our subjective and objective selves, gendered perception, differences in perception, and to undercut or demonstrates the dominant structures of seeing. …

The Importance Of True Friendship As Exemplified Within Shakespearean Plays, Gretchen Eckert

Senior Honors Theses

Friendship is a valuable, important relationship, because a friend possesses great influence over a person’s life. For this reason, a good friend with a positive character is indispensable. In the Bible, God defined a true friend as selfless, generous, loyal, and honest. William Shakespeare valued the influence of a loyal friend, and his plays include a broad range of friendships that illustrate the impact of a friend’s characteristics. In Macbeth, Banquo proves to be a true, supportive friend who points Macbeth towards God. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hermia and Helena struggle with the selfishness that injures their …

Rent And How To Pay It, Grant Austin Prodan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This Document is a record of my process as the Technical Director of West Virginia University School of Theatre & Dance’s production of Rent. Included in the document is a detailed description of my budgeting, planning, and execution of the build as designed during a pandemic. The document is supported by images, schedules, drafting, and other paperwork.

The Societal Influence On Individual Identity And The Relationship Of Costume Design In Caryl Churchill’S Cloud 9, Laura Kay Plikerd

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Cloud 9 is a play written by Caryl Churchill in 1978. Act one of the play takes place in 1870, British Occupied Africa and act two takes place in contemporary London. In our production, contemporary London was set in 2018. The dramatic shift in time during the two acts brings attention to the changing societal ideals and practices of each era. The costumes for this production of Cloud 9, illuminated the differences between the times by highlighting the stark differences in societally accepted fashion in the chosen time periods and regions.

In Cloud 9, the costumes create a …

L’Ètica De L’Estètica ¿Caldria Debatre L’Antijudaisme Del ‘Misteri D’Elx’?, Antoni Pizà

Publications and Research

Al final de la representació de la segona jornada del Misteri d’Elx hi ha un moment d’indescriptible intensitat emocional. La catarsi que experimenten els espectadors, actors i músics sol manifestar-se en aclamacions, víctors i fins i tot llàgrimes. Els ventalls de les dones aletegen agilíssims, pràcticament posseïts. Primer tímidament —per a no interrompre la màgia del moment— però gradualment amb gran intensitat, comencen, ja al final de la representació, els aplaudiments, sempre in crescendo, acompanyats, poc després, per la coneguda i emfàtica expressió: «Visca la Mare de Déu!».

Just A Number: A Cabaret Exploring The Roles My Age Prevents Me From Playing, Monica Andrews

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Learning your type in the entertainment industry is not an easy lesson for many young performers. This is especially true if you are already being cast as the 'older woman' or 'witty sidekick' at 13 years old. A wise professor once told me, at the ripe age of 20, that moving to New York City after graduating with my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Musical Theatre would be a mistake. He told me that as a character actress my time will come and that I am too young to play the roles I am right for. These words were …

Adaptation Of The Novel "Silas Marner" Into A One-Act Play And Performance, Melaney Douglass

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

As a teacher of high school theatre, I aspire to create powerful and thought-provoking theatre with my students. For my thesis, I adapted George Eliot's classic novel Silas Marner into a one-act play. I researched the novel and the necessary aspects of writing a one-act play. I explored the overriding themes in the novel. I researched and applied the techniques, skills and literary mechanics necessary to construct a one-act play. I recorded the creative process with my students as we, the director and actors, produced this original one-act for public performances. I reflected on this thesis journey and objectively critiqued …

The Field Of Tya On The Soccer Field: Using Drama Strategies To Enhance Youth Soccer Coaching Practices, Brittany Caine

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This thesis explores best practices for applying drama strategies to coaching youth soccer. How does drama pedagogy translate to sports? Do drama techniques improve youth soccer? How can using drama- based strategies when coaching youth soccer enhance my own coaching abilities and thus improve the quality of youth soccer instruction and experience? This study applies various drama techniques to pre- written coaching curriculum. This manifested in heavily detailed games, supported by pantomime, storytelling, and narrative exploration, all of which further engaged the children in their soccer exercises. This thesis is supplemented by research on best practices regarding youth soccer, as …

Production Development: A Practical Approach To Directing For Educational Theatre, Jill Cicciarelli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The goal of this thesis was to develop a process-based approach for a theatre production with an emphasis in musical theatre at the secondary education level. Many times, a high school theatre instructor is faced with challenges when selecting materials for productions that go beyond the standard mandated curriculum. In a perfect world, the program would have strong enrollment, overflowing funding and community support. This is usually not the case, so how does the director prioritize the necessary practice to find success for a production? What does the instructor do to select material that will be appropriate for the curriculum …

The Art Of Reflection: A Personal Account Of Reflexive Teaching Artistry And Personal Praxis, Kate Kilpatrick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Teaching Artists (that is, artists who teach) are in a constant state of reflection and self-evaluation. Reflexive Teaching Artistry is the ability to apply personal reflection to practice as a means to better support and engage students. Reflection is certainly useful at the culmination of a class or project, but how does reflecting throughout the creative process benefit participants? How can a Teaching Artist's reflections be applied to their practice throughout a creative process to better serve the objectives of a program? Using the lens of Reflexive Teaching Artistry, this thesis examines three unique drama-based projects and the instances of …

His Voice: The Portrayals Of Lgbtq+ Issues In Musical Theatre Seen Through Terrence Mcnally's A Man Of No Importance, Alex Mendez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

As a young theatre educator and director, I have found myself to be most impacted by LGBTQ+ works that provide perspectives on controversial topics that exist in today's society. It has dawned on me that representation through theatre is impactful for audiences who are able to relate to the characters in the story that is being told, and through this, can find their own voice in a world where they may feel silenced. In an ever-changing educational world, we as educators are always pushed to innovate and create strategies that can elevate how stories are told through theatre. Through conversations …

Director Methods For High School And Amateur Theatre Implementation, Tyler Leeps

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

My aim with this thesis is to take college and professional level directing techniques and break them down in a digestible way so new directors can take these techniques and implement them at the high school and community theatre level. I discuss five different approaches to directing theatre with student or amateur actors, each tied to common practices and standards used in professional theatres. My goal is to take theoretical techniques taught at universities and create a practical mindset to implement them on the high school and community theatre level. Spending four years balancing teaching world history with being theatre …

How Artists Can Capture Us: Educating About The Works Of Stephen Sondheim Through Parody, Jarrett Poore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This thesis examined the modern renaissance man and his relationship between musical theatre history and parody; it examined how the modern artist created, produced, and facilitated an original parody in which humor can both influence and enhance an individual's interest in the art form. In the creation and production of The Complete Works of Stephen Sondheim [abridged], I showcased factual insight on one of the most prolific writers of musical theatre and infused it with comedy in order to educate and create appeal for Stephen Sondheim's works, especially those lesser known, to a wider theatrical audience. My two greatest research …

Stages Of Color: An Exploration Of Drama Through A Chromatic Lens, John Norton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The human eye can see approximately seven million different colors and within this vastly wide spectrum of refracting and reflecting light waves, an almost equal number of connotations have been attached to these various shades and tones. Whether originating from cultural histories, religious traditions, or a myriad of other sources, these associations succeed at quite literally coloring one's view of what is illuminated in front of them, especially when it comes to any and all attached emotional implications. This knowledge raises the question of how does an artist navigate not only the utilization of color in their work, but the …

Playing Disability, Daniel Romano

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Disability in performance has a long history, starting with fictional characters such as Shakespeare's Gloucester/Richard, progressing through the freak shows of the early twentieth century, and finally with artists such as Neil Marcus, Mat Fraser and Deaf West Theatre in the past twenty years. Looking to the work of disabled artists, activists, and theorists such as Petra Kuppers and Carrie Sandahl, I will examine the history of both disability in performance and the performance of disability. I will discuss my performance of Garret, a man with muscular dystrophy, in my original play, The Sick Parents Club. Through analysis of what …

Who Am I, And Why Does It Matter? Reflections Of Identity And The Need For Culturally Sustaining Theatre, Bianca Alamo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The question of "who am I" created an involuntary domino effect which led me to my most valued work I have done as a graduate student, serving predominantly Latino/a students in educational theatre settings. This thesis explores three productions I worked on and the questions that have evolved in my understanding of identity and cultural sustainability as a Latina theatre artist and educator working in educational theatre. As an Orlando Repertory teaching artist, I began a residency with HOPE CommUnity Center along with some colleagues. We worked with high school students from their youth group to devise a show titled …