Theatre and Performance Studies Commons^™

Intimate Encounters: A Study Of The Interaction Between Dancer And Observer, Caitlin Mackenzie

Theses : Honours

This paper explores the world of intimate performance, looking at the effect intimate spatial relations have on the connection between performer and audience. The constraints and unspoken formalities of traditional theatre conventions are examined, with a focus on the resulting relationship between the individual audience member and the performer. Comparisons of performances respecting traditional conventions, and those which are site-specific, one-on-one and involve audience interaction, will provide the basis of the examination of the nature of intimate performance and the audience-performer relationship. Performance interaction is compared to nonverbal social interaction and what the blurring of these phenomena means. Essentially I …

The Revenge Of The Second Banana A Female Sidekick's Survival Guide, Melissa Mason

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

I returned to school to receive an MFA in Musical Theater for many reasons, but paramount was the need to further explore and develop my range as an actress. Throughout my career, I have played a variety of roles, but none as challenging or possibly as rewarding as the man-hungry secretary UCharlieV in James Valcq5s Zombies from the Beyond, produced by the Jester Theatre in Winter Garden, FL. Performing this role allowed me to achieve one of my objectives when entering the grad program at UCF: to transition from a classical ingénue or soubrette into a leading lady or character …

Building A Workable Model For Youth Theatre An Exploration Into A Courageous And Complex Field, Megan E. Mayo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As an active director of productions featuring youth actors, I find myself debating the same questions continuously: Are there clear and demonstrated differences between working with young people and adults when directing a youth theatre production? Are there approaches and methods of working with young people that differs greatly from working with adults? Are these methods supported and utilized by those working professionally in the field? Is there an ideal format for a theatre producing only productions with youth? I believe that directing young actors tends to require a shift in focus due to the pliability, sensitivity, and inexperience of …

Lighting Design For From Sun To Sun A Day In A Railroad Camp, Nathan Szewczyk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis the notion of a theoretical approach to the beginning stages of designing lighting for a theatrical production will be discussed. The topic being researched is: How a theoretical approach to entering the design process will enhance the final lighting design. The target audience for this study is theatrical lighting designers. A theoretical approach, in this case to the beginning of the design process, could be described as utilizing current dramatic theories to develop a better understanding for the design of this production. In order to better understand this topic one would need to know how the process …

Fearlessness The Seventh Element Of Drama, Matt Wenge

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Aristotle proclaimed in his Poetics that there were six elements to drama: spectacle, music, diction, thought, character, and plot. This paper will analyze the play Thom Pain (based on nothing) against these six elements. I will discuss the aspects of each element that are present in the show as well as the ideas and concepts my director, Tad Ingram, and I brought to the show. Through the rehearsal and performance process I discovered a seventh element; the element of fearlessness. In his Poetics, Aristotle does not fully address what the actor brings to the performance and this aspect is just …

Writes Of Spring A Study Of Communication Within Collective Devising, Jennifer Adams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Communication is a pivotal element in creating theatre with other artists, with audiences, and with the outside world. Theatre artists are required to collaborate at nearly every step of the process. Despite the necessity of highly developed collaboration skills, communication in the creation of theatre is an often-underdeveloped curriculum area. As a Director and Teaching Artist I am particularly interested in how to find new ways of collaborating so I may model and pass these skills to my students. Through a qualitative research survey of communication used in collaborative devising, this research analyzes environments that improve communication and allow for …

Between Two Worlds Representing Duality In The Costumes Of The University Of Central Florida Conservatory Theatre's Production Of Seamus Heaney's The Burial At Thebes: A Version Of Sophocles' Antigone, Grace Lorraine Trimble

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The costume design for the University of Central Florida Conservatory Theatre‘s production of Seamus Heaney‘s The Burial at Thebes: A Version of Sophocles’ Antigone took an ancient Greek classic by Sophocles and infused it with influences from avant-garde theatre. This thesis documents the process of designing the costumes from academic, artistic, and technical aspects. Through this process, I explored how to communicate abstract ideas about humanity into actual costumes and how multiple cultural heritages can be intertwined in a united visual which pushes the audience to think more critically about the story. The recurring themes of duality are central to …

Drama + Math = Dramath, Lucy Lynn Bryson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Arts-Across-the-Curriculum is gaining popularity in the field of education as arts programs are being cut from schools and teachers looks for ways to incorporate art in their classroom. Most of these teachers have minimal formal arts training, but recognize the importance of introducing their students to various fine arts disciplines. These educators seek opportunities to learn new ways to bring arts to their students and may bring teaching artists into their classrooms to teach students or teachers. The clear connection between drama and the core subjects of history and literature allow teaching artists to easily create units utilizing both curriculum …

The Anatomy Of A Fight Scene Characterization Through Stage Combat And Movement, Nona Lee Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The study of stage combat is designed to fabricate the illusion of physical combat without causing harm to the performers. Most research in this field does not take into account the characterization of the actor during the training of a fight scene. An actor primarily learns the stunt choreography of the scene and often times the subtleties of the character is often forgotten. Scenes that involve physical contact are an essential aspect of the dramatic action. My aim is to eventually devise a process that will consistently create fight scenes that maintain the integrity of the fight director‘s work as …

Beyond Performance Portraying A Gay Character Truthfully And Effectively, Trent Fucci

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Queer culture is finding an ever-increasing voice in the arts. Plays like The Laramie Project, Rent, and Angels in America have contributed to making queer identity a very present voice in popular culture. In this thesis, I investigate the excitement and complexity of a straight actor becoming a gay character on stage. Using my interpretation of "Jack" in Debbie Lamedman’s new play, Triangle Logic, as a case study, I catalogue a three-month journey towards the effective embrace of truthfulness on stage. I expand the idea that actors must not layer on possibly offensive stereotypes to convey sexuality, but, instead, focus …

Walking Backwards Into The Future, Camille Norman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recent artists like Norwegian Recycling and E-603 have created a new genre of art within music: digital recycling. These artists take many different well-known and less-known lyrics, music, and spoken word and combine them together. This meshing of multiple pieces of art has new historical roots. The different images, auditory and visual, that these creations produce and often enhance meaning and connections through popular media. These connections interest me most. Through the lenses of post-colonial, gender, and queer theories, I examine Witi Ihimaera's creative work. I splice in different theorists' words, my own thoughts, and images to enhance and accent …

Technique Arms The Imagination Developing An Acting Theory Best Suited For Motion Capture Performance And The Creation Of A Virtual Character, Brendan Rogers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

“The untrained body, like the sculptor's marble, can express nothing but its own limitations” (Lust 70). As acting styles have changed through the years, corresponding schools of thought have arisen to prepare performers for their unique challenges. Perhaps the goal of producing a “gripping performance,” one in which the audience is truly invested, has remained the same since the time of Thespis. How one arrives at this desired result, however, has varied greatly through the ages. Techniques, not surprisingly, tend to build on previous theories, beliefs and practices. Étienne Decroux’s corporeal mime technique builds on the teachings of Jacques Copeau, …

Inheriting The Motley Mantle An Actor Approaches Playing The Role Of Feste, Shakespeare's Update Of The Lord Of Misrule, Andrew Clateman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Playing role of Feste in William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night presents a complex challenge to the actor. Feste is at once a character in the world of the play and a clown figure with specific dramatic functions having roots in the Lord of Misrule of the English holiday and the Vice of the morality play. How can the actor playing Feste create a believable psychological portrayal that is aligned with the functions Shakespeare assigns the role? And be entertaining as well? I suggest that actor will benefit greatly from an exploration the traditional function of the clown its development in society …

The Actor's Role In Developing New Plays, Brooke M. Haney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The constant development of new plays is vital for theatre to stay relevant. There is a desire, a yearning, a need to see the issues we face in our lives on stage in current contexts, and to watch characters living with them. The ability, as an Actor, to be an asset to the process of creating new works is invaluable. For my thesis, I discuss the role of the Actor in the process of developing new plays for the stage. I say “discuss” because I venture to guess that this role is constantly evolving. There may be as many ways …

Rabbit Hole: A Prologue, Elizabeth Davis

A with Honors Projects

A short, one act play about the childhood of Becca, Arthur, and Izzy.

The Performance Production Process Of An Outstanding High School Choir, Kathy K. Rolsten

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite the interest in and importance of producing high quality choral performance, the question "How is superior performance produced?" has not been addressed in a holistic and naturalistic way. A synthesis of previous research findings suggests that a combination of actions, interactions, relationships, and conditions produce superior choral performance. Yet a holistic examination of this multi-faceted production process has not been conducted. In order to identify all factors contributing to the production of superior performance and how these factors work together, I comprehensively examined an extreme case of superior performance. This extreme case of superior performance was one high school, …

Multilingual Theatre: Community Value And Future Education Necessity, Diana Milree Garles

Honors Program Theses

This project is the culmination of my two passions: theatre and language. For me, these two things are priceless pieces of human identity, whether used consciously or not. I imagine there are very few people who have never played a role, or portrayed a certain character to embody a facet of their personality. I believe this research presents a natural, practical option for community and educational development through the use of theatre techniques. Language is a supporting element in theatre, and theatre can use language as an educational tool for exposure and for further understanding of many different cultures and …

Shifting Blackness: How The Arts Revolutionize Black Identity In The Postmodern West, Reginald Eldridge Jr

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The contemporary experiences of racially marginalized people in the West are affected deeply by the hegemonic capitalist Orthodox cultural codes, or episteme, in which blackness operates as the symbol of Chaos. As it relates to people of African descent, these affects are marked by a denial of the black person's full status as an unproblematic subject, by ontological voids arising from the practice of enslavement over the past centuries, and by problems of representation within the West, where examples and points of reference for black identity are always tied up with conflicting interests.

Utilizing Sylvia Wynter's model of the Ceremony …

How To Get From Here To There: Poetic Connections In Tracy Letts's "Man From Nebraska," "August: Osage County," And "Superior Donuts.", Deborah Ann Kochman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, Kochman examines the textual references to poetry in contemporary playwright Tracy Letts's "Man from Nebraska," "August: Osage County," and "Superior Donuts" and explores how specific references function as a "poetic exchange" between the protagonists and the respective agents of change or moral touchstones in each play and how these "poetic exchanges" suggest a diminishment or elevation of the intrinsic value of art -- specifically, poetry -- as a force for personal and cultural renewal. While Letts's writing is hardly "poetic" and his structure closer to "narrative," he focuses on "the repressed" - both emotionally and socially --and …

The Portia Project: The Heiress Of Belmont On Stage And Screen, Ann Mccauley Basso

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Until now, there has not been a performance history of The Merchant of Venice that focuses on Portia, the main character of the play. Although she has the most lines, the most stage time, and represents the nexus of the action, Portia has often been hidden in Shylock's shadow, and this dissertation seeks to bring her into the spotlight. The Portia Project is a contribution to literary and theatrical history; its primary goal is to provide a tool for scholars and teachers. Moreover, because of Merchant's notoriously problematic nature, the play invites different perspectives. By presenting the diverse ways that …

The Salt Lake Theatre: Brigham's Playhouse, Kenneth L. Alford Ph.D., Robert C. Freeman Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

A history of the Salt Lake Theatre (dedicated in 1862).

Preperations On A Graduate Viola Recital, Julia Gutierrez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The intention of this paper is to discuss three works of the viola repertoire and their specific performance practices and musical aspects. The paper discusses the historical background of the pieces, harmonic and form structure, and suggested performance practices for each work.

Ua68/17/1 Potter College Of Arts & Letters Theatre & Dance Publications, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Publications created by the department of Theatre & Dance including theatrical posters and programs, a newsletter, brochures, and more.

Promotional Email From Vendini: Blackfriars Dance Concert, Vendini Marketing

Playbill and Promotions

Providence College Department of Theatre, Dance & Film

Promotional email printout from Vendini marketing about the Blackfriars Dance Concert.

Printout date: December 13, 2010

A Plantation Family Wardrobe, 1825 - 1835, Jennifer Lappas

Theses and Dissertations

An examination of the Shirley Plantation Collection, Hill Carter, Mary B. Carter, their children, the plantation workers and their wardrobe between 1825 and 1835.

Stopping For Death: Plays, Poetry, And Prose, Sally Johnson

Honors Theses

Thesis consists of plays and poetry composed by Sally Johnson.

Dinner With Friends Strike Poster, Providence College

Playbill and Promotions

Providence College Department of Theatre, Dance & Film

Dinner with Friends strike

December 5, 2010

Dinner With Friends Poster, Providence College, Jayo Miko Macasaquit ‘11

Playbill and Promotions

Providence College Department of Theatre, Dance & Film

Bowab Studio Theatre, Smith Center for the Arts

Dinner With Friends

An independent student production

December 3-5, 2010

Poster Design: Jayo Miko Macasaquit ‘11

Dinner With Friends Playbill, Providence College

Playbill and Promotions

Providence College Department of Theatre, Dance & Film

Bowab Studio Theatre, Smith Center for the Arts

Dinner With Friends

An independent student production

December 3-5, 2010

Directed by Conor Leary '11

Costume Design: Kelly Smith '12

Scenic Design: Kenneth Carberry '12

Lighting & Sound Design: Ted Boyce-Smith '11

Cast: KAREN - Danielle Demisay '12; GABE - Jeff DeSisto '13; BETH - Christine Cestaro '11; TOM - Taylor O'Brien '12

Nuncrackers: The Nunsense Christmas Musical, Parkland College Theatre

Parkland Theatre

Book, Music and Lyrics: Dan Goggin

Director: J.W. Morrissette
Musical Director: Tim Schirmer
Choreographer: Jean Ray Korder
Costume Designer: Sr. Mary Poly Ester
Scenic and Lighting Designer: Thomas V. Korder
Sound Designer: Robert Dagit<
Technical Director: David G. Dillman

December 1, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, at 7:30 p.m.
December 11, 12 at 3 p.m.

Produced by special arrangement with Tams-Whitmark Music Library, Inc.

To view images from this production, visit Nuncrackers: The Nunsense Christmas Musical (2010).