Dramatic Literature, Criticism and Theory Commons^™

Wole Soyinka: A Life Of Arts And Advocacy, Maggie Feduccia

Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

The life and work of playwright, novelist, and activist Wole Soyinka (born in 1934) serves as a perfect example of the marriage of the arts and advocacy, through the telling of stories of the Nigerian people. Soyinka grew up surrounded by Christianity, Islam, and the tribal religion of the Yoruba people. Additionally, Soyinka’s parents exposed him to Nigerian and other West African literature, Western literature, and ancient Greek drama. Soyinka’s intellect was formed at the intersection of these various theologies and literary traditions, and further developed through studies at the University of Ibadan and the University of Leeds, from where …

Introduction To Theatre Oer Course, Carmen R. Meyers

Open Educational Resources

Study of theatre and performance throughout history and across cultures including an examination of European, Carribean, and North and South American theatrical styles and genres.

This course is organized for a hybrid/asynchronous format. Our class meets on-campus every week for 75 minutes and the other 75 minutes will be completed asynchronously with weekly learning modules on Blackboard.

The first half of the course focuses on the history of theatre from Ancient Greece through Modern Realism. The second half of the course, students engage in the procedures of professional theatre artists through writing and refining a dramatic text; enacting a performance; …

I Was Crazy Once: An Examination Of Elizabethan Insanity In Shakespeare’S Work, Hope L. Kobus

Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

William Shakespeare wrote numerous works, diving into the common motifs of love, revenge, power, but most importantly, madness. While Elizabethan audiences were more accustomed to seeing madness as a ploy for comedy, Shakespeare changed the appeal through shows such as King Lear, Hamlet, and Macbeth. He presents the power and ambition of women, as well as the failings of the upper-class, but he disguised them through the idea of insanity. At a time when the public had little understanding of mental health, it was easy to blame madness on gender, social status, and even the supernatural. Through …

Acting In Good Faith, Tanya Dean

Articles

No abstract provided.

Let The People Speak: How Verbatim Theater Allows Historically Marginalized Groups Tell Their Stories, Kalala C. Kiwanuka-Woernle

Theatre and Dance Honors Projects

motherhood: the good, bad, and ugly was born out of my research of Verbatim Theater, specifically the practices of Anna Deavere Smith, The Tectonic Theater Project, and Eve Ensler; and the lack of fully fleshed out mother characters represented in theatre. In my research, I focused on how these different playwrights crafted their plays, identified the topic or event they wanted to explore, and the selection of their subjects. During the pandemic, I had the idea to create a theater piece that would tell the good, the bad, and the ugly of motherhood because in the media especially in the …

Sweet Fooling: Ethical Humor In King Lear And Levinas, Kent R. Lehnhof

English Faculty Articles and Research

"In recent years, scholars have increasingly put the works of William Shakespeare (1564-1623) in dialogue with the ethical philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas (1905-1995)... The majority of these Shakespearean references are to Hamlet and Macbeth, but contemporary critics working in the vein of Levinas have tended to favor King Lear. No Shakespearean play has been subjected to Levinasian analysis more fully or more frequently.⁵ This critical proclivity is not unwarranted, for Shakespeare's tragic play and Levinas's ethical writings tell the same basic story: that of the egoist who heedlessly pursues his own interests until he is until he …

Fun With Palamon And Arcite: Rationale And Strategies For Teaching The Two Noble Kinsmen As The Culmination Of The Shakespearean Canon, Joanne E. Gates

Presentations, Proceedings & Performances

Hardly noticed in the reception of Harold Bloom's Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human several years ago was his hint that not The Tempest but The Two Noble Kinsmen makes an appropriate final accomplishment. On one level, the play is merely a stage adaptation of Chaucer's The Knight's Tale, with a rather crude couple of subplots thrown in, perhaps to please the commoners. In an undergraduate forum, I am less inclined to evaluate Fletcher's contribution as distinct from Shakespeare, but I do think the play important for how it is representative of many of the co-authored English Renaissance plays …

“Subverting” The Neoclassic Constraints: The Presence Of Magic In Early Commedia Dell’Arte, Yangzhou Bian

Theatre Student Scholarship

The project is an initiating discussion about the dramatic function and social-ideological implication of magic and magical elements in the surviving corpus of the Italian improvisational theater commedia dell’arte scenarios from the early seventeenth century. The essay begins with a cursory exploration of the position of commedia dell'arte amongst other notable theatrical forms blossoming across the European continent in the late renaissance. The study then focuses on eight plays selected from the 1611 Scala Collection to further examine the use of magic by commedia performers, followed by individual analysis of plot construct and dramaturgical theories. Finally, observations and connections made …

Mei Lan-Fang: The Masculinist Idealization Of Femininity, Yangzhou Bian

Theatre Student Scholarship

Mei Lan-fang was the most well-known Beijing Opera practitioner specializing in the impersonation of historical and mythological female characters. His captivating performance style is known as “The School of Mei”. It balances the external stage presence and internal precision and attends to the minutiae. His performances were drawn predominantly from the classic repertoire, and they have won him the position that “no other Chinese actor attained and retained” (Scott ii). Despite the general perception of Mei’s contribution to the emancipation of women through his work and his self-assertion of sympathy towards their suffering, the underlying motivation may not be as …

Fluchtpunkt Magdeburg: Dokumentation Eines Integrationsorientierten Theaterprojekts Aus Theaterpädagogischer Und Sprachdidaktischer Perspektive, Mona Eikel-Pohen, Sarah Dolbier

Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics - All Scholarship

Macht, Prozess und Poetik/Sprache das theaterpädagogische Modellprojekt Fluchtpunkt Magdeburg 2015 bis2019, an dem dort lebende Jugendliche mit und ohne Fluchterfahrungen unter tanz- und theaterpädagogischer Leitung drei Theaterstücke und einen Film entwickelten mit dem prononcierten Ziel, soziale und sprachliche Integration zu fördern. Ziel dieser Dokumentation ist es, das Projekt systematisch zu beschreiben und gelungene Elemente herauszuarbeiten, die zukünftige Projekte nachhaltig und langfristig plan- und durchführbar gestalten

The Conscience Of Little Women: Beth's Epic, Mcewen Baker

Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

From its conception, and through countless retellings, there is no doubt that Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women is an American classic that has stood the test of time. Kate Hamill’s stage adaptation affirms and extends this legacy; the playwright adopts a contemporary feminist approach that defies gender norms and exclusivity in casting and encourages an actor-centered approach. This essay explains the importance of this adaptation and its influence on my portrayal of Beth March in Belmont University’s Fall 2021 production. It touches on the often overlooked significance of the second youngest sister as well as how my personal battle with …

Practising Diversity At The Stratford Festival Of Canada: Shakespeare, Performance And Ethics In The Twenty-First Century, Erin Julian, Kim Solga

Department of English Publications

What does it mean to ‘practise’ diversity in Shakespeare production in the twenty-first century, specifically in an Anglo-American context? How is ‘practising’ diversity, from devising and directing to work in the rehearsal hall and on audience engagement, materially different from the now-familiar (but still important) goal of ‘representing’ diverse bodies on stage? In the last twenty years, debates about what the diversification of Shakespeare performance – along racial lines, gender lines, the lines of age and ability – means or could mean, and the simultaneous interrogation of what ‘Shakespeare’ signifies, for whom, and to whose benefit, have become increasingly urgent …

Theatre History I, Dohyun Shin

Open Educational Resources

No abstract provided.

Planning An Effective Class Session, Carol Damgen, Carol L. Damgen

Q2S Enhancing Pedagogy

This reflection is based on an educational assignment from my Intro to Theatre course at California State University, San Bernardino, April 2019.

As an educator, I am always interested in combining new techniques with tried and true approaches. My hope is twofold- enhance my students learning and keep me inspired.

The concept of a beginning, middle and end in all classes, provides structure for your students and keeps the pedagogy focused.

I incorporated the “I do, we do, you do” approach to support a well-balanced framework for the class period. This technique is a creative take on a beginning, middle …

Developing And Using Grading Guides, Checklists, And Rubrics, Carol Damgen, Carol L. Damgen

Q2S Enhancing Pedagogy

This reflection is based on an educational assignment from my Intro to Theatre Arts course at California State University, San Bernardino, May 2019.

Providing students guidance when taking on a new assignment is essential. This direction may be achieved through a variety of sources: lectures, videos, examples of past students work, rubrics etc.

One approach, which may benefit the learner in the immediate and have a lasting impression, is teaching students to use the grading tool at hand (rubric/checklist) to improve assignments.

Following an example you have provided, the instructor will work with their students to use either a checklist …

True Theatricality: What Separates Live Theatre From All Other Entertainment, Sarah Michelle Beattie

Senior Honors Theses

In order to better understand the art of live theatre in comparison to its many counterparts, an in-depth study of the elements of live theatre that separate it must be accomplished. Through Aristotle’s The Poetics, to many contemporary studies of theatricality, to recent scripts incorporating those elements and effectively using them, the analysis of theatricality can be applied to an original script of its own kind. Some elements that have been discovered are double casting, expression through song, and even a break in the classic two act structure. The application of these elements of theatricality present a lot more issues …

Twinship And Marriage In The Comedy Of Errors, Kent R. Lehnhof

English Faculty Articles and Research

This article proposes that Shakespeare uses twinship and marriage in The Comedy of Errors to reflect on the importance of individuality and interrelation in the formation of identity. Specifically, this article shows how The Comedy of Errors sets the twin relation against the marital relation, ultimately implying that marriage—imperfect, everyday marriage—has as much subjective impact as the extraordinary bond between identical twins. As amazing as it might be to see two persons sharing "one face, one voice, one habit," The Comedy of Errors suggests that the twin relation does not surpass in significance the equally marvelous relation whereby husband and …

Symbolism In The Allegory: A Look At Apollo’S Lyre, Keri Meinert, Emily Keiner, Anne Bak

2019 Festscrift: Claudio Monteverdi's Orfeo

This paper analyzes the symbolic meaning within Monteverdi’s operatic version of the fable of Orpheus, a demigod who has a talent for music. When Orpheus’ bride Eurydice died suddenly from a snake bite, he decides to seek her soul in the Underworld and bring her back to the land of the living. This task does not prove to be as easy for Orpheus as he initially thinks, when he finds himself losing her twice during the course of the five acts. To show how his journey unfolds, and the meaning behind each step, we will develop the symbolic meaning in …

We’Re Late; But We Made It: A Brief Analysis And Comparison Of Characterization And Storytelling In Pre And Post-World War American Theatre, Jasmine Binford

McNair Scholars Research

As the effects of the World Wars hit the American people, playwrights responded to the grief and passion of the country with a new approach to theatrical storytelling. After World War I and II, American playwrights finally made it to the movement that had been sweeping through Europe for five decades: realism. Theatres began exploring real emotion, action, and characters in their stories. This research will explore the journey of transitioning from American melodrama to American modernism using characterization and storytelling methods. Critiques from contemporaries and the works form each movement will be used as primary sources.

Rewriting Greek Tragedies As Immigrant Stories, Daniel Pollack-Pelzner

Faculty Publications

In this piece originally published in the New York Times, Daniel Pollack-Pelzner writes about Mojada, Luis Alfaro's adaptation of the Greek tragedy, Medea. Mojada is part of a trilogy from Alfaro that attempts to bring his Latino community into modern theater by writing them into classical plays.

Performing Queerness, Jasmina Sinanovic

Open Educational Resources

This is a syllabus for a course Performing Queerness

The Mixed Reception Of The Hamilton Premiere In Puerto Rico, Daniel Pollack-Pelzner

Faculty Publications

In this article originally published in The Atlantic, Daniel Pollack-Pelzner wonders about the challenges of premiering the famed Broadway musical, Hamilton, during a time of political discord in the aftermath of 2017's Hurricane Maria, in Puerto Rico.

"Must Be Heavyset": Casting Women, Fat Stigma, And Broadway Bodies, Ryan Donovan

Publications and Research

This article surveys how contemporary Broadway musicals cast fat women and focuses on Hairspray. The use of fat suits and contractual weight clauses figure into the discussion of fat stigma and casting practices. Seemingly body-positive musicals both celebrate and undermine the identities staged in them.

The Hidden History Of 'Oklahoma!', Daniel Pollack-Pelzner

Faculty Publications

Daniel Pollack-Pelzner explains that contemporary reinterpretations of the classic American musical Oklahoma! may be getting back to its root: it's based on a play by a gay Cherokee man.

Dictating Aesthetic And Political Legitimacy Through Golden Age Theater: Fuente Ovejuna At The Teatro Español, Directed By Cayetano Luca De Tena (1944), Christopher C. Oechler

Spanish Faculty Publications

Emboldened by their success in the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), Nationalist ideologues sought to revitalize the stagnant Spanish theater and promote values associated with the newly formed authoritarian regime. The memory and restaging of seventeenth-century comedias became a crucial part of this project that focused particularly on Lope de Vega's Fuente Ovejuna, a history play that dramatizes a village's fifteenth-century rebellion against a tyrannical overlord. The definitive performance of Fuente Ovejuna during the early years of Franco's dictatorship, a production directed by Cayetano Luca de Tena at the Teatro Español in 1944, represented the culmination of the right's struggle to …

Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Changing The Social Order, Daniel Pollack-Pelzner

Faculty Publications

Daniel Pollack-Pelzner views the first four plays of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's 2018 season (Karen Zacarías's Destiny of Desire, Kate Hamill's adaptation of Sense and Sensibility, Othello, and Henry V) as expressions of social change.

Paul Ibell: Tennessee Williams, Verna Foster

Department of Fine & Performing Arts: Faculty Publications and Other Works

A review of Paul Ibell's Tennessee Williams, written by Verna Foster.

Splitting Hair: Reviving The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical In The 1970s, Bryan M. Vandevender

Faculty Journal Articles

When Hair premiered on Broadway in 1968, the musical garnered attention

for its reflection the current cultural moment. Critics acknowledged

this congruence of form, content, and zeitgeist as the production’s greatest

asset. This alignment with the Vietnam era proved a liability nine

years later when Hair received its first Broadway revival, particularly

when the musical’s authors replaced many of the libretto’s cultural references

with allusions to the 1970s, further illuminating the musical’s

inherently time-bound qualities.

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 …

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 …