Dramatic Literature, Criticism and Theory Commons^™

Revolutionary Artistry-- Brecht, Marx, And The Evolution Of Epic Theatre, Wyatt Anderson

Honors Capstone Projects

Playwrights have long drawn inspiration from a variety of muses in order to flesh out their works. The use of art and literature to critique society presents one such example, especially with regard to theatre when it critiques politics and human nature. In the case of German playwright Bertolt Brecht, one cannot fully understand his plays and the concept of epic theatre without looking at the influence of Marxism in his work. Indeed, it permeates his work through the years, with Brecht’s understanding of Marx’s writings evolving with clarity in his later works. Through sampling a variety of plays from …

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 …

Limboland: A One-Act Play About Death, For Kids, Megan Huggins

Honors Scholars Collaborative Projects

LimboLand: A One-Act Play about Death, for kids

Megan Huggins

Thesis Director: James Al-Shamma, Ph.D

Thesis Committee: Shawn Knight, Jessica Mueller

A loose adaptation of Dante Alighieri’s epic poem Inferno, LimboLand uses Alighieri’s model of the nine circles of Hell to illustrate the five stages of grief. In a script designed for theatre for young audiences, Dante, a young child, travels through different rooms as he attempts to cope with and understand his sister’s death. Dante follows Virgil, an older child, who knows a lot about the afterlife system without understanding any of it. The play includes an appendix …

The Historiography Of Ballet Russes And The Russian Revolution: Dramaturgy For The Play Ballet Russes, Sachen Kele Pillay

Georgia College Student Research Events

This project investigates the political and artistic connections between the Ballet Russes dance company, and the wider socio-economic changes attributed to the Russian Revolution and the First World War. The 2019 Georgia College theatrical production of the play Ballet Russes, by Bernard Myers, follows the innovative and revolutionary ballet company of the same name. The story specifically focuses on the interpersonal relationship between the company’s Maestro Serge Diaghilev, and the legendary ballerino Vaslav Nijinsky. The central themes of the show revolve around the issues of exploitation, power structure, and revolution. The role of the dramaturg in the show’s production was …

Convents And Novices In Early Modern English Dramatic Works: In Medias Res, Vanessa L. Rapatz

Late Tudor and Stuart Drama

Convents and Novices in Early Modern English Dramatic Texts: In Medias Res attends to the religious, social, and material changes in England during the century following the Reformation, specifically examining how the English came to terms with the meanings of convents and novices even after they disappeared from the physical and social landscape. In five chapters, it traces convents and novices across a range of dramatic texts that refuse easy generic classification: problem plays such as Shakespeare's Measure for Measure; Marlowe's comic tragedy The Jew of Malta; Margaret Cavendish's closet dramas The Convent of Pleasure and The Religious …

Roman Women In Shakespeare And His Contemporaries, Domenico Lovascio

Late Tudor and Stuart Drama

This volume highlights the crucial role of Roman female characters in the plays of Shakespeare and his contemporaries by exploring with an unprecedented thoroughness and variety of perspectives the diverse issues connected to female identities in the early modern English plays set in ancient Rome. Roman Women in Shakespeare and His Contemporaries puts Shakespeare’s Roman world in dialogue with a number of Roman plays by writers as diverse as Matthew Gwinne, Ben Jonson, John Fletcher, Philip Massinger, Thomas May, and Nathanael Richards. Thus, the collection seeks to challenge conventional wisdom about the plays under scrutiny by specifically focusing on their …

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 …

Political Theatre: Entertainment Or Instrument Of Social Change?, Olivia M. Matthews

Senior Theses

This paper explores political theatre as a means of conveying information and inspiring action regarding socio-political issues. Through a staged reading of The Exonerated, and subsequent audience discussion and survey, the effectiveness of theatre as a means of commenting on political problems was explored. The conclusion was reached that theatre is uniquely suited for this role due to the emotional human connection forged by seeing examples of real people dealing with the addressed issues.

The Many Editions Of The Front Page: How Gender Shapes The Story, Nicole Moore

Conspectus Borealis

No abstract provided.

The Argentines Of Paris: Theatrical Networks And Assemblages, Stefano Boselli

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This work investigates key theatre productions written or directed by Argentines who left Buenos Aires, for personal, artistic, and/or political reasons, and established themselves in Paris. Case studies refer to the lives, visual art, theatre companies, official appointments, and global networks that contributed to their creations between the 1960s and 1990s. Although others are mentioned briefly, the main focus remains on a cluster of theatre practitioners who more frequently connected with each other around playwright, performer, and graphic artist Copi (nom de plume of Raúl Damonte Botana). These included director Jorge Lavelli; director and performer Jérôme Savary; director and visual …

In And Out Of Character: Socratic Mimēsis, Mateo Duque

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In the Republic, Plato has Socrates attack poetry’s use of mimēsis, often translated as ‘imitation’ or ‘representation.’ Various scholars (e.g. Blondell 2002; Frank 2018; Halliwell 2009; K. Morgan 2004) have noticed the tension between Socrates’ theory critical of mimēsis and Plato’s literary practice of speaking through various characters in his dialogues. However, none of these scholars have addressed that it is not only Plato the writer who uses mimēsis but also his own character, Socrates. At crucial moments in several dialogues, Socrates takes on a role and speaks as someone else. I call these moments “Socratic mimēsis.” …

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 …

Too Young Or Too Old? Age And The Politics Of Performing King Lear - Successfully!, Jim B. Wallace

The Kennesaw Journal of Undergraduate Research

“It is sometimes said that the problem with the part of Lear is that by the time you are old enough to play it, you are too old to play it.” (Jonathan Bate)

Theatre critics rarely see an outstanding performance of King Lear. The thesis of this paper is that it is possible to successfully perform the role of Lear however it takes much more than excellent acting skills to do so. To successfully play Lear requires a visceral understanding of the profound psychological and physical changes that generally begin around age sixty-five. This paper demonstrates that what one learns …

Directing Nocturne, Trevor Belt

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This document is a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the Master of Fine Arts degree in Directing. It is a detailed account of author Trevor Belt’s artistic process in directing Nocturne as a part of Minnesota State University, Mankato’s studio theatre season in the fall of 2019. The thesis chronicles the director’s artistic process from pre-production through performances in five chapters: a preproduction analysis, an historical and critical perspective, a rehearsal and performance journal, a post-production analysis and a process development analysis. Appendices and works cited are included.

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

The Future In The Instant: Time As The Essence Of Dramatic Tension In Shakespeare's Plays And Their Contemporary Stage Appropriations, Amalia Oswald

Theses and Dissertations

This project looks at the similarities and differences between three Shakespeare plays and their companion contemporary stage appropriations: Othello and Toni Morrisons’s Desdemona, The Winter’s Tale and Mary Elizabeth Hamilton’s 16 Winters or the Bear’s Tale, and Macbeth and Daivd Grieg’s Dunsinane. The specific lens used to examine these texts is the dramatic concept of time, taking the form of different variations throughout the work such as chronology, remembrance, fate, and futurity. This project argues that the multifaceted dramatic concept of time is the foundation for dramatic tension and the principal connecting motif between the three sets of early modern/contemporary …

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. …