Other Theatre and Performance Studies Commons^™

Finnegan's Got A Secret: An Exercise In Playwriting, Ari Theodore

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

University Theatre Guild Guide, Maria Perez

Honors Theses

The WMU Theatre Guild Assistant position is one of the primary assistantships in the Arts Administration department. The Theatre Guild Assistant works alongside Emily Duguay, the Director of Arts Administration, Joan Herrington, the Director of the School of Theatre and Dance, and the WMU Theatre Guild Board to manage their daily operations and help develop donor events. The University Theatre Guild Guide explains the details and processes this position follows. This guide is broken down into four sections. The first section is the Introduction. The Introduction includes congratulations from the past Theatre Guild Assistant and a short breakdown of the …

Attend The Tale: Scenic Design For Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street, Andrea Imsland

Honors Theses

I designed the set for Western Michigan University’s 2026 production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street written by Steven Sondheim and directed by Jay Berkow. My thesis advisor was Prof. Dave Nofsinger and my thesis chair member was Dean of the College of Fine Arts Dan Guyette. I began my design process in September of 2025. The show ran from April 10th through April 25th. This was my final scenic design as a Theatre: Design and Technical Production undergraduate student at WMU.

Technical Director Of Sweeney Todd, Alexander Matthews

Honors Theses

My honors thesis focused on my work as the Technical Director for Sweeney Todd and the process of turning a scenic design into a safe, buildable, and functional production. Through this project, I explored how technical direction is not only about constructing scenery, but also about drafting, budgeting, problem-solving, and adapting when challenges arise. One of the most important moments in the process was a set change that happened several weeks into the build because of safety concerns, which forced me to rethink parts of the design and respond practically. I also included a CAD drawing of the full set …

Properties Design For George C. Wolfe’S The Colored Museum, Giavanna Vainisi

Honors Theses

This thesis details the properties design process for the University of Southern Mississippi’s Fall 2025 production of George C. Wolfe’s The Colored Museum. Through analysis of the script, research into the subject matter and playwright, and collaboration with the artistic team, this student designed and constructed effective properties for this production.

Who Was It Truly For?: Bernard Bragg, David Hays, And National Theatre Of The Deaf, Eni Buckhanan

Honors Theses

National Theatre of the Deaf is known for being the first professional sign language theatre company in the United States; however, the complexities of its origins and founders are rarely examined. This thesis explores the relationship between Deaf performer and educator Bernard Bragg and hearing set designer David Hays, along with what was prioritized in the creation of the company, and the aftereffects of these choices on the National Theatre of the Deaf and their Deaf and hearing audiences.

Bragg and Hays began correspondence in 1966, as they developed plans for what would become the National Theatre of the Deaf. …

It’S Not A Phase, It’S A…Musical?: The Innate Theatricality Of The Emo Movement Of The 2000s, Kylie Alyssa Price

Honors Theses

This project is an exploration of the rock subgenres emo and pop-punk and how they interact with musical theatre conventions. Emo, short for emotional hardcore, is a descendant of hardcore punk music that is characterized by its focus on the emotional core of lyrics as well as softer, more pop-influenced sounds musically. In this project, the history of emo is delineated alongside the history of rock musical theatre. Subculture is also defined as it relates to this thesis. The natural theatricality of emo is then characterized as being through emo/pop-punk’s performance culture, through the existence of the concept album, and …

Wmu Technical Director For Clue, Fleck Joseph

Honors Theses

This Thesis delves into the pivotal role of the Technical Director in the staging of CLUE, a WMU theatrical production scheduled from November 10 to 19. With a strike date set for November 19 and a load-in work day on October 7, the Technical Director's responsibilities spanned across various domains, from budget management to technical design and construction supervision.

Communication among disparate production departments lay at the heart of the Technical Director's duties. This involved coordinating activities across lighting, sound, scenic, stage management, props, and costume departments. The Technical Director ensured the alignment of creative visions and operational objectives by …

Once In A Lifetime: Designing Hair And Makeup For The Era Of Sound, Olga Goupalova

Honors Theses

This thesis describes the design process of an undergraduate theatre student creating hair and makeup looks for a production of George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart’s Once in a Lifetime, presented by the University of Southern Mississippi in the Fall of 2021. This thesis involved a detailed analysis of characters, the collection of primary research from the Roaring Twenties period, and constant communication with both the production team and the performers in order to achieve the most functional yet aesthetically pleasing hair and makeup designs possible.

Keywords: Hair, Makeup, Design, Theatre, Once in a Lifetime, Roaring Twenties, George S. …

"To Control A Human Destiny:" Sound Design For Henrik Ibsen's Hedda Gabler, Allison Bucher

Honors Theses

This undergraduate thesis details the sound design process for the University of Southern Mississippi’s Fall 2021 production of Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen. Through analysis of the script style of the play, research of the playwright, and collaboration with the artistic team, this student created and implemented an effective sound design for this production.

Keywords: sound, design, theatre, Hedda Gabler, Ibsen

When I Grow Up: Intimacy Work And Collegiate Theatre, Anna-Carson Tyner

Honors Theses

The field of intimacy work within the wider theatre industry is rapidly growing, and universities should be prepared to meet the demands the industry is setting forth. Since 2016, intimacy direction has been making its way into the professional theatre world. As intimacy work becomes more mainstream, students will enter college with the ultimate goal of going into the field. Through this research, I have set out to create courses that could fit into the framework of a collegiate theatre program that would support students’ desire to learn about the intimacy field, and to create a department environment built on …

Captions For Covid? Hearing Accessibility In Virtual "Zoom" Theatre, Gianna Schuetz

Honors Theses

The COVID-19 pandemic shut the doors of theatres across the United States and the rest of the world. Live theatre came to a sudden halt as gatherings of people served as significant health risks. As live theatre performances became nearly obsolete, many theatre organizations were forced to creatively adapt to move their programming to a virtual format. Presenting theatre in a virtual format brings many challenges; however, it also brings opportunities for increased accessibility and access, particularly for individuals who are hard of hearing.

The following thesis explores hearing accessibility measures taken by theatre companies as they ventured into virtual …

“More Beautiful Than God!”: Hair And Makeup Design For Eugene O’Neill’S Ah, Wilderness, Jackson L. Jones

Honors Theses

This thesis follows an undergraduate theatre designer’s process of designing and realizing hair and makeup for the University of Southern Mississippi’s Spring 2020 production of Eugene O’Neill’s Ah, Wilderness! The student conducted a thorough script analysis, researched Edwardian style and society, and collaborated with the production’s artistic team to produce effective hair and makeup designs and fulfill practicum requirements.

Screaming, Humming: A Look Into Student Theatrical Direction And The Importance Of Queer Narratives On Stage And In The Rehearsal Room, Kropveld Danielle

Honors Theses

There is a large lack of discussion and writing concerning the intersections of queer theory, theatre as an art form, and student direction. My thesis attempts to add to this small amount of work. Using historical evidence, I define radical queer theory and its implications for art. I contextualize my own work in the rehearsal room with the piece Screaming, Humming by Hannah Manikowski with this framework, and speak to my experience of casting and rehearsal.

As a student director whose acting collaborators are also students, there are additional considerations to be taken into account. This experience also serves as …

The Art Of The Dress: How Getting Into Costume Affects An Actor’S Self-Perception, Ella Embry

Honors Theses

Both actors and psychologists devote enormous amounts of time to understanding how people think, act, and respond even if for completely different reasons. While there are psychological studies that look at the way clothing influences attraction, aggression, and attitude, none of it looks critically at theatrical performance. Costuming is a vital part of the theatrical process that has yet to be studied empirically. As such, my study is an inter-disciplinary endeavor dedicated to developing an understanding of exactly how and whether costuming affects an actor’s personality perception as a way to contribute to the field of psychology, future theatrical performances, …

A Written History Of The Western Michigan University Department Of Dance, Amy Russell

Honors Theses

This historical, introspective telling of the Western Michigan University’s Department of Dance examines its development in relation to dance in higher education and dance across the United States. An analysis of the development of dance at Western Michigan University in comparison to other universities and the dance field was conducted by studying professional influences in the field and evolving social, educational, and industry trends. Research from texts written by respected dance scholars was collected, and trade journals were consulted for information regarding current trends in the dance field. Archival research at the Western Michigan University Zhang Legacy Collections Center: Archives …

Devising Performance & Queer Futurity, Brendan F. Leonard

Honors Theses

This project argues that devising performance is an inherently queer and utopian form. In response to recent political movements, such as Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter, which seek to stage dissatisfaction with the systems of late capitalism, I turn to devising performance as a site. Informed by the queer and performance theories of Jose Esteban Munoz, Lee Edelman, and Jill Dolan, I argue that devised theater allows us to process disillusionment, rehearse collectivity, and stage futurity. In conversation with Munoz, I define futurity as an imaginative site that considers what will follow what some scholars suggest will be …

Exhuming Ophelia: A Feminist, Costume Design Exploration, Shelby M. Gable

Honors Theses

Ophelia is a character that has captivated and moved audiences since her first appearance onstage in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Prince of Denmark around the year 1600. Unfortunately, she represents a negative and slim representation of femininity that reflects a long-standing trend that has established a specific and limited iconic understanding of her character. As a feminist theatre maker I have undertaken a multi-phase approach to reconstructing Ophelia based on four separate approaches. First, I will examine how it is that Ophelia’s representation is harmful in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Second I will show how feminist readers and critics have approached the …

"Bachelorette": A Footlight Production, Tamsen Glaser

Honors Theses

A WMU Theatre Footlight Production of “Bachelorette” by Leslye Headland. An in-depth directing process of Headland’s third installment of her Seven Deadly Sins series, focusing on a re-definition of gluttony in today’s society and how our culture of excess affects the young adult generation.

Double Take Project: Using Applied Theatre For Campus Climate Change, Christina M. Cody

Honors Theses

Despite research gathered in the Campus Climate Report, I believe that it underrepresented the student experience of the social scene. The document primarily served as an identification tool for four major problems on campus: binge drinking, sexual assault, diversity, and disengagement in the classroom. Double Take Project also identifies similar issues however, this project uses theatrical techniques to gather the anecdotal reality of the student perspective. Double Take Project expands beyond the Campus Climate Report to inspire dialogue in a variety of student-to-student interactions and, more importantly, the project seeks action and solution plans.

The social scene dominates our culture …