Performance Studies Commons^™

Love On - The Life Of A Suicide Survivor: A Performance Autoethnographic Study, Patricia R. Wheeler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Suicide touches the lives of millions of people each year in this country alone, yet conversations about suicide loss and survival after a loss remain taboo and often do not happen. The story I performed for this performance autoethnographic study centers on my life as a survivor of suicide. It provides a starting point for dialog regarding trauma, grief, and suicide loss. The narrative was constructed directly following the sudden death of my father, which had a direct effect on my ability to produce artistic work. The development, staging and performance of the story were altered to account for the …

Choral Theatre, Albert Joseph Wolfe Jr.

Dissertations

Jamaica gained its independence from Great Britain in 1962, after some 300 years of colonization. Prior to Independence, the standard arts education curriculum was decidedly British and Western European. That which was labeled Caribbean or Jamaican “folk” by the British was deemed inferior and was not taught, demonstrated, or performed in formal settings. Thus, generations of Jamaicans never observed or imagined a Caribbean aesthetic in the visual and performing arts. Instead, pre-Independence Jamaicans were taught British and Western European music and performed it the “British” way.

Today, Jamaicans boast a number of artistic developments that are instantly recognized across the …

Rituals And Performance In Gastronomy, Ivan Magrin-Chagnolleau

Presidential Fellows Articles and Research

I would like to explore, in this paper, the performative and ritualistic aspects of gastronomy and sharing meals. Because eating is something we have to do quite often, it is filled with a social function that is very culture dependent. At the same time, in every culture, we find some performative and ritualistic elements associated with eating and sharing a meal.

In this paper, I will interrogate the performative and ritualistic aspects of family meals as well as meals that have a function like a meeting or a reunion. In a second part, I will explore how some chefs articulate …

Presentation Of The Issue On Cuisine & Performance, Ivan Magrin-Chagnolleau

Presidential Fellows Articles and Research

"Gastronomy is an important part of our culture. The way we eat says a lot about who we are, what culture has shaped us, and the choices we have made concerning our food and the way we eat it. Gastronomy is surrounded by many rituals, and we often perform the way we eat. Besides, since we need to eat every day, we are engaged in rituals and performative acts related to gastronomy every day."

Ua68/17 Wku Dance: Creating Thinking Artists, Wku Theatre & Dance

WKU Administration Documents

Newsletter created by and about WKU Dance program.

• Welcoming New Professors - Meghen McKinley, Kylene Stephens
• 2015-2016 Performance Season
• Guest Artists - Banning Bouldin, Andrea Shelley, Jon Lehrer, Denise Vale, Brian Grant
• National Dance Education Organization Student Chapter
• National Honors Society for Dance Arts Student Chapter
• Dance Showcase
• Sumer Studies
• WKU Dance Intensive

Freedomland, Lindsey Mantoan

Faculty Publications

Lindsey Mantoan reviews a performance of Freedomland (by Michael Gene Sullivan) for Theatre Journal.

Volume 34 - Full Volume, Nfa Journal

National Forensic Journal

No abstract provided.

Inroads To Outrounds: A Hofstedian Approach To Newcomer Integration Into The Culture Of Forensics, Chad Kuyper

National Forensic Journal

This study examines how newcomers to forensic competition in intercollegiate forensics integrate themselves into the larger community of competitors. Specifically, this study takes an intercultural approach and frames the forensic organization as a culture unto itself into which new arrivals must assimilate. To shed further light on this culture, this study determines where members of “forensic culture” are positioned on Hofstede’s cultural spectra. By modifying Hofstede’s original Values Module Survey and administering it to current competitors from around the country, insight can be gleaned into the cultural attitudes of the forensic organization, and the values that guide the practice of …

Volume 34 - Front Matter, Nfa Journal

National Forensic Journal

No abstract provided.

Editors' Note, R. Randolph Richardson, Kathy Brittain Richardson

National Forensic Journal

No abstract provided.

Limited Time: Meeting Judge Expectations And Pedagogical Standards In Rhetorical Criticism, Jessica Benham

National Forensic Journal

Since the creation of Communication Analysis/Rhetorical Criticism as an event in competitive college forensics, forensic research has critiqued the depth of analysis in Communication Analysis/Rhetorical Criticism speeches, with many arguing that effective analysis was impossible due to the ten-minute time limit. Considering this criticism, spanning three decades, I argue time has come for an increase to the time limit, allowing students to more effectively analyze artifacts, to better understand the methodology they employ, and to make changes to the structure of their speeches in response to the critiques of other scholars. Such a change would increase the educational impact of …

The Teaching Of Creativity: Process, Product, Environment, And Assessment, Todd T. Holm

National Forensic Journal

Teaching creativity is an issue gaining more attention. Businesses and universities alike are looking for ways to promote creative and innovative thinking. As universities look for ways to teach and assess creativity, interscholastic speech and debate competition should be held up as a model for such efforts. Through a combination of iterative performances, the mastering of domain knowledge, an environment that encourages/rewards creativity, and feedback based on the Consensual Assessment Technique, forensics offers an ideal environment for students to learn the process of developing creative products.

Traversing The Terrain: Paths And Roadblocks To Conscientization In Forensic Competition, Alyssa Reid

National Forensic Journal

Paulo Freire (1973) articulated the notion of conscientization in his groundbreaking book Pedagogy of the Oppressed as the faculty of observing contradicting messages communicated by overarching power within societal, political, and economic structures and second, actively opposing oppression in those structures. Intercollegiate forensic competition is often the place where students are provided an outlet to achieve conscientization. The profound process or speaking problems into existence not only develops the competitor but provides a unique opportunity to spark further critical discussion. However, the conversations often remained trapped in the speech world. Therefore, it is important to expand the scope of our …

Archival Enactment, Retelling 'The Big Book': Alison Knowles, Something Else Press And Fluxus, Meghan A. Dellacrosse

Theses and Dissertations

"Archival Enactment, Retelling 'The Big Book': Alison Knowles, Something Else Press and Fluxus," positions Knowles’ Big Book (1966) as a case study of historical methodology and interdisciplinary artistic practice in the post-war period. This comprehensive analysis of Big Book, a work of art no longer extant, contextualizes its publisher, Something Else Press through Dick Higgins’ concept of “intermedia,” and important lesser-known junctures relevant to Fluxus and the group’s leader George Maciunas are illuminated. Knowles' early and lesser-known silkscreen paintings are also examined.

"Debate: Millennials Don't Stand A Chance" Devised, Documentary And Immersive Theatre: The Story Of Everymillennial, Sean R. Byrne

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This thesis aims to discover how communitas can be created through theatrical performances by blurring the line between audience and performer as well as performer and character. The topic of the Millennial generation is used as a thematic element in performance to emphasize the creation of community. A theatrical form will be introduced, called the “Living Biography:” a method of devising based on devising, documentary, and immersive theatre. This form will be shown as one possible option in creating communitas in a performance. While other forms of audience inclusion are frequently used, it will be argued that the “Living Biography” …

The Sentence Continues: Breaking Silences And Becoming Authors Through The Semicolon Project, Brooke E. Covington

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Through its many digital platforms, The Semicolon Project, a suicide and self-harm prevention initiative, offers its users a creative means of using writing to heal. As its name suggests, the semicolon is an essential mark for this group—grammatically a semicolon represents a place in the sentence that an author could have ended and for the members of this prevention initiative, the semicolon acts in a similar way. By tattooing or drawing a semicolon on the body, the semicolon bearer embody a sense of authorial agency, positioning herself as author and using the semicolon as a representation of her dedication to …

Volume 33 - Front Matter, Nfa Journal

National Forensic Journal

No abstract provided.

Ua68/17 Wku Dance Program: Creating Thinking Artists, Issue 3, Wku Theatre & Dance

WKU Administration Documents

Newsletter created by and about the dance program.

• New Beginnings
• Summer Intensives
• A Holiday Extravaganza
• Evening of Dance 2015
• Dance Project 2015
• Guest Artists - Cornelius Carter, Karen Williams, Victor Alexander
• Inaside Choreographic Sponsorship Event
• Dance in Italy
• National Dance Education Organization - WKU Student Chapter
• Summer 2015
• Save the Date!

Editors' Note, R. Randolph Richardson, Kathy Brittain Richardson

National Forensic Journal

No abstract provided.

“…And Finally Examining Some Implications”: (Mis)Use Of Evidence In Informative Speaking, Ben Walker, Hilary Rasmussen

National Forensic Journal

In 1983, Bob Frank published his critique of evidence use in Persuasive Speaking at the 1981 NFA championship tournament. While many similar critiques have been done since then, this analysis attempts to update Frank’s critique in the light of modern informative speaking. The authors analyzed the 2011 NFA Informative Speaking final round speeches, examining the use of evidence. This article presents those findings and offers points of discussion for the forensic community.

Older, Wiser, Novice: Nontraditional Students And Collegiate Forensics, Laura Pelletier

National Forensic Journal

There is a growing trend in nontraditional college student enrollments in the United States. Due to the constraints on nontraditional students’ time, they are often unable to spend as much time on campus as traditional students and to fully partake in campus life. Co-curricular activities, such as forensics, can be time consuming activities which may seem like an impossible fit for their already busy schedules. Because there are a growing number of nontraditional students, it is worth researching how much of what we do in the forensic community assumes that our students are only part of a traditional student body. …

Volume 33 - Full Volume, Nfa Journal

National Forensic Journal

No abstract provided.

A Little Help From My Friends: A Relational Health Communication Competence Approach To Social Support For Forensic Educators, Heather J. Carmack, Todd T. Holm

National Forensic Journal

The purpose of this study was to examine factors that impact forensic educators’ perceived social support, including communication competence, job stress, and job burnout. Communicatively competent educators reported higher levels of administrative and family support than forensic educators who did not report high levels of communication competence. Educators who reported high levels of stress and burnout report lower levels of support from supervisors, coworkers, and family compared to educators who reported low levels of stress and burnout. Female coaches reported lower levels of support from supervisors, coworkers, and families, compared to male coaches. Educators with a large coaching staff reported …

When Actors Don’T Walk The Talk: Parasocial Relationships Moderate The Effect Of Actor-Character Incongruence, Riva Tukachinsky

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

The study examines the effect of a narrative that featured an actor playing a counterattitudinal role. Participants read an online magazine interview with a popular comedian and then watched a sitcom in which this actor played a role that was either consistent or inconsistent with his personal views. Parasocial relationships with the actor moderated the effect of actor-character incongruence. Specifically, incongruence was associated with lower support for narrative-related attitudes, but only among viewers with weak parasocial relationships. These results provide evidence of the existence of vicarious cognitive dissonance, wherein witnessing another person’s hypocritical behavior produces attitude change in the observer.

Ua68/17/3 Potter College Of Arts & Letters Theatre & Dance Film/Video/Audio File, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Recordings of Theatre & Dance performances.

Ua68/17/2 Potter College Of Arts & Letters Theatre & Dance Western Players / Summer Players, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Records created by and about the Western Players theater group including the Summer Players.

My Heart Is In The East: Exploring Theater As A Vehicle For Change, Inspired By The Poetic Performances Of Ancient Andalucía, Jessica Litwak

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study addresses the research question “How Do I Inspire Personal and Social Change Through My Theater Practice?” I implement the theory and practice of H.E.A.T., a fusion theater system, combining use of theater arts as healing practice, educational asset, activist tool, and an art form.I research different ways that theater can affect change, focusing specifically on the use of history in performance.I dramatically interpret a period of history where performance and poetry contributed to change.I utilize qualitative methods including performance ethnography, auto ethnography, arts-based research, and historical research.I describe the fieldwork in conflict zones in the Middle East, which …

A 'Paradox Of Expression': Bertolt Brecht's Verfremdungseffekt In Performance, Cohen L. Ambrose Mr.

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Through The Eyes Of The Homeless, Aisha M. Soto

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

When reviewing the entire project from start to completion, I can honestly say, Through the Eyes of the Homeless is a play about ten women and their plight. It illustrates their dealings with everyday issues of hurt, disappointment, abuse, love, and hope. I believe the true impact of this play is the undeniable prayer for help and hope within each monologue. Despite the horrors that are unveiled and released through hidden secrets, the undertone of betterment is truly resonating. My own expectation for this play is simply to strike awareness and understanding in the eyes of the people. It is …

The Psychology Of Performance: A Growing Art, Shaina Hammer

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Somehow, though Chapman University is relatively small, there is a great deal of distance between each of its academic fields; the actors don't know what the music building looks like, the musicians have no idea what the dramatists are up to, and no one has any idea where the dance classes are held. But not only do the students of Chapman University's College of Performing Arts not know one another, they don't understand one another. More than once I have encountered a student with the same self-confidence issue as another. Without a doubt, performance majors have a lot to talk …