Performance Studies Commons^™

Male Ballet Dancers And Their Performances Of Heteromasculinity, Trenton M. Haltom, Meredith G. F. Worthen

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Although previous research has investigated men in feminized sports, we took a different approach in this study and examined men in ballet. Because ballet is one of the most highly gender-codified sports, male ballet dancers must negotiate their identities as men while performing a dance form that is highly stigmatized as effeminate. We investigated how five self-identified heterosexual male college dance majors perceive and perform heteromasculinity within male ballet culture using qualitative data gathered from structured interviews. Results provide three unique contributions to the literature. First, we found that these men develop and contextualize their heteromasculinity in the context of …

Gender Confusion, Genocide And The Apocalypse: Directing Moira Buffini's Silence, Dennis N. Henry

Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film: Theses, Student Research, and Creative Work

This thesis contains the written documentation of the process of directing a theatrical production of Silence by Moira Buffini, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Master of Fine Arts in Directing for Stage and Screen at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

This documentation and analysis of the processes herein include: play selection, background research, concept development, casting, rehearsal process, development of design elements and evaluation based on critical response, audience reception and self-reflection.

Advisor: Virginia Smith

The Mystical And Metaphysical In The Mundane: Directing Middletown, Joshua S. Waterstone

Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film: Theses, Student Research, and Creative Work

This thesis contains written documentation regarding the process of directing a theatrical production in fulfillment of the partial requirements for Master of Fine Arts in Directing for Stage and Screen at the University of Nebraska Lincoln.

Topics addressed include play selection, script analysis, director/designer collaboration, coaching of actors and evaluation of final product.

Advisor: Virginia Smith

Agravio: A Technical Direction Project, Erica Gwen King

Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film: Theses, Student Research, and Creative Work

Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) opened the Fall 2012 season in the Howell Theatre on October 04, 2012 with Agravio. My thesis project was the technical direction of Agravio. As the technical director, I took the designer’s ideas and made them a reality on stage. My responsibilities included organization, construction drawings, ordering supplies, problem solving, supervising build and the budgeting of time, people and money. In the course of this thesis I will discuss the process I took to assure the set would be built on time and under budget, …

Lady Windermere's Fan: The Black And White Of It, Jacob Lawrence Heger

Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film: Theses, Student Research, and Creative Work

The purpose of this thesis is to describe the process used to create the scenic design for the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's 2011 production of Oscar Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan, A Play About a Good Woman. Within this paper I will look at the process used to create the set design, the execution of the set design and the final product when seen in a fully realized production.

Advisor: Sandy Veneziano

Three Musketeers And A Rock Band, Brandi K. Kawamoto

Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film: Theses, Student Research, and Creative Work

This thesis is the culmination of my scenic design work for Ken Ludwig’s The Three Musketeers in the Howell Theater at the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the spring semester of 2012. Within this paper I will look at the conceptualization process, historical research, execution of the set design, the realized final product, and the critique process. The rough sketches, research images, computer draftings, finalized renderings, and production photos are featured within the thesis.

Advisor: Sandy Veneziano

The Misanthrope: Accepting The Notions Of Moliere Into A Modern Society, Cristina A. Skinner

Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film: Theses, Student Research, and Creative Work

“The Misanthrope: Accepting the Notions of Molière for a Modern Society” demonstrates the conceptualization, rehearsal process, and critique of the direction for The Misanthrope, produced during the fall semester of 2010 for the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film.  The conceptualization process included historical research of France during the 1660s and 2000s, meetings with the designers, and analysis of the play through structure and characters.  The process included design meetings and rehearsals.  The effectiveness of the production was demonstrated through the responses of four reviewers and a Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival respondent.  Additional material …

Healthy Performance Practice For Male Barbershop Singers, Jacob K. Bartlett

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, Student Creative Work, and Performances

Barbershop singing is a hobby enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of men and women across the world. We attend conventions, shows, competitions, and educational outreach programs each year at our own expense to preserve a style we truly love.

Most singers of the style are amateur musicians. This constitutes somewhat of a challenge when we consider the need for healthy singing in light of certain assumptions about the vocal technique required of the barbershop style. Most do their best to make a healthy sound but end up doing more harm than good to their own voices after a lengthy rehearsal. …

Artmaking On The Edge Of A Cliff: Directing Iphigenia 2.0, Shannon E. Cameron

Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film: Theses, Student Research, and Creative Work

This thesis contains written documentation regarding the process of directing a theatrical production in fulfillment of the partial requirements for Master of Fine Arts in Directing for Stage and Screen at the University of Nebraska Lincoln.

Topics addressed include play selection, script analysis, director/designer collaboration, coaching and actors and evaluation of final product.

Advisor:  Virginia Smith

Ontological Movement In Theater: An Account Of The Preparation And Direction Of The Play Dylan By Sidney Michaels, Aaron Sawyer

Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film: Theses, Student Research, and Creative Work

This document contains a graduate thesis and follows the creative process behind Aaron Sawyer’s direction of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s 2011 theatrical production of the play Dylan by Sidney Michaels. It contains seven sections depicting thesis production from the selection of the material to its completion and final reviews. The introduction establishes the perspectives and experiences that led me to this thesis. The pre-production section is comprised of an analysis of the script as well as research on the time-periods material to the play and its production. The director’s concept portion analyzes the dramatic structures contained within the play, and …

A Midsummer Night’S Dream (With Flying Robots), Robin Murphy, Dylan Shell, Amy Guerin, Brittany Duncan, Benjamin Fine, Kevin Pratt, Takis Zourntos

School of Computing: Faculty Publications

Seven flying robot “fairies” joined human actors in the Texas A&M production of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The production was a collaboration between the departments of Computer Science and Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Theater Arts. The collaboration was motivated by two assertions. First, that the performing arts have principles for creating believable agents that will transfer to robots. Second, the theater is a natural testbed for evaluating the response of untrained human groups (both actors and the audience) to robots interacting with humans in shared spaces, i.e., were believable agents created? The production used two types …

Quiet Virtue Or Roaring Indignation: One Actor's Quest, And Ultimate Failure, To Reveal Complexity In Shakespeare's Cordelia, Mary Lucy Lockamy

Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film: Theses, Student Research, and Creative Work

This thesis documents the performance process I underwent while tackling the role of Cordelia in William Shakespeare’s King Lear in the November 2009 production at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This document is the culmination of a three-year endeavor to attain a Master of Fine Arts in Acting. There are three main sections. In Part One, I focus on Cordelia’s presence in the story of King Lear, before Shakespeare ever wrote his version, in order to compare and contrast earlier Cordelias to Shakespeare’s Cordelia. In this discussion and the ones that follow, I focus on the traditional conception of the character …

Two Kings: An Account Of The Preparation And Performance Of The Role Of Edgar In William Shakespeare's King Lear, Ryan Kathman

Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film: Theses, Student Research, and Creative Work

This work is my graduate thesis documenting the creative process behind my performance of the role of Edgar in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s 2009 production of King Lear by William Shakespeare. It is comprised of five sections including an introduction, pre-rehearsal research, rehearsal and performance journal, post-production responses and conclusion. The introduction outlines my impressions of Edgar and King Lear prior to researching or rehearsing the role. In my research section, I attempt to better understand Shakespeare, his play and the role of Edgar by studying the playwright’s life and the history of the character and play, while also making …

Rules, Regulations, And The Reich: Comedy Under The Auspices Of The Propaganda Ministry, William Grange

Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film: Faculty Publications and Creative Activity

When the National Socialist regime assumed power in Germany on January 30, 1933, it set about immediately to formulate regulations, edicts, and policies for a "renewal" of the German theatre. Adolf Hitler had an interest of long standing in the theatre, and Nazi strategies for controlling, supporting, and re-generating the theatre went into effect over a period of about eighteen months. On September 22, 1933 Hitler's cabinet passed the Reich Cultural Chamber Law (Reichskulturkammergesetz), giving Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels charge of an organization the new Law created, the Reich Cultural Chamber. The legislation stipulated seven individual chambers subsumed …

Giving Myself Permission: An Account Of The Performance Of The Role Of Masha In Three Sisters By Anton Chekhov, Amy Rafa

Open Access Master's Theses (through 2010)

This thesis is a documentation of my rehearsal and performance process in the University of Nebraska’s 1999 production of Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov. The document is composed in six parts: introduction, research, rehearsal and performance, journal, responses, conclusion and appendix.The introduction gives a general overview of my thoughts on acting and how this project was chosen. The research portion focuses on how the life and times of Chekhov pertain to my vision of Masha.The journal focuses on my character progression as Masha.The response section offers outside feedback on my performance.The conclusion sums up my thoughts and feelings about the …

Sternheim's Burger Schippel And The Theatre Scene In Cologne, William Grange

Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film: Faculty Publications and Creative Activity

Cologne has for centuries been one of the most important cities in Europe; wealth and comfort are nothing new here. Yet unlike other German cities with perhaps an equal amount of prosperity it has never had a theatre history to match its stature as a major metropolitan center on the Continent. It has indeed had a troublesome and complicated relationship with theatre despite the fact that it is the fourth largest city in Germany (after Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich).

Horváth's Glaube Liebe Hoffnung And The Current Scene In Dresden, William Grange

Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film: Faculty Publications and Creative Activity

While the venerable Dresden Schauspielhaus, built in 1910, is undergoing renovation (the process was begun in August of 1993 and is scheduled for completion next summer), the Staatschauspiel Dresden is located in numerous venues throughout the city. They include the Kleines Haus in der Neustadt, a former recital hall on the north bank of the Elbe; a small space in a former recital hall on the north bank of the Elbe; a small space in a former automotive factory; a small chapel in the restored Dresden Castle; and a tent near the present Schauspielhaus. The tent is called the "Kuppeltheater" …

Zuckmayer At The Berliner Ensemble, William Grange

Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film: Faculty Publications and Creative Activity

When the Berliner Ensemble at the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm stages a production of Carl Zuckmayer's Der Hauptmann von Köpenick, one can without reservation conclude that enormous changes are indeed taking place in Germany. That statement may at first seem disingenuous, but to connoisseurs of footnotes in German theatre history, few developments could rival this latest evidence of reconciliation along political, cultural, and especially theatrical lines. Theatre and politics have a long history of close association in Germany, and no theatre has been more politically conscious than the Berliner Ensemble. Brecht was, as "his" Berliner Ensemble subsequently became, an advertisement for …