Performance Studies Commons^™

Presentation Of The Journal P-E-R-F-O-R-M-A-N-C-E, Ivan Magrin-Chagnolleau

Presidential Fellows Articles and Research

"I am very happy and proud to present the first issue of the journal p-e-r-f-o-r-m-a-n-c-e. This journal, I dreamed it a few years ago. I wanted to create a journal in France that deals with the field of performance studies and the performing arts, that is international and multilingual, with at least French and English as languages, and the desire to extend it progressively to other languages. I also wanted a journal that makes the bridge between artists and researchers, in which artists and researchers could participate, each with their own way of expressing themselves and speaking about their work. …

Presentation Of The Issue On The Artist Researcher, Ludivine Allegue, Ivan Magrin-Chagnolleau

Presidential Fellows Articles and Research

Ivan Magrin-Chagnolleau : Ludivine, I am delighted to start the adventure of the journal p-e-r-f-o-r-m-a-n-c-e with an issue co-edited with you on one hand, and on the theme of the artist researcher on the other hand. Can you tell me why this theme of the artist researcher is so important to you?

Ludivine Allegue: I had the opportunity to work on the Practice as Research in Performance project in UK. This was a fascinating phase in my research: finally the essential role of artistic practice was taken into consideration in the Art research context, with the avowed aim of …

In Praise Of The Artist Researcher, Ivan Magrin-Chagnolleau

Presidential Fellows Articles and Research

I will start by defining the terms artist, researcher and artist researcher and then give some examples of artist researchers: Leonardo da Vinci, Constantin Stanislavski, Bertolt Brecht and Lee Strasberg. Finally, I will address the issue of artist researcher from my own perspective, as an actor and director in particular. I will thus demonstrate the benefits of linking the practice of art with a more theoretical research of this practice, and how these two aspects – art and research – are mutually reinforcing and help creativity to flourish.

Reimagining Metaphor In Rhetorical Criticism, R. Kyle Kellam

National Forensic Journal

This paper seeks to open a discussion about language use in rhetorical criticism. Analyzing the 2011 final round of rhetorical criticism at the NFA national tournament, the essay argues that competitors should reimagine the social scientific metaphors in contest rhetorical criticism that invite outdated, instrumental models of rhetorical criticism. Instead, an alternative vocabulary that constructs contest rhetorical criticism as a student-centered interpretive performance focused on discursive dynamics is proposed.

Sam Gill, Dancing Culture Religion, Anthony Shay

Pomona Faculty Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Reviving The Reluctant Art Of Iranian Dance In Iran And In The American Diaspora, Anthony Shay

Pomona Faculty Publications and Research

In this chapter, I look at the various ways in which different individuals--Iranians, Iranian immigrants in the West, Americans, and other non-Iranians--participated in several revival Iranian dance movements, beginning in the 1930s and continuing into the twenty-first century. The new interest in dance that began in this period coincided with a period of incipient modernity and its need to find ways in which to construct a modern national identity. As increasing numbers of Iranians made their way to the West, first as students and ultimately as immigrants and refugees, they discovered that dance as a representational field dovetailed with their …

Political And Protest Theatre After 9/11: Patriotic Dissent, Lindsey Mantoan

Faculty Publications

Lindsey Mantoan reviews Political and Protest Theatre after 9/11: Patriotic Dissent (edited by Jenny Spencer) for Theatre Topics.

Something Wicked This Way Comes: Scoring Hamline University's Production Of "Macbeth", Andrew Brady

Departmental Honors Projects

This project represents a practical investigation into using original underscore in the modern theatrical experience. Over 40 minutes of cinematic, orchestral underscore were composed by the author specifically for Hamline University Theatre Department’s 2014 production of Macbeth. Using electronic scoring methods and digital playback strategies, the music was “performed” with variable timing that was able to directly match the performance of the actor’s for each show. The accompanying written musicological analysis explores the score’s uses of themes, spotting strategies, and integration of the show’s artistic concept. The analysis, in conjunction with the recorded score, demonstrates a cohesive effort to …

Abuse Of Evidence In Persuasive Speaking: An Un-Conventional Solution, Amy Mendes

National Forensic Journal

Scholars in the forensics community have been lamenting the misuse and abuse of evidence in forensics competition for decades. Beginning with Frank’s 1983 discussion of evidentiary abuse in Persuasive speaking, authors have offered possible solutions to end the problem. However, as the ongoing focus might suggest, these solutions have not had the intended effect. In this paper, we continue the investigation into evidence use in Persuasive speaking by repeating Frank’s original study but offer an unusual solution that may finally effectively address the problem.

Full Volume, Nfa Journal

National Forensic Journal

No abstract provided.

Editor's Note, Randy Richardson

National Forensic Journal

No abstract provided.

Direction Of The Play: Buried Child, Kevin Wayne Loomer

Graduate Student Projects

This project entailed the selection, background research and documentation, casting, direction, and post-production analysis of Walla Walla Community College's production of Sam Shepard's Buried Child. Documentation included research and analysis of the play and an evaluation of the play as a production vehicle for the Department of Theatre Arts at Central Washington University. The analysis also includes a discussion as to the directorial vision of this production.

What We Are Trying To Teach Reconnecting Collegiate Forensics To The Communication Discipline, Brendan B. Kelly, Richard Paine, Randy Richardson, Leah White

National Forensic Journal

SPECIAL REPORT: National Forensic Association Report on Pedagogy —2010. The document features descriptive analysis of prerogatives for collegiate forensics pedagogy organized in two tiers. Each section is fashioned as a series of “statements of purpose.” The term purpose, in this regard, is related to roots and motivations for teaching. This document recognizes the shaping of best practices in forensics pedagogy as a central goal for the collegiate forensics community. The full measure of the components in each tier work to shape the purpose of teaching and coaching practices that resist replication of past performances and move toward speechmaking and performance …

Autotraduction, Traduction Interculturelle Et Intersémiotique Dans La Quarta Via De Kaha Mohamed Aden, Simone Brioni

Department of English Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Tallest Tree In The Forest, Jocelyn Buckner

Theatre Faculty Articles and Research

"Playwright and actor Daniel Beaty’s solo performance as Paul Robeson in The Tallest Tree in the Forest, commissioned by Tectonic Theater Project and coproduced by La Jolla Playhouse and Kansas City Repertory Theatre, was a tour-de-force biographical tribute."

Eye For The Gap: Frenzy, Liberty, And The Nietszchean Chorus In Conor Mcpherson's The Weir And Shining City, Frances Krieg

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This study situates The Weir and Shining City by Conor McPherson as embodying elements of Dionysian aesthetics as elucidated by Friedrich Nietzsche. Working through the lenses of Samuel Beckett’s linguistic philosophy and the premium of theater as established by Nietzsche, Artaud, and Brecht, the aim of this paper is to demonstrate how McPherson pierces the boundaries of language in drama by establishing his audience as chorus. Background information on Nietzsche’s The Birth of Tragedy and McPherson’s own comments on the plays are included with the research on the plays themselves. This work articulates the chorus itself but also the choral, …

Front Matter, Nfa Journal

National Forensic Journal

No abstract provided.

Technology And Wonder In Thirteenth-Century Iberia And Beyond, Christopher B. Swift

Publications and Research

As the desire for affective experiences of the sacred increased in communities across Europe in the late Middle Ages, the Christian faithful crafted lifelike, mechanized figures of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and saints for use in religious festivals. Although each devotional culture evidences unique body/object relationships and meanings, in general animated ritual objects encouraged lay participation in the celebration of saints and the Passion by engaging the senses, and, consequently, an emotional sense of God. In this essay I investigate the ritual alliances between moveable, prop-like saints and their Iberian devotees, in particular the performative meanings that arose from encounters …

Sources, Linda B. Fairtile

University Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

Sources of instrumental music and of non-dramatic vocal music are generally understood to include preliminary sketches and drafts, manuscript and printed scores, performing parts, and, in the latter case, materials related to the choice or development of the vocal text. Letters, diaries, administrative papers, and even journalistic reviews can also be considered sources. Opera, as a collaborative fusion of music and drama, expands this list to include such materials as set and costume designs, staging manuals, lighting plots, and prop lists. Technology has further augmented the inventory, first with still photographs, and later with audio and video recordings. This chapter …

Reading With The Grain: On Vin Nardizzi’S Wooden Os: Shakespeare’S Theatres And England’S Trees, Steven Swarbrick

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Dance In The Museum, Claire Bishop

Publications and Research

This paper argues that the art world’s current fascination for dance follows on from a previous high point of interaction in the late 1960s and 1970s, and before that, a moment in the late 1930s and early 1940s. It traces these first, second and third waves of dance in the museum at three institutions: the Tate in London, and the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. Three institutional histories are sketched, drawing out the differences between their approaches. The conclusion presents the four most pressing possibilities/problems of presenting dance in the museum: …

Eco-Theatre, R. Murray Schafer, Eleanor James, Sarah Ann Standing

Publications and Research

Born in Sarnia, Ontario, in 1933, and widely considered Canada’s leading living composer, Raymond Murray Schafer is also a librettist, educator, writer, and “soundscape” theorist. Schafer composes for symphonies as well as chamber orchestras, solo instruments (he has even composed a piece for snowmobile), and vocalists. His compositions have played throughout the world. Schafer’s operatic cycle Patria—a masterwork almost forty years in the making—consists of ten episodes, plus a prologue and an epilogue. The prologue The Princess of the Stars and epilogue And Wolf Shall Inherit the Moon (also known as the Wolf Project) comprise an eco-theatre where Schafer places …

Theatrical Worlds, Charlie Mitchell

Books and Book Chapters by University of Dayton Faculty

Beta version.

This book seeks to give insight into the people and processes that create theatre. Like any other world—be it horse racing, fashion, or politics—understanding its complexities helps you appreciate it on a deeper plane. The intent of this book is not to strip away the feeling of magic that can happen in the presence of theatre but to add an element of wonder for the artistry that makes it work. At the same time, you can better understand how theatre seeks to reveal truths about the human condition; explores issues of ethics, gender, ethnicity, class, sexuality, and spirituality; …

Recreating Paris In Les Miserables, Joel Schiebout

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 theatre. It is a detailed account of author Joel Schiebout's technical process in the construction of the set for Minnesota State University, Mankato's production of Les Misérables in the fall of 2013. The thesis chronicles the author's technical process from pre-production through post-production in five chapters: an early production analysis, a historical and critical perspective, a construction process journal, a post-production analysis and a process development analysis. Appendices and works cited are included.

The Scene Design For Kiss Of The Spider Woman, Noah Jon Michael Files

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This thesis contains a detailed account of Noah J. Files's scene design research and process for Kiss of the Spider Woman by Terrence McNally, John Kander and Fred Ebb. The musical was produced in the Andreas Theatre, opening January 30 and closing February 8, 2014. The first chapter is a preliminary analysis of the plot, the designer's first intentions and reactions to the scenic requirements, and the designer's goals for the production. The second chapter is an historical and critical analysis providing perspective into the history of the musical and research to illuminate the designer's choices. The third chapter is …

Sighting Circus: Perceptions Of Circus Phenomena Investigated Through Diverse Bodies, Katrina Lavers

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis is an investigation into modern circus from its beginnings in 1768 through to present day contemporary circus arts. Eight diverse bodies in modern and contemporary circus are explored. These eight bodies act as different lenses to focus enquiry into gaps or ruptures in the grand narratives of circus, to reveal previously missing voices and histories and to set in place new approaches to perceiving circus phenomena.

In The Political Body, the phenomenon of embodied protest is identified and explored in relation to contemporary circus works. The importance of the engaged spectator is identified in determining political, poetic …