Performance Studies Commons^™

Haunted Houses: A Directorial Exploration Of Expressionism, Jose Martinez-Chavarria

Honors Theses

The purpose of “Haunted Houses: A Directorial Exploration of Expressions” is to demonstrate the effectiveness of my directorial skills in staging a drama on stage with both an objective and subjective reality. The play Haunted Houses by Kathryn Schultz-Miller served as the chosen work whose staging would implement the common expressionist staging strategies of abstraction, simple and flexible blocking, nonrealistic lighting and a strong emphasis on visuals and stage images. The following thesis provides a detail directorial book containing the blocking, scenery, props and creative concepts used in this original production that allows it to be recreated if desired. A …

Volume 35 - Editor's Note, Richard E. Paine, Emily M. Cramer

National Forensic Journal

No abstract provided.

Why Forensics Matters: The Development Of Emotional Competence In Competitors, Kelly Michael Young, Avery Henry, John Koch

National Forensic Journal

To explicate our justification for the value of competitive speech activities, we contend that participation in forensics develops critical emotional competencies in students. The narratives used in this study were part of the NSDA’s efforts to create materials that would introduce various individual events to beginning competitors. In 2016, through its Instagram account, the NSDA asked high school competitors to comment on a post about why they chose to compete in their individual events. The NSDA identified the best 12 responses and then interviewed those students. ping and performing pieces in individual events. After examining how signs of emotional competence …

Where Are They Now(?): Two Decades Of Longitudinal Outcome Assessment Data Linking Positive Student, Graduate Student, Career And Life Trajectory Decisions To Participation In Intercollegiate Competitive Debate, Jack E. Rogers, Nicole P. M. Freeman, Arthur R. Rennels

National Forensic Journal

In 1997, Rogers (2002, 2007) launched an ambitious cohort-based study to specifically measure student outcomes from forensic participation with direct, empirical comparisons between a debate and non-debate group over an extended period through college, graduate school, professional careers, and life-trajectory decisions. This monograph offers a continuation of those earlier studies in order to provide almost two decades of empirical performance data and outcomes. In order for the reader to place the current study in context, it is helpful to review a brief update of the applicable literature and a brief explanation of the previous two studies before attempting to interpret …

National Forensic Association: An Update From The President, Karen Morris

National Forensic Journal

No abstract provided.

The Humanistic Value Of Individual Events Participation, Leah White

National Forensic Journal

Forensic educators have long struggled to communicate the value of forensic participation to those not familiar with the activity. Drawing from literature in the field of counseling and student personnel, this paper argues participation in individual events is beneficial because it allows students to engage in what Baxter Magolda (2001) refers to as self-authorship among good company. Using interviews and autoethnographic methods, I investigate how participation in competitive forensics helps students meet personal growth needs. I conclude with suggestions for how forensic educators can communicate the student development goals achieved through forensic participation.

Reflections On Forensic Practice And Civic Education: What Are We Teaching? What Are We Learning?, R. Randolph Richardson

National Forensic Journal

No abstract provided.

Volume 35 - Front Matter, Nfa Journal

National Forensic Journal

No abstract provided.

Volume 35 - Full Volume, Nfa Journal

National Forensic Journal

No abstract provided.

A Rainbow Of Iranian Masculinities: Raqqas, A Type Of Iranian Male Image, Anthony Shay

Pomona Faculty Publications and Research

In this essay, I will explore the male dancer in the Iranian world, and how he came to occupy this abject position (dance, according to Zainab Stellar, being regarded by many conservative elements in Iranian society today as "the worst possible behavior of an undisciplined body in public, and symbol of all vice" (2011, 235)). Lotfollah “Lotfi” Mansouri, the renowned opera director and producer, recounted at a dinner that I attended (January 27, 2002 Peyvand Organization, San Jose), how one day as a student at UCLA, he entered Schonberg Music Hall and heard opera for the first time. He was …

Le Processus Créatif De Robert Lepage, Ivan Magrin-Chagnolleau

Presidential Fellows Articles and Research

1. Introduction : Qui est Robert Lepage ?
Voici pour commencer quelques mots d’introduction sur Robert Lepage dont je vais parler dans la suite de cet article.

Acteur et metteur en scène québécois
Robert Lepage est un acteur et metteur en scène québécois né dans la ville de Québec. Il s’est imposé très jeune comme un metteur en scène de grand talent et très créatif. Il alterne régulièrement des spectacles en solo avec des spectacles collectifs.

Wrapped In Greek Robes Of Spirituality: The Historic Context For Isadora Duncan's Dance Performances, Anthony Shay

Pomona Faculty Publications and Research

In this paper I want to address Craig and Duncan’s shared interest in ancient Greek art, which is the context within which Isadora Duncan developed her art, the various influences that inspired her choreography, and the historical time period that influenced the decisions that she made. I want to make several preliminary comments before proceeding to the main claim that I am making, which is that Isadora Duncan, Ruth St. Denis, and other “barefoot” dancers were not the mothers or grandmothers or inventors of modern dance, as is repeated as if it were a religious tenet of faith in dance …

Encountering Greek American Soundscapes, Anthony Shay

Pomona Faculty Publications and Research

For this chapter I will look at Greek American music making through the eyes of a non-Greek, my younger self, who enjoyed and sought out this musical tradition for over fifty years, primarily as a folk dance enthusiast. For the international recreational dancer of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, Greek music has rich melodic lines and many different rhythmic patterns (5/8; 7/8; 9/8, etc.) that attracted many individuals of Anglo American background like me to learn these dances, especially in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s when recreational and performance folk dance constituted a major leisure-time activity for hundreds of thousands …

Awakening Imagination: Glimpses Of Ignatian Spirituality In Seventeenth-Century French Hagiographic Theatre, Ana Fonseca Conboy

Languages and Cultures Faculty Publications

The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491–1556) propose an active method of exercising spirituality through meditation, prayer, and imaginative contemplation. Beyond mere spectators, Ignatian disciples are invited to become actors in the scene unfolding in their sensory imaginations, in what Barthes calls the “récit christique” (Barthes 1971, 10). In that sense, the Exercises possess a performative force. The implicit freedom inspired in the exercitant, the person who performs the Exercises, echoes the call to the imagination of the spectator of seventeenth-century French hagiographic drama. Exercises promulgated throughout the four weeks of the spiritual retreat are reflected in …

“Why (Not) Philosophy Of Stand-Up Comedy?”, Sheila Lintott

Faculty Contributions to Books

Stand-up comedy has been largely ignored by analytic philosophers of art, including those interested in comedy and humor. This is somewhat surprising, given the immense popularity of stand-up comedy and the rock star status enjoyed by some comedians today. I suspect that philosophers are just as likely to enjoy stand-up comedy as anyone else; in some cases (i.e. for some philosophers and some comedians), probably more likely. Here I offer some reasons philosophers of art should take the time to consider stand-up comedy and possible explanation for why philosophers of art have paid far less attention to stand-up comedy than …

Raising The Stakes: The Impact Of Emotional Investment On Learning Stage Combat, Sarah Tam

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

One of the most integral parts of stage combat is safety. A fight director’s constant challenge is keeping their actors safe. One aspect of a fight scene that then merits close inspection is the effect that the intense emotions involved in the scene have on an actor’s ability to perform the fight safely. Does the level of stakes in the scene affect the integrity of the actor’s fighting technique? There exists a paradox when an actor must be emotionally present in a fight as their character while performing technical fight moves accurately. Knowing how to navigate this paradox will enhance …

Creating The Role Of Georgie Bukatinsky In "The Full Monty", Erin Horst

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 Erin Horst's artistic process in creating the role of Georgie Bukatinsky in Minnesota State University, Mankato's production of "The Full Monty" in the fall of 2016. The thesis chronicles the actor's artistic process from pre-production through performance in five chapters: an early production analysis, a historical and critical perspective, a rehearsal and performance journal, a post-production analysis and a process development analysis. Appendices and works cited are included.

Walking In The City: Koji Nakano’S Reimagining And Re-Sounding Of The Tale Of Genji, Isabella Ramos

Scripps Senior Theses

Imagined Sceneries is a work written by composer Dr. Koji Nakano of Burapha University, Thailand for two sopranos, koto, light percussion, narrations, soundscapes recorded in Kyoto, Japan in December 2015, and digital projections of Ebina Masao’s 1953 print series Tale of Genji. Imagined Sceneries’ reimagining and “re-sounding” of Heian Kyoto relies on a balance between what is imagined and what is experienced in performance. Its many elements collectively explore multiple layers of Japanese histories, soundscapes, environments, and sensibilities. Using Michel de Certeau’s concepts of the city, this thesis journeys through Nakano’s imagined spaces.

News - Oconee County Library, Athens Regional Library System, Rebecca Ballard

Georgia Library Quarterly

No abstract provided.

The Fall Of The Tenor With The Rise Of The Larynx, Gregory Turay

Theses and Dissertations--Music

The range and use of the tenor voice in classical music has long been established since the late 19^th century. It is widely accepted among pedagogues that the range is C3-C5 (with obvious exceptions depending on the fach). However, with the advent and development of the American Musical as a genre since the early 20^th century, the ‘tenor’ has taken on an entirely new direction and range altogether. Several well-known sources have stated that the ‘Broadway tenor’ has a range of A2-A4. This is (as it widely accepted in the classical profession) the range of a baritone. The …

Get In Where You Fit In: Creating A Safe Space For Students Of Color In The Academy, John Shévin Foster, Kashi Johnson, And Daphnie Sicre In Conversation, Daphnie Sicre, Kashi Johnson

Theatre Arts Faculty Works

Well-known playwright and theatre leader John Shévin Foster interviewed Kashi Johnson and Daphnie Sicre about the ways in which they use Hip Hop theatre pedagogy in their courses. Mapping their time together at Lehigh University as undergraduates up to becoming theatre professors themselves, Johnson and Sicre share how students might feel empowered by the opportunities given to them in their courses.

Finding Voice, The Body Speaks: Original Work And Counter-Hegemonic Performance And Practice, Matthew Paul Thornton

Theses and Dissertations

Graduate study in theatre has allowed me to understand my work as an artist and educator from a critical academic perspective. I have researched Butoh as a model for original work that employs multiculturalism against hegemonic control of personal identity. From my own training experience, I am recognizing Capoeira, Contact Improvisation, and Devising processes (co-creation or collaborative creative process in dance) as counter-hegemonic forms and techniques that share a physical/philosophical emphasis on communal engagement, improvisation, circularity and repetition. Looking at them together provides points of intersection for me to examine them as an artist, while posing questions for cross-cultural investigations. …

Cabaret Story-Telling: Building Your Act, Timothy A. Fitz-Gerald

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis adduces the benefits in teaching undergraduate theatre majors the competency to create a cabaret. It expostulates that doing so during college gives students an advantage in marketing themselves professionally. It substantiates the general lack of cohesive undergraduate training in this area. The results of a survey of casting directors, assessing the worth of implementing the study of cabaret into theatre curricula, are incorporated.

Those that responded agreed that performing cabarets can play a role in a performer’s career, even if the opinions varied as to what that specific role is. There was general agreement that the study of …

Should We Straighten Up? Exploring The Responsibilities Of Actor Training For Lgbtq Students, Matthew B. Ferrell

Theses and Dissertations

Gay actors have a long history with the notion of “straightening up” to remain castable and economically feasible in today’s market. Searching to find answers for young acting students while strengthening their own self worth, I will explore the history of gay actors in film, television and theatre and in society to understand this notion more fully. By interviewing working actors and managers in the business I will explore how I can address this question of “straightening up” to the future generation of actors and analyze how we can face the future with integrity and self-respect.

Technical Direction Of Frankenstein 1930, Isaac Sawle

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 Isaac Sawle’s technical direction process for Minnesota State University, Mankato’s production of Frankenstein 1930 in the fall of 2016. This thesis chronicles the author’s process from pre-production through post-production in five chapters: an early production analysis, a historical and critical perspective, a process journal, a post-production analysis and a process development analysis. Appendices and works cited are included.

The Business Of Theatre: How Creativity, Collaboration, And Communication Infiltrate 'The Real World', Caroline Hale

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Too often ridiculed as a “dying art”, theatre endures a ceaseless struggle for validity among educators, employers, and citizens alike. However, the skills garnered by performers, technicians, and designers through theatrical education span far beyond the final curtain, and are significantly more relevant and impactful than we think.

A theatre education means learning about the human condition, communication, gaining self-confidence, expressing creativity, problem solving, and thinking on your feet. In addition, drama techniques have been enormously effective in improving self-esteem and building community. A theatre education is a highly successful catalyst for the development of a “soft skill set.” Because …

Intimate Apparel

Theatre Programs

INTIMATE APPAREL by Lynn Nottage
Directed by Dr. Jaye Austin Williams

Drama: In this brilliantly crafted portrait of turn-of-the-last-century New York, Nottage gives us a story about desire and common sense, of pleasure and pain, of resilience and fragility, and above all the unlikely triumph of the human spirit. True to its title, Intimate Apparel presents a story that is both delicate and eloquent. Winner of the 2004 New York Drama Critics Circle, Outer Critics Circle Awards and Sternberg New Play Award.

Waltmar Theatre
7:30pm – Dec. 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, & 10
2:00pm – Dec. 3 & 10 …

Acting Is Repetition, Job Barnett

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

A short discussion of repetition in acting.

Transforming Body, Angelina Prendergast

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

This is a reflection about the use of balls for body therapy.

Giant, School Of Theatre Arts

All Production Programs

IWU School of Theatre Arts musical production of Giant by Sybille Pearson, music and lyrics by Michael John Lachiusa.