Playwriting Commons^™

Meet Phoenix, Feng Jiang

Persimmon Creek

One act play

Reading Exercise (You Are The Hero): Dedicated To The Providence River Under The Mall, 02.17.2026, Deborah Fischer

Masters Theses

This play uses the performative potential of guilt, forgiveness, and self-help techniques as a catalyst for a new dynamic, one in which the pursuit of a false narrative, along with the structures it generates, becomes more real than reality itself. It employs “bad acting” and the practice of cold reading to stage a series of acts that function as an entry point into one’s own psyche, leveraging the peripheral space around familiar actions to allow chance, free will, and the experience of “real time” to temporarily come into effect. PLAYER 1: The bad actor is the most utopian one. CLOWN: …

That’S Sooo Povo!, Sophie O'Toole, Trudy Nolan

Irish Communication Review

When Chantelle and Craoí, two working class Dublin drama students, lock horns over The Plough and the Stars, their combined rage brings forth Queen Povo, a drag-drenched larger-than-life entity who forces the girlos and the audience to examine what they’re thinking about when they think of class. From D'Girlos Theatre, this riotous, razor-sharp debut crashes through class, art, and authenticity with wit, grit, and glitter. A juicy-tracksuit clad call to arms for anyone who’s ever felt too loud, too real, or just too povo.

Know Fear: The Culture Of Fear In Community Conversations, Penelope Meredyk, Lotus Porte-Moyel, Fiona Carson, Cosley Bruno, Barrett Clement, Sophia Sproull, Morgan Davis

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

“K(no)w Fear” is an award winning piece of verbatim theater based on word-for-word interviews and collected research that's goal was to cultivate a connective and thoughtful community open to exploring what shapes us all: fear. Our GLI Capstone team gathered the resources for this theater piece by conducting interviews with a mixed demographic of people we know as well as strangers on the street, asking questions like: “How do you feel about death?” and “If fear were a place for you, where would it be?” With consent, their answers were used to build an immersive, verbatim theatre piece where actors …

Investigating The Relationship Between Noun Classes And Plant Folk Taxonomy In Chasu Language Of Kilimanjaro Region In Tanzania, Peter Rabson Mziray

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

The current study investigates the relationship between noun classes and plant folk taxonomy in Chasu (G 22). The study focuses on two objectives: the first objective is to describe the plant folk taxonomy in Chasu and the second objective is to determine the relationship between noun classes and plant folk taxonomy in Chasu. Data were collected from rural villages in Same and Mwanga districts by using free listing, field interviews (jungle-walk-and-identify), and written texts containing Chasu plant names. The findings reveal that Chasu folk taxonomy reflects different ethnobotanical categories; including a unique beginner which is mmea/mimea ‘plant(s)’, and three life …

Kansas City, Kansas, Vida Davidović

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

KANSAS CITY, KANSAS is a thesis that operates in the tradition of expressionist dramaturgy and playwriting, taking up themes of abuse, imperialism, war, trauma, womanhood, Balkan identities, history of the Balkans, as well as the discourses of psychoanalysis and postcolonial theory. The use of different theoretical frameworks related to both international and personal politics, which are shown to be intertwined, suggests a strong relationship between political processes in the Second World Countries that had experienced many occupations throughout their history and the way women in those countries relate to the questions of body, authority, feminity, and interpersonal relationships. The play …

Call And Response : Experiments In Storytelling, Deanne Fernandes

Masters Theses

Being part of RISD's inaugural Masters of Illustration cohort has been an immense honor. This journey has been nothing short of transformative and healing, as it has allowed me to unearth layers of self-discovery through my creative practice.

In my thesis, I introduce a fresh research methodology rooted in the principles of call and response, with adaptability, creativity, and storytelling as its foundational pillars. Through the lenses of visual storytelling, experimental animation, graphic journalism, and fictional world-building, I demonstrate how these techniques can effectively bridge the gap between theory and practice. This dynamic approach fosters meaningful connections among diverse perspectives …

La Teoría Del “Generolecto” Observada En La Llamada De Lauren De Paloma Pedrero Y Entre Villa Y Una Mujer Desnuda De Sabina Berman, Thomas Tsai

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Created and popularized by Deborah Tannen, the Genderlect Theory explains how through social contexts, men and women have different ways of communicating. According to Tannen, men focus more on status, while women focus more on forming connections. On the other hand, there is also machismo, the behavior and attitude men partake to show that they are “manly” or “superior” to women and others they deem as inferior. Through the literary theatrical works, "La llamada de Lauren" by Paloma Pedrero and "Entre Villa y una mujer" desnuda by Sabina Berman, we can see similarities and differences in the Genderlect Theory and …

A Screenplay For Bystander Intervention For Sexual Harassment Scenarios For College Students, Shanti Herzog

Journalism

This project was developed to describe the drafting of a screenplay for an interactive, virtual reality sexual harassment training module for students of the California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo. The research began with the examination of the prevalent and persisting issue of sexual harassment within college campus communities, and how to present college students with the tools to intervene as bystanders, thus encouraging them to intervene when encountering sexual harassment scenarios. The resulting screenplay was written to provide college students at Cal Poly with strategies to identify and take action when encountering sexual harassment, especially in small group gatherings …

Baton Rouge Slam!: An Obituary For Summer 2016: A Critical Performance Ethnography Of Eclectic Truth Poetry Slam, Joshua Hamzehee

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This critical performance ethnography presents the theory, methodology, and practice surrounding the fieldwork, scripting, and performance of Baton Rouge SLAM!: An Obituary for Summer 2016. As participant-observer, director, and co-performer, I unpack social drama, performance ethnography, and slam culture by employing a lens rooted in critical race theory. Local poets permitted me to de- and re-contextualize their interviews into ensemble scenes and theatricalize their slam poems about the recent summer’s charged events. One year later, this involved and embodied process of ethnographic bricolage became the ensemble cast performance of Baton Rouge SLAM!: An Obituary for Summer 2016. Community members and …

The Hidden History Of 'Oklahoma!', Daniel Pollack-Pelzner

Faculty Publications

Daniel Pollack-Pelzner explains that contemporary reinterpretations of the classic American musical Oklahoma! may be getting back to its root: it's based on a play by a gay Cherokee man.

Behind Valencia: A Contemporary Play, Emily Charbonneau

Honors Projects in English and Cultural Studies

SYNOPSIS The purpose of this play is to highlight the length that modern females go to in order to maintain a desired appearance, especially across social media. These desired appearances are influenced by the glamorous and unrealistic looks and physiques that are prevalent in the media. Essentially, the primary goal of these characters is to attract the attention of their male counterparts because of the gender roles society promotes. This shallow lifestyle can be completely consuming for impressionable, young females.

Engaging With The Dory Fleet: A Panel Discussion On A Collaborative College And Community Oral History Project, Brenda Devore Marshall, Tyrone Marshall, Mary Beth Jones, Kathleen Spring, Jackson B. Miller

Northwest Communication Association Conference Papers & Presentations

This peer-reviewed program was presented at the annual Northwest Communication Association Conference in Coeur d’Alene Idaho on April 15, 2016. The presentation features an overview of the Launching through the Surf: The Dory Fleet of Pacific City project and includes detailed notes from each speaker.

Special thanks go to Mary Beth Jones and Brenda DeVore Marshall, who served as transcriber and editor for the detailed speaker notes.

"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” …

Sheridan's Promising Tale Is Half Told, Ian Kilroy

Articles

Review of 'Break a Leg', the memoir by Irish theatre artist Peter Sheridan. First published in the Sunday Business Post Magazine.

Ravers At The Bush: Generation Ecstasy Goes To The Theatre, William C. Boles

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[First paragraph]

Determining that seminal moment when a new theatrical movement comes to life has been one of the points of debate surrounding the challenging new plays and their talented, twenty something authors that have appeared on the British stage since the mid-1990s. Plays and authors like: Mojo (1995) by Jez Butterworth; Blasted (1995) by Sarah Kane; Closer (1997) by Patrick Marber; The Beauty Queen of Leenane (1996) by Martin McDonagh; Butterfly Kiss (1994) by Phyllis Nagy; Love and Understanding (1997) by Joe Penhall; Essex Girls (1994) by Rebecca Prichard; Shopping and Fucking (1996) by Mark Ravenhill; and Ashes and …

Inside Unlv, Diane Russell, Jason Vaughan, Cate Weeks

Inside UNLV

No abstract provided.

Ua1d Russell Miller Personnel File, Wku Human Resources

WKU Administration Documents

Personnel file of Russell Miller who taught in the English, Speech & Theatre department from 1947 to 1968. Prior to working at WKU, Miller was head of the typewriting department at the Bowling Green Business University from 1936 to 1942 and 1947.

The Shadow Boxer, Dale Greer

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the School of Humanities at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Communications by Dale Greer on September 8, 1983.

Narrator Reliability In The Creative Autobiography: An Approach For The Solo Interpreter, Diane Schwalm

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study develops an approach to narrator reliability in the creative autobiography for the solo interpreter. The relationships between narrator reliability and firstperson point of view are given, and the need for an understanding of reliability to develop a performance stance is also stated. The defining characteristics of the creative autobiography are also included.

The analytical approach to narrator reliability is three-fold. The reliability of the narrator is examined in terms of mental locus, spatial locus, and temporal locus. The mental locus of the narrator is determined through his relationships with himself, the characters, the action, and the reader. The …

A Visual Concept For Robinson Jeffers' Adaptation Of Euripides' Medea, H. Kevin Lanham

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The theatrical elements of setting, costumes, and make-up for Robinson Jeffers' adaptation of Euripides' Medea were designed and constructed in an attempt to create an effective visual concept. Through careful script analysis and close communication with the director and production staff, the designer combined the visual elements. As a record of the concept development from generalities to rough sketches and from formal drawings and diagrams to the finished product, the designer uses the accounting to trace both the artistic creation and the physical construction of each set element and costume for Medea.

The Interpretive-Rhetorical Situation: A Framework For Post Performance Analysis Of Interpretation, John Korinek

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The interpretive-rhetorical situation was formulated by blending Lloyd Bitzer's concepts of the rhetorical situation with contemporary interpretation theory. interpretation is momentary, the foundation established as The concept of as a suasory speech act in the sense that it transactional, and intentional, established for theory formation. The key concept an application for the interpretive-rhetorical situation was that it formed a cohesive framework for guiding post performance aspects of interpretation, especially performance criticism and experimental research. An experimental study was conducted, testing the newly formed breakdown of the traditional interpretation elements of writer, reader, and audience into the constituents of exigency, audience …

An Analysis Of The Themes Of Guilt And Atonement In The Writings Of Tennessee Williams, James Curry

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The themes of guilt and atonement have been analyzed in selected writings of Tennessee Williams. Research concerning these two themes has been developed simultaneously with Williams’s concept of the universe and man. Many of Williams’s characters seek a form of atonement or purification for their guilt which has arisen due to their “incompleteness and unnatural desires.” Williams’s basic concept concerning the universe is that it is fragmented, a universe not completed by its Creator. Consequently, Williams envisions man and his nature to be likewise incomplete. It is this incompletion in man which causes him to have “unnatural desires,” labeled as …

An Analysis Of Production Procedures In The Stage Play Harriet, Harold Harvey Ulrici

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

It is the purpose of this thesis to present the research, planning, and actual production procedures of the play entitled Harriet, as written by Florence Ryerson and Colin Clements. This is the production which was originally done by Gilbert Miller at Henry Miller's Theatre in 1943 with Miss Helen Hayes in the title role.

Ua37/23 Whas Broadcast No. 74, Whas, Western Kentucky University

WKU Administration Documents

Script for weekly WKU broadcast on WHAS radio. This show included Earl Moore, Kelly Thompson, Billy Taylor, William Cox, Dorine Hawke, Jean Hill, Gordon Wilson, M.C. Ford, Mabel Thacher, Brice McEuen, Zack Hill, Frances Richards, Ray Logan, Bessie Cherry, J.B. Galloway, C.H. Vanmeter, George Page, Paul Davis, Jack Owens, Roy Vance, Reid Sterrett, Robert Reithel, Radio play about My Old Kentucky Home.

Ua37/23 Whas Broadcast No. 51, Whas, Western Kentucky University, Earl Moore

WKU Administration Documents

Script for weekly WKU broadcast on WHAS radio. This show included Earl Moore and the Western Players presenting the radio play Two Other People.

Ua37/23 Whas Broadcast No. 24, Whas, Western Kentucky University, Earl Moore

WKU Administration Documents

Script for weekly WKU broadcast on WHAS radio. This particular show is a play written using letters owned by Lenora Lindley of Livermore, Kentucky written by a freed slave in Liberia to her former owner in Ohio County, Kentucky.