Theatre History Commons^™

"Can We Do A Happy Musical Next Time?": Navigating Brechtian Tradition And Satirical Comedy Through Hope's Eyes In Urinetown: The Musical, Katherine B. Marcus Reker

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis proposes a critical study of the theoretical framework of Urinetown, asking the question of whether or not the show is truly a “Brechtian musical,” utilizing the tenets and beliefs of Bertolt Brecht. Set in a quirky, Gotham-like town where you have “to pay to pee” due to a severe drought, Urinetown follows a cast of absurdist characters as they navigate a society plagued by the perils of big business, ecological devastation, and the inequalities of capitalism. While the show appears to make a relevant social commentary, supporting a righteous rebellion to overthrow the evil Urine Good Company, in …

An Actor's Method To Building The Character Of Hamlet In The Tragedy Of Hamlet, Prince Of Denmark, Samuel C. Malone Iii

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This thesis will set out to examine the process needed in order to deliver the character of Hamlet as a fully dimensional, complex human being who transcends time periods and class distinctions to connect with any audience of any background. This text will include biographical information about the author, William Shakespeare, as well as historical information about the circumstances and atmosphere surrounding the birth of this play. It will also include information about other performances, which will serve as references for comparison in terms of character development. Included in the scored actor’s script are the Sanford Meisner Techniques of moment-to-moment …

Mask Work And Improvisations: A Classroom Adaptation Based On The French Tradition, Marcia Berry

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Both historically and currently, mask work provides excellent body training for actors and mimes. This article offers a brief history of French mask work as well as step-by-step instructions for a mask workshop that moves students from simple to abstract mask improvisations. The mask workshop also functions as an icebreaker and builds class camaraderie.

The Marriage Of Figaro

Taylor Theatre Playbills

Taylor Theatre presents an original translation of Mozart's comic-opera, "The Marriage of Figaro."

Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro" whisks us through the events of one crazy day as Figaro, the Lord's valet, tries to wed Susanna, the Lady's maid, before their philandering master can get to her first. Filled with Mozart's glorious music, The Marriage of Figaro is widely regarded to be one of the greatest comic operas ever written. Our production will see its plot of intrigue, mistaken identities, and unexpected revelations unravel in early 20th Century England in which the servants who live downstairs are perfectly capable of …

Middletown, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2014-2015 Season

Will Eno’s Middletown, or maybe more appropriately, Everytown, is a very insightful look at the alienation, loneliness and subtle despair that lives at the edges of contemporary life. It also examines the accumulation, and effects, of the small and seemingly insignificant moments of our lives, that in an instant can change our lives.

Much Ado About Nothing, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2015-2016 Season

The friends include Don Pedro, a prince who is a close friend of Leonato, and two fellow soldiers: Claudio, a well-respected young nobleman, and Benedick, a clever man who constantly makes witty jokes, often at the expense of his friends. Don John, Don Pedro's illegitimate brother, is part of the crowd as well. https://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/muchado/summary/

The Fight Master, Fall 2015, Vol. 37 Issue 2, The Society Of American Fight Directors

Fight Master Magazine

No abstract provided.

The Arab-Israeli Cookbook

Taylor Theatre Playbills

"The Arab-Israeli Cookbook" is a verbatim play written by British playwright Robin Soans. The script was created as a result of a collaboration with two directors, one Arab and one Jewish. The three of them went to Israel and interviewed a wide variety of people including farmers, fishermen, photographers, students, the young, the old, the orthodox, the unorthodox, those who were pessimistic and those who were hopeful. Soans used the interviewees' own words to tell their stories—to give voice to those caught up in the Arab-Israeli conflict. The composite picture that emerges in their stories demonstrates that regardless of labels …

Rent, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2015-2016 Season

This musical, set at the dawn of the 1990s, follows a group of New Yorkers as they struggle with their careers, love lives and the effects of the AIDS epidemic on their community. Mark,an aspiring filmmaker, and Roger (Adam Pascal), an HIV-positive musician, scramble for money to pay rent to their landlord and former roommate, Benny (Taye Diggs). Meanwhile, their friend Tom (Jesse L. Martin), a professor, has fallen for Angel (Wilson Jermaine Heredia), who is slowly dying of AIDS. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0294870/plotsummary

2015 - 2016 Season Brochure, Otterbein University Department Of Theatre And Dance

Theatre and Dance Annual Brochures

Annual promotional piece of the upcoming season's shows.

The All Night Strut!, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2015 Summer Theatre

The All Night Strut! moves through the Depression, World War II and the post-war boom in a two-act musical celebration of the 1930s and '40s, filled with jazz, blues, bebop and American songbook standards. Weaving together the work of legendary songwriters such as Hoagy Carmichael, Frank Loesser, Duke Ellington, Johnny Mercer, Cab Calloway and the Gershwins, the story moves through time and place to highlight a slick slice of yesteryear and capture a beloved American era.

https://www.mtishows.com/the-all-night-strut

The Nerd, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2015 Summer Theatre

Set in Terre Haute, Indiana in late 1979, The Nerd centers on the hilarious dilemma of a young architect who is visited by Rick Steadman, a fellow ex-GI whom he has never met but who saved has life after he was seriously wounded in Vietnam. Willum is delighted when Rick shows up unexpectedly at his apartment on the night of his thirty-fourth birthday party. However, Rick's awkward manner and inappropriate behavior throw the occasion into shambles. It turns out that Rick is a stupid nerd who overstays his welcome with a vengeance.

https://stageagent.com/shows/play/2064/the-nerd

Clybourne Park, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2015 Summer Theatre

Winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and the Tony Award for Best Play, Clybourne Park is a razor-sharp satire about the politics of race. In response to Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, playwright Bruce Norris set up Clybourne Park as a pair of scenes that bookend Hansberry’s piece. These two scenes, fifty years apart, are both set in the same modest bungalow on Chicago’s northwest side that features at the center of A Raisin in the Sun. The first scene takes place before and the second scene takes place after the events of A Raisin in …

2015 Otterbein Summer Theatre Season Brochure, Otterbein University Department Of Theatre And Dance

Theatre and Dance Annual Brochures

Annual promotional piece of the upcoming season's shows.

I Love A Piano

Taylor Theatre Playbills

Taylor University Theatre presents its spring musical, "I Love A Piano", a celebration of the iconic compositions and lyrics of Irving Berlin.

Into The Woods, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2014-2015 Season

Into the Woods is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Griimm and Charles Perrault fairy tales, exploring the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests. The main characters are taken from "Little Red Riding Hood,", "Jack and the Beanstalk", "Rapunzel", and "Cinderella", as well as several others. The musical is tied together by a story involving a childless baker and his wife and their quest to begin a family (the original beginning of The Grimm Brothers' Rapunzel), their interaction with a witch who has …

The Fight Master, Spring 2015, Vol. 37 Issue 1, The Society Of American Fight Directors

Fight Master Magazine

No abstract provided.

A Piece Of My Heart

Taylor Theatre Playbills

Taylor University Theatre presents Shirley Lauro's "A Piece of My Heart". This powerful play explores the true stories of six women in the Vietnam War: five nurses and a country western singer booked to entertain the troops.

The Greeks: The Murders, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2014-2015 Season

No abstract provided.

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

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Ua1c11/66 Western Players / Summer Players Photo Collection, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Photographs of Western Players and Summer Players productions, participants, and other activities.

Tartuffe

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 2014 performance of Tartuffe by Molière.

Taylor University's Theatre department proudly presents, "Tartuffe", a pinnacle of classical comedy. Written by renowned French playwright Molière in 1664, "Tartuffe" follows a hypocrite's attempts to sabotage the domestic happiness of an unsuspecting family.

The Fight Master, Fall 2014, Vol. 36 Issue 2, The Society Of American Fight Directors

Fight Master Magazine

No abstract provided.

Playback Theatre

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 2014 performance of Playback Theatre.

Interactive and spontaneous, Playback Theatre bases its material on the stories of the community. During a performance, audience members respond to questions from the conductor and share their stories, then watch as the company immediately “plays back” their words as a theatrical moment.

Playback is an opportunity for stories to be heard and acknowledged in a meaningful way. In every occasion, central to our theatre experience is our faith in Jesus Christ and applying the truth of Scripture to the reality of the everyday stories presented throughout the evening.

Sweet Charity, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2014-2015 Season

Charity Hope Valentine always tries to look on the bright side of life, despite working in a rundown dance hall and contending with a seemingly endless run of bad dates. Determined to find love, Charity falls for suave actor Vittorio Vidal, but their romance is all too brief. However, when Charity finds herself stuck in an elevator with the reserved Oscar Lindquist, it turns out that she may have finally met her match.

Wit

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 2014 performance of Wit by Margaret Edson.

Wit (or W;t) takes place over the final hours of Dr. Vivian Bearing, a university English professor, who is dying of Ovarian cancer. The course of the play is her reflecting on her life through the intricacies of the English language, particularly focusing on the wit found in the poetry of John Donne.

In this program the Jason Francis Memorial Scholarship Fund is announced.

2014 - 2015 Season Brochure, Otterbein University Department Of Theatre And Dance

Theatre and Dance Annual Brochures

Annual promotional piece of the upcoming season's shows.

Searching For Something A Little Visionary: Anthony Nikolchev Interviews Matej Matejka, Director Of The Studio Matejka, Anthony Nikolchev

Mime Journal

Anthony Nikolchev, an American actor studying and performing under the auspices of the Studio Matejka, a resident group at the Grotowski Institute in Poland, interviews Matej Matejka, the director of Studio Matejka. Matejka is a Slovak actor, teacher, and director who started the Studio in order to work with a dedicated group of multinational performers to explore physical approaches to acting and performance. Matejka and his actors search for intuitive, energetic exchange rather than just explanation or interpretation.

Actor Training And Techniques In Pieśń Kozła Theatre, Anna Zubrzycki

Mime Journal

Anna Zubrzycki, one of the founders of the Pieśń Kozła (Song of the Goat) Theatre, describes the working methods of the theatre, which seeks to develop the the actor’s tools—text, song, rhythm, physicality, spatial relations—and to help actors coordinate those tools with each other and with the text through physical and vocal exercises. They also work on the actors’ ability to respond to each other’s impulses in a physical way. Zubrzycki also describes five of the productions that Song of the Goat has created using this physical/vocal method of creation.

Between Body And Spirit: An Interview With Leszek Bzdyl, Barbara Świąder

Mime Journal

Barbara Świąder interviews Leszek Bzdyl, the artistic director of Dada von Bzdülöw Theatre, a dance theatre company that operates on the borderline of artforms. Bzdyl describes his evolution as a dancer, how he started the company with Katarzyna Chmielewska, how Dada’s plays are developed, and his artistic influences, including Jerzy Grotowski. He also assesses the contemporary Polish dance and alternative theatre scenes.