Theatre History Commons^™

How To Tame A Shrew (11 Things I Hate About Her) An Actor's Method To Characterizing Petruchio In The Taming Of The Shrew, Robert J. Facio

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The Taming of the Shrew is an early comedy that exposes the oddities we take for granted: curious conventions, wild assumptions, gender roles, relationships, social status, fashion, and everything else we know so defectively. The given circumstances of the script and Petruchio are specific in choice, yet broad in interpretation. Petruchio, the catalyst behind Katherine’s character arc, needed to not only be believable in his ways, but likeable by the audience.

This thesis examines the process required to successfully develop and bring to life the character of Petruchio to our modern audience. It includes historical background information on William Shakespeare …

The Miracle Worker

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 2014 performance of The Miracle Worker by William Gibson.

The Miracle Worker is based on the autobiography of Helen Keller.

This show was in memory of Dr. Oliver Hubbard, former professor and director of Taylor Theatre. The performance was directed and designed to be as close to the previous performance of The Miracle Worker Dr. Oliver Hubbard directed in 2002. The performance on May 3 was part of a full day dedicated to honoring his work and service. (See the playbill of "The Servant of Two Masters" for the schedule.)

The Full Monty, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2013-2014 Season

Six unemployed steelworkers in Buffalo, New York are miserable. They have no cash and no prospects. Meanwhile, they catch their wives and other women going crazy over male strippers. The six men then set out to make some quick cash showing off their "real man" bodies by becoming a team of male strippers. As the guys work through their fears, self-consciousness and anxieties they find strength as a group and overcome their inner demons.

https://stageagent.com/shows/musical/2441/the-full-monty

In The Underworld: A Darkly Comic Operetta Program [2014], University Of Southern Maine Department Of Theatre

Programs 2013-2014 Season

Written by Germaine Tillion

Directed by Meghan Brodie

Musical Direction & English Lyric Adaptation by Jonathan Marro

Arrangements & Composition by Christophe Maudot

Translation by Annie & Karl Bortnick

The Fight Master, Spring 2014, Vol. 36 Issue 1, The Society Of American Fight Directors

Fight Master Magazine

No abstract provided.

The Importance Of Being Earnest (2014), Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2013-2014 Season

The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is a play by Oscar Wilde. It's the story of two bachelors, John 'Jack' Worthing and Algernon 'Algy' Moncrieff, who create alter egos named Ernest to escape their tiresome lives. www.importanceofbeingearnest.co.uk/synopsis/

The Mystery Of Edwin Drood Program [2014], University Of Southern Maine Department Of Theatre

Programs 2013-2014 Season

A Musical by Rupert Holmes

Directed by Wil Kilroy

Musical Direction by Edward Reichert

This production was a Participating entry in the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KC/ACTF).

The Servant Of Two Masters

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 2014 performance of The Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni, translated by Jeffry Hatcher and Paolo Emilio Landi.

The Servant of Two Masters is a comedy by the Italian playwright Carlo Goldoni written in 1746. It follows the story of Beatrice and her comical servant, Truffaldino. Beatrice goes disguised as her dead brother to find her lover, Florindo, plotting to acquire money from her brother’s betrothed to help her run away with her lover. Meanwhile Truffaldino secretly takes on an additional service to Florindo, and must do his best to serve his two …

The Catalan Theatre Scene. A Story Of Survival, Sharon G. Feldman

Latin American, Latino and Iberian Studies Faculty Publications

The past four decades have been an exciting time for the Catalan stage. Barcelona has come into its own as a vibrant international theatre capital, and theatrical offerings in Catalonia are richer and more diverse than ever before. The process of recuperation, relegitimization and institutionalization of Catalan theatrical life that began during the period of transition from dictatorship to democracy has reached an impressive state of fruition and maturity. The situation is all the more astonishing when viewed in light of an historical context replete with political and economic constraints that have threatened to overwhelm and submerge, time and again, …

Theater Of War: Booth And Beyond, Valerie N. Merlina

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Lastly, we come upon perhaps the best known actor of the Civil War era, John Wilkes Booth. Of course, the reason memory allows us to recall the name is not because of the merits achieved through his profession, but rather because he murdered the elected executive official – United States President Abraham Lincoln. Booth, a product of a theater family, was a dramatic, eccentric, and impatient being. He wanted the leading roles, did not want to prepare the role, but to simply play the role. His brother, Edwin Booth, a talented poetical performer, one might deduce, did prepare for his …

Theater Of War: Combining Entertainment And Art, Valerie N. Merlina

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Did the theater work to benefit the causes for north or south, dependent upon region? Sautter stated that this phenomenon was less common than many might expect. Many actors stated their neutrality, or as one Civil War era actor said, “I am neither northerner nor southerner.” Still others simply responded to the war by leaving the country. One must consider the “clannish nature” of theater of the time in order to understand how actors could have taken the neutral role during a war of ideals: many actors were born into theater life, therefore did not grow up in any one …

Doubt Program [2014], University Of Southern Maine Department Of Theatre

Programs 2013-2014 Season

By John Patrick Shanley

Directed by William Steele

This production was a Participating entry in the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KC/ACTF).

The Cherry Orchard

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 2014 performance of The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov.

The play follows an aristocratic Russian landowner who returns to her family estate (which includes a large and well-known cherry orchard) just before it is auctioned to pay the mortgage.

Theatre Of War: A Witness To Love, Tragedy, And Parody, Valerie N. Merlina

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Central to American nineteenth century life was the theater. As the fratricidal fighting of the American Civil War broke out and divided the nation, this centrality remained, and audiences crowded into the theaters. For both north and south, the theater provided an outlet through which Americans could enjoy plays, performances, music, and variety shows that appealed to all social classes of American society. However, in order to understand the operations of theater companies during the war itself, it is first essential to examine the state of the theater as a concept during the mid-nineteenth century, and in the pre-war years. …

Edwin Rousby: Un Misterio Desvelado, Luis Guadaño

World Languages and Cultures Faculty Publications

En este trabajo se aclaran las dudas e incógnitas que hasta ahora han existido sobre la vida y actividad professional de Edwin Rousby (1856-1927) quien llevó a cabo, adelantándose a los hermanos Lumière, las primeras exhibiciones cinematográficas como negocio en España y Portugal.

[This article sheds new light on the unknown professional and personal life of Edwin Rousby (1856-1927), the first to carry out public film exhibitions in Spain and Portugal ahead of the Lumière Brothers.]

Spectacles Of Reform: Theater And Activism In Nineteenth-Century America By Amy E. Hughes (Review), Jocelyn Buckner

Theatre Faculty Articles and Research

In Spectacles of Reform Amy Hughes advocates for “spectacle as methodology” (4), a means of interpreting spectacle in nineteenth-century melodrama, as well as a wide variety of other media, that rehearses and reforms concepts of citizenship and identity related to race, class, gender, and morality. Through this lens, Hughes seeks to answer the questions “where and how do activist spectacles appear before and beyond the theatrical encounter?” and “why is spectacle kept alive through reinvention, revision, and repetition long after the drama is over?” (5). Hughes traces her theory of the spectacular instant through three popular sensation themes of the …

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 …

Re-Thinking Paris At The Fin-De-Siècle: A New Vision Of Parisian Musical Culture From The Perspective Of Gabriel Astruc (1854-1938), Cesar A. Leal

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Gabriel Astruc (1864-1938), a French impresario of Jewish background, is mostly known for his collaborative work as an impresario with Sergei Diaghilev and his Ballets Russes. His role within Parisian musical culture at the fin de siècle, however, was much broader. He was a critic, creator of a leading periodical, producer of musical and circus events, music publisher, and associate of many important cultural figures of his day. Although Astruc has been mentioned in scholarly literature, his multifaceted activities have never been carefully studied.

Following the revisionist initiatives of previous scholars (e.g., Pasler, Huebner, Garafola, Fauser), this project offers …

Review Of The Comedia Of Virginity: Mary And The Politics Of Seventeenth-Century Spanish Theater, Elizabeth Lehfeldt, Mirzam Perez

History Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.