Theatre Artshttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13013/20682024-03-29T11:29:38Z2024-03-29T11:29:38ZFrom One Mentally Ill Artist to Another: An Actor Takes on Bo Burnham's Bleak Musical Humor, Inside-styleSchuster, Rachaelhttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13013/29862023-07-28T03:10:57Z2023-05-01T00:00:00ZFrom One Mentally Ill Artist to Another: An Actor Takes on Bo Burnham's Bleak Musical Humor, Inside-style
Schuster, Rachael
In 2020, actor and comic Bo Burnham filmed, directed, produced, and acted in Inside, a musical comedy special filmed in his guesthouse. Inside is a piece of artwork dripping with sarcasm that reflects Burnham's cynical view of the world. It is laden with apparently genuine moments brought into question by Burnham's performativity. Burnham and his stage persona are two very different people, and Inside shows how he straddles this line and blends the personal and the performer into one entity whose mental stability is questionable at best. Upon my first viewing of Inside during COVID-19, I heard my voice overlaid with Burnham's. His performativity and self-criticism resonated strongly with my creative spirit. The harshly realistic concepts of acting to survive and existing in a hyper-critical, Internet-saturated world felt like he was peering into my anxiety-riddled mind. Analyzing Burnham's comedy specials and considering the suffocating post-COVID landscape I still find myself in, I selected songs and monologues I could re-perform. Pulling from fevered breakdowns and journal entries, I wrote monologues, weaving together my texts and his into a cohesive story, interspersed with my recreations of his witty and often startlingly melancholy music, and created, filmed, and recorded this all in one academic year, solely in my dorm room. This film is a space where the lines between my acting and ramblings, captured by the camera, are blurred so indistinguishably that no one, perhaps even myself, can tell the difference.
2023-05-01T00:00:00ZCreating Character Through Costume: The Costume Design Process for Small Mouth SoundsKiff, Samhttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13013/29742023-07-28T03:09:42Z2023-05-01T00:00:00ZCreating Character Through Costume: The Costume Design Process for Small Mouth Sounds
Kiff, Sam
As people, we use our appearance to convey ourselves for others to see. This concept pertains to Theatre Arts as well. In theatre, the costume designer creates costumes, or appearance, of a character. The job is to curate a perception of the character that matches the director’s vision. To achieve this, there is a process. Every designer’s different. I chose to document this process, leading to the creation of my thesis. I designed Bess Wohl’s Small Mouth Sounds. Unlike many, this play has minimal dialogue. Without the aid of character dialogue, my costume choices had to express the personality of the six characters. The rigorous design process is too large to cover in the world of an abstract. However, it is spoken about, in detail, in my process paper: a personal recollection of my process, and thoughts, throughout my costume design journey. This consists of an explanation of my process, from analysis to conceptualization, to final costume. Paired with my personal commentary on my findings and thinking for each stage of the process. Imagery, from early sketches to finalized renderings, even the accredited stage photography of the final costumes is included in the form of a digital portfolio. This collection of images will provide insight into my rapidly evolving designs, with yes, even more commentary, as I gained a better understanding of both the world of the play, and the world of costuming.
2023-05-01T00:00:00ZCrying Laughing: An Exploration of the Fundamental Differences and Overlap Between the TwoCaliskan, Stephenhttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13013/29642023-07-28T03:08:42Z2023-05-01T00:00:00ZCrying Laughing: An Exploration of the Fundamental Differences and Overlap Between the Two
Caliskan, Stephen
When we think of theatrical plays, we tend to categorize them as either “comedy” or “drama”. Despite there being innumerable sub-genres, we usually recognize the core of the work as being either comedic or dramatic. Although there are obviously differences between these two overarching genres, there tends to be significant overlap between them. My thesis explores not only the fundamental differences between comedy and drama, but also this very overlap. To achieve this, I have written two plays, first workshopped in theater Professor Bill Cunningham's playwriting class last semester, using the playwrights’ primary tools–plot, characterization, dialogue, and theme–and although one is “comedic” at its core and the other “dramatic”, I have sought to examine the link between the two. The first play is a modern comedy that deals with the absurdity of our relationships, and the invariable humor that arises as a result. The second is a period piece set in the 1800’s, and its theme deals with what happens when our moral complacencies meet the sins of our past. Although the two plays are different in style, dialogue and even theme, I have sought to link comedy and drama in both works. In these plays, as in life, there is pain in humor and laughter through our tears. To prepare for this project, I have closely examined the plays written by my favorite playwrights, including Neil Simon, Arthur Miller, Woody Allen, and Sam Shepard. I have learned about the process of crafting a play both from these masters and in the playwriting class I had taken last semester, and have worked with the primary tools at the playwright's disposal to craft each piece. I found that workshopping my plays in that class to be a wonderful education in learning what works, what doesn’t, and whether or not I am communicating what I want to say with each piece to an audience. I have been able to workshop my plays even further in conjunction with my advisor, Professor Peter Sampieri, as we have worked with actors who have helped read each scene aloud. This has enabled me to tighten up each play considerably. On Thursday, May 11, I intend to put both my plays on their feet, in the form of a staged reading of each. I will judge this project to be successful if I have created a community of shared experience within the audience. If they are able to recognize some of themselves in either of these plays, and if they can identify with both the humor and the pathos, I will consider my work to have been worthwhile.
2023-05-01T00:00:00ZThe Intersection Of The Head And The Heart: A Playwright’s Journey In Logic And EmotionRossmeisl, Stephaniehttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13013/26662022-09-29T16:25:40Z2022-05-01T00:00:00ZThe Intersection Of The Head And The Heart: A Playwright’s Journey In Logic And Emotion
Rossmeisl, Stephanie
Logic and emotion are often seen as antithetical. In most people’s minds, the former connects to the scientific, the mathematical, the intellectual, the objective, and the tangible, while the latter relates to the artistic, the ethical, the subjective, the spiritual, and the intangible. In my process journal, I use my original full-length play, The Intersection of The Head and The Heart, as a means to explore these human qualities’ roles in arguably theatre’s foremost topic of examination: the shared human experience. This ultimately examines whether or not an effective intersection between the two even exists. A detailed breakdown and analysis of the play, as well as commentary on my sources of inspiration, techniques, and overall process from writing to performance, demonstrates how the intersection can be examined, both during the process and in the finished product. Finally, I conclude with my personal, academic, and artistic growth over the years. Particular consideration is given to how this is all a greater reflection of my own life experiences.
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