Theatre and Performance Studies
Permanent URI for this collection
Browse
Browsing Theatre and Performance Studies by Subject "Acting"
Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Open Access Accessing the Underground Forest: Exploring Confidence, Release, and Artistic Integrity in the Three Sisters(2017-07-27) Wayne-Phillips, Hannah Ella; Armstrong, EricWith this dissertation, I have investigated the relationship between the unconscious and accessing rich detailed sources as an actor. I have established a methodology for addressing physical and psychological blocks in order to find confidence, detail, specificity, and artistic integrity in performance. I have applied this methodology to my performance of Masha in "Three Sisters" by Anton Chekhov, which was part of the 2016-2017 Theatre@York Season. I have also written an extensive character, period, and author analysis of Masha and Anton Chekhov. During rehearsals and performances of "Three Sisters" I wrote journal entries documenting my process and the application of my methodology to the role of Masha.Item Open Access Align and Crumble: Internally Falling Towards Authentic Behaviour in Acting and an Investigation of Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters(2017-07-27) Rossoff, Matthew Robert; Lampert, PaulThe purpose of this thesis is to investigate how to internally fall towards authentic behaviour and apply this means to the preparation and performance of the role of Doctor Chebutykin in Anton Chekhovs Three Sisters. The primary area of exploration will be to channel full body awareness by releasing the pelvic bowl and stimulating the enteric nervous system. Areas of investigation include Philip Shepherds New Self New World: Recovering Our Senses in the Twenty-first Century; Moksha Yoga practice and application; Erika Batdorfs approach to interoceptive awareness and emotional connection; Paul Lamperts twenty-six questions to character development; Kristin Linklaters progression of vocal exploration and warm up; Allyson McMackons teachings of Grotowskis river work; and Sage Willows coaching of American Sign Language. The thesis will contain supporting research including research and analysis of Russian history at the turn of the twentieth century, the Moscow Art Theatre, Chekhov and his play Three Sisters, the character of Doctor Chebutykin, as well as some performance history. It will conclude with a selection of journal entries from the rehearsal and performance of the production.Item Open Access Animating Performance: Tracing Venices Resonant Diva Attraverso il Palco e la Soglia(2020-08-11) Wier, Claudia Rene; Bernardi, GuillaumeSeventeenth-century Venetian operatic divas pioneered a new social identity for women both onstage, as virtuosic opera singers, and as independent professionals in Venice. They accomplished this partly in prototypical commercial opera houses. From such spaces, the sounds of their voices and the memory of their performances in cross-dressed, madwomen, and warrior woman roles spilled out on the cutting edge of performance to spread the novel form across Europe. Their performance transgressed normative gender codes and is one way early modern divas overcame misogynist perceptions. They exceeded and reworked accepted norms performatively while modelling independent agency to pioneer a new profession for women. In this project, I trace the reception of the early modern divas sonic transmissions and her transition across the stage, out the door of the theatres sounding architectural space, and into the city. I apply the analytic lens of performativity as employed in gender and performance studies scholarship to analyze the social impact of the early operatic divas performance of self. This interdisciplinary approach knits together material historical data, formal text, and music readings, with performance theory. In this, I examine the music and texts of five performance scores to understand how composer Francesco Cavalli (1602-1676) and his librettist collaborators tailored iconic warrior woman roles to fit the voices of lead women singers. To comprehend the reception of the diva, I examine the career of Anna Renzi (c.1620-c.1661) and her riveting performances in La finta pazza (1641) and La Deidamia (1645) contextualized in Venetian cultural history and the performance events in Teatro Novissimo. I place Renzis work into a performance genealogy from commedia dellArte to the dramma per musica. Finally, I theorize how Renzis sonic emissions and vibrant performances resonated socially as an energetic electric force transgressing the librettists texts and the composers musical composition to effect society and the status of women in it. With theoretical approaches centered on embodiment, gender, reception, celebrity status, and sound, I work to discover remnant traces of ephemeral presence.Item Open Access Searching for a Path to Authenticity Through Physical Theatre Practices as the Baron Docteur in Parks' Venus(2015-08-28) Silcox, Neil Joseph; Greyeyes, Michael J.This thesis explores my attempt to develop a system to help achieve authenticity in performance. My primary research involved reading the works of such authors as Kristen Linklater, Anne Bogart, Michael Chekhov, Keith Johnstone, and several others. This theoretical understanding was supplemented by personal explorations in the studio, as well as in the rehearsal hall. I then attempt to synthesize the discoveries made therein into a set of practices that I apply to the rehearsal and performance of Suzan-Lori Parks’ Venus. Ultimately I make the first steps toward discovering emotional access through interoceptive examination, embodied listening by deprioritizing vision and hearing, and spontaneity of action achieved through acknowledgement and acceptance of tension. Finally, I look at how I will continue this work in the future.Item Open Access Shedding Perfection and Accepting Truth: Exploring Compassion and an Embodied Physicality for the First Soldier and Third Girl in Oh What a Lovely War(2015-12-16) Semotiuk, Natalie Olena; Buchli, Ines F.This text is an exploration of one actor’s challenge to find self-confidence, to develop a new process with a compassionate approach and a physical practice to construct characters that are physically embodied. First, self-confidence is explored through the techniques of Rolfing and talk therapy with a Jungian analyst. Next, a new physical and vocal warm up is created from a combination of technical skills learned at Canada’s National Voice Intensive in Vancouver and theatre classes at York University in Toronto. Positive affirmations are put into practice to ensure self-care throughout the rehearsal process. Subsequently, an exploration of two different methods for constructing two characters, one physical approach for the First Soldier, and one psychological approach for the Third Girl, to determine what method is more effective for creating fully embodied characters in the production of Joan Littlewood’s play Oh What a Lovely War.Item Open Access The Consequences of Representing Human Suffering Distress, and/or Violence(2018-08-27) Szlawieniec-Haw, Danielle Irene; Mitchell, Gail J.Within academia, there has been much focus on representations of suffering, distress, and/or violence, including how these representations can foster meaningful change in audience members. The consequences of representing human suffering, distress, and/or violence, however, have received less attention. Given this, in this dissertation, I explore professional actors lived experiences of representing human suffering, distress, and/or violence. In order to complete this exploration, I undertook a world-first study, uncovering what professional actors experiences of representing human suffering, distress, and/or violence entail; how these actors respond to working with these complex representations; what concerns, meanings, strategies, and personal consequences these actors describe in relation to this work; and what, if any, support systems assist these actors as they engage with such representations. Throughout the dissertation, I review the themes that were identified in this study and consider what these themes can offer actors, the entertainment industry, and North American society moving forward.Item Open Access The Freedom to Act: Unmasking Identity in Performance(2015-08-28) Maendel, Yvonne Jeanette; Greyeyes, Michael J.Abstract This multi-modal thesis proposes a methodology for addressing anxiety during performance. The methodology intends to create a foundation of relaxation and awareness, in order to more easily access creative impulses. This foundation will be carefully built through a daily practice of deep-breathing exercises, body-alignment exercises, daily physical activity, and recorded psychological awareness of the mind/body connection. Drawing from instruction and consultation within the MFA program at York and my own independently-led research, I developed this methodology in preparation of my chosen thesis role in the Theatre@ York musical, Oh What a Lovely War!, written by Joan Littlewood.Item Open Access Truth in Movement: An Exploration of Code-Switching in Physical Dialects(2015-08-28) Richardson, Alicia Dionne; Buchli, Ines F.This paper will discuss my process towards finding authenticity in movement as it pertains to my performance of ‘The Man’ and ‘The Venus’ Chorus’ in Suzan-Lori Parks’ Venus. My research details how increased body awareness via internal signals from the muscles and a deeper connection to primary impulses help to address my artistic challenge. My task is to use physicality in performance as a means to express the character’s needs and as a response to stimuli from scene partners. I will create unique physical personas for both my roles in Venus, and I will customize a preparation routine to be completed before rehearsals and performances of the play using the following methods: Authentic Movement, The Batdorf Technique, and Richard Pochinko clowning.