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Item Open Access Dear Heart(2023-08-04) Ho, Ka Kei Jeffrey; Robinson, Jamiedear heart is an autoethnographic exploration around playwriting and creation processes. dear heart as an artistic offering is the textual record of the text-based experiment upon which this thesis is predicated. The thesis itself is a distillation around the methodology of the author’s process – a shareable articulation to serve as a bedrock for educational material in professional and academic settings. The author will articulate theoretical and analytical reflections of the role of instinct and positionality in the creation of performance texts, and to apply consciousness to the often-subconscious impulses of creation. The author interrogates the role of adaptation and community curiosity as methodology for other playwrights, through research into relational aesthetics and curational theory from visual art.Item Open Access Eat Me: Destabilizing Theatrical Forms of Representation in Order to Resist Reproduction of Prevailing Ideologies(2019-07-02) De Champlain-Leverenz, Desirée Marie; Lampert, PaulEat Me is a praxis exploration in how to destabilize theatrical form in order for an artist to speak their truth as fully as possible. Inspired by the Italian Futurists, this journey takes into account different forms of post-dramatic theatre, and how they can be manipulated and received by an audience. This paper examines a queer feminist read of Marinettis Italian Futurist manifesto and attempts to mirror this queer feminist lens in the rehearsal process as well as the final performance. The performance tells it's story through bodies and cakes. The femme bodies continuously consume, even when it becomes harmful.Item Open Access Engaging the Savage Imagination: an actors search for the heart of Bottom in A Midsummer Night's DreamBergquist, Adam Lane; Greyeyes, Michael J.This thesis will explore the notion of the Savage Imagination as it applies to an actors' process in preparation for and performance of the role of Bottom in William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. It establishes a working definition of the Savage Imagination then offers possible ways to apply it to the art of acting. The research is directed into three major areas: psychological, physical and experiential. Drawing from the works of Carl Jung, Declan Donnellan, Eric Morris, Janet Sonenberg and Keith Johnstone (among others), as well as concepts taught at York University by Paul Lampert, Erika Batdorf, Gwen Dobie (Alexander Technique) and Melee Hutton (David Rotenberg's States of Being), it references personal and academic discoveries in the fields of creativity, performance and improvisation. A production history of the play is included, with emphasis on the role of Bottom. It concludes with selected journal entries from rehearsals and performance.Item Open Access Exploring Sex, Shame, and Transformation in Amy Rutherford's Mortified(2021-11-15) Roveda, Amanda Lea; Wilson, Mark E.This paper presents written support material for Amanda Roveda's direction of an augmented audio experience of Amy Rutherford's stage play Mortified for the Department of Theatre's 2021 Theatre@York season. The directorial approach for the production is outlined in the research paper, focusing on the exploration of sex, shame and transformation inherent in the script. The director's journal excerpts and the epilogue detail the significant challenges encountered by the director, the student cast members and the student production team in the pivot from an in-person theatrical event (originally planned for York's Faire Fecan Theatre) to an immersive audio format cast, designed, rehearsed and recorded remotely, necessitated by the exigencies of Covid-19. Finally, the paper reflects on the accomplishments of the director and her team in a unique period of creative adaptation to new circumstances, as well as the areas which might have been strengthened in this tumultuous journey.Item Open Access Exploring the Optimal State in Will Eno's "Middletown"(2019-07-02) Carravetta, Lucas Daniel; Armstrong, EricThis document is an investigation of my artistic challenge while performing in Will Enos Middletown. Through textual research and physical exploration in the studio, I have become aware of my habitual patterns which restrict access to my optimal state of performance. This state, or flow, feels effortless and encourages my commitment to the work with minimal awareness of self-conscious reactions. Thus my artistic challenge will be explored through research, studio rehearsal and performances of six characters in Middletown, which include: Prologue, Male Tourist, Ground Control, Man, Male Doctor and Janitor.Item Open Access Fear and Boundaries: Acting in the Shadow of Trauma(2019-07-02) McKenna, Kelly Marie; Armstrong, EricReturning to an academic setting to study acting after 12 years of working professionally has led me to a singular discovery: Trauma has impacted my life and my way of working so deeply that I could not see the forest for the trees. The role of the Mechanic in Will Enos Middletown presents the opportunity to challenge my habitual self-censorship. My entrenched fears of inadequacy and my lack of boundary setting have prevented me from finding depth and honesty in my work. I intend to use somatic practices including The Batdorf Technique and Fitzmaurice Voicework to attain a level of tolerance for the physical sensations that are associated with my trauma. Ive chosen the role of the Mechanic as it presents challenges that include physical violence and the depiction of addiction. I hope to transcend my past and move steadily forward as an artist and a wholly thriving human being.Item Open Access Freedom in Discipline: Grounding Wild Impulse with Self-Mastery in Sarah Ruhl's Orlando(2019-07-02) Trowbridge, Taylor Blue; Dobie, GwenThe following document is an exploration in practicing the power of discipline in Theatre@Yorks production of Orlando. This support document crafts a personal redefinition of discipline, examines the artistic fertility in practicing routine, and champions diving into the risk that growth demands. Supported by methodology from theatre practitioners such as Steven Wangh (a disciple of Jerzy Grotowski), Erika Batdorf, and Michael Chekov; investigations in dance and drag; and insights into the field of discipline from experts such as Steven Pressfield, Charles Duhigg, Carol S. Dweck, Katty Kay, and Claire Shipman, this text develops a creative process which includes breaking self-perceived limitations in physicality, consciously overhauling daily habits, and amending artistic blind spots. The ultimate objective of this written work is to create an approachable performance methodology that utilizes discipline as a gateway to greater artistic freedom.Item Open Access From Cafe to Colourant: Naturally Derived Colourant for Scenic Art Application(2023-12-08) Kennedy, Mattea Stephanie; Garrett, Ian P.This thesis project playfully intertwines the concept of a hypothetical theatre café menu and naturally derived colourant. The remnants or same ingredients that come from the recipes are made into naturally derived colourant, for scenic art surface applications, that would be utilised in live performance. I add to the global conversation around more sustainable colourants in reference to the climate crisis. I have chosen this lighthearted interconnection to foster engagement within the core concept. I assert that by drawing people together amidst the pleasure and comfort of a café environment, we move closer to achieving the 3 Cs of Ecoscenography: Co-creation, Celebration, Circulation. Co-creation in the duality of both café items and resultant colourant, celebration in the community aspect of meeting to eat and drink and experience live performance, and circulation towards engendering a closed loop mindset in the creation of theatrical scenery.Item Open Access Grape Head: Rejecting Compulsion/Repulsion Through the Development of a Queer Trans Dramaturgy(2022-03-03) VanWieren, Alisha Christine; Robinson, JamieThe following thesis tracks the creation, development and production of my thesis show Grape Head. At first, I will develop a queer dramaturgy that I plan on engaging with through my development period. This dramaturgy will be rooted in techniques that I will establish in the artistic challenge section of the thesis document. The techniques are based on research, observation and practice. I will contextualize these techniques, the ways they did or did not work, creating a final rendition of a personalized queer dramaturgical approach. Finally I will explore with the content and development of Grape Head.Item Open Access Impossible grief: motivation and intention in MacbethWells, Ker; Buchli, InesThis paper considers the issues of identification and motivation in Shakespeare's Macbeth. Proceeding from the proposal that the play allows for a remarkable level of audience identification for the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, considering their heinous acts, reasons for this level of identification are explored. Two events referred to in the text of Macbeth, but preceding the time of the play, are identified as potentially significant motivating factors in the couple's actions: Macbeth's recent experience of intense battle, and the couple's apparent past loss of a child. Supporting textual evidence is presented in addition to third party research into the effects of close combat and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and the psychological effects on parents of losing a child. Various staging and design implications, opportunities, and ideas that result from these proposals are explored with direct reference to the author's production of Macbeth in Toronto's High Park.Item Open Access Increasing flow in the actor's workBlais, Eric; Armstrong, EricThis paper is an account of preparation I undertook to play the roles of Eric, Venturewell, and Barberosa, in Tim Askew's adaptation of Francis Beaumont's The Knight of the Burning Pestle. Primary to approaching this track I have addressed my artistic challenge of increasing flow in my work as an actor. Starting with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi concept :of flow I began to investigate blocks during class work, rehearsals, performance and show development. I have applied theory and techniques as described in the writings of Declan Donnellan, Robert Triplett, Stephen Nachmanovitch, Eugen Herrigel and Shunryu Suzuki. Practical studio work revolved around mask work and improvisation as a framework through which explore: block and flow. Other research included historical and critical surveys of Francis Beaumont and The Knight of The Burning Pestle. The paper also includes journal entries from the rehearsal process of the York production and a conclusion of my findings.Item Open Access Influenced: Artistic Truthfulness in the Age of Social Media(2022-03-03) Chaulk, Samantha Maisie Anne; Robinson, JamieThe following thesis records the process of researching and creating a solo theatre show called Influenced. It is focused on the pursuit of artistic truthfulness in the face of fears of how the work might be interpreted according to rhetorical trends propagated on social media platforms. It documents an approach to truthful art-making loosely organized by philosopher Ken Wilber's four quadrant model of truth. It examines creation techniques that draw on truth from each quadrant: inner work and visioning; subjective, external reflections of the work in myth and stories; intersubjective, and natural structures; objective. It outlines two ways that research into social media's algorithms; interobjective truth, was applied practically to create the characters and environment of Influenced with the aim of dramatizing behaviors and events that happen online. It defines three components of artistic truthfulness and reflects upon how honouring truthful work can lead to creative success.Item Open Access Janice Almighty - A Contemporary Circus Dance Play(2023-08-04) Dottor, Monica Christine; Batdorf, ErikaThe following thesis records the process of writing, devising, designing, directing, choreographing and performing JANICE ALMIGHTY: A Contemporary Circus Musical. It is an autoethnographic exploration of anxiety and mental health exceptionalities as both hinderance and catalyst for performance and creation. The author examines storytelling techniques incorporating elements of Contemporary Circus, Text, Aerial Dance, Choreography, Music Comedy and Clown.Item Open Access Just because it's a road doesn't mean you have to take it: A journey of decolonizing resistance through storytelling(2022-08-08) Geller, Philip Jonah Logan; Greyeyes, Michael J.This paper outlines the road and journey taken by a Mtis-Jewish graduate student to direct a theatre project in partial fulfillment of an MFA in Directing. It is a contribution towards decolonizing theatre and performance study and practice. Offering processes, techniques, and tools that challenge and exist outside of colonial dominant Western theatrical practice and study. This paper is part story, part research, part process, and part reflection. Discussing the deep challenges of creating decolonizing practice within the confines of a colonial institution through an artistic field entrenched in colonial ideals. This is a presented as an activation to inspire ways of working that honour all our relations and allows us, as human collaborators, to show up as our full selves.Item Open Access Lloyd Richards in rehearsalDixon, Everett C.; Sanders, Leslie; Murray, David; Ford-Smith, Honor"This dissertation analyzes the rehearsal process of Caribbean-Canadian-American director Lloyd Richards (1919-2006), drawing on fifty original interviews conducted with Richards' artistic colleagues from all periods of his directing career, as well as on archival materials such as video-recordings, print and recorded interviews, performance reviews and unpublished letters and workshop notes. In order to frame this analysis, the dissertation will use Russian directing concepts of character, event and action to show how African American theatre traditions can be reformulated as directing strategies, thus suggesting the existence of a particularly African American directing methodology. The main analytical tool of the dissertation will be Stanislavsky's concept of ""super-super-objective,"" translated here as ""larger thematic action,"" understood as an aesthetic ideal formulated as a call to action. The ultimate goal of the dissertation will be to come to an approximate formulation of Richards' ""larger thematic action."" Some of the artists interviewed are: Michael Schultz, Douglas Turner Ward, Woodie King, Jr., Dwight Andrews, Stephen Henderson, Thomas Richards, Scott Richards, James Earl Jones, Charles S. Dutton, Courtney B. Vance, Michele Shay, Ella Joyce, and others."Item Open Access Lost Fool: Re-Inventing a Professional Theatre Process(2019-07-02) Hildebrand, Jason Ross; Wilson, Mark E.This supporting thesis document chronicles the exploratory journey of developing and implementing a nascent creative studio practice, resulting in the crafting, rehearsal and performance of a solo, multi-media theatrical work entitled Lost Fool. I will research and document my experience of developing content for this production through the process of prayer and meditation, as well as the exploration of collected source images through a variety of movement modalities. The content being examined finds roots in three streams, including: my experience of being lost and/or disconnected, the 7th century Russian Orthodox saints labeled Holy Fools, and my Mennonite heritage. Lost Fool is the story of a father speaking to his son on the verge of the childs life-threatening operation. My intention through this multi-modal research model is to grow a new life-affirming creative process for devising impactful and authentic performance.Item Open Access MAD GIRL'S LOVE SONG: Visibility Through Theatre Creation(2019-07-02) Fisher, Mallory Susan; Armstrong, EricThe following thesis chronicles the process of creating, developing, rehearsing, and performing a solo theatre piece entitled MAD GIRLS LOVE SONG. The aim of this research is to create a solo performance of non-linear vignettes using poetic and gestural language that addresses my fear of being seen as a creator. By doing so, I hope to challenge theatre practices that impede bisexual visibility. MAD GIRLS LOVE SONG, a one-woman theatrical event, has arisen in response and relationship to the research, borrowing structures from other art forms, such as modernist poetry. By prioritizing the organization of theatrical time over linear story chronology, the theatrical event uses a queering of linear form to underscore the autobiographical queer content. As theatrical narrative has primarily been occupied by heterosexual voices, MAD GIRLS LOVE SONG is an exploration of how an alternative theatrical timeline may support bisexual content, and therefore visibility, on stage.Item Open Access Measure for Measure: Measuring Morality for a Contemporary Context(2020-05-11) Thompson, Severn; Wilson, Mark E.This paper presents written support material for Severn Thompsons ninety-minute adaptation of Shakespeares Measure for Measure for Shakespeare in High Parks thirty-seventh season. The concept and script edit for the production were based on a number of factors outlined in the following chapters, from historical context, source material, past productions, and contemporary relevancies. Also investigated are the challenges inherent in the script, which have led Measure for Measure to be commonly categorized as one of Shakespeares problem plays. Identifying and embracing the plays ambiguities and contradictions become part of the conceptual approach, while setting the production in an alternative now highlights the issues with which our society continues to wrestle, such as extreme morality, political corruption, gender politics, justice, and mercy. Finally, the paper reflects on the accomplishments as well as the areas for improvement in the production of this complex dark comedy, presented in a unique outdoor venue.Item Open Access Mindful Acting: Freeing the Comfortable Self on Stage(2019-07-02) Komleksiz, Can; Dobie, GwenThis thesis will explore how I can reduce the impact of anxiety on my stage performance and how I can be more comfortable, while finding ways to be unique as an actor. For this effect, a range of methodologies will be applied so that my self-awareness, self-respect and self-confidence as a performer can be increased and I can remain in the moment systematically.Item Open Access Much Ado About Nothing: The Challenge of Directing Shakespeare's Romantic Comedy for a Contemporary Audience(2020-05-11) Balkan, Liza Phyllis; Wilson, Mark E.This paper offers the written component of Liza Balkans investigation into her thesis project: editing and directing the 2019 production of Shakespeares Much Ado About Nothing, produced as part of the 37th season for the Canadian Stage Companys Shakespeare in High Park. The inquiry within these pages involves the challenges of directing this merry war of a classical, romantic comedy (written in 1598/99) for the High Park audience of 2019. How do hearts and minds living in an era of #MeToo take on its themes of love, war, patriarchy, wit, shaming, deception, failure, comedy, and gender politics written from the male perspective of the 16th century? The goal of creating a vibrant, relevant production that embraces and includes the modern audience in its storytelling and dramaturgy inspired the rigorous line of inquiry and propelled the vision for this production.