Matching Items (3)
Filtering by

Clear all filters

Description
Only in the world of acting can an individual be denied a job simply on the basis of their appearance, and in my thesis, I sought to explore alternatives to this through the concept of nontraditional casting and casting against "type", which included the presentation of a full-length production of

Only in the world of acting can an individual be denied a job simply on the basis of their appearance, and in my thesis, I sought to explore alternatives to this through the concept of nontraditional casting and casting against "type", which included the presentation of a full-length production of the musical "Once on this Island" which I attempted to cast based on vocal quality and skill alone rather than taking physical characteristics into account. I researched the history and implementation of nontraditional casting, both in regards to race and other factors such as gender, socio-economic status, and disability. I also considered the legal and intellectual property challenges that nontraditional casting can pose. I concluded from this research that while nontraditional casting is only one solution to the problem, it still has a great deal of potential to create diversity in theater. For my own show, I held the initial auditions via audio recording, though the callback auditions were held in person so that I and my crew could appraise dance and acting ability. Though there were many challenges with our cast after this initial round of auditions, we were able to solidify our cast and continue through the rehearsal process. All things said, the show was very successful. It is my hope that those who were a part of the show, either as part of the production or the audience, are inspired to challenge the concept of typecasting in contemporary theater.
ContributorsBriggs, Timothy James (Author) / Yatso, Toby (Thesis director) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Music (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
Of Leto: a staged concert reading is a new work development created by Alexander Tom and Daniel Oberhaus focusing on collegiate collaboration, production process, and creative intuition. An original story was adapted by Daniel Oberhaus into a working libretto. Alexander Tom created a two-act musical-drama and utilized the colleges on

Of Leto: a staged concert reading is a new work development created by Alexander Tom and Daniel Oberhaus focusing on collegiate collaboration, production process, and creative intuition. An original story was adapted by Daniel Oberhaus into a working libretto. Alexander Tom created a two-act musical-drama and utilized the colleges on the Arizona State University \u2014 Tempe campus: Barrett, the Honors College, W.P. Carey School of Business, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts: School of Music and School of Theatre, Film and Dance. This cross-discipline staged concert reading was comprised of a libretto by Daniel Oberhaus, music, additional lyrics and orchestrations by Alexander Tom, and orchestrations by Drew Nichols. The performance included a thirteen-piece orchestra and fourteen vocalists in undergraduate and graduate programs. This paper includes research on Benjamin Britten and Myfanwy Piper's Death in Venice and Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Its purpose is to impart a comparative analysis on the process of collaboration in opera, musical theatre, and the newly determined "musical-drama" \u2014 the genre in which Of Leto resides. Use of historical research will expound on the evolution of musical theatre along with each team's collaborative processes in relation to the music (lyrics and melody respectively), the libretto, and the production. The research permits conclusions regarding the possible practices to utilize in creating new student works like Of Leto.
ContributorsTom, Alexander Robert (Author) / DeMars, James (Thesis director) / Swoboda, Deanna (Committee member) / Yatso, Toby (Committee member) / School of Music (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
For my Barrett Thesis Project, I completed a total rewrite of the feature-length screenplay I wrote for my Herberger Senior Project. This process constituted completing a full analysis of my original work with my Thesis Director and Second Reader, discussing character motivation, thematic throughlines, story logic, and realism in dialogue.

For my Barrett Thesis Project, I completed a total rewrite of the feature-length screenplay I wrote for my Herberger Senior Project. This process constituted completing a full analysis of my original work with my Thesis Director and Second Reader, discussing character motivation, thematic throughlines, story logic, and realism in dialogue. This initial analysis caused me to almost entirely rewrite the original script, adjusting dialogue, sequences of events, pacing and character work.
The majority of this rewrite was spent on fine-tuning character and motivation, strengthening them in some cases and changing them entirely in others. I really strove to emphasize the relationships they had with each other and how the situations and connections affected the state of mind, therefore leading to the chain of events that happened in the script in a much more natural way. I also worked to emphasize certain story elements that benefited the characters and thematic content, specifically my protagonist’s struggle with schizophrenia. In this draft, I turned that character trait into a visual element, which I believe further heightened the visual and emotional stakes of the story and gave the characters an increased sense of motivation and struggle. In this draft I also worked to break down the stereotype connected with my secondary protagonist, a sex worker. Instead of emphasizing her strength and beauty, as many action films with a strong/sexualized woman in a supporting role do, I adjusted her story arc to break her stereotype (and her character) down throughout the story. I wanted to depict her as a person with flaws that extend beyond her choice of profession, though the latter certainly did not help. I believe that the final product succeeds in both main goals.
While working on this rewrite, I also completed a script edit journal that detailed the significant changes in action, pacing or dialogue I made and what my reasoning was behind them.
ContributorsFlake, Peyton Lee (Author) / Giner, Oscar (Thesis director) / Yatso, Toby (Committee member) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-12