Matching Items (6)
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- All Subjects: Theatre
- Creators: Dreyfoos, Dale
Description
Emily Dickinson is a well-known American poet of the nineteenth century, and her oeuvre consists of nearly 2,000 posthumously published poems. Written largely in hymn form with unique ideas of punctuation and grammar, her poetry attracts composers with its inherent musicality. The twentieth-century American composers Aaron Copland, Ernst Bacon, Lee Hoiby, and Gordon Getty have created song settings of Dickinson's poetry. Copland's song cycle Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson (1949-50) is admired by many as an illustration of poetry; however, the Dickinson cycles by Bacon, Hoiby, and Getty are also valuable, lesser-known representations of her writing. Settings of one poem, "There came a Wind like a Bugle--", are common among Copland's Twelve Poems, Bacon's cycle Songs from Emily Dickinson: Nature, Time, and Space (1930), Hoiby's Four Dickinson Songs (1988), and Getty's The White Election (1982). These latter three settings have previously undergone some theoretical analysis; however, this paper considers a performance analysis of these songs from a singer's point of view. Chapter 1 provides background for this study. Chapter 2 consists of a biographical overview of Dickinson's life and writing style, as well as a brief literary analysis of "There came a Wind like a Bugle--". Chapters 3, 4, and 5 discuss Ernst Bacon, Lee Hoiby, and Gordon Getty, respectively; each chapter consists of a short biography of the composer and a discussion of his writing style, a brief theoretical analysis of his song setting, and commentary on the merits of his setting from the point of view of a singer. Observations of the depiction of mood in the song and challenges for the singer are also noted. This paper provides a comparative analysis of three solo vocal settings of one Emily Dickinson poem as a guide for singers who wish to begin studying song settings of this poem. The Bacon and Hoiby settings were found to be lyrical, tonal representations of the imagery presented in "There came a Wind like a Bugle--". The Getty setting was found to be a musically starker representation of the poem's atmosphere. These settings are distinctive and worthy of study and performance.
ContributorsCastellone, Amanda Beth (Author) / Doan, Jerry (Thesis advisor) / Kopta, Anne E (Thesis advisor) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Committee member) / Mills, Robert (Committee member) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
The performance of Charles Ives's art songs can be challenging to even the most experienced singers, but to beginning singers, they may be even more so, due to such twentieth-century aspects as polytonality, polyrhythm, tone clusters, aleatoric elements, and quarter tones. However, Ives used previously existing material, often familiar hymn tunes, as the foundation for many of his art songs. If beginning students first are exposed to this borrowed material, such as a simple hymn tune, which should be well within even the most experienced singer's comfort range, they can then learn this tune first, as a more simplistic reference point, and then focus on how Ives altered the tunes, rather then having to learn what seems like an entirely new melody. In this way, Ives's art songs can become more accessible to less-experienced singers. This paper outlines a method for researching and learning the borrowed materials in Ives's songs that utilize them, and reviews materials already commonly used by voice teachers to help beginning students learn their music. By combining this method, which focuses on the borrowed materials, with standard practices teachers can then help their beginning students more easily learn and perform Ives's art songs. Four songs, from the set "Four Hymn Tune Settings" by Charles Ives are used to illustrate this method.
ContributorsRuhleder, Kathleen (Author) / FitzPatrick, Carole (Thesis advisor) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Committee member) / Carpenter, Ellon (Committee member) / May, Judy (Committee member) / Schildkret, David (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
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 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
A student-run theatre company would give students more opportunities to perform. as well as opportunities to direct, design, and produce something that is not usually available to us. The main goal of the topic is to create a student-run theatre company that would be able to support three to four minimal, low budget productions each year that are directed, designed, and performed by the students. These productions could be works that are new or out of the mainstream, one-act operas or musicals, works written or composed by our own students, or even standard repertoire. Productions could be minimal, with the focus being on direction and performances, or fully executed with lighting, sets, and costumes designed by the students. Whatever the format, the goal is to provide students with more opportunities in music theatre and opera. There are several components to this project. The first component is forming the student organization \u2014 the theatre company. While forming a student theatre company allows for more creativity and room to try different things, we must also figure out how to operate within the limits of a campus club. The second component is producing a show. To get a taste what our club would eventually be doing, the committee is essentially' producing a show with the guidance of Lyric Opera Theatre faculty. The third component is writing the actual thesis and preparing for my defense. Because this project is not a traditional research project, the end result will be more than a thesis paper. I hope to be able to show that Basement Collaborative has developed into an organization that will be able to sustain past my time here at ASU.
ContributorsZheng, Shuwen (Author) / Reber, William (Thesis director) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Committee member) / Harper, Robert (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This thesis explores the various reasons that Broadway musicals fail, or "flop". It goes into detail on several musicals of different genres, and explains what their shortcomings were, whether it be a less-than-perfect book, a weak score, or a production team that was not experienced in the skills that it takes to put together a musical. It discusses how long the shows ran for, or if they ever made it into a Broadway house. It looks at what the audience reception was like for each show, and whether the shows were a success with the tough critics of Broadway. In addition to this, I have recorded several of my peers performing songs from the musicals I have discussed in the written portion of this thesis. This helps to educate an audience on what it would have been like for one of the flop's real performances. The videos also do a wonderful job of communicating what the show sounds like, and how it can make an audience feel or react. Lastly, it gives more insight into why the musicals they are from failed to thrive in front of a Broadway audience. Through my research, I have discovered that creating a musical is possibly one of the most difficult feats a team of creative people can accomplish. There are countless reasons for failure in these shows, but overall, I feel that every failure had something to offer, and because of that, are surely worth celebrating.
ContributorsUrias-Ramonett, Sedona Lee (Author) / Yatso, Toby (Thesis director) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Committee member) / W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / School of Music (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This study focuses on three songs from stage works of Kurt Weill (1900-1950): “September Song” from Knickerbocker Holiday (1938), “Speak Low” from One Touch of Venus (1943), and “Lost in the Stars” from Lost in the Stars (1949). All from Weill’s time in the United States, these songs are adaptable as solos and have become American standards performed in various arrangements and styles of popular music by many different artists.
The first part of this study is a biographical sketch of Weill’s life and music. It is intended to provide context for the three songs by tracing his beginnings as a German composer of stage works with volatile political messages, to his flight to the United States and his emergence as a composer of Broadway successes.
The second part is a commentary on the composition of the three selected songs. The lyrics and musical content are examined to show how Weill’s settings convey the dramatic mood and meaning as well as the specific nuances of the words. Description of the context of these songs explains how they were textually and musically intended to advance the plot and the emotional arc of the dramatic characters. The popularity of these songs endures beyond their original shows, and so there is discussion of how other artists have adapted and performed them, and available recordings are cited.
Weill’s songs, his little masterpieces, have proven to be truly evocative and so attractive to American audiences that they have undergone myriad adaptations. This study seeks to provide the personal and historical background of Kurt Weill’s music and to demonstrate why these three songs in particular have proven to have such lasting appeal.
The first part of this study is a biographical sketch of Weill’s life and music. It is intended to provide context for the three songs by tracing his beginnings as a German composer of stage works with volatile political messages, to his flight to the United States and his emergence as a composer of Broadway successes.
The second part is a commentary on the composition of the three selected songs. The lyrics and musical content are examined to show how Weill’s settings convey the dramatic mood and meaning as well as the specific nuances of the words. Description of the context of these songs explains how they were textually and musically intended to advance the plot and the emotional arc of the dramatic characters. The popularity of these songs endures beyond their original shows, and so there is discussion of how other artists have adapted and performed them, and available recordings are cited.
Weill’s songs, his little masterpieces, have proven to be truly evocative and so attractive to American audiences that they have undergone myriad adaptations. This study seeks to provide the personal and historical background of Kurt Weill’s music and to demonstrate why these three songs in particular have proven to have such lasting appeal.
ContributorsKimball, Abigail S (Author) / May, Judy (Thesis advisor) / Holbrook, Amy (Committee member) / Kopta, Anne (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016