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- Creators: Barrett, The Honors College
- Creators: Yatso, Toby
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
Abstract As humans, we can instill a different mindset when it comes to our bodies and suffering. Using Antonin Artuad's contributions to the theater in examining the role and consequences of dehumanization, disability can be reimagined. There is a need for a "true theater" of "cruelty," not in the literal sense, but in a metaphorical sense whereby the essence of being alive is revealed through the exaggerated gestures of the true theater, or "poetry in space." Disability is the embodiment of chaos, in the way it manifests the human condition through the reality of having a body, and as the embodiment of conflict between ostensible symbols of socio-cultural "order," and the sanctity of human life. If this chaos is destructive to the socio-cultural, symbolic order but poetic in space, then reimagining disability in order to understand it can serve to create true compassion in the human experience. While "order" in the socio-cultural sense produces hegemony via a hierarchy of symbols and consequences, chaos serves as the innate poetry of the body: inspirational, pure and valuable. It is oriented towards that essence most urgent to humankind: the raw experience of the physical body, despite its continued existence in a confining, conflicting world. Hegemony, generated by the social symbolic order (SSO) attempts to create order out of perceived chaos and claims that suffering in the body is detrimental to life, manifesting violence towards disabled people because they are viewed as suffering and limited. Hegemony creates the conditions whereby the disabled are susceptible into thinking their own lives lack value.
ContributorsCramer, Sarah Della (Author) / Oliverio Lauderdale, Annamaria (Thesis director) / Stuckey, Michelle (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
For my thesis I wrote CoriolanU.S., a brand new play based on the storyline of Shakespeare's Coriolanus. It is in modern English and could stand alone as its own work if one was not familiar with the original play. It follows Coriolanus, a police officer who decides to run for mayor after becoming a hero in his city for helping quell a protest. Running against him is Brutus, a white, female neoliberal who represents a seemingly different, but sometimes similar, political side. Coriolanus is meant to be symbolic of the modern day Republican party and show how difficult it can be for people of color to interact with the political scene. The play also features Aufidius, a flawed but determined political activist in the city. The work deals with themes of immigration, over policing, and what people are willing to do to implement their version of a better world. In addition to writing this piece, I also directed and produced a production of it at a local arts collective; the show ran for three nights. I worked with a cast of twelve students for a period of seven weeks. We had rehearsals on the Tempe campus. When casting the play, I had to pay attention to race because many of the roles in my new play are written specifically for people of color. Thus, putting together this thesis involved research not only into adapting Shakespeare's work, but also research into adapting his work for people of color actors and audience. From start to finish, my thesis involved reading Shakespeare, conducting research, writing the play, getting feedback on it and rewriting parts, the rehearsal process of the play, and staging the production.
ContributorsCabral, Angelica (Author) / Sandoval, Mathew (Thesis director) / Ryner, Bradley (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Comm (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-12
Description
The desire for normalcy is constant, regardless of how unattainable one knows it is. As it seems, the harder one tries for a normal life, the harder it becomes to find it. The more life I experience, the more I realize that normalcy is a construct, completely based in generalizable concepts. Normal will vary from person to person, and even within that, life always provides plenty of deviations from the norm. Within those deviations lies trauma. Trauma is difficult to handle, period. It is even more difficult to handle alone. You Can't Cry While Drinking (Coffee) follows a collegiate arts student as she strives for normalcy while dealing with her mother's terminal diagnosis. This piece focus on alienation, mental health, relationships between women, and the damage that ignoring trauma can cause. It views her actions through the lens of comedy, as laughter can convey a vast and accessible range of emotions. Throughout my college career, I have gone through a significant amount of life stressors, beyond the traditional college work load. Instead of becoming overcome with grief from the traumas I have dealt with, I decided to analyze my life from an outside perspective, taking pieces to share with others. In my observations and experience, sharing stories of hardships with others is mutually beneficial. It allows the individual to come to terms with what they have experience while allowing others to not feel alone if they are struggling with their own lives. There is a considerable amount of comfort in the realization that one does not have to go through traumatic experiences alone. This creative project was performed March 2nd through the 5th. The public exposure was a substantial portion of the process, as sharing trauma was integral to the study of this thesis.
ContributorsGalbiati, Tess Angeline (Author) / Scott, Jason (Thesis director) / Eckard, Bonnie (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
Alzheimer's disease and related dementias are a growing issue in the United States. While medical experts try to develop treatments or a cure, what are we as a society to do in the meantime to help those living with Alzheimer's? The arts seem to be an answer. In this thesis, I highlight numerous programs already in place across the United States that utilize the visual, musical, and dramatic arts to give people with Alzheimer's an avenue for expression, a connection to the world around them, as well as a better quality of life. I address the largely positive impact these arts engagement programs have on caregivers and their perceptions of their loved ones. I discuss what it means to have narrative identity and personhood in the midst of a disease that appears to strip those things away. Finally, I share my own experiences creatively engaging with residents at a local memory care facility and what those experiences demonstrated with regard to narrative, being, and Self. The examination of material and experiences demonstrates that art taps into innate parts of human beings that science is unable to touch or treat; however, the reverse is also true for science. When faced with an issue as complex as Alzheimer's disease, art and science are strongest together, and I believe the cure to Alzheimer's lies in this unity. In the meantime, we must utilize the arts to validate the Selves of and improve the quality of life for our growing Alzheimer's population.
ContributorsSpeight, Gemma (Author) / Gruber, Diane (Thesis director) / Manninen, Bertha (Committee member) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
On The Mathematical Analysis of An Ancient Greek Tragedy (A CURE AT TROY) Using Mathematical Set Theory To Analyze Patterns In Character And Story Structure; The Production And Direction Of That Greek Tragedy Using Vectors To Direct Action And Objectives In 2-Space; And The Research, Writing, And Production Of A Reading Of A New Play (A TREE DISAPPEARS) On The Analogies Of Forestry Management Practices To Family Relationships.
ContributorsFox, Ethan (Author) / Partlan, William (Thesis director) / Lynch, John (Committee member) / Pinholster, Jacob (Committee member) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Thomas Otway’s Classic, A Plot Discovered through my own theatrical adaptive process: an exploration of the relationship between power, gender, drugs, music, love, and violence. Conceptually, the piece was adapted into two worlds. The first, a blatant, elizabethan, contrastingly intense world of realism. The second, a black light neon fueled frenzy of storytelling through song and choreographed movement. The presence of these two worlds living side by side resulting in a deeper look at the effect of drug use on how we perceive our social, political, economic, and emotional climates. The proposed (and completed) time frame for adaption of the play is two semesters, followed by a semester of pre production, casting, designing, directing, and producing. The show went up in the Prism Theatre through Binary Theatre Company April 12th, 14th, and 15th, with an extension to the next weekend by popular demand.
The purpose of this project stands: An idea that sparks a passion, idea, or question in the audience that ties directly into our current political discussion, while remaining integral to the academic world, serving as one of the most concentrated locations of permission to think openly and ask difficult questions. A Plot Discovered in particular achieves this by asking what it means to have power and to not, to be a man in another man’s world, to be a woman in any man’s world, to be neither really man or woman but somewhere in between, the consequences of dictatorship and revolution, why the human condition loves to get high, as well as the devotion and blindness of love on three different levels: friendship, romance, and family. These themes serve the script as it was written in all three of the applied timelines (it’s original 1600s, the adapted 1970s, and our current) leading to the biggest question of them all, do we as humans really evolve or is it a mere illusion painted by our ability to enhance the environment around us?
The desire to adapt A Plot Discovered came during a conversation with my peers during a semester spent studying classical drama at Oxford University. As we debated the themes of the play, a guitarist played post Vietnam War era music in the street below echoing up the cobblestone street and entering our dining hall window. The result was an artistic revelation that would drive my passion into this project for the next two years. Rewriting, designing, casting, directing, and reflecting upon A Plot Discovered has proved not only the most difficult but also the most rewarding event within my undergraduate studies.
View A Plot Discovered miniature documentary here: https://vimeo.com/325355612
The purpose of this project stands: An idea that sparks a passion, idea, or question in the audience that ties directly into our current political discussion, while remaining integral to the academic world, serving as one of the most concentrated locations of permission to think openly and ask difficult questions. A Plot Discovered in particular achieves this by asking what it means to have power and to not, to be a man in another man’s world, to be a woman in any man’s world, to be neither really man or woman but somewhere in between, the consequences of dictatorship and revolution, why the human condition loves to get high, as well as the devotion and blindness of love on three different levels: friendship, romance, and family. These themes serve the script as it was written in all three of the applied timelines (it’s original 1600s, the adapted 1970s, and our current) leading to the biggest question of them all, do we as humans really evolve or is it a mere illusion painted by our ability to enhance the environment around us?
The desire to adapt A Plot Discovered came during a conversation with my peers during a semester spent studying classical drama at Oxford University. As we debated the themes of the play, a guitarist played post Vietnam War era music in the street below echoing up the cobblestone street and entering our dining hall window. The result was an artistic revelation that would drive my passion into this project for the next two years. Rewriting, designing, casting, directing, and reflecting upon A Plot Discovered has proved not only the most difficult but also the most rewarding event within my undergraduate studies.
View A Plot Discovered miniature documentary here: https://vimeo.com/325355612
ContributorsSchneider, Fay Elizabeth (Author) / McMahon, Jeff (Thesis director) / Barker, David (Committee member) / Weise, Chris (Committee member) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
ContributorsBingham, Tucker (Author) / Setlow, Jennifer (Thesis director) / Melo, Carla (Committee member) / Danowski, Christopher (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts (Contributor)
Created2012-12
Description
This project began when I heard a story that made my mind turn. The story was about a five- year-old girl who left her glove in the car on a chilly morning before school. Upon reaching the school entrance, she turned to her mother and cried, "Oh no! Mom! I'm Doomed!!" because she neglected to put on one of her gloves (Snow, 2012). Her mother, astonished by her daughter's mature answer, asked her daughter where she had heard that word before. The daughter explained that The Marley brothers told Scrooge this in the production of "A Christmas Carol" that she was participating in at the time. After hearing this story, I began to ponder the impact scripts and theatrical participation could have on a child's literacy skills, especially a child's vocabulary. Being involved in theatre since a very young age, I decided it was time to put her theory into a research project. "Mom, I'm DOOMED!" Literacy Development Through Theatrical Participation sets out to answer three main research questions: (1) How does theatrical participation benefit students' literacy skills? (2) How do scripts enhance students' vocabulary? (3) How do scripts and theatrical participation heighten students' fluency skills? In order to explore these research questions, the researcher created a theatrical workshop to engage students in an authentic theatrical experience. Using a fourth grade reader's theatre script and on-grade-level vocabulary words, I created a six-day workshop to engage students and gather data surrounding her research questions. After the workshop was conducted and data gathered, the results were analyzed for common trends and correlations. Although the results found were minimal, they did show a positive correlation between theatrical participation and students' literacy skills. Although students' data did show improvement in scores, there were no clear findings that could prove theatrical participation is a more effective learning environment than others.
ContributorsIsenberg, Bailey Marie (Author) / Ballantyne, Cindy (Thesis director) / Weber, Catherine (Committee member) / Rubino, Michele (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor) / T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
BLOCKBUSTED is a one-act play about Clyde, a 12-year-old boy who has a pretty wild imagination. After losing in a very competitive sand castle building competition, Clyde is determined to prove to his father that he is in fact not a failure. When Clyde's father becomes sick with a very uncommon disease, Clyde must find a way to get the money required for his father's surgery. A mysterious being offers Clyde the chance to get the money, but Clyde must go on a journey and bring back a secret treasure. Clyde ends up traveling to the last remaining Blockbuster Video store where he must complete various tasks in order to receive the treasure. Along the way, Clyde unexpectedly meets up with his former best friends who go with him on his journey. Their relationship is put to the test, as they must find a way to work together to help Clyde save his father while also learning that having personal quirks isn't always a bad thing.
ContributorsNewman, Bradley Andrew (Author) / Sterling, Pamela (Thesis director) / Ganssle, Gene (Committee member) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2015-12