Browsing by Subject "Devised theatre"

Now showing 1 - 8 of 8

Cultivating community : socially responsible pedagogy in the devising process
(2015-05) Thomas, Emily Aguilar; Schroeder-Arce, Roxanne; Dawson, Kathryn; González-López, Gloria
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, statistics show that young people are experiencing sexual violence at the hands of adults and often do not tell anyone about their experiences ("Reporting of Sexual Violence Incidents"). Weaving research and practice in sexual violence and Applied Theatre, this case study explores the process of building community among participants while learning through and about these key content areas. Through a devising process that worked toward creating an original Applied Theatre program for young audiences, the researcher interrogates how enacting socially responsible pedagogy informed the process and nurtured a learning community. Enacting a critically-engaged pedagogy, this document invites artists, practitioners and pedagogues to consider how a feminist pedagogy might shape a socially-engaged art-making process and incite participants to take constructive action in their communities.
Days of change : developing a healing-centered devising practice with youth
(2024-05) Lewis, Gabrielle Marie; Dawson, Kathryn; Megan Alrutz
Devising is an ensemble-based approach to theatre-making widely used in the applied theatre field to build performances rooted in both personal and collective storytelling. Although devising as a theatrical form encourages young people to develop their skills in creative expression, performance, and collaboration, devised theatre is not always an ingrained feature in secondary theatre curriculum. Nevertheless, applied theatre facilitators have begun to consider how they can embody healing-centered engagement, proposed by Dr. Shawn Ginwright, when making theatre with young people. This MFA thesis examines an eleven-week devising process with a high school youth ensemble, focusing on the facilitator’s role in applying healing-centered engagement principles when working with young theatre-makers. This qualitative study combines reflective practitioner and youth participatory action research methods to explore how Ginwright’s Four Pivots framework activates a healing-centered devising practice for both the youth participants and the adult facilitator or educator. Through thematic coding and discourse analysis, the author identifies what strategies, ways of thinking, and pedagogical frameworks support devised theatre practitioners in pivoting towards a more healing-centered facilitation practice.
“The ghosts of Waller Creek” : an exploration of the use of applied theatre and site-specific performance as methods for public participation in a city planning process
(2011-08) Dahlenburg, Michelle Hope; Alrutz, Megan; Dawson, Kathryn; Hoare, Lynn
In this thesis, I explore applied theatre and site-specific performance workshops as methods for public participation in city planning. “The Ghosts of Waller Creek” program worked to foster interest in and facilitate dialogue around the redevelopment of an abandoned urban creek area in Austin, TX. I explore three guiding questions: How does an applied theatre practitioner foster collaboration with non-theatre artists on a creative project that achieves common goals? How can applied theatre and site-specific performance workshops and events foster place attachment and engage citizens in city planning? How does an applied theatre practitioner translate participatory, applied theatre workshops into an artifact that is useful to city planners? Using reflective practitioner research processes and qualitative coding methods, I examine these questions through an analysis of surveys, interviews, performances, discussions, field notes, and observations. I first explore the role that goals, communication, and reflection played in my partnership with an urban designer. I then use place attachment theory to examine how the workshops and events shifted participants’ interest in, and engagement with, Waller Creek and city planning. Next, I investigate how performative artifacts such as audio maps and interactive performances can communicate participants’ opinions about Waller Creek to city planners and to the general public. Finally I discuss how the project situates in the field of arts-based civic dialogue and address guidelines for future projects. This thesis invites applied theatre practitioners to consider how their work can contribute to arts-based civic dialogue in their own communities.
Our stories heal -- mind, body and soul : pivoting to a healing-centered engagement in an applied theatre residency
(2022-07-29) Manning, Courtney Nicole; Dawson, Kathryn; Alrutz, Megan
Professor, author, and youth development activist Shawn Ginwright proposes the importance of healing-centered engagement (HCE) for youth in urban communities and their facilitators. His scholarship invites readers to gain a unique perspective on how as youth development professionals engage and interact with young people to bring justice and support interactions that might be healing and restorative. Ginwright’s 2022 Book Four Pivots: Reimagining Justice, Reimagining Ourselves argues how facilitators in social justice work with youth might move toward (HCE) from four pivots: awareness, connection, vision, and presence. This MFA thesis is a qualitative case study of a teaching artist facilitation experience during aa 9-week applied theatre residency at a group home facility in central, Texas. The researcher uses reflective practitioner and autoethnographic analysis to examine coded data representing how she pivoted (in relation to all four pivots) as a facilitator throughout the entire project, Our Stories Heal.
Re/connect : an interdisciplinary exploration of wearable technology in devised theatre
(2015-05) Weller, Kristen Ann; Glavan, James; Beckham, Andrea; Lowery, Allison
How can theatrical costumes help develop a narrative about intimacy in a world that is increasingly detaching from physical contact? My thesis explores this question through interactive costumes and the use of Wearable technology. I created two micro-controlled costumes that employed a variety of proximity sensors and LEDs that light in reaction to the touch and closeness of another person. The costumes are a response to the statement made by MIT psychologist Sherry Turkle: "We're lonely, but afraid of intimacy." The garments were featured in both an interdisciplinary devised theatrical production I helped create, entitled RE/CONNECT, and an interactive educational exhibit, illustrating the importance of physical touch in an increasingly digital age. Only by integrating new and old technologies will theatre remain relevant and funded in a world that is losing interest in physical interaction. Beyond the benefits of study for the production team, the final thesis performance attracted audience members from a wide demographic range, including those outside of the theatrical community with positive results. By incorporating nontraditional technologies in performance, and allowing audience members to experience these technologies firsthand outside of a museum, I have challenged my colleagues in the theatre and sciences to further investigate applications of developing technologies, and put to art and technology in deeper conversation.
Theatre of ordeal
(2022-05-06) Steele, Michael William; Lynn, Kirk; Sanchez, KJ; Bassiakou Shaw, Alexandra
In this thesis, I define the Theatre of Ordeal and detail approaches, methods, and tools I have utilized in the creation of theatrical works belonging to it. Theatre of Ordeal is a carefully constructed performance situation which must be negotiated by the viewer. Instead of meaning delivered through content, the patron derives meaning firsthand through a series of decisions (mental, physical, or spiritual). In support, I examine several projects I worked on during my time as a graduate student at UT Austin. These include two devised pieces (And Away We Stared and Home Edition) and three plays I directed (Lear by Young Jean Lee, OCD by Hee-Won Kim, and Love and Information by Caryl Churchill).
To be moved
(2022-05-04) Hart, Andrea L.; Habeck, Michelle M.; Sanchez, KJ; Bassett Shaw, Alexandra
In this thesis I will examine how I use movement in theatre with the goal of moving the audience emotionally. I will point to the ways I scaffold and build a process that draws from many other practices of physical theatre and remixes them into my unique approach. I will describe how I use ensemble and physical theatre techniques to stage work that generates deep engagement, builds community, and allows for catharsis for both performer and audience. Through looking at my work on several projects at UT, I will show how interacting physically with the actors, audience, and design elements creates connection and expounds on textual and subtextual themes. I will explore physicality on stage from multiple angles. With Ownerless Beasts the audience enacted the physicality as a way of deepening their personal connection and relevance to the text. In Wyeth Airlines and Meek, the actors’ physicality on stage and their interaction with moving design elements conveyed interstitial story elements and character interiority. Murky as Hell uses explicit, extreme physicality including fight and dance choreography to appeal to the audience on an instinctual level and to elicit crowd responses typical to sporting events. With each of these projects, I will describe the function of movement in the piece and seek to assess the effectiveness of that movement as a technique toward emotional responses in the audience. This assessment will allow me to discover areas for revision and improvement in future iterations of these pieces or new work I create. Ultimately, I intend to use this exploration of my craft to codify my rehearsal and staging practices and formalize my approach for future work in the field.
While supplies last : playing with toys, Jewish masculinity, and toxic American inheritances through devised theatre
(2020-05-04) Rosenthal, Mason Gregory; Rossen, Rebecca
This Performance as Research thesis centers the 2019 work-in-progress performance of While Supplies Last. While Supplies Last’s central narrative follows the family life of Geoffrey “Junior” Giraffe, in his struggle to lead Toys “R” Us, after the recent death of his father. In While Supplies Last, I play with what I term “toxic American inheritances,” entrenched systems of oppression that shape the United States including: hegemonic masculinity, white supremacy, rampant consumerism, and plastic pollution. I argue that toys, while molded by these forces, are simultaneously objects of play, and therefore potent sources for transgression and transformation. I contend that the free-wheeling spirit of play makes it a particularly effective tool to address toxic American inheritances, which rely on restriction and regulation. In Chapter One I describe the historical and theoretical frameworks of the project, including my research into the Jewish inventors and entrepreneurs that shaped the post-World War II American toy industry. In Chapter Two I analyze the three performance lecture interludes that interrupt While Supplies Last ’s central narrative: a Borscht Belt comedy set by Mr. Potato Head, a physical fitness seminar with G.I. Joe, and a TED Talk by Pac-Man. In Chapter Three I evaluate the successes and failures of While Supplies Last with an eye towards its future development