Thesis (MDram)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The musical is one of the many forms of musical theatre and consists of certain qualities that define the genre. This form developed out of various genres en there are many approaches and definitions for the musical.This study investigates the nature and changing nature of the musical in South Africa, and it also studies the various factors that contributed and still contributes to the development of the concept musical.The economic-, socio-economic, historical- en cultural background of South Africa is used throughout the study to understand and interpret the nature and context of this theatrical art form. The study is divided into periods; pre – colonial South Africa, Colonial South Africa, Apartheid South Africa and Post-Apartheid South Africa. The above periods are furthermore organized into the following categories; historical background, available theatre spaces, the involvement of theatre makers, forms of musicals found and examples of musicals present during the specific periods.Various forms of the musical are researched; the indigenous community musical, the urban black musical, the anti-apartheid musical, the township musical, independent musicals, international phenomena, contemporary trends as well as the appearance and relevance of the musical at festivals in South Africa.The conclusion of the study is that the nature of musicals in South Africa is bound to various factors that influence this theatrical form, and the form is thus adaptable due to elements such as social-, cultural-, economic- en socio-economic factors. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die musiekblyspel is ‘n onderafdeling van musiekteater en bevat spesifieke eienskappe wat dié genre definieer. Die vorm het ontwikkel vanuit verskeie genres en daar bestaan verskillende benaderings tot en definisies vir die musiekblyspel. Hierdie studie ondersoek die wese en aard en verandering van dié genre in Suid-Afrika, en ook die verskeie faktore wat bygedra het en steeds bydra tot die ontstaan en ontwikkeling van die konsep musiekblyspel. Die ekonomiese-, sosio-ekonomiese-, historiese- en kulturele agtergrond van Suid-Afrika dien as deurlyn, om sodoende ook die aard van die teatervorm in konteks te verstaan en te interpreteer. Die studie is voorts ook verdeel in Pre – koloniale Afrika, gevolg deur Koloniale Suid-Afrika, die Apartheid-era en laastens die Post-Apartheidsera. Die onderskeie tydperke is verder in die volgende onderadelings verdeel; historiese agtergrond, beskikbare teaterruimtes, betrokkenheid van teatermakers, vorme van musiekblyspele aanwesig en voorbeelde van musiekblyspele gedurende bogenoemde tydperke. Verskeie vorme van die musiekblyspel word bestudeer, onder andere die inheemse gemeenskapsmusiekblyspel, die inheemse swart musiekblyspel, die anti-apartheid musiekblyspel, die township-musiekblyspel, onafhanklike, nie staatsgesubsideerde musiekblyspele, internasionale verskynsels, hedendaagse tendense, asook die voorkoms en relevansie van musiekblyspele by kunstefeeste. Die gevolgtrekking van die studie is dat die aard van musiekblyspele in Suid-Afrika gebonde is aan verskeie faktore wat die teatervorm beïnvloed en sodoende is die vorm aanpasbaar weens elemente soos sosiale-, kulturele-, ekonomiese en sosio-ekonomiese faktore.

This project consists of a theoretical examination of Australian music theatre and a portfolio of musical compositions. The thesis proposes an innovative analytical model for music theatre/multi-media with a distinctive perspective. Adapting concepts from feminist Deleuzean theorists, it advances a notion of feminine difference that moves beyond earlier debates between essentialists and anti-essentialists. This theoretical framework guides the close examination of three works ― Andrée Greenwell’s Laquiem: Tales from the Mourning of the Lac Women (1999), Greenwell’s Laquiem (2002) and Gretchen Miller’s Inland (1999/2000) ― that complicate the category ‘music theatre’ in the way that they cross genre boundaries. Greenwell’s Laquiem: Tales from the Mourning of the Lac Women is a new music performance work based upon Kathleen Mary Fallon’s ‘The Mourning of the Lac Women’. This work has a close relationship to Laquiem (2002), a short film directed, composed and scripted adapted by Greenwell based upon the same text by Fallon. Inland is a radiophonic work that Miller also staged as a live performance. The thesis argues that changing format and interdisciplinary content of works such as these has contributed to the current proliferation of genre labels. Recent works can be defined under various descriptors such as ‘performance art’, ‘documentary opera’ or ‘installation performance’. The thesis offers the concept of ‘deterritorialised music theatre’ to address works that exist at and beyond the limits of music theatre as a category. The penultimate chapter applies a Deleuzean feminist framework to the composition portfolio submitted with the thesis. The creative work consists of two audio-visual installations (one with quadraphonic sound), a music-theatre work (exploring ‘action’- instrumental possibilities) and a music-art tour that includes music for string trio, singer and brass/sax septet. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--McGill University, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references.

The Silence is the story of William Rose, a man who, while searching the world for his missing wife and daughter, is kidnapped and held in a secret Iranian prison. After many years of torture, abuse and a slow descent into insanity, secrets about his family manifest as mysterious and magical occurrences, creating a dangerous tension between the prisoners and guards. Questions begin to arise: Who is actually in charge of this prison? Why haven’t the guards ever met the warden? Why is the prison haunted by mysterious voices? And what exactly would it take to crumble the walls of this corrupt institution? Act II scene iii, The Hour of Angels – William sits alone in his cell, carving the images of his wife and daughter into the wall. As he begs his family to come back to him, the image of his wife slowly comes to life. Intermezzo and Act II scene i, Danger in the Meadow – Flashback. The prison guards spy on Christina and Madelyn Rose as they play in a meadow not far from the secret prison. Christina sees them hiding and in a panic sends her daughter to a distant building to hide and look for help.

American musical theater songs are popular with the general public, and many college and university voice students are familiar with them. Some voice teachers also use musical theater repertoire to varying degrees in voice instruction. Such familiarity and interest lend significance to this study of the songs in a teaching context. There is therefore a need for the establishment of repertoire-selection guidelines and pedagogical analysis of selected musical theater songs so that additional teachers will become well informed.Following the introduction in Chapter One, the results of a survey sent to one hundred members of the National Association of Teachers of Singing are presented. The survey posed questions concerning the current use of musical theater songs. Among other things, the results revealed strong interest in the analysis and application of this literature in the voice studio. Guidelines for repertoire selection (also used by the author in selecting songs that address specific aspects of singing) are introduced in Chapter Three, along with a description of analytical procedures. Chapters Four through Eight include summaries of the analyses and suggested applications in the voice studio:Developing the ability to sing longer phrases"You'll Never Walk Alone" (Rodgers)"Where Is Love?" (Bart)"After the Ball" (Harris)• Developing the ability to sing wide intervals in a legato fashion "Lost in the Stars" (Weill)"Warm All Over" (Loesser)"Green Finch and Linnet Bird" (Sondheim)•Developing the ability to articulate words rapidly "My Darling, My Darling" (Loesser) "Seventy-Six Trombones" (Willson) "Soliloquy" (Rodgers)•Developing the ability to move smoothly between registers "Someone to Watch Over Me" (Gershwin) "Where or When" (Rodgers) "O1' Man River" (Kern)•Managing a large range and mature quality "Maria" (Bernstein)"Memory" (Lloyd Webber) "One More Kiss" (Sondheim)Conclusions in Chapter Nine include: (1) teachers should judge musical theater songs by the same criteria as other songs; (2) musical theater literature offers useful material for students who are striving to develop certain aspects of singing; (3) analyses of selected songs demonstrate their suitability for pedagogical use; and (4) there is a need for additional critical analysis of musical theater literature. / School of Music

This project consists of a theoretical examination of Australian music theatre and a portfolio of musical compositions. The thesis proposes an innovative analytical model for music theatre/multi-media with a distinctive perspective. Adapting concepts from feminist Deleuzean theorists, it advances a notion of feminine difference that moves beyond earlier debates between essentialists and anti-essentialists. This theoretical framework guides the close examination of three works ― Andrée Greenwell’s Laquiem: Tales from the Mourning of the Lac Women (1999), Greenwell’s Laquiem (2002) and Gretchen Miller’s Inland (1999/2000) ― that complicate the category ‘music theatre’ in the way that they cross genre boundaries. Greenwell’s Laquiem: Tales from the Mourning of the Lac Women is a new music performance work based upon Kathleen Mary Fallon’s ‘The Mourning of the Lac Women’. This work has a close relationship to Laquiem (2002), a short film directed, composed and scripted adapted by Greenwell based upon the same text by Fallon. Inland is a radiophonic work that Miller also staged as a live performance. The thesis argues that changing format and interdisciplinary content of works such as these has contributed to the current proliferation of genre labels. Recent works can be defined under various descriptors such as ‘performance art’, ‘documentary opera’ or ‘installation performance’. The thesis offers the concept of ‘deterritorialised music theatre’ to address works that exist at and beyond the limits of music theatre as a category. The penultimate chapter applies a Deleuzean feminist framework to the composition portfolio submitted with the thesis. The creative work consists of two audio-visual installations (one with quadraphonic sound), a music-theatre work (exploring ‘action’- instrumental possibilities) and a music-art tour that includes music for string trio, singer and brass/sax septet. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This dissertation presents a notional model, as a taxonomic system, to describe dramaturgical elements of sound design in musicals. Developed in tandem with a prototype virtual environment interface - termed ‘The MaxStage’ - and authored in the Max/MSP software, the thesis uses Rebecca - the musical as a case study to test the efficacy of the model. Rebecca - the musical is in the form of a Broadway-style musical. Consisting of two Acts, the work is an adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s novel of the same name. Whereas the technical art and practice of sound design for large-scale Musicals is increasingly well documented, the art form of sound design as a dramaturgical element in its own right, has received less attention. Analyses of the rôle of Sound-Designers in the theatre have tended to perpetuate the concept that sound design is commensurate with sound reinforcement. This tendency, however, delimits the creative potential of sound design to inform and elucidate the drama, as an extension of the musical score. A potentially more fluid interrelationship between music and sound design is postulated, as observed in the work of Sound-Designers for interactive computer games. As an electronic form of non-linear theatre, it is argued that new methodologies in adaptive-audio techniques, increasingly evident in computer gaming design, are relevant in defining an invigorated dramaturgy for sound design within the stage theatrical context.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 154-168). Also issued online.

Thesis (MA)--Macquarie University (Division of Humanities, Dept. of Contemporary Music Studies), 2005. / A creative work and dissertation in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Research) Macquarie University, Division of Humanities, Dept. of Contemporary Music Studies. Dissertation, libretto and score of the opera. Bibliography: p. 138-141.

Thesis (M.A.)--Florida State University, 2006. / Advisor: Carrie Sandahl, Florida State University, College of Visual Arts, Theatre, and Dance, School of Theatre. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed June 9, 2006). Document formatted into pages; contains iv, 103 pages. Includes bibliographical references.