There are many Hawaiian identities currently in effect. This dissertation explores several representative and contested Hawaiian identities, and how these identities develop through key performances, plays, and other representational practices by Hawaiians and by Locals. Due to its unique situation as one of only two U.S. states formerly with its own government, and as one of only two U.S. states not connected to the main land-mass of the United States, Hawaiian identity is complicated by multiple factors: sanitized historical constructions, sovereignty, intermingling ethnic identities, tourism, and reclaimed cultural practices. Additionally, Hawaiians as a native people hold a unique place in United States history. Unlike Native North Americans in the United States, Hawaiians have never received independent rights within statehood, nor have they been given large amounts of territorial land with which they might operate their own governments and communities. Further, unlike African Americans or other Asian American sub-groups, Hawaiians were not taken to the United States from their homeland and enslaved, nor did Hawaiians move from their homeland in search of the American dream. Hawaiians had their government removed from power by United States representatives, and have been under influence and protection of the United States since 1893. Hawaiian identity today is a fluid and contested one with multifarious definitions, all of which lay claim to the Hawaiian label. In some contemporary representations, the goal is to expand historical understanding of the Hawaiian label; in others, the goal is to illustrate resistance towards Americanization or to affirm Hawaiian cultural practices. These representations open the possibility for negotiation and for reinscription of Hawaiian history and of Hawaiian identities. An examination of how this unique regional population negotiates its status both as insiders and as outsiders to American identity might offer important insights for theatre practitioners and scholars about the larger fabric of American nationhood, and about the roles that performance and other representational practices play in constructing and in further contesting a definitive American identity.

The second half of the nineteenth century played a determining role in the political, economic, social, and cultural spheres of Africa. The Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 witnessed European interests bargaining over the territories of Africa and arbitrarily dividing much of the continent into different countries under European control. This historical moment may be regarded as the height of Western influence over Africa, though it only continued the colonial tradition of viewing Africa as a land without culture, theatre, literature, or history (prior to the advent of the white man). The legacy of this outlook has placed African intellectuals and literary artists on the defensive. The denigration of Africa has challenged writers to reassess African culture and to champion Africas history and literature. This study examines how three Chadian playwrights (notably, Danaï, Naïndouba, and Kodbaye) have through their literary craftsmanship challenged the colonial legacy and have invited a reconsideration and re-imagination of not only Chad but Africa as a whole. The plays of these writers criticize the Western-backed ruling class and attempt to restore dignity to the Chadian citizen. Unlike an earlier generation of African writers, who wished to go back to a romanticized past, these writers contest traditional outlooks that stand in the way of progress and modern viewpoints. They espouse a new vision of Chad, one that involves a hybrid notion of past, present, and future, an entity that may blend the better aspects of European and African politics and culture. While these writers give a strong critique of pro-French influence and the corruption that has become endemic to local governments, they point the way to a hopeful future. Their plays express a new self-consciousness; they are a shout of affirmation. Most importantly, these playwrights envision a political and social reality for a new Chad, a country to be proudly called home.

While performance practitioners often rely on socially, aesthetically, and politically transgressive practices to critically impact the socio-political climate outside the theater walls, transgression is fraught with contradiction. Historically, acts of transgression have led to both the expansion and suppression of democratic rights. (Im)possibilites of Theatre and Transgression employs a critical lens that takes into account the historical and ideological specificities of individual productions in Austin, TX and Baton Rouge, LA to argue that transgressive theatrical practices both counter and reproduce normalizing discourses and discourses of domination in local and regional culture. This study focuses on the types of aesthetically, socially, and politically transgressive theatrical practices that seek to interrogate and challenge boundaries related to individual and cultural identitypushing toward a more plural and radical concept of democracyand are endemic to present day US theatres located on the cultural fringe. It examines alternative theatre practices which prevailed in Austin in the nineties to argue that a transgressive critique of normalcy can in fact strengthen regimes of the normal locally and regionally. It looks to an LGBTQ focused company in Austin to underscore the ways in which overtly commercial, exploitative queer erotic performance practices can also serve a positively transgressive, political and identity-affirming function within local and regional culture. Analysis then turns to performances staged in Baton Rouge following Hurricane Katrina to contend that transgressive nontraditional casting practices both facilitate and fail an ethics of tolerance and inclusiveness within local and regional contexts. Finally, (Im)possibilities of Theatre and Transgression suggests that transgression itself achieved significance in the US through currencies of performance at the end of the twentieth century.

In the state of Louisiana, a quality education for secondary school students can be hard to come by in any area of study much less in the areas of the arts. The New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) provides a quality education to those talented students who audition and are accepted into the program. NOCCA has only existed since 1974 and in its relatively short life it has become a model for half-day pre-professional training programs throughout the United States and it has proven that it is possible to receive a quality education in Louisiana.

The thesis assignment was to create a stand-alone solo performance piece of no less than 30 minutes in length. The absence of any further guidelines provided the opportunity to focus on a subject (or subject matter) of my choosing. Researching symptoms and tendencies of addictive personality disorder as a basis for a class-based performance assignment led me to Eric Show, a pitcher who played professional baseball in the 1980s and early 1990s. Erics life was both heartbreaking and compelling. This thesis follows the adaptation of a number of stories and interviews about Show into a performance piece that seeks to bring an audience into the daily struggle of a real-life person while posing questions about what can be done to help people who struggle with addiction. Limiting the characters I would play to a select few who had significant impact on Shows life, rather that portraying Show himself, my goal was to provide many perspectives on one persons battles with addiction. The performance piece incorporates mixed- and multi-media elements into the performance to further the dramatic action while providing a template for narrative by serving as transitional interludes. Focusing on my work as an actor by limiting costume changes or other distinguishing differences between characters, the challenge was to be very attentive to other distinguishing details. The thesis represents the inspiration, research, evolution, and final performance draft of my solo performance script as a foundation for further expansion of the piece into a full-length performance text.

Throughout the 20th century, mediatized forms gained prominence and eclipsed the theater as a site of cultural power and popularity. Because of this tension, performance theorists like Peggy Phelan framed the definition of theater through its inherent differences from film and television. Other theorists like Philip Auslander problematized this distinction, particularly due to televisions similarities to live performance. The cinema, however, has remained an opponent to performance, ignored in favor of technologies that more readily promote a sense of liveness. In Projected Performances, I argue that film projection is more closely related to performance than previously thought, particularly when viewed in light of their phenomenological similarities. Projection is a live act that generates a kind of presence that approximates what is felt with a live performer. The theatrical setting of most film viewings foregrounds this phenomenological frame, despite the prerecorded nature of the content. Despite the seemingly static nature of film, the exhibition of it is most often decidedly theatrical. Hybrid theater, in which productions incorporate film projection alongside live performers, highlights these similarities in a much more explicit way, creating a unique sensory experience. This blending of effects is evident in theatrical broadcasts like the Metropolitan Operas Live in HD series, which capitalizes on the liveness of theater to draw people to the cinema. I also investigate hybrid productions that use projected scenery, such as The Woman in White and The Elephant Vanishes, as well as productions that feature projected bodies, like the work of Lemieux.Pilon 4d Art. Finally, I interrogate the use of projections in the monumental spectacles of the opening ceremonies at the 2008 and 2010 Olympics in Beijing and Vancouver, respectively.Throughout, I examine the ways in which these hybrid productions trouble the assumed distinction between performance and media, demonstrating that projection is a kind of performance that can share the stage with live performers without damaging the unique essential qualities of theater.

Following the devastation of 80 percent of the city of New Orleans and the prolonged period of trauma due to levee failure and lack of effective emergency response in 2005, New Orleanian performing artists independently and along with national artists to create post-K performances as acts of restoration. This study explores post-disaster New Orleanian performances that engage with the interaction of personal story, place, and memory in response to disaster. How are these site-specific performances at significant sites of memory performative in the J.L. Austin sense? In the context of disaster, what are ethical implications of remembering? How may certain post-disaster performances animate community; sustain and convey cultural memory; reclaim lost spaces; incorporate marginalized stories; counter and resist master narratives; forge bridges of pre-and post disaster identities; and open an imaginative space to envision recovery. For this study I draw from the theoretical work of Jill Dolan, Peggy Phelan, Elin Diamond, Diane Taylor, Joseph Roach, Sylvie Rollet, Dwight Conquergood, James Thompson, Jan Cohen-Cruz, Sonia Kuftinec, Paul Connerton, and Pierre Nora to approach these performances. The act of making community visible to itself through the vehicle of story unleashes a performative power in these performances that follows conceptualizations of memory as embodied, connected to the present moment, and always in movement. These post-K performances engaging personal story, place, and memory take many forms: a bus tour, gutted home visitations, a communal feast, hauntings, an occupation, story sharing in community sites and in red tents, improvisational performance, and symbolic reclamation of iconic sites of disaster. How do these performances, through their overt process of recollection, inhabit a present moment and emphasize presence? How do these performances of memory invigorate a movement forward in the direction of recovery for communities reeling from disaster? This study looks most closely at LakeviewS: A Sunset Bus Tour by Home NOLA?; Paul Chan/Creative Times Waiting for Godot; Swimming Upstream coproduced by V-Day International and Ashé Cultural Arts Center in New Orleans; and the ongoing work of NOLA Playback Theatre in micro-community settings.

This paper details the writing process and performance of my autobiographical one-person play, Lucky Charms. The play presents my decision to leave the Jesuit novitiate while in the midst of a crisis of faith. Through the recollection of various experiences from childhood and adolescence, the narrator attempts to discover what it means to truly have a spiritual experience. Along with my own perspective, the piece also incorporates various other characters from the authors past. In this document I have detailed the challenges and difficulties of writing and performing this piece, examined the theoretical and practical implications of its major themes, and have included a written copy of the script.

Upholstery is something that is often looked upon as a daunting task. With a full guide to reinforcement for stage use, options in foundations, and charts to compute fabric yardages, this thesis will provide professional prop masters with a guide to heighten their standards of upholstery onstage. Featuring options and ideals for varying skill sets; it will assist prop masters with more information regarding the topic with options particular to the theatrical profession. In lieu of an expansive library of upholstery books that feature a variety of techniques, the information included in this document will serve as a supplemental guide of the best practices for theatrical use.

Participation in secondary school theatre can have many benefits including the development of improved reading comprehension, self-concept, and empathy. In the world of professional theatre, each design area has its own department head and several levels of assistants and workers below them. Yet in the world of secondary school theatre, we expect one person to assume all of those roles in addition to the regular responsibilities of teaching. Not many people see theatre as being dangerous when compared to sports, science labs, or vocational education. However, it can contain many of the same risks. This study investigated several factors that could influence theatre safety. Those factors included (1.) the education, certification, and training of theatre educators; (2.) the makeup and expectations of theatre; and (3.) theatre safety and hazards. A survey instrument was developed and revised to align with questions asked in previous studies and to make the time commitment reasonable. The survey was conducted online and participants were invited via a letter of invitation sent to school principals. Though the survey followed the format of several other successful studies, responses were too few to be able to generalize and any results must be interpreted with caution. Also undetermined was the actual number of Louisiana secondary schools that offered theatre related classes and/or activities. Further research is suggested on this topic in order to ensure that students, teachers, and patrons are being provided the safest possible secondary school theatre experience.