The purpose of this study is to make an account of the theatrical plans and activities of Margo Jones other than the productions in her theatre in Dallas and her experiences as a producer and director on Broadway.

“Violence and Performance on the Latin American Stage” investigates Latin American theatre of the 1960s. It focuses on violence as an inherently formal element that intersects multiple contexts. My purpose is to develop a reading that challenges traditional interpretations of Latin American avant-garde theatre. I argue that this theatre does not apply European forms to Latin American realities, but rather juxtaposes local with foreign elements in multiple domains. It connects aesthetic, philosophic, social, and political contexts through the use of violent theatrical forms. The playwrights José Triana, Virgilio Piñera, Griselda Gambaro, and Jorge Díaz develop an aesthetics of violence that examines the ontological effects of crisis and revolution. Their characters confront questions of agency, subjectivity, historical perception, and consciousness that speak to their audiences’ experience in the sixties –I focus specifically on the Cuban revolution, Argentina’s growing socio-political violence, and Chile’s changing social demographics. I aim to show that the plays demand a simultaneous textual and contextual reading that dialogues with the multiple contexts and domains the plays intersect. My analysis focuses on the concepts of violence and performance in order to emphasize the plays’ modernizing role within their national theatrical scenes. I examine the challenges of theatrical writing and practice in times of conflict and social transformation, commenting on the disparaged reception of the plays’ innovative forms. I contend that this problem of reception accounts for the plays’ highly sophisticated structures of violence, which, in most cases, confused and distanced their audiences. This dissertation ultimately seeks to reveal the power of this theatre’s violent aesthetics to synthesize and critically engage with its cultural and socio- political surroundings.

“Violence and Performance on the Latin American Stage” investigates Latin American theatre of the 1960s. It focuses on violence as an inherently formal element that intersects multiple contexts. My purpose is to develop a reading that challenges traditional interpretations of Latin American avant-garde theatre. I argue that this theatre does not apply European forms to Latin American realities, but rather juxtaposes local with foreign elements in multiple domains. It connects aesthetic, philosophic, social, and political contexts through the use of violent theatrical forms. The playwrights José Triana, Virgilio Piñera, Griselda Gambaro, and Jorge Díaz develop an aesthetics of violence that examines the ontological effects of crisis and revolution. Their characters confront questions of agency, subjectivity, historical perception, and consciousness that speak to their audiences’ experience in the sixties –I focus specifically on the Cuban revolution, Argentina’s growing socio-political violence, and Chile’s changing social demographics. I aim to show that the plays demand a simultaneous textual and contextual reading that dialogues with the multiple contexts and domains the plays intersect. My analysis focuses on the concepts of violence and performance in order to emphasize the plays’ modernizing role within their national theatrical scenes. I examine the challenges of theatrical writing and practice in times of conflict and social transformation, commenting on the disparaged reception of the plays’ innovative forms. I contend that this problem of reception accounts for the plays’ highly sophisticated structures of violence, which, in most cases, confused and distanced their audiences. This dissertation ultimately seeks to reveal the power of this theatre’s violent aesthetics to synthesize and critically engage with its cultural and socio- political surroundings.

As the 25th president of the National Association of Dramatic and Speech Arts, Inc. (NADSA), it was my goal to develop a plan of action for NADSA in the 21st century. Not only is my responsibility to continue the legacy established by others, but also it was my desire to develop ideas based on a thorough and exhaustive historical analysis of the organization, which laid the foundation for a self study of this sort to happen. The purpose of this study is to thoroughly investigate the history of the NADSA for two reasons: 1) to determine what is the driving force behind this organizational structure that has caused it to be the oldest surviving national educational theatre organization in the country; and 2) to evaluate why this association has not taken the rank of being the "premier" theatre association among theatre practitioners. It has been sixty-four years of struggling and surviving for the oldest Black educational theatre organization in America, and that is a magnitude of history of which to be proud. Founded upon the principle that Blacks needed to be educated in both speech and theatre, NADSA has provided a vehicle for almost sixty-five years. This organization established competitions, publications, symposiums, meetings, and opportunities for minorities who had interests in speech and/or theatre on a national level. It also provided opportunities for professional development and networking when Blacks were still thought of largely as "coons". NADSA acknowledged an art form for Blacks when many thought that pursuing theatre arts was simply a waste of time. What I found is simply that this great organization was built on a strong organizational structure and has a phenomenal legacy. The downfall of the organization, as with any organization I suppose, has been with the people who make momentous decisions, based oftentimes not on thinking in terms of what is best for the organization, but possibly, on what is best for their own political agendas. This research has revealed that the organization has survived because there was a need then and there is a need now for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Speech and Theatre programs to meet and compete in the areas of speech and theatre. It is these largely because of these meetings that HBCU programs receive validity, very similar to that of athletics, which is the model that Edmonds', NADSA's founder, used to develop the structure for NADSA. Also, the research determined that NADSA has not taken the rank of being the "premier" theatre association in the country primarily because that status was never NADSA's goal. NADSA serves a clientele that supports underfunded Speech and Theatre programs primarily at HBCUs. And because it has stayed true to its mission, NADSA has survived the tests of time and maintained its history, mission, and legacy as the oldest surviving educational theatre association in America -- May Its Soul Go Marching On! / Ph. D.

No description available.

This thesis will examine the direct and indirect impact the Irish National theatre had upon American theatre in general and the African American theatre in particular. It discusses the relationship between the Irish theatrical movement during the Irish Literary Renaissance and the drama that was produced during the Harlem Renaissance. To do this Rorty’s concepts of the ‘strong poet’ and ‘ironist’ will be utilized. The bleeding and cross contamination of culture, it is contended, was due to the American tour that the Irish Players undertook in 1911/12. The tour, although staged in white theatre houses and attended by a mainly white audience, had a sizeable impact on the American theatrical landscape. This thesis will chart the course of this change, from the tour through to the beginnings of the Harlem Renaissance. From the Abbey Theatre to the Little Theatre movement and from there to the African American theatre a continuous thread of de-reification, of cultural awakenings is established. In essence, the source of the African American theatre, both the Artistic stylings and hopes of Alain Locke and the propaganda aspirations of W.E.B. DuBois will be referred back to the Irish tour.

No description available.

No description available.

As an Actor Combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors, theatrical violence is something that has always captivated me. When a female combat instructor once told me that even though I throw a great punch I will never be able to use it because women are always on the receiving end of violence in theatre, I wondered if this was truly the case. After a thorough exploration of several works with theatrical violence, I am glad to say that it is not the case. When most scholars examine violence in theatre, the focus is either male-centric or specifically on domestic violence situations involving a male abusing a female. I will examine theatrical violence through a new lens that has yet to be thoroughly critically explored: violence where the female is the aggressor. Through selected works of three American minority female playwrights: Suzan-Lori Parks' In the Blood, Maria Irene Fornes' Conduct of Life, and Young Jean Lee's Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven, I will analyze the female-enacted violence that occurs within these plays using feminist theories and psychology to examine how it happens, why it happens, who the victims are, and what these acts of violence say about minority American women in society today. I will explore the stage directions and dialogue surrounding the violence and analyzing the use or absence of weaponry, the breakdown or build-up of language prior to and after the violent action, and whether or not the violent action occurs before or after a violent action is committed against the female. For comparison, I will also analyze work by an American male playwright with violence in the same way: Tracy Letts' August: Osage County.

O presente trabalho apresenta três possibilidades de comparação entre os textos de Anton Tchékhov e Tennessee Williams: a primeira trata-se de uma comparação formal, que investiga as semelhantes soluções dramatúrgicas encontradas pelos autores em relação à crise do drama, conceito elaborado por Peter Szondi; a segunda possibilidade se concentra sobre as semelhantes posições de classe (conceito de P. Bourdieu) encontradas na história russa e na história americana, que servem como substrato temático às peças analisadas; a terceira e última possibilidade de comparação apresentada está baseada no fenômeno de recepção das peças tchekhovianas nos Estados Unidos, considerando também a vasta repercussão das encenações do Teatro de Arte de Moscou sobre a cena americana. / This work presents three distinct possibilities of comparison between the texts of Anton Chekhov and Tennessee Williams: the first one is a formal comparison, it investigates the similar dramatic solutions the authors found to dramas crisis, a concept created by Peter Szondi; the second possibility concentrates over the similarities of class position (P. Bourdieus concept) found in Russian and Amercian history, these serve as the thematic substract of the plays analysis; the third and last possibility explored is based upon the reception of Chekhovs plays in the United States, considering the reprecussions of their productions by the Moscow Art Theatre on the American stage.