Drama has been the slowest of the arts to develop an authentic New Zealand 'voice.' This thesis focuses on the work of five playwrights: Bruce Mason, James K. Baxter, Mervyn Thompson, Renée and Robert Lord, all of whom have set out to identify such a 'voice' and in so doing have brought about a metamorphosis in the nature of New Zealand drama. New Zealand has traditionally been regarded as being on 'the margin' in relation to the dominant culture of the colonizer (the Eurocentre). Before Bruce Mason began to challenge this 'centre' of power in the early 1950s, New Zealand playwrights were so intimidated by the Eurocentre that they usually set their plays in Europe, particularly in England, in order to make them acceptable to their audiences. Mason proposed that 'the margin' of New Zealand, rather than being seen as inferior, should be redefined as a fertile place capable of nurturing a new individual dramatic form quite distinct from colonial norms. All of my chosen playwrights have insisted upon the intrinsic value of a two-tiered concept of 'the margin.' By setting their plays (wherever possible) in the country of their birth, highlighting New Zealand social issues and in the process persuading theatre-going audiences that plays about this country are worth watching, they have given new life to 'the margin' (the culture of New Zealand as a whole). At the same time all of these five playwrights have recognized that minority groups - 'voices' from 'the outer margin' in relation to the Pakeha 'inner margin' of power - have been largely unrepresented or misrepresented in New Zealand plays. They have advocated the vital importance of women's 'voices,' Māori 'voices' and gay 'voices,' for example, in their exploration of a more sophisticated and inclusive understanding of what constitutes our national identity. Moreover, in a period of less than forty years, they have helped to facilitate the transition of New Zealand theatre from amateur to professional status and have been instrumental in providing the practical framework whereby future New Zealand playwrights may find an outlet for their work.

(English) The aim of this work is to compare the features of the theatre of the absurd of three hispanoamerican works, Falsa Alarma by Virgilio Piñera, Los Siameses by Griselda Gambaro and La noche de los asesinos by José Triana. First, the theoretical introduction focuses on the origins of the so called theatre of the absurd and its main sources, its main characteristics and finally its extension throughout the Latin America. Furthemore, the principal part of this work deals with the concrete analysis of the three theatre works mentioned above, and slightly discusses lifes and works of its authors. Individual chapters aim as at the typical absurd elements, as at those that are in some way original within the theatre of the absurd paradigm. The main help for each analysis are three principal features of this movement: denial of the plot, violation of the communicative function of the language and even systematical rupture of characters. The final part focuses as on the mutual comparison of the three hispanoamerican works, as their likening to the european theatre of the absurd works.

Doctoral thesis deals with the performance management in drama theatre and musical theatre sphere. The dissertation aims to create a model of performance management for the sphere as a problem solving tool related to the performance management during the rehearsal period. The paper is divided into two parts, theoretical and empirical. Theoretical part deals with current trends and methods, problems and challenges of HR Management, evolving role of HR professionals and issue of performance management in general. Furthermore, the part deals with management of the cultural sector, human resources management in a theatre, activities of the rehearsal period and with performance in the drama theatre and musical theatre sphere. Empirical part comprises an analysis of the qualitative research, design of the performance management model and model verification via expert estimates. Important findings (such as activities significant for the performance management in the drama theatre and musical theatre sphere, the most common problems of the performance management in the sphere and their solution proposals etc.) are summarized in the conclusion of the doctoral thesis.

This thesis closely examines the utilisation of dramatic characters’ comments on matters of literary and theatrical criticism. This phenomenon shaped a trend in European theatre during the first half of the twentieth century, and Egyptian theatre in the second half of the century. My main hypotheses are, firstly, that dramatic characters’ comments on literary and theatrical matters of criticism respond to specific problems that challenge theatre practice. Thus, my reading of literary and theatrical criticism within the dramatic texts studied in my thesis focuses on this criticism’s reformative function to rectify the crisis that faces theatre practice in general, rather than playwrights’ individual motives, such as responding to their critics. Secondly, socio-political, economic, and cultural aspects shape historical circumstances, which influence the current state of the theatre industry. Therefore, although Egyptian plays are noticeably influenced by European metatheatre, Egyptian playwrights utilise these borrowed techniques to highlight specific problems of Egyptian theatre such as the corrupt administration of governmental theatre and censorship. Finally, while Egyptian plays exploit European metatheatrical techniques, Egyptian playwrights claimed their works as a revival of intrinsically anti-illusionist traditional forms of entertainment such as the shadow play and Karagöz. This claim reflected increasing calls for pure Egyptian theatre, as part of the anti-Western jingoistic discourse of the political regime of the 1950s. In order to examine these assumptions, my theoretical approach draws from the fields of metatheatrical studies; literary and performance studies of parody and intertextuality; the history of European and Egyptian theatre; sociological, political and cultural studies; theories of modern criticism, and critical reviews. My contribution to the field of metatheatrical studies is in highlighting the reformative function of literary and theatrical criticism, whether as a discourse or a metatheatrical device, within a group of European plays that belong to different movements of the avant-garde during the first half of the twentieth century. More significantly, my study investigates the same phenomenon in Egyptian plays that, since the 1980s, have gradually been marginalised as fringe theatre and neglected by academic studies.

<div>This dissertation brings together studies of early modern subjectivity, material culture, and dramatic performance in ways that address the myriad ways in which material objects—in this case, clothing and costumes—can act as catalysts for change in a work of the dramatic literature of the period. Literary studies of the twenty-first century has done little to examine the ways in which costumes on the early modern English stage functioned to convey relationships between outward expression and inner self. Despite critical agreement that staged objects in early modern England were significant for creating meaning in theatrical performances, the presentation of material objects in early modern English drama with respect to a performed selfhood continues to be underappreciated or misunderstood, if not entirely neglected.</div><div> </div><div>In response to this problem, I argue that an examination of the history of costumes on the early modern English stage is necessary to discover how costumes functioned over time to indicate both complete and incomplete transformations in performance. On-stage clothing, particularly when it is removed from or placed upon an actor’s body, effectively added to the performed narrative. Within any given work of drama, of course, the act of changing costumes often coincides with the potential for a change of one’s character. Examining elements of identity including political alignment, social status, religion, gender, and sexuality as features that can be defined and redefined through costuming, it is possible to trace the ways in which costumes have the power to transform. </div><div><br></div>

<p dir="ltr">With a particular focus on her twelve years of partnership with Ulay, the life and work of performance artist Marina Abramović are taken as ekphrastic subjects in a research-based poetics reflecting the author’s understandings of art, love and belonging. In dynamic movements of literary form throughout the manuscript, <i>Nude Imperative</i> makes a restless inquiry into the meaning of embodiment as a person in language, desire, and diaspora, the nature of relation between this individual self and the intimate other, and the limits of these human connections; the limits of love.</p>

Dario Fo (Nobelpreis 1997) ist einer der herausragendsten Erneuerer des italienischen Theaters des 20. Jahrhunderts. Ein Überblick über die wichtigsten Stationen seines künstlerischen Schaffens zeugt zunächst von Fos stetem Bemühen um innovative Ansätze in Bezug auf Theaterkonzeption und –praxis: immer gilt es, sich von den Konventionen des literarischen, bürgerlichen, subventionierten, weitgehend passiv rezipierten Theaters abzugrenzen und das Theater für das Publikum wieder ganzheitlich erfahrbar zu machen. Doch nicht selten geraten er und seine Truppe dabei in Konflikt mit den herrschenden politischen und gesellschaftlichen Umständen. Dies trifft auch auf sein Stück "Morte accidentale di un anarchico" (1970) zu, dessen Analyse im Zentrum dieser Arbeit steht. Ein realhistorischer Fall, der "Fall Pinelli" (bzw. "la strage di Piazza Fontana") 1969, diente Fo als Grundlage seiner sehr zeitnah entstandenen grotesken Farce, die aufgrund ihrer politischen Brisanz für Aufruhr sorgte und die auch im Ausland bis heute immer wieder auf den Spielplänen zu finden ist. Die Arbeit geht daher nicht nur auf die Produktion, Inszenierung und Rezeption des Stücks in Italien ein, sondern nimmt auch die Adaptationen und deren Rezeption in Frankreich und Deutschland in den Blick, wobei die italienspezifische Ausrichtung von Fos Theater (Rekurs auf Traditionen des italienischen Volkstheaters, Verarbeitung (tages)politischen Geschehens etc.) eine besondere Herausforderung für die fremdsprachige Bearbeitung des Stückes und seine Inszenierung darstellt. Neben den produktions- und rezeptionsästhetischen Grundbedingungen des Textes von Dario Fo werden in diesem Zusammenhang auch Spezifika der Bühnenübersetzung beleuchtet und Alternativen hierzu aufgezeigt, die auch bereits von Fos Truppe genutzt werden. / Dario Fo (Premio Nobel 1997) è uno dei drammaturghi e capocomici più innovatori del teatro italiano del ‘900. Verranno mostrate le tappe più importanti del suo percorso artistico che attestano una ricerca incessante di approcci innovativi per la concezione e la prassi teatrali: una lotta acerrima contro le convenzioni del teatro letterario, borghese, sovvenzionato e fruito in modo passivo. Comunque, cercando di ristabilire l’evento teatrale come esperienza olistica, Fo e la sua compagnia si ritrovano spesso in pieno conflitto con la realtà socio-politica e i suoi rappresentanti. Era anche questo il caso del pezzo "Morte accidentale di un anarchico" (1970) di cui questo lavoro presenta un’analisi. Scritta poco dopo la strage di Piazza Fontana (dicembre 1969) e quindi a quell’epoca di scottante attualità politica, questa farsa grottesca fece sorgere grandi tumulti e rimane finora uno dei pezzi più rappresentati, anche all’estero. Pertanto, questo lavoro contempla non solo la produzione, l’allestimento e la ricezione del pezzo in Italia, ma tiene anche conto degli adattamenti e della loro ricezione in Francia e in Germania. Verrà mostrata la sfida per gli adattamenti stranieri che risulta dall’italianità del teatro di Fo (ricorso alla tradizione del teatro popolare italiano, trattamento di fatti socio-politici quotidiani etc.). In questo contesto verranno spiegati anche elementi specifici della traduzione per la scena e indicata qualche alternativa che anche la compagnia di Fo già utilizza.

Thesis (M.A.)--Miami University, Dept. of Theatre, 2004. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 55-56).

Prior to his career as a painter, Walter Richard Sickert (1860-1940) was employed for a number of years as an actor. Indeed the muse of the theatre was a constant influence throughout Sickert’s life and work yet this relationship is curiously neglected in studies of his career. The following thesis, therefore, is an attempt to address this vital aspect of Sickert’s œuvre. Chapter one (Act I: The Duality of Performance and the Art of the Music-Hall) explores Sickert’s acting career and its influence on his music-hall paintings from the 1880s and 1890s, particularly how this experience helps to differentiate his work from Whistler and Degas. Chapter two (Act II: Restaging Camden Town: Walter Sickert and the theatre c.1905-c.1915) examines the influence of the developing New Drama on Sickert’s works from his Fitzroy Street/Camden Town period. Chapter three (Act III: Sickert and Shakespeare: Interpreting the Theatre c.1920-1940) details Sickert’s interest in the rediscovery of Shakespeare as a metaphor for his solution to the crisis in modern art. Finally, chapter four (Act IV: Sickert’s Simulacrum: Representations and Characterisations of the Artist in Texts, Portraits and Self-Portraits c.1880-c.1940) discusses his interest in the concept of theatrical identity, both in terms of an interest in acting and the “character” of artist and self-publicity. Each chapter analyses the influence of the theatre on Sickert’s work, both in terms of his interest in theatrical subject matter but also in a more general sense of the theatrical milieu of his interpretations. Consequently Sickert’s paintings tell us much about changing fashions, traditions and interests in the British theatre during his period. The history of the British stage is therefore the backdrop for the study of a single artist’s obsession with theatricality and visual modernity.

<p>У овом раду представљен је целокупан књижевни опус Борислава Михајловића<br />Михиза, једног од најзначајнијих српских критичара друге половине двадесетог века.<br />Михајловићево дело грана се у три главна тока (критика, драма, аутобиографско-<br />мемоарска проза) и два споредна (поезија и антологичарски рад), што његов опус чини<br />специфичним и јединственим у послератној књижевности.<br />У првом поглављу дат је његов развојни стваралачки пут, почев од књижевне<br />дружине &bdquo;Стражилово&rdquo; у Сремским Карловцима, преко Симине 9а и првих јавних<br />наступа на Правном факултету, па до штампања књиге стихова Песме (1947) и Огледа<br />(1951).<br />Друго поглавље посвећено је Михизовим новинским рецензијама објављеним у<br />НИН-у, Књижевним новинама и Политици, током педесетих и шездесетих година<br />двадесетог века.<br />У трећем поглављу говори се о његовом боравку у Новом Саду, где је радио као<br />управник Библиотеке Матице српске и активно учествовао у културном животу града.<br />Михизов антологичарски рад представљен је у четвртом поглављу, а у петом се<br />анализирају његови ставови о критици, као и текстови објављени у књигама Од истог<br />читаоца, Књижевни разговори и Портрети.<br />У шестом поглављу разматрамо Михајловићеву аутобиографско-мемоарску<br />прозу и указујемо на његов значај као рецезента другим писцима.<br />Седмо поглавље посвећено је његовом раду у театру, почев од првих<br />драматизација, до оригиналних драма. У овом поглављу дат је и осврт на Михизове<br />позоришне есеје и критике.<br />У завршном, осмом поглављу, приложена је Михизова целокупна&nbsp;библиографија.</p> / <p>U ovom radu predstavljen je celokupan književni opus Borislava Mihajlovića<br />Mihiza, jednog od najznačajnijih srpskih kritičara druge polovine dvadesetog veka.<br />Mihajlovićevo delo grana se u tri glavna toka (kritika, drama, autobiografsko-<br />memoarska proza) i dva sporedna (poezija i antologičarski rad), što njegov opus čini<br />specifičnim i jedinstvenim u posleratnoj književnosti.<br />U prvom poglavlju dat je njegov razvojni stvaralački put, počev od književne<br />družine &bdquo;Stražilovo&rdquo; u Sremskim Karlovcima, preko Simine 9a i prvih javnih<br />nastupa na Pravnom fakultetu, pa do štampanja knjige stihova Pesme (1947) i Ogleda<br />(1951).<br />Drugo poglavlje posvećeno je Mihizovim novinskim recenzijama objavljenim u<br />NIN-u, Književnim novinama i Politici, tokom pedesetih i šezdesetih godina<br />dvadesetog veka.<br />U trećem poglavlju govori se o njegovom boravku u Novom Sadu, gde je radio kao<br />upravnik Biblioteke Matice srpske i aktivno učestvovao u kulturnom životu grada.<br />Mihizov antologičarski rad predstavljen je u četvrtom poglavlju, a u petom se<br />analiziraju njegovi stavovi o kritici, kao i tekstovi objavljeni u knjigama Od istog<br />čitaoca, Književni razgovori i Portreti.<br />U šestom poglavlju razmatramo Mihajlovićevu autobiografsko-memoarsku<br />prozu i ukazujemo na njegov značaj kao recezenta drugim piscima.<br />Sedmo poglavlje posvećeno je njegovom radu u teatru, počev od prvih<br />dramatizacija, do originalnih drama. U ovom poglavlju dat je i osvrt na Mihizove<br />pozorišne eseje i kritike.<br />U završnom, osmom poglavlju, priložena je Mihizova celokupna&nbsp;bibliografija.</p> / <p>This doctoral thesis is presentation of the whole literary work of Borislav Mihajlović<br />Mihiz, one of the most prominent literary critics from the second half of 20th century.<br />Mihajlović&rsquo;s work is separated in three central segments (criticism, drama, autobiographymemoir<br />prose) and two lateral (poetry and anthology work), which is why it is considered<br />unique in the post-war literature.<br />First chapter covers development of his creative work, starting from literary clique<br />&bdquo;Stražilovo&rdquo; in Sremski Karlovci, via Simina 9a and the first public appearances at the<br />Belgrade&rsquo;s Faculty of Law, to publishing poetry books &bdquo;Pesme&rdquo; (1947) and &bdquo;Ogledi&rdquo; (1951).<br />The second chapter is dedicated to Mihajlović&rsquo;s newspaper reviews published in NIN,<br />&bdquo;Književne novine&rdquo; and &bdquo;Politika&rdquo;, during 1950s and 1960s.<br />Main topic of the third chapter is his life in Novi Sad, where he worked as a head of<br />Library of Matica Srpska and actively participated in the cultural life of the city.<br />Mihiz&rsquo;s anthology work is presented in the fourth chapter, whereas fifth chapter<br />includes analysis of his attitudes toward literary criticism, as well as texts published in his<br />books &bdquo;Od istog čitaoca&rdquo;, &bdquo;Književni razgovori&rdquo; and &bdquo;Portreti&rdquo;.<br />In the focus of sixth chapter is Mihajlović&rsquo;s autobiography-memoir prose and his<br />importance of being critic for other writers.<br />Seventh chapter is about his theatre work, from first dramatisations to original plays.<br />This chapter also contains retrospective view on Mihiz&rsquo;s theatre essays and critics.<br />In the final, eighth chapter, the whole Mihajlovic&rsquo;s bibliography is contributed.</p>