<p> David Mamet's book of essays <i>True and False: Heresy and Common Sense for the Actor</i> boldly claims that formal training, particularly of the academic variety, is of no use to aspiring theater artists. This thesis argues for the importance and validity of such training. It is a defense of both formal training and ofStanislavski--the father of almost all contemporary training systems and a figure particularly irksome to Mamet. The thesis is supported by examples gleaned from my own formal education in theater and from insights gained directing student actors on my final project for my MFA, Kira Obelensky's play <i>Lobster Alice</i>.</p>

La présente recherche repose sur le principe que la création théâtrale professionnelle est une partie intégrante de l'éducation théâtrale et qu'elle peut contribuer à la mission linguistique et culturelle de l'école de langue française en Ontario (Haentjens et Chagnon-Lampron, 2004; Théberge, 2006b, Théberge, 2007a). Il est donc profitable d'aborder la problématique art-éducation-culture du point de vue de des experts de la création théâtrale pour apprécier l'ampleur de leurs initiatives et prendre en compte leurs constats et leurs besoins. J'ai rencontré seize professionnels de théâtre impliqués dans la création de spectacles pour adolescents pendant l'automne 2006. Les deux spectacles étudiés, Libérés sur parole: la passion et Cette fille-là, ont été crées respectivement par le Théâtre du Trillium et le Théâtre la Catapulte, à Ottawa. Au niveau théorique, je me suis appuyée sur les concepts d'expérience, de représentation, d'identité et de culture ainsi que sur modèle systémique de créativite de Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (1999). Au niveau méthodologique, j'ai adopté une approche inspirée de l'ethnométhodologie (Garfinkel, 1967, 2007) pour avoir accès aux liens qui unissent l'artiste et son environnement. J'ai d'abord étudié les représentations que les artistes se font de leur rôle dans l'éducation théâtrale et culturelle des adolescents. L'analyse a devoilé les concepts d'artiste conteur, formateur et passeur. Ensuite, je me suis concentrée sur les parcours des deux directeurs artistiques des compagnies participantes. Finalement l'observation des heures de répétition a fourni un portrait évolutif de l'expérience de création. La recherche apporte une reconnaissance et une valorisation de l'engagement des artistes envers les adolescents et la communauté. Elle souligne le besoin de formation à une culture théâtrale que les artistes identifient chez de nombreux adolescents et parfois chez les enseignants, ces derniers étant décrits comme des partenaires indispensables. La recherche contribue à connaître le travail des artistes qui pourrait être davantage intégré à l'éducation des adolescents.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

<p> The horn is renowned for its contributions to traditional orchestral repertoire and concert hall performances. Since its induction into the symphony, its uses outside the concert hall have been diverse albeit comparatively sparse. However rare, its implementation still spans from the high arts, to world of pop, and to the avant-garde. In 1976, the haunting, sonorous timbre of Peter Gordon's legendary solo horn would inspire Jaco Pastorius to feature it on his titular album. This paper will analyze and define key nontraditional uses of the horn, discuss the effects of non-notated performance practice on the hornist, provide method studies for improving non-notated performance, and demonstrate how the horn's employment as a compositional, improvisational, and accompanimental instrument, independent of strictly notated music, will help hornists to best perform Jaco Pastorius's <i>Okonkole y Trompa</i>. </p><p>

<p> This treatise explores the historical background of instrumental educational outreach concerts, and provides an overview of current educational outreach programming. The closing section discusses educational outreach concerts presented by a solo violinist, and provides a blueprint for a teaching performance which explores the storytelling power of music. Newly commissioned works for solo violin are included which are especially suited for outreach performances for children.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to (a) examine influences on choral music adjudicators&rsquo; rating decisions of choral performance quality and (b) to see if differences existed among those influences by participants&rsquo; years of adjudication experience and academic training (degree focus). Part One of the study included eight randomly selected participants (<i>N </i> = 8), comprised of choral adjudication experts, to aid in the construction of the data collection instrument. Part Two of the study included a convenience sample (<i>N</i> = 71) comprised of choral music performance adjudicators within the southeastern United States.</p><p> For the primary purpose, the <i>Choral Adjudicator Preference Scale </i> (CAPS), a researcher-constructed data-gathering instrument, was developed to determine influences on choral adjudicators&rsquo; rating decisions of choral performance. A Cronbach&rsquo;s Coefficient Alpha measure of internal consistency was calculated to establish reliability of the CAPS data collection instrument. A coefficient of .934 was found for the CAPS, which indicated a high level of internal consistency. Validity for the data-gathering instrument was established through three sources, (a) an open-ended questionnaire sent to the eight choral adjudicators, (b) a thorough review of the related literature and (c) verification by choral activities chairpersons among the southeastern states. For research question one (What factors influence adjudicators&rsquo; decisions when adjudicating choirs?) a principal component analysis revealed 23 items that coalesced among four factors of influence: (a) the ensemble&rsquo;s performance, (b) visual aspects, (c) extra-musical aspects, and (d) the conductor&rsquo;s contributions. These four factors accounted for 61.49 percent of the total variance in participants&rsquo; responses.</p><p> For the secondary purpose, a two-way repeated measures analysis of variance was calculated to determine if differences existed among factors of influence by participants&rsquo; years of adjudication experience and academic training (degree focus). For research question two (Do differences exist among adjudicators&rsquo; influences on rating decisions by years of adjudication experience?) a significant main effect was found for the factors, <i>F</i> (3, 189) = 216.581, <i> p</i> = .000, &eta;² = .775; however, there was no main effect for years of adjudication experience, nor an interaction effect among the factors and years of adjudication experience. For research question three (Do differences exist among adjudicators&rsquo; influences on rating decisions by academic training?) a significant main effect was found for the factors, <i> F</i> (3, 201) = 195.326, <i>p</i> = .000, &eta;² = .745; however, there was no main effect for academic training, nor an interaction effect among the factors and academic training.</p><p> A discussion of the influences on choral adjudicators&rsquo; rating decisions was presented. Recommendations for future research were suggested regarding music performance adjudication, influences on rating decisions, and characteristics of evaluators.</p><p>

<p> The modern trumpet performer will be called upon to perform many different styles during their career. One of the ways a classical trumpet student can learn to play different styles is through performing in as many ensembles as their school offers and playing solos written in the vein of third stream music. One of these solos is Alfred Reed's Ode for Trumpet. This work allows the performer to experiment with jazz sounds and style without the worry of improvisation. To successfully perform this work one must have a proper sound concept, style, and the ability to tastefully embellish the melody. </p><p> The methodologies that will be used in this project report are performance practice, theoretical and analytical, and narratology. The performance practice methodology will be used to describe how to perform a work in the third stream of music. The theoretical and analytical methodology will be used to show why certain embellishments work harmonically and why the piece is considered third stream music. Finally, the short biographies of Alfred Reed and Don Jacoby will fall under the narratology methodology. </p><p> The purpose of this project report is to investigate how to properly and successfully perform trumpet works in the third stream genre and how they relate to the needs of the everyday professional trumpet player. It will cover sound concepts, style, and embellishments that will help guide a performer to their own voice in this music. The ability to change tonal colors, swing, and use extended techniques will be required of the player in various musical settings from playing in pops orchestras to Broadway style musicals to playing in a big band. These topics are important for every trumpet player, specifically classical trumpeters, to learn because they will be required to be knowledgeable and have mastered these skills to have success as a professional trumpeter. </p>

<p> This work explores the occurrence of school sponsored rock music ensembles and pedagogy in secondary education within the state of New Jersey. The purpose of this research was three&ndash;fold: 1) to document the occurrence of rock music performance ensembles in New Jersey secondary schools, 2) to highlight the details of a select group representing a sample of these programs, and 3) to contribute to the body of knowledge relating to rock music in the school curriculum. A two part, mixed&ndash;methods research process involved the use of both a quantitative survey instrument and a qualitative interview process. The part one survey was distributed to 720 public secondary schools across the state of New Jersey. Questions were written to seek data regarding school population, budget, types of music programs available to students, regional classifications, and enrollment. Based on survey data, five programs, in which students learn and perform rock music using authentic rock music instrumentation, were selected for part two faculty interviews. These interviews uncovered reasons for the existence of these programs (i.e. teacher and student interest), information about student participation, instrumentation, relationships to the other music programs within the school, intended outcomes, measures of success, and the existence of authentic learning, informal learning practices, and the concept of bi&ndash;musicality.</p>

<p>It?s Something About the Shoes: A Creative Thesis through Practice is an in depth, project-based study that follows the development and implementation of an intercultural and interdisciplinary collaboration. This paper illustrates how the Practice-led Research paradigm, when coupled with the Expressive Arts, can promote empowerment and transformation for all participants including audience members. Artistic practices and rehearsals realized through performance and analyzed through constant participant reflection constitute the research data. It?s Something About the Shoes is composed of a live performance installation that includes multimedia video sculptures, still images, and pre-recorded sound, all designed around the living exchange between a contemporary tap dancer and the indigenous Danza CAAS dancers. The inquiry lies in the dance shoes. What is it about these shoes that allows the dancers to connect and communicate? How can two very different dance genres and ontological cultures exist simultaneously within a space? What does a show about a tap dancer and traditional Sonajera dancers look like; how will the different cultures interact in this space? Will the common thread of percussive dance transcend cultural and language barriers or will the resulting rhythmic dialogue be too oblique for the dancers and audience to follow? In order to understand the foundational context in which this work is created, a Literature Review is provided that: defines Practice-led Research and the methods to be used in this study, acknowledges a brief historical review of tap dancing with particular emphasis placed on Hispanic and Native influences, and a metaphysical examination of the ecological intersection of performance, place and space. The literature is divided up into complete subsections or articles so that readers may access particular areas of interest with ease. Individual subsections of the Literature Review are composed of review, analysis, and application of literature sources complete with separate bibliographies for quick reference. All Reference Lists are also compiled into a complete Works Cited at the end of the thesis document. Methods used to address inquiries and provide structure to the Practice-led model include: Performance Research, Ethnodrama, and Socio-Narratology. Coupled with these ideologies are Organic Inquiry, Emergent Design Theory, and Collaborative Theory, which act as lenses through which the collaborative process and organizational development of the thesis may be viewed clearly and precisely. Together these methods are used to create the content of a performance. Utilizing interviews with co-participants, surveys, constant reflection, and video documentation, these inspirations are organized as a creative thesis. The findings are composed of raw audience data collected through surveys gathered before and after the performances. This, combined with personal reflections of the artist participants illustrate the type of knowing that is revealed through artistic practice and inquiry. The project convener provides the final synthesis and interpretation of data through a reflective narrative.

<p> Actors create blocks based in fear, over-intellectualization of acting concepts, and the limiting assumptions they often make from any given theatrical text. Mask work can release the actor out of fear and into a non-intellectualized flow of freedom, expressivity and character transformation. Exploration with the various pedagogies and styles of Mask work can open doors for the actor that other contemporary training methods cannot, and therefore should be considered an essential component of the actor's training process. </p>