This report tracks the process of researching, developing, casting, directing and editing BORDERLINE, an hour-long documentary film. The film was produced as my graduate thesis film in the department of Radio-Television-Film at the University of Texas at Austin in partial fulfillment of a Masters of Fine Arts in Film Production. The film aims to get inside the psyche of Regina V, a woman living with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). The appeal of filming someone with this diagnosis was due to a common experience of those who diagnostically qualify: extreme emotional pain. Hence, in order to unravel the riddle of Borderline, one must understand the architecture of suffering, suffering as process, as action, an action I wanted to capture and detail. 80% of this population attempt suicide, 10% succeed. Approximately 2% of the US population meet criteria for BPD, and few practitioners have the skill or desire to treat it. As if mental “illness” were not already stigmatized, this diagnosis carries the most stigma within the mental health profession, many practitioners speaking in derogatory ways about those who diagnostically qualify. In essence, the hands that should feed and help those so afflicted are the very hands that shoo them away. Because Borderline is a diagnosis that points directly to an individual’s attachment issues and interpersonal dysregulation, I anticipated interpersonal challenges would emerge between me and the film’s main subject, Regina. I hoped that the complex dynamics within our relationship, if properly maneuvered, would translate to affects Regina expressed on camera and that these quick shifting affects would generate an experience for the audience that might jar their emotional space, offer a small taste of how Regina lives daily, an increased understanding of what generates emotional pain, and maybe inspire a shard of empathy, if not curiosity, for people who behave badly. If nothing else, film offers the opportunity to change a person’s feelings, on a minute-by-minute, scene-by-scene, shot-by-shot, blink-by-blink basis, such that we become hyper conscious of the blow-by blow emotional shifts that life events generate. With this film, I hope to take people on an emotional trip. / text

Master of Music / Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance / Frank C. Tracz / The following report provides a comprehensive analysis of and teaching guide for one work for brass ensemble and two works for wind band: Legacy by Mark Camphouse, Concert Variations by Claude T. Smith, and Romance for Band by John Zdechlik. A chapter is included for each work, supplying essential information needed to properly prepare the conductor for teaching and rehearsing the work in question. Information is included regarding the composer, the composition, historical perspective, technical considerations, stylistic considerations, musical elements, form and structural analysis, listening suggestions, and a suggested seating arrangement. Outlines of rehearsal plans used by the author are included with self-evaluations of each rehearsal, in addition to a detailed score analysis grid as presented by Dr. Frank Tracz in Mark Walker's book, The Art of Interpretation of Band Music. Chapters are also devoted to the author’s philosophy of music education and philosophy of quality literature selection. All materials are included with the hope that this research can assist in preparation of these works by other conductors and ensembles, as well as to promote a more active programming of these quality, lesser-known works.

Master of Music / Department of Music / Frank Tracz / The following report provides a comprehensive analysis of two works for wind band and one small chamber work for woodwind octet: Night Dances for Wind Ensemble by Bruce Yurko, Octet in E-flat Major, Op. 103 by Ludwig van Beethoven, and Simple Gifts: Four Shaker Songs by Frank Ticheli. This analysis provides information necessary for a conductor’s rehearsal preparation. Included is biographical information about the composer and a historical perspective of the composition itself. Highlighted are the technical difficulties, stylistic concerns, musical elements, and form and structure of each composition. As the researcher, my music education mission statement and perspective on quality literature selection are also included. Suggested listening, seating charts, acoustical justifications, and rehearsal plans with researcher evaluations are provided. The compilation of this information will allow conductors to make more informed musical decisions during their preparation and performances of the works.