This paper discusses a theoretical costume design for the Musical "My Fair Lady" by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe. The costume designer chose to set the production in 1912, stylizing choices clothing based on period silhouettes and social research. The paper includes character analysis, research, and a discussion of the design process.

I decided to do the Disney College Program as my honors thesis because Disney is something I am very passionate about. I worked for the Disney Company before and knew that I wanted to continue my experience with them. I went into the program hoping to discover what the college program could do to prepare me (or any prospective programmer) for the profession and for a life in performance. In January of 2023, I made my way to Orlando, Florida, to start my next journey with the Walt Disney World Company. I went through four different orientation processes, as well as a week of training and an assessment period. For five months I worked for the company in a performance-based position, with hopes of discovering if there could be more opportunity to advance in performance. I discovered that by simply doing the job I was assigned well, my name was already beginning to circulate amongst Disney recruitment and leadership. This is the account of my semester in Walt Disney World. This thesis will cover everything from the application process to testimonials from other cast members. My hope is that my thesis can be a starting point for prospective applicants to this program. It is my hope that this will help prepare applicants for what is to come from the program, and the endless amount of performance opportunities and growth that stem from this internship.

Through an analysis of the details of The Merchant of Venice, I will show that a costume design which only satisfies the basic role of articulating the relationships, status, time and place, etc of the play but has no point of view regarding that text’s inherent assumptions will always support, rather than subvert, any problematic issues present therein. Secondly, I will show that without tandem movement from the creative team, no rehabilitation or subversion is possible.

The following pages will explore and evaluate the process and composition of my lighting design for the musical A New Brain produced by the UMass Amherst Theater Department in November 2014. This analysis will begin with an overall assessment of my lighting-design work and working methods throughout my career up to this production in order to identify the areas of personal growth that were focal points for this production. A reflection upon the design, collaborative, and technical process, and how the lessons learned from these processes apply to my career goal as an educator of theatrical design, will round out this study.

LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO REALISTIC SCENIC WORLD: A REFLECTION ON THE SCENIC DESIGN FOR EUGENE O’NEILL’S LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT MAY 2021 XINYUAN LI, B.A., SHANGHAI THEATER ACADEMY M.F.A., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor Anya Klepikov This thesis is a reflection of the paper project of scenic design of Long Day’s Journey Into Night by Eugene O’Neill. It’s a record tracking the entire design process from the script analysis to the final presentation and all the discovery along with the process. Successes and places need to be improved will also be included.

When it comes to actor training in higher education, an extremely strong emphasis is placed on understanding the voice and interpreting the text. While some institutions do incorporate movement courses into the curriculum of the students, many do not serve the learning actor in the most effective way. The work of Rudolf Laban is a way to strengthen the curriculum taught to actors, specifically in regards connecting actors to their bodies. This thesis discusses and analyses the use of Laban’s movement theory in the movement classroom, and focuses on the most effective way of presenting the material to the student. Included is research on Laban’s theories, the structure of a Laban for the actor course, feedback from participants, exercises crafted to better suit the learning actor, and connections to other acting and movement practitioners. The aim is to provide actors with a well-rounded toolbox that will assist them in creating more dynamic and livable characters. This thesis hopes to serve as a guide for both instructors of movement and students alike, providing all with a resource to refer to when working with the body on or off the stage.

Process Metamorphosis, My Choreographic Journey describes the journey from my initial interest in choreography to where I find myself as a choreographic artist today. Throughout the paper I look at different productions I have worked on, both professionally and within an educational setting, and different people I have collaborated with. Included will be thoughts from peers and mentors as well as my own observations from rehearsals and meetings. I will also be pulling information from my notes and journals while working on shows over the last twelve years.

During this course, upper-level VCUArts students are invited to join forces to become a part of a cross-disciplinary, ensemble-based exploration. Powered by Tectonic Theatre Project’s Moment Work, students will create new works and gain insight into the philosophies, purposes, and processes of Moment Work and other devised theatre techniques. The class will culminate in short, devised pieces, created and performed by the students. The focus of the class is on the creation of a harmonious ensemble amongst a varied group of young artists. I believe that in order to create a generation of innovative and forward-thinking artists, the segregation of the arts disciplines within academia must halt. Cross-disciplinary collaboration will invite varying perspectives to exist in a single setting, and hopefully lead to new forms of art.

This paper is an account of the Theatre VCU mainstage production of Pride & Prejudice, in which I played the roles of Mrs. Bennet and of the vocal coach. In order to address the various skill levels of the cast, I planned to coach the production in a manner inspired by immersion language learning programs, with the cast speaking in dialect throughout the rehearsal process so as to learn the necessary vocal skills and to grow together as a theatrical ensemble. When the director of Pride & Prejudice was not receptive to this plan, I had to compromise and adapt while fulfilling my duties as actor and coach. The paper includes my initial ideas, a detailed account of pre-production, rehearsals, and performances, and an analysis of the many lessons I learned about artistic collaboration and the art of dialect coaching for the stage.

This thesis details the Costume Design process for David Emerson Toney’s Frankenstein: Dawn of a Monster at Virginia Commonwealth University. Toney’s original adaptation interprets Mary Shelley’s genre-defying novel as biography, directly influenced by the tragic events of her young life. Costumes differentiate the two narratives, with Mary Shelly in gray scale, regency-inspired modern dress and the novel in period and color. This follows the design process from concept to production to execution.