Preface and play text of AND I WILL HOLD YOU/WHEN YOU ARE BROKEN.

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The starting point of this research study began with a broad and unwieldly question - what would Zimbabwe look like if colonisation didn’t happen? This question arose with regard to the launch of the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act (IEEA) in 2007 and is focused of on building an understanding of notions of indigeneity in Zimbabwe through an inquiry of indigenousness and indigenisation. The methodological approach is designed as an interdisciplinary and experimental research inquiry that processes these debates and proposes an expansion of the probabilities of notions of indigeneity within the range of existing socio-political, economic and historical analyses of indigenousness and indigenisation in Zimbabwe. This exploration begins with a broad historical, anthropological and etymological survey of the term 'indigenous’ that is interwoven with a contextual account of Zimbabwe and its socio-political lifespan. The primary site of investigation is the independence-day ceremony that took place at the National Sports Stadium in Harare, Zimbabwe on the 18th of April 2017. This focus is motivated by two distinctive elements at this event - a banner that declares 'ZIMBABWE WILL NEVER BE A COLONY AGAIN’ and a fragment from the president’s speech that asserts, 'we can now call ourselves full masters of our destiny’ (Mugabe 2017). This event stands as a crucial node for the debates and questions this research aims to pose regarding notions of indigenisation, indigenousness and registers of indigeneity. Political and socio-economic analyses of this annual ritual tower above the lacuna of analysis of its performance logics. This performance-specific inquiry aims to contribute new meanings and complexity around the event. The information generated from this reading is further processed through the mechanisms of speculative research as a way to think beyond the dilemmas and paradoxes that emerge from the historical, anthropological and performance analyses of this event. The penultimate chapter of this dissertation suggests a conceptual rehearsal of the findings generated through an expanded understanding of queer theory. The final articulation of 2 this research investigation extends the experimental approach, presenting a set of visual, aural and sculptural elements as the conclusion. The dissertation offers alternate readings of notions of homogeneity and singularity. It is also constituted as a way to understand the probability of building new knowledges through lateral and rhizomic processes as a journey that gathers and synthesizes from across a number of disciplines. The contention of this thesis, then, is to suggest an expansion of the notion of indigeneity towards the possibility of polygeneity, a notion that aims to align with the conceptual constructs of cosmopolitanism (Appiah 2006, Kleingeld and Brown 2014), which engage arguments for expanded understandings of contemporary identity formation. Embodied in this suggestion of polygeneity lies the potential to revive notions of dynamism and creativity that have been dormant since the onset of European colonisation in Zimbabwe. In the wake of the 'new dawn’ in Zimbabwe, in this moment of growing debates for alternatives, the thesis finds its impulse in the imperative for radical and creative shifts in consciousness to activate new ideas, new readings, and new knowledges.

This study analyses, over a three-year period, a theatre programme with forensic psychiatric patients and staff at Fort England psychiatric hospital in Grahamstown/Makhanda, South Africa. Framed as a ‘theatrical playground', programme sessions were structured around theatre games, improvisation and devised theatre processes that culminated in playmaking at the end of each session. Participation in the group was voluntary and constructed to allow involvement in theatrical play on its own terms, set apart from the therapeutic and rehabilitation agendas that govern the institution. By means of a conceptually-driven critical analysis of the empirical practice, the study explores the ethical tensions and possibilities of locating all participants as political actors with agency to develop the stories, characters, and images they choose for themselves. It juxtaposes the democratic principles of the theatre space with the oppression and control of psychiatry when viewed as a Total Institution. I draw on the work of Michel Foucault and Erving Goffman in order to conceptualise a history and critique of psychiatry, and to contextualise how colonial psychiatry developed in South Africa. I compare manifestations of power and control that are part of forensic psychiatric practices with the political possibilities of different resistant theatre spaces, such as the work of the Olimpias artist collective and the Madness Hotel (Vitor Pordeus). I show how these examples, and the theatre project researched here, approach all participants as authors and makers of and on the world. I deploy a Vygotskian lens to discern how participants collectively create a Zone of Proximal Development, which explains the profound shifts in learning and skills observed in participants considered as low functioning or beyond treatment or rehabilitation. The study analyses three aspects of the practice: video documentation of selected workshops and performances; interviews with patient and staff participants; and my reflective practitioner field notes - in order to build the case for the radically humanising effect of the theatre playground. My analysis of key moments in the theatre practice highlights the ways in which patient-participants perform ‘a head taller' than clinical staff's expectations, when offered opportunities to experiment with relationships by means of embodied practices in a creative process set apart from the therapeutic gaze. Reflective and critical analysis of the practice reveals three types of experience in particular: first, hope as an overall affect that aligns with a recovery approach to mental health; secondly, how participation is experienced as humanising by disrupting and playing with institutionalised roles and bodies; and finally, how permission to play with the roles, narratives, and the power structures of psychiatry as an institution, reoriented participants as political actors in relation to the forensic hospital and the wider world. These experiences challenge the stigma and positioning of forensic psychiatric patients as incapable, outside of culture and humanity, and reposition them as legitimate knowers and creators.

This thesis explores ways to transform costuming concepts for theatre productions that provide a more inclusive and comfortable environment for actors while still maintaining the essence of the characters they are portraying. This thesis examines theatrical bodies of work as case studies to illustrate options for incorporating costume designs that take into consideration the emotional and physical welfare of the actors. The purpose of this study is to inform theatre teachers how to create costumes that aid in psychological comfort of students regarding gender identity and age, as well as for flexibility in casting due to disproportionate gender ratios that are typical in public school populations. For my thesis, I focus on the following productions for my case studies, applying my area of concentration at the middle school level: Guys and Dolls, Jr., Are We Scared Yet? and Wicked. Through these case studies, I answer the following questions: Is it possible to incorporate costumes that provide gender nonconformity, gender neutral identity or swapping genders in casting and still maintain the playwright's intention and the essence of the character? When applying these concepts to costuming, what elements of the costume are important to keep and what elements can be adjusted? How will reinventing costuming in this manner change the experience for both the actors and the audience members? How can we ensure our costuming choices are fitting the psychological needs of our actors and students? This thesis includes my research on nonconformity in fashion and its key historical impacts on gender, research of the play/musicals including a character analysis, pictures of original, adapted and newly created costume designs transformed for the purpose of the actor's comfort, and a journal of the process, including self-reflection on the outcome of the designs.

One of the main reasons I have been attracted to the world of theatre is its versatility. Theatre incorporates many other disciplines: Science, Mathematics, History, Language, Philosophy, and Psychology to name a few. I have always had daydreams about running a school program that utilizes a play as the unifying force behind the research and application of traditional academic subject. When I first started as an English teacher, I created many projects that incorporated other disciplines, such as creative writing, acting, and music. When I began teaching theatre, I began to focus solely on skills that applied to theatre. I have been a classroom teacher for the past twenty years, and I find myself becoming disillusioned with the classroom environment. As I transition out of teaching in the public-school sector, I am building on methods I started utilizing in the classroom to create my own educational business that will include live workshops, online classes, and private coaching. I will be exploring two types of arts-related education: Arts as Curriculum and Arts-Integrated Curriculum. The goal of both types of curricula is to inspire students to take ownership of their work and perhaps create enthusiasm for self-directed learning. I would like to incorporate this goal into the mission statement for my business and develop curriculum that will serve not only those looking to learn and improve their performing arts skills, but also students for whom traditional school might not resonate. The predominant part of my business will be courses created to be taught online. The income from those courses will be supplemented by in-person workshops and after-school programs.

This thesis examines the link between sports and theatre from the actor's perspective and concludes that these two practices should be used together to achieve optimal performance. Using context provided by great physical theatre practitioners such as Jacques LeCoq, Vsevolod Meyerhold, and Rudolf Von Laban, the candidate used his past experience as a gymnast and a soccer player, and the teachings of Timothy Gallwey's The Inner Game of Tennis, to craft a rehearsal and performance regimen for Theatre UCF's production of Paula Vogel's Indecent. This regimen included an experiment where he alternated days in which he swam to days in which he did yoga flow, in order to analyze his physical awareness and mental focus on stage every night while using some of Laban's effort actions; the result being that yoga benefitted his process more.

Directing a musical production in a high school setting under normal circumstances is a challenging undertaking – doing so in the throes and aftermath of a global pandemic, with its school closures, quarantines and general chaos, was an exercise in patience and creativity. For my Master's Thesis, I directed and designed a production of Chicago at Miami Arts Charter School, a performing arts high school in the Wynwood arts district, where I have taught for twelve years and served as the Theatre Director for the past eight years. Chicago made perfect sense as the first "post-pandemic" production. First, it is one of Broadway's most beloved and well-known shows, and one of a handful of musicals that's a household name. Secondly, it is the kind of show that is versatile enough to be done in many types of performance spaces and budgets. Finally, it is an ensemble-heavy show, which meant that it is a great opportunity to train a large group of students. Most of our audience's familiarity with the piece is connected to either the 1996 Broadway revival or to the 2002 movie, both of which have very distinct visions and aesthetics. My challenge was in coming up with a coherent concept for the show that remained unique without feeling gimmicky; I also had to straddle the line between what the audience expects to see from a show like Chicago while giving them a fresh version of the source material. This thesis explores our production's development process from material selection to closing night, and focuses on casting, musical direction, choreography and staging, and production design.

Using techniques from acting scholars and practitioners, this practice as research study seeks to lesson anxiety in actors by measuring the actor's preparation, rehearsal and performance process against each of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's conditions of flow. Csikszentmihalyi's flow theory describes flow as an "optimal experience" in which a person is so invested in their goals, there is "no threat for the self to defend against" (M. Csikszentmihalyi 76). His research identified conditions that when present, can induce a state of flow. However, actors can be plagued by negative thoughts and self-consciousness. While a certain amount of anxiety is expected and normal, for some actors it can become debilitating, preventing them from entering a state of flow. Why? What causes this anxiety and how does it interrupt flow? Is there a way to stay in flow and stop anxiety from effecting performance? In rehearsals, directors guide actors on a quest to enter flow. However, few known pedagogies use flow theory as a basis for training. This thesis documents one actor's quest to create conditions that will allow a higher frequency of flow, thereby stopping anxiety from overtaking the process.

Actors are tasked with the opportunity to perform roles from multiple assorted styles of theatre performance throughout their career. How can performers best create an effective acting process that allows them to develop a pathway that is unique and dynamic across all styles to best embody the characters that they are cast as? I am seeking to refine and develop an approach that will be comprised of a series of steps which include exercises from the acting techniques of Jerzy Grotowski, Michael Chekhov, and Konstantin Stanislavski to create a character that is unique and dynamic. Through the investigation of the psychophysical connection, I will be analyzing how this dichotomy can support the actor when approaching the character development process to result in a specific and successful performance. I will be using my performances in The Amphibians, Welcome to the Moon, and Shrek, as a case study for the development of an effective acting process