<p> Acting students enrolled in theatre training programs often receive excellent instruction in voice, movement, and acting techniques respectively; however, there are few opportunities, in most of these programs, to incorporate these skills into <i>one</i> integrated class prior to graduation. This Project Report proposes the creation, development, and implementation of such a Capstone Integration Course. The curriculum of this proposed course relies on the author&rsquo;s cumulative experience of several decades in the acting profession, primarily the following four pillars: (1) early training at the Juilliard School of Drama, (2) experiences teaching undergraduates in the California State University system, (3) a lifetime of study in the art of acting in professional conservatories and under master teachers, and (4) private coaching of professional actors in the field of theatre and film. This report claims that the proposed course fulfills a vital need in the education of student-actors, by preparing them for sustained and successful careers as professional actors.</p><p>

<p> This paper will help musicians understand the positive effects of incorporating deep breathing and alternate nostril breathing meditation techniques into their daily practice sessions by corroborating how these techniques enhance both mental focus and physical calm. I will give examples of how I use these techniques in warm-ups, practice sessions, and in the performance of <i>Sonatine pour Trombone et Piano</i> by Jacques Cast&eacute;r&egrave;de. Additionally, I will provide a brief introductory background to meditation as well as scientific evidence to validate its many benefits for musicians. The ultimate goal of this paper is to equip musicians with specific meditative breathing techniques that when used during daily practice sessions, enhance focus in a way that can be applied to performance situations leading to more intentional performances.</p><p>

<p> The focus of this study was to better understand the population known as cosplayers, people that dress up as characters from various media sources, including film, television, comics, and animation, who also attend social gatherings such as conventions (Gn, 2011). This study sought to exhaustively identify all motivations for people to cosplay. Two qualitative instruments were utilized, the first being an online questionnaire, and the second being a semi-structured interview script. Recruitment for participants took place online, with the subsequent data being coded and transcribed by the researcher. </p><p>

<p> Discursive frameworks of dance grounded in Western patriarchal modernist aesthetics and phallocentric theoretical lineages have consistently privileged the role of choreographers such that the labor, knowledge production, and perspectives of dancers have received little attention in dance scholarship. This dissertation considers the modes of being, thought, and critique that become articulable when the labor of dancers is acknowledged. Chapter One examines connections between the feminization of the role of the dancer and the devaluation of her labor and knowledge production and considers theoretical methodologies which might facilitate the inclusion of dancer&rsquo;s knowledge, labor, and voice in dance and performance scholarship. Chapter Two considers how the labor of the dancer in U.S. Western dance practices since the 1930s has continually transformed alongside shifts in economic modes of production in order to trace this entwinement within the scope of dancers&rsquo; research, knowledge production and critical capacities. Chapter Three relies on interviews with nine dancers to explore the entanglement of contemporary freelance dancers&rsquo; labor with post-Fordist labor values as well as their experiences of agency, freedom, representation and labor within neoliberal capitalism&rsquo;s modes of production. Chapter Four employs personal testimony of the dancer-scholar in order to consider the politics of the dancer within the site of Deborah Hay's Blues (2012). Through an exploration of these sites, I argue that dance and performance scholarship would benefit from the rich knowledge and insight afforded through the voices and praxis of dancers.</p><p>

<p> The MFA Acting and Performance Pedagogy program at CSULB has inspired me to investigate non-psychological based acting techniques. These newfound techniques, coupled with my classical singing background, led me to discover how to perform with joy and ease. Sanford Meisner acting technique exercises effectively redirected my attention away from myself and onto my scene partner in singing and acting. In performance and teaching, I am able to utilize the Meisner technique to uncover what inhibits the actor&rsquo;s attention and subsequently redirect their focus to the present moment. Declan Donnellan&rsquo;s <i> The Actor and the Target</i> and Timothy Gallwey&rsquo;s <i>The Inner Game of Tennis</i>, provide strategies to free the actor from inhibiting factors that prevent him/her from behaving naturally under imaginary circumstances. The use of all these concepts both in practice and performance allows actors to redirect their attention onto the imaginary circumstances and discover true freedom and joy in performance.</p><p>

<p> If &ldquo;we&rdquo; are not a &ldquo;We,&rdquo; then what are &lsquo;&rdquo;we&rdquo;? I posit that by encouraging diverse-population students in an introductory acting class for non-majors to examine and reveal their histories and identities in a manifesto-driven project, I can build a &ldquo;We&rdquo; in the classroom; not a dissipated notion of a Universal We, but a strong sense of community where both differences and commonalities are respected. By exploring self-identity through the Manifesto experience, students will have a closer connection to humanity and thus the task of acting. By cultivating community, students will be united and engaged in each other&rsquo;s efforts and well-being with a sense of compassion, kindness and trust that is evident, not disaffected or casual. New sensibilities will develop that can extend beyond the classroom. </p><p> The overarching pedagogical conversation in my CSULB graduate acting program has involved the imperative to &ldquo;see&rdquo; the students who are in front of us. The inspiration to develop this project based report around my work in the Theatre 113 &ndash; Introduction to Acting for Non-Majors classroom arrived following a graduate cohort Writing for the Theater Profession assembly taught by artist and scholar Dr. Jaye Austin Williams. Jaye brought my cohort&rsquo;s attention to the notion of a &ldquo;Universal We.&rdquo; We considered the idea of a utopian collective conscious where all of humanity is born with the same innate knowledge and expectation for success; however, the concept of a &ldquo;Universal We&rdquo; is easily refuted and dissipates when one contemplates the timeline of all evolution, including the rise and fall of cultures and civilizations, hierarchies, atrocities, vassalage, enslavement and colonialisms. This conversation unsettled me as I sat in front of my next Theatre 113 class with fifty students and contemplated, &ldquo;If &lsquo;we&rsquo; are not a &lsquo;We,&rsquo; then what are &lsquo;we&rsquo;?&rdquo; This inquiry inspired me to make zero assumptions regarding students and their backgrounds and to seek a path to better understand whom these learners represent as individuals and as a collective - for their knowledge and for mine. I assessed how would I connect and engage these pupils, and to what end? I decided to use a manifesto-driven project that asks students to inspect their self-identity in a presentation to the class, and also proposed that they examine their personal experience and relationship to privilege and pain. I hoped through this practice to create a profound semblance of community. I decided to use this semester to tackle this proposition head-on and invite the conversation into the classroom as we explored humanity, art and self-identity. Why is this important? Why is there an imperative to &ldquo;know&rdquo; our self and each other? </p><p> In this paper I will explore the proposal I offered to students to embark on this manifesto journey, document the process and observations of the students&rsquo; efforts, and examine the outcome through evaluation of students&rsquo; responses to a reflection questionnaire regarding the experience.</p><p>

abstract: ABSTRACT This study will have three sections: 1) outlining the imperative need to include in-depth character study in the preparation of art-song performance; 2) addressing the insufficient theatrical equipping of young collegiate singers in leading undergraduate applied voice programs and its causes, and 3) suggesting methods to advance acting training in classical voice programs. The primary goal will be to improve art song performance pedagogy and the performer’s ability to emotionally communicate with the audience. The first section will demonstrate why character study is necessary in the preparation of a sound art song performance. The musical works used in this study will be Songs of Travel (1904) by Ralph Vaughan Williams and A Young Man’s Exhortation (1929) by Gerald Finzi. These works provide examples of the cycle type in which a single character moves forward through time during the course of the song cycle. The second section will investigate the inadequate instruction received by students in undergraduate voice programs, concerning character analysis, by gathering course requirements from a variety of public and private universities. It will also examine the accrediting bodies that dictate much of the standardized curriculum across the majority of music schools in the U. S. such as the National Association of Schools of Music and the Higher Learning Commission. In the final section, a number of improvements will be suggested and examined according to their viability in training singers to convey both the musical and dramatic context found in the art song repertoire. The sources used in the course of this study include the scores (Boosey and Hawkes) of the aforementioned works, as well as published research on those works. Syllabi and curriculum checksheets from various university voice programs are also used to determine the required course requirements in contemporary applied voice degrees. The accrediting processes from bodies such as the National Association of Schools of Music and the Higher Learning Commission are used in my assessment of obstacles that those processes may inadvertently present. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Music 2018

<p> Every civilization on the planet has some form of theatre. Musical theatre is primarily an American art form. It can be enjoyed by everyone. Enjoyment of any art form is increased by knowledge of and participation in the field and amateur productions allow non-professionals to take part in this collaborative activity. All ages and abilities can participate at various levels, from the smallest child to the wheelchair bound adult. It is my firm belief that taking part in a community theatre production is a creative and worthwhile way to express oneself, foster friendships, develop talents, and perpetuate this uniquely American art form. </p><p> I researched methods of adapting the musical theatre rehearsal process for different groups of amateurs. Among these groups I focused on the needs of elderly persons, persons with mobility impairment, and persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder. </p><p> It is my wish to best adapt traditional rehearsal techniques to suit these and other groups. By seeking out the basic problems for working with specialized groups and by finding workable solutions for each, we will thereby better enable ourselves to work with all of them. </p><p> I outlined the general rehearsal process and made practical suggestions for working with and encouraging participation by these groups. In producing their best work, the participants foster a sense of community and strengthen their areas of weakness.</p><p>

Extreme art cinema, has, in recent film scholarship, become an important area of study. Many of the existing practices are motivated by a Franco-centric lens, which ultimately defines transgressive art cinema as a new phenomenon. The thesis argues that a study of extreme art cinema needs to consider filmic production both within and beyond France. It also argues that it requires an historical analysis, and I contest the notion that extreme art cinema is a recent mode of Film production. The study considers extreme art cinema as inhabiting a space between ‘high’ and ‘low’ art forms, noting the slippage between the two often polarised industries. The study has a focus on the paratext, with an analysis of DVD extras including ‘making ofs’ and documentary featurettes, interviews with directors, and cover sleeves. This will be used to examine audience engagement with the artefacts, and the films’ position within the film market. Through a detailed assessment of the visual symbols used throughout the films’ narrative images, the thesis observes the manner in which they engage with the taste structures and pictorial templates of art and exploitation cinema. Through this methodological direction, the thesis is able to assess how the films are sold to an audience, how this relates to the historical progression of extreme art cinema, and the way the entire practice is informed by an ongoing tradition of taste fluidity.

This thesis examines the arguments for the creation of a BBC feature film arm - BBC Films - and its development over a period of 25 years between 1988 and 2013. This followed the launch of Channel Four in 1982 and the formation of its own influential film strand Film on Four. As the role of public service broadcasters in supporting a national cinema became increasingly important, BBC Films became a key component of government film policy. Covering a period which saw increasing convergence between film and television, this historical investigation seeks to provide a greater understanding of the role of BBC Films as an alternative source of production funding, enabling a more complete picture of public support for British film to be drawn. The conflicted place of BBC Films within the corporation forms a primary focus. Including archival research, interviews and original primary sources - in the form of previously unseen internal strategy documents - this thesis contributes to existing gaps in literature. Examination of institutional influences upon the unit’s evolving strategy and its creative decisions - including individual creativity within organisational structures - brings together elements of previously distinct disciplinary fields, providing an important contribution to film and television studies. As a division of a PSB, funded by the licence fee, this study of BBC Films also adds significantly to discourses around the desirability of broadcaster involvement in British film production, and to the issue of commerce versus culture. Finally, this thesis will seek to assess BBC Films’ unique contribution to British film culture. This will be questioned by considering the output of BBC Films from the perspectives of its support for established and emerging UK talent, its depictions of Britishness, and its success in creating a complementary brand to Channel Four.