A presente pesquisa examina um processo próprio de metodologia de ensaio teatral denominada Teatro Playground. Nesta os atores são colocados em um ambiente de criação (Playground), construído para instaurar o estado de jogo e através deste encontrar as relações e sintonias necessárias à performance. A partir do estudo de exemplos práticos de utilização destes procedimentos na direção de espetáculos e condução de grupos de trabalho, são abordadas questões relativas ao treinamento de atores e diretores de teatro. O objetivo principal desta tese é verificar a reverberação de uma abordagem prática de técnicas relacionadas ao jogo, principalmente sob a ótica de Phillipe Gaulier, Luke Dixon, Anne Bogart e Jacques Lecoq. Examinar os fundamentos de relação que permitirão este jogo, baseados principalmente em Meyerhold, Barba, Grotowski, Stanislávski e Vakhtangov. E perceber até que ponto um grupo de trabalho organizado sob certas premissas lúdicas e psicofísicas pode suavizar rupturas encontradas no decorrer de um processo de ensaio, principalmente quando o espetáculo precisa encontrar uma forma definitiva e a improvisação ceder lugar às marcações de cena. / The present research looks upon an original methodology for rehearsal process called Theatre Playground. In it the actors are put in a creative environment (Playground), built in order to establish a playfulness state and through it find the relationships and right tune needed to the performance. From the study of practical examples, specific procedures on directing shows and conducting theatre groups are taken as possibilities for training theatre actors and directors. The main aim for this thesis is verify the resonance of a practical approach on techniques related to theatre games, mainly according to the vision of Phillippe Gaulier, Luke Dixon, Anne Bogart and Jacques Lecoq. Also getting deep on the foundations that will allow this game to happen, based mainly on Meyerhold, Barba, Grotowski, Stanislávski and Vakhtangov. And perceiving on which level a group of theatre work, organized under specific ludic and psychophysics premises, can soften the ruptures found in a rehearsal process, specially when the show needs to find the fixed forms and the impro has to give place to the final movements on stage

A presente pesquisa examina um processo próprio de metodologia de ensaio teatral denominada Teatro Playground. Nesta os atores são colocados em um ambiente de criação (Playground), construído para instaurar o estado de jogo e através deste encontrar as relações e sintonias necessárias à performance. A partir do estudo de exemplos práticos de utilização destes procedimentos na direção de espetáculos e condução de grupos de trabalho, são abordadas questões relativas ao treinamento de atores e diretores de teatro. O objetivo principal desta tese é verificar a reverberação de uma abordagem prática de técnicas relacionadas ao jogo, principalmente sob a ótica de Phillipe Gaulier, Luke Dixon, Anne Bogart e Jacques Lecoq. Examinar os fundamentos de relação que permitirão este jogo, baseados principalmente em Meyerhold, Barba, Grotowski, Stanislávski e Vakhtangov. E perceber até que ponto um grupo de trabalho organizado sob certas premissas lúdicas e psicofísicas pode suavizar rupturas encontradas no decorrer de um processo de ensaio, principalmente quando o espetáculo precisa encontrar uma forma definitiva e a improvisação ceder lugar às marcações de cena. / The present research looks upon an original methodology for rehearsal process called Theatre Playground. In it the actors are put in a creative environment (Playground), built in order to establish a playfulness state and through it find the relationships and right tune needed to the performance. From the study of practical examples, specific procedures on directing shows and conducting theatre groups are taken as possibilities for training theatre actors and directors. The main aim for this thesis is verify the resonance of a practical approach on techniques related to theatre games, mainly according to the vision of Phillippe Gaulier, Luke Dixon, Anne Bogart and Jacques Lecoq. Also getting deep on the foundations that will allow this game to happen, based mainly on Meyerhold, Barba, Grotowski, Stanislávski and Vakhtangov. And perceiving on which level a group of theatre work, organized under specific ludic and psychophysics premises, can soften the ruptures found in a rehearsal process, specially when the show needs to find the fixed forms and the impro has to give place to the final movements on stage

This thesis is an account of my directorial process for the Spring 2023 production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Into the Woods. I begin by illustrating how this show speaks to the contemporary political and social moment in the United States through a libretto and score that insists the only way to battle the giants brought on by the pursuit of individual goals is for a community to take responsibility for its errors and work together. I put Into the Woods in conversation with the cartoon series Over the Garden Wall to ground the show in an American context, discussing how our designers drew inspiration for the cartoon’s use of 19th Century American folk aesthetics and distorted images of monstrous figures to develop a unique approach to the world of the play. I then chronicle the audition and rehearsal process, including the incorporation of Michael Chekhov technique into character creation as well as the paths individual actors took to know and embody their characters. I offer an account of some of the unique problems we faced during tech week and how we, like the very characters in the story we were telling, came together to overcome the difficulties we faced. I conclude with an account of the performances and how I have taken the lessons from this process into the professional work I have undertaken since.

Communication, in its most basic sense, is foundational for any personal, human interaction and relationship. As theatre artists, we are charged with communicating complex story lines, conceptual ideas, and emotion to an audience. Sound communication is paramount to every aspect of a musical production, be it communication between actors/characters, actor and director, amongst the production team, and arguable the most important, between the actors and the audience. My years of education as a Masters in Fine Arts candidate in Musical Theatre have been spent polishing my ability to communicate physical and emotional choices with greater accuracy, depth, and truth. By staging Jason Robert Brown‟s musical The Last Five Years and performing the role of Jamie, this performance thesis will explore, develop, and examine my mastery of the aforementioned varied forms of communication, all of which are necessary in building a successful musical production. Research will be conducted to gather information on relevant topics, including the history of The Last Five Years, the life of Jason Robert Brown, and his musical and theatrical influences. By further understanding Brown, his life, and his ideas about his works, I hope to more fully understand and communicate the message of the musical itself. A dramatic and musical structural analysis will provide further depth and insight into the piece, with the hopes of informing my production and individual performance. A thorough character analysis will provide connective tissue that will allow myself, as the actor, to more effectively communicate the psychological and emotional make up of the character Jamie. Lastly, the thesis document will culminate with a production journal, documenting the pre-production, rehearsal, and performance process. Through the journaling process, I will document and address the iii journey that I have experienced with the production, giving focus and attention to its many obstacles and discoveries, successes and failures, all of which have contributed to my personal growth as a young theatre artist.

I have for as long as I can remember been interested and fascinated by theatre performances and their ability to create meaning, significance and understanding towards their audience. This has later on turned into a growing interest and curiosity for the rehearsal process, as it is within the rehearsals the meaning-making aspects of a performance are both created and produced. Moreover has this curiosity generated to be a somewhat basis for this research.  Through a lens of dramaturgy is this study seeking to investigate how meaning, significance and narrative are created and established within a rehearsal process, namely the rehearsal process of Mellanförskapet at Unga Dramaten. Explore the in-between-ness of the rehearsal process in relation to the upcoming theatrical event and moreover focus on the dramaturgical strategies within the rehearsal. By engaging with autoethnographic methods for observing the rehearsals, is the aim of this study to investigate how meaning making practices within the theatre can be understood in the eye of an observer. Semi-structured interviews with the creative team have further on contributed to additional knowledge and valuable information about the rehearsal process in general. Moreover serves the concept of making meaning as a basis for the theoretical framework, discussed in relation to meaning making practices within the theatre, namely dramaturgy and performative actions. Since Mellanförskapet aims toward teenagers as its primary audience, are aspects of theatre for a younger audience [TYA] discussed in relation to dramaturgical strategies within the rehearsal process. Moreover are themes and topics raised within Mellanförskapet such as intercultural identity, racism and bullying discussed in regards to TYA as well as dramaturgical strategies within the rehearsal process.

This thesis explains the acting method used by Caleigh Keith while portraying the role of Nancy Shedman in Romulus Linney’s Holy Ghosts. Included are chapters of historical research, character analysis, and a production report, which includes a scored script, rehearsal and performance journal, and a self-evaluation of the actor’s work. Holy Ghosts was produced by Theater UNO at the University of New Orleans in the Robert E. Nims Thrust Theater of the Performing Arts Center. It opened Tuesday, February seventh, and ran through Sunday, February twelfth, two thousand and twelve. Evening performances were at seven-thirty and Sunday’s matinee was at two o’clock in the afternoon.