The Production of Spring Awakening by Nathan Halvorson Master of Fine Arts (Directing) Thesis - May 2013

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As a costume designer, I begin looking at who and what a character is. I then look at how they relate to other characters in the play. Costumes and hair have the ability to help the audience understand time, location, emotional, and physical aspects of a character. The process of a costume designer begins with analyzing a script and characters, researching the time and fashions of the show, creating a visual rendering of what characters wear in the world. Rendering is a tool of communication, a working document that will often change as the production develops. It is the costume designer’s job to understand why a character wears what they wear. Characters are meant to help create and solidify the world of the play. The costume designer is one of those keys to making that world come alive. This thesis portfolio will include images and brief descriptions of my costume design work and wig work at the University of Iowa. This portfolio contains both realized productions photos, renderings and projects from class work. This document also shows the evolution of my design work over the course of my Master of Fine Arts education. The entire breadth of my thesis portfolio can be found at the link: http://ir.uiowa.edu/theatre_d_folio/.

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This is a sampling of costume and lighting design work for theatre as presented at the University of Iowa.

This thesis presents a workbook for creating a course that combines researching both theatre for young audiences and devised theatre to create a touring production and company. Devised theatre is a form of theatre where the script originates from collaborative creation, improvisation, and physical movement. This course explored the past, present and future of theatre for young audiences both domestically and abroad. Students worked in a collaborative effort devising and producing a TYA piece based on Hans Christian Anderson’s The Snow Queen and studied the child audience through reading assignments and practical experience. This thesis is intended to showcase the value of teaching college undergraduate how to perform TYA productions as well as to show how devised theatre can help foster the actor’s creativity and help to reach a whole new generation.

The Golden Door is a new musical created in answer to the question "how does one write a musical?" This short work is based on immigration through Ellis Island in the 1920s. The script focuses on three young adults immigrating from Sweden in 1922, exploring the reasons why each might choose to leave their homeland and attempt a new life in a completely foreign land. The script also details historical information such as how long the crossing was and the reception that awaited them in the "promised land", juxtaposing promises and actuality. The script and score examines themes such as bravery, homesickness and loss, and the perception of Americana and its processes dating back to a romanticized time. This document details the writing process, justification of the document, and historical research to support it, as well as the performance text itself (including both script and score).

This thesis explores and describes key factors in the design process leading to production of The Three Musketeers by Catherine Bush. The document encompasses the justification and discussion of the choices made during the research, design, and production stages of developing the play for the stage, as well as impressions gained throughout the process to use in future design projects.

This document will chronicle the theatrical design work of Josh Christoffersen at the University of Iowa from August of 2012 through the spring of 2015. The bulk of the images included will be production photos of realized productions--both large-scale mainstage and smaller independent productions--as well as draftings, paint elevations, and sketches to illuminate the process of the artist. The intent is that this document will stand as a record of the various techniques and tactics used throughout my graduate career to tell a story through design

A comprehensive portfolio by Cassandra Malmquist with a focus in Lighting Design in theatre and dance at the University of Iowa.