This dissertation examines three generations of the Beeston family and its revolutionary impact on the developing world of seventeenth-century London theatre management. Like other early modern businesses, the Beeston enterprise thrived on commercial innovation, the strategic cultivation of patronage, and a capacity to perpetuate itself dynastically. England’s mid-century political crisis disrupted the family’s commercial supremacy but its management system would endure as the de facto standard structuring successful theatre business long after the Restoration. Following a critical introduction to the early history of theatrical management, the thesis’s four chapters chart the creation and institution of the Beeston management model. Chapter One examines the early career of Christopher Beeston, a minor stageplayer from Shakespeare’s company in the 1590s who set out ambitiously to reshape theatrical management at Drury Lane’s Cockpit playhouse in 1616. Chapter Two analyzes Beeston’s later career, particularly his unique appointment as “Governor” of a new royal company in 1637. New evidence suggests that the office was a reward for service to the aristocratic Herbert family and that traditional preferment was therefore as important as market competition to the creation of the Caroline paradigm of autocratic theatrical “governance.” Chapter Three explores the overlooked career of Elizabeth Beeston who, upon inheriting the Cockpit in 1638, became the first woman in English history to manage a purpose-built London theatre. New evidence concerning her subsequent husband, Sir Lewis Kirke, an adventurer to Canada, ship-money captain, and Royalist military governor, indicates political ideology motivated their joint effort to keep the Beeston playhouse open during the civil wars. Chapter Four addresses the question of why the larger Beeston enterprise eventually collapsed even as the management system it refined continued to support later theatrical entrepreneurs. During the Interregnum, contemporaries anticipated that William and George Beeston, Christopher’s son and grandson, would eventually dominate a renascent London stage; however, managers such as William Davenant and Thomas Betterton ultimately adapted the Beeston system more efficiently to the political environment after 1660. Thereafter, exhausted patronage, lost assets, and the abandonment of family tradition marked the end of the Beestons’ influential association with the London stage.

This dissertation examines three generations of the Beeston family and its revolutionary impact on the developing world of seventeenth-century London theatre management. Like other early modern businesses, the Beeston enterprise thrived on commercial innovation, the strategic cultivation of patronage, and a capacity to perpetuate itself dynastically. England’s mid-century political crisis disrupted the family’s commercial supremacy but its management system would endure as the de facto standard structuring successful theatre business long after the Restoration. Following a critical introduction to the early history of theatrical management, the thesis’s four chapters chart the creation and institution of the Beeston management model. Chapter One examines the early career of Christopher Beeston, a minor stageplayer from Shakespeare’s company in the 1590s who set out ambitiously to reshape theatrical management at Drury Lane’s Cockpit playhouse in 1616. Chapter Two analyzes Beeston’s later career, particularly his unique appointment as “Governor” of a new royal company in 1637. New evidence suggests that the office was a reward for service to the aristocratic Herbert family and that traditional preferment was therefore as important as market competition to the creation of the Caroline paradigm of autocratic theatrical “governance.” Chapter Three explores the overlooked career of Elizabeth Beeston who, upon inheriting the Cockpit in 1638, became the first woman in English history to manage a purpose-built London theatre. New evidence concerning her subsequent husband, Sir Lewis Kirke, an adventurer to Canada, ship-money captain, and Royalist military governor, indicates political ideology motivated their joint effort to keep the Beeston playhouse open during the civil wars. Chapter Four addresses the question of why the larger Beeston enterprise eventually collapsed even as the management system it refined continued to support later theatrical entrepreneurs. During the Interregnum, contemporaries anticipated that William and George Beeston, Christopher’s son and grandson, would eventually dominate a renascent London stage; however, managers such as William Davenant and Thomas Betterton ultimately adapted the Beeston system more efficiently to the political environment after 1660. Thereafter, exhausted patronage, lost assets, and the abandonment of family tradition marked the end of the Beestons’ influential association with the London stage.

Abstract Until now, there has not been a performance history of The Merchant of Venice that focuses on Portia, the main character of the play. Although she has the most lines, the most stage time, and represents the nexus of the action, Portia has often been hidden in Shylock's shadow, and this dissertation seeks to bring her into the spotlight. The Portia Project is a contribution to literary and theatrical history; its primary goal is to provide a tool for scholars and teachers. Moreover, because of Merchant's notoriously problematic nature, the play invites different perspectives. By presenting the diverse ways that actors and directors have approached the play and resolved the cruxes associated with Portia, I aim to demonstrate that there are multiple valid ways in which to interpret the text. Chapter one explores the literary criticism of The Merchant of Venice, centering on the treatment of the play's female protagonist. The early twentieth century produced wide-ranging interpretations of Portia, and the last fifty years have seen her analyzed through the lenses of feminism, cultural materialism, psychoanalytic criticism, and queer theory. Having analyzed the literary criticism, I next concentrate on the performance history of The Merchant of Venice, with particular attention to Portia. I then turn to those who have performed the role in a wide-range of theatrical venues. Chapter three features the input of Seana McKenna--star of the Canadian stage and a mainstay of the Stratford Festival in Ontario--who played Portia in a 1989 production. Michael Langham directed in an atmosphere of trepidation over the play's reception and its portrayal of Shylock's forced conversion. For chapter four I interviewed Marni Penning, a veteran of the smaller repertory companies that are sprinkled about the United States. For chapter five I talked to Edward Hall, artistic director of the all-male Propeller Theatre Company, and Kelsey Brookfield, a young black actor who played Portia for the group's 2009 production. By dressing all of the "male" characters alike, Hall de-emphasized the differences between the Christians and the Jews, while Portia, Nerissa, and Jessica were presented not as women, but as men, who have feminized themselves to survive in their harsh environment. Lily Rabe played Portia for the 2010 production of Merchant in Central Park, opposite Al Pacino's Shylock. The production was so successful that it moved to Broadway in October of that year, and Rabe's intelligent portrayal won universal accolades. The Portia Project explores the perceptions of literary critics, theatrical reviewers, actors, and directors, in order to ascertain how representations and expectations of Shakespeare's most learned heroine have changed over the years and to rescue her from Shylock's shadow. By combining the disciplines of literary criticism, theatre, and film, an evolving picture of Portia emerges, revealing Portia's complexity and her centrality to The Merchant of Venice.

A análise aborda o fenômeno artístico e cultural que é o teatro de Liev Tolstói no limiar entre a literatura e a história do teatro russo. A ênfase recai em apenas uma peça e suas quatro versões cênicas, permitindo, por um lado, abranger um grande período de tempo e observar as transformações que ocorrem com O Cadáver Vivo no decurso de um século de história russa; por outro lado, visa aprofundar o estudo dedicado a uma faceta específica da arte de Liev Tolstói. / The analysis addresses the artistic and cultural phenomenon that is the theater of Leo Tolstoy on the threshold between literature and history of Russian theater. The emphasis is in one piece and its four scenic versions, allowing one hand, cover a large period of time and observe the changes that occur with The Living Corpse over a century of Russian history, on the other hand, seeks to deepen study dedicated to a specific facet of the art of Leo Tolstoy.

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In the years since 2010, themes of mental illness on the musical theater stage have increased dramatically, most notably with the Broadway premiere of Dear Evan Hansen in 2016, which quickly became a popular and critical success, winning six Tony Awards the following season. Despite scope and reach of the modern American musical, relatively little musicological scholarship has explored this area, and of that literature, even less has examined contemporary musicals. In this thesis, I will begin to fill this gap in the literature through the application of emerging critical musicological lenses to modern musical theater, both on and off Broadway. This thesis puts forth a set of representational models to explore how mentally ill characters are represented in contemporary American musical theater. Through six case studies of twenty-first century shows employing these models, this thesis examines how these models intersect with narrative critiques and theories put forth by disability studies scholarship to analyze the representations of mentally ill characters onstage. I examine the shows Next to Normal, Be More Chill, In the Green, Preludes, Dear Evan Hansen, and Bandstand to analyze how the internal experience of mental illness is externalized and shown onstage in each of these shows, evaluate which underlying narratives and ideas about mental illness that these representational models contain, and investigate how ideas from disability studies scholarship can illuminate some of the strengths, weaknesses, and failures of these shows in their portrayal of mental illness. Although this thesis relies extensively on ideas, language, and scholarship from disability studies, it is not a disability studies thesis; rather it will demonstrate how scholarly lenses provided by disability studies can be fruitfully applied to musical and theatrical representations of mental illness. In addition to touching on themes of genre, characterization and narrative theory, therapy and treatment for mental illness, and modern marketability of musical theater, this thesis demonstrates that the theories from disability studies scholarship can be fruitfully applied to other depictions of non-normativity, such as mental illness.

This history of theatre at Ricks College provides the only comprehensive written work available on the subject. Whenever available, the thesis provides the reader with concise information concerning plays performed, their authors, the directors, performance dates, and performance locations. Changes and growth in course curriculum offerings, physical facilities, and faculty have been recorded as well. The work reveals that Ricks College theatre has been a vital contribution to theatre in the Upper Snake River valley of Southeastern Idaho.This comprehensive history will serve as a resource for future departmental planning in the Department of Theatre at Ricks College, and for future study, by the Church Educational System of The Church of Christ of Latter-day Saints, of the relationship between schools within that system.

“The Memory and The Legacy: The Whittlin' Whistlin' Brigade–The Young Company 1974-2001,” is a history of the children's theatre of Brigham Young University. The Whittlin' Whistlin' Brigade–The Young Company acts as a training ground for graduate students working in theatre for young audiences. When directing a production for the Whittlin' Whistlin' Brigade–The Young Company, students are instructed to perform all functions required of a professional company. As the Whittlin' Whistlin' Brigade–The Young Company (WWB–TYC) spends much of its performance time on tour, those responsibilities are relegated to the student.Developed and headed by Dr. Harold R. Oaks of Brigham Young University, WWB–TYC produced children's theatre for local, regional, national and international audiences. The history includes production photos, budgets and business plans. A survey of former company members was conducted assessing the long-term affect on participants in relationship to their personal and professional life.

Because of the great importance of the human element in the drama of today we shall attempt to trace it from its first great exponent down to our times. Therefore, within the following pages we shall conduct an analysis of the humanism of Euripides as expressed in his plays and reflected in selected plays of modern drama. Our analysis, by necessity, shall have a six-fold purpose; (1) to analyze briefly the characteristics of the Attic theatre for which Euripides wrote; (2) to study the life and philosophy of Euripides in order to determine the presence of humanism; (3) to conduct an analytical study of plays by Euripides in order to detect the presence of humanism; (4) to establish a connecting-link between Euripides and the modern era; (5) to analyze selected plays of the modern era for the presence of humanism; and (6) to present a comparative analysis between the humanism found in Euripides and the humanism found in the selected plays of modern drama. We shall endeavor to present the findings in a manner of particular interest to students of the theatre. At all times we shall try to present the material from a production stand-point so that it may be utilized by student-actors and directors in their background preparation for a dramatic presentation. All student actors and directors should begin their study of a part or a play in the light of background material. In a play the shallowness of an actor or director's background is often revealed by the shallowness of interpretations.

In undertaking a study of the theme of jealousy, one must make some limitation of material. The field of literature as a whole, or the more limited ones of drama or even tragedy - each of these is too large for so short a study as this must be. Only certain aspects of such a restricted subject as the tragedies of Shakespeare can be given any thorough treatment, while others, both interesting and profitable, must be put aside; for instance, space will prohibit a careful comparison of Shakespeare's use of jealousy with that of other dramatists; nor can a study of Shakespeare's variations from the sources of his plays be attempted, although even a hurried reading shows that he devised comprehensive and significant alterations.