Styling the Sound: Vocal Coaching The Big Knife explores the journey from research, to rehearsal and finally concludes with a post-production evaluation of the Theatre VCU production of Clifford Odets’s The Big Knife, directed by Tawnya Pettiford-Wates. In Chapter 1 I discuss the process I went through in preparing myself, the director and actors for the demands of the production. This section of the thesis focuses on the research aspect of the work I did. Chapter 2 focuses on the auditions for the show, first read-through and rehearsal process. Also, the one-on-one time spent with actors is also analyzed in this chapter. Finally, I discuss the evolution of the show during public performance and how I felt as the show drew to a close.

The SayLove Project is an account of the process of developing and producing an original collaborative work, as well as a script that has been compiled and developed over the past. This is a LGBT based project and script.

This thesis is a look at the evolutionary journey of applying dramatic pedagogy in a foreign land. It does not by any means specifically pertain to theatrical elements, but everything herein is a direct reflection on the training I received as a theatre practitioner. The last four years have also molded and defined what it means to be an American theatre student living, experiencing, and working in a land that is in many senses in infancy as a nation.

The purpose of this thesis is to document my process for a costume design of The Skriker by Caryl Churchill. Included is the design account confronted in telling the story, analyzing the script, developing concepts and looks, and final rendering of the characters. The paper finishes with a reflection on how the design served the script and my conclusions on its success.

Abstract A Gaze into the Personal Aesthetics and Accomplishments of Three Sons of the Silver Age of Russia By Karl Green A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University, 2009 Director: Dr. Noreen C. Barnes Professor, Director of Graduate Studies School of the Arts For each of us, I wonder how much our geographic location and time of existence affects us as humans: the way we think, respond, grow, and live our daily lives. More importantly, I question how our environment dictates who we are as people, the way that we choose to represent ourselves. How many of us are making conscious decisions about the way that we style our hair, dress our bodies, inflect our voices, and structure our walk - our personal aesthetic. What is the value in having a strong personal aesthetic, and does it have interest to the society in which we inhabit beyond our own personal vessels? Are we successful because of who we are, or because of what we do, or can we separate these two things? Do we choose to be gay or straight, or is it a choice, and how does society judge our gender during any particular time in history or location? Can a person flourish because of or in spite of his or her degree of masculinity or femininity? Do we choose to represent ourselves by announcing our sexual identity, or do we choose to blend into society? How much does the way we look and think about xiii who we are affect what we are able to achieve in our lifetime? If time travel exists, would an artist of notable talent have the same voice or dominance in a different culture, decade, or millennium? Could it be that in 2009, Russian artists like Nicolas Evreinov, Sergei Diaghilev, and Mikhail Kuzmin, not be successful in their professions and remain anonymous? Personally, would I have survived the Silver Age of Russia? Within a play, the characters or actors tell the story, but are the only characters people? The place and the time are also characters because they have life, emotion, style, and aesthetic: all of the traits that we as humans have. The Silver Age of Russia is such a character. This time in history is rich, diverse, and extremely controversial. Even the actual dates have even been disputed, yet lie within a small variance among scholars writing about this era. During this time, there existed huge variance in wealth and poverty, joy and grief, creativity and complacency. There was a great deal of unrest and uncertainty. Many committed suicide, whereas others flourished because they felt free to explore what was possible, to be whoever they wanted to be on any given day, to present personas that may or may not have been true depictions of who they were, to change or present to society a personal aesthetic in order to mask the atrocities of the day. Having nothing to lose can bring about total freedom of exploration. Today in 2009, we are also living in similar conditions throughout the world, but the one issue that separates Russia during the Silver Age and today is that this was a time where artists were revered and were important to society because the arts represented salvation, light, and diversion from what was happening. Although the Silver Age of Russia housed a multitude of gifted artists in all fields, I will focus on three of these „characters,? each of whom were known for their personal aesthetics and even after their passing, continue to contribute to the „World of Arts.? The arts during this time xiv owed much of its success to Sergei Diaghilev who created and supported a group of artists who would influence not only the performing and visual arts, but the literary arts. Diaghilev was not perceived as an „artist,? but an impresario. Nicolas Evreinov had a style that was all his own, and his talents were as diverse as humanly possible. Mikhail Kuzmin is known to be the first openly gay Russian writer of significance. Kuzmin was an extremely prolific writer and the effects that his personal journals had on his circle of friends and lovers were life - altering. „Gay? was not a term used in Russia in 1905, but by today?s language, Diaghilev and Kuzmin were of this persuasion, yet one can only speculate Evreinov?s true sexual desires and practices. Kuzmin gives credit to Diaghilev for his notoriety and had short working relationships with Evreinov; therefore, these three men were connected and would go in and out of each other?s lives throughout their careers. All three of these men were multi-talented, individualistic, and brilliant: always creating, always working, and always supporting art. Each of them, made important contributions, although Kuzmin and Evreinov remain obscure outside of scholarly circles. Each of these men had many traits in common such as their tireless passion for the arts and their personal representations on aesthetics. 1 Introduction

This thesis is a picture of my journey as an educator. I taught at the University level from Fall 2001 – Summer 2006 before I became a graduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University in Theatre Pedagogy where I continued to teach until 2008. My education and real life experiences over the last seven plus years have contributed to my teaching methodology which is ever evolving. There were several trials and tribulations as I progressed as an educator and this is an exploration of my experience teaching in the BA and BFA curriculums.

In my thesis, I plan to explore the realms of academic, professional and community theatre through the eyes of a director and choreographer. Highlighted themes will consist of the varying approaches to the script, music and choreography. This thesis will also include specific teaching and or non-existent teaching methods for professional, academic and community theatre. Included will be three definitive case studies which will consist of one musical production per academic, community and professional theatrical setting. I will focus on the director/choreographer’s overall approach to the research, rehearsal and final performance processes for the Pioneer Theatre Company’s production of My Fair Lady, Virginia Commonwealth University’s production of Chicago and St. Michael’s Catholic Church production of Starting Here, Starting Now.

A director, just like a pastry chef, must be delicate. Actors are fragile, fearful human beings. And just like a pie crust requires the perfect balance of water and flour, an actor requires a similar balance in both comfort and companionship. Eryn Snyder worked for three months to create a space where her actors could live freely in the world of the characters. With a cast of four, rehearsals were intimate, demanding, and playful. Theatre requires a director to lay down the sort of soil that encourages growth. It nurtures, it listens, it plays, and it asks questions. A director’s job is to fall in love with a story and cultivate the safest space for discovery. When achieved, the words don’t matter. There is a life unlike any other between a group of courageous human beings. Strung together with letters and love, here is a story of some extraordinary planting.

The goal of my thesis is to provide the reader with a better understanding of how to create an environmentally sustainable costume shop. I chose to focus on certain elements of the costume shop that are imperative to the function of the shop, but desperately need to change for the sake of the environment. The elements I focused on were fabric, energy, and chemicals. Armed with a better understanding of why and what needs to be changed, the reader will be able to take this knowledge and apply it to their costume shop and life. We need to change how we interact with the environment and I hope this information will help bring about this action.

Referred to by Constantin Stanislavski as “My most brilliant pupil,” Michael Chekhov’s approach to acting is founded in an understanding of the artist as a whole being whose thoughts, feelings, desires, voice, and physical body are intimately interwoven. The Michael Chekhov technique trains these aspects jointly while encouraging the actor to fully explore and utilize his or her unlimited, rich, and fertile imagination. I have seen the powerful benefits of this technique as an actor (which I have been utilizing for 13 years) and as a teacher and director (for almost 10 years). In my thesis, I will firstly describe the technique, its principles, tools, and philosophies. I will then delve into the application of the technique in the classroom (utilizing information gathered during my Introduction to the Techniques of Michael Chekhov course taught at Virginia Commonwealth University, Spring 2009, Fall 2009, and Spring 2010), and on the stage (utilizing information gathered during the two VCU Shafer Alliance Laboratory Theatre productions I directed of And Sometimes We Just Listen to Each Other Breathe in Spring 2009, and La Bête in Fall of 2009).