ABSTRACT A detailed account of the working life and achievements of the English actress/manager, Lena Ashwell, between the years 1891 and 1929, set in the context of the theatrical and social environment of these four decades. The thesis presents a chronological record of Ashwell's stage career, her development as a theatrical manager and her contributions to progress in her profession as well as to the changing perception of the role of women in society. It also records Ashwell's contribution during the First World War, taking entertainment to the war zones to boost the morale of soldiers and to provide employment for actors and musicians. It continues with an account of the post-war pursuit of her aim of making theatre accessible to the whole community through dedicated commitment to the British Drama League and the idea of a National Theatre and the creation and management of the Lena Ashwell Players. The thesis proposes that Ashwell has been unjustly neglected in histories of this period and that her considerable achievements are worthy of recognition and inclusion in accounts not only of the acting profession and the achievements of women playwrights, but also of the Suffrage and women's movement, the First World War, the National Theatre of Great Britain and the municipal or regional theatres established throughout the country, state subsidy and public support for the arts, actor training and the study of drama and theatre within the education system. Five chapters give a narrative account of Ashwell's work from her first stage appearance in March 1891 to the closure of the Lena Ashwell Players in August 1929. Each chapter adds to the cumulative impact of Ashwell's achievements, while identifying areas where she has left a lasting legacy. The Postscript provides a brief account of the last twenty-seven years of her long life, when she was less able to play an active role in society, but never lost her indomitable spirit or ambition for a better world. The Appendices provide a chronological list of her stage appearances and details of the members of the Lena Ashwell Players and the company's repertoire during the 1920s.

ABSTRACT A detailed account of the working life and achievements of the English actress/manager, Lena Ashwell, between the years 1891 and 1929, set in the context of the theatrical and social environment of these four decades. The thesis presents a chronological record of Ashwell's stage career, her development as a theatrical manager and her contributions to progress in her profession as well as to the changing perception of the role of women in society. It also records Ashwell's contribution during the First World War, taking entertainment to the war zones to boost the morale of soldiers and to provide employment for actors and musicians. It continues with an account of the post-war pursuit of her aim of making theatre accessible to the whole community through dedicated commitment to the British Drama League and the idea of a National Theatre and the creation and management of the Lena Ashwell Players. The thesis proposes that Ashwell has been unjustly neglected in histories of this period and that her considerable achievements are worthy of recognition and inclusion in accounts not only of the acting profession and the achievements of women playwrights, but also of the Suffrage and women's movement, the First World War, the National Theatre of Great Britain and the municipal or regional theatres established throughout the country, state subsidy and public support for the arts, actor training and the study of drama and theatre within the education system. Five chapters give a narrative account of Ashwell's work from her first stage appearance in March 1891 to the closure of the Lena Ashwell Players in August 1929. Each chapter adds to the cumulative impact of Ashwell's achievements, while identifying areas where she has left a lasting legacy. The Postscript provides a brief account of the last twenty-seven years of her long life, when she was less able to play an active role in society, but never lost her indomitable spirit or ambition for a better world. The Appendices provide a chronological list of her stage appearances and details of the members of the Lena Ashwell Players and the company's repertoire during the 1920s.

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This thesis explores how theatre informs Badiou's philosophy through detailed analysis of Badiou's theory of theatre and his six plays L'Écharpe rouge, Incident at Antioch and the Ahmed tetralogy . It argues that theatre has provided an ideal and material ground for Badiou to rehearse concepts he developed in his Logics of the Worlds (2006) and Second Manifesto for Philosophy (2009), such as that of ideation and incorporation. By placing theatre at the core of Badiou's work, this thesis provides a different point of entry into Badiou's philosophy: it demonstrates the overarching nature of Badiou's materialist dialectic, which leads to exploring the relationship between politics and theatre. By ultimately defining Badiou's theatre as a theatre of inexist[a]nce and insisting upon the ontological nature of theatre, this thesis heralds new approaches to the relationship between theatre and philosophy.

(in English) The subject of the present thesis is a complex of realizations and projects of Czech architect Jindřich Freiwald (1890-1945) in the field of theatre architecture and its putting into context of Czech interwar theatre architecture. The initial part outlines theatre building as a specific architectonic problem and shows the important moments of its evolution. The subsequent chapter focuses on the situation of Czech theatre architecture between the World Wars and presents briefly the constituent realizations of individual theatre buildings with their promoters, interior organization and outer form. The next part of the thesis deals with the personality of Jindřich Freiwald, his works and production of the Freiwald & Böhm studio. Subsequently, the crucial part of this thesis presents executed theatre buildings by Jindřich Freiwald - Jirásek Theatre in Hronov, Karel Pippich Theatre in Chrudim, Municipal Theatre in Kolín, item project of the Jiřík Theatre in Poděbrady, placing of the Theatre Na kovárně in Poděbrady, project of reconstruction of the Dusík Theatre in Čáslav and project of theatre in Čelákovice . The study of theatre in Malé Svatoňovice and Freiwald's part in completion of the Public Theatre in Tehran are also mentioned. Key words: Jindřich Freiwald, Jaroslav Böhm, Hronov,...

As the number of non-native English speakers in US schools continues to rise, there is growing need to find a way to teach English while still engaging with students’ fluid identities around citizenship and national identity. This MFA thesis document explores the impact of an autobiographical playbuilding project with refugee and immigrant youth. The mixed-methods study uses a quantitative performance assessment scale and grounded theory analysis of playscript and performance to examine how students’ definition and understanding of citizenship is activated through the pedagogy and practice of theatre. Throughout, this document argues that arts-based research practices can support both qualitative and quantitative research goals. However the findings suggest that qualitative research offers a more complex understanding of potential program impacts. The document concludes with a discussion of the tensions between research and practice when applied theatre is facilitated in an educational context. / text

Augusto Boal developed Theatre of the Oppressed as a way of using the symbolic language of the dramatic arts in the examination of power relations in both the personal and social contexts. Boal understood that symbolic realities directly influence empirical reality and that drama, as an art form that employs the narrative and the event, serves as a powerful interface between symbols and actuality. In the dramatic process, the creation and the environment from which it emerges are inevitably transformed in the process of enactment. These transformations manifest in the context of power relations - in the context of the receptors ability to make decisions and to engage in actions, and the communicators ability to influence the receptors opinions and behaviour. This thesis will examine two different practices in which symbolic realities have been utilised in the context of human relations of power. Primarily, this thesis examines the theory and practice of Theatre of the Oppressed as it has developed.

The subject of this thesis is Slovak mime theatre. It begins with the connections to the period of its foundation and introduces topic about founder of Slovak mime theatre - Milan Sládek. The next part of the thesis focuses on Slovak amateur theatre artists and their work at the time when professional mime theatre didn't exist in Slovakia. These artists used to experiment with different kinds of theatre technics, including mime theatre. Last part is based on analysis work and performances of the modern authors - Miroslav Kasprzyk, Štefan Capko, Juraj Benčík, Tomáš Kasprzyk, Valéria Daňhová, Barbora Debnárová, Pavol Seriš and modern theatre companies - Puppet Thetare Žilina, Debris Company, Teatro Tatro and Theatre Silent Sparks. It describes how the character of Slovak mime theatre has changed within more than fifty years of existence.