Graduate Work at Penn State University
- Essays
-
- Essay on Structralism,
the Actor, and Chekhov's Three Sisters (THEA 505):
This paper was my first attempt at bridging the gap between academic
play analysis and practical concerns in production. The basic premise
is that an actor can use structural analysis to aid their understanding
of how a play like Three Sisters is truly functioning as a
dramatic work, and then, with greater surety and ease, find their role's
function within that structure. An accurate understanding of the audience
POV is a guidepost for the actor as they then make the necessary conversions
of the dramatic action to their character's POV.
- Essay on Moliere's
Tartuffe, Wycherley's The Country Wife, and Shaw's
Arms and the Man (THEA 506): This paper is entitled,
A Way of Working: an individual and comparative examination of the
functional elements of Tartuffe, The Country Wife, and Arms and the
Man. This is a simple compare and contrast paper aimed toward determining
how the basic elements (comedy, characters, action, social critique,
etc.) function for each play. The paper also traces the connections
in comedy formulas from Commedia through Neoclassical Comedy of Manners
to Shavian realism.
- Essay on the
Greeks - Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides (THEA 507):
This essay is a response to two assigned questions. I used structural
analysis of the playwrights' work compared to historical and autobiographical
information for the purpose of distilling the POV of each playwright
and how they function within Greek society.
- Essay on
Hamlet in Production (THEA 507): The paper is entitled,
The Man Who Would Be King: a practical, subjective,
but textually supported analysis of the character of Hamlet in production.
The assignment was to write a Shakespeare paper. I used this assignment
as an opportunity to check back in with Hamlet and start distilling
some of my ideas for production.
Study Guide
- Shakepeare's
King Lear: This is a quick critical introduction
that I wrote for Soul-stice Repertory Ensemble's study guide on King
Lear awhile back.
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