Honors Theses
Date of Award
2011
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
Theater and Film
First Advisor
Rhona Justice-Malloy
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
In my research, I encountered a particular methodology of creating plays known as devised or collaborative theatre. In this form, the ensemble collaboratively contributes to all aspects of the production, including the processes of writing. production, direction and performance. Therefore, working with such a method would provide the most desirable test culture for me to examine the development of a play from initial inspiration to eventual materialization. In this way, I theorized that I would gain a better understanding of the creative roots of theatrical expression as well as of the mechanisms of devised theatre as a means to that expression. I divided my research into two components. The first portion consists of observational studies with the devised theatre group Teotro Luna in Chicago, Illinois. Embarking upon this research, I planned to fulfill several goals. I would investigate the process by which the group turned ideas into script and then brought that script to life onstage. Secondly, I would document this process through extensive personal interviews with the ensemble and my own personal journals. After completion of my work in Chicago, my intentions lie in the use of my findings in the creation of a similar work in Oxford, Mississippi. This leads to the concentration of my second portion of research. In the second division, I focus the production of a devised work which I led using students at the University of Mississippi. This work was based upon what I learned through Teatro Luna, as well as other from references in the world of devised on theatre. Another main facet of this portion involved the adjustment of Teatro Luna's process to an entirely different group of artists in a different environment. The resulting piece was titled "Young Blood” and ran as a University of Mississippi Theatre Department main-stage show in its production of "A Night of One Acts”. The research spanned a period of almost ten months, conducted both in Chicago and Oxford. Throughout my research of devised theatre, I learned much about the nature of theatre as an artistic outlet, the power of personal expression and the fundamentals of creating a play.
Recommended Citation
Donnell, Anna Elizabeth, "An Exploration of Process Observation and Practical Application in Devised Theatre" (2011). Honors Theses. 1984.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/1984
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