Honors Projects

American Jihad: Understanding The Social Backlash Against Muslim Americans through the Context of Ethnotheatre

Sameehan Patel — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 13:44:20 PDT

I am a brown person. The color of my skin dictates much of how American society has and will interact with me. Whether it is to my advantage or my disadvantage, the cultural fabric of America will isolate who I am because of the color that I am. American culture has racial assumptions embedded within its grain, lending to the alienation and eventual discrimination of certain races. The idea of a marginalized race is no foreign concept in the Anglo American hegemony, but the ever morphing idea of the “other” is my point of inquiry. On September 11^th 2001, the country’s attitude towards race changed drastically. The “other” quickly became the Muslim American male and the rooted assumptions quickly transformed to false declarations.

The goal of my research is to investigate the current condition of the American social climate for Muslim Americans in relation to the adverse response after September 11^th 2001. I will read articles in the news and race theory to develop a better understanding of the current state of societal status and definition of the American Muslim. In order to reach this goal, I will contact members from the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago, the Ku Klux Klan and Islamic studies professors from various universities in Chicago to find stories and voices that would provide a better understanding of the current racial ethos. Once the individuals are selected, I will interview them and transcribe 5 to 7 meetings. My research will culminate in an Ethnodrama, consisting of significant selections from interviews and sections of news articles combined in a 60-minute one-act play.

I Just Knew: Love Stories from Westminster Village

Allison M. Sutton — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 13:34:38 PDT

My project focuses on the goal of learning to create an ethnodrama (a theatre piece created from qualitative research data) based on stories from a specific community, to be performed for that community. I plan to conduct a focus group and 6-8 interviews at Westminster Village, workshop a staged reading of a new hour-long play based on texts from the interviews and focus group with IWU theatre students, and perform this staged reading at Westminster Village for the participants in my study and invited guests. I hope to learn qualitative research methodologies, including entering the field and conducting focus groups and open-ended interviews; dramaturgical skills creating the theatre piece; and how to craft a theatre piece for a very specific audience.

Communication Theory and Interpreters Theatre: Toward a Model for the Form

Gail Dixon '73 — Tue, 24 May 2011 13:16:53 PDT

For too long and for too many people the field of speech
has been characterized by fragmentation of rather than unity
between its various areas of concentration. These areas,
Interpretation, Speech and Hearing Pathology, Rhetoric and
Public Address, Communication Theory, Radio and Television,
and Theatre have developed almost into singular disciplines
in their own rights. However, we cannot deny the vital
interaction which can and does take place within the field
of speech. The Speech Association of America has added the
word Communication to its official name to acknowledge the
growing importance of this interaction of all the disciplines.
Certainly anyone schooled in interpretation would be hard
pressed to discount the values of a well-trained voice or
the persuasiveness of hUman discourse. The debator is well
aware that his effectiveness is increased if he makes his
argument come alive through the dynamics of his diction.
In each of these areas there is a process of communication
between the speaker and audience.

A Study of Selected Vocabulary and Phonetic Speech Patterns of College Students in Illinois

James R. Osborn '73 — Tue, 24 May 2011 13:16:52 PDT

In this paper I distinguish dialect boundaries in Illinois simply within the frame of reference of my selected group and compare these results with previously published works (especially those of Northern Illinois). I would also like to find indications of the existence and location of a Nothern Midland-Southern Midland boundary in Illinois.

An Interpreter's Guide to Rainer Maria Rilke

Joseph A. Leese '68 — Tue, 24 May 2011 13:16:50 PDT

"Interpretation is the art of communicating to an audience a work of literary art in its intellectual, emotional, and aesthetic entirety." Charlotte Lee's definition of interpretation seems to be the logical starting poin in the formulation of an interpreter's guide. Miss Lee has stated that the oral interpreter of literature must communicate a work creatively in thesame spirit with which it was written. By this we understand that the interpreter is responsible for much more than the mere oral reading of words; he must discover and be able to elicit the intellectual and emotional meaning of the words and of the selection as a whole. The interpreter must employ certain tools of analysis to uncover, as much as possible, what the author has woven into a particular work. Oly then is he ready to communicate the work in its aesthetic entirety.

The Educational Radio Media

James L. Tungate '69 — Tue, 24 May 2011 13:16:49 PDT

The undeniable affect of radio on the nation's economy, social structure, attitudes and behavior, not to mention marketing, business and industry, and the entertainment field has been great. But the modern broadcaster has a rather unique problem-- a problem of communication. All of the national effects of radio have caused the broadcaster to constantly review and update his knowledge in legal and social areas of developaent, as well as technical advancement. Since change occurs so rapidly and so often in all three, the communication problem becomes even more acute. Broadcast texts of five years ago , for instance, only predicted the extensive use of video taping (VTR) in television, and hinted of using tape cartridges in radio; legal developments set forth by the FCC are equally dramatic, as well as recent sociological changes sparked
by people like Marshall McLuhan.

Creative Dramatics as a Teaching Technique for Language Arts in the Primary Grades

Debra M. Engel — Mon, 03 May 2010 07:45:14 PDT

Today, knowledge though important, is not enough. Individuals must develop the skills, the know how, and the desire to use knowledge to further both their personal well being and the advancement of society.

Voices from the Darkness: A House of Leaves Experience

Melanie Waltman, '09 — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 06:20:15 PDT

House of Leaves is both a love letter to the written word and a demonstration of its inadequacies, a cautionary tale, a horror story, a romance, a bildungsroman, an eloquent mockery of literary criticism, and much else besides. It incorporates postmodern poly-vocal framing techniques, which are sort of a literary version of Russian nesting dolls, if the dolls all talked to each other and one was a pathological liar and one was claustrophobic and one denied the existence of any other dolls (but even if there were other dolls, this one would tell you, they're all crazy anyway). Granted, it's not a perfect analogy, but it's about as close as anyone's going to get, because House of Leaves is a novel that defies easy description, categorization or genre stereotypes.

"How skinny I got, and how fucking weird I was": Michael Shannon, Sarah Kane, Woyzeck and Experiential Theatre

Marti Lyons '08 — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:20:44 PDT

The majority of academic focus on Sarah Kane has been on Kane the playwright; the purpose of this paper is to offer insight into Kane's artistry by examining Kane the director. In this paper I expand Aleks Sierz's concept of experiential theatre by using Sarah Kane's 1997 production of Woyzeck as a prototype. Essentially, experiential theatre is about blurring boundaries such as those between observer and participant, or between actor and character, or between the personal and the professional. In the rehearsal process and production of Woyzeck Kane blurred many boundaries; I will examine three in this paper: the actor/audience boundary, the actor/actor boundary and the actor/director boundary.

The Threadbare Thirties: Research for a Costume Design for Kaufman and Hart's You Can't Take it With You

Lauren Hansen '97 — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:06:48 PDT

Just as a playwright crafts his abstract ideas for a story into a play with his use of concrete language, a costume designer must craft abstract thoughts and images of color, style, and texture into concrete items of clothing. This product helps to give the audience insight into the characters from the moment they first appear on stage. In order to manufacture such a product, the designer must choose a process.

Antihero: Jung and the Art of Storytelling

Amanda G. Bratton '04 — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:06:47 PDT

It was Sigmund Freud who first promoted the idea of universal symbols by observing the recurring symbols found in dreams. It was his belief that the interpretation of these symbols was a link to the subconscious and that they were the result of the expression or repression of sexual energy that was common to all individuals. Based upon this theory Karl lung formulated his own theories about universal symbols stating the belief that they derived from a 'collective unconscious' that was inherent in the psyche of all individuals. Through the observation of dream symbolism and storytelling practices it became evident that there were ideas that remained constant regardless of history and culture. Jung especially noted the reappearance of different character types, which he called "archetypes." Having made these observations, Jung was able to focus on how collective ideas were communicated through culture and society.

See Jill Paint: An Experiment in Queer Film

Sarah M. Aubry '02 — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:06:47 PDT

My film, See Jill Paint, is an exploration of the possibilities for non-oppressive, nonviolent objectification. I started with a strong desire to focus a short movie around the application of colorful paint to nipples and the surrounding areas; as I progressed towards that goal, I questioned how the project might correspond or conflict with the radical gender politics that I value. In sexist objectification, people (mostly women) are perceived as being only visual objects at the expense of their subjectivity. I think it is possible to draw attention to bodies as objects and simultaneously affirm the complexity of the embodied subject. The intent of my film project was to explore some possibilities for positive objectification. I achieved this by disrupting the conventions of sexist objectification and replacing them with a playful context.

Arabian Nights (The Framing of Sherazade)

Alison Daigle '05 — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:06:45 PDT

This script is the result of a three-month devising process that took place between January and March of 2005, directed by Alison Daigle and advised by Sara Freeman. The original performances (with the actresses listed above) took place on April 2 and 3, 2005, at the Phoenix Theatre on the campus of Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois. Activate the player by clicking above.

There's No Business Like Show Business: The Business of Theatre

Danielle M. Drogos '03 — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:06:44 PDT

The purpose of this paper is to present different approaches to starting a theatre company in Chicago based on the experiences of two young companies, First Folio Shakespeare Festival and Rivendell Theatre Ensemble. This will also provide general knowledge for anyone who may consider starting a company and additional resources for that individual to use. Chicago was the optimal choice for this project as it is located near IIlinois Wesleyan University's campus, has an active and varied theatre industry, and is a place where alumni have started theatre companies.

To accomplish this project, the general environment of the Chicago theatre industry was studied through interview with local artists and studies provided by the Illinois Arts Alliance. Two specific theatre companies were studied, First Folio Shakespeare Festival, and Rivendell Theatre Ensemble. Both are under ten years old, and the founders agree to lengthy interviews and provided data about the company.

A survey was done of the students within the IWU School of Theatre Arts to determine what other information should be presented. Topics suggested included general basics about starting a theatre, how to find venues and how to obtain copyright permission to perform the production. Other topics included union rules and benefits, payroll, season subscription and grant writing. An additional survey of recent alumni of the IWU School of Theatre Arts provided topics that those individuals would have found useful to know prior to graduation.

Transformations of Menace: Naomi Wallace's Multiplicity of Threat and the Legacy of Harold Pinter

Charles Haugland '07 — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:06:39 PDT

The focus of critical scholarship on contemporary American playwright Naomi Wallace has overwhelmingly been a drive toward theorizing a vision of utopia in her work, frequently finding her plays to be optimistic in resolution. The diversity of critical approaches in prior articles, though complementary, is striking. Perhaps, as Shannon Baley argues, Wallace imagines moments of a feminist "utopia" in which the barriers of "genders, class and sexuality" can be broken down (239). Using examples of non-normative sexuality present in Wallace's drama, Baley focuses on the way that the drama enacts a cultural feminist viewpoint. Perhaps alternately, Wallace paradoxically joins "death wish and life force" to suggest that positive futures are the results of the "haunting ghosts of the past," as Beth Cleary posits using a psychoanalytic critique of the culturally instilled drive toward death (10). Perhaps instead, the author "incite[s] evolution" through the use of a "malleable" "Brechtian continuum of history," as Claudia Barnett claims (166). According to this argument, Wallace is staging revolution whereby she excavates the past to create a more positive present. Though these arguments are mutually exclusive on the basis of inherent theoretical assumptions about the self, gender and sex, all clearly position Wallace as a playwright oriented toward the future with hope. To critics, characters in Wallace's plays seem to be unfailingly imbued with the potential, capacity, and ability for change, for reinvention, for possibility, and it is not the purpose of this paper to either wholly refute these scholars or to resummarize their contributions. Rather, it is my aim to trace an alternate, less hopeful set of cultural influences that Wallace incorporates and responds to dialectically.

Cabaret: The Design and Production Process

Jennifer J. Owen '01 — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:06:38 PDT

The textbook definition of initial design work breaks down the process into seven basic steps: commitment, analysis, research, incubation, selection, implementation, and reflection. Though it is obvious that a realized design is not as simple as this breakdown, the definition provides a useful starting point for conversation about design. It is important to note that though this model makes the design process appear linear in nature, each of the steps in the process occurs throughout many different phases of the design. I will refer this definition of the design process throughout my discussion of Cabaret.

"Quartet:" Dissecting a Story

Elizabeth H. Williams '06 — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:06:37 PDT

From the beginning of my investigation of Quartet, the text has intimidated me; after all, the script is infused with a multitude of literary, historical, and philosophical references and quotes all of which Heiner Mueller, himself, prefers to dissociate himself from. "The theatre has nothing to do with ideas," Mueller once stated. Paradoxically his theatre is one that is full of ideas and whether Mueller chose, in his own lifetime, to recognize the ideas of his theatre or not, it is precisely his provocative ideas and images that has been the basis for this paper. In his dramatic text, Quartet, Heiner Mueller negotiates an array of theatrical theories and aesthetics, philosophies, segments of history, literary personas, in addition to a powerful selection of images, thus generating a stimulating multi-faceted dramatic collage.