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- Title
- TURNING TRICKS AND THE MODERN FEMALE PROTAGONIST: AN ANALYSIS OF THE PORTRAYAL OF THE ROLE OF THE DEMIMONDE FROM VIENNESE OPERETTA TO MODERN AMERICAN MUSICAL THEATRE.
- Creator
-
Nay, Melissa, Weaver, Earl, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
The demimondaine, an exclusive courtesan in nineteenth-century Europe, and the modern mezzo-soprano protagonist are prevalent characters in American musical theatre and can be observed in various styles throughout European music and drama. In Arthur Schnitzler's The Little Comedy, the female protagonist is both a romantic heroine and mistress; and in Jules Renard's Le Pain de Ménage, the lead player is anything but the classic ingénue. In preparation for performance and...
Show moreThe demimondaine, an exclusive courtesan in nineteenth-century Europe, and the modern mezzo-soprano protagonist are prevalent characters in American musical theatre and can be observed in various styles throughout European music and drama. In Arthur Schnitzler's The Little Comedy, the female protagonist is both a romantic heroine and mistress; and in Jules Renard's Le Pain de Ménage, the lead player is anything but the classic ingénue. In preparation for performance and to further the research in the contemporary music comedy realm, I prepared for the roles of Josefine and Monica in the University of Central Florida's production of Barry Harman and Keith Herrmann's Romance, Romance through in-depth analysis on the performance development process of two distinct female protagonist characters. I first researched the historical world of the demimonde: identifying key characteristics of these famed courtesans and their fashionable emergence as "tart with a heart" characters in nineteenth-century dramatic works. Second, I traced the evolution of the "fallen woman" archetypal character and the mezzo-soprano from European grand opera and realism to contemporary musical theatre. This research better defined my character type and therefore assisted in performance preparation. Third, Act I's The Little Comedy is a period piece set in nineteenth-century Vienna, and Harman's and Herrmann's adaptation reflect the musical and social aspects of the time. Through historical research on operetta style and the creators' perspectives, I more fully developed my understanding and performance interpretation in Romance, Romance. Finally, I evaluated my characterization process with a discussion of the practical implementation of research on the musical performance process. This thesis document adds to the wealth of pre-existing musical theatre character analysis and discusses key components associated with the development of the modern female protagonist. Identifying the evolution of the "tart with a heart" stock character from its European origins to its current Broadway prominence, this manuscript advances the academic field with the illumination of the demimonde in American musical theatre. Last, for the purpose of developing believable and realistic characters for musical performance, this document analyzes and evaluates the research methods used to inform the rehearsal process when developing two female protagonist characters in contemporary musical theatre.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2008
- Identifier
- CFE0002470, ucf:47710
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002470
- Title
- The Revenge of the Second Banana: A Female Sidekick's Survival Guide.
- Creator
-
Mason, Melissa, Weaver, Earl, Ingram, Katelyn, Lee, David, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
I returned to school to receive an MFA in Musical Theater for many reasons, but paramount was the need to further explore and develop my range as an actress. Throughout my career, I have played a variety of roles, but none as challenging or possibly as rewarding as the man-hungry secretary "(")Charlie"(") in James Valcq''s Zombies from the Beyond, produced by the Jester Theatre in Winter Garden, FL. Performing this role allowed me to achieve one of my objectives when entering the grad program...
Show moreI returned to school to receive an MFA in Musical Theater for many reasons, but paramount was the need to further explore and develop my range as an actress. Throughout my career, I have played a variety of roles, but none as challenging or possibly as rewarding as the man-hungry secretary "(")Charlie"(") in James Valcq''s Zombies from the Beyond, produced by the Jester Theatre in Winter Garden, FL. Performing this role allowed me to achieve one of my objectives when entering the grad program at UCF: to transition from a classical ing(&)#233;nue or soubrette into a leading lady or character actress; making Zombies from the Beyond the perfect capstone to my graduate experience.During the 1950s, American cinema was filled with sci-fi movies such as Forbidden Planet, The Thing from Another World, and Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Each movie depicted an otherworldly creature as the villain (a metaphor for the relationship between the United States and the USSR) who had only one purpose: total domination. Zombies from the Beyond aptly reveals the absurdity of the hysteria and paranoia surrounding the "(")cold war"(") and the "(")space race"(") that dominated America in the 1950s. The play makes comic use of the "(")double-red agent"(") and presents the belief that the space race and cold war inevitably were tied together, while examining Russia''s dirty tactics in the struggle for power.In addition to the historical ramifications of Zombies from the Beyond, post WWII America saw an explosive growth in female empowerment. Through each female character''s thoughts and actions on stage, Valcq''s musical tackles the struggle many women faced between the new feminist ideals and old-fashioned morals. My character, Charlene "(")Charlie"(") Osmanski, is the iconic man-hungry, working girl with a big heart (aka "(")The Sidekick"(")). She is a woman very much caught between the traditional values of the 1950s and the progressive, more feminist attitudes starting to take hold in the country.After accepting the role in Zombies from the Beyond, I realized my responsibility was to breathe new life into the role of the comedic sidekick while remaining true to the original vision and traditions that had been set forth by such brave comic pioneers as Rose-Marie, Thelma Ritter, and Vivian Vance. Faced with this daunting task and the enormity of creating a role with such a prominent historical and societal lineage, I asked myself, "(")What does an actor need to know in order to become the perfect sidekick?"(")To answer this compelling question and to ensure I did not fail in my task, I researched actresses who play a similar archetype; studied the evolution of the female comedienne; examined the audience''s relationship to the sidekick; and discussed the character''s future as an integral force in contemporary theatre, all in a convenient survival guide.Ultimately, the evolution of the mainstream audience and their shifting requirements for entertainment impact the sidekick''s portrayal on stage; however, since post-modernistic audiences no longer need one definitive stereotype or archetypal character, the ideas I set forth are not finite or absolute in nature. Instead, they create a basic foundation that serves as a guide for the actor when creating a similar character while ensuring the sidekick''s place as a relevant and sustainable character for generations to come.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- Identifier
- CFE0004135, ucf:49110
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004135
- Title
- Women in White: my journey into color.
- Creator
-
Tarbox, Madison, Ingram, Kate, Boyd, Belinda, Brown, James, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
In many religious circles white is a symbol for purity, cleanliness, and perfection. However, white is also synonymous with empty, blank, and colorless. Women in White: My journey into color is a project centralized around a personal study of the cultural pressures of (")perfection(") presented both in religious cultures and in the every-day life of a performer. Utilizing the catalyst of a cabaret-style performance, Women in White explores the struggles of nine different female characters in...
Show moreIn many religious circles white is a symbol for purity, cleanliness, and perfection. However, white is also synonymous with empty, blank, and colorless. Women in White: My journey into color is a project centralized around a personal study of the cultural pressures of (")perfection(") presented both in religious cultures and in the every-day life of a performer. Utilizing the catalyst of a cabaret-style performance, Women in White explores the struggles of nine different female characters in the musical theatre cannon and aims to draw a personal connection from their journey. Inspired by the wise words of my own mother, this thesis celebrates the color present in our lives.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2017
- Identifier
- CFE0006959, ucf:51656
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006959
- Title
- BLACK CATS, BERLIN, BROADWAY AND BEYOND: THE GENRE OF CABARET.
- Creator
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Tedrick, Deborah, Wuehrmann, Nicholas, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Music and Theatre have always captivated me. As a child, my parents would take me to live performances and cinematic shows and I would sit rapt, watching the theatrical events and emotional moments unfold before my eyes. Movie musicals and live shows that combined music and theatre were my favorite, especially theatrical banter and improvisation or sketch comedy. Some of my favorite youthful memories were my annual family summer trips to Las Vegas to visit my grandparents for six weeks. As a...
Show moreMusic and Theatre have always captivated me. As a child, my parents would take me to live performances and cinematic shows and I would sit rapt, watching the theatrical events and emotional moments unfold before my eyes. Movie musicals and live shows that combined music and theatre were my favorite, especially theatrical banter and improvisation or sketch comedy. Some of my favorite youthful memories were my annual family summer trips to Las Vegas to visit my grandparents for six weeks. As a youngster, I got to experience the "old school" Las Vegas, replete with extravaganza, spectacle, cabaret, circus, lounge and nightclub acts, stand-up comedy, intimate revues, and all things marketed under the guise of entertainment, art, or both. Those summers, while not overtly planned as academic or educational in nature, proved, in retrospect, to be the training ground for what was to become my passion: the art of the cabaret genre. As a person who has always loved theatrical diversity, I am drawn to cabaret as an art form. Anything that fuses other forms interests me, and cabaret amalgamates many of the artistic forms I have grown to love. I come from a unique background of classical, jazz, musical theatre and pop styles, and have studied these styles in both the piano and vocal arena. The cabaret genre allows me to realize fully the stylistic variety of performance techniques with which I excel. My mother is a classical singer and my father a jazz pianist; during my youth they would perform at the piano, "meeting in the middle" so to speak in the world of Musical Theatre, through the fusion of cabaret, classical, jazz, and pop. Growing up hearing a song like "Summertime," from Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, equally artistically rendered as both a classical aria and a jazz tune in my home was rich fodder for the vital informal education I received by being the offspring of musicians. It is due to this musical legacy that was passed on to me through my parents that I learned to explore the myriad of possibilities one can achieve through artistic musical and theatrical interpretation. Beyond the freedom of stylistic variety, cabaret performance also allows conventions such as direct interaction in the form of the proverbial "lowered fourth wall," allowing me to use my improvisational acting and interactive skill set as well as my musical skills. Cabaret is generally more intimate and personal in nature and I enjoy the camaraderie cabaret affords. Cabaret is interactive and intellectual and I am drawn to those aspects; I like the fusion of interactive banter and intellectual artistry. Also appealing to me is the "insider" sense cabaret not only allows but also encourages. Recalling my youthful memories of the Vegas shows in which the performer spoke directly to audience members, I remember the sense of belonging I felt at the recognition of some of the inside jokes. I knew I wanted to be involved with any aspect of music and theatre that would allow me the freedom to go with the moment, to reach people differently on any given day, to change with the times, and adapt to my audience and to the shifting world around me. I knew I had found a home in this intimate, insular, interactive, and intellectual art form known as cabaret. For these reasons and more I have chosen the genre of cabaret to be my intended thesis research project. I will produce, direct, and perform in a cabaret show, which will be the thesis performance. For the performance aspect of my thesis, in collaboration with my thesis partner, Josephine Leffner, I will perform a one-act chronological, historical, and stylistically varied cabaret show. The show will include material garnered from historical research of the cabaret genre, specifically settling on some of the famous women, songs, stories, lives, and important contributions. The cabaret will cover information, music, and spoken-word art from cabaret's inception in the Paris Montmartre district in 1881 to its height in Germany during the Weimar Republic. The show will culminate with cabaret's insurgence into American culture up to and including the state of American cabaret today. While my performance will focus mainly on American cabaret, a portion of the show will explore cabaret's European roots. Creating and performing this show will educate me further on the genre itself, as well as expand my performing skills through the varied styles in which I will perform within the realm of a single evening's entertainment. Creating and performing the show will also challenge me as a producer, director, promotional and administrative coordinator, music director, arranger, vocal director, collaborator, vocalist, pianist, actor, and writer. The show is intended as a kind of "Cabaret 101," in that the intended audience is treated to a night of variety entertainment with some historical background on the genre of cabaret. The audience is not expected to have any prior academic or experiential knowledge of cabaret in order to understand or enjoy the show. The cabaret intellectual will also be able to enjoy the show, as the songs, poems, skits, and sketches are intended to amuse and delight both the novice and the experienced cabaretist. For the research and analysis portion of my thesis monograph document I will provide information on cabaret's roots in France and Germany, as well as include informative research on American cabaret, its history and its current trends. I will have several chapters dedicated to the historical research and to other items such as the formatted libretto, documentation of a performance report from my thesis committee head, and a list of references used throughout the research and libretto chapters. I will include a structural and role analysis of the show itself and my contributions to it as outlined by the parameters of my graduate studies program. Several chapters of appendices will be included as information pertinent to the show such as costume, props, lighting lists as well as band and technical needs for the show itself. An introduction and conclusion will be created to bookend my document solidly and reveal myself as a person as well as a performer. This section will include reflective information on my intentions, triumphs, and tribulations, and will be codified through the opening and concluding perspectives. Through the process of writing the thesis monograph document I will create a public and personal record of the process, research, performance challenges, and decisions made throughout this journey. This document will be used as historical help to me should I need to refer to my thesis for later personal or professional use. The document will also be on record for the UCF theatre department, as I apply not only my performance training (as exhibited through the show itself) but also the research and critical thinking skills required of a masters degree candidate at a conservatory training program such as this one. Beyond its use for myself or for the department, I write this monograph document for others whose love and interest in studying the genre of cabaret match my own.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2006
- Identifier
- CFE0001421, ucf:47043
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001421
- Title
- BLACK CATS, BERLIN, BROADWAY AND BEYOND: CABARET HISTORY IN THE MAKING.
- Creator
-
Leffner, Josephine, Wuehrmann, Nicholas, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Cabaret as a genre has influenced and is influenced by musical theatre. As cabaret has evolved throughout history, musical theatre has often paralleled its journey. Cabaret thrived before the term "musical theatre" was coined and suffered hard times during the Golden Age of Musical Theatre. The correlation of the two genres cannot be denied, and exploring cabaret history will reveal how deeply the connection lies. My collaborator Debbie Tedrick and I will attempt to define cabaret through a...
Show moreCabaret as a genre has influenced and is influenced by musical theatre. As cabaret has evolved throughout history, musical theatre has often paralleled its journey. Cabaret thrived before the term "musical theatre" was coined and suffered hard times during the Golden Age of Musical Theatre. The correlation of the two genres cannot be denied, and exploring cabaret history will reveal how deeply the connection lies. My collaborator Debbie Tedrick and I will attempt to define cabaret through a two-woman cabaret show we will write, produce, and perform together. The show, Black Cats, Berlin, Broadway and Beyond, will be a one-act historical look at the genre of cabaret. It will include material garnered from historical research of the cabaret genre, specifically focusing on some of the famous women, songs, stories, lives, and important contributions. The cabaret show will cover information and art from cabaret's inception in the Paris Montmartre district in 1881 to its height in Germany during the Weimar Republic and will culminate with cabaret's insurgence into American culture up to, and including, the state of American cabaret today. American cabaret will be emphasized, but a portion of the show will explore American cabaret's European roots. My thesis will explore the triumphs and tribulations of putting together the show. As the culmination of my UCF studies, this project will test my abilities as a librettist, performer, creative artist, director, and collaborator. This thesis will include the actual show performances as well as a written monograph document recording the project's journey from its inception to conclusion.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2006
- Identifier
- CFE0001422, ucf:47062
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001422
- Title
- REVITALIZING "THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW" THROUGH GOSPEL MUSIC.
- Creator
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Taisey, Kip, Chicurel, Steven, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
In Spring 2007, the University of Central Florida (UCF) Department of Theatre mounted a production of "The Rocky Horror Show." This thesis focuses on the author's process of using the gospel music style to revitalize "The Rocky Horror Show," a cult musical. The author uses defining characteristics of the cult film genre to establish a set of guidelines. "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" is the movie version of the stage musical and is responsible for the show's inevitable cult status....
Show moreIn Spring 2007, the University of Central Florida (UCF) Department of Theatre mounted a production of "The Rocky Horror Show." This thesis focuses on the author's process of using the gospel music style to revitalize "The Rocky Horror Show," a cult musical. The author uses defining characteristics of the cult film genre to establish a set of guidelines. "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" is the movie version of the stage musical and is responsible for the show's inevitable cult status. He discusses the history and journey of "The Rocky Horror Show" and how audience participation was integral in establishing this landmark musical. The reader observes the process used in rearranging "The Rocky Horror Show" score from start to finish and recordings used as influence throughout. Although this is a discussion of a musical process, this portion of the document is written in terms for all to understand, and a glossary of terms is provided for those that are unsure of certain vocabulary. With a show that is well established, one must be careful when making stylistic changes. The author took this into consideration when arranging the score and rationalizes through a discussion of gospel music history, key gospel elements apparent throughout the score, and how the essence of Richard O'Brien's music remains intact.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2007
- Identifier
- CFE0001732, ucf:47303
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001732
- Title
- ...AND THEN, CLAIRE: AN INDIE-ROCK MONOLOGUE; INTEGRATING THE INDEPENDENT MUSIC SCENE INTO AMERICAN MUSICAL THEATRE.
- Creator
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Bahr, Mickey, Chicurel, Steven, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
For more than fifty years, the Independent (indie) Music Scene has existed as an evolving business model, allowing indie artists to develop a wealth of progressive musical ideas while creating a sustainable audience base. American Musical Theatre has an already-established rich history of adapting styles to fit concurrent trends in popular music while maintaining the story as the core of a show. While some indie artists (The Lisps, The Mountain Goats, Stephin Merritt, and Stew) and some...
Show moreFor more than fifty years, the Independent (indie) Music Scene has existed as an evolving business model, allowing indie artists to develop a wealth of progressive musical ideas while creating a sustainable audience base. American Musical Theatre has an already-established rich history of adapting styles to fit concurrent trends in popular music while maintaining the story as the core of a show. While some indie artists (The Lisps, The Mountain Goats, Stephin Merritt, and Stew) and some musical theatre composers (David Yazbek, Doug Crossley, and Michael Friedman) have created crossover works, there is currently an overall dearth of musical theatre pieces infused with the indie style and a lack of indie albums with an actable musical theatre storyline. The intent of this thesis is to prove that although American Musical Theatre and the Independent Music Scene are two vastly different art forms, they can be combined to create a viable and unique form that appeals to both audiences. The indie-rock monologue ...and then, Claire was composed, recorded, and performed to test the viability of this thesis. In addition to presenting research on the history of American Musical Theatre and the Independent Music Scene, an analysis of the already-successful artists mentioned above is presented to provide context for ...and then, Claire. This context along with the original indie-rock monologue proves successful combinations of American Musical Theatre and the Independent Music Scene as well as the potential for more attempts in the future.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- Identifier
- CFH0004202, ucf:44970
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004202
