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- Title
- Vivacity:Discovering Zora Through Her Words.
- Creator
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Alexander, Kerri, Weaver, Earl, Boyd, Belinda, StClaire, Sybil, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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In its simplest form, storytelling is the passing of information from one person to the next. When storytelling illuminates time, place and purpose, it is then able to entertain, comfort and transport any listener. As the keeper of the imagination, the storyteller has inspired me as a performer. After reading Zora Neale Hurston's Every Tongue Got to Confess, I found my single-defining connection to the art of storytelling.Halimuhfack ultimately became my thesis performance piece inspired by...
Show moreIn its simplest form, storytelling is the passing of information from one person to the next. When storytelling illuminates time, place and purpose, it is then able to entertain, comfort and transport any listener. As the keeper of the imagination, the storyteller has inspired me as a performer. After reading Zora Neale Hurston's Every Tongue Got to Confess, I found my single-defining connection to the art of storytelling.Halimuhfack ultimately became my thesis performance piece inspired by the folk tales from Every Tongue Got To Confess. The new theatre piece shares Hurston's folk tale the way it may have once been told; in its natural dialect, with the same active physical involvement as if sharing stories with friends. Together, the research of the folk tale, Hurston's anthropological studies, folk songs and narrative from her autobiography aided in the development of the performance piece. In developing this work, I discovered that Hurston's tales were extremely action-oriented and were ideally suited to use in my making of Halimuhfack.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- Identifier
- CFE0004213, ucf:49003
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004213
- Title
- SWEAT: THE EXODUS FROM PHYSICAL AND MENTAL ENSLAVEMENT TO EMOTIONAL AND SPIRITUAL LIBERATION.
- Creator
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Roberson, Aqueelah, Chase, Diane, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The purpose of this thesis is to showcase the importance of God-inspired Theatre and to manifest the transformative effects of living in accordance to the Word of God. In order to share my vision for theatre such as this, I will examine the biblical elements in Zora Neale Hurston's short story Sweat (1926). I will write a stage adaptation of the story, while placing emphasis on the biblical lessons that can be used for God-inspired Theatre. When viewing the stage adaptation based on Sweat...
Show moreThe purpose of this thesis is to showcase the importance of God-inspired Theatre and to manifest the transformative effects of living in accordance to the Word of God. In order to share my vision for theatre such as this, I will examine the biblical elements in Zora Neale Hurston's short story Sweat (1926). I will write a stage adaptation of the story, while placing emphasis on the biblical lessons that can be used for God-inspired Theatre. When viewing the stage adaptation based on Sweat, the audience members will understand how God-inspired Theatre aims to help members of society utilize their gifts and abilities to assist others in achieving spiritual stability. The members of the audience will also be informed of my vision to use this piece to inspire others to embrace cultural awareness and sensitivity. This is my vision--helping others to walk in their God-ordained destiny. With this in mind, I am using Sweat as a proposed play because it is closely related to the creation account as recorded in the Old Testament Book of Genesis. In this play, Adam and Eve are replaced with the characters Sykes and Delia Jones. The creation account is a very influential testimony because it is known throughout humanity. Its popularity is due to the fact that the Old Testament is the commencement of the Christian Bible. For those of the Jewish faith, the collection encompasses the Torah, the first five books of the bible--the law for everyday living-- as well as the history of God's promise to them. For Christians, the Old Testament is just as sacred, but they view its religious meaning as incomplete without the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ detailed in the New Testament. Also, Muslims trace their religious roots to some of the figures in the Old Testament although they deny the religious significance of the work as a whole. In essence, the Old Testament is crucial to Western Civilization. This is why Sweat is so powerful. It takes an extremely familiar testimony and shares pertinent messages that help people to become productive members of society. In order to show how effective Sweat is in helping others to live spirit-filled lives, I will use creative staging that will place the characters in the personal space of the audience members. I will achieve this by: having the actors enter and exit from the audience; allowing certain scenes to take place within the audience; and having the actors deliver some lines to various audience members. I feel that by making the audience a part of the production, it will cause them to see that they are not any different from the characters in the play. At some point in their lives, theatergoers have encountered--or been intimate with--an Adam, an Eve, a Sykes or a Delia. This will cause them to not see Sweat as just a play, but as a valuable life lesson, triggering self-examination and initiating renovated thinking that helps people to become culturally aware and spiritually sound. It is imperative that the biblical messages in Sweat are conspicuous. Whereas the narrator normally describes Delia's facial expression or feelings, I plan to write in scenes where her thoughts are audible. Some of her thoughts will include moments when she is praising and worshipping God. This is apparent because she starts to emerge as a woman of strength as the story progresses. Her relationship with God is cultivated on a daily basis. This is why she is able to tolerate her husband's foolishness. Her husband, Sykes, does not commune with God. To demonstrate his lack of communion with God, I will stage him being resistant to her times of worship--as he normally is according to the narrator. Clearly, the marriage is unbalanced. One partner is trying to please God, and the other is trying to please self. This is not how God intended marriage to be. In the New Testament Book First Peter, it states in the third chapter and seventh verse "husbands are to dwell with them in understanding, giving honor to the wife being heirs together of the grace of life." Showing the burdensome consequences of destructing God's original design will pull on the hearts of audience members because they have encountered or known someone who is presently dealing with the consequences of this disobedient act. I will further reiterate the need for living a spirit-filled life by using costumes, scenic devices, and lighting to convey the godly and ungodly character traits that are embodied within the story. Through the use of colors and patterns, I will project the internal state of the character as in relation to God's instructions. I will work with a lighting designer in order to help convey the moods of the various scenes. The lighting techniques we choose will help to establish the thoughts and personalities of the characters. These feelings will transcend the minds of the audience and cause them to take the biblical messages into very deep consideration. The actors are the final ingredients in making Sweat an awe-inspiring, informative piece. Words are what they are, what one perceives them to be, while on paper. It is the job of the actor to give life to these words, cause them to live in the atmosphere, and to make the character come alive. Until the actor embodies the very heart of a character, the message in God-inspired Theatre will not be able to come forth and propel audience members to have a spiritual awakening. This is why people cannot just read Sweat. They must see the trials and journeys in order to receive life-changing revelations from the testimonies within the play.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2007
- Identifier
- CFE0001702, ucf:47329
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001702
- Title
- A Digital Media Exploration of the Federal Writers' Project's Folk Song Collecting Expeditions in Depression Era Florida.
- Creator
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Baker, Holly, Cassanello, Robert, French, Scot, Walker, Ezekiel, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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This digital thesis project examines the folk song collecting expeditions of the Federal Writers' Project (FWP) in Florida between 1935 and 1942. The FWP carried out numerous folk music collecting expeditions in Florida through the Works Progress Administration. Folklorists such as Zora Neale Hurston, Alan Lomax, and Stetson Kennedy led the expeditions and traveled throughout Florida to record blues, (")jook(") songs, work songs, and traditional music from African American, Cuban, Czech,...
Show moreThis digital thesis project examines the folk song collecting expeditions of the Federal Writers' Project (FWP) in Florida between 1935 and 1942. The FWP carried out numerous folk music collecting expeditions in Florida through the Works Progress Administration. Folklorists such as Zora Neale Hurston, Alan Lomax, and Stetson Kennedy led the expeditions and traveled throughout Florida to record blues, (")jook(") songs, work songs, and traditional music from African American, Cuban, Czech, Greek, Minorcan, Seminole, and Slavic communities. While romantic notions of nationalism in the 1930s often promoted homogenization, the FWP emphasized inclusiveness and highlighted cultural diversity. The FWP's approach challenged popular concepts concerning the homogeneousness of American culture and identity. Their recordings indicate that Florida was a patchwork of varied cultures. Yet, Florida's diversity is not adequately highlighted in popular history. Historians often see Florida history through the eyes of the mythologized (")Florida Cracker("), the Celtic pioneer who settled in Florida in the eighteenth century, but the Cracker perspective represents but a square in the patchwork quilt that makes up Florida's cultural history. An exploration of the FWP folk song recordings brings Florida's diversity to the forefront and increases the public's understanding of the state's cultural variety. The project includes a podcast series that features stories about the FWP expeditions, the folklorists, the performers, and the music. It also includes an interactive exhibit that is currently a work in progress. Source materials derived from open-access public archives create an immersive, interactive learning experience.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2018
- Identifier
- CFE0007153, ucf:52321
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007153
- Title
- LIGHTING DESIGN FOR FROM SUN TO SUN: A DAY IN A RAILROAD CAMP.
- Creator
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Szewczyk, Nathan, Scott, Bert, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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In this thesis the notion of a theoretical approach to the beginning stages of designing lighting for a theatrical production will be discussed. The topic being researched is: How a theoretical approach to entering the design process will enhance the final lighting design. The target audience for this study is theatrical lighting designers. A theoretical approach, in this case to the beginning of the design process, could be described as utilizing current dramatic theories to develop a better...
Show moreIn this thesis the notion of a theoretical approach to the beginning stages of designing lighting for a theatrical production will be discussed. The topic being researched is: How a theoretical approach to entering the design process will enhance the final lighting design. The target audience for this study is theatrical lighting designers. A theoretical approach, in this case to the beginning of the design process, could be described as utilizing current dramatic theories to develop a better understanding for the design of this production. In order to better understand this topic one would need to know how the process of lighting design is typically created and where the theoretical approach is implemented. An issue with this approach is that the short period allowed for the design process does not allow sufficient time to utilize a theoretical approach in a real world setting. A way of determining if this process is effective is through personal self review. Journaling and discussion with my advisor for this production will be the method of data collection. The method of validation will be a self reflection at the end of the final performance. An issue with the collection process is its reliance on personal opinions, including the author's. There are no ethical issues relating to this study. When applied, a theoretical approach to the design process will enhance the quality of the final lighting design through allowing the designer to be better prepared for a specific scene that he/she is struggling with.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- Identifier
- CFE0003609, ucf:48874
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003609