▼ The massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft presents a society that thrives on power, money, and status, relying on destruction and self-propulsion to get ahead. I argue that, by infusing a theatrical experience into the game, this society could, instead, thrive on creation, creativity, and community.This thesis tracks my attempt to stage a theatrical production in World of Warcraft: from the necessary logistical groundwork to the acquisition of a creative team to the failure of the team to produce the work of theatre. Along with the description of the creative process, I deliberate on why the production didn't work, which elements did work, and what the future holds for theatrical productions within World of Warcraft. Advisors/Committee Members: Schildcrout, Jordan R.

▼ Looking at everyday anonymous signs found in break rooms, in hallways, on doors, etc., I argue that, collectively, they define a form of design I call “annotative design.” These practices, defined by their visual language, their materiality, their posting and placement strategies, point to a logic of design, reminiscent of book marginalia, that differs from standard professional graphic design practices. Using Michel de Certeau's studies on the interplay of strategies and tactics in everyday life, I also argue that graphic design relates to visualist strategies connected to a tradition of spatialization of knowledge while annotative design uses tactical ways of operating. Advisors/Committee Members: Adleta, Don.

▼ Tango as both music and dance remains a significant part of popular culture even one hundred years after its introduction into North American culture. Words like “sexy” or “passionate” frequently modify the concept of tango. Advertisers capitalize on these connotations in attempts to make their own product appear more appealing. Artists go a step further, not only adding tango for commercial appeal, but they also use tango to enhance the narrative. In order to deconstruct the image of “sexy tango,” I will examine the history of tango in both Argentina and the United States; analyze the more formal aspects of the dance itself; and utilize the theories of Foucault and Said to clarify the interaction of gender and power in the tango. The tension created by gender and power, that is also based in history, makes tango especially dramatic. I will apply this combination of contexts to four case studies of the use of tango in theatre and film: “Hernando’s Hideaway” from the musical The Pajama Game (1954); the tango revue Tango Argentino (1986); “Tango Maureen” from the musical Rent (1996); and the tango scene from the film Frida (2002). Advisors/Committee Members: Schildcrout, Jordan.

▼ In order to understand the complex relationship between original and the adaptation, the paper uses the influential novel, William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury, and adaptations of that work in different media to explore the creation of an adaptation and some reasons why an artist creates an adaptation as well as what is altered in a work by removing it from its original context. A general investigation process that leads to adaptation will allow for a further exploration of two adaptations for the stage: Erik Ehn's The Sound and the Fury and the Elevator Repair Service's The Sound and the Fury (April Seventh, 1928); and a look into Martin Ritt's The Sound and the Fury as adapted for film will stand as a possible unsuccessful adaptation in order to allow the reader to question what makes an adaptation successful. Advisors/Committee Members: Schildcrout, Jordan R.