Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

"Man, the Creature": A Dramaturgically Driven Adaptation of Dostoevsky's "Notes from a Dead House"

Kirkman, Mackenzie Raine

Abstract Details

2019, Master of Arts, Miami University, Theatre.
This thesis expands the field of violence theory by way of adapting Dostoevsky’s Notes from a Dead House. I propose a new dramaturgically driven analysis of the text by creating a system of contexts to assess the scene allowing for an adaptation that is both sensitive to the goal of the text as perceived by the adapting artist and the audience’s response. This system of contexts is the best approach to adapting a given scene rather than considering the piece as a whole. Dostoevsky’s text is also notorious for its abstract use of time, and the layering of fiction and reality as Dostoevsky was forced to distance himself from his narrative by the Russian state. Since violence is a major element of Dostoevsky’s novel, I also propose a meaning-making system to analyze acts to determine first how the scene is socially coded. With this information, the adapting playwright can then decide how they can best be embodied and displayed on stage in a way that both holds to the original elements of the source and avoids undue stress on the audience.
Ann Armstrong, Dr. (Committee Chair)
Christiana Harkulich, Dr. (Advisor)
Stephen Norris, Dr. (Committee Member)
136 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Kirkman, M. R. (2019). "Man, the Creature": A Dramaturgically Driven Adaptation of Dostoevsky's "Notes from a Dead House" [Master's thesis, Miami University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami156450135543229

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Kirkman, Mackenzie. "Man, the Creature": A Dramaturgically Driven Adaptation of Dostoevsky's "Notes from a Dead House". 2019. Miami University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami156450135543229.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Kirkman, Mackenzie. ""Man, the Creature": A Dramaturgically Driven Adaptation of Dostoevsky's "Notes from a Dead House"." Master's thesis, Miami University, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami156450135543229

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)