Master of Fine Arts, The Ohio State University, 2020, Theatre

Theatre as an art connects the text of a written play with a live audience. A designer's role in this art is to create an environment which both supports the story and evokes the meaning of the text to the those who share it. By analyzing the contrasting relationships and their surroundings in William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, I created a world which was sophisticated enough to both evoke serious themes pertinent to today's society and maintain the magic and whimsy of the original text. This thesis documents my scenic design process for this production of the Department of Theatre at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.

Committee: Brad Steinmetz MFA (Advisor); Dan Gray MFA (Committee Member); Kevin McClatchy MFA (Committee Member) Subjects: Theater; Theater Studies

Master of Fine Arts, The Ohio State University, 2016, Theatre

Theatre is a liminal environment between performers and a live audience, and between the past, present and future. Theatre practitioners often bring to life old scripts that have graced the stage many times while highlighting the relevance of key themes and motifs in relation to a modern audience. The work of playwright Henrik Ibsen is produced worldwide because of its modern subjects, despite having been written in the late nineteenth century.Under the direction of Lesley Ferris, I designed the scenic environment for Rebecca Lenkiewicz's version of Henrik Ibsen's An Enemy of the People at The Ohio State University. I used a combination of sketches, digital modelling, and a physical white model to communicate my scenic design. By way of reducing, reusing, and recycling, I executed a sustainable scenic environment that complimented the themes of environmental awareness within the play without compromising the aesthetic of the design.

Committee: Brad Steinmetz M.F.A. (Advisor); Mary Tarantino M.F.A (Committee Member); Lesley Ferris PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Architectural; Architecture; Art History; Design; Environmental Education; Environmental Health; Environmental Management; Environmental Studies; Fine Arts; Gender; Gender Studies; Performing Arts; Scandinavian Studies; Theater; Theater History; Theater Studies; Womens Studies

Master of Fine Arts, The Ohio State University, 2023, Theatre

Men on Boats, written by Jaclyn Backhaus recounts the daring expedition of a one-armed captain and his crew to chart the Green and Colorado Rivers in 1869. This historical piece turns quickly to commentary with the playwright's casting note instructing the director to cast entirely people who are non-male identifying. The casting directions paired with an accurate but humorous retelling of the story, make this play the perfect blend of commentary, history and comedy. With the direction of Beth Kattelman, I have designed the scenery, props and lighting for this production of Men on Boats, staged in the Bowen theatre at The Ohio State University. My trio of designs aimed to establish time and place and evoke the massive spectacle of the canyon that these men are exploring. An important task of the designs was to support the highly physical nature of the action and enhance the comedic elements of the play. I also wanted to capture the height and weight of the canyon and make the actors feel trapped in the awe-inspiring surroundings.

Committee: Brad Steinmetz (Advisor); Jeannine Thompson (Committee Member); Beth Kattelman (Committee Member) Subjects: Design

Master of Fine Arts, The Ohio State University, 2023, Theatre

Performance is used as a means of storytelling, to escape, to reflect, to learn, to celebrate, or to understand other perspectives. The Country Wife by William Wycherley is all of the above. It is a multi-faceted script that Wycherley curated to appeal to the masses. Written in 1675, this Restoration play uses wit and comedy to comment on societal structures such as gender norms, class, rank, and relationships. The narrative is funny, raunchy, clever, pointed, self-reflective, and opens itself up to be consumed at a variety of levels. I designed the scenery for the 2022 production at The Ohio State University. This is the detailed analysis of that process.

Committee: Brad Steinmetz (Advisor); Tom Dugdale (Committee Member); Sarah Neville (Committee Member) Subjects: Design; Fine Arts; Performing Arts; Theater; Theater History

Master of Fine Arts, The Ohio State University, 2015, Theatre

City of Angels is a musical written by Larry Gelbart, Cy Coleman, and David Zippel, which was produced by The Ohio State University Department of Theatre in collaboration with the School of Music in the fall semester of 2014. This document discusses the process of designing the scenery in collaboration with the production team. The scenic design process involved consideration of the design aspects for City of Angels, including the Director's concept in relationship to analysis of the text as well as the technical elements of the production's design. This document narrates the scenic process guiding the production of the large-scale, film noir-inspired musical presented in Thurber Theatre to tell the story in a cinematically inspired performance.

Committee: Dan Gray (Advisor); A. Scott Parry (Committee Member); Mary Tarantino (Committee Member) Subjects: Theater

Master of Fine Arts, The Ohio State University, 2012, Industrial, Interior Visual Communication Design

This thesis explores how narrative is constructed within a single image composition and how it can inform contemporary approaches using the tools of 3D computer graphics and interactive technologies. Through a contextual review of classical painting and sculpture, a set of design principles is developed for a better understanding of the process for constructing complex narrative in purely visual form. These principles focus on how spatial relationships can influence a viewer's understanding of the temporal structure of a story. The review continues with an exploration of how these principles can be adopted and augmented in new forms of digital media. The second stage of research was to develop a project that presents a narrative in a digital 3D space that allows viewers to actively participate in the process of observing and reconstructing the narrative. By focusing on story and utilizing the design principles of single image complex narrative, a real-time 3D composition was created with a new system for engaging the viewer called the Reactive Frame. The result is a hybrid work that creates a dialogue between classical traditions of narrative in composition and modern techniques using computer graphics and real-time reaction to the viewer.

Committee: Alan Price (Advisor); Maria Palazzi (Committee Member); Jeff Haase (Committee Member) Subjects: Design; Fine Arts

Bachelor of Fine Arts, Marietta College, 2013, Theatre Arts

Through using leadership theories and styles, this study sought to clarify the requirements of a Scenic Charge Artist. As Scenic Charge Artist for Marietta College's production of The Arabian Nights, I investigated leadership styles that met the specific needs of this position. The culmination of this project is a written document synthesizing and evaluating my research and experiences, in order to clarify the role of a Scenic Charge Artist as an artistic leader.

Committee: Jeffery Cordell PhD (ABD) (Advisor); Chaya Chandrasekhar PhD (Committee Member); David Brown PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Theater

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2023, Agricultural, Environmental and Developmental Economics

Ohio's Scenic Rivers Program (OSRP) designates high-quality streams to protect pristine riparian corridors. My first essay uses a large data set of home sales across Ohio to identify the effect of designation on local housing values using temporal and spatial regressions. I find an average capitalization effect of approximately 6-8% for homes within 1km of designated streams that is robust to numerous sample definitions. This finding provides a unique ex-ante – ex-post hedonic analysis of scenic river designation to assist local governments' decisions on future program expansions. More fundamentally, this essay demonstrates how the value of environmental amenities may be dependent on a promise of future protection. The United States' Federal Crop Insurance Program (FCIP) is a critical support structure for the country's farm financial security, but its size and centrally controlled prices allow for large efficiency losses through moral hazard and adverse selection. My second essay investigates successive droughts as one potential source of these issues. I hypothesize that successive droughts represent a right-tail risk that is predictable enough to incentivize adverse selection into the FCIP. My results show that successive droughts substantially and significantly lower irrigation's ability to mitigate losses from drought. This relationship carries over from lost acreage to loss ratios, a signal that the FCIP pricing cycles allow for this temporal adverse selection. The Federal Crop Insurance Program (FCIP) has made significant progress in achieving universal coverage; however, expansion to specialty crop products remains a challenge. My third essay demonstrates a Machine Learning process with which I use historical data on weather and crop losses from ‘training' counties to predict indemnification from a specialty crop in counties out of sample. I show that this method produces an average loss ratio comparable to USDA RMA performance without any geographic weig (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Henry Klaiber (Advisor); Zoe Plakias (Committee Member); Roselyn Lee-Won (Committee Member); Brent Sohngen (Committee Member); Mario Miranda (Committee Member) Subjects: Agricultural Economics; Environmental Economics

Master of Fine Arts, The Ohio State University, 2019, Theatre

Legally Blonde the Musical, written by Heather Hach with music and lyrics by Nell Benjamin and Laurence O'Keefe, was produced by The Ohio State University Theatre Department in November, 2018. This thesis document describes the scenic design process for this production, detailing how collaboration with the production team, director, and staff helped shape the evolution of the scenery. Mandy Fox's director's concept, my analysis of the script, and spatial challenges of the Thurber Theatre inspired me to design a scenic environment with multi-functional units that mirror the versatility of the characters themselves.

Committee: Brad Steinmetz (Committee Chair); Amanda Fox (Committee Member); Kristine Kearney (Committee Member) Subjects: Theater; Theater Studies

Master of Arts, University of Akron, 2015, Theatre Arts

The purpose of this thesis will be to provide a process for producing a play with multiple scenic locations by focusing on designing and constructing a set. Using the limited physical and monetary resources of a small high school, a specific play will be staged so that the theatre advisor may use this thesis as a guide to walk him through the process.

Committee: Adel Migid (Advisor); James Slowiak (Committee Member); Matt Beresh (Committee Member) Subjects: Theater

Master of Science (MS), Wright State University, 2015, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Stream water quality is increasingly threatened by expanding anthropogenic activities, mainly through point source discharges and urban and agricultural runoffs of contaminants getting through a water body's watershed resulting in pollution. Concerns developed as to whether urban or agricultural type activities were causing most water quality impairment issues in the upper Little Miami River watershed in southwest Ohio. Characterizing the upper Little Miami River (LMR) watershed with respect to water chemistry and Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) while evaluating the sources of any higher than expected natural parameter concentrations, with a strong emphasis on the nutrients phosphorus and nitrate, serves as this study's purpose. Efforts are made to determine the greatest non-point source nutrient contribution by specific LULC type watersheds and compare findings with known point source nutrient contributions. Up to 23 sites were sampled during dry weather conditions covering all seasons except winter, ranging from July 2009 to November 2010. Sampling began near the head works of the upper LMR watershed at LMR mile 102, site #1 and ended with site #23 at LMR mile 51.3. Data obtained from the analysis of these samples has been comparatively graphed, spatially and statistically analyzed, and worked into loading calculations for comparisons to available online data, such as point source information. General water chemistry measurements show trends of specific ion concentrations, such as sodium and chloride, in relation to LULC drainage areas connected to sampled pour points. Nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrate have concentration amounts significantly influenced by non-agricultural anthropogenic activities. Statistical analyses of the generated data support the observed trends through correlation coefficients. Estimated stream/river flows at the sampled sites provide loading value development of specific parameters that further support significant trend (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Songlin Cheng Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Abinash Agrawal Ph.D. (Committee Member); Doyle Watts Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Environmental Education; Environmental Science; Environmental Studies; Geochemistry; Geographic Information Science; Hydrologic Sciences

Master of Fine Arts, The Ohio State University, 2014, Theatre

Zombie Prom by John Dempsey and Dana P. Rowe was a musical theatre production presented during the fall semester of 2013 produced by The Ohio State University Department of Theatre. This thesis is a documentation of the process of scenic design for this show. The first chapters are a discussion of the pre-production elements of the project and the collaboration with the production team. Later chapters will discuss the design aspects in terms of the director's concepts, my analysis of the script, the technical aspects that brought the production to the Thurber Theater, and my evaluation of the final product. Briefly, the director's concept for the scenery was to uphold the tenants of the love of artifice, the sentimentality toward the past, and the serious intentions of “pure” Camp.

Committee: Brad Steinmetz MFA (Advisor); Janet Parrott MA (Committee Co-Chair); Amanda Fox MFA (Committee Member) Subjects: Design; Theater; Theater Studies

Master of Fine Arts, The Ohio State University, 2012, Theatre

For my thesis I will be designing scenery for The Last Days of Judas Iscariot by Stephan Adly Guirgis. I am excited to work on this production for multiple reasons. First I would like to design in our thrust space, the Bowen Theatre, for a second time due to the challenges such as its fixed grid, limited back stage space, three sided audience and intimacy of the space. Personally the subject matter of the play hits close to home for me having grown up as a Catholic school student. I enjoy seeing these biblical characters and stories portrayed in current, raw and more truly human ways than they were typically portrayed in my religious training. Finally I found the ability to collaborate with director Jimmy Bohr to be a great learning experience last year when we worked together on the OSU Department of Theatre's production of Spring Awakening. I feel that he has a great ability to connect a design team and I'm eager to collaborate with him on another production.

Committee: Dan Gray (Advisor); Jimmy Bohr (Committee Member); Kristine Kearney (Committee Member); Joy Reilly (Committee Member) Subjects: Theater

Master of Fine Arts, The Ohio State University, 2012, Theatre

The Double Bill, presented by the Ohio State University (OSU) Department of Theatre, interweaved two different plays, Real Women Have Curves and Matchmaker. Each play was quite different, but both shared an underlying tone of women's liberation, female equality and immigration. The Double Bill was a unique scenic design situation where the sets had to help the audience visually travel from 1987's hot and sultry East Los Angeles's sewing shop to 1920's cold Polish village. Real Women Have Curves, written by Josefina L¿¿¿¿pez, was directed by PhD Francesca Spedalieri and Matchmaker written by Patricia Su¿¿¿¿rez was directed by Professor Lesley Ferris. It was very important to find a middle ground between the two directors' concepts to make the scenic environment look synchronized but still at the same time look distinctly different. Both the plays at some level talk about body image issues, cultural differences, immigrant workers and how women are perceived as commodities. But the production also emphasizes female courage, strength and their will to go on. Real Women Have Curves is set in a family-owned sweat shop were five women stitch beautiful dresses for rich thin women, which they would envy due to their own “rubenesque” body types. The story line deals with their matrimonial, communal and cultural beliefs that in turn contribute to determining and at the same time distorting their self-image. The characters are Mexican immigrants, who still fear the “La Migra” (the immigration authorities), even though they are legal. The play is a comedy which sometimes slips to become wry and cynical, but it brings out the importance of realizing ones identity and body-image. Matchmaker is part of an Argentine trilogy entitled The Polish Women. The play was translated by Professor Ana Elena Puga and was the English-language world premiere at OSU. The play focuses on a dreadful moment in the early 20th century were young Jewish women, under the guise of an arranged marria (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Daniel Gray (Advisor); Lesley Ferris (Committee Member); Janet Parrott (Committee Member) Subjects: Theater

Master of Fine Arts, The Ohio State University, 2010, Theatre

Summer and Smoke by Tennessee Williams is being produced by The Ohio State University Theatre Department in the autumn quarter, 2009. The production will be in the Thurber Theatre and directed by faculty member Jimmy Bohr. As the scenic designer, I will provide the atmosphere and environment of the play as well as the physical requirements determined by the action described in the script. This document records my involvement in the production process. Briefly, Bohr's concept for this production is focused on the love story that happens between Alma and John. The story is set in a small fictitious town in Mississippi named Glorious Hill, just before World War I. It is a time when the last of Victorian social propriety was becoming extinct and the world was about to change forever. This love story is a bittersweet description of that loss of innocence. The director is focused on the “Poetic Realism” of Williams' writing. Aesthetically, it is important to the director that the heat of the Deep South is represented on stage. I will accomplish this with a canopy of trees, Spanish moss, and other plant life indigenous to Mississippi. The lighting design will also enhance this effect. Another major concern of the director is to have seamless scene shifts. This will be accomplished through the use of three wagons that will move without any visible means. The ever-present angel fountain, named Eternity, needs to be center stage for the entire show. Finally, the American Gothic style needs to be represented in the architecture of the two houses on stage.

Committee: Dan Gray MFA (Committee Chair); Jimmy Bohr MFA (Committee Member); Mark Shanda MFA (Committee Member) Subjects: Theater

Master of Fine Arts, The Ohio State University, 2009, Theatre

Machinal written by Sophie Treadwell, was produced by The Ohio State University department of theatre in the winter quarter of 2009. This thesis documents the scenic design process for the production. Chapter one covers the design team, which included the director, lighting, sound and costume designer and the technical aspects of the theatre space. The following chapters explore script analysis and society's influences on Treadwell's work. In later chapters I explore the director's concept and how it influenced my design and the technical process of producing the show. I end with my reaction to the design process and production. In her director's statement, Lesley Ferris explained her idea of a bleak world that portrayed society as a machine. This was achieved with abstract and constructivist lines and shapes in the design. The scenery was “suggestive and stylized” rather than a realistic environment. The design employed the use of projections and shadow play as the backdrop to help create atmosphere. An intimate space helped achieve a claustrophobic environment expressed in the script. To achieve this effect scaffolding was erected in the auditorium, surrounding the audience. The set itself was constructed out of steel, corrugated panels and expanded metal to create a harsh and stark world. Most of the acting space was on the apron of the stage to bring the action closer to the audience. These elements helped create the bleak mechanical world and the intimate and claustrophobic environment that was required for the production.

Committee: Daniel Gray M.F.A (Advisor); Mark Shanda M.F.A (Committee Member); Lesley Ferris Ph.D (Committee Member) Subjects: Theater

MFA, Kent State University, 2012, College of the Arts / School of Theatre and Dance

To: Kent State University, School of Theatre and Dance: Graduate Studies Committee Cc: Design and Technology Committee Re: M.F.A. Thesis Proposal It is my proposal to design the scenery for The Crucible as my thesis project. This production brings with it a unique set of obstacles which include: 1) devising a unit set that can incorporate four different interior locales; 2) incorporating the director's concept of “entanglement” into the symbolism of the scenic elements while respecting the playwright Arthur Miller's insistence on strict adherence to the time and place of the script; and 3) creating a design that simulates the elemental textures and aesthetics of the time period while remaining within a budget that does not allocate for actual wood. This project will provide me the opportunity to explore my approach to scenic design from both a historical and symbolic perspective. Miller's play explores themes of religious fundamentalism, persecution, fear, and self-preservation. These themes continue to resonate within contemporary culture as keenly as they did in the mid twentieth century when it was written. Director Mark Monday's concept, emphasizing a journey towards salvation, combined with the theme of entanglement and power of authority, creates a platform on which I can sculpt a scenic vessel. The Wright-Curtis Theatre's unique architecture will create its own challenges in the manipulation of the space. Director Mark Monday expressed his desire to draw the audience into the story physically as well as emotionally. There is a need to reflect the simple, yet austere, Puritan life, while allowing the complexity of the story to unfold before the audience. This creates a challenge to shape a space that focuses both the action on stage and the audience's attention to the action; a set that will not only pull in the audience, but the actors as well, into the world of the play. A balance must be created between historical representatio (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Raynette Smith (Advisor); Mark Monday (Committee Member); Stephen Zapytowski (Committee Member) Subjects: Theater

MFA, Kent State University, 2009, College of the Arts / School of Theatre and Dance

I propose as my thesis project to fulfill the multiple roles of Paint Charge for two productions and Paint Manager for the 2008-09 school year at Kent State University School of Theater and Dance. These roles will demonstrate my capability to accomplish the artistic and managerial responsibilities of a professional Theatrical Scenic Artist. The role of Paint Charge will encompass two main stage productions, one each semester for my final academic year. During the first semester I will be Paint Charge for Three Sisters directed by Mark Monday with scenery designed by Raynette Smith. During the second semester I will be Paint Charge for Twelfth Night directed by J. R. Sullivan with scenery designed by Steve Zapytowski. As Paint Charge I will take the designer's concepts, painter's elevations and ideas of how the production should be visualized and produce them full scale on stage for the audience. My tasks as Paint Charge include (but are not limited to) testing and establishing paint colors and techniques, budgeting the materials and labor needed, scheduling duties and work stages, problem solving to make sure all work is done in a timely manner and checking in with the designer and director to make sure all the concepts and ideas are kept. Documentation of these tasks will include but may not be limited to; interpreting the designer's paint elevations, conducting paint tests, attending design and production meetings, planning and maintaining the budget for paint, developing and documenting paint colors and recipes. As Paint Manager my responsibilities for the academic year will include, but are not limited to; maintaining a safe working area, overseeing the paint practicum students and working with the Paint Charge for every show. My thesis paper concludes with a self evaluation of all the progress, successes and failures that I made in the year working as a Theatrical Scenic Artist.

Committee: Raynette Smith M.F.A. (Advisor); Mark Monday M.F.A. (Committee Member); S. Q. Campbell M.F.A. (Committee Member); Janice Lessman-Moss (Committee Member) Subjects: Theater