Master of Fine Arts, The Ohio State University, 2024, Theatre

The subconscious mind gathers a lot about a person based on visuals alone. In the world of live theatre, this initial impression is highly controlled by the costume designer. Each element of live theatre combines to create a story that captures the attention of the audience; the actor walks onto the stage, their mind and heart completely in their performance, surrounded by an involved environment and adorned with skillfully detailed garments. Together with my professors and associates at The Ohio State University, we produced a surreal yet modern telling of Blood Wedding by early 20th century playwright Federico Garcia Lorca. We dove into the text, found our balance between poetry and realism, and created a world of bittersweet love. This thesis documents the costume design process from that production. The five chapters will discuss the producing situation, concept and design scheme, character analyses, production, and self-evaluation of the project.

Committee: Rebecca Turk (Advisor); Alex Oliszewski (Committee Member); Tom Dugdale (Committee Member) Subjects: Design; Performing Arts; Theater; Theater Studies

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2015, Theatre

Theatrical design is difficult to exhibit as Art. During the course of the twentieth-century, prominent theatre designers have sought ways to share their revolutionary ideas and remarkable work with an outside audience. In this dissertation, I examine the boundaries, struggles and methodologies found within contemporary design exhibition at the Prague Quadrennial. More specifically, I explore a philosophical shift taking place between the 2007 and 2011 Prague Quadrennials, as the event's artistic leadership repositions the scenographic underpinnings toward a more inclusive theory of performance design. This resultant shift occurs due to several trends throughout the Prague Quadrennial's history including: decentralization, the inclusion of performance and the contextualization of scenographic artifacts. I examine the significant impact of this philosophical shift on the event's curatorial visions, audience interactions and connections with the city of Prague.

Committee: Michael Ellison PhD (Advisor); Ashutosh Sohoni PhD (Committee Member); Jonathan Chambers PhD (Committee Member); Steve Boone MFA (Committee Member) Subjects: Design; Theater; Theater History; Theater Studies

Master of Fine Arts, The Ohio State University, 2011, Theatre

Aida, with music by Elton John and lyrics by Tim Rice, was a theatrical production presented during the fall quarter of 2010 at The Ohio State University, produced by the Department of Theatre in collaboration with the Columbus Association of the Performing Arts at the Southern Theatre in downtown Columbus. This thesis is a documentation of the lighting design process for Aida. The first chapter is an examination of the Southern Theatre and the producing situation. The second and third chapters address the design ideas for the production, including the director's concept, script analysis, and collaborative efforts. The final two chapters explore the lighting design process from beginning to end, including a self-evaluation of the final design. The concept for the production was to blend the aesthetics of the ancient Egyptian world with modern-day styling, creating a world that feels both current and timeless. The production was conceived and designed to be as grand in scope as possible within the limitations of the space, so that it could effectively convey the epic nature of the story to the audience and draw them into the lush world of the characters. Also, in response to the music, which is largely rock-and-roll-inspired, the lighting for certain scenes reflected a rock aesthetic. A wide variety of modern technology was used in order to achieve this aesthetic and keep the lighting vibrant and interesting throughout the production.

Committee: Mary Tarantino MFA (Advisor); Jimmy Bohr MFA (Committee Member); Kristine Kearney MFA (Committee Member) Subjects: Design; Theater

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, 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, Miami University, 2024, Art

The goal of this research was to develop a pathway for improving audience experience within playable theatre by defining and intentionally sequencing audience interactions within this genre of interactive and immersive performance. With the performing arts industry facing a crisis marked by dwindling ticket sales post-pandemic, theatre artists have an opportunity to attract new audiences by producing playable theatre productions that offer audience experiences that are as engaging of the senses and mind as popular immersive entertainment today. The development of the Audience Interaction Taxonomy for Playable Theatre, which defines and describes specific audience interaction modes, allows for the strategic design of the audience experience for game-based performance through sequencing and pacing of such interactions, ensuring heightened psychological engagement and narrative comprehension. Centered around the production of I Wish: A Theatrical Escape Room, an audience interaction model is developed on the foundation of the new taxonomy, designed to reduce cognitive load by limiting concurrent audience interaction modes to two. The study employed a pragmatic qualitative approach, utilizing observations, surveys, and interviews to understand participant experiences and behaviors in this context to refine and build upon the taxonomy and the sequencing of audience interactions. Understanding and defining audience interactions and experience within a playable theatre context is the first step in developing evaluation and design tools so that theatre artists feel empowered to confidently create immersive and interactive performance that delivers the intended audience experience.

Committee: Zack Tucker (Committee Chair); Geoffrey Long (Committee Member); Matt Omasta (Committee Member) Subjects: Design; Performing Arts; Theater; Theater Studies

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, Theatre

This dissertation project uses a phenomenological approach to better understand the aural experience of audiences in theatrical productions and to advance the study of the art of sound design beyond the level of technical manuals. The arrangement of the audience within the theatre space is an often-overlooked variable that affects how the audience listens to and contextualizes the performance. In addition to aural framing, this dissertation explores the concepts of noise, silence, aural intimacy, mediatization, immersive audio, audience reception, and the communal experience of listening in thrust, arena, proscenium, and immersive stages.

Committee: Stratos Constantinidis (Advisor); Beth Kattelman (Committee Member); Alex Oliszewski (Committee Member) Subjects: Theater; Theater History; Theater Studies

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2004, Theatre

As technology is altering the world, electronic games are changing the face of popular entertainment, infecting spectators with a craving for spectacle and interaction. Games allow viewers to become active participants in dramatic narrative, transforming audience into performer. The game player is joining in a mediatized theatrical experience that reshapes notions of performance, theatre, and audience. The first theatre scholar to connect theatre, computers, and performance was Brenda Laurel. Speculating on the nature of user interaction with the computer, Laurel used the Aristotelian elements of dramatic structure to create a new poetics for interactive fantasy generated in the computer realm. Since Laurel's initial work in 1986, games have evolved beyond those of her pioneering study, creating a level of theatrical experience worthy of critical examination. The games from the late 1990's and into the current century show a level of complexity in design and narrative that compels a re-examination of what has been dismissed by many as escapist entertainment. The electronic game industry has adopted theatrical devices and principles to produce a live, non-repeatable, and new form of theatrical experience. My research draws from traditional theatre theorists (such as Aristotle, Bertolt Brecht, Adolphe Appia, and Augusto Boal), modern theatre and performance theorists (such as Brenda Laurel, Janet Murray, Gay McAuley, and Richard Schechner), and game design theorists (such as Steven Poole, Bob Bates, and Richard Rouse), to assess the electronic game as a new and distinctive form of performance. This dissertation will examine a variety of computer and video games from five perspectives: 1) space 2) plot structures, 3) character, 4) theme, and 5) interactivity, with a view to articulating the modes of kinship between games and live performance. In recognizing and articulating such relationships, both gaming and theatre benefit, strengthening the aesthetic and structural (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Lesley Ferris (Advisor) Subjects: Theater

Master of Fine Arts, The Ohio State University, 2017, Theatre

Abstract Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare's story of two young lovers who defy their families was produced in the Roy E. Bowen Theatre at the Ohio State University October 19 through October 30, 2016. This thesis delves into the lighting design process for this production of a newly edited version of the script by Alison Bomber. The first chapter discusses the producing situation. The second provides an analysis of the script and directors concept. The third chapter discusses the design process for the production, while the fourth chapter focuses on the lighting design process specifically. Chapter five reflects the process from concept to conclusion.

Committee: Mary Tarantino MFA (Committee Chair); Jennifer Schlueter Ph.D. (Committee Member); Alex Oliszewski MFA (Committee Member) Subjects: Design; Theater; Theater Studies

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

Abstract For the completion of my Master of Fine Arts degree in Costume Design, I designed the costumes for the theatrical production of The Coast of Illyria by Dorothy Parker and Ross Evans, adapted by Jennifer Schlueter and Cece Bellomy. The production was performed in April 2016 in the Thurber Theatre in the Drake Performance and Event Center and was directed by Shilarna Stokes. The play is set in the early 1800s and uses historical literary figures such as Charles Lamb, Mary Lamb, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge as some of the characters. Due to the nature of the play, I researched the time period as well as the people present as characters in order to give an accurate representation. Because these are not contemporary figures, it is still vital to give the audience a believable image of these well-known British Romantic writers. While some audience members might be familiar with these writers and some might not, I strove to provide a snapshot of each character to enhance the audience's knowledge. Another challenge that was presented by this play is showing the mental, physical, and emotional decline of Charles Lamb, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Mary Lamb. This change occurs between Acts Two and Three, giving the actors a limited amount of time to make a complete physical change. I worked with the director to use the costumes and makeup to develop the look of a person in a declining state. All of the elements together informed the design of my costumes to create a cohesive, time-period conscious design, while staying true to the nature of the characters.

Committee: Kristine Kearney (Advisor); Jennifer Schlueter (Committee Member); Shilarna Stokes (Committee Member); Mary Tarantino (Committee Member) Subjects: British and Irish Literature; Design; Fine Arts; Literature; Performing Arts; 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

BFA, Kent State University, 2020, College of the Arts / School of Theatre and Dance

Even though there are no records of optical illusions being studied until Epicharmus' work in the 5th century B.C., evidence of their application in art can be traced back to the cave paintings of the Paleolithic Era. It is impossible to assign a specific date to the creation of illusions because they are not merely inventions, but a reflection of geometric forms seen in nature. This paper begins with an analysis of different optical illusions based on Richard Gregory's research. It then looks at how illusions have been used in performance in the past, how projections can support commonly used optical illusion methods, and how we can use projections to incorporate interactivity into live performance. The aforementioned information is then used to help inform decisions regarding the application of projections to a choreographed dance piece. In this section, several different projection surface options are also discussed. Being able to use projections as a medium and output allows for many new paths of artistic exploration, but along with this opportunity comes the need to determine how the technology can have the most meaningful impact.

Committee: Nicholas Drashner (Advisor); Tippey Brett (Committee Member); Honesty Tamara (Committee Member); King Gregory (Committee Member) Subjects: Dance; Design; Fine Arts; Performing Arts; Psychology; Theater

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, 2019, Theatre

This thesis will document the costume design process for The Ohio State University Department of Theatre's production of Legally Blonde the Musical. This production ran from November 8th, 2018 through the November 18th, 2018 in the Thurber Theatre, under the direction of Associate Professor Mandy Fox. The production team consisted of the following people: third year graduate student Cassie Lentz as scenic designer, third year graduate student Kelsey Gallagher as lighting designer, and undergraduate student Emily Schmidt as sound designer. Based upon the 2001 hit romantic comedy film Legally Blonde and the book of the same name written by Amanda Brown, Legally Blonde the Musical takes the iconic character Elle Woods and places her and her friends in a singing, dancing, over the top spectacle. Together as a cohort, the production team worked to preserve the charm of the movie, but give it a fresh, feminist, facelift for 2018. The production team and I researched designer fashions, trends, and architecture from the early 2000s and pushed those styles into a heightened reality. The goal of this production was not to change the iconography of Legally Blonde, but to embrace and amplify it. With a budget of five thousand eight hundred dollars, it was my challenge to wardrobe a cast of thirty-two performers, each of whom played one to six characters. As the musical progresses, there are many distinct locations that require complete costume changes. This allows approximately thirty-two dollars per costume with an average of five looks per actor. This thesis will explore the creative solutions employed to design a beautiful show with hundreds of costume pieces under the constraints of a limited budget, as well as limited time and labor constraints.

Committee: Jeanine Thompson Professor (Committee Chair); Amanda Fox Associate Professor (Committee Member); Oliszewski Alex Associate Professor (Committee Member) Subjects: Theater; Theater Studies

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 Fine Arts, The Ohio State University, 2016, Theatre

The Ohio State University Department of Theatre's main stage production of An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen sheds a light on the egocentric lives we live in a polluted world. This production ran November 5, 2015 to November 15, 2015. With direction by Professor Lesley Ferris, scenic design by MFA Design candidate Joshua Quinlan, lighting design by MFA Design candidate Andy Baker, and sound design by undergraduate senior Michael Jake Lavender, we brought to life a unique telling of this layered story. This production of An Enemy of the People held a mirror to the audience and showed them that hypocrisy and self-serving natures still run rampant in 2015. In accordance with the director's concept provided by Professor Ferris, I designed and executed costumes that would help the audience to subconsciously bridge the events within the play to similar events of pollution being dealt with in 2015. I accomplished this by incorporating contemporary fashion elements of 2015 into the Victorian styles and silhouettes of 1882. I used preconceived notions that the audience may have of the Victorian era to my advantage; I dressed the characters at the top of the socio-economic status in strictly period clothing and added more contemporary fashion elements to the middle and lower class characters based upon his or her status. During the design and production process, I encountered a few challenges including resolving the logistics of the added characters of the Chorus of Women and the Townspeople, sourcing fabric originally swatched in April (four months before production began), budget concerns, in addition to the last-minute redesign of a major character's costume. Despite these challenges, I enjoyed the journey of finding answers and solutions. This production has aided in my growth as a designer that will stay with me throughout my career. The following thesis will discuss my design process, character analysis and production process from conception through product (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Kristine Kearney (Advisor); Lesley Ferris (Committee Member); Beth Kattelman (Committee Member) Subjects: Design; Fine Arts; Performing Arts; Theater

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, 2014, Theatre

"Zombie Prom", the off-Broadway atomic love story by John Dempsey with music by Dana P. Rowe, came alive in Thurber Theatre November 7, 2014 at the Ohio State University. This thesis examines the lighting design process for the production of this musical. The first chapter provides information on the producing conditions, with the second and third chapters providing insight into the script, director's concept, and the approach of the production team. The final two chapters explore the lighting design from initial research through opening night and include an evaluation of the process. The notion of Camp provided the conceptual basis for this production as the design team created a world in homage to musical theatre, B-horror, and the 1950s. In tandem with the director and other members of the design team, I designed a lighting rig that highlighted movement from musical theatre, color choice from cult horror films, and accentuated the geometry of the 1950s inspired setting.

Committee: Mary Tarantino (Advisor); Mandy Fox (Committee Member); Kristine Kearney (Committee Member) Subjects: Theater

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

This thesis documents the design process for the production of The Tempest by William Shakespeare. This play was produced in The Ohio State University's Bowen Theatre from October 10th through October 25th, 2013. The design concepts for the production were developed in response to the director's concept of a stage caught between two forms. One form was of magic and the other of decay.

Committee: Mary Tarantino (Advisor); Kristine Kearney (Committee Member); Kevin McClatchy (Committee Member) Subjects: Theater