Project Director

Duffy, Robert

Department Examiner

Ray,Stacy; Smotherman,Mac; Henry,Jim

Department

Dept. of Theatre and Speech

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

The goal of this project was to create an experimental theatre production called School for Fools in the Studio Theatre of the UTC Fine Arts Center in February of 2003. Spanning nearly an entire year, the process for me was one of compiling a dramaturg's notebook ofresearch and materials related to the play, adapting and revising the text from the original, written by Belgian playwright Michel de Ghelderode in 1937, creating costume and set designs, appropriating a cast, raising funds for the production, and then directing the play. Particularly important to this production was the idea of style. In essence, I was trying to create a production-based, rather than text-based, performance, using the Hadivadlo company of Brno, Czech Republic, as a primary stylistic reference, but also exploring the alternative perspectives and techniques of directors such as Charles Marowitz and Jerzy Grotowski. Because the UTC Theatre Department was simultaneously producing another play in the Ward Theatre, my production incorporated a number of different artists from outside the department who served in several capacities: volunteers from the Association for Visual Artists provided assistance on both a conceptual level and then in the actual construction of costumes and set; the Shaking Ray Levis provided resource materials that I used in rehearsals to help actors with physicalization and stylized movement; and Jeff Atkins and Liz Duncan (both UTC alumni) played the lead roles. We had a total of five shows, nearly all of which sold out. After the run of the show, I wrote an assessment of the process, critiquing the strengths and weaknesses of the production.

Degree

B. A.; An honors thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Bachelor of Arts.

Date

3-2003

Subject

Theater--Czech Republic--Brno

Name

Ghelderode, Michel de, 1898-1962

Location

HaDivadlo (Brno, Czech Republic)

Discipline

Theatre and Performance Studies

Document Type

Theses

Extent

122 leaves

DCMI Type

Text

Language

English

Call Number

LB2369.5 .W544 2003

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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