Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019
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Date of Graduation
Spring 2017
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Department
School of Theatre and Dance
Advisor(s)
Zachary A. Dorsey
Meredith A. Conti
Benjamin C. Lambert
Abstract
In examining the journey that has brought me to the position I am in as a dramaturg, artist, and person, it would be at best rude and at worst irresponsible not to acknowledge the universe of people, productions, and ideas that have molded me. Just as plays are composites and amalgams of ideas, emotions, styles, and themes, so is an emerging dramaturg. My experience is both entirely my own, and not my own at all. In reflecting this experience for my thesis exhibit, I feel it’s important to isolate those individuals and ideas that have molded me.
By presenting their stories, styles, and experiences, I have a framework to weave in my own experience and artifacts. I still feel that the methods and readings that I have explored are useful and have a place in the final presentation. Dramaturgy is most frequently explained through a collection of metaphors, and rather than trying to find one perfectly crafted mother metaphor, I believe that it would be more beneficial and make more pedagogical sense to match the interviews and resources from these dramaturgs with a metaphor. In this way, a universe of dramaturgical practice emerges visually, where the viewer can choose which sort of “planet” to visit, and when.
Presenting these stories, and the moments where they intersect with mine, creates a sort of performance text for me to then curate and dramaturg. I am confident in my ability to craft this text in a way that is both visually appealing and elegant in narrative. I want to do this by using the methods that I’ve already explored - there doesn’t need to be a drastic change to my annotated bibliography. I’ll be adding more short-form articles about curation and dramaturgy, as well as primary source documentation.
Many of the questions I began with in the spring were questions that combined concepts I wanted to explore in my thesis, and concepts that required only my own soul-searching. As I’ve moved into the work in earnest, I’ve discovered that I’m asking some questions that have two, five, ten, and twenty year answers. I want to ask the questions that I can answer in the next five months, and let the rest of the answers grow with me.
Recommended Citation
Chapman, Lauren, "4000 matches on fire at once: Studies in memory and performance" (2017). Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019. 261.
https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/honors201019/261
Included in
Dramatic Literature, Criticism and Theory Commons, Other Theatre and Performance Studies Commons, Performance Studies Commons
