DOI
https://doi.org/10.25772/0TRH-K422
Defense Date
2007
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts
Department
Theatre
First Advisor
Janet Rodgers
Abstract
My first semester pursuing my MFA in Voice and Speech Pedagogy I vocal-coached an openly gay student playing a straight character who would mask his sexual identity in such a manner that his performance became stiff and uninteresting. Rather than using his personal identity as an asset in the pursuit of a successful performance, his chosen vocal tactics removed any sense of theatricality from his performance. I confronted the student and suggested such extreme vocal suppression diminished the quality of his overall performance. He replied, "So you want me to get the gay out."His use of the phrase, "get the gay out" to describe a fuller adaptation of his sexual identity to suit the character fascinated me and led to me to create a performance seminar course that used open acknowledgment of Camp performance styles as a valuable way to prepare students, gay or straight, for careers on the stage and screen. This thesis is a record of the course taught in the spring of 2007; CAMP: RIDICULOUS THEATRE AS SERIOUS DRAMA.
Rights
© The Author
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
June 2008