Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Semester of Degree Completion

1981

Thesis Director

Lucina P. Gabbard

Abstract

The following paper is the description of a creative fine arts project involving the writing, direction, and design of an original play, Sons of the Morning. This work is examined from both literary and theatrical viewpoints, with an eye to evaluating the entire learning experience.

Structuralism is used as the critical mode in the literary analysis. This technique reveals the existence of many dichotomies--good/evil, strength/weakness, love/hate--in theme, plot, and character. These opposites create conflict, the basis of drama, and contrast. They are the source of tensions between the characters and within each individual. The dichotomies are also seen to exist in the world, making its message applicable to the audience as well as to the characters.

The theatrical design of the play--sets, costumes, lights, sound, properties, and publicity materials--is shown to have been carefully planned to support the statements of the text. Each aspect of design not only bolsters theme, plot, and character, but is thoroughly compatible with every other design element.

The text of Sons of the Morning and the design of its premiere production are not separate entities, but rather coexisting parts of a unified work of art. One does not fully exist without the other. Although the script may be read and understood, it is intended to have its true realization through performance. The visual element also may be seen and appreciated as art, but has no real purpose except to support the text.

The conclusion of the paper is that intuition, more than conscious planning, was most important in both the writing and production of the play. This is not to say that a script or design is executed haphazardly, but that the ideas are chiefly intuitive. They spring from the unconscious and are, then, carefully reworked in the conscious mind. The result is a cohesive work of art.

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