Date of Award
2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Humanities
First Advisor
Myhill, Nova
Area of Concentration
Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies
Abstract
Demonstrating the mind on stage is a difficult task and often depends on the use of staging different bodies. When a character is not saying every thought out loud, it is nearly impossible to tell what exactly is happening inside their heads. In this thesis, I explore the relationship between memory and stage, mind and body, and art and artist. Through the analysis of biographical works and plays that display interactions of the mind and body on stage, I was able to craft a play of my own that demonstrates the same explorations. Within these texts you can find that the number of bodies on stage is not the most important but rather how you use the bodies on stage to establish a set of rules which the audience can follow to understand how the mind is being shown and what is happening. Whether it is the single body of Kate Borstein representing 6 people, or multiple bodies representing a single mind; establishing a mind on stage is a fickle but doable task that many artists, including myself, have tried to do.
Recommended Citation
Mead, Clementine, "With Brains Like These Who Needs Enemies: How to Write a Play When Your Brain Fights You at Every Step" (2023). Theses & ETDs. 6396.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/6396