To be moved

In this thesis I will examine how I use movement in theatre with the goal of moving the audience emotionally. I will point to the ways I scaffold and build a process that draws from many other practices of physical theatre and remixes them into my unique approach. I will describe how I use ensemble and physical theatre techniques to stage work that generates deep engagement, builds community, and allows for catharsis for both performer and audience. Through looking at my work on several projects at UT, I will show how interacting physically with the actors, audience, and design elements creates connection and expounds on textual and subtextual themes. I will explore physicality on stage from multiple angles. With Ownerless Beasts the audience enacted the physicality as a way of deepening their personal connection and relevance to the text. In Wyeth Airlines and Meek, the actors’ physicality on stage and their interaction with moving design elements conveyed interstitial story elements and character interiority. Murky as Hell uses explicit, extreme physicality including fight and dance choreography to appeal to the audience on an instinctual level and to elicit crowd responses typical to sporting events. With each of these projects, I will describe the function of movement in the piece and seek to assess the effectiveness of that movement as a technique toward emotional responses in the audience. This assessment will allow me to discover areas for revision and improvement in future iterations of these pieces or new work I create. Ultimately, I intend to use this exploration of my craft to codify my rehearsal and staging practices and formalize my approach for future work in the field.Theatre and Danc