Presenter: Sally Bremer
Co-Presenter: Paige Quinlivan
Project Adviser: Ray Schultz (Theatre Arts)
Title: John Hughes on Mars: A Staged Reading
Type of Presentation: Humanities Fine Arts Building, Recital Hall #160, 11:30 a.m.
A presentation of scenes from two short plays, "John Hughes Wrote My Diary" and "Life on Mars," that present LGBTQIA2S+ stories with interspersed discussions on the writing and rehearsal process by the directors. The writing and rehearsal process spanned several months from a simple Play-in-a-Day event (Spring 2017) to a more fully realized rehearsal process and staged reading that lasted three weeks (Spring 2018). The combined experience of writing, rehearsing, and performing over a period of a year allowed students to engage with texts in two different stages of development and further gave them the opportunity to test out new dramatic writing before different audiences. The project also allowed the playwrights, directors, and actors to bring to the stage stories for which all involved felt a shared connection and passion.
Presenter: Gunnar Molstad
Project Adviser: Brad Miller (Music)
Title: Conductor’s Analysis and Performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Missa brevis No. 9 (K. 275)
Type of Presentation: Humanities Fine Arts Building, Recital Hall #160, 2:30 p.m.
The focus of this research is to produce a complete conductor’s analysis and lecture-recital performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Missa brevis No. 9 (K. 275). The conductor’s guide will be a brief paper accompanying an annotated score of the Missa brevis No. 9, complete with my structural and harmonic analysis; this analysis consists of three major sections and will be submitted to a journal of choral music for consideration. The first section discusses historical context of the piece, the second focuses on major musical considerations, and the third is a comprehensive guide as to how future conductors could apply this research to their own performances. This research also addresses broader issues such as proper instrumentation, defined by the number and selection of instruments that would be appropriate to use. For example, the option of colla parte trombones and what would define appropriate instrumentation, depending on ensemble size. During my presentation, I will outline my research process and any major successes or shortcomings encountered. Major findings and a summary of the musical analysis will also be presented. The lecture will conclude with a performance of a selected movements from the work. In this performance, I will conduct a chamber choir with piano reduction of the full score to show my artistic interpretation of this work and demonstrate how one could utilize the major points found in my research.
Presenter: Mia Shaw
Project Adviser: Stephanie Ferrian (Dance)
Title: Detached: Dissociative Identity Disorder Through Movement
Type of Presentation: Humanities Fine Arts Building, Recital Hall #160, 11:00 a.m.
My presentation will demonstrate how dance is used as a tool for creating movements that have the ability to show an audience fictional stories, while transcending spoken language in order to communicate. As a choreographer, I rely on dancers to use a complex combination of art and athleticism, in order to move their bodies in a stylized form. Dance can be used to entertain an audience, tell stories, express emotions, practice forms of worship, etc. Dance has the unique ability to portray both fantasy and reality, as well as a variety of personalities through body motion and facials. This distinct ability is where the idea for Detached was born. Detached is a choreographed piece of dance representing the struggles a person with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) faces in their day to day life. My choreography depicts three dancers representing the host body and two different personalities. My goal in creating the movement to tell the story of Dissociative Identity Disorder was to create a better understanding, for an audience, the struggles a person with DID is forced to tolerate, through dance. In researching DID I knew that my choreography would allow each dancer to have their own distinct set of movements and personality, yet they would dance in unison in order to display they all share one body.