The Repository @ St. Cloud State

Open Access Knowledge and Scholarship

Date of Award

8-1967

Culminating Project Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Special Studies: M.A.

Department

English

College

College of Liberal Arts

First Advisor

Arthur L. Houseman

Second Advisor

Ellsworth Scott Bryce

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Abstract

Man is distinguished from the beasts by his deliberate use of faculties of the mind. He has the ability to think, reason, and imagine at will. He is a being of supreme intelligence and creativity. Yet, because of his very powers of mentality, he is forced to face the pain of mentality. He must make decisions. He experiences frustration, anxiety, and mental torment. Physical man may completely give way to mental man, creating a world based upon imagination. In this circumstance, the life of illusion, man finds it impossible to adjust to the real world. He can only attempt to make reality a part of his illusion or make his illusions a part of his reality. It is this thesis which is developed in Edward Albee's drama TINY ALICE.

The presentation of TINY ALICE which is the basis of this project, was directed to exhibit the merging of the real with the illusionary. It was a project which included such technical problems as finding solutions to the difficulties involved in the personification of abstractions, and translating the subjective into the objective in language and action. It also demanded the implementation of directing techniques which required the manipulation of people and ideas toward the goal of achieving objective believability as characters and motivations on the physical stage.

The three performances. of TINY ALICE which evidenced the results of the creative work on this project, were held in the Gray Campus Laboratory School Auditorium on the campus of St. Cloud State College, St. Cloud, Minnesota, on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, April 13, 14, and 15, 1967. The facilities included a proscenium stage, extended five feet into the auditorium house. The seating capacity of the auditorium was 270 persons, although each performance necessitated the inclusion of additional seating.

The project was undertaken solely by students, although it was advised by theatre staff members. It proceeded from a five hundred dollar working budget. From this allotment were built three stage settings plus the majority of the costumes. It also included funds for royalties, promotion, the rental of miscellaneous set items, and the rebuilding of major property units.

This production of TINY ALICE was experimental in every respect. Because of the ambiguity, subjectivity, and heavy symbolism of the play, no single definite approach was dictated. Innovation and trial of new methods of staging and genera! production techniques was possible. Every aspect of production was prepared in this free spirit.

TINY ALICE is a difficult drama to produce. It is filled with vaguery and ambiguity; yet, it contains an element of thought which continues long after the final performance. It is immodestly believed that TlNY ALICE required creative freedom, controlled and concentrated toward a goal of believability, and quality of production. Such a goal demanded the application of the many severe disciplines of this complex art form.

Comments/Acknowledgements

This thesis was submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in Dramatic Art which in 1967 was available through the Department of Speech and Dramatic Arts. Neither the degree program nor the department exist today--the program was discontinued and the department evolved over time into the Department of Communication Studies and Department of Theater and Film Studies. In the interest of promoting discovery and in deference to Edward Albee's importance as a literary figure, the thesis is made available through the this series.

This thesis is very long--over 400 pages. To improve download performance, the thesis has been split into two parts. The main download consists of chapters 1 through 3 (pp. 1-16) and 5 through 12 (pp. 307-383), as well as the Bibliography (pp. 384-387) and Appendix A: Actors' Personal Character Conceptions (pp. 389- 406). Chapter 4: Production Manuscript, Adaptation and Director's Notes (pp. 17-306) is available as a supplemental download file below. The thesis is also available for download below as a single document.

OCLC Number

8046346

Boros_directornotes.pdf (10581 kB)
Chapter 4: Production Manuscript, Adaptation and Director's Note

Boros_complete.pdf (23239 kB)
Complete thesis (all chapters and appendix)

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