Doctoral Projects in Progress in Theatre Arts, 2008

This is the fifty-sixth annual report of dissertations in progress in theatre arts in the United States. The entries contained in this report were solicited from those universities offering a doctoral degree in areas related to theatre; the completeness and accuracy of the report depend largely on the immense cooperation of those students and faculty members who were kind enough to submit complete and timely information—either by e-mail, regular mail, or fax. A future request for information will be mailed in October 2008 for the 2009 edition. Please contact the editor/researcher if an institution is not already receiving the annual call for submissions.

This report lists (in order) the doctoral student's name, dissertation title, university, department affiliation, faculty supervisor, and projected year of completion. Dissertation topics are arranged in two parts: in Part I, topics are listed first geographically, and second by time periods; Part II provides additional divisions for those projects that do not fit easily according to geography or time, but conform to the growing areas of contemporary research.

This is my first year as editor/researcher for this report. My associate editor and I greatly appreciate the cooperation of all the students and faculty who have contributed to it this year. It is important to realize, however, that the object of study in theatre arts is constantly expanding its boundaries. In light of this, for next year I would like to alter the archival system that has been used in the compilation of this report in order to make it more conducive to the current state of theatre academia. My associate editor and I will be working toward that end over the summer. Please feel free to contact us with any suggestions or requests you may have regarding this.

We would like to express our sincere appreciation to the Texas Tech University Department of Theatre and Dance and its chair, Fred Christoffel, for sponsoring our research request. Again, we are grateful for the responses we received from the theatre community.

Part I

Africa

Ferreira, Eunice. Cape Verde Theatre: Resisting, Reclaiming and Recreating National and Cultural Identity in Postcolonial Lusophone Africa. Tufts University. Drama. Claire Conceison. 2009.

Australia

Anderson, Mary. Transposing Place: The Migrant and the Natural in Site-Specific Performance in Hobart, Tasmania and Alice Springs, Northern Territory. University of California, Davis. Theatre and Dance. Barbara Sellers-Young. 2008.

Canada

Mansfield, Rachel. Drama and the Peaceable Kingdom: Adaptation, Interculturalism and Canadian Identity. Tufts University. Drama. Claire Conceison. 2009.

England

Medieval

Meacham, Thomas. Thomas Chaundler: Performance, Politics, and Patronage in Late Medieval England. The Graduate Center, CUNY. Theatre. Pamela Sheingorn. 2011.

Renaissance

Geddes, Louise. "The Wounds Become Him": Sacrifice, Honor, and the Hazard of Much Blood in Shakespeare's Roman Plays. Graduate Center, CUNY. English. Richard McCoy. 2008.

Guy, Connie. The Female Grotesque in Renaissance Drama. University of Kansas. English. David Berseron. 2008.

Stetner, Clifford. Shakespeare's "Shrieking Harbinger": Shaping Time in The Phoenix and the Turtle . The Graduate Center, CUNY. English. Mario Digangi. 2008.

Restoration/Eighteenth Century

Davis, Hope. Playing (with) Space in the Author's Wheel. Bowling Green State University. Theatre and Film. Ronald Shields. 2008.

France

Crosby, Joy. Theological Space and Making Belief: The King, the Church and the Theater in Seventeenth Century France. University of California, Berkeley. Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies. Shannon Steen and Deborah Blocker. 2010.

Fisek, Emine. Complication Hospitality: French Theatre and the Act of Welcome. University of California, Berkeley. Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies. Shannon Jackson. 2010.

Japan

Halebsky, Judy. Noh in Transformation: The Practice of Japanese Noh in Contemporary International Performance. University of California, Davis. Theatre and Dance. Lynette Hunter. 2008.

Poland

Wrobel, Karolina. The Rebirth of Jewish Culture on Polish Soil: A Case Study of the Jewish Festival in Krakow. Tufts University. Drama. Laurence Senelick. 2008.

South America

Bush, Jason. Danza de la Raza: The Theatricalization of the Peruvian Scissors Dance. Ohio State University. Theatre. Lesley Ferris. 2009.

Legon, Elisa. "Can I Bite a Piece of You?": Consumption and Devouring in Argentine and Brazilian Theatre. The Graduate Center, CUNY. Theatre. Jean...