Theatre Department Research Articles

Cross-Institutional Collaboration through Audience Research

Abstract: Neighboring institutions with radically different access to resources circulate within segregated and siloed social worlds. Cross-institutional collaboration holds the potential to disrupt these silos, to redirect resources from resource-rich institutions to underfunded neighboring institutions, and to emphasize the value of lived experiences in the production of knowledge. The theatre can be a site for cross-institutional collaboration, but such projects are far from straightforward and require flexibility. This essay describes a collaboration between the theatre department of a resource-rich private university and an honors seminar at a neighboring community college, utilizing audience research as a site of cross-disciplinary and cross-institutional collaboration.

СЦЕНАТА КАТО МЯСТО ЗА СЪТРУДНИЧЕСТВО И УСВОЯВАНЕ НА УМЕНИЯ ЗА ЖИВОТА

The report examines an experimental experience of cooperation between the ‘Bratya Grimm’ kindergarten and students from NBU, Theater Department during the ‘Bratya Grimm’ International Fairy Tale Festival in Shumen in April 2024. Literary sources show the importance of theater for children of preschool age, the possibilities for emotional, mental and physical development. The role of art as a means and method of learning is also described. Aspects of cooperation and interaction that develop the skills of both participating parties – students and children – are presented, as well as factors infl uencing this cooperation. The benefits and questions left after the experiment from the perspective of teachers, students and children are listed. opportunities for development in this direction of interaction in theatrical forms between adults and children on stage have been identified.

Actor as expert: Developing an improvisational actor training approach for social work simulations

The increased reliance on online platforms such as Zoom and Teams for skills training for allied health specialists has presented new challenges for the actor and the actor trainer. The research reported in this article grew out of a project set up to investigate these challenges. Since 2021, members of the Deakin University Theatre Department have been collaborating with the charity Anglicare Victoria to deliver online training for Rapid Response social workers who work with families in danger of having their children removed. This has involved recruiting and training actors to act as family members in relevant scenarios in ‘real play’ online simulations so the Anglicare Rapid Response trainee can develop essential skills. Within a practice-led research approach, we ask what might be required when this live embodied skillset is moved online. The article utilizes observations of the video recordings of the training sessions, recordings of debrief sessions and reflections from the author-actors to report on an emerging approach for preparing actors for this type of engagement. We reflect on the ways improvisation is impacted using the ‘online performance’ space, especially how status, eye gaze, body positioning and mise en scène can be utilized in the online environment. We also consider the importance of actor self-care. The article offers a basis of training for a field of endeavour that is becoming more prevalent in the post-COVID world: online simulation scenarios for care workers.

Nursing Leadership in a Post-Pandemic Elective Orthopaedic Theatre Department: A Detailed Thematic Analysis of an Open-Ended Qualitative Survey.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted nursing theatre staff, departmental activity, and delivery of services to patients. This work-based project aimed to investigate the challenges of nursing leadership in an elective orthopaedic department at current times. The study collected qualitative data exploring theatre staff's expectations from leadership, offering insight on how the pandemic has influenced the way of working and exploring how the future in this unit may look. The answers from 20 practitioners to an anonymised open-ended survey were examined using thematic analysis. The participants described a leader as a good communicator who focuses on empowering others and supporting the team, identified by the majority as a senior team member. From the findings, three topics were identified: immediate changes, delayed changes, and pre-existing conditions. The answers painted a reality that is complex and multifaceted, where numerous variables play a part in the physical and mental health of each candidate, impacting their performance as well as their work/life balance. Overall, the strongest subjects recurring in the findings were the need for nursing leadership to focus on supporting staff with training opportunities, to actively plan for a reduction in staffing shortages, and to be constantly mindful of staff well-being. This study pointed out that the need for constant communication with their staff, building honest relationships, and being a reliable leader, focused on empowering others and supporting the team were important factors for the nursing management during the COVID-19 pandemic and post-COVID-19 era.

Martin Kagel and David Z. Saltz, eds. Open Wounds: Holocaust Theater and the Legacy of George Tabori

This collection of essays fills a gap in the critical literature in English on Hungarian-German Holocaust playwright and director George Tabori. The book will be useful for scholars in theatre, German, and comparative literature departments.

Shakespeare is Not Pie: Contingencies of Labour, Marginalisation, and Early Modern Studies

ABSTRACT In the United States, zero-sum economic models (‘scarcity mindset’ often represented by the metaphor of pie) are being deployed in service to neoliberal ideas about humanist curricula. Backed by the insistence that dismantling the canon is the only way to enact strong DEIJ initiatives, these models are systemically attacking the study of Shakespeare in higher education. The echoes of these problems are strongly evident in the famously bad academic hiring market. Several key studies about the labour market in recent years render the turn towards contingency clear and quantifiable in English, History, and Theatre Departments, and clarify how this turn is unduly impacting Shakespeareans. Institutions say they are eliminating Shakespeare to make curricular space for marginalised voices, but these claims don’t hold up to scrutiny in light of systemic attacks on DEIJ work. This paper underlines how critical the studies of race and gender are to Shakespeare studies as a field; early modernists have been doing the labour of DEIJ for a long time, and thus are uniquely equipped to serve social justice initiatives. Accordingly, Shakespeareans and the work we do are vital to the health of the humanities as a whole.

А.В. Луначарский и Е.К. Малиновская: к истории взаимоотношений руководителей советского искусства

The article examines the relationship between the two prominent leaders of Soviet art — head of the Russian SFSR People’s Commissariat for Education A.V. Lunacharsky and E.K. Malinovskaya who managed the Moscow academic theatres in 1919–1924. Based on the material of six archive fund collections, the author of the article shows the complex dynamics of the relations influenced by their long-standing acquaintance from pre-revolutionary times, their personal artistic tastes, and the situation that developed around academic theatres in the early 1920s. In his letters to Malinovskaya, Lunacharsky often acted as a leader and patron, which appeared natural from the point of view of subordination. However, being not only a high-ranking official but also a prolific playwright interested in a special relationship with the theatrical world, in the matters that concerned the staging of his plays, he sometimes turned into a petitioner. Despite disagreements with Malinovskaya, sometimes significant, Lunacharsky appreciated her business qualities and deep involvement in the affairs of the theatre department, especially those of the Bolshoi theatre, where Malinovskaya, in addition to the general management of the academic stage, held the post of director. However, being passionate about her business, by 1924 she had managed to make a large number of enemies, which stopped Lunacharsky from further defending his “energetic employee” in the government service, and he decided to accept her resignation.

Ivan Vasilyevich Ekskuzovich — Architect and Theater Figure

For the first time the article gives a biographical study of the major theatrical figure and St Petersburg architect I. V. Ekskuzovich. Having graduated from the Institute of Civil Engineers in his youth, he has built several buildings in the capital of the Russian Empire, but his lifework was the management of academic theaters in Leningrad and Moscow. In this article there was first established the existence of the “Ekskuzovich coterie” in 1917, which also included V. E. Meyerhold, conductor N. A. Malko and a certain number of the artists of the Mariinsky Theatre; the role of the coterie in the nomination of Ekskuzovich to the post of the head of the theater department at the end of 1917. The article summarizes the extensive material related to his administrative activities in theaters: the role of Ekskuzovich in the creation of the association of academic theaters, his official and personal correspondence with artists and the People’s Commissar of Education A. V. Lunacharsky. Based on the reviews of memoirists, private correspondence of artists and a number of anniversary addresses, a conclusion is made about the significant popularity of Ekskuzovich in the artistic environment. It is emphasized that the resignation of Ekskuzovich in 1928 took place against the will of Lunacharsky, who lost by the end of the 1920s his real power in the People’s Commissariat for Education. The activity of Ekskuzovich as a theorist and practitioner in mechanization of the theater stage, as well as one of the leading engineers in the park management of Leningrad in the 1930s, is also traced. The monograph “The Theater Stage in the Past and Present” published by him in 1930, Ekskuzovich’s work on the continuation of this research, as well as his work on equipping the stages of Soviet theaters, including the work on the theatrical part of the Palace of Soviets, are considered. The article is based mainly on archival data; materials used 13 archives and manuscript departments of museums and libraries.

Survey based Study on Levels of Radiation Safety Awareness among Non-Radiology Staff

Abstract: Background: The recent years have witnessed a notable surge in the utilization of Ionizing Radiation, primarily driven by advancements in diagnostic technology within the Radiology field. However, it's crucial to acknowledge that exposure to such radiation poses significant risks to both healthcare professionals and patients. Ionizing radiation comes with various disadvantages and potential harmful effects, the severity of which depends on the dose and duration of exposure. Recent reports have underscored the imperative need to enhance our understanding of ionizing radiation and its associated risks. Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was carried out within the Swami Vivekanand Group of Institutes. A total of 101 participants, excluding those from the Radiology and Operation Theatre departments, completed a questionnaire consisting of 15 multiple-choice questions. There were no age restrictions for participation, and the identities of the participants remained anonymous. The only eligibility criterion was that participants should not be affiliated with the Radiology and Operation Theatre departments. Each participant was provided with a self-administered questionnaire, and over a span of 45 days, their knowledge about radiation safety.

Measuring operating theatre nurses' perceptions of safety culture using the SCORE questionnaire.

Tackling operating theatre waiting lists may focus healthcare organisations' attention on increased productivity while downplaying safety concerns. To explore safety culture in a perioperative department from operating theatre practitioners' perspective. Cross-sectional pen-and-paper survey among nurses in an operating theatre department in Malta using the Safety, Communication, Operational Reliability and Engagement questionnaire. The response rate was 71.2% (n = 146). Engagement domains and Organisational Safety Culture domains were perceived to be at an average level, apart from Unit Leadership which was perceived to be low. Burnout domains were perceived to be high or very high. Correlation analysis showed that leaders' recognition of staff feedback and input is associated with improved safety culture perceptions. An organisational win-win situation is achievable, whereby safety culture perceptions are improved, not necessarily by decreasing job demands such as tackling waiting lists, but by recognising operating theatre staff's input and involving them in work-related decisions.

Something Beautiful and Powerful: Politics, Art, and Bread and Puppet Theater

Something Beautiful and Powerful: Politics, Art, and Bread and Puppet Theater

TATYANA MEDVID – MASTER OF UKRAINIAN THEATRICAL DESIGNER OF THE SECOND HALF OF THE 20TH CENTURIES

The topic of the Study is dedicated to highlighting the phenomenon genesis parameters and place of work of the Ukrainian theatrical designer T. D. Medvid in the national, artiStic and sociocultural space the Stages of creative development, the principles of her artiStic method and their influence on the modern theatrical design of Ukraine are outlined. Tetyana Dmytrivna Medvyd can be considered a representative of three Ukrainian schools of scenography: the theatre department of the Kharkiv Art InStitute, the workshop of the experienced scenographer and teacher Borys Kosarev (1960–1965); maStering the philosophical principles of the “method of transformation”, the laws of theatrical synthesis and director’s theater, which were practically explored in mock-up laboratories by the artiSts of “Berezіl” (1974–1978) in the position of chief artiSt, communicating with colleagues and students of Les Kurbas and V. Meller; Studying in the creative workshop of D. Lider (1978–1982). In her work, Tetiana Medvid united three main scenographic schools of Ukraine: Kurbas-Meller’s “Berezіl” laboratories, B. Kosarev’s school, and Danylo Lider’s scenographic classes. The article examines the creative activity and achievements of T. D. Medvid in temporal, spatial, effective and creative development, the noted theatrical designer projects of T. Medvid, realized in the T. Shevchenko Kharkiv Academic Theatre “Berezil” and some other theatres of the region. The author proved that T. Medvid was a prominent creator of monumental effective theatrical designer in Ukraine at the end of the 20th – beginning of the 21St century, a bright representative of the conStellation of theatre artists of the laSt quarter of the 20th century, who created theatrical design projects in the syStem of art direction.

Surgeon–Anesthesiologist Relationship for Patient Safety: Prospective study

Differences in information, opinion, values, experience, and interests between a medical surgeon and an anesthesiologist resuscitator can occur when working in environments with high pressure such as operating rooms, which can trigger conflicts. The objective of our study is to assess the perceived causes that trigger their conflicts. Materials and Methods: This is a prospective observational study conducted within the operating theater department of the Military Instruction Hospital Mohammed V Rabat (HMIMV). Results: 41 anesthesiologists and 38 surgeons participated. Personal and organizational causes were the most common. For surgeons, the most frequent cause of the conflict was delayed anesthesia startup (71%) while anesthesiologists considered lack of communication the most important cause of conflict (82%). We noted that participants of all levels agree that lack of communication and personality traits are the most frequent causes of conflict in the operating room. Conclusion: The causes of conflicts between surgeons and anesthesiologists in our study are similar to those found in the literature. Clear guidelines about the most common causes of conflicts will reduce their frequency and allow them to be managed well.

Consciously building bridges: Team-teaching to merge and evolve actor training in voice and movement

Successful integration of acting, voice and movement has long been desired in theatre-arts training. Existing systems, however, often offer three distinct and separate areas of performance training – at least within US higher-education curricular contexts. But, this article proposes, in team-teaching, we gain an experience of living the integration, of challenging the ways we traditionally teach exercises and of finding new ways to rework concepts and exercises taught to us. Consciously creating bridges across areas of training enables students to grow by experiencing two perspectives in the same classroom. Integration is the aim of a new ‘Introduction to Voice and Movement’ course created and team-taught by the authors of this article, a voice professor and a movement professor. We sought not only to merge voice and movement training within our university theatre department, but to re-evaluate how we approach teaching voice and movement. The experience became more than simply integrating voice and movement into one class. The discovery of pedagogical alignment resulted in the merging of two personal pedagogies. This merging became integration as students carried the physio-vocal training into their lives and artistry beyond the classroom.

Minimizing patients total clinical condition deterioration in operating theatre departments

The operating theatre is the most crucial and costly department in a hospital due to its expensive resources and high patient admission rate. Efficiently allocating operating theatre resources to patients provides hospital management with better utilization and patient flow. In this paper, we tackle both tactical and operational planning over short-term to medium-term horizons. The main goal is to determine an allocation of blocks of time on each day to surgical specialties while also assigning each patient a day and an operating room for surgery. To create a balance between improving patients welfare and satisfying the expectations of hospital administrators, we propose six novel deterioration rates to evaluate patients total clinical condition deterioration. Each deterioration rate is defined as a function of the clinical priorities of patients, their waiting times, and their due dates. To optimize the objective functions, we present mixed integer programming (MIP) models and two dynamic programming based heuristics. Computational experiments have been conducted on a novel well-designed and carefully chosen benchmark dataset, which simulates realistic-sized instances. The results demonstrate the capability of the MIP models in finding excellent solutions (maximum average gap of 4.71% across all instances and objective functions), though, requiring large run-times. The heuristic algorithms provide a time-efficient alternative, where high quality solutions can be found in under a minute. We also analyse each objective function’s ability in generating high quality solutions from different perspectives such as patients waiting times, the number of scheduled patients, and operating rooms utilization rates. We provide managerial insights to the decision makers in cases where their intention is to meet KPIs and/or maintaining trade-offs between patients and administrators expectations, more fair assignments, or ensuring that the most urgent patients are taken care of first.

Rediscovering the Poetic Genius of María Irene Fornés

Rediscovering the Poetic Genius of María Irene Fornés Erin Joy Schmidt (bio) I feel we are constantly threatened by death, every second, every instant, it's there. And every moment something rescues us. Something rescues us from death every moment of our lives. For every moment we live we have to thank something. We have to be grateful to something that fights for us and saves us. —Fefu and Her Friends, p. 52 I first encountered María Irene Fornés's Fefu and Her Friends in 1997, exactly twenty years after its 1977 off-Broadway premiere. At the time I was a college freshman, and, quite frankly, was not quite sure what to make of it. I was utterly intrigued by the irreverence of Fornés's dialogue. "Do you think about genitals all the time?" asks Emma as she is gardening with Fefu. At age 19, I was not yet able to grasp the depth and invention of the human condition that Fornés exposed with her dialogue. My play library and theatrical vocabulary was limited to playwrights of the popular realm. I had not yet dug into genres beyond realism and naturalism. What I wasn't aware of at that time but what is not lost on me now is that a seed of curiosity was planted for Fornés in that first read. On the surface, the play seems like a simple relationship play written in the same vein as other popular 1970s kitchen-sink dramedies. The play centers on Fefu Beckman and seven of her friends who gather at her New England country home to rehearse a program for an educational society fundraiser in the late 1930s. Yet as the dialogue unfolds, it becomes clear how profound and nuanced the plot and these women really are. Weaving together the lives of these housewives and philanthropists, Fornés delves into themes of conformity, patriarchal oppression, and the feminine mystique without compromising the unique yet familiar relationships among the women. Writing about a production of Fefu and Her Friends at the American Conservatory Theatre in April 2022, theatre critic Jim Munson observed: "The other thing that makes this play's reputation is Fornés' writing style, which is grounded in realism, but occasionally includes poetry and other flights of fancy. This is also what makes the work so hard to describe." Although the play was intriguing to this young woman, a deeper understanding would only come with age (fig. 1). After that first encounter, it would take another twenty-five years for me to engage with Fefu and Her Friends. During the next decade, I received my MFA in acting, worked as an AEA actor in regional theatres throughout the East Coast, and taught performance at several colleges. I was introduced to all manner of plays and playwrights with, as would be expected, the most offerings from the theatrical canon of "well-made plays." Fornés's name would come up among the other surrealists, but more as a nod to her oddness than her brilliance. Now as a theatre professor and stage director at Providence College, our theatre department's play-selection committee was searching for plays to produce during our season dedicated to women in the theatre. As a member of the committee, I was tasked with proposing plays that would be a good fit for the theme and that offer something I would be interested in directing. I remembered that strange yet poignant play I read so many years ago, and decided to read it again and investigate if it might be a good vehicle for our students, remembering little more than the fact that it was written by a woman and featured an all-female-identifying cast of characters. As I began to dig into the text, I was enthralled by the way that Fornés crafted a plot that was driven by women who were confronting their issues, not hiding from them, in contrast to the women of Ibsen, Chekhov, and Williams, whose words surrounded [End Page 149] Click for larger view View full resolution Fig 1. Undergraduate Madelyn Rich (Emma) performs a monologue as other cast members look on...

A Suggested Perspective in the Context of the Office of Passion to Strengthen the Acting Skills of Students in Institutes of Fine Arts

Department of Art Education, College of Fine Arts, University of Sulaimani, Kurdistan Region, Iraq. Abstract: Acting lesson is one of the basic lessons as the main elements of building a show that is related to the skill and proficiency of the actor and related to the level of information In addition to those who receive a degree in acting; directors at the Institute of Fine Arts are even studying for five years. According to the ٢٠٠٣ conference of the General Directorate of Institutes, Stanislavsky’s approach in Kurdistan is still being followed as a method of studying performance subjects at regional institutes and in the theatre department for the first, second and third stages, So analyzing and recognizing the principles of Stanislavsky’s approach, as well as identifying the objectives of acting lessons in the Theatre Department of the Institute of Fine Arts, the characteristics of this lesson, and finding similar etudes, to develop the skills of acting for the students of this lesson. Sections, coaches, and actors will be the basis of this research.

Burn Injuries in Kumasi: A Ten-Year Review

Objective: To document the clinical and epidemiological features; and the outcome of management of patients with burn injuries at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, Ghana, from January 2003 to December 2012. Patients and Methods: Data on all burn patients managed within the study period were retrieved from the records of the Burns Intensive Care Unit (BICU), theatre and Surgical Outpatient Department (SOPD) and analyzed. Data included name, age, sex, cause ofburn, medical and surgical treatment given, post burn complications and the outcome of the treatment.Results: 1361 patients were treated for burn injuries and their complications at KATH, comprising 707 males and 654 females (M: F = 1.08:1). Ages ranged from 0.25 to 92 years; mean 15.5 (SD 14.1) years, median 11.9 years. About 77% of the patients wereaged 20 years or less; 45% were children aged 10 years or younger. The highest annual admission was 172 patients in 2005; the lowest 104 in 2007. Scalds comprised 60% of the injuries, hot water accounting for 45%. Dry heat was responsible for 37% of the burninjuries. Chemical burns accounted for 28 (2%) injuries which led to loss of vision in two cases and one death; all of which were through assault. Electrical burns accounted for 12 (0.9%) of the injuries and led to six limb amputations and three deaths, all of them workersof electricity companies. A total of 162 patients died of burn injuries, giving an overall mortality of 11.9%. The highest annual mortality of 32 (29%) occurred in 2008, which coincided with 4 major burn disasters. Perioperative deaths occurred in four epileptic patients.Conclusion: Though injuries from hot liquids account for most admissions for burns at KATH, significant morbidity and mortality also result from dry heat. Electrical and chemical burns and epilepsy are increasingly becoming responsible for most burn morbidity.

Co-Morbidities and Characteristics of Adult Obese patients for Bariatric Surgery (Sleeve Gastrectomy) and their early Postoperative Complications

Background: Obesity is defined as an increase in body weight that is greater than 20 percent of an individual's ideal body weight; the weight is determined by certain factors, such as age, height, and gender. Obesity has become a real and serious health issue in the world. Obesity doesn’t come alone but associates with many other multiple diseases like type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), hypertension (HTN) and many more. Sleeve gastrectomy is very beneficial as the surgical treatment of obesity but it also has some risks or complications. Complications may be early or could be long term. Aim: To determine comorbidities and characteristics of adult obese patients for bariatric surgery (Sleeve Gastrectomy) and their early postoperative complications Method: Data of 55 participants was taken age ranging from 18 to 60 years from record room of General Operation Theatre (GOT) department of Shalamar Hospital, Lahore. Other than age, weight and BMI of the participants, their comorbidities and complications were studied. Result: Average age of participants which was 41.345 years with standard deviation of8.097. Most patients were in category of 40 to 50 years age. There were 27 females and 28 males included in this study. 94.5% of the participants had limited physical work ability. Most common co-morbidity was arthritis (53%) then came snoring and hypertension (45% each) followed by sleep apnea (40%) and respiratory disease (36.4%), diabetes (34.5%), regurgitation (32.7%) and myocardial infarction at last with 7% frequency. Rate of post-operative complications was very low with 5.5% of bleeding and 3.6% of abscess and stomach leak both. Conclusion: This study concluded that co-morbidities increase with increasing weight and older age in a dose-response relationship. Also, respiratory disease and sleep apnea are more significant than other co-morbidities. Co-morbidities can be controlled with changing social structure and lifestyles. The problem can only get worse with time if not addressed by healthcare planners. Keywords: obesity, co-morbidity, post-operative complications

Assessment of Compliance of Quality Indicators as Per Nabh Standards in the Intensive Care Unit (Medicine and Surgery Department) and Operation Theater Department (Old and NBS Building) in Avbrh Hospital, Sawangi (M), Wardha

The proposed study is intended to study the gaps in providing the quality services as per standards. This study will help us to understand standards to be maintained in the clinical and non-clinical areas, specially intensive care, and OT as they are highly prone to hospital acquired infection. Hence, implement the improvements in the areas required with correct methods and procedures. Objectives: 1. To find and reduce the gaps in the quality services provided in the clinical and non-clinical areas in the OT and ICU. 2. To assess the compliance of percentage of quality indicators. 3. To assess the method of collection of data capturing for the assessment of records.