Wayne State University DigitalCommons@WayneState Wayne State University Dissertations 1-1-2013 Remembering Thespis: How Former Student Actors Value Their Experiences In High School Plays Michael Edgar Butterworth Wayne State University, Follow this and additional works at:http://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_dissertations Recommended Citation Butterworth, Michael Edgar, "Remembering Thespis: How Former Student Actors Value Their Experiences In High School Plays" (2013).Wayne State University Dissertations.Paper 754. This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@WayneState. It has been accepted for inclusion in Wayne State University Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@WayneState. REMEMBERING THESPIS: HOW FORMER STUDENT ACTORS VALUE THEIR EXPERIENCES IN HIGH SCHOOL PLAYS by MICHAEL EDGAR BUTTERWORTH DISSERTATION Submitted to the Graduate School of Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 2013 MAJOR: THEATRE Approved by: _______________________________________________ Advisor Date _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ DEDICATION To my students—they have always been my best teachers. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to acknowledge all of the people who have made this research study possible. My advisor, Dr. Mary Anderson, has given me sage guidance throughout the process. She encouraged me to explore uncharted avenues and to experiment with different forms of writing and research. All the while she held me to the highest standards and challenged me to do the best work possible. I have learned and grown under her tutelage. I am also grateful to the following: Dr. James Thomas, for his indomitable wisdom; Dr. Mary Cooney, for her gentle guidance; and Dr. Michael Barbour, for his insights. My parents, Fred and Ritajean Butterworth, have always asked the right questions; my brothers, Fredde, Dan, Jeff, and Tom, also peppered me with questions that gave me valuable ideas. I am grateful to Melissa Masnik Pasanen, Rita Spiess Black, Jane Rockhold, and Doug McFalls, without whom there would be no chapter 3. Thanks also to Ruben Van Kempen, Michael Tatlock, Patricia Costa Kim, Christine Roberts, John Overmier, Dr. Ann C. Wright, Matt Foss, Greg Bailey, Aaron Westlake, Jennifer Goff, Kassy Skoretz, and Julia Moriarty. And finally, special thanks to Scott Smithson, whose love and support have made the whole process worth it. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Dedication __________________________________________________________________ ii Acknowledgments ____________________________________________________________ iii List of Figures ______________________________________________________________ viii List of Tables ________________________________________________________________ ix CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ____________________________________________ 1 Chapter Outline _____________________________________________________________ 8 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ____________________________________ 15 Introduction _______________________________________________________________ 15 Historic Backgrounds: “The Charm of Well-Bred Men” ____________________________ 18 Contemporary Techniques and Practices in Theatre Education _______________________ 21 Creative Dramatics_______________________________________________________ 23 Drama-in-Education and Process Drama ______________________________________ 25 Applied Theatre _________________________________________________________ 26 Formal Theatre ____________________________________________________________ 28 Pedagogy of the School Play _________________________________________________ 31 Adolescent Learning and Development in Authentic Settings: Three Studies ____________ 41 Summary of Literature Review ________________________________________________ 47 CHAPTER THREE: “WHAT I AM TO BE…”: A HEURISTIC INQUIRY __________ 50 Remembering a Moment on Stage: West Side Story 1981 ___________________________ 50 Heuristic Inquiry: Remembering as Research ____________________________________ 54 Social Development in a Culture of Caring: Remembering Baba Yaga ________________ 62 Emotional Development: Remembering DramaFest _______________________________ 69 Magic and Aesthetic Development: Remembering My Death in Brigadoon _____________ 76 iv Personal Development: Remembering Who I Am Becoming ________________________ 86 CHAPTER FOUR: METHODOLOGY AND METHODS _________________________ 96 Introduction _______________________________________________________________ 96 Qualitative Case Study ______________________________________________________ 97 The Former Student Actors ___________________________________________________ 99 The Setting ______________________________________________________________ 100 Data Collection Methods ___________________________________________________ 101 Data Management and Analysis Methods ______________________________________ 103 Reliability and Validity _____________________________________________________ 108 Generalizability ________________________________________________________ 112 Subjectivity ___________________________________________________________ 113 CHAPTER FIVE: THE SETTING, THE CONTEXT, AND THE PARTICIPANTS __ 116 The Setting ______________________________________________________________ 117 The Context ______________________________________________________________ 121 Two Stories and an Artifact _________________________________________________ 123 Of Kalidahs and Other Monsters ___________________________________________ 124 Roberto _______________________________________________________________ 128 A Story about Drama ____________________________________________________ 130 The Former Student Actors __________________________________________________ 135 Tim: Self-Avowed Theatre Geek ___________________________________________ 136 Liz: The Troublemaker __________________________________________________ 141 Jeremy: The Dreamer ____________________________________________________ 146 Dallas: The Joker _______________________________________________________ 150 Annie: Hollywood Bound ________________________________________________ 154 v Rosie: The Pragmatist ___________________________________________________ 158 CHAPTER SIX: WHAT’S THERE TO BE NOTICED: ANALYSIS OF THE DATA _ 163 Introduction ______________________________________________________________ 163 Personal Development _____________________________________________________ 165 Emotional Development (Woods) ____________________________________________ 170 Emotional Development (Larson and Brown) ___________________________________ 179 Teen Drama: The Angst of Youth ____________________________________________ 181 Auditions and Casting ___________________________________________________ 185 Lessons Learned________________________________________________________ 193 Social Development _______________________________________________________ 197 Awareness of Others and Leveling. _________________________________________ 201 Audience Awareness ____________________________________________________ 203 Aesthetic Development _____________________________________________________ 206 Conclusion to Chapter Six __________________________________________________ 214 CHAPTER SEVEN: THE VALUE OF THE SCHOOL PLAY _____________________ 215 The Value of the School Play ________________________________________________ 216 Other Lessons ____________________________________________________________ 218 What Remains: Remembering Thespis _________________________________________ 222 Role-Playing __________________________________________________________ 227 The Centrality of Affective Learning _______________________________________ 229 Narrative Memory ______________________________________________________ 231 Reflective Practice: A Conclusion ____________________________________________ 234 Appendix: Interview Schedule ________________________________________________ 241 References ________________________________________________________________ 243 vi Abstract __________________________________________________________________ 262 Autobiographical Statement _________________________________________________ 264 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Jets Jacket. West Side Story. Author’s Collection. ___________________________ 52 Figure 2. Cast Picture, West Side Story, Roosevelt High School, 1981. Author’s Collection.__ 53 Figure 3. The Seal of the School. Author’s Collection. _______________________________ 62 Figure 4. My puppet stage and me, circa 1972. Author’s Collection. ____________________ 66 Figure 5. No, No, A Million Times No! Strenuous Life, Yearbook, 1981. _________________ 70 Figure 6. Brigadoon rehearsal. Strenuous Life, 1980. ________________________________ 81 Figure 7. The author as Harry Beaton, Brigadoon, 1980. Author’s Collection. _____________ 84 Figure 8. Ticket Stub. Li'l Abner. Author's Collection. _______________________________ 86 Figure 9. Service above Self Award. Author’s Collection. ____________________________ 92 Figure 10. Graduation Picture. Author’s Collection. _________________________________ 95 viii LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Participants _________________________________________________________ 100 Table 2. Little Theatre Productions _____________________________________________ 119 Table 3. Auditorium Productions _______________________________________________ 120 ix