Semester
Spring
Date of Graduation
2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
MFA
College
College of Creative Arts
Department
Acting and Directing
Committee Chair
Brianne Taylor
Committee Member
Ryan Scoble
Committee Member
Tamara L. Honesty
Abstract
The purpose of the document is to chronicle the character creation of Carol in West Virginia University’s fall 2023 production of Alice Birch’s Anatomy of a Suicide. The following text will provide a detailed look at research on the playwright and my personal textual analysis in tandem with consultations with mental health professionals. It will also describe how those resources in collaboration with imaginative work via the techniques of Sanford Meisner, Fitzmaurice Voicework®, and intentional intimacy choreography were utilized in the rehearsal and performance process. In summation, it will also include post-production evaluations from loved ones and mentors as well as what it means to be perceived as a musical theatre actor in a dramatic setting.
CONTENT ADVISORY: Due to the subject matter of the play, this document will also contain mentions of attempted and completed suicide, physical intimacy, depression, rapid cycling, self- harm, substance abuse, and death by overdose.
Recommended Citation
Miller, Josey, "Tragedy Personified: Crafting the role of Carol in Alice Birch's Anatomy of a Suicide" (2024). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 12372.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/12372