Date of Graduation
2015
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
MFA
College
College of Creative Arts
Department
Acting and Directing
Committee Chair
Jessica M Bishop
Committee Co-Chair
Jay Malarcher
Committee Member
Jerry McGonigle
Abstract
"Lysander" is likely a title borrowed from the ancient Spartan admiral whose naval command was crucial to the resolution of the Peloponnesian War (Plutarch). His exploits as a Spartan navarch and steward against the forces of Athens, and then Thebes in the Corinthian War, were romanticized, as were many of the legends and history of Greece and Rome, by the time of William Shakespeare's writing of A Midsummer Night's Dream . Shakespeare must have felt it appropriate to set his fantasy romance in Athens, and to name the plot propellant lover after one of its most renowned conquerors. Lysander, for me, was a dream to perform and a much welcomed challenge. This thesis will center on my performance of the role at West Virginia University in the fall semester of 2014. I will track the process of embodying the role of Lysander; the love and hatred for the journey, and the satisfaction of coming to terms with "getting it right." To do this, I will analyze what preconceptions I brought to the production, what thoughts were altered or dropped, and what knowledge I gained through research and rehearsal aided by in-depth study of the text, themes, and plot specifically from the viewpoint of the character.
Recommended Citation
Green, Landon, "A Good Persuasion: Becoming Lysander in William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream"" (2015). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 5708.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/5708