Date of Graduation
2018
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
MFA
College
College of Creative Arts
Department
Acting and Directing
Committee Chair
Laura Hitt
Committee Co-Chair
Irene Alby
Committee Member
Jay Malarcher
Abstract
The playwright Suzan Lori-Parks is known for writing intense, psychological plays featuring mostly characters of color who have depth and emotional richness. Topdog/Underdog is a prime example of this. The play features two brothers who live in a cramped apartment and deal with issues of their past and their relationship with each other. I would like to argue that portraying Lincoln in the West Virginia University production of Topdog/Underdog was an intense and rewarding process where I had to consider race and what it means to be performing this play with the state of our country at the time, utilize acting techniques learned during my time at WVU, find the musicality of the language, find the separation between character and actor and perform a contemporary play that audiences can relate to, no matter what their skin color or background is. Through script analysis and table work, the characters and their relationship were fleshed out between the two actors and the director. Utilizing Meisner, Laban and Fitzmaurice technique allowed me to delve into the mindset of the character.
Recommended Citation
Simmons, Lonnie DeVaughan, "Know What Is, and Know What Ain't An Actor's Exploration into Developing the TopdogUnderdog Character Lincoln" (2018). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 6646.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/6646