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Copyright by Rebecca Drew Ramsey 2017 The Thesis Committee for Rebecca Drew Ramsey Certifies that this is the approved version of the following thesis: Grown-Up Engagement in Theatre for the Very Young APPROVED BY SUPERVISING COMMITTEE: Supervisor: Megan Alrutz Nicolas Kryah Carol North Grown-Up Engagement in Theatre for the Very Young by Rebecca Drew Ramsey, BFA Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Fine Arts The University of Texas at Austin May 2017 Acknowledgements This thesis represents many hours of love and labor, not just crafting this project and document, but three years of making, shifting, and growing at the University of Texas at Austin. I am so grateful for the knowledge and experience gained in this endeavor, but also for the strong relationships formed. This document would not exist with out the support of my mentors, colleagues, family, and friends. I have to first thank the tiny, but mighty team that came together to create Raise the Moon. Their ideas, talent and willingness to risk and fail were critical to our process. I have to thank Lina who performed the role of the Girl with the Moon with such strength and simplicity and whose friendship has been a beacon like the moon. I also have to thank Chad who performed the Boy with the Tide with vulnerability and grace and who is my constant partner in adventures as big as the sea. Thank you also to Kate for sharing your insights and time and to Dave, whose music made our world. Creating Raise the Moon took a team of artists and a wide net of support. Thank you to Dane’s Body Shop for giving us a home to rehearse. To Nat Miller, Chad Dike, Kate Shaw-Nappi, and Shannon Fox at ZACH Theatre for providing support, sharing a passion for theatre for young people, and for offering a space to perform. The communities these two organizations form and support have been a vital and cherished part of my time in Austin, TX. My thesis committee is made up of three artists, scholars, storytellers, educators, and thinkers whose high expectations and high levels of support have shaped this project, this document, and my time at UT Austin. Megan, thank you for reminding me that relationships matter and that it is possible to be rigorous and kind. If this thesis is a iv mountain, you have been the map that tells me where to go and the rope that allows me to pull myself up. Nick, thank you for reminding me of all the possibilities of storytelling and that innovation is always possible. If this thesis is a mountain, you have been the flashlight encouraging me to also look at the mountain at night, under rocks, and in surprising places. To Carol, thank you for reminding me to pay attention and notice, to put into practice what I think, say, and love, and most importantly reminding me to make, to jump in, start in the middle, and create. If this thesis is a mountain, you have been the journal and travel set of watercolors that allow me to reflect, capture, and share the wonder of my journey. Thank you all for your support on this climb. These last three years at UT Austin have culminated in this thesis document, but there are other experiences and adventures in artistry, pedagogy, and scholarship that have shaped my life and practice. Thank you to the entire faculty in Drama and Theatre for Youth and Communities. First to Joan Lazarus for her generosity, mentorship, friendship, and for teaching me how to live my life and make art that is fueled by my core values. To Katie Dawson for unbelievably showing me how to be excited about assessment and to value active reflection. To Lara Dossett who is a model of life-long curiosity, reminding me that learning won’t stop when I leave UT Austin. To Dr. Coleman Jennings for reminding me of the roots and branches on my artistic family tree. To Roxanne Schroeder-Arce for setting high standards of love, support, and pedagogy. I’ve been lucky in my time at UT Austin to also be shaped by the faculty and students in the Theatre and Dance MFA programs: Performance as Public Practice, Design, Playwriting, and Directing. Thank you to the design faculty for inspiring me to tell critical, compelling, and intentional visual stories. Thank you also to the colleagues in my cohort “Team ‘17” whose artistry, generosity, and critical friendship live fondly in my heart. v I also have to thank my DTYC colleagues for challenging and inspiring me. In particular, I am grateful to my cohort—Lauren, CC, and Cortney for being more than colleagues, but a fiercely loyal mini-community of support. CC, you inspire me to be bold and passionate. Lauren, you inspire me to just “say the thing” and to approach every challenge with grace. Cortney, you inspire me to cherish relationships and remind me that living a full life outside of work makes you better at everything. I love conspiring with all three of my lemurs and look forward to our next adventures. I owe so much gratitude to my family—my sister for her perspective and wisdom, my brother for providing the occasional and much needed distraction, my dad for impromptu advice about rigging and physics, and my mom for copy editing, artistic and emotional support, and for being my first storyteller. I am forever grateful. And finally, thank you to the tiny family that moves with me across the country: my husband—Chad and our dog—Moose. Thank you, Chad, for all the big and small ways you’ve supported me through this process. This document marks the end of one adventure and the beginning of the next. I could not ask for a better travel companion. vi Abstract Grown-Up Engagement in Theatre for the Very Young Rebecca Drew Ramsey, MFA The University of Texas at Austin, 2017 Supervisor: Megan Alrutz Theatre for the Very Young (TVY), a segment of the much larger field of Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA), is an inherently intergenerational experience. Audiences younger than five seldom attend theatre without an adult caregiver. Yet adult audience members in TYA and TVY are often positioned as gatekeepers, adversaries blocking access to young audience members. This thesis wonders how theatre-makers in TVY might more intentionally consider their adult audience members in order to better engage this intergenerational audience. Drawing from the successful intergenerational engagement of Pixar’s animated studios, this thesis documents the development of Raise the Moon, a new play for the very young that aims to engage adults and young people in an equally rich artistic experience. The findings in this thesis invite theatre makers to consider high quality aesthetics, economy of storytelling, and space in their creations for multiple interpretations in order to create theatre that engages grown-ups and young people together. vii Table of Contents List of Figures ..........................................................................................................x List of Illustrations ................................................................................................. xi Chapter One: Introduction and Inspiration ..............................................................1 Background and Notes on the Field ................................................................2 Grown-Up Engagement ..................................................................................3 Pixar as a Model for Intergenerational Engagement .......................................6 Project Overview ............................................................................................9 Research Methodology .................................................................................10 Outline of Chapters .......................................................................................11 Chapter Two: Storytelling and the Intergenerational Audience ............................14 Pixar Plots: Befriending Formula .................................................................16 Every Day… ...............................................................................21 Until One Day… .........................................................................21 Because of That… .......................................................................22 Because of That… .......................................................................23 Until Finally… ............................................................................23 Abstraction and Multiple Interpretations ......................................................25 Conclusion: Balancing Abstraction and Clarity ...........................................33 Chapter Three: Spectacle and the Adult Audience ................................................38 Pixar’s Spectacle: Impossible Scale ..............................................................39 Pixar’s Spectacle: Transformation and Nostalgia .........................................41 Set Design: Building A Visual World ..........................................................43 Lighting the Sky and the Sea ........................................................................46 Music as Spectacle ........................................................................................48 Assessing Engagement ..................................................................................51 Conclusion: Building a Reputation ...............................................................55 viii Chapter Four: Valuing the Work in Making Magic ...............................................56