Hamlet from the Stage. My Project Concept Was

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Hamlet from the Stage. My Project Concept Was East Tennessee State University Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University Electronic Theses and Dissertations Student Works 5-2010 Hamlet from The tS age. David Blair East Tennessee State University Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.etsu.edu/etd Part of the Broadcast and Video Studies Commons, and the Theatre and Performance Studies Commons Recommended Citation Blair, David, "Hamlet from The tS age." (2010). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1671. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1671 This Thesis - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Works at Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Hamlet From The Stage ________________________ A thesis presented to the faculty of the Department of Communication East Tennessee State University ________________________ In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in Professional Communication ________________________ by David Blair May 2010 ________________________ Mr. Patrick Cronin, Chair Mr. Bobby Funk Ms. Karen Smith Keywords: Hamlet, Shakespeare, interviews, acting, ETSU, theatre ABSTRACT Hamlet From The Stage by David Blair Hamlet From The Stage is a video production designed to be an extra feature on the DVD video of the stage production of Hamlet, performed by the Division of Theatre and Dance at East Tennessee State University, and filmed by the Department of e-Learning during the Spring Semester of 2009. Hamlet From The Stage is a professional interview style video package of the cast of Hamlet designed to help inexperienced collegiate actors learn some useful tools when approaching a Shakespearean audition or performance. This video package represents over eleven months of production: concept, writing, set design and studio setup, interview scheduling, filming, editing, audio enhancements, and video color correction. The ETSU Department of e-Learning is scheduled to have the post-production on the Hamlet DVD production completed by the end of Spring 2010 and Hamlet From The Stage will be packaged and released as the Hamlet Bonus Features on that DVD. 2 CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT …………………………………………………………………………. 2 Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION …………………………………………………………... 4 Directorial Background …………………………………………………. 4 Project Conception ……………………………………………………….. 6 The Feature is Approved …………………………………………………. 9 2. HAMLET FROM THE STAGE: PROGRESS JOURNAL ………………….. 11 The Journal ………………………………………………………………. 11 3. SUMMARY: THEORY VS. REALITY ……………………………………... 18 APPENDIXES ……………………………………………………………………….. 20 Appendix A: Hamlet From The Stage: Final Interview Questions ………………… 20 Appendix B: Hamlet From The Stage: Image Release ……..………………………. 23 VITA ………………………………………………………………………………….. 26 3 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Directorial Background In the Spring of 2006, I was an undergraduate here at East Tennessee State University looking at entering my final three semesters for my Bachelor of Arts Degree in Broadcasting. When considering which courses to enroll in, I had to fill several open spots in order to have a full schedule in both Fall of 2006 and Spring of 2007. I realized that the course requirements for my degree did not encompass everything I felt would be useful to me in the field of Radio and Television, so I began a search to find other courses that would give me a full schedule as a full- time student. One seemingly obvious choice for an additional class, in my opinion, was a class that focused on speaking, or more specifically on diction. I approached a professor in the Broadcasting Department and was told that Broadcasting did not have any classes geared directly towards diction and public speaking. They pointed me in two different directions, one was towards the public speaking classes in the English Department, the other was towards Theatre courses. I began to search and eventually decided to enroll in Voice and Diction taught by Herb Parker. Voice and Diction was a new animal to me. In Broadcasting, although there are some performance aspects of the program, the majority of the degree focuses on the technical elements required to shoot professional video packages, whether it be for documentaries, sporting events, newscasts, etc. Voice and Diction is geared towards presentation of self, primarily through how to manipulate diction and using one’s voice to communicate in specific way. Herb Parker is one of the main instructors in the Division of Theatre and Dance and Voice and Diction is what began exposing me to the world of performance classes offered by the Division of Theatre and Dance. 4 I began to enroll in multiple classes that were offered by Theatre such as Acting I, Acting II, Acting For The Camera I and II, and more. I quickly realized that if I wanted a realistic shot at being talent in front of the camera following graduation, I would learn the necessary skills by taking performance classes offered by the Division of Theatre and Dance. It was during these final three semesters leading up to my undergraduate degree that I met Mr. Patrick Cronin. Unbeknownst to me at the time, having Mr. Cronin as an instructor in Acting For The Camera II was going to change my life in ways I could have never imagined. I met Mr. Cronin during my final undergraduate semester in the Spring of 2007. I believed the classes of Voice and Diction, Acting I, Acting II, and Acting For The Camera I had helped me develop my skills as a performer and I wanted to continue my training by enrolling in Acting For The Camera II. The class met in a typical classroom, and Mr. Cronin was teaching how to perform on camera. With both Acting For The Camera I and now II, the instructors were using a small hand-held home video type camcorder. During Acting For The Camera I with Bobby Funk, I had realized that I had something I could offer the class. I approached Mr. Funk and Mr. Cronin with the idea that I had some professional broadcasting equipment such as a video camera, some microphones, and other equipment that could be used to improve the quality of the filming of our on-camera performance projects. My expertise to that point was in shooting professional video, as I had completed all of my Broadcasting requirements and had been involved in several professional video shoots for local television stations. Mr. Funk and Mr. Cronin both jumped at the idea that if I was willing to bring in and use my equipment they would greatly appreciate the assistance in shooting these classroom performance videos. Offering that assistance to Bobby Funk and Patrick Cronin turned out to be the single best thing that I did in my undergraduate classes because it opened the door to my pursuit of graduate studies. 5 During Spring 2007, I was looking forward to graduating and getting my B.A. Degree in Broadcasting, but I wasn’t sure what my next move would be. I knew I didn’t want to go into sports journalism, I knew that my interests lay with dramatic television and film, but I had no idea how to go about getting a foot in the door. In April 2007 during the Acting For The Camera II course with Mr. Cronin, he approached me with an idea and an offer. After class one day he asked to speak with me, and told me that he wanted to build up the television and film side of the Theatre Program and that he really appreciated my offer to volunteer my equipment and video expertise during the course. He also said he had seen enough to know he could use my talents in his efforts to enhance the television and film classes of Division of Theatre and Dance. His goal was to create a fully equipped video studio so The Division of Theatre and Dance would have the option to teach Acting For The Camera in a professional atmosphere, including video, lighting, sound, and editing. He proceeded to offer me a full graduate assistantship to work directly under him if I was interested. The offer was to work with him in designing and implementing a video studio, while crafting my performance talents at a graduate level, and in the process I would obtain a Master of Arts Degree in Professional Communication with an emphasis in Theatre and Film. It took me less than two days to decide that the right door had opened for my next move, so I gratefully accepted his offer. Project Conception In approaching a Master’s Degree, Mr. Cronin explained to me that other students getting this Master’s Degree had completed a project, accompanied with a thesis, as their cumulative goal in getting the M.A. Degree. It made sense to him and to me that a project and thesis that would help me gain more knowledge in a realistic professional project would help build experience in my desired career of television and film, thus the most practical approach. Since I was directly interested in film, Mr. Cronin and I had several meetings on what a 6 possible project could be. It was explained to me by a series of people that I could take the first year of my graduate work to think about and decide on a thesis. Over the course of Fall 2007 and Spring of 2008 I approached my professors with multiple ideas for a cumulative project and thesis. The ideas ranged from an independent film, written and directed by myself, to a film documentary on Appalachian culture, to an investigative journalistic type video on the social aspects of NASCAR here in the local Tri-Cities. Mr. Cronin pointed out some key points when considering the conception of my project. First, I needed a project that was realistic to complete in the time available, and would fulfill the requirements of a worthy graduate project.
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