University of Calgary, Drama 605, Research Methodology, Mini-Conference

[Allan Boss]

Dear all,

University of Calgary, Department of Drama Graduate Students Valmai Goggin, Andrew Torry, and Julia Wasilewski invite you to attend a presentation of their research with a short question period to follow each. 

For information contact Allan Boss, allangboss at yahoo.com

Tuesday, December 2, 2008 
University of Calgary
Craigie Hall Room E012 
10:00-12:00 

Please circulate this to any who may want to attend.
 
Best,
 
allan . . .

Abstracts

Julia Wasilewski  -- In a world dominated by commercialism humanity is faced with the inevitable choice to fit in or to not. What sacrifices do people make to enjoy an “ideal” lifestyle?  Karen Hines’ play “Hello…Hello” addresses this issue. She filters the elements of body politics, personal empowerment and sales tactics through the play’s main character Cassandra, a character overwhelmed by societal idealism. Ultimately Hines’ presents a satirical look at “utopia,” a skeptical look at the world’s future, and she considers whether or not peace exists only in death.

Valmai Goggin – In his meta-narrative “The Zoo Story,” Edward Albee manipulates story, discourse, and plot to position Jerry, the play’s existential anti-hero as primary storyteller and playwright – obscuring even Albee himself. Using the terminologies of narratology, Jerry is revealed as primary storyteller through manipulations of temporality, meta-narration, and the de-privileging of Peter (Jerry’s counterpart) as a flawed reader/viewer. Although theories of narrative(s) have been traditionally used to examine the novel and short story, this paper presents new applications for narratology in the world of dramatic literature.

Andrew Torry -- Even though educational programs exist that use drama to teach science, and plays like Vern Thiessen's "Einstein's Gift” potentially make science more accessible for audiences, science and art are often considered unrelated.  This paper explores how drama and science overlap and considers how drama can be used to enhance pedagogy.  Specifically, it examines how narrative drama makes science more easily accessible and augments retention for audiences either in the classroom or the theatre.