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Research on KSU production of musical Parade

  1. Open Access Kent State
  2. Conferences & Events
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  4. 2020 - Kent State University Undergraduate Symposium on Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity
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  6. Research on KSU production of musical Parade
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Author(s)
  • Talia Rockland Senior, Dance
Abstract

Title: Dramaturgy for Musical Parade  My topic is dramaturgy for the musical Parade. Parade (book by Alfred Uhry and music/lyrics by Jason Robert Brown) depicts the unjust trial of Leo Frank, a Jew from Brooklyn, living in Atlanta, Georgia in the 1910s. In 1915 Frank was unlawfully lynched based on the public belief that he murdered a 13-year-old factory worker, Mary Phagan. This musical deals with issues of justice, southern urbanization, the rise in antisemitism, the Jim Crow South, Jewish and African American relations, child labor, sexual assaults, the populist movement in the period of Reconstruction, and yellow journalism. In order to honor the voices missed in the original musical, the School of Theatre and Dance production frames the story with the powerful prologue and epilogue. I have been working as the assistant director to Fabio Polanco, the director, and dramaturg for the Kent State University School of Theatre and Dance’s production (February 21-March 1, 2020, at Stump Theatre) over six months. I will present: (1) my research on the trial, the surrounding facts and its relevance in today’s political climate; (2) making of the prologue and epilogue; (3) artistic renderings that include costumes and set design (with permission of the designers); (4) my discussion of how dramaturgy—the product of eighteenth-century Germany—can be applied to an American educational institution. 

Format
Conference Proceeding
Contributor(s)
Faculty Mentor
Yuko Kurahashi
Fabio Polanco
Modified Abstract

Parade depicts the unjust trial of Leo Frank, a Jew from Brooklyn, living in Atlanta, Georgia in the 1910s. In 1915 Frank was unlawfully lynched based on the public belief that he murdered 13-year-old factory worker, Mary Phagan. This musical deals with issues of justice, southern urbanization, the rise in antisemitism, the Jim Crow South, Jewish and African American relations, child labor, sexual assault, and yellow journalism.      I have been assistant director to Fabio Polanco, the director, and dramaturg for over six months. I will present: (1) my research on the trial, the surrounding facts and its relevance in today’s political climate; (2) making of the prologue/epilogue; (3) artistic renderings including costumes and set design; (4) how dramaturgy can be applied to American higher education.

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