Choreographing for Children's Television: The Legwarmers in Variations on a Dream

In Choreographing for Childrens Television: The Legwarmers in Variations on a Dream, choreographer Lisa Brkich explores the choreographic process for a demographic of children between the ages of four and seven years through embodied practice with the dancers, and through the collaboration process with her production team, media company Images Made Real, visual artist Emma Smith and composer Erik Geddes. In this work, Brkich explores the medium of television and its relationship to choreography for viewers in the primary years, kindergarten to grade two. Choreography for this project is cultivated as a tool to increase the imagination of the viewer, introducing dance to this age group as a form of communication through storytelling. Discussions of the choreographic process of this work depict the choreography, created in the studio during rehearsals, as well as the choreographic changes that arise when influenced by the filming process

Microscopia: Listening to the Invisible

Composition is often concerned with delving into intangible, unseen and internal worlds and watching and waiting for ideas to come into focus. This Reflection paper seeks to map my compositional journey from ‘micro’ to ‘macro’ during the creation of ‘Microscopia’- a piece which celebrates worlds that cannot be seen and yet affect us in minute ways. It explores the challenges I navigated in providing a sonic backdrop for footage of bacteria and mold by Genèvieve Anhoury in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper is split into three parts, firstly examining the formation of ideas and inspirations behind the project. It then delves into looking at ‘de-composition’: breaking down the process of creating a three-minute orchestral piece and mock-up. Finally, it reflects more broadly on the struggles of composers during their composition process and simply surviving in the current challenging socio-economic climate.https://remix.berklee.edu/graduate-studies-scoring/1160/thumbnail.jp

Print Literacy Opportunities for Young Children in a Multimodal Literacy Ensemble

This study explored the opportunities for print literacy learning within multimodal ensembles that featured art, singing, and digital media. Study questions concerned how reading and writing were practiced and what learning opportunities were afforded for them during an intergenerational program that united 13 kindergarten children with 7 elders to work through a chain of multimodal projects. Data were collected through ethnographic tools in the Rest Home where the projects were completed and in the children’s classroom where project content and tools were introduced and extended by the classroom teacher. Themes were identified through the juxtaposition of field texts in a multimodal analysis. Results indicated that the ensembles afforded children opportunities to improvise and refine their print literacy practices through a process of rehearsal. The study is designed to contribute to the nascent, yet growing body of knowledge concerning print literacy practices and learning opportunities as conceptualized within multimodal literacy

Psyche as a Playable Construct in Video Games

The aim of this master’s thesis called Psyche as a Playable Construct in Video Games is to explore how the human mind is reflected in video games and how thus the psyche becomes a playable environment. This study also analyzes whether video games as a medium can promote self-reflection and empathy by portraying the psyche and developing narratives around this theme. These set objectives are achieved by performing medium-specific multimodal discourse analysis of three case studies, as well as comparative game analysis. The purpose is to discover how the psyche nowadays becomes an accessible, interactive, and embodied virtual environment through various modern modes of expression. In addition to the topic of the psyche as a game setting the research also looks at the reflection of the psyche in the theories of psychoanalysts, the principles of creating playable virtual spaces and mental landscapes, and the unique manner of video games in representing phenomena. This thesis includes a review of relevant scholarship into game studies, psychoanalysis and multimodal discourse, as well as an examination of three video games of different scales and genres, all of which render the human psyche psyche a playable construct: Nevermind (2015), When the Darkness comes (2019) and Psychonauts 2 (2021). By showing distinctive approaches to representing the psyche and interaction with it, this research highlights the enormous potential of video games to offer their users experiences that cannot be delivered through any other channel. As well, my thesis demonstrates how game design reflects scientific discoveries about the psyche to the present day: as independent but influenceable; chaotic and multi-layered but deterministic. It also proposes future research suggestions in this context on how likely are games set in the human mind to promote compassion, empathy, and self-analysis in a wide audience.Master's Thesis in Digital CultureDIKULT350MAHF-DIKU

Roots Reloaded. Culture, Identity and Social Development in the Digital Age

This edited volume is designed to explore different perspectives of culture, identity and social development using the impact of the digital age as a common thread, aiming at interdisciplinary audiences. Cases of communities and individuals using new technology as a tool to preserve and explore their cultural heritage alongside new media as a source for social orientation ranging from language acquisition to health-related issues will be covered. Therefore, aspects such as Art and Cultural Studies, Media and Communication, Behavioral Science, Psychology, Philosophy and innovative approaches used by creative individuals are included. From the Aboriginal tribes of Australia, to the Maoris of New Zealand, to the mystical teachings of Sufi brotherhoods, the significance of the oral and written traditions and their current relation to online activities shall be discussed in the opening article. The book continues with a closer look at obesity awareness support groups and their impact on social media, Facebook usage in language learning context, smartphone addiction and internet dependency, as well as online media reporting of controversial ethical issues. The Digital progress has already left its dominating mark as the world entered the 21st century. Without a doubt, as technology continues its ascent, society will be faced with new and altering values in an effort to catch-up with this extraordinary Digitization, adapt satisfactorily in order to utilize these strong developments in everyday life

Music, Science and Expert Listening: Interdisciplinarity and Solo Percussion Performance

Contemporary culture is embracing the creative and pedagogical potential of interdisciplinary collaboration as a means of promoting the relevance of the arts in society. Dame Evelyn Glennie, the world’s first solo percussionist, is finding new ways to connect with the listener. Her motto, “to teach the world to listen” is intended to resonate both within and beyond her professional domain. Sounds of Science (2016), a collaborative project exploring mankind’s timeline of scientific innovation through music, visuals, narrative and live performance, offers an indicative example of how interdisciplinarity can serve to create art works which function as vibrant forums for learning and engagement

A journey back home through a mask for the 21st century : the legacy of Commedia dell'Arte in postdramatic theatre with particular focus on the centrality of the actor in devised performance : a practice-as-research PhD based on three years of research, culminating in this thesis, an ensemble devised performance A Floating Caravan Under the Moon (2015/16) and a solo piece Home/Finding Home (2017/18)

This study aims to cast new light on our understanding, interpretation and practical explorations of Commedia dell’Arte’s legacy and continuing relevance to contemporary performance. An original contribution to contemporary studies on the Commedia dell’Arte, this research highlights the striking similarities between Commedia’s core principles and Lehmann’s postdramatic theatre. Rather than a reinterpretation or re-contextualisation, my work can be described as a reinvention of Commedia Masks through a rediscovery of Commedia dell’Arte’s principles, as discussed by Flaminio Scala in his prologue to Il Finto Marito (1619); first and foremost, the notion of ‘Actor as Creator’ that is foundational to my practice. Utilising the ensemble devised piece, A Floating Caravan Under the Moon, and the solo-piece Home as case studies, this thesis discusses and analyses my work as a tutor, a director and a performer. It explores the efficacy of my physical approach to characterisation; more specifically my use of autobiographical material and Commedia dell’Arte techniques to develop a new Mask for the 21st century: the ‘Experiential Mask’. Moving beyond the traditional notion of Mask as fixed-type or stock character, this alive, malleable and adaptable Mask is created by the actors in response to their reality, their world and their culture. In answering the research question: How to develop a devising methodology drawing from Commedia dell’Arte’s techniques and principles without necessarily utilising the traditional types, masks and aesthetic? This thesis evaluates my approach to devising discussing three main areas of practice: my ethos (Chapter 3.1: Artisan Theatre), my dramaturgical approach (Chapter 3.2: Accidental Narratives) and my theatrical language (Chapter 3.3: Stage Resonances). Each chapter provides a contextualisation within postdramatic (devised) theatre, a description and evaluation of practical methodologies and an analysis of my findings. The Conclusions draw on my reflections, emphasising the similarities and differences with existing practices in the field and the originality of my work

Journeys through Architecture: the Body, Spaces, and Arts in Dorothy Richardson’s Pilgrimage

The inter-arts potential of Dorothy Miller Richardson’s life’s work, Pilgrimage, has been gaining critical attention since the end of the twentieth century, with continuous scholarly efforts dedicated in revealing the cinematic, painterly, and musical depths of the novel sequence. Building on such established foundation, this study responds to this inter-arts call of Richardson scholarship by taking an architectural turn, and contends Pilgrimage as a piece of architectural construct—a literary work that demonstrates the coming together of the body, spaces, and arts. Interdisplinary in nature, this study draws on diverse fields of inquiry in its configuration of the architectural as manifested in Pilgrimage, with two interconnecting sections. Merleau-Ponty’s perceptual phenomenology and recent theorisations of body-space interaction in various disciplines, such as cultural geography and anthropology, underpin the first section of the discussion, which attempts to explicate the spatial significance implied in Miriam’s (the protagonist) sensuous interactions with the different kinds of space around or within her. While the first section underscores how the art of literature embodies Miriam’s sensuous-spatial dynamics, the second section illuminates how the spatial arts of painting and architecture come into contact with Pilgrimage. Collaborating biographical, painterly, literary, and phenomenological approaches, the thesis considers the sequence’s manoeuver over the issues of simultaneity, instaneity, moment, and subject matter as the manifestation of literary impressionism. After contemplating Pilgrimage as a piece of literary impressionism, the discussion concludes by considering the sequence as a piece of haptic architecture, with the notion of ‘fragile architecture’ formulated by Juhani Pallasmaa. By re-examining how Miriam’s body, spaces, and arts interact and integrate throughout Pilgrimage, the thesis aspires to bring to light its architectural disposition

2019-2020 Course Catalog

2019-2020 Course Catalo