School of Performing Arts - Theses

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    The embodied imagination: choreographic practice and dancing our way into being
    Lay, Paula ( 2016)
    ‘The Embodied Imagination: choreographic practice and dancing our way into being’ is a practice led research project completed between 2013 – 2016 at the Victorian College of the Arts. The thesis comprises a performance outcome and a dissertation. This dissertation examines the scope of the imagination and looks at the way we imagine which includes image making but is not exclusive to the realm of mental images. The premise is that the imagination is a vital synthesizing force that animates the world and which can be appropriated in choreographic practice. A wider definition is proposed that attempts to capture the totality of the imaginary as a continuously emerging potential. I will build towards a discussion on the interplay between the real and the imaginary and develop the idea that through performance we open the possibility of perceiving and imagining in new ways. Through this we create the possibility for tiny shifts in how we can be in the world.
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    Hurdy-gurdy: new articulations
    Nowotnik, Piotr ( 2016)
    The purpose of this thesis is to expand existing literature concerning the hurdy-gurdy as a contemporary musical instrument. Notably, it addresses the lack of hurdy-gurdy literature in the context of contemporary composition and performance. Research into this subject has been triggered by the author’s experience as a hurdy-gurdy performer and composer and the importance of investigating and documenting the hurdy-gurdy as an instrument capable of performing well outside the idioms of traditional music. This thesis consists of a collection of new works for hurdy-gurdy and investigation of existing literature including reference to the author’s personal experience as a hurdy-gurdy composer and performer. It will catalogue and systematically document a selection of hurdy-gurdy techniques and extended performance techniques, and demonstrate these within the practical context of new music compositions created by the author. This creative work and technique investigation and documentation is a valuable resource for those seeking deeper practical and academic understanding of the hurdy-gurdy within the context of contemporary music making.
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    Integrating space, composition and performance: an investigation into the musical relationship between the instrument and the space
    Wiesner, Benjamin James ( 2015)
    Integrating Space, Composition and Performance: An investigation into the musical relationship between the instrument and the space, is a discussion of the processes and outcomes of this project, as is required for the Master of Sound Design by Research. Room acoustics are proven to have significant impact on musical performance outcomes in different environments. However, aural recognition of acoustic qualities in music education is largely sidelined. This research investigates the relationship between the musical performer (drummer) and the space in which they perform in order to develop a method to identify and incorporate acoustic qualities of different environments into music composition and performance. It first outlines an historical context of the relationship between acoustics and musical composition and performance, identifies gaps in pedagogy and argues the need to broaden listening. It then examines the process used to investigate this project, and discusses the validity of alternative processes and provides a detailed analysis and results of testing undertaken. First an overview of each performance space is presented, including dimensions, auditory and visual observations. Next, the results of an acoustic analysis of each space is presented and discussed. Finally, it examines how the individual parts of the drum kit respond in each space, and what affect this may have on performances. Integrating Space, Composition and Performance: An investigation into the musical relationship between the instrument and the space then discusses how the results were used to develop three studies, and presents and discusses three finished studies as performed and recorded in each space. The investigation resulted in the development of three different approaches presented as studies that were undertaken and recorded in four different spaces. By undertaking these studies I developed a new awareness of the space influenced my approach to performing in a specific environment; it caused me to make choices based on a more critical focus on the sound of the instrument as a part of the performance. This resulted in changing tempos, modifying dynamics and modifying timbre choices through performance techniques.
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    Re-imagining Kassandra
    Dorney, Marcel Damian ( 2014)
    This exegesis examines possibilities of re-thinking current approaches to the relationship between the practices of writing and directing within the field of Australian performance-making. The basis of this research project is the bringing to bear of directorial practice on the practice of developing new work as a playwright.  In this case, that practice involves a re-examination of the role of text generation in a contemporary theatrical framework, in which the primacy of the text in the determination of both process and reception can no longer be assumed. From this re-examination, the question of the relationship between writing and directing is posed in terms of their potential for mutual - and perhaps productive - resistance to one another’s habitual practices. This project’s research into directorial practice involves the conception of a playscript - as spoken language and as a blueprint for action - which is placed in a tense and subversive relationship with both visual composition and the performative apparatus. It includes an account and analysis of the creation of an original 100-minute performance work, Kassandra, from script to production. The work investigates placing the mythographic titular figure in a problematised and self-reflexive relationship with the performance event. The concept of ‘productive resistance’ between the practices of writing and directing for performance is theorised in the first section, and thence reflexively investigated through practice, in order to to demonstrate how the re-investigation of received models of praxis at each phase of development might be best arranged and conducted so as to create a ‘productive resistance’ between text and performance.
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    Connections: nothing exists in isolation
    Viggers, Elisabeth ( 2011)
    Connections: Nothing Exists in Isolation explores interrelationships between performance and computer-based technologies, investigating connections between the past and the present. Research concentrates on the evolution of music/sound design, particularly as seen from a Western perspective, and its relationship to modern computer technology. Using music as the focus, Connections: Nothing Exists in Isolation integrates aspects of modern computer-based technologies with more traditional elements of performance, such as mime and dance. Often, computer-based works give precedence to technology in their presentation. However, Connections: Nothing Exists in Isolation seeks to give a more subtle role to the technology, making it one facet of the whole presentation, rather than the dominant feature.