Keywords

Falsettos, Trina, Women in Judaism, Jewish Women in Musical Theatre

Abstract

When an actor approaches a character, s/he examines many facets of the play-the setting, the time period, the politics surrounding both of the former. S/he also looks into elements of the character-any noted physical attributes in the text, his/her financial and social status, what s/he wants and what obstacles are standing in his/her way. Often the last thing that the actor studies is the character's spiritual and/or religious life. When I was cast as Trina in UCF's production of Falsettos in the winter of 2005, I knew I wanted to approach the character from an oft-neglected area: her faith. Judaism is a vital element of William Finn's Falsettos, and in an attempt to be true to what I believed was Finn's intentional, prominent inclusion of this religion, its practice, and the stigmas that come along with being a Jew, and especially a Jewish woman, I planned to focus on Trina's Judaism. An historical analysis of the changing role of Jewish women through time, complete with a focus on Jewish rituals, practices, and routines, will provide details of the generations of history that precede Trina and shape her opinions about the world, herself, and what she "should" be. An analysis of the plot and characters of Falsettos will describe the world in which Trina lives; my rehearsal journal from the production will chart my progress of developing my portrayal of Trina, and a comparison between Trina and Sarah in the Torah will indicate Sarah as a possible "role model" for Trina.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2009

Advisor

Chicurel, Steven

Degree

Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.)

College

College of Arts and Humanities

Department

Theatre

Degree Program

Theatre

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0002546

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0002546

Language

English

Release Date

May 2009

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

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