Date of Award
Spring 5-2014
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.F.A.
Degree Program
Film and Theatre
Department
Film and Theatre
Major Professor
David W. Hoover
Second Advisor
Dr. Kevin Graves
Third Advisor
Debra Daniel
Abstract
The Taming of the Shrew is an early comedy that exposes the oddities we take for granted: curious conventions, wild assumptions, gender roles, relationships, social status, fashion, and everything else we know so defectively. The given circumstances of the script and Petruchio are specific in choice, yet broad in interpretation. Petruchio, the catalyst behind Katherine’s character arc, needed to not only be believable in his ways, but likeable by the audience.
This thesis examines the process required to successfully develop and bring to life the character of Petruchio to our modern audience. It includes historical background information on William Shakespeare and the origins of the play itself, Sanford Meisner’s Techniques (moment-to-moment analysis & actioning) and Konstantin Stanislavski’s system are included with the scored actor’s script, journals recorded by the actor to verify his victories and defeats during the six-week production process and critiques to support the success of the production.
Recommended Citation
Facio, Robert J., "How to Tame a Shrew (11 Things I Hate About Her) An Actor's Method to Characterizing Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew" (2014). University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. 1794.
https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1794
Included in
Acting Commons, Performance Studies Commons, Theatre History Commons
Rights
The University of New Orleans and its agents retain the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible this dissertation or thesis in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The author retains all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis or dissertation.