the lived experience of high school musical theater PDF
Preview the lived experience of high school musical theater
Boston University OpenBU http://open.bu.edu Theses & Dissertations Boston University Theses & Dissertations 2018 "This is how it feels": the lived experience of high school musical theater https://hdl.handle.net/2144/27517 Boston University BOSTON UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS Dissertation “THIS IS HOW IT FEELS”: THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL THEATER by KARY THOMAS HADDAD B.A., University of Rochester, 2004 M.A., Eastman School of Music, 2006 Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts 2018 © 2018 by KARY THOMAS HADDAD All rights reserved Approved by First Reader Dominic Symonds, Ph.D. Professor of Musical Theatre University of Lincoln Second Reader Susan Wharton Conkling, Ph.D. Professor of Music, Music Education Third Reader Ronald P. Kos, Jr., Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Music, Music Education Lots of things in life are beautiful, but brother— There is one particular thing that is nothin’ whatsoever in any way shape or form like any other! --Sailor South Pacific Act I, Scene 3 DEDICATION For Lillian Haddad v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS In thinking about teaching, it is impossible not to think about the music and theater teachers that have inspired me throughout my life. In addition to conducting my first school band and chorus, Russell Killough-Miller directed the first school musicals I remember acting in. He did such a good job that I’m still following his lead twenty-five years later. Tom Erickson and Kris Lucander were enthusiastic teachers and great musicians who I still think about in my classrooms today. Gail Steele and the many, many creators of theater she introduced me to had a permanent influence on my appreciation for theater both as an audience member and a performer (not to mention she brought me to see my first Broadway show, Show Boat). I would not have chosen to become a music teacher if it weren’t for my brief but powerful experiences with George Parks. I thank them all. I am grateful for the brilliant faculty I studied under at the University of Rochester and the Eastman School of Music, in particular Richard Grunow, Christopher Azzara, Donna Fox, Dan Harrison, and Louis Bergonzi. It was at UR’s River Campus that I got to work with Kim Kowalke, who showed me that musical theater could be an academic discipline, and who I blame entirely whenever I see a show I don’t like, since it was he who taught me how to think vi critically about the art form. Dr. Kowalke and David Runzo gave me and many others a crash course in acting, and never let the fact that so many of us didn’t plan on being actors soften their criticism or lower their expectations. While I was at UR, I also got to work with the indefatigable Judith Ranaletta, who showed me just how much you could expect from high school performers. I learned that lesson again from Chuck Sundquist and Pat Wray at Princeton High School, and am grateful for the two years I spent working beside them. Boston University was a wonderful place to earn a degree, and the faculty was inspiring and encouraging at all turns. I’m particularly indebted to Lee Higgins, Roger Mantie, and Ron Kos. Dr. Mantie was the first person to look at the questions I was asking and suggest that I was wandering down a road toward phenomenology. (“That would lead to people like Heidegger,” he said, “and you might not want to go there.”) Dr. Higgins followed up with incredibly helpful and specific advice on how to begin studying philosophy without any background in philosophy. Dr. Kos was an ideal third reader of this dissertation, and his sharp questions and comments were integral in helping me cross the finish line of this process. For the past two and a half years I have been guided by an advisor I feel truly lucky to have met. Dominic Symonds is an accomplished musical theater vii scholar, but he was also a kind and encouraging mentor. The many discussions we had, his thoughtful analysis of my work, and his suggestions of where to turn next when I was feeling stuck were, obviously, fundamental to this project. To acknowledge Susan Conkling as the second reader of this dissertation feels enormously inadequate, as she is so much more than that to me and so many others. She is a model of empathetic teaching, and has been so since I first studied with her at ESM over a decade ago. She is why I came to BU, and why I never once regretted that decision. And, of course, she provided deeply insightful feedback on this dissertation. Thank you to the five students you will meet in this dissertation. They generously offered their time to share their experiences with me, and now you, and they did so during the busiest time of their school year. I am so appreciative of their contributions. Thank you to my entire DMA cohort at BU. Though we were all over the world, it was a privilege to share a classroom with you all. Thank you to all of my colleagues at CGPS, who have been incredibly supportive while I’ve been working on this degree. Thank you to all of my students who have enthusiastically demonstrated their own love for musical theater, and by whom I continue to be inspired. viii Thank you to my parents, who raised me to never question the value of lifelong learning. Thank you to the friends and family who have offered moral support throughout this degree. Finally, and always, धयवाद to my meditation teacher, Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, for showing me what music is really for. She is the best music teacher I have ever had. ix
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