WRITING SAMPLES
* from Theatre Capstone at Southwestern University
A research paper entitled For the Sake of Spectacle: Why Theatre Goes Wrong, and How We Can Fix it With Better Leadership. This research paper investigates a variety of theatre productions through news stories, academic articles, and personal interviews; why they were successful or unsuccessful from both an audience perspective and a team perspective; and how each production’s leadership affected the overall outcome and experience of the production. The paper then proposes three core qualities that make a quality leader, all based on personal experience, interviews, and further research: the ability to empathize with your team, the ability to anticipate problems before they arise and become detrimental, and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances and alter one’s leadership strategies appropriately.
* from Theatre History at Southwestern University
A research paper entitled Queer Representation in Euripides' Bacchae and Orestes, which postulates the presence of queer relationships and subtext in two of Euripides' plays. Using textual evidence, historical research on Greek culture, and analysis of the original Greek texts, this paper addresses the relationships between Pylades and Orestes in Euripides' Orestes, and between Dionysus and Pentheus in Euripides' Bacchae.
* from Intro to Play Analysis at Southwestern University
An academic performance review of Southwestern University's production of Little Women. The review addresses the director's concept, the performances, and the design elements of the production, and identifies the successes and shortfalls of each.
* from Personality Theory and Research at Southwestern University
A personality analysis of Fanny Price from Jane Austen's Mansfield Park, written by myself alongside three other Personality Theory students.
Being a group effort (and one written primarily long-distance during the COVID-19 pandemic), writing this paper required clear and consistent communication, constructive criticism of peers, and a great deal of close teamwork to accomplish.
In addition to learning about the various proposed theories on personality and development, I found that this paper and class also supplied me with a perspective through which I can analyze theatrical characters. Not only can I identify the behaviors and traits of a given character, but I can also take into consideration the 'why's and 'how's that made them that way.