Browsing by Author "Weare, Chris"

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    The docu-comedy : towards a new genre in the expression of social commentary through comic performance, using documentary film techniques and reality television discourse
    (2006) Gilliam, Eva; Weare, Chris
    A 26-minute docu-comedy product of my studies in film and television production, The Traveling Jewish, captures improvised moments of social interaction through documentary filming style. Through filming, editing, animation and music, it becomes an entertaining half-hour of television and social commentary. It is with each cut, layer, added graphics, omitted sound or musical accompaniment, that the viewer is guided into the cultural understanding and comedic inclination of the creator of such a piece. In doing so, I believe we are opening up a new genre of Television, the Docu-Comedy, which aims to explore comedy in site-specific landscapes, through primarily improvised scenes, using the discretion of the director to do otherwise when narrative comprehension is at risk. In this way humor exists in a way not often exploited on television. As humor serves as a forum to bring to the attention of society activities, beliefs, morals, etc., at the same time challenging their validity or even ethical realities, its mere existence is often seen as a sign of the health of a society. This paper looks at all the technical and theoretical elements of such a proposal.
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    House of shadows as text and performance : structural and conceptual considerations of/for the contemporary musical play
    (2005) Fick, David; Weare, Chris; Hyland, Geoffrey
    This paper is an explication of my thesis production House of Shadows, which was presented in November 2004 towards the fulfilment of the degree of Master of Arts in Theatre and Performance (Theatre Making) at the University of Cape Town. The explication focuses largely on the structural and conceptual processes in the creation of a new musical. As a theatre-maker, my research was driven by a need to {re)consider the musical as a compelling art form. The first chapter considers the contemporary South African theatrical landscape, creating the context in which House of Shadows was created. I have also discussed aspects of the play that make it distinctively South African, despite the American roots of the musical as a popular form of theatre. In the second chapter, House of Shadows is examined within the context of the (contemporary) musical play. The aspects of the musical play that found expression in the text and performance of House of Shadows are given individual attention. These include: the book, the score, the design and the direction. A significant focus is placed on the way these individual elements are integrated to form a unified and unique whole. The third chapter proposes a conceptual framework for reading musicals by examining the validity of the musical as festive theatre. The four key structural elements - display, contest, celebration and ceremony - and the objectivecommunal renewal - of festive theatre are discussed in the context of House of Shadows. This chapter concludes with an opinion of using this framework for analysing musical texts and performances.