ACADEMIC WRITING
"Confronting Challenges Facing International Graduate Students: The Impact of Using Documentary Theatre to tell Their Stories"
by
Lemar Archer
Emerson College
Fall 2023
ABSTACT
Substantial research has emphasized the various challenges faced by international graduate students when adjusting to pursuing academic studies in the United States. This
qualitative study examines the challenges and experiences of four (4) international graduate students at a U.S. liberal arts college in the northeast. The study further examines the impact of engaging two (2) international students along with myself in the process of devising a documentary theatre performance to tell the stories from these interviews. The paper presents recommendations and suggestions that indicate the importance of U.S. colleges and universities providing needed support for international graduate students’ adjustment to the U.S. Recommendations are presented to practitioners and future researchers to continue to explore the use of creative approaches such as devising and documentary theatre to present research and enact change for minority groups.
ACADEMIC WRITING
"An exploration into how dance movements from Kumina develop student’s physical expression and confidence, to assist in the process of physical characterization."
by
Lemar Archer
Edna Manley College of the Visual & Performing Arts
2016
ABSTACT
The Action research addressed the issue of the lack of physical expression and confidence in a group of students studying Theatre Arts-Drama in high school to aid in the process of developing effective and expressive physical characterizations. Thus, the cultivation of a warm up movement training technique, exploring and utilizing dance movements from Jamaican traditional dance form Kumina. This warm up movement technique is used as a ground work for the development of physical characterization. An inclusion of both qualitative and quantitative data collecting methods was used to obtain the results. These include the analysis of pre and post dramatic presentations, researcher’s anecdotal records and observation schedules, questionnaires administered to students, student’s journal writings and interviews with the host drama teacher.
As a result, the findings revealed that factors such as self-consciousness and shyness affect the physical expression and confidence of students. However the Kumina warm up movement training technique assisted students in ways such as; developing physical control, enhancing focus and readiness, enhancing concentration, and developing an awareness of numerous kinetic possibilities. The findings also presented benefits of exposing students to dance movements from Kumina such as: students becoming more comfortable and free in using their bodies, and giving students confidence in the instinctive body, a sense of themselves that will have them move and act organically. Thus, teachers are encouraged to employ this warm up movement technique to help their students who have difficulties with physical expression and confidence and also to examine other factors and find unconventional ways of assisting students when faced with certain challenges within the classroom.
PANEL dISCUSSION
