Fine Arts, Faculty of
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- ItemVisual illusion in Paradise lost(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of Drama, 2025) Du, Luxi; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Fine Arts; Wasilewski, JuliaThis paper reports the staging process of Paradise Lost, Erin Shields’s adaptation of John Milton’s work, performed at the Theatre of the University of Lethbridge in 2025. Beyond set design, this project was an exploration of space—how space interacts with text, and how scenography can integrate into the play rather than stand apart from it. Given Shields’s bold narrative structure and the subversive choice to portray Satan as a female character, I wanted my design to feel as if it came from the devil’s own hands. I enjoyed the idea of being the “villain,” breaking the rules, and creating an unsettling experience for the audience. This paper outlines my thought process, from conceptual development to execution. It examines how I interpreted M.C. Escher’s artistic principles and how I used geometric compositions, lighting effects, and projections to create a constantly shifting theatrical space. By combining historical stage aesthetics with visual art, and using illusion and spatial fluidity as storytelling tools, I explored new ways of engaging with Shields’s vision and reimagining Paradise Lost through scenography transformation.
- ItemUzbek music in Western style: the influence of folk traditions in the piano works of Georgi Mushel(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of Music, 2025) Merzaeva, Bakhora; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science; Parker, BradleyThis project focuses on Uzbek folk music elements in Soviet composer Georgi Mushel’s piano compositions. Through a detailed analysis of a selection of Mushel’s piano compositions, I have developed an informed interpretation of the folk elements in these works. By working closely with native musicians and ethnomusicologists, Mushel absorbed the national music of the region. As Vaughan Williams wrote: “The great masters of music have never hesitated to build on folk-song material when they wished to” (1934, 80). Though Mushel was born in Russia and had French ancestry, he lived the majority of his life in Uzbekistan and tied himself up with Uzbek culture. He was influenced by the music of the region and felt its beauty which is expressed in his works. Uzbek folk and traditional music is a vibrant reflection of the country’s diverse cultural history. It is characterized by modal scales, rhythmic cycles, and melodic ornamentation often performed with traditional instruments like the dutar, rubab, ghijak, doira, and nay. I found evidence of these musical elements and imitation of dutar and doira timbre in Mushel’s three piano compositions. In this study, I explored whether the original Uzbek folk songs used by Georgi Mushel in his piano compositions are accessible today through scores or recordings. I also examined the specific musical elements from Uzbek folk traditions that Mushel incorporated into his works. Finally, I investigated how the stylistic nuances of Uzbek music mentioned above can be interpreted and expressed effectively on the piano.
- ItemEncouraging live theatre attendance: innovating with the application of emerging technologies to attract contemporary audiences(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of Drama, 2024) Zaredehabadi, Mahsa; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Fine Arts; Wasilewski, JuliaA Seussified Christmas Carol was presented in Fall 2023 at the University of Lethbridge's theatre, directed by Ryan Reese. I designed this project, taking on the responsibilities of set design and the design and animation of the projection images. The goal was to incorporate emerging technologies into live theatre to innovate and enhance the audience experience, to reach a wider audience. This production utilized Deepfake technology, a holographic projector, and projection screens to feature virtual images of deceased and living famous actors who interacted.
- ItemFeelGrove: a concept for a discursive smartphone application for the visualization of affective states positioned against the neoliberal paradigm(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of New Media, 2024) Sijacic, Lidija; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Fine Arts; Clark, ChristineFeelGrove is a concept for a discursive smartphone application with game elements that acts as a response to the neoliberal framework and the values it propagates, such as competition, self-tracking and self-optimization. The app constitutes a tool meant to enable its users to visualize their emotions through the creation and keeping of digital fantastical plants which act as emotional representations. Aside from the concept for the app, the project includes interface design and accompanying artwork, including four distinct 3D plants depicting different emotional categories and 3D representations of physical settings related to these particular emotions. Additionally, this paper examines the roles that information technology, design and play assume in propagating neoliberal values.
- ItemCreating more diversity in Canadian theatre: from the actor's perspective(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of Drama, 2024) Roberts, Andrea Lilli; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Fine Arts; Scott, ShelleyActors in Southern Alberta, particularly in Lethbridge and Calgary, currently want more diversity and inclusion in theatre. There is an absence of research that supports the actor's perspective with respects to diversity and inclusion in theatre in Southern Alberta. This thesis explores issues of the lack of representation, opportunities, and tokenistic casting practices that ultimately affect actors in Canadian theatre, and more specifically, Southern Alberta. This thesis contains a comprehensive literature review of Canadian theatre, interviews with four racially diverse, professional actors who live and work in Southern Alberta, and a detailed case study of a ground-breaking, Indigenous-led theatre production at the University of Lethbridge, 'Yisstsiiyi.' 'Yisstsiiyi' was a devised creation, staged in the University of Lethbridge's main theatre, in the fall of 2023. The collaboration between Calgary's Indigenous theatre company, Making Treaty Seven, and the University of Lethbridge's Faculty of Fine Arts (Department of Drama), researched in this thesis, demonstrates that measures towards a more equitable, inclusive, and diverse theatre landscape in Canadian theatre is achievable, but there is still a lot of progress to be made, in order to de-colonize antiquated theatre practices.