UC Santa Cruz

In my final year as an undergraduate at the University of California, Santa Cruz, I proposed to direct STUPID FUCKING BIRD (an adaption by Aaron Posner of Chekhov's The Seagull) in the Experimental Theater. This capstone thesis details the motivations behind my selection of this play, the decision to direct, the technical preparations involved in its staging, and a brief analysis of Posner's text as an adaptation and response to Chekhov's nineteenth century classic. Taking his cue from Chekhov's interest in deepening the role of the theatre, Posner's characters directly challenge a modern audience by asking them to consider the role of the theatre today. What are the "new forms" of Chekhov's theatre? What are "new forms" today? What does it mean to be an artist?