Using Creativity to Better Understand What it Means to be Human
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH
August 2015-2019
As the Coordinator of Undergraduate Research for the Department of Theatre & Performance Studies at Kennesaw State University, I mentored students in the development of research projects that connected them and their artistry to the world around them and created platforms for them to demonstrate their work.
NATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH
Every year I mentored and traveled with 5-6 students to the National Conference for Undergraduate Research (NCUR). NCUR is the largest symposium of its kind in the world, bringing together nearly 4,000 undergraduate students each year from all fields and disciplines.
Past Mentored Projects:
Musical Theatre Feminism. Sydney Lee. 2015-2016.
The Sound of Man. 2015-2016.
To the Evolution: Lin Manuel Miranda and the Thriving American Musical. Elliott Folds. 2015-2016
Go Ahead & Free Yourself: Black Liberation in William Wells Brown The Escape; or A Leap for Freedom. DeShon Green. 2016-2017.
The New Lens of Normality: An Exploration of Queer Representations in Fairytales. Dylan Carter. 2016-2017.
Underneath the Helmet: Woyzeck, PTSD, and the Politics of Seeking Help. Marcia Harvey & Jessica Rattray. 2016-2017.
The Octoroon: The Black, The White, & The Choice of Color. Marcia Harvey. 2016-2017.
The Demographic Disconnect of Theatre. Nathaniel Gesualdo. 2016-2017.
Decoding the X: Discovering the Black Experience in Eisa Davis’ Bulrusher.” Skylar Jackson. 2016-2017.
Homeless Military Veteran: A Theatrical Perspective from the Inside of Armed Forces. Byron Clemens. 2017-2018.
The Octoroon: Homophobia in the Antebellum South. Dylan Carter. 2017-2018.
Exposing Patriarchy: How Universities Uphold Rape Culture by Silencing and Devaluing Women’s Experiences on College Campuses.” Rachel Novak. 2017-2018.
The 1/8 Rule: An Exploration of Race, Sex, and Dion Boucicault’s The Octoroon. Truman Griffin. 2017-2018.
The Dehumanization of Plus Size Women in Theatre. Amy Reynolds. 2017-2018.
Udea: Fairytales and Human Trafficking. Dylan Carter. 2017-2018.
The Politics of Performing King Lear Successfully. Jim Wallace. 2018-2019.
Once Upon A Place; Fairytales as a Mechanism for Spreading Environmentalism. Dylan Carter. 2018-2019.
The Upkeep of Male Power: Complacency in Patriarchal America. Alyssa Egelhoff. 2018-2019.
The "Outercourse" Phenomenon: The Performance of Rape within a Patriarchal Justice System. Shannon Murphy. 2018-2019.
Queer Virginity: How Purity Culture Affects the LGBTQ+ Community. Sarah Grossman. 2018-2019.
Ableism in Theatre: Sensory Disabilities in Performances for Young Audiences. Emma Lipscomb. 2018-2019.
Attended:
NCUR 2016-Asheville, North Carolina
NCUR 2017-Memphis, Tennessee
NCUR 2018-Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
NCUR 2019-Kennesaw, Georgia
“Prior to Dr. Schiller joining KSU’s TPS department, it is safe to say that I did not fully grasp the concept of what it meant to be a scholar artist. Dr. Schiller convinced us that our opinions are valid. This encouragement allows her students to freely express themselves without fear of criticism. I never thought I would enjoy undergraduate research, but…since becoming an avid researcher, I have noticed a difference in how I approach projects and even how I interact in the world.”
-Marcia Harvey,
Alumni Kennesaw State University
IMAGES FROM:
The National Conference for Undergraduate Research:
Asheville, North Carolina, 2016
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The National Conference for Undergraduate Research:
Memphis, Tennessee, 2017
The National Conference for Undergraduate Research:
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 2018
The National Conference for Undergraduate Research:
Kennesaw, Georgia, 2019
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PRODUCER:
Intersections of American Identity
Directed by: Charlie Parrott & Jim Davis
Produced by: Angela Farr Schiller
For the National Conference for
Undergraduate Research (2019):
The Kennesaw State University Department of Theatre and Performance Studies (TPS) presented Intersections of American Identity, an incredible night of dinner and performance that showcased why our students are the artists and makers of the future. Via rousing performance selections from the Tony Award winning musical Ragtime, our spirited Teller’s storytelling ensemble, and our lively comedy improv troupe KISS, Intersections of American Identity asks the question: What does it mean to be American at the turn of the 21st century?
KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY
SYMPOSIUM OF STUDENT SCHOLARS
"COTA [the College of the Arts] presentations at the Symposium have increased dramatically – there were no COTA submissions the first year I organized the Symposium in 2009, and now COTA is a significant part of the Symposium, including winning awards (the awards for Best Oral Presentation in 2017 and Runner-Up Oral Presentation in 2016 went to students mentored by Dr. Angela Farr Schiller)."
-Amy Buddie,
Director of the Office of Undergraduate Research at Kennesaw State University
Past Mentored Projects:
A Gross Misunderstanding: Theatre as a Reflection of Societal Ignorance Surrounding Transgender and Nonconforming Identity. Emily Musgrove, Tony Fox, and James Strayer. 2017.
Outside the Binary: Gender Identity and Lilian Helman’s The Children’s Hour.” Lydie Morales and Haley McFadden. 2017.
Murdering Femininity: A Discussion of Medea and the Place of Femininity in Patriarchy. 2017.
The Court Room: A Close Analysis of the play Twelve Angry Men and the effects of Racial Bias in the Court Room. Erica Holcomb. 2017.
Gender and Injustice in Euripides’ Medea. Jessica Rattray. 2017.
Equality of Patriarchy: A Close Analysis of the Plays Machinal, Mulan Jr., and the Empowerment of the Female Voice in a Patriarchal World. LaTausha Carter. 2017.
Washing Away: Whitewashing in American Theatre. Riley Schatz. 2017.
Spring: 2016, 2017, 2018
Awards:
1st Place-Oral Presentation. 2017
2nd Place-Oral Presentation. 2016
ANNUAL UNDERGRADUATE
RESEARCH SALON
In the fall of 2015, I initiated the creation of a salon for undergraduate research. Housed annually in the department of Theatre & Performance Studies (TPS), the salon is a space for our community to come together in community and conversation to support burgeoning undergraduate research projects in our department.
The annual salon opens space for the Department of Theatre & Performance Studies (TPS) at
Kennesaw State University to:
See a spectrum of theatre & performance studies undergraduate research projects given by their peers
Provide a low(er) stakes platform for TPS students to test out projects and ideas for research while they are are still in process
Model field-based methodologies for students who are not familiar with undergraduate research in our field, including performance as research
Serve as a pipe-line and pre-platform for students to build their projects into larger works for local, regional, and national conferences
Create an annual space for the department to have conversations about the intersection(s) of performance and undergraduate research in a way that brings value to the work that our students are aspiring towards as artist-scholars
Fall: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
IMAGES FROM:
The Annual Theatre and Performance Studies Undergraduate Research Salon
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