Ragtime: A Quilt of Humanity

Author

Elise Kulovany, Southern Illinois University CarbondaleFollow

Date of Award

5-1-2014

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts

Department

Theater

First Advisor

Zea, Wendi

Abstract

I designed the costumes for Ragtime by Terrance McNally in the McLeod Theatre, Fall Semester 2013 for my thesis production. The musical Ragtime documents the beginning of a century in America where life is full of new possibilities- a time when immigrants are pouring into "the promised land" and the culture and face of American society is changing daily. This musical grips at the heart and soul of the audience because of the messages it instills about hope, possibility, and change at a time when almost anything seems possible. It centers on the lives of one White Anglo Saxon family, the courtship of a high class African American man and his fiancée who dies in the pursuit of justice, and the struggle of a socialist immigrant who wants to make a life suitable for his daughter and himself. I chose to reflect the differences among or across these three groups of people to heighten the message presented in the script. Chapter 1 describes my research and analysis of the musical including initial design ideas and character analysis. Chapters 2 through 4 focus on the process from design, to build, to production. Chapter 5 culminates in my evaluation with self reflection and comments from my committee on the production and process. The Appendices includes character plot, construction and execution paperwork, renderings and production photos.