Viewpoints on Motherhood
Date of Award
5-2022
Document Type
MSU-Only Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
College/School
College of the Arts
Department/Program
Theatre and Dance
Thesis Sponsor/Dissertation Chair/Project Chair
Stefanie Batten Bland
Committee Member
Jessica DiMauro Marks
Committee Member
Laurie Abramson
Abstract
Viewpoints on Motherhood is a dance film that examines the experience of parenthood throughout the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. This film delves into several mothers' perspectives on living through the pandemic as parents of young children and explores this through movement. The three pieces were inspired by interviews with mothers and approached through the lens of Mary Overlie’s Six Viewpoints. Once the themes were chosen, the material was investigated using the viewpoints of space, shape, time, story, movement, and emotion. Research was conducted on Mary Overlie, the founder of the Six Viewpoints and the genesis of her approach. My research extended into a study of Ann Bogart’s adoption of the term Viewpoints for her own acting method. These viewpoints influenced not only the choreography of the pieces, but also the composition of the film itself; viewpoints were utilized in the editing phase of production, which added layers to the visual and auditory experience. The culminating film presents three very different representations of life as a mother during the early months of the pandemic. My hope is to convey some of the struggles - and joys - that so many have experienced over the past few years and inspire choreographers to utilize Viewpoints in composition.
File Format
MP4
Recommended Citation
de La Barre, Margot, "Viewpoints on Motherhood" (2022). Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects. 1060.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/etd/1060
PDF file of written thesis
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Comments
The performance video is restricted to the Montclair State University community but the PDF file of the thesis, which is located at the bottom of the screen, is available to anyone interested in reading it.