Skip to Main Content
Frequently Asked Questions
Submit an ETD
Global Search Box
Need Help?
Keyword Search
Participating Institutions
Advanced Search
School Logo
Files
File List
The Utility of the Bhava-Rasa Theory in Contemporary Musical Theatre (May 2022).pdf (9.27 MB)
ETD Abstract Container
Abstract Header
The Utility of The Bhava-Rasa Theory in Contemporary Musical Theatre
Author Info
Iyer, Shyama
ORCID® Identifier
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9629-8646
Permalink:
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1651849830528926
Abstract Details
Year and Degree
2022, Master of Arts, Ohio State University, Theatre.
Abstract
The Bhava-Rasa Theory appears in the Gupta period (250-543 CE), a time when standardization of Sanskrit and scores of new literature propelled the progress of Indian drama. The theory, which addresses the emotions of the performer and performance spectator, served as a tool to create and evaluate performance in the Gupta Empire. I argue that this ancient theory can benefit contemporary musical theatre artists. I use historiographic methods to examine the Bhava-Rasa Theory in the Natyashastra (Treatise on Drama) and over thirty other Sanskrit texts. My research results in an improved version of "The Bhava-Rasa Technique" a dramaturgical technique first proposed by Dr. Joshua M. Leukhardt that actors/directors/designers may use to examine the emotional intent of their work. I provide a better translation of Bhava-Rasa terminology, discuss visual, corporeal, linguistic, and musical Bhava within dramatic contexts, and better elucidate the benefits of this process for contemporary theatre-makers. To demonstrate the utility of the Bhava-Rasa Theory through praxis, I use the Bhava-Rasa Technique to analyze the Sanskrit plays Abhijñānaśākuntalam (The Recognition of Sakuntala) and Mricchakatika (The Little Clay Cart). I then apply the same technique to two Broadway musicals—Wicked and Caroline, or Change. In the final chapters, I present my newly written musical titled The Bhava Cycle, and discuss its creation and staging processes. This thesis marries the ancient East with the contemporary West to provide a new method of harnessing emotion in drama and advocate for its essentiality in theatre across culture and time.
Committee
Dr. Stratos Constantinidis (Advisor)
Dr. Mandy Fox (Committee Member)
Dr. Shilarna Stokes (Committee Member)
Pages
163 p.
Subject Headings
Theater
Keywords
Sanskrit Drama
;
Theatre
;
Performance Studies
;
Musical Theatre
Recommended Citations
Refworks
EndNote
RIS
Mendeley
Citations
Iyer, S. (2022).
The Utility of The Bhava-Rasa Theory in Contemporary Musical Theatre
[Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1651849830528926
APA Style (7th edition)
Iyer, Shyama.
The Utility of The Bhava-Rasa Theory in Contemporary Musical Theatre.
2022. Ohio State University, Master's thesis.
OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center
, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1651849830528926.
MLA Style (8th edition)
Iyer, Shyama. "The Utility of The Bhava-Rasa Theory in Contemporary Musical Theatre." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2022. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1651849830528926
Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)
Abstract Footer
Document number:
osu1651849830528926
Download Count:
669
Copyright Info
© 2022, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.