Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Communication Studies

Document Type

Dissertation

Abstract

This project locates collaboration and collaborative performance as a potential site for artistic growth. This study analyzes six collaborative projects: composed pieces for electric guitar accompanying a staged performance of collaged texts, an audio-visual installation, the preparation of several short pieces to accompany choreographed dances, a 90-minute soundtrack to a performance mixed live, an ongoing improvisational duo, and a live visuals performance to accompany Sunburned Hand of the Man at Duke University. It traces the growth of my artistry while also providing a method for both doing and writing about collaboration. In addition, it offers a model for understanding collaborative compensation and evaluating collaborative structures.

The study begins in 2015 at the beginning of my master’s degree coursework and ends in 2022 with the completion of this dissertation. Each chapter analyzes a unique performance I contributed to and provides a brief overview of the project, discusses my background with my collaborator, reviews any planning work, maps the influences that informed my creative choices, offers a description of my methods, recalls my memories of the performance event, and ends with a reflection on the collaborative process. The conclusion of this study explores collaboration across power dynamics and offers several models for collaborative structures and possibilities for payment and compensation both in academic and in popular and professional contexts.

Date

11-4-2022

Committee Chair

Shaffer, Tracy S.

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.5989

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