Morgan Hunter | 2025 I.S. Symposium

Name: Morgan Hunter
Title: They’re Not Snowflakes, You Just Want to See the World Burn: Reinventing Historical Stock Characters for Modern and Inclusive Comedy Stages
Majors: English; Theatre & Dance
Minor: German
Advisors: Claire Eager; Kerstin Vaughn

This Independent Study presents findings from a year-long process of historical performance research and iterative theatre practices. I investigated how stock characters function in the theatre traditions of Japanese Kyōgen, Commedia dell’Arte, and the English Renaissance. With this research, I proposed methods for modern playwrights to craft modern scripts that reinvent these historic stock characters in a constructive way, both maintaining the integrity of tradition and ending cycles of discriminatory representation. From this, I describe how I applied these findings in the drafting, rehearsing, and performance of my original one-act play Jenny and Joey are Getting Married! Through this hybrid approach, I demonstrate that by writing with clear goals and a detailed understanding of reference media, entertainment becomes more accessible and enjoyable for a wide range of audiences. My conclusions emphasize the importance of aligning creative and thematic goals with the selection of research case studies. Additionally, they demonstrate that an audience-first approach to playwriting fosters a positive experience when engaging with the performance. One of the most effective ways to do this is by focusing on character.

Posted in Symposium 2025 on May 1, 2025.