ABSTRACT

Title of Document: ATOMIC-AGE COMEDY:

THE CREATION OF THE TRAMP'S NEW WORLD

Robert Jansen, MFA in Performance, 2013

Thesis Directed By: Leslie Felbain, School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies

Abstract

The Tramp's New World

Written and Adapted by: Rob Jansen

From his office atop the 50th floor of the Chrysler Building, American Pulitzer Prize winning author James Agee struggles to complete a screenplay entitled The Tramp's New World--which tells the story of Charlie Chaplin's "Tramp" character as the lone survivor of a super atomic blast. Agee enacts the Tramp's tale of survival amidst the backdrop of a devastated New York City. Using projection, physical comedy, music, and silent film technique The Tramp's New World adapts a lost screenplay for the stage described as "so dark it was without precedent" and tells the story of a writer's struggle to find redemption through his art. The play explores the question: can a man's desire to create be a match for his proclivity towards self-destruction?