Performance anxiety is a crippling problem for many performing musicians. Success in dealing with such a problem can make or break a performance; therefore, it becomes necessary for musicians to learn ways to cope with debilitating nerves. As a performing pianist myself, I am interested in investigating ways current performance anxiety research can be best applied to ease musicians’ stage fright. As there is a gap between current academic research on this subject and pedagogical practice, many teachers lack good advice to give students suffering stage fright. My presentation incorporates my personal experiences in mental practice with current academic literature in the fields of music as well as sports psychology and surgical medicine. Drawing from these resources, I will suggest a more structured pedagogy to help students and musicians develop a mental practice routine to combat performance anxiety. Practice techniques such as mental awareness and visualization can provide musicians with tools to alleviate performance anxiety and achieve a better performance.

The goal of my senior project was to promote dialogue about the issue of sexual assault and consisted of three parts. The first part was a company-constructed multimedia presentation that quickly introduced the audience to facts, figures, and perspectives regarding sexual assault. The second is a performance of Carmen Aguirre's The Trigger. It is a stage play about the playwright’s experience before, during, and after her rape, with other characters’ perspectives interjecting throughout. The purpose of this performance was to provide an experience for the audience that promoted empathy and critical thinking. The performance was a staged reading, complete with minimal set, sound, lights, and costumes. The final part of the project was facilitated discussion groups after the performances. In addition to these three parts, community and university organizations addressing the issue of sexual assault set up tables after the performances for audience members to peruse and become involved. The
audience feedback in the post-discussion surveys and in person was overwhelmingly supportive. Ninety-four percent of survey participants felt that the theatrical performance enhanced their understanding of the issue of sexual assault, while ninety-seven percent felt the post-performance dialogue helped them understand issues and concepts. Most overwhelmingly, every survey participant felt safe to express their opinions in the discussion. But our true success can be expressed through company members' individual conversations with audience members. They were keen on speaking with us about these tough issues. One story that highlights this is the perpetrator that approached a company member and admitted that the event had helped him realize the gravity of his actions.

The goal of this research was to examine how well the University of Montana School of Journalism prepares students for jobs within the journalism industry (particularly at local television stations) by looking at the skills obtained through intensive capstone classes such as UM News, a short news segment produced each week by journalism students for air on KTMF-TV and KPAX-TV. In a 13-page paper, I detail the contrasts in newsgathering between KECI-TV NBC Montana (where I completed a supervised journalism internship during Summer 2014) and UM News where I produced and reported throughout Autumn Semester 2014. I discussed the process of newsgathering from the beginning of a story idea to the final on-air product and how that process differs for the two groups. I also analyzed the specifics of the day-to-day operations of the local station in comparison to the operations of the capstone class the UM School of Journalism. In addition to the paper, I produced, photographed, wrote, and edited a video showing the behind-the-scenes look at the weekly production of UM News. During production of this video, I captured video and still photographs of the other students in my UM News class as they worked. Through my research, I found that students at the University of Montana School of Journalism are well prepared for careers in broadcast news and radio-television production because they are held to professional standards are given hands-on opportunities to practice the many useful skills they learn.

Currently, there is a lack of understanding in the Western artistic and theatrical canon when it comes to multiculturalism-- and in the globalized society of today, that is no longer acceptable. This project is an exploration into how art can be used to give a voice to the bicultural youth of today. Using my own personal experience growing up as an Asian-American/Indigenous Person, as well as research into post-colonialist and applied theatre, I have created a short performance and presentation exploring how and where race, culture, and society intersect to form a specific bicultural identity. The performance will include folk music and already published text. Through this work, I hope to set a small precedent for other students struggling with identity formation, and a greater understanding of how art can be used to deconstruct cultural pressures.