Creative Endeavors

During my undergraduate time at DePaul, I have been fortunate enough to be able to study funk trombone and its many variations while also studying Sound Recording Technology. For my thesis, I have fused both of these aspects of my education into an album of funk tunes that I have compiled based on genre and personal value in order to analyze historically how mix engineers and producers were able to overcome the limitations of their time, my own challenges that I faced during the process, and what each song represents not only to me but to the funk genre as a whole.

Embarking on an odyssey is no easy task, but puppets make everything easier. Beginning with ancient civilizations puppets have been a vital tool for storytelling, pushing the boundaries of what theatre can be. Through puppetry, theatre makers can transcend the limits of the human body. This thesis examines how essential puppetry is to the lexicon of theatre. These tiny puppet people create art that has deeper emotional and political gravity than could be achieved with actors.

Mexican American identity is complex and often misrepresented in mainstream media, which tends to rely on stereotypes rather than complex narratives. Early depictions, while often inaccurate, were instrumental in establishing a presence for Mexican Americans in the Western media. Through research and a creative component, this thesis examines the role of self-representation in film, arguing that Mexican American individuals offer a unique insider’s perspective to depicting their identity due to their lived experiences and cultural understanding. Self-representation has an irreplaceable role in the representation of a community; yet no single narrative or character can fully encapsulate the lived experiences of an entire community.

Satire is an ancient form of expression that allows people to deliver their critiques of institutions, individuals, and systems in a joke, simultaneously hiding the criticism from its target and making it more resonant with its audience. This makes satire one of the most potent forms of criticism. Both groups, the laughing audience and the target, respond to satire differently. For this project, I have examined how satire speaks truth to power in its targets and builds community among the audience.