Acting It Out

KJUR provided avenue for theatre student to publish research on King Lear character 

KENNESAW, Ga. (Dec 22, 2020) — As a theatre major with an acting concentration, Jim Wallace is not normally one to engage in research. However, due to his interest in the play King Lear and the quality of performances, he elected to dive into research and write a research paper on the play that was then published in the most recent issue of the Kennesaw Journal of Undergraduate Research (KJUR).

“KJUR is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal dedicated to promoting academic study and achievement among undergraduate students at Kennesaw State University,” said Amy Buddie, director of undergraduate research and one of the journal’s editors. “We aim to encourage inquiry among undergraduate students by giving them a place to spread and exchange knowledge through the publication of their research.”

Wallace’s project came out of a class he took for his theatre major called History and Theory I. The play King Lear was written around 1606, a period that was covered by this course.

“Some powerful voices in the world of theatre claim that it is too difficult for actors to portray Lear, the play is too dark, and therefore it should only be read, not performed,” said Wallace, who has been attending KSU since 2003.

“In fact, many productions of King Lear are mediocre. I researched performances and in my paper, described why many actors fail in their attempts to play Lear, and how the role can be performed successfully,” he explained. “After completing this class, I decided to write a full blown research paper on the subject.”

Click here to read the published paper!

He said that the biggest takeaway from his research was the importance of staying on topic. He noted that other issues may arise that seem interesting, but are not related to the subject at hand.

“It is through research, honest, fact-based research, that we enhance our knowledge of the world around us,” he said. “Research allows us to make informed opinions and conclusions.”

Wallace became interested in this kind of research due to his fascination with King Lear as a character. He also pointed out that he is currently the age that Lear was in the play at 80-years-old. Wallace has studied the play for years and hopes to play Lear someday.

In fact, Wallace has acted in a dozen College of the Arts productions, including the portrayal of Virgil Blessing in William Inge’s Bus Stop, Chebutykin in Anton Chekov’s Three Sisters, and a couple of Shakespeare’s plays. Additionally, he has also appeared in several films and a TV commercial for the Georgia Lottery.

Earlier in life, he was not too fond of plays, although he loved performance. During his time in high school, he did not enjoy reading Shakespeare. He attended a showing of Hamlet with his fiance at the time, in the 1960s, which he slept through.

However, during a vacation with his wife at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, where they attended four plays in four days, Wallace enjoyed himself and attributes this experience, along with his wife’s liberal arts involvement, to his education in the liberal arts.

“I had very little exposure to the liberal arts,” he said. “I am married to a lovely woman who is devoted to all things liberal arts. I felt so ‘uneducated’ that I decided to see if I could fill in that void by taking classes at KSU.”

Angela Farr Schiller, his mentor for this project, was the reason Wallace became interested in research when he had a discussion with her. He accepted her offer when she said she would mentor students who wanted to work on a research project.

“She taught me how to write a research paper and how to focus my research,” Wallace said. “She really cares about the student experience.”

Wallace earned his initial degree from Oregon State University, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Business and Technology after switching majors from chemical engineering. When he enrolled at KSU, he was retired from IBM and took advantage of the opportunity to take classes for free because of his age.

“I needed something to do, and had always been interested in acting, so I started out with an Acting I class,” Wallace said. “I loved it and decided to go for a second degree.”

Although he is nearly finished with his degree at KSU, he does not want his time as a student to come to an end because he is really enjoying his time in the classes and being with other students. He wants to keep learning as “learning is a life-long journey.”

—Landon Mion