Question #1:
Consider the plays that we've read and seen so far this semester (including Pygmalion and Trifles). What do they tell us about modern and contemporary drama? (Modern drama includes "Soul Gone Home," Trifles, Pygmalion, Hedda Gabler, The Good Person of Szechuan, Waiting for Godot, Death of a Salesman, and A Streetcar Named Desire. Contemporary drama includes Fences, Angels in America, The Metamorphoses, and M. Butterfly.) What do these plays have in common? How are they distinct from other, earlier plays such as The Taming of the Shrew or other plays by Shakespeare? Or from the newer plays I showed or referred to? Consider performance as well as the text of plays. If you are revising your midterm, be sure to include two plays from the second half of the semester.
Below are links to some plays that may be postmodern:
First is Charles Mee's bobrauschenbergamerica:
Next is Suzan-Lori Parks' The America Play:
Finally, we have a scene from Tarell McCraney's Brother/Sister Plays, the ones that I consider more enjoyable to read.
And here are aspects of the postmodern:
Question #2:
What does performance add to the plays that we've read? How does performance limit these plays? How does poor or critically panned performance (like Mary Louise Parker's Hedda Gabler) affect these plays? How have watching the various clips helped you understand our plays? Discuss the differences between film/TV and stage versions, and feel free to consider versions we did not see in class. Can a play still be worth reading if it is never performed? Why? Why not? Which of our plays are still worth performing? Why? Why not? (Consider venues as well.)
Here are some articles from the Guardian's theater blog:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/theatreblog/2012/mar/16/noises-off-theatre-faithful-texts
Consider the differences between drama (play text) and theater (performance).
Question #3:
Consider the differences between drama (play text) and theater (performance).
Question #3:
How is American modern and contemporary drama similar to European modern drama like Hedda Gabler, Pygmalion, Waiting for Godot, or The Good Person of Szechuan? How is it different? Which themes, characters, plot, language, and setting seem to be particularly American? Which stagings seem to be particularly American? Why? What do European plays add to the mix? Consider plays like M. Butterfly, Waiting for Godot, or The Good Person of Szechuan that are more cosmopolitan.
Question #4:
How are women represented in modern drama? Although The Taming of the Shrew is not modern, feel free to bring in what you noticed while watching the performance at MC. Consider the work of female directors as well as actors and playwrights. Here are some interesting articles from the Guardian's theater blog on women playwrights:
Question #4:
How are women represented in modern drama? Although The Taming of the Shrew is not modern, feel free to bring in what you noticed while watching the performance at MC. Consider the work of female directors as well as actors and playwrights. Here are some interesting articles from the Guardian's theater blog on women playwrights:
How might a female playwright work with characters like Hedda Gabler, Linda Loman, Blanche duBois, Stella Kowalski, and so on?
2 comments:
This paper is due May 11th, correct?
Yes, it is, since we are going to the play on the 10th.
Post a Comment