Art
The purpose of this assignment is to help you demonstrate your understanding of the history of the theatrical genres of realism, naturalism, anti-realism and absurdism, and feminist theatre, as well as to identify the genre of a theatrical production by its content and identification with a specific aesthetic or cultural movement. In doing so, you will better understand how theatrical productions reflect the ideas of the culture that produce them.
Assignment: Choose a play from the list below. You are responsible for securing the script. Check Project Gutenberg (www.gutenberg.org). Check the catalog at U.D. Roesch Library. If the library does not have the play in-house, you should check to see if it is available through Ohio Link or as an electronic copy. Submit your answers to ALL of the following:
– Use MLA in-text and works cited formats for your citation of sources.
– DO NOT cite sources like Wikipedia, sparknotes, shmoop, ask.com, cliffnotes, enotes, etc.
1. Include your play’s title, playwright, genre, and give a plot summary (in your own words).
2. How do both the (1) content of your play’s script and (2) specific aesthetic or cultural movement define its genre? Is it a tragedy or a comedy? Be specific. Include biographical and historical information about the playwright and the times in which the play was written and produced.
3. What were the reactions to the play at the time it was produced? Include information from literary criticism and/or reviews from the time in which the play was produced.
4. Choose a character from the play. Reference Theatrical Worlds, Chapter 2 pp. 61-62, “Reading Plays Like an Actor.” Name your chosen character and include information from the script about this character’s : past, language, stage directions, references, and objectives. How does your character reflect the times/culture in which the play was written?
5. How do you see the play relating to Rites.Rights.Writes.and this year’s this year’s theme, “It’s your Nature”?
Play List:
Henrik Ibsen- Ghosts
Anton Chekhov- The Seagull
George Bernard Shaw- Mrs. Warren’s Confession
August Strindberg- Miss Julie
Emile Zola -Therese Raquin
Tennessee Williams- A Streetcar Named Desire
Eugene O’Neill- Long Day’s Journey Into Night
Lillian Hellman -The Children’s Hour
Arthur Miller- A View from the Bridge
Manuel Puig- Kiss of the Spiderwoman
Milcha Sanchez-Scott – Roosters
Wendy Wasserstein- Uncommon Women and Others
Frank Wedekind- Spring Awakening
Samuel Beckett-Waiting for Godot
Edward Albee- The American Dream
Bertolt Brecht-Mother Courage and Her Children