This exam has THREE parts for a total of 100 points:
Part One=10 points; Part Two=40 points; Part Three=50 points.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR PART ONE: Demonstrate your process for researching your Long Paper:
1. Long Paper Thesis: In one sentence, write out your thesis statement for your Long Paper. (2 points)
2. Summary of new research: In one paragraph, summarize one article or essay pertaining to your research that you have recently found in a scholarly journal (such as TDR) or a news publication (such as the New York Times) or a book (such as Theatre Histories).
a. Article you use must be new (i.e. different than what is cited in your proposal). (3 points)
3. Identification of source: Use the name of the article and the author in the first sentence of the summary. (2 points)
4. Conclusion: In one sentence say how this article helps you argue your point in your Long Paper. (3 points)
INSTRUCTIONS FOR PART TWO: Choose ONE quote to unpack.
Write a 350-word essay; DOUBLE SPACED:
● Identify the play and who is speaking
● Discuss the meaning of the quote in detail; especially show how the quote reinforces the play’s thematic concerns and intentions of the playwright.
Choice 1:
HAMM: Clov!
CLOV: (Impatiently.) What is it?
HAMM: We’re not beginning to …to…mean something?
CLOV: Mean something! You and I, mean something!
(brief laugh.)
Ah that’s a good one!
HAMM: I wonder.
(Pause.)
Imagine if a rational being came back to earth, wouldn’t he be liable to get ideas into his head if he observed us long enough.
(Voice of a rational being.)
Ah, good, now I see what it is, yes now I understand what they’re at!
Choice 2:
YVETTE: (Arrives, very pale.) Well, you got what you asked for, with your haggling and trying to keep your cart. Eleven bullets they gave him, that’s all. You don’t deserve I should bother any more about you. But I did hear they don’t believe the box really is in the river. They’ve an idea it’s here and anyhow that you’re connected to him. They’re going to bring him here, see if you gives yourself away when you seen him. Thought I’d better warn you so’s you don’t recognize him, else you’ll all be for it.
Choice 3:
BUNTU. Are you really worried about your children, friend, or are you just worried about yourself and your bloody name? Wake up, man! Use that book and with your pay on Friday you’ll have a real chance to do something for them.
Choice 4:
LOPHAKHIN: They see a map, a kind of map, a map showing a congested, pollut4ed, overcrowded, somebody-else-will-take-care-of-it kind of city, circled in bright red ink, an arrow pointing to this city, to this circle, with the words: “YOU – ARE – HERE”. Then extending away from that, arcing along a gentle curve, railroad tracks, stretching across a short, easy-to-understand distance to another image: quaint, cute, adorable cottages, evenly spaced, vinyl windows, non-corrosive gutters, sweeping lawn…TIME!
YASHA: Forty-three seconds!
INSTRUCTIONS FOR PART THREE: choose ONE question from among the five below.
Write a 500-word essay; DOUBLE SPACED; show word-count.
● Start with a strong thesis statement; write complete sentences; check and double check for spelling and grammar errors; use paragraphs.
● Italicize the Titles of plays and books (e.g. Theatre Histories or Endgame).
● USE 3 VERY SHORT QUOTES from your two textbooks or from the plays we have read.
o Quotes must be placed within the body of the essay.
o NO LONG QUOTES ALLOWED.
CHOOSE ONLY ONE QUESTION:
Question 1. Make a case that: SIX CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF AN AUTHOR subverts the believability of the theatre through metatheatricality. A successful essay will include an analysis of action, character, dramatic structure, and language; will define metatheatricality; and will use specific examples from the play and/or its recent production at A Noise Within to support all claims.
Question 2. Make the case that: caught up in many of the major political crises of the twentieth century, Brecht responded to these events by creating theatre that engaged spectators in a careful reading of their political options. The successful essay will include an analysis of seven or eight Brechtian conventions, and use examples from MOTHER COURAGE to support all claims.
Question 3. Make the case that: SIZWE BANZI IS DEAD claims social memory and identity of black culture in apartheid South Africa. The successful essay will include an analysis of the historic context in which the play evolved, analysis of character, action, language, and use examples from the play to support all claims.
Question 4. Make the case that THE HOMECOMING may be understood as a platform to produce spectator feelings of insecurity and fear. The successful essay will include an analysis of action, characters, dramatic structure, and language, include a discussion of historic social/political context, and use examples from the play to support all claims.
Question 5. Make the case that Beckett rarely allows spectators to forget that they are in a theatre. The successful essay will use examples from the text and/or the Center Theatre Group production of ENDGAME to support all claims.
EXTRA CREDIT (five points): PICK ONLY ONE
Choice 1: Make a graph showing how many times the cell phone rings in the time it takes to perform the play Deadman’s Cell Phone. A copy of the play is in Marie’s office, which you can read in her office but cannot remove under any circumstances. Under the graph put answers to the following questions:
● How much time is added to the running time of the play every time the phone rings? How many lines does the character with the most lines have?
● How many lines does the character with the least number have?
● What is the average?
● Is this number more or less than the number of times the cell phone rings?
● By how much?
● Based on your quantitative analysis of what you hear, could the phone be thought of as another character?
Choice 2: Design a poster for a an upcoming production at Cal Poly, an adaptation of Artaud’s essay “No More Masterpieces.”
Choice 3: Write an obituary for the King in Exit the King.
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