Dean Cameron s Andak Mural, at the now-demolished New Place Theatre in L.A. Modern Drama II: 1950-1990 Spring 2008 CFA DR 202 11:00a 12:30p, Tuesday & Thursday Room 104, College of Fine Arts, 855 Commonwealth Ave Instructor Ilana Brownstein Literary Manager, Huntington Theatre Company Contact via email: ilanalit@gmail.com or ilanamb@bu.edu Teaching Assistants Jeffry Stanton jeffrys@bu.edu David Gram mrdjgram@hotmail.com CourseInfo Site http://courseinfo.bu.edu/courses/08sprgcfadr202_a1 1
COURSE DESCRIPTION & OBJECTIVES DR 202 is a survey of important plays and trends from 1950-1990. We will examine North American, British, European, and African writers, with a balance between recognized canonical works, and plays by writers historically excluded from the canon due to gender, ethnicity, or aesthetic orientation. This delicate balance of texts plays that have, on the one hand, been canonized by a traditionally Anglo, male establishment, and texts that, on the other hand, come to our attention via insurgent writers battling down the doors of the canon provides fertile ground for exploration. Though this is a literature course, it is literature of the theatre a living, breathing art. For this reason, while lectures will guide each class meeting, a premium will be placed on discussion that relies primarily on each student s informed reading of the texts. This course is reading-heavy, and as second-semester sophomores, you are expected to keep up. Furthermore, despite its size, this is not a class for shrinking violets; you will be expected to participate, and your final grade will reflect the quality and quantity of that participation. Your success in this course will also rely on your ability to synthesize the entirety of your dramatic literature core classes to date, and apply that knowledge to projects this semester. DR 202 necessarily builds on your previous three semesters of literary exploration, and you will be asked to put that knowledge to practical use through final group projects that focus on the historical genealogy of performance. COURSE POLICIES Plagiarism: Plagiarism, whether intentional or accidental, will not be tolerated. It is imperative that one always give proper and complete credit for ideas, concepts, sentences, and structures not of one s own devising. Sloppy academic investigation hurts not only you, it hurts the artists and scholars who strive to share their insights with the greater community. Evidence of plagiarism will constitute a failing grade for the project in question, and depending on the severity of the case, may incur further sanctions, including failure of the course and formal disciplinary action on behalf of the university. Attendance: Because this course relies on classroom participation and discussion for its success, you will be permitted to miss only three classes, whether they are required for other college events, or due to illness or family emergency. You are required to notify me by email of impending absences in advance. For every absence after three, I will drop your course grade by one half-letter. Attendance will be taken at every class meeting. Due Dates and Late Work: No late work will be accepted without advance permission granted by me. Permission will be granted at my discretion, and only for extreme circumstances, such as serious illness or family loss requiring time away from campus 2
(official documentation is required). Please seek permission for extensions as far in advance as possible, as this policy is strict and final. Late work submitted without permission will not be read, commented on, or considered. Due dates are always announced well in advance, and papers are due by the beginning of class. CourseInfo: You will be required to access materials on our CourseInfo website throughout the semester, including readings, images, assignment descriptions, and supplementary materials. The site will serve as a clearinghouse for all DR 202 information, and you are required to check the site often for updates. You must have a Kerberos login and password to access CourseInfo acquire these immediately from the IT department if you are in need. The website for our class page is: http://courseinfo.bu.edu/courses/08sprgcfadr202_a1 ASSIGNMENTS DUE DATES Critical Response Papers Group Performance Projects January 31 April 29: Groups 1 & 2 February 21 May 1: Groups 3 & 4 April 3 May 6: Groups 5, 6, & 7 Midterm Paper Final Paper March 6 May 1 Format for All Written Work: Deductions will be made for not adhering to the following formatting requirements. All written assignments should traffic in exceptional grammar and spelling, and should be submitted in Times New Roman 12 point type, double spaced. Papers must be stapled, and must include page numbers, as well as a header on each page with your name, the date, and the assignment. For example: Joe Smith, 1.16.07 Critical Response A Note How to Approach the Readings: You should come to each playtext with some knowledge of its critical history, and a context for the play in performance. Remember that the focus of your response should ideally be the text, the intentions of the playwright, and your interpretations of each. Own your taste, but also strive to understand it there is no point in pretending to objectivity when exploring works of art, and by the same token, blithe I like or I didn t like statements do not qualify as in-depth analysis. Three useful questions to ask yourself: 1. What are the playwright s intentions or goals in creating this theatrical world and these characters in this manner? 2. Which structures, linguistic tools, symbols, and other strategies does the playwright use to achieve his or her goals? 3
3. How might you understand these goals within the wider context of society, culture, and theatrical history? ASSESSMENT & GRADES Participation & Quizzes 15% Response Papers 20% Midterm Paper 25% Group Project 20% Final Paper 20% 100 = A+ = perfect work 90-99 = A range = outstanding work 80-89 = B range = good, solid work 70-79 = C range = average work 60-69 = D range = below average work 0-59 = F = failing work SCHEDULE OF CLASS MEETINGS & ASSINGMENTS Readings and papers are due at 11:00am on the dates they are listed, below. Week 1 Jan 17 Diving in Head-First: 2500 Years in 90 Minutes Introduction & Review Week 2 Snapshot: the Early-20 th Century American Psyche Jan 22 Sophie Treadwell: Machinal (1928) Jan 24 Ben Hecht & Charles MacArthur: The Front Page (1928) Week 3 Contrasting Mid-Century America & Europe Jan 29 Jean Genet: The Balcony (1956) Jan 31 Eugene O Neill: Long Day s Journey into Night (1956) DUE CRITICAL RESPONSE #1 Week 4 The Mid-20 th Century American Psyche Feb 5 Tennessee Williams: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955) Feb 7 Arthur Miller: A View From the Bridge (1955/56) Week 5 The Angry Brigade & Social Realism: Part One Feb 12 John Osborne: Look Back in Anger (1956) Feb 14 Edward Albee: The Zoo Story (1958) 4
Week 6 The Angry Brigade & Social Realism: Part Two Feb 19 No Class (sub Monday classes) Feb 21 Edward Bond: Saved (1965) DUE CRITICAL RESPONSE #2 Week 7 The Anti-Bureaucratic Impulse Returns Feb 26 Peter Weiss: Marat/Sade (1963) Feb 28 Vaclav Havel: The Memorandum (1967) [manuscript provided] Week 8 New American Voices Knocking Down the Door March 4 Lorraine Hansberry: A Raisin in the Sun (1959) March 6 Adrienne Kennedy: Funnyhouse of a Negro (1964) DUE MIDTERM PAPER Week 9 March 11 March 13 Assignment: R&R No Class (spring break) No Class (spring break) Week 10 Marginalized Communities Speak Out March 18 Athol Fugard: The Island (1973) March 20 Luis Valdez: Zoot Suit (1978) Week 11 Structural Expansion & New Forms March 25 Alan Ayckbourn: The Norman Conquests (1974) March 27 Maria Irene Fornes: Fefu and Her Friends (1977) Week 12 The Claustrophobia of Intimacy April 1 Harold Pinter: Betrayal (1978) April 3 Sam Shepard: True West (1980) DUE CRITICAL RESPONSE #3 Week 13 Subversive Concepts on American Stage: the Avant-Garde April 8 Charles Ludlam: Stage Blood (1979) April 10 Ntozake Shange: for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf (1975) Week 14 UK Women Assessing History April 15 Timberlake Wertenbaker: Our Country s Good (1988) April 17 Caryl Churchill: Cloud Nine (1979) [manuscript provided] Week 15 Exploring Universality Through Specificity April 22 Tomson Highway: Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing (1986) April 24 August Wilson: Fences (1985) Week 16 The Genealogy of Performance April 29 Presentations: Groups 1 & 2 5
May 1 Presentations: Groups 3 & 4 DUE FINAL PAPERS FINAL TUESDAY, MAY 6, 9:00a 11:00a May 6 Presentations: Groups 5, 6, & 7 BOOK LIST All texts in use for this course are available through the BU Bookstore as well as the School of Theatre script library. Please note: for the most part, there is only one copy of each text in the script library. There are more than 60 students enrolled in this course. Do the math, and proceed accordingly. The following playtexts will be provided to you at no cost: - Vaclav Havel: The Memorandum - Caryl Churchill: Cloud Nine A note on ISBNs: Recently, ISBNs have grown to 13 digits, when they used to be 10. In the case of an older play, where it may be useful to know both ISBNs, I have listed the 10-digit number first, then the 13-digit number after the slash. You can use ISBNs to search for copies of scripts through numerous internet retailers (including Barnes and Noble). ANTHOLOGIES Jacobus, Lee. The Bedford Introduction to Drama, 5th Edition. Bedford St. Martins, 2005. ISBN 9780312445768 - Arthur Miller: Death of a Salesman - Tennessee Williams: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - Lorraine Hansberry: A Raisin in the Sun - Harold Pinter: Betrayal - Sam Shepard: True West - Luis Valdez: Zoot Suit - August Wilson: Fences Shine, Ted. Editor, James V. Hatch. Black Theatre USA: Plays by African Americans The Recent Period 1935-Today. Free Press (an imprint of Simon and Schuster), 1996. ISBN 9780684823072 - Ntozake Shange: for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf - Lorraine Hansberry: A Raisin in the Sun - Adrienne Kennedy: Funnyhouse of a Negro SINGLE VOLUMES Albee, Edward. Edward Albee's The Zoo Story and The Sandbox. Dramatists Play 6
Service, 1998. ISBN 9780822212959 [play used in class: Zoo Story.] Ayckbourn, Alan. Norman Conquests. Grove Press, 1994. ISBN 0802131344 / 9780802131348 Bond, Edward. Saved. Dramatic Publishing, 1982. ISBN 0871290995 / 9780871290991 Fornes, Maria Irene. Fefu and Her Friends. PAJ Publications, 1990. ISBN 155554052X / 9781555540524 Fugard, Athol, and John Kani & Winston Ntshona. Statements: Sizwe Bansi Is Dead, The Island, Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act. Theatre Communications Group, 1986. ISBN 0930452615 / 9780930452612 [play used in class: The Island.] Genet, Jean. Translated by Bernard Frechtman. The Balcony. Grove Press, 1994. ISBN 0802150349 / 9780802150349 Hecht, Ben, and Charles MacArthur. The Front Page. Samuel French, 1998. ISBN 0573609128 / 9780573609121 Highway, Tomson. Dry Lips Oughts Move to Kapuskasing. Fifth House Books (an imprint of Fitzhenry & Whiteside Ltd.), 1989. ISBN 0920079555 / 9780920079553 Ludlam, Charles. Stage Blood. Samuel French, 1979. ISBN 9780573690693 Miller, Arthur. A View From the Bridge. Dramatists Play Service, 1998. ISBN 0822212099 / 9780822212096 O'Neill, Eugene. Long Day's Journey Into Night. Yale Press, 2002. ISBN 0300093055 / 9780300093056 Osborne, John. Look Back in Anger. Dramatic Publishing, 1987. ISBN 087129222X / 9780871292223 Treadwell, Sophie. Machinal. Nick Hern Books, 1995. ISBN 1854592114 / 9781854592118 Weiss, Peter. Translation by Geoffrey Skelton. Marat/Sade. Dramatic Publishing, 1964. ISBN 0871295075 / 9780871295071 Wertenbaker, Timberlake. Our Country's Good. Dramatic Publishing, 1998. ISBN 0871293420 / 9780871293428 7