Course Description

In this course, students will study various playscripts and watch both dramatic and/or film versions of at least two plays. Students will analyze a variety of dramatic texts in their historical and cultural contexts from the Renaissance to present. The themes and forms of drama that are typical to various historical eras will be examined as well as the cultural/historical problems associated with staging and settings. Students will study staging, setting, and movement as part of drama production. The problems of how to stage theatre with limited resources, and how to critique drama from a particular era and culture in our modern multi-cultural society will also be addressed. Further, students are asked to evaluate what makes a play work, and whether popular drama is as valuable as that which is critically acclaimed.