Play Analysis - University at Albany [PDF]

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ATHR 121Z/Play Analysis Fall 2010 Tu/Th 8:45 AM – 10:05 AM, Room PC 263 Prof. Eszter Szalczer; Office: PAC 357; Tel.: 442-4211; email: [email protected] Course Description: The course is designed to familiarize you with analytical tools, research methods and critical approaches that help you appreciate and understand plays both as informed readers of dramatic literature and as spectators in the theatre. We explore plays as products of particular socio-cultural contexts and at the same time as artworks that comprise a complex world of their own. In addition, students will learn about the processes of transposing written scripts into theatrical productions and will learn to analyze theatrical performances as specific interpretations of play-texts. Assignments are geared to develop critical thinking, analytical skills and a vocabulary for expressing complex ideas in the discipline of theatre arts with a special emphasis on the written practice of analyzing plays and performances. Writing Intensive Course Characteristics: Play Analysis fulfils the General Education requirement of a lower-level Writing Intensive course. Writing Intensive courses use writing as an important tool in the discipline studied and are not designed primarily to teach the technical aspects of writing. The focus is on written practice of analyzing plays as well as theatre performances. The course fulfills the following criteria for the Writing Intensive requirement: 1. A Substantial Body of Finished Work: This is generally expected to be a total of 20+ doublespaced pages in at least two, preferably more, submissions. It may be in a variety of forms—journal, reports, essays, research papers, etc.—not all of which need to be graded. 2. Opportunity for Students to Receive Assistance in Progress: Such assistance may take several forms, from visits to the Writing Center (HU-140) to conferences with the instructor. 3. Opportunity to Revise Some Pieces: As revision is an essential characteristic of good writing, students should be able to revise some portion of their work. 4. Response to Student Writing: Such response may take several forms—from extended comments from the instructor to peer evaluation in student groups. It is expected, however, that the instructor will respond in detail to some extended work of the student. Learning Objectives for Lower Division Writing Intensive (Basic Communication): 1. Students will demonstrate their abilities to produce coherent texts within common college level forms 2. Students will demonstrate the ability to revise and improve such texts Readings: Jacobus, et al eds. The Bedford Introduction to Drama (Sixth Edition; University Bookstore and Mary Jane Books) David Ball, Backwards and Forwards (University Bookstore and Mary Jane Books) Essays by Elinor Fuchs, Konstantin Stanislavsky, Uta Hagen, William Ball, Bertolt Brecht (handouts) Requirements: Preparation and class participation: Since class interactions provide the major forum of learning in this course, class participation is an essential requirement. Prepare for class by reading the assigned play and/or essay before class, take notes while reading and jot down you questions or comments and come to class prepared to discuss the day's topic. Exams, Papers, Assignments: For journal and paper assignments you are encouraged to consult the instructor during the writing process and submit drafts for review before the final version. 1. Students are required to keep a journal and make an entry for each play discussed in class. The entry should not consist of students‘ class-notes, but their own informed assessment of the plays. Each entry should comprise a two-page typewritten (double-spaced) analysis of the particular play, discussing the following aspects: A. Brief introductory information on the cultural background of the play B. Information about the world of the play and how that world operates:

ATHR 121Z/Play Analysis/Fall 2010

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What are the given circumstances? What inciting incident triggers the plot? Characteristics of the plot-structure (the connections between the unfolding events and the time and space parameters of the action). - Who are the main characters (protagonist, antagonist, secondary characters) and how do they affect the plot? What is their ‗agenda‘ (what objectives they want to achieve, what obstacles they need to overcome)? - What are the most important images throughout the play and how are they related to the central theme/s of the play? - Determine the beginning-middle-and end (stasis-intrusion-stasis): describe how the situation in the beginning of the play has changed by the end of the play and why (reversals, recognitions, etc.). - Describe the characteristics of the given style/genre. The journals will be reviewed periodically and will be handed back to you with comments for rewrites. They will be evaluated in their entirety at the end of the semester and awarded a grade that will reflect both content and the improvements of writing. 2. The midterm test will evaluate students' understanding of the critical, analytical and research terms and methods we study. 3. The final essay exam is designed to evaluate how students by the end of the course have learned to apply the analytical processes learned and practiced in class. 4. You are required to attend all productions offered or sponsored by the Theatre Department during the semester and to prepare a written response as part of your journal. Other requirements: For a passing grade in the class it is expected that beyond a thorough familiarity with the covered material students achieve a satisfactory level of communicating their knowledge orally and in writing. Students must show evidence of clear and articulate expression of thoughts, facts, and ideas and an understanding and respect for others‘ thoughts and ideas. -

Attendance Policy: Regular attendance of classes is required. You are allowed two absences for the semester. More than two absences will result in the lowering of your final grade. Four absences above the allotted two (a total of six) will result in a failing grade for the course. Two latenesses (10 minutes or more) equal 1 absence. BEFORE entering the classroom please turn off your cell-phone. No text-messaging and laptop use are allowed during class. Please take notes by hand. If there is a special reason you need to use an electronic device for note-taking, you must obtain instructor‘s permission beforehand. Unauthorized use of electronic devices during class will be recorded as an absence. Plagiarism or any form of Academic Dishonesty is inexcusable and will result in a failing grad. See detailed description of what is considered plagiarism in the Bulletin or at the UAlbany Website. Grading:

Journal Midterm Final Class participation

25% 25% 25% 25%

ATHR 121Z/Play Analysis/Fall 2010

Schedule of classes

8/31 TU 9/2 TH

9/7 TU

Introduction - Plays and their backgrounds Approaches to dramatic structure and some analytical tools to begin with The world of the play

Read pp. 1-5, 13-20 and Lady Gregory, The Rising of the Moon in The Bedford Introduction to Drama (BID) Read Fuchs, ―EF‘s Visit on a Small Planet‖ (handout) Read Antigone by Sophocles and the chapter from Aristotle‘s Poetics in BID

9/14 TU

The nature of drama and elements of dramatic structure classical tragedy

9/16 TH

Plot, story, and climactic structure in Antigone Conflict and character in Antigone Classical comedy: - Greek society and the world of the play - Character, theme, plotstructure Comedic devices - discussion of Lysistrata continued Elizabethan theatre and drama: Episodic structure, parallel plots vs. subplots, spoken décor, play-within-play Character, imagery, and theme in A Midsummer Night's Dream Interpretations of Midsummer Modern drama and modern theatre: Realism vs. naturalism

Read Ball, Backwards and Forwards, pp. 9-24 Read Ball, pp. 25-36

Modern character, psychological drama, and subtext in Miss Julie The world of the play and social background – discussion of Miss Julie continued

Read the Preface to Miss Julie by Strindberg in BID and Ball, pp. 68-78

9/21 TU 9/23 TH

9/28 TU 9/30 TH

10/5 TU

10/7 TH 10/12 TU

10/14 TH

10/19 TU

10/21 TH

Interpretations and adaptations of Miss Julie

Read Lysistrata by Aristophanes in BID

Read A Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare in BID

Read Ball, pp. 39-59

Read Miss Julie and the Preface to the play by Strindberg in BID

Read section on ―The Woman Question‖ in BID Read handout-essays by Stanislavski, Hagen and W. Ball

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ATHR 121Z/Play Analysis/Fall 2010

10/26 TU

Practice and review

10/28 TH

MIDTERM

11/2 TU

Read Six Characters in Search of an Illusion, reality, theatricalism Questions of character and Author by Pirandello in BID plot Discussion of Six Characters continued Anti-realism and ‗Anti-theatre‘ Read The Bald Soprano by Ionesco in BID

11/4 TH 11/9 TU

11/11 TH

American Theatre in the twentieth-century: Plot structure, imagery, and subtext in Trifles

11/16 TU

Discussion of Trifles continued Character, conflict, imagery in Fences

11/18 TH

11/23 TU 11/30 TU

12/2 TH 12/7 TU

Read Trifles by Susan Glaspell in BID

Read Fences by August Wilson in BID

Discussion of Fences continued Contemporary drama and society

Read The Clean House by Sarah Ruhl in BID

Discussion of Clean House continued Conclusion

FINAL EXAM Assignment (Essay) DUE

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