Playing By The Books

It all comes to a close...

Sun, 27 Nov 2011 11:28:01 -0500

It’s been a great semester, and I hope you’ve found the class both enjoyable and rewarding. For your final blog post, I’d like you to reflect back on the semester and write a short letter to next year’s students. What advice can you give them about how to succeed in this class? What skills will they get out of it? What warnings might they find helpful?

The end of Gilman's Dollhouse...

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 19:55:20 -0500

“What the what?!?” You might well be saying… a bit of a sharp turn there, eh?

So… thoughts? What does it mean?!? What is Gilman getting at?

Gilman's Dollhouse Act I

Sun, 13 Nov 2011 12:05:41 -0500

As you’ll notice, Rebecca Gilman’s Dollhouse sticks fairly closely to Ibsen’s version of the play. Think back to your impressions of Ibsen’s A Doll House and discuss how Gilman’s characters are different. Pick one character to focus on and write a post addressing the changes Gilman has made (and/or how similar the representations are). What kind of person is Nora in this version? Torvald? Kristine? What characteristics/personality traits does Gilman emphasize? Is this a different character? How so?

Reflecting on the Marat/Sade film

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 10:27:41 -0500

Once you’ve watched the film version of Marat/Sade, I’d like you to reflect on the experience. How did the film change your perception of the play? Of the characters? What did it add? Do you feel like you understand certain aspects of the play better? What did you find surprising? Do you now find certain arguments more compelling? How did the staging affect your understanding of the performance? What stood out to you?

Marat/Sade Act I or II

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 12:12:00 -0400

Now that we’ve spent some time discussing the play in class (and hopefully clarified some confusion), presumably you should feel better prepared to respond to Tuesday’s prompt. Pick a passage from the play and discuss how it illustrates that character’s philosophical or moral position. What do you think of his (or her) argument/claim? At the end of the play, whose arguments do you find more compelling? Who do you think “wins” the debate? Again, (if you feel so inclined) what connections might we be able to make between the ideas expressed in the play and contemporary political events? In other words, despite its depiction of events from the 19th century, and the fact that it was written nearly 50 years ago, is this play relevant to contemporary audiences?

Marat/Sade Act I

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 10:30:41 -0400

As we discussed in class, this play exhibits aspects of both Brecht’s theories and Artaud’s - both in presentation and attitudes towards violence expressed in the play. While Marat and Sade are the central figures debating their ideologies, the other characters serve as mouthpieces for various philosophical positions in support of one or the other major character. Again, Brecht advocated that epic theater should present two sides to a debate in an effort to get the audience to choose sides. At this point in the play, whose arguments do you find more compelling?

Select a short passage/few lines and transcribe them here. Then offer an analysis of it in terms of the rest of the play, and offer your own response. What does the play/character say about violence? About religion? About poverty? Can you draw a comparison between some of the issues discussed and contemporary political events?

Casting Mrs. Warren's Profession

Sat, 08 Oct 2011 14:03:45 -0400

As I mentioned in class on Thursday, I’d like to revisit the post assignment from The Tempest where I asked you to “cast” one of the characters in the play. Again, for full credit, you must offer an analysis of the image that you select - explain to me why that particular image fits your sense of the character.

Here are the instructions from the original assignment:

Upload an image from the internet of an actor whom you think would fit one of the parts in the play. Try to find an image that aligns with your sense of the character - thinking about facial expression, attire (though it certainly doesn’t need to be Victorian), and the general tone or atmosphere of the image. Be sure to include the link to where you found the image, and write a short paragraph both identifying the character you’ve cast and explaining your casting choice (i.e. why/how does this actor/image fit your understanding of the character).

See my post below as an example of what this would look like.

Specific instructions: after finding your image, copy the url (or save the image to your desktop) and be sure to leave the page open so you can cite the source. From your dashboard, select the “photo” option and upload the image from your computer or click the link below the upload button to “use a URL instead.” In the caption section, begin with “Image Credit:” and type out the name of the website where you found the image. Select/highlight the name of the website, then click on the little chain button in your formatting toolbar (this is how you add links). Add a link to the website, then start a new paragraph to explain your casting choice.

Mrs. Warren's Profession - Acts II and III

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 21:32:10 -0400

Contrasted with A Doll House, Mrs. Warren’s Profession presents very different attitudes toward gender and romance. Here the roles seem to be somewhat reversed - Vivie is more practical/business-minded, while Frank seems more frivolous and romantic. In fact, during the big scene between mother and daughter, Mrs. Warren accuses Vivie of having “no heart.”

What do you make of the play’s portrayal of marriage and/or romance? How does it differ from what we saw in A Doll House? How is it, in some ways, a response to Ibsen?

Or, how does Mrs. Warren’s Profession treat familial relationships. We see two examples of parent/child relationships. Compare the two and offer a reading of what we might take away from those relationships.

Summarizing Theory

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 14:08:06 -0400

For tomorrow’s blog post (if you’re brave enough), try practicing your summary skills on either the Boal reading or on Shaw’s “Apology” for Mrs. Warren’s Profession. If you were going to sum up the author’s points in a quick e-mail, how might you explain his argument. What is the main idea behind his text and what are the points he uses to back up his argument? What did you take away from the reading?

Pitching Your Play

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 15:41:00 -0400

Now that you’ve (attempted to) summarized your play in a single page, it’s time to make that summary even shorter. Imagine you are writing the “blurb” for the back of the book - essentially a summary in one or two paragraphs/150-200 words. You need to encapsulate the important aspects of the play without wasting space on unnecessary details. What is this play about? Who are the major players? What is the main action/conflict? Keep in mind that you want to get people interested in your play without spoiling the ending or boring them with inconsequential information. Try to come up with a catchy first sentence. Think about why somebody might want to read this.

Here are two examples pulled from amazon.com (both are too short, but you’ll get the idea):

(BAD Example - boring) from Editorial Reviews: Romeo and Juliet is one of Shakespeare’s classic works. This play, about two lovers, ends in tragedy because of their quarreling families.

(BETTER Example - enticing) from Editorial Reviews: In a society dominated by religion and bound by ties of strict family loyalty, two teenagers are trapped by their secret love. As a dangerous vendetta spills onto the streets, the young lovers are forced to risk all to be together in Shakespeare’s fast-paced tragedy of thwarted love.

They Say/I Say and Templeton's Arguments About A Doll House

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 15:42:31 -0400

Now that we’ve finished A Doll House, we’ll be moving into a discussion of writing and practical applications. For your post this week, I’d like you to use the skills discussed in the Introduction and chapter on summary that you read in They Say/I Say and apply them to the Templeton article. Starting from the template model on page 9 (i.e. using it as a basic guide), map out the “they say” and the “I say” of Templeton’s article. What arguments/positions is she responding to? What is her argument? What are her major contentions/points? Why is her argument important?

A Doll House - The End

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 14:48:42 -0400

So we got some lively discussion in your posts about the Helmers’ attitudes toward love. Now that you’ve finished the play, I’m curious to hear (read) your responses to the ending. Did you find it satisfying? What did you like or dislike about it? Beyond your initial reaction, though, what do you think it means? In the essay you read, Sandra Saari argues that the revisions Ibsen made to the first draft reveal the revised Nora to be “a discerning and rational adult” (485). She also claims that Ibsen’s revisions removed many of the gender stereotypes connected to Nora’s behaviors/attitudes - turning Nora into a human (instead of “just” a woman) - particularly regarding Nora’s ideas about love and death. Do you agree or disagree with Saari’s argument(s)? If the play is meant as a criticism or condemnation of something, what (or who) does it condemn? If the play is, indeed, a “modern-day-tragedy,” what makes it tragic? Who is the hero? What is the tragic flaw?

A Doll House, Act II

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 21:37:00 -0400

Aside from the oppressive household environment, one of the driving forces behind catastrophe in the play is the Helmers’ (somewhat warped?) notions of love. In Act II, we get several interesting glimpses of what both Nora and her husband believe “love” to be. Pick a short passage or a couple of lines that reflect one of the Helmer’s attitudes about love and/or marriage. Include the lines at the top of your discussion post (though you can quote lines from other parts of the play as well). What kind of picture emerges? What does “love” mean to each of them? If you want to take it a step further (or riff off your classmates’ posts), how do their attitudes about love differ? How are they the same?

A Doll House, Act I

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 19:27:10 -0400

We’re taking a fairly big leap in history - moving from the beginning of the 17th century to the end of the 19th. Over the centuries, plays have undergone significant changes in form, content and structure. While I’ll be discussing the shifts in the dramatic form in class on Tuesday, one immediately noticeable difference is the extensive stage directions we get in A Doll House. These directions indicate both the movements of characters and the emotional nuances underlying their lines. But stage directions also paint a picture of the scenery - creating the atmosphere or tone for the play. After reading your way through the first act (or beyond), return to the beginning and re-read the stage directions that describe the Helmer’s home. Then, turn to your handout on questions to ask when reading a play (the pink sheet), and explore one (or some) of the questions related to setting.

End of Tempest - discussion topic

Sun, 04 Sep 2011 15:01:07 -0400

Now that you’ve finished the play and begun working on your first paper, I hope you’ve developed a fuller sense of the characters. We’ve been focusing on the text exclusively thus far, and for Tuesday, I’d like to start talking/thinking about the production aspects of a play. Directors make innumerable decisions that affect our understanding of a production, but perhaps the most immediately striking is in casting the performance.

For Tuesday, I’d like you to “cast” one of the characters in the play. Upload an image from the internet of an actor whom you think would fit the part. Try to find an image that aligns with your sense of the character - thinking about facial expression, attire (though it certainly doesn’t need to be Elizabethan), and the general tone or atmosphere of the image. Be sure to include the link to where you found the image, and write a short paragraph both identifying the character you’ve cast and explaining your casting choice (i.e. why/how does this actor/image fit your understanding of the character).

See my post below as an example of what this would look like.

Image Credit: Backseat Cuddler I might cast Zooey Deschanel as...

Sun, 04 Sep 2011 14:55:04 -0400

Image Credit: Backseat Cuddler

I might cast Zooey Deschanel as Miranda. To me, this image reflects the sort of wide-eyed innocence that Miranda seems to exhibit for much fo the play. Deschanel is looking upward in this image, much like Mirada looks up to her father in admiration and for guidance in the play. The soft-focus and neutral background of the image give Deschanel an aura of freshness and simplicity that seem fitting for Miranda’s character. As an actress, however, Deschanel often plays quirky and somewhat subversive characters. She’s often funny in a sort of straight-faced, blank-expression sort of way. This fits with my sense of Miranda as both innocent and mildly rebellious (she does go against her father’s wishes in telling Ferdinand her name, as well as in offering to to carry the logs for him).

(Incidentally, the theme I’ve selected for the class blog adds the frame automatically, but it does seem quite fitting for the image!)

The Tempest - Act II-III dicussion questions

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 14:52:00 -0400

One of the more exciting (and sometimes exasperating) things about plays as a genre of fiction is the lack of narrative voice. Outside of stage directions (which we’ll encounter more of later in the semester), the playwright has to rely on a character’s dialogue to convey meaning. It’s therefore up to the reader (or director when the play is staged) to interpret what we’re supposed to think about a given character. First impressions are important, and one clue towards a better understanding of a character is his or her first lines.

Using a his first lines as a starting point, offer an analysis of a given character in the play. What do his (or her) opening lines convey about his character (in the sense of those qualities which make up his person)? What kinds of words or imagery does he use? Does he speak in long, verbose sentences or short, simple ones? What does this tell us about him? Pick any character and feel free to track our understanding of him across the early parts of the play. Again, please include page and line numbers and quote specific language of the play.

The Tempest - Act I dicussion questions

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 17:59:26 -0400

In Act I of The Tempest, we are introduced to Prospero and the three characters under his guardianship: Miranda, Ariel, and Caliban. What do you make of his relationship with each of these characters? While Miranda is his daughter, how is he connected to Ariel and Caliban? How is his relationship with them similar to or different from his relationship with Miranda? How does he treat Ariel and Caliban? What similarities or differences do you see in those relationships?

Perhaps focus on his relationship with one of the three, and identify a quote or some key words that you see as indicative of the relationship. Include them in your discussion along with page and line numbers.

For example: Prospero refers to Miranda as a “cherubin,” indicating that he thinks of her as… (p. 12, line 152).

Welcome to the Course Discussion Forum

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 20:07:00 -0400

AKA the blog.

For those of you unfamiliar with Tumblr, it’s an easy to use platform for informal writing and for posting multimedia materials that you find relevant to the readings. Once you’ve all created tumblr accounts/blogs, you can then “follow” each other, which will generate a discussion thread on your dashboard. You’ll be able to see what your classmates are saying about a given text or prompt, and either respond to their contributions or offer your own reading.

I’ll post a new discussion topic for each day’s reading, and you’ll be expected to respond to at least one prompt each week. Feel free to respond as much as you like, though please use this blog for class-related discussions only - you’re welcome to create a second blog if you want to catalogue your dating escapades or movie preferences.

Please post your responses before noon the day of class. I won’t be actively commenting on the posts here, but I will be reading them and will likely use your posts to jumpstart classroom conversations.

Your responses don’t need to be formal, but do keep in mind that this is a public forum - not only will your classmates be reading what you post, but it’s also going out on the internet. So, you know, be smart about it…