THA 185b: Advanced Playwriting and Dramatic Structure

Tuesday 9:00 – 11:50

Ryan McKittrick, Spingold Theater 205

Conflict, Action, and Greek Dramatic Structure

January 13th: Introduction and overview

·  Assignment: For January 20th: read Aristotle’s The Poetics, Hegel’s “Dramatic Poetry,” Euripides’ Hippolytus, and Seneca’s Phaedra

January 20th: The Structure of Greek and Roman Tragedy: Aristotle’s Poetics and Hegel’s Dramatic Collisions

·  Assignment: For January 27th: read Racine’s Phèdre, Corneille’s The Cid, and Sarah Kane’s Phaedra’s Love.

January 27th: French Neoclassical structure, The Cid Controversy, Racine’s Phèdre, and Sarah Kane’s Phaedra’s Love.

·  Assignment: For February 3rd: Write Greek or neoclassical play for presentation in class. By February 22nd: See Father Comes Home From The Wars at the American Repertory Theater: http://americanrepertorytheater.org/events/show/father-comes-home-wars-parts-1-2-and-3

February 3rd and 10th: Presentation of Greek or Neoclassical plays

·  Assignment: For February 24th: read Fuente Ovejuna and The New Art of Writing Plays; Calderón’s Life is a Dream and Sheila Callaghan’s Fever/Dream. By February 22nd: See Father Comes Home From The Wars at the American Repertory Theater: http://americanrepertorytheater.org/events/show/father-comes-home-wars-parts-1-2-and-3

February 17th: No Class, Winter Recess

The Spanish Golden Age

February 24th and March 3rd: Lope de Vega’s Fuente Ovejuna and The New Art of Writing Plays; Calderón’s Life is a Dream and Sheila Callaghan’s Fever/Dream; and Suzan-Lori Parks’ Father Comes Home from the Wars (Parts 1, 2, & 3)

·  Assignment: For March 10th, read Edward II

Chiasmatic and Elizabethan Structures

March 10th: Marlowe’s Edward II; watch scenes from Derek Jarman’s film, Edward II

·  Assignment: For March 17th, read Romeo and Juliet

March 17th: Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet

·  Assignment: For March 24th: Write Golden Age or Elizabethan-inspired play

March 24th and 31st: Presentation of Golden Age and Elizabethan-inspired Plays

·  Assignment: For April 14th: Read La Ronde, The Blue Room, and Caresses

April 7th: No Class, Passover and Spring Recess

Cyclical Structures

April 14th: Schnitzler’s La Ronde and Ophuls’ Merry-Go-Round. Watch scenes from Ophuls’ film in class. Modern adaptations of La Ronde: The Blue Room and Caresses

·  Assignment: For April 21st: Read Betrayal and Three Days of Rain; write Cyclical Drama or Reverse play.

Reverse Plays

April 21st: Pinter’s Betrayal and Greenberg’s Three Days of Rain. Presentation of Cycle dramas or reverse plays.

Requirements

Students are required to read all of the plays on the syllabus and participate actively in the class discussions. In addition, students will write five original plays based on the works studied in class.

Class attendance and participation 25%

Greek or Neoclassical Play 25%

Golden Age or Elizabeth Play 25%

Cyclical or Reverse Play 25%

If you are a student who needs academic accommodations because of a documented disability,please contact me and present your letter of accommodation as soon as possible.

If you have questions about documenting a disability or requesting academic accommodations, you should contact Beth Rodgers-Kay in Academic Services (x6-3470 or .)

Letters of accommodation should be presented at the start of the semester to ensure provision of accommodations. Accommodationscannot be granted retroactively.