OBERLIN COLLEGE
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
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Modern and Postmodern Theatre:
Drama from Brecht to the Present
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ENGL-328-01
Fall 1997
MW, 3:30-4:45
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Linda Dorff
101 Rice Hall
Office Hours: Tues., 10:00-11:30, W, 2:00--3:30 and by appointment
Phone: 775-8519 or 775-8570
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course explores various movements in
modern and postmodern Western drama, ranging from 1920 to the present.
We will begin by focusing on the anti-realist drama and theories of Bertolt
Brecht, and will continue to return to Brecht's ideas as a touchstone for
re-interpreting mid- and late twentieth century drama. The period we will
study is expansive and diffuse, with many movements and individual dramatists
reacting against the naturalist and realist theatre of the late nineteenth
and early twentieth centuries. Emphasis will therefore be placed not only
upon plays, but upon the theories and critical points of view that produced
twentieth century drama. We will consider various theories of performance,
examining them through the medium of film, stage performance and in-class
performance workshops. We will also consider the historical and cultural
contexts surrounding the later stages of modern drama.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Thoughtful preparation of readings and participation
in class discussions are extremely important in this class. Students will
participate in panel discussions and we will have occasional performance
workshops on short scenes. Written work will include one short paper (4-5
pages) and a longer, critical paper (8-10 pages), in addition to one-page
prep papers. Papers are described in a separate "Paper Topics"
handout. ATTENDANCE IS REQUIRED. Any student with more than three unexcused
absences will automatically receive a lower grade. NOTE: Once a week,
the class will be divided into two groups, which will meet at different
times in order to further more in-depth discussion of the plays.
GRADING: Grading breakdown is as follows:
Class participation: 20%
Performance group: 10%
Prep papers (cumulative): 20%
Shorter paper: 20%
Longer paper: 30%
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Required texts: (available at Oberlin Co-op)
Modern Drama: Plays/Criticism/Theory, ed. W.B. Worthen (Harcourt
Brace)
Brecht, Threepenny Opera
Tennessee Williams: Four Plays
David Mamet, Glengarry Glen Ross
Xerox packet available for purchase in English Department office,
Rice 130 ($8.00)
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On Reserve in Library:
Antonin Artuad, The Theatre and Its Double
Bertolt Brecht, Brecht on Theatre, ed. John Willett
Peter Brook, The Empty Space
Robert Brustein, The Theatre of Revolt: An Approach to Modern Drama
Martin Esslin, The Theatre of the Absurd
Richard Hornby, Drama, Metadrama and Perception
Leslie Kane, editor, David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross (colleciton
of essays)
Austin Quigley, The Modern Stage
Alisa Solomon, "Materialist Girl: The Good Person of Szechuan
and Making Gender Strange"
Bert O. States, Great Reckonings in Little Rooms
William B. Worthen, Modern Drama and the Rhetoric of Theatre _______________________________________________________________________
SCHEDULE
Sept. 3: Introduction: Brecht and Modern Theatre
He Who Says Yes/No
UNIT 1: GERMAN EXPRESSIONISM AND BRECHT'S EVOLUTION
Sept. 5: EPIC THEATRE
Bertolt Brecht: The Threepenny Opera (Act I)
Brecht: "Theatre for Pleasure or Theatre for Instruction?"
(xerox)
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Sept. 8: MUSIC, GERMAN EXPRESSIONIST FILM AND BRECHT
The Threepenny Opera, ctd. (finish play)
Brecht: "On Gestic Music"
Discussion of film of The Threepenny Opera
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Sept. 10: PARABLES FOR THE THEATRE
Brecht: The Good Person of Szechuan (xerox)
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Sept. 15: BRECHTIAN ACTING: Good Person, ctd.
Brecht: "Alienation Effects in Chinese Acting" (xerox)
Student performance group
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Sept. 17: STATION DRAMA AND EXPRESSIONISM
Georg Kaiser: From Morn Till Midnight (xerox)
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Sept. 22: SET DESIGN AND EXPRESSIONISM
From Morn Till Midnight, ctd.
UNIT 2: AMERICAN EXPRESSIONISM
Sept. 24: AMERICAN CURRENTS
Sophie Treadwell: Machinal (Episodes 1-6) (xerox)
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Sept. 29: FEMINIST THEMES
Machinal (finish play)
Student performance group
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Oct.1: MTYH AND EXPRESSIONISM
Tennessee Williams: Orpheus Descending
Suggested reading: Nancy Traubitz, "The Structure of Myth
in Orpheus Descending" (on reserve)
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Oct. 6: THE MODERNIST, POETIC SELF
Discussion of films: Student panels on The Fugitive Kind Orpheus
Descending
UNIT 3: THE WORLD STAGE: ABSURDISM AND METADRAMA
Oct. 8: BECKETT'S SET AND EXISTENTIALISM
Samuel Beckett: Endgame (in Modern Drama)
Suggested reading: Excerpts on Beckett (Modern Drama,
pp. 458-74)
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Oct. 13: ABSURDIST NARRATIVES: Beckett and Genet
Endgame, ctd. and start The Balcony
Excerpt from Martin Esslin's The Theatre of the Absurd (xerox)
Student performance group
Suggested viewing: Video of Endgame (in A/V)
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Oct. 15: METADRAMA AND STORYTELLING
Jean Genet: The Balcony
Excerpts of BBC interview with Genet in class
Suggested viewing: Video of The Balcony (in A/V)
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FIRST SHORT PAPER DUE BY October 17, 6:00 p.m.
OCTOBER 18-26: FALL BREAK!!
UNIT 4: STAGING PLACE: THE POSTMODERN HOME AND HOMELESSNESS
Oct. 27: THE FRACTURED LANGUAGE OF HOMECOMING
Harold Pinter: The Homecoming (in Modern Drama)
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Oct. 29: PERFORMING PINTER: SILENCE AND LANGUAGE
Homecoming, ctd.
Student performance group
Start Buried Child--Comparison of Pinter and Shepard
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Nov.3: SHEPARD AND THE AMERICAN WEST
Sam Shepard: Buried Child (in Modern Drama)
Shepard: "Language, Visualization and the Inner Library"
(in Modern Drama)
UNIT 5: GENDER, RACE AND GENRE
Nov. 5: MASQUERADE AND RACE HERITAGE
Ntozake Shange: Spell #7 (in Modern Drama)
Suggested reading: Interview with Shange (in Modern Drama)
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Nov. 10: PERFORMING BLACKNESS
Shange, ctd.
Student performance group
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Nov. 12: THE LANGUAGE OF MADNESS: GENDERED CHARACTERS
Maria Irene Fornes: The Conduct of Life (in Modern Drama)
Suggested reading: Interview with Fornes (in Modern Drama)
Gayle Austin: "The Madwoman in the Spotlight" (xerox)
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Nov. 17: STAGING BINARIES OF EAST/WEST AND FEMALE/MALE
Henry David Hwang: M. Butterfly (in Modern Drama)
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Nov. 19: OPERA AND METADRAMA
Hwang, ctd.
Suggested reading: Hwang's "Afterword" to M. Butterfly
(in Modern Drama)
UNIT 6: NATIONALISM AND THE DISINTEGRATING ILLUSION OF NATION
Nov. 24: MULTICULTURAL VOICES
Caryl Churchill: Mad Forest (in Modern Drama)
Student performance group
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Nov. 26: BRECHTIAN THEORY AND MATERIALIST FEMINIST PERFORMANCE
Churchill, ctd.
THANKSGIVING: Nov. 27
Dec. 1: DECONSTRUCTING CAPITALIST PARADIGMS
David Mamet: Glengarry Glen Ross
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Dec. 3: MAMET'S "WORLD OF MEN"
Discussion of film of Glengarry Glen Ross
Suggested reading: Chapter 1 from Robert Vorlicky's Act Like
A Man (on reserve)
David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross (collection of essays, ed.
Leslie Kane)
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Dec. 8: PERFORMANCE ART AND STORYTELLING
Anna Deveare Smith: Fires in the Mirror
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Dec. 10: PERFORMING A DIVIDED COMMUNITY
Smith, ctd.
Discussion of video of Fires in the Mirror
SECOND PAPER DUE BY 6:00 p.m.
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Screening Schedule
The following videos are required viewing for the seminar, and will
be shown at Mudd Library. If you cannot attend a particular screening,
make arrangements to see the video on your own time. They will be held
in reserve at the A/V center in the library.
Sunday, Sept. 7: 3:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. The Threepenny Opera (MUDD
456)
Sunday, Oct.5: 3:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. The Fugitive Kind (MUDD 456)
Sunday, Nov. 30: 3:00 p.m.-5:30 p.m. Glengarry Glen Ross (MUDD
456)
Sunday, Dec. 7: 3:00-4:30 p.m. Fires in the Mirror (MUDD 456)
If you cannot attend a screening, you must see it on your own at Mudd
Library's Audio-Visual Dept. on the fourth floor of the library. Hours
are as follows:
M-F: 8:30 a.m.-12 noon, 1:00-4:00 p.m., 7:00-10:00 p.m.
Sat.: 10:00 a.m.-12 noon
Sun.: 6:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
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