Othello: Day 5; Art Holiday Assembly

We will begin class with Othello this morning. To speed up our reading, we'll listen to the following audiobook:

• 1957 Audio of The Tragedy of Othello. Act IV, end of scene 3, Act Iv, Scene 4 and Act 5. (30 min.)
• Othello Cliff Notes
• Othello Thug Notes

Afterward, please go to the Main Stage theater for our Arts assembly. 

HOMEWORK: Read Titus Andronicus over winter break. You can find help and assistance from the footnotes in the script (handout) and from online sources. 

Have a nice winter break!

Othello: Day 4

The structure of a Shakespearean play (most 5 act plays) is:

ACT ONE: Exposition, Inciting incident, Major Dramatic Question is introduced, sometimes the protagonist has made a Major Decision. Often a complication occurs to disrupt the status quo
ACT TWO: Rising Action, Complication(s), Establishment/development of the Major Conflict, sometimes the protagonist has made a Major Decision. Introduction to subplot (minor plot).
ACT THREE: Crisis or Turning Point, Dark Moment, Major Decision.
ACT FOUR: Enlightenment, development or Resolution of minor plots.
ACT FIVE: Final climax, Resolution of minor and major plots, falling action. Major Dramatic Question is answered.

Confused? Asleep? Absent? Daydreaming? Curious? take a look at the links below to help you understand this play and see what it looks like when performed.

Act 1 (Othello):
Scene 1 summary; & Scene 1 (Royal Shakespeare Company)
Scene 2 summary; & Scene 2 (Othello Notes: analysis of scene 2) (9 min.)
Scene 3 summary; & Scene 3 (Iago's monologue, Kenneth Branaugh) & Orson Welles as Othello, monologue scene 3.

Act 2 (Othello)
Scene 1 summary
Scene 3 summary

Act 3 (Othello):
Scene 1 & a  scene acted by the RSC
Scene 2
Scene 3 (Othello's monologue)

Language in Othello

HOMEWORK: None. Please bring your Othello book back with you next class. You may wish to revise your play scripts for your portfolio (due at the end of marking period) or outline and start planning a new play idea based on one (or more) of Polti's 36 Dramatic Situations.

Othello: Day 3; Polti's 36 Dramatic Situations

Polti's 36 Dramatic Situations (15 min.)

"Drama requires characters who want things they don't have yet, who need things they don't recognize yet, who are in conflict with people and forces arrayed against them."

Please read the handout on plots by Georges Polti (or Johann Goethe or Carlo Gozzi):

• What is at the core of a good dramatic idea?

The article makes a point about the 36 dramatic situations by Georges Polti. Please link to this page on our link page to your right. Read a few of the 36 dramatic situations. Which ones interest you? Which ones can you relate to? Which ones have you seen in literature or film? Discuss these 36 dramatic situations with a neighbor today.

• Which one would you create a one-act play around?
• Choose 1 or 2 of the dramatic situations and begin outlining a one-act play based on the idea.

We will continue to read Othello today.

The structure of a Shakespearean play (most 5 act plays) is:

ACT ONE: Exposition, Inciting incident, Major Dramatic Question is introduced, sometimes the protagonist has made a Major Decision. Often a complication occurs to disrupt the status quo
ACT TWO: Rising Action, Complication(s), Establishment/development of the Major Conflict, sometimes the protagonist has made a Major Decision. Introduction to subplot (minor plot).
ACT THREE: Crisis or Turning Point, Dark Moment, Major Decision.
ACT FOUR: Enlightenment, development or Resolution of minor plots.
ACT FIVE: Final climax, Resolution of minor and major plots, falling action. Major Dramatic Question is answered.

Confused? Asleep? Absent? Daydreaming? Curious? take a look at the links below to help you understand this play and see what it looks like when performed.

Act 1 (Othello):
Scene 1 summary; & Scene 1 (Royal Shakespeare Company)
Scene 2 summary; & Scene 2 (Othello Notes: analysis of scene 2) (9 min.)
Scene 3 summary; & Scene 3 (Iago's monologue, Kenneth Branaugh) & Orson Welles as Othello, monologue scene 3.

Act 2 (Othello)
Scene 1 summary

HOMEWORK: None. Please bring your Othello book back with you next class. You may wish to revise your play scripts for your portfolio (due at the end of marking period) or start planning a new play idea based on one (or more) of Polti's 36 Dramatic Situations.

Othello: Day 2

We will read Othello today.

The structure of a Shakespearean play (most 5 act plays) is:

ACT ONE: Exposition, Inciting incident, Major Dramatic Question is introduced, sometimes the protagonist has made a Major Decision. Often a complication occurs to disrupt the status quo.
ACT TWO: Rising Action, Complication(s), Establishment/development of the Major Conflict, sometimes the protagonist has made a Major Decision. Introduction to subplot (minor plot).
ACT THREE: Crisis or Turning Point, Dark Moment, Major Decision.
ACT FOUR: Enlightenment, development or Resolution of minor plots.
ACT FIVE: Final climax, Resolution of minor and major plots, falling action. Major Dramatic Question is answered.

HOMEWORK: None. Please bring your Othello book back with you next class.

Elizabethan Theater & Othello: Day 1

This morning, please post a well-developed answer to this question in the COMMENT section of this blog post:

• What are some examples (use textual evidence to support) of Greek Tragedy in the contemporary play "The Darker Face of the Earth"?
• How does Rita Dove "breathe new life" into this old Greek legend based on Oedipus The King? Is she, in your opinion, successful? Why or why not? [please use specific evidence and examples to support your position].

Shakespeare's Theater

Please take notes on what you learn on the graphic organizer. Turn this in as participation credit at the end of our class today.

Crash Course Theatre: The English Renaissance and Not Shakespeare
Crash Course Theater: Straight Outta Stratford-Upon-Avon: Early Shakespeare
Crash Course Theatre: The Tragedies

Theater, as we know it in Shakespeare's day as performed in a typical PLAYHOUSE, didn't occur until 1576. It was James Burbage who built the first playhouse called, appropriately, "the Theater"--a permanent building dedicated to showing plays for commercial interest. Before then, plays were generally performed in courtyards, tennis courts, inns or guild houses. Private showings for the nobles or upper classes would be commissioned as well in indoor theaters where anyone could afford a ticket.

Actors joined an acting company. Shakespeare, for example, first belonged to the Chamberlain's Men, then to the King's Men (after Elizabeth's death). Only men were allowed to act in the Elizabethan theater. Younger actors (boys) often played female roles because they would have looked more like women (i.e., no beard). This helps to explain why so many of Shakespeare's plays include cross-dressing. Consider that Juliet, for example, would have been played by a boy to the older actor playing Romeo. New actors were often given smaller roles so as to train with the experienced actors--who often played the major roles. Shakespeare himself was recorded as playing various small roles in his plays. The most famous example was the ghost of Hamlet's father in Hamlet.

Plays were written (often in collaboration) by the actors in the company (who also doubled as the house manager, director, props master, producer, etc.) This helps to explain why some characters in Shakespeare's plays disappear mid-play or return as new characters in the 4th or 5th acts. It's hard to be on stage while also taking money at the door.

Lines for a play were written on sides and distributed to the company members. It would be rare for an actor to have a complete script (the writer would, of course) but printing costs money, so copies were kept to a minimum. This helps explain why there are A-sides and B-sides to Shakespeare's works. Some lines or sides were changed by the actors or the writer during the performances. Famous actors might even change the author's lines by slipping in a bit of well-rehearsed and well-known comedic business for the audience's benefit.

Finally, having one's works collected in a folio book or quarto would have been rare. Scripts that got out of the hands of a company could be stolen by other theater companies, so copies were not passed around generally. The King's Men must have thought a lot about Shakespeare to have his works printed and bound! Luckily they did--or we could not frustrate future high school students by forcing them to read his plays!

The structure of a Shakespearean play (most 5 act plays) is:

ACT ONE: Exposition, Inciting incident, Major Dramatic Question is introduced, sometimes the protagonist has made a Major Decision. Often a complication occurs to disrupt the status quo.
ACT TWO: Rising Action, Complication(s), Establishment/development of the Major Conflict, sometimes the protagonist has made a Major Decision. Introduction to subplot (minor plot).
ACT THREE: Crisis or Turning Point, Dark Moment, Major Decision.
ACT FOUR: Enlightenment, development or Resolution of minor plots.
ACT FIVE: Final climax, Resolution of minor and major plots, falling action. Major Dramatic Question is answered.

Othello was written in 1603 (1st performed in 1604). See handout for details about the play's summary, its characters, etc.

Let's begin reading this tragedy together today in class. In Act One we will be treated to the play's exposition (the play begins in media res), inciting incident, and let's look for the MDQ and the Major Decision/complication of the action.

HOMEWORK: None. Please bring your texts back with you to our next class.

Historical Play Project Draft Due; The Darker Face of the Earth

We will watch the last couple minutes of Agamemnon. Please complete and turn in your analysis sheet. This counts as a test grade. See previous posts or the handout for details.

Period 1 (7:40-8:10)

Use your time this morning to prepare and complete your play draft. Before turning in/submitting your script, correct/check the following:

• Your format. See this link for a template...
• Your grammar.
• Turn non-specific and vague language into specific and visual language. Go ahead and add imagery or turn your verbs in your sentences into active ones! (use similes, specific nouns, active verbs, etc.)
• What is your premise? Did you make a point?
• Identify your protagonist(s): what do they want? Why do they want this? Is this clear in your dialogue? What obstacles prevent them from getting what they want?
• Who is your story about? A. a single protagonist? B. dual protagonists? C. group protagonists? (this is also considered to be an ENSEMBLE cast). Consider who has the most to gain/lose in your story. That is usually your best protagonist!

Please submit your historical play projects on Google Classroom after you have edited them.

Period 2:

The Darker Face of the Earth by Rita Dove

So. You've read Oedipus the King, about the king who killed his father and married his mother and then put out his eyes when he realized he was the guy who married his mother and killed his father. Aristotle thought Sophocles' play was the best play ever! It was a perfect example that he used as an exemplar to base his Poetics on. Many playwrights after Sophocles used Oedipus and Aristotle's Poetics to write plays. Even contemporary authors.

So. Oedipus the King. Old, dead, male, white, blah, blah. Does it speak to us today? What if it doesn't? What if a poet (who has read the original, just like you have) wants to tell a similar story but in a different way? What if she wants to write a tragedy about the suffering of American slaves during the antebellum period? What if the poet wants to structure her play based on old structures and stories that the entire world is familiar with? Enter: Rita Dove.

Today, let's begin reading this play. Those of you who think of yourself as poets can learn a lot about writing a dramatic poem (a poem meant to be staged and acted out by actors). Verse plays allow us to play with imagery and language and use all sorts of poetic language and skills while also writing plays. Language (as Aristotle says in his book) is important when writing a play. It is how we communicate ideas and develop characters in dramatic conflicts. What is more conflicting in America than the issue of race? Let's take a look.  

Please sign up for a role today. 

HOMEWORK: Complete your reading of this play by next class. Be prepared to write about the play when you return. You could even take notes about what's going on in the play and, considering our class, advice about writing plays in relation to this script. Remember Aristotle and other examples of Greek Theater!

Agamemnon: Day 2

Today we will continue our viewing of Agamemnon. Please complete the handout (this is due at the end of your viewing). Use the notes given to you and follow the script if you are confused or are having trouble understanding the play.

Extra Credit:

For those of you who want some extra credit this marking period, you may read and complete a play analysis for the following plays:

• Euripides' Medea
• Aristophanes' Lysistrata

HOMEWORK: Your historical play project drafts are due Friday. Please make sure these are ready to revise/proofread and prepare.

Friday's 1/2 day will be periods 1-4 & 9.

Historical Play Project; Agamemnon: Day 1

Period 1:

Please turn in your Aristotle's Poetics Notes for Antigone (see previous post/handout for details.)

During period 1, please work on your historical play project drafts.

Period 2: Agamemnon

AGAMEMNON by Aeschylus:

The Oresteia by Aeschylus is the only complete Greek trilogy. These three plays: Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Eumenides tell the story of the House of Atreus in Argos.

Today and this week we will be watching the production of Peter Hall's Agamemnon, translated by Tony Harrison. In Harrison's script, you will note the use of alliteration and kenning. These literary devices and techniques are Anglo Saxon in origin, not Greek. The Greeks had their own cadence and rhythm to their plays. Other elements and theatrical conventions, such as the use of masks, flutes, drums, and an all-male cast are standard Greek tragedy style.

Key mortal characters in the myth are: Thyestes, Atreus, Aegisthus, Agamemnon, Menelaus, Odysseus, Helen, Paris, Priam, Cassandra, Iphigenia, Orestes, and Electra.

Key immortal characters include: Zeus, Apollo, Artemis, The Furies (Eumenides...also called the Erinyes, the Kindly Ones, The Daughters of the Night were spirits of vengeance, murder, and jealousy. Their names are Tisiphone, Megaera, and Alecto to be specific).

Exposition:

• Atreus and Thyestes (brothers, sons of Pelops) fought because Thyestes challenged the throne of Argos and seduced Atreus’ wife.
• Thyestes was defeated by his brother and driven out of Argos, but returned as a suppliant with his children. A suppliant is like a homeless beggar.
• Atreus invited the family to a feast (where he slaughtered Thyestes children and served them to their father as dinner).
• Thyestes ate his children, unknowingly.
• When he found out what had happened, he cursed the house of Atreus and fled with his remaining son, Aegisthus.
• Agamemnon and Menelaus are the sons of Atreus, inheriting Argos.
• Agamemnon married Clytemnestra
• Menelaus married Helen.
• Helen ran off with Paris (or Paris, like Thyestes, seduced Helen) and this started the Trojan War.
• Agamemnon and Clytemnestra had three children: Iphigeneia, Electra, and Orestes.
• Menelaus convinced his brother Agamemnon to help him get his wife back from Troy.
• The gods (Artemis) were protecting the Trojans and didn’t bring them the wind needed to sail to Troy
• Calchas, the prophet, divined that the gods were angry and wanted a sacrifice.
• Calchas and Menelaus encouraged Agamemnon to sacrifice his daughter Iphigeneia.
• Agamemnon did so and gained favor and wind from Zeus; the Athenians sailed to Troy, won the war and sacked Troy. The battle lasted 10 years. This is, of course, the Trojan War.
• At beginning, Aegisthus has returned to Argos, now the lover of Clytemnestra (think Penelope and Odysseus), and exiled Orestes (he’s the rightful ruler, you see).
• Greek torchbearers or Messengers will light the beacon fire when Troy has fallen.
• Agamemnon, with his “prize” Cassandra (the daughter of Priam, king of Troy), returns after the war to a “warm” welcome.

CLASSROOM: Agamemnon, Part 1. We will view Peter Hall's production of Agamemnon. You should refer to your script (handout) with any questions about the play or its episodes. If you miss something or are absent you can read the play and complete the answers easily.

Please complete the questions regarding Agamemnon as you watch the play. Your answers are due when you finish viewing (probably next class). The viewing sheet will count as a quiz grade for the marking period.

HOMEWORK: None. If you have not yet finished your historical play, please aim to do that. Drafts are due Friday, Dec. 6.

Greek Theater; Aristotle's Poetics; Sophocles' Antigone

Please turn in your play analysis sheets for either Picasso at the Lapin Agile or The Lion in Winter.

Greek Theater
Crash Course Theater: Thespis, Athens, & the Origin of Theater #2

Aristotle’s Poetics (circa 330 B.C.E.)

Here's a 20 point summary of the first established literary critic's masterpiece "The Poetics" by Aristotle.

1. People like to imitate and learn.
2. Arts (Epic poetry, tragedy, comedy, dithyrambic poetry, flute-playing, lyre playing) are all modes of imitation. Just as color and form are used by artists, the voice, language, and harmony are used singularly or in combination. IE. Theatrical arts are REPRESENTATIVE of reality, not reality in and of themselves.
3. Objects of imitation should be above our common ilk; characters in a play/subject matter should be of high quality (and scope).
4. Poetry soon broke into two parts: tragedy/comedy. Serious poets would write about serious subjects; Humorous poets would write about frivolous and happy subjects.
5. Tragedy originated out of the dithyramb (choral ode); Comedy out of phallic songs.
6. Aeschylus limited his chorus, introduced the “second” actor, and made the dialogue take the leading part of the play.
7. Sophocles introduced the third actor.
8. As tragedy deals with noble subjects, comedy imitates men worse than average.
9. Tragedy is different from epic (although both are serious) in length, in one kind of verse (narrative form); epic includes tragedy, but tragedy does not necessarily include epic.
10. Aristotle’s six parts of a play:

a. Plot
b. Character
c. Theme (Idea)
d. Spectacle
e. Melody
f. Language (diction)

11. Plays should have a beginning, middle, end
12. Plays should not include so much as to bore, or too little
13. It is better in a tragedy for a good person to come to ruin, rather than a bad person
14. It is better to create catharsis from language and plot, rather than spectacle
15. Characters should have a discovery (anagnorisis) that leads to a turning point or crisis/climax (peripety) (plural peripeties)
16. The chorus should act together as a “character” and integral to the whole
17. Characters should act according to verisimilitude (appearance of reality).
18. Diction should be clear, correct, poetic, but not inessential.
19. Plot should be made up of probable events
20. The poet, being an imitator (like a painter) must represent things either as they are, or as they are said to be, or as they ought to be – which is accomplished by skillful use of language to create a catharsis (emotional purging) in the viewer of a play.

Key Words to Know:

• Hamartia (fatal or tragic flaw)
• Catharsis
• Peripety
• Deus Ex Machina
• Comedy
• Tragedy
• Dithyramb

Play Reading: Begin reading Antigone by Sophocles. Sign up for a role on the role sheet. As we read, please take notes/analyze the play using Aristotle's 20 points. Note keywords/concepts.

HOMEWORK: Complete Antigone on your own if we don't finish today in class. Work on completing a draft of your historical play project draft. See previous posts for details.

Have a happy Thanksgiving!

Workshop: Day 2; The Lion in Winter; Picasso at the Lapin Agile

This morning, please continue/complete your workshops. When you are done, please do 1 of 3 tasks:

1. Work on your Historical Play Project (see below)
2. Read your chosen play and complete your play analysis (you may read with other students who chose the same play!)
3. Revise your workshopped play as draft 2 (this goes in your portfolio!)

Group 1:

• Tali
• Valerie
• A'layza 
• Makenna
• Melinda
• Madison
• Wesley

Group 2: 

• Lesana
• Aalaysia
• Keniah
• Farhan
• Degraj
• Tia
• Liz
• Javant

1. Choose at least 1 of your 2 scripts and read the plays together. 

2. Actually read them out loud, please! 

3. The playwright should NOT read a part but listen to others read their work out loud. This is important. The playwright needs to hear his/her words in the mouth of other people. 

4. The playwright should complete the workshop form (handout). 

5. The other students in the workshop (even the ones reading out loud) should mark mistakes and/or problems with the script's formatting and content as they read (see handout rubric for details!); these marked-up scripts should go back to the playwright.

6. Discuss the play with your peers. What are its strengths & weaknesses? (see rubric)

7. The playwright should complete and turn in a workshop form (handout). 

8. Workshops may be carried over to our next class if needed.

Use the handout/rubric to help you give advice to your peers regarding their plays. Students whose plays are workshopped should complete a workshop form (see handout). You may revise your play draft(s) for your final portfolio, due in January.

At around 8:30, you will have the option of continuing your workshop or begin reading one of two "historical plays":

Choose one:

1. The Lion in Winter by James Goldman; (clip)

2. Picasso at the Lapine Agile by Steve Martin, (clip)

Read the play and complete a play analysis for it. Due Monday, Nov. 25.

HOMEWORK: Work on your play projects or revisions (not due yet). Read your chosen play. Complete a play analysis for Monday, Nov. 25.

Help Preparing/Writing Your Historical Play

Writing a historical play:

5 Lessons Learnt In Writing a Historical Play (video)
Try your own beginning research by choosing one of these areas and learning about it. Take notes of things, people, or places from that time period that you find interesting.

• Elizabethan Period
• Elizabethan Period & Historical Figures & Events
• American Colonialism
• Famous African Americans
• British/English Historical Figures
• Ancient Greek Figures
• Historical Asian Figures
• Famous Egyptians
• Famous Hispanic Leaders/Events
• Famous Female Leaders
• Famous historical leaders
• Chinese Dynasties
• Roman Historical Figures
• Historical Periods & Important Events
• Lesser Known American History
• Famous Inventors
• Famous Artists

Once you have chosen a time period for your setting, consider HOW you will plot your story. How many scenes will you write? How may you combine time and scenes to tell your story? Consider:

Plot: (what happens on stage) off stage is part of the story, not part of the plot

a.     Pick a historical person, or set your play in a historical time period. Your play may deal with a fictional protagonist(s) in an otherwise historical setting. 

b.     Ask: Where would you start a play? Each writer will start a plot somewhere different. Write a short play with that plot in mind. Example:

1. Hamlet can be told from a variety of plots. Where we start Hamlet suggests a different story as varied as the writer writing the play.
2. Fortinbras, by Lee Blessing, for example, starts his play at the end of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Hamlet could also be a minor character (for example in Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead)
3. Desdemona by Paula Vogel tells the story of Desdemona in Othello: plot can be told from the perspective of a different character. 
4. The shorter the play, the closer to the climax you will need to start your story/plot.
5. Introduce some theatrical conventions: 

Theatrical Conventions:

• Masks
• Cross-gender (costume/casting)
• Asides
• Soliloquy
• Stillness/silence/pauses
• Use of a narrator (seen in "memory plays" like The Glass Menagerie or Brighton Beach Memoirs
• Synecdoche (part represents the whole)
• Suggested scenery (consider the set in Driving Miss Daisy, for example)
• Costumes & props
• Multiple casting (one actor plays several roles)
• Lights or lighting changes
• Soundscapes/sound effects
• The fourth wall; Breaking the fourth wall (addressing the audience)
• Flash forward, flashback, slow motion, freeze
• Tableau
• Montage
• On-stage deaths; stage fights
• Physical theater; mime
• Unities of time, place, or action
• Transformation of time, character, place, or through props
• Songs
• Choruses
• Heightened language; unrealistic speaking patterns
• Placards, signs, and multimedia

Historical Play Project: Day 3; Play Workshop; Lion in Winter/Picasso at the Lapin Agile

Please read this article: Inspiration from Artifacts: Writing Plays for the Future Inspired by the Past.

Then, this morning, please take the first 20-25 minutes to work on your historical play project. See below.

Historical Period Play Project:

• Pick a time period or historical figure and plan/outline a play.  Use your notes to do the following:
• Make a list of your potential characters: consider including a protagonist, an ally or confidante, a foil, an antagonist, and/or a messenger. Your protagonist/antagonist should be dynamic characters. You may include characters who are not real with your historical figure. Your historical figure may be a minor or major character.
• Create a dramatic triangle (see Oct 1 blog post/handout)
• For your protagonist/antagonist, choose a desire, motivation, and obstacle (the roots of action)
• Choose a suggested or realistic set
• Your play should include monologues to develop your characters, backstory, and theme or absolute truths
• Include theatrical conventions and Aristotle's 6 Parts of a Play: character, plot, idea/theme, music, language (well-written dialogue), spectacle
• Your play may include music, be a musical (with songs or poems), a tragedy, comedy, or drama
• Your play should start in status quo with the introduction of an inciting incident, include conflict and obstacles that complicate the plot to rise to a crisis or dark moment (turning point) for your protagonist(s), include an enlightenment, rise to a climax, and resolve.
• For advice on how to do these things, please look back through the blog (from September until now) and the handouts given to you or discussed in class. 
• Your draft will be due early December.

At around 8:00, we will gather in 2 workshop groups and conduct a workshop. After reading "Playwright's Best Advantage", please gather in these groups (please note, I may need to move some people around due to absences):

Group 1:

• Tali
• Valerie
• A'layza 
• Makenna
• Melinda
• Madison
• Wesley

Group 2: 

• Lesana
• Aalaysia
• Keniah
• Farhan
• Degraj
• Tia
• Liz
• Javant

1. Choose at least 1 of your 2 scripts and read the plays together. 

2. Actually read them out loud, please! 

3. The playwright should NOT read a part but listen to others read their work out loud. This is important. The playwright needs to hear his/her words in the mouth of other people. 

4. The playwright should complete the workshop form (handout). 

5. The other students in the workshop (even the ones reading out loud) should mark mistakes and/or problems with the script's formatting and content as they read (see handout rubric for details!); these marked-up scripts should go back to the playwright.

6. Discuss the play with your peers. What are its strengths & weaknesses? (see rubric)

7. The playwright should complete and turn in a workshop form (handout). 

8. Workshops may be carried over to our next class if needed.

Use the handout/rubric to help you give advice to your peers regarding their plays. Students whose plays are workshopped should complete a workshop form (see handout). You may revise your play draft(s) for your final portfolio, due in January.

At around 8:30, you will have the option of continuing your workshop or begin reading one of two "historical plays":

Choose one:

1. The Lion in Winter by James Goldman; (clip)

2. Picasso at the Lapine Agile by Steve Martin, (clip)

Read the play and complete a play analysis for it. Due Monday, Nov. 25.

HOMEWORK: Work on your play projects or revisions (not due yet). Read your chosen play. Complete a play analysis for Monday, Nov. 25.

Hamilton: Day 4 (conclusion); Historical Time Period Activity

After completing Hamilton (Act II), please turn in your notes at the end of class today.

As we read, find examples of theatrical conventions used in the musical. Also, find at least 1 example of each of the Greek Tragedy elements (see handout) as we read/listen to Acts 1 & 2 of the play. You will turn in your notes at the end of the reading.

Historical Periods Brainstorm:

• What historical figures or time periods do you think are interesting? Make a short list of times, places, events, and people from history that you find compelling, interesting, or fascinating.
• Pick one of these time periods and begin researching. Keep notes of what you find that's interesting--you might use these later in a play or musical you write!

HOMEWORK: None. Please continue your research. Take notes. 

Aristotle's Poetics; Hamilton: Day 3

Welcome to the second half of Playwriting!

This marking period, we will be spending some time working on a major playwriting project (more on that later), examining some historically important theatre works from long ago and continuing examining how contemporary writers tackle the problem of taking something old and breathing new life into it. Let's start this morning by taking a look at this short article:

How to Cultivate a Practice of Generating Play Ideas (article)

• What are some topics or questions that you worry about (for yourself, your family, your best friend, etc.?)
• What are some worries/questions you have for the world or society?
• What are some problems we are wrestling with as a society currently?
• What are the stories (or plays) that have stuck with me? Why did they work to move/interest me? How do these stories work (plot, character, style, theme, conflict, diction/language, setting, etc.)
• What stories haven't I seen on stage? How might I tell that story? 

No one would have thought that a musical about a United States Secretary of the Treasury would make a good subject for a play, let alone a Broadway musical. Boy, were we wrong!

As mentioned before in class, much of the play uses old ideas in new ways. Another key style choice Miranda is making here is using Aristotle's advice to playwrights in his short book: The Poetics. Let's learn a little about that this morning.

Aristotle’s Poetics (circa 330 B.C.E.)

Aristotle Introduction

You should know that we still use Aristotle's poetics as a guide to writing plays (yes, after all that time!)
Plays still consist of:

1. Plot. Specifically a beginning, middle, and end.
2. Characters
3. Idea (theme)
4. Language (dialogue & rhetorical devices to make our language interesting, artistic, and creative--refer to AP English Language for some of these devices...)
5. Music (the earliest plays included songs, dances, and music!)
6. Spectacle (cool stuff! Masks, costumes, special effects, lighting, props, set pieces, etc.)

Again, as we continue to read/listen to Hamilton, notice theatrical conventions used in the script. Also, look for some of these Greek Tragedy elements in the libretto:

• A story based on history or historical legends
• Hubris (a tragic flaw or Hamartia of a character who feels he/she is too great, powerful, or perfect to make a mistake...this is usually taking the gods or fate for granted, or ignoring the natural reality of life, etc.)
• A good (or powerful) character comes to a bad end (usually as a result of the character's hubris or hamartia)
• A peripety (turning point or change of fortune)
• An anagnorisis (a discovery) (enlightenment)
• A chorus representing the Populus (the people)
• Aristotle's 6 elements of a play: Character, Plot, Idea, Language, Music, Spectacle
• Stasimon (choral singing together)
• Stichomythia (alternating short lines of dialogue between 2 or more characters)
• Parados/exodus (the entrance of the chorus (parados) and the exit of the chorus (exodus))
• Deus Ex Machina (a contrived ending)

CLASSROOM TASK: As we read find examples of theatrical conventions used in the musical. Also, find at least 1 example of each of the Greek Tragedy elements (see handout) as we read/listen to Acts 1 & 2 of the play. You will turn in your notes at the end of the reading.

Historical Periods Brainstorm:

• What historical figures or time periods do you think are interesting? Make a short list of times, places, events, and people from history that you find compelling, interesting, or fascinating.
• Pick one of these time periods and begin researching. Keep notes of what you find that's interesting--you might use these later in a play or musical you write!

HOMEWORK: None. Please continue your research. Take notes. Bring your books back with you to our next class.

Hamilton: Day 2

• Jake Jeppson's Advice for Playwrights (how to get started!)
• What actors want: Actors Imagine their Dream Roles (then ask your drama friends what kinds of roles they would love to play on stage...)
• Time Management for Playwrights by Martin Zimmerman
• Review: All About the Hamiltons (New Yorker)
• Review: "Why the show isn't as revolutionary as it seems"

This morning, please post a COMMENT in the COMMENT section of this blog post regarding the linked articles about playwrighting and the musical Hamilton. You may also find the essay we read in class (the introduction to the libretto for the musical) helpful in answering this question:

• Using Jeppson's and/or Zimmerman's advice, along with the article on what actors want, speculate (write) your opinion as to why Hamilton, the Musical might interest or encourage actors to accept a role in the play. Also, comment on Miranda's success in starting and finishing his play from brainstorming/idea gathering to publication (drafting, revising, editing, etc.). Obviously, use specific details from the texts [to prove you understood and read these articles] for full credit.

As we read/listen to Hamilton, notice theatrical conventions. Also, look for some of these Greek Tragedy elements in the libretto:

• A story based on history or historical legends
• Hubris (a tragic flaw or Hamartia of a character who feels he/she is too great, powerful, or perfect to make a mistake...this is usually taking the gods or fate for granted, or ignoring the natural reality of life, etc.)
• A good (or powerful) character comes to a bad end (usually as a result of the character's hubris or hamartia)
• A peripety (turning point or change of fortune)
• An anagnorisis (a discovery) (enlightenment)
• A chorus representing the Populus (the people)
• Aristotle's 6 elements of a play: Character, Plot, Idea, Language, Music, Spectacle
• Stasimon (choral singing together)
• Stichomythia (alternating short lines of dialogue between 2 or more characters)
• Parados/exodus (the entrance of the chorus (parados) and the exit of the chorus (exodus))
• Deus Ex Machina (a contrived ending)

CLASSROOM TASK: As we read find examples of theatrical conventions used in the musical. Also, find at least 1 example of each of the Greek Tragedy elements (see handout) as we read/listen to Acts 1 & 2 of the play. You will turn in your notes at the end of the reading.

70th Annual Tony Award Opening (parody)
70th Annual Tony Awards: Hamilton Medley

HOMEWORK: Please bring your scripts back with you to next class. Continue to take notes on your handout. This handout will be due when we complete the play next week.

Marking Period Exam; Hamilton, The Musical: Day 1

Please take the first 5 minutes to look over your notes for your test.

After turning in your exam, please use the time in class to upload and prepare your play script (those are due today by 11:59 tonight). If your script project is submitted and peers are still taking the test, please use headphones to listen to the following videos and read the two reviews concerning Hamilton, the Musical.

Video Advice:

• Jake Jeppson's Advice for Playwrights (how to get started!)
• What actors want: Actors Imagine their Dream Roles (then ask your drama friends what kinds of roles they would love to play on stage...)
• Time Management for Playwrights by Martin Zimmerman

Read the following reviews for Hamilton: The Musical.

Review: All About the Hamiltons (New Yorker)
Review: "Why the show isn't as revolutionary as it seems"

Our next play will be Hamilton, an American Musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda. You can learn more about Miranda at the link.

As we read/listen to Hamilton, notice theatrical conventions. Also, look for some of these Greek Tragedy elements in the libretto:

• A story based on history or historical legends
• Hubris (a tragic flaw or Hamartia of a character who feels he/she is too great, powerful, or perfect to make a mistake...this is usually taking the gods or fate for granted, or ignoring the natural reality of life, etc.)
• A good (or powerful) character comes to a bad end (usually as a result of the character's hubris or hamartia)
• A peripety (turning point or change of fortune)
• An anagnorisis (a discovery) (enlightenment)
• A chorus representing the Populus (the people)
• Aristotle's 6 elements of a play: Character, Plot, Idea, Language, Music, Spectacle
• Stasimon (choral singing together)
• Stichomythia (alternating short lines of dialogue between 2 or more characters)
• Parados/exodus (the entrance of the chorus (parados) and the exit of the chorus (exodus))
• Deus Ex Machina (a contrived ending)

CLASSROOM TASK: As we read find examples of theatrical conventions used in the musical. Also, find at least 1 example of each of the Greek Tragedy elements (see handout) as we read/listen to Acts 1 & 2 of the play. You will turn in your notes at the end of the reading.  

HOMEWORK: Please bring your scripts back with you to next class. Please complete and turn in your play project draft today if you did not complete it during class. It is due today! Finally, if you did not read the articles linked above, please do so. Be ready to write commentary about these articles next class (Friday). 

The Mystery of Irma Vep: Day 2; Review for Marking Period Exam

Please turn in your analysis reviews for the Charles Busch play you read. 

Charles Ludlam is best known for the theatrical movement: The Theatre of the Ridiculous.

"The Theatre of the Ridiculous" made a break with the dominant trends in the theatre of naturalistic acting and realistic settings. It employed a very broad acting style, often with surrealistic stage settings and props, frequently making a conscious effort at being shocking or disturbing. "Ridiculous" theatre brought some elements of queer performance to avant-garde theater. Cross-gender casting was common, with players often recruited from non-professional sources, such as drag queens or other "street stars." [We see this trend as well with the plays of Charles Busch].

Plots in these "ridiculous" plays are often parodies or re-workings of pop-culture fiction, including humor and satire to comment on social issues. Improvisation plays a significant role in the plays, with the script acting as a blueprint for the action.

The Mystery of Irma Vep (Buffalo Theater Ensemble; The Art of the Quick Change)
The Mystery of Irma Vep (Kansas Repertory Theater; preview)
The Mystery of Irma Vep (Arizona Theater Company; clip)
The Mystery of Irma Vep (Arizona Theater Company; clip, act 2)

We will continue reading The Mystery of Irma Vep. As you read, notice the use of theatrical conventions.

REMINDERS: The marking period ends Nov. 8. No late work will be accepted after that date. Your play drafts are due Nov. 6. There will also be a marking period test on the material covered this marking period on Nov. 6.

HOMEWORK: Your play script drafts are due Wednesday, Nov. 6. There will also be a quarter exam on that date. Please study for your exam.

The plays & playwrights: [we read 13 plays so far during this course]

• The Colored Museum by George C. Wolfe
• The Mountaintop by Katori Hall
• Driving Miss Daisy by Alfred Uhry
• Spic-o-Rama by John Leguizamo
• 'Night Mother by Marsha Norman
• Oleanna by David Mamet
• "The Loveliest Afternoon of the Year" by John Guare
• "Words, Words, Words"; "Arabian Nights"; "Variations on the Death of Trotsky"; "Sure Thing" by David Ives
• The God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza
• The Mystery of Irma Vep by Charles Ludlam
• "The Play That Goes Wrong" by Henry Lewis, Henry Shields, & Jonathan Sayer
• The Vampire Lesbians of Sodom by Charles Busch
• Red Scare on Sunset, Tale of the Allergist's Wife, Psycho Beach Party, The Woman in Question by Charles Bush

Proper script format
How to create characters/characterization; tips about writing effective characters, plots, themes, and writing effective dialogue; etc. See handouts in particular!
Techniques to motivate and gather ideas (from the blog, articles, and class advice)

Play Vocabulary:

• Playwright
• Play
• Premise: a deeply held belief by the playwright which shapes a script.
• Conflict & the basic types of conflict
• Structural Unity: all parts of the plot (exposition, rising action, turning point, climax, resolution, etc.) should work and fit together.
• The classical unities: the unity of time, place, and action. A well-written play should encompass only a short amount of time, use one main setting, and have only one main plot (subplots can occur, but only one plot should be the main plot). 
• Inciting Incident: the point of attack, the inciting incident forces the protagonist into the action of the play's plot.
• Events
• Major Dramatic Question (MDQ): the hook that keeps an audience interested in a play; a dramatic question that a reader/viewer wants answered by the end of the play.
• Major decision: A decision a character makes in the plot that creates the turning point for their character.
• The main event: the main plot or action of a play.
• The three C's: Conflict, crisis, complication: obstacles characters must face for an interesting and dramatic plot.
• Rising Action
• The dark moment/crisis: the lowest moment of a character's struggle--when all the world seems lost, the fight unbeatable, the "darkest hour before dawn" -- a stunning reversal of fortune and sense of failure.
• Deus ex machina: a contrived ending. Often one in which the characters did not have a hand in solving. (It is more interesting to see a character deal with their own problems rather than an outside force solving it for them.) literally, a "god from a machine"
• Enlightenment: When the protagonist understands how to defeat the antagonist. A revelation that begins the movement toward a climax.
• Climax
• Catharsis
• Roots of Action; Dramatic Triangle(s)
• Developing character, plot, and theme in a script (tips & advice) 
• Ten-minute play format
• One act plays
• Full-length plays (2 or 3 act)
• Monologues/Soliloquies; internal/dramatic monologues
• Theatrical conventions
• Commedia d'ell Arte 
• Cross-dressing; pantomime
• Generating ideas for plays 
• Farce
• The Event: a uniquely significant moment in the character's lives
• Time lock: setting up a time limit or specific deadline characters have to meet in order to spur them into action (for example having a script project due...)
• irreconcilable needs
• Obstacles, motivation and desires: the roots of action
• Universal truths/lies
• The vise
• Mono-dramas
• Place & setting
• Realistic vs. suggested set designs (realistic sets and suggested sets & the use for each type)
• Theme
• Scenario: an outline for a writer to identify major/minor characters, plot, and setting used BEFORE writing a script
• Catalyst: the event in the play that causes a character to take action
• Character flaw or tragic flaw
• Creating credible and well-developed characters
• Subtext: what is not said in a character's line. The subtext are the subtle details or clues used by the actor to develop their character.
• Beat: a short exchange of dialogue
• Different types of beats: physical, behavioral, inner-life
• Scene
• Time lock: a deadline for a character to achieve his/her goal in a scene or play
• Signpost/Pointer: foreshadowing or hints that something will happen in a play
• Backstory
• Character types: major/minor, flat/round, dynamic, ally, foil, mentor, protagonist/antagonist, sympathetic/unsympathetic, etc.
• Confidante: a character the protagonist or antagonist can talk with to reveal necessary backstory
• Dialogue (tips and advice) 
• Play development (advice & instruction on how to create a dramatic scene/play)
• At Rise: indicates the beginning of the play or act or scene
• Exit/Enters: directions to indicate a character/actor entering or exiting the scene in a playscript.
• Cross: indicates how a character moves from one place to another on stage. 
• Curtain: indicates the end of an act or scene break
• Lights: indicates lights coming on or off stage. 
• End of Play: indicates the play is over
• Motifs: repeated objects, symbols, or actions that hold significance or meaning in a story
• Theater of the Ridiculous
• Contributions of various playwrights: (see list above)
• Titles, characters, and plots of various plays we read (see list above)

Play Script Project Writing Time; The Mystery of Irma Vep: Day 1

From last class: If you didn't complete this work, please do so now...it is late! Look for theatrical conventions in the following short play: The Play That Goes Wrong. After watching the play, please answer the 3 questions from your Google Classroom assignment. This will count as a quiz. 

Please take until 8:30 to work on your play script projects.

If you're not into writing this morning, please work on your homework (see below). Stay on task. The end of the marking period is looming!

At 8:30, we will begin reading The Mystery of Irma Vep by Charles Ludlam.

REMINDERS: The marking period ends Nov. 8. No late work will be accepted after that date. Your play drafts are due Nov. 6. There will also be a marking period test on the material covered this marking period on Nov. 6. Friday, I will post a review for you. Finally, your play analysis for Charles Busch's collection of plays is due Friday, Nov. 1.

HOMEWORK: Choose 1 of the OTHER plays in the collection The Tale of the Allergist's Wife & Other Plays and read it. Write a play analysis of your chosen play. Choose from: The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, Psycho Beach Party, Red Scare on Sunset, or The Lady in Question.

This analysis is due Friday, Nov. 1.

EXTRA CREDIT: You might like to see Putnam County Spelling Bee. If you go see it and write a critique of the show, you can gain extra credit.

Other extra credit: From JCC: We have been given comp (free) tickets to go see Division Street at the JCC. The Author will be in town opening Nov 2 at 8 pm and the matinees on Nov 3 at 2 pm. If you go, you can gain extra credit. The playwright will be speaking! Sign the interest sheet so we can reserve tickets for you!

Vampire Lesbians of Sodom: Day 2

Today we will conclude our reading of Vampire Lesbians of Sodom. After reading, please work on your play projects. These drafts will be due next week. Please use the time given to you during class to write your drafts.

Theatrical Conventions and Some Advice for Your Play Projects:

• Give characters irreconcilable needs. Place obstacles. Make sure characters fight to the finish.
• Use the "locked cage" (keep characters on stage where they belong!)
• Use the ticking clock (time lock); give your characters a time limit/deadline.
• Use the vise; increase the stakes for your characters.
• Use personal traits, qualities, state or conditions as reasons for confrontation.
• or allow characters to break societal, religious, or moral laws as reasons for confrontation.

Theatrical Conventions:

• Masks
• Cross-gender (costume/casting)
• Asides
• Soliloquy
• Stillness/silence/pauses
• Use of a narrator (seen in "memory plays" like The Glass Menagerie or Brighton Beach Memoirs)
• Synecdoche (part represents the whole); a prop might suggest a character type, etc.
• Suggested scenery (consider the set in Driving Miss Daisy, for example)
• Costumes & props
• Multiple casting (one actor plays several roles)
• Lights or lighting changes
• Soundscapes/sound effects
• The fourth wall; Breaking the fourth wall (addressing the audience)
• Flash forward, flashback, slow motion, freeze
• Tableau
• Montage
• On-stage deaths; stage fights
• Physical theater; mime & dance to communicate or narrate the story
• Unities of time, place, or action
• Transformation of time, character, place, or through props
• Songs
• Choruses
• Heightened language; unrealistic speaking patterns
• Placards, signs, and multimedia

Look for some of these conventions in the following short play: The Play That Goes Wrong. After watching the play, please answer the 3 questions from your Google Classroom assignment. This will count as a quiz. Notice the theatrical conventions that went wrong in the play.

If you're not into writing this morning, please work on your homework. Stay on task. The end of the marking period is looming!

HOMEWORK: Choose 1 of the OTHER plays in the collection The Tale of the Allergist's Wife & Other Plays and read it. Write a play analysis of your chosen play. Choose from: The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, Psycho Beach Party, Red Scare on Sunset, or The Lady in Question.

This analysis is due Friday, Nov. 1.

EXTRA CREDIT: You might like to see Putnam County Spelling Bee. If you go see it and write a critique of the show, you can gain extra credit. 

Vampire Lesbians of Sodom: Day 1

After our writing/brainstorming, we'll pick up the collection of plays by Charles Busch: The Tale of the Allergist's Wife & Other Plays from the library. 

Just in time for Halloween: our next contemporary one-act. A one-act play might be a 10-minute play, but it is generally shorter than a full-length play (which usually lasts over an hour). It generally deals with one main action or dramatic question (main event).  

Let's just delve right into this one-act play, The Vampire Lesbians of Sodom. As we read, we'll stop and discuss how the playwright Charles Busch grabs our attention, writes fine (and funny) dialogue, creates a plot out of character's actions, develops a theme, introduces us to an interesting setting, and communicates a message that is pertinent to any contemporary audience. 

Bring your books back with you next class!

HOMEWORK: Complete your brainstorming activities if you did not complete them in class. Choose 1 of the OTHER plays in this collection and read it. You will be asked to write a play analysis of this chosen play. Choose from: The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, Psycho Beach Party, Red Scare on Sunset, or The Lady in Question.

This analysis is not due yet.

EXTRA CREDIT: You might like to see Putnam County Spelling Bee. If you go see it and write a critique of the show, you can gain extra credit. 

God of Carnage: Day 2; Character & Dialogue;

TASK: Watch the film Carnage by Yasmina Reza, directed by Roman Polanski (2011). Starring Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christopher Waltz, and John Reilly. The play won a Tony Award for Best Play in 2009.

As you watch the film based on the play, examine the characters:

• Alan Raleigh
• Annette Raleigh
• Michael Novak
• Veronica Novak

Using the list above, argue what kind of character or what role(s) these 4 characters play within the drama. Take notes as you watch/read to help you build your case or answer.

1. Identify and explain each character's "role" (see above)
2. How do they shift or balance or grow or conflict? 
3. Which are protagonists or antagonists and when does this role shift in the play/film? 

Use evidence from the film or play script to support your answer. Your COMMENT response will be due today when we complete the film.


DIALOGUE TIPS

The Art & Craft of Dialogue Writing (short video)
Dialogue, Text, & Subtext, Part 1 (video)
How Character and Story Are Hidden in Dialogue (short video)

Dialogue isn't just talking. Dialogue HAPPENS. It happens when your characters' need to speak. It is also how they listen (or not listen), and the connotation, nuance, color and subtext of what they say, how they say it, and why they say it. Good dialogue is the result of well-defined characters in a well-structured plot. They may be compelled to speak (or not), but they should have a REASON for speaking.

Here are some tips to consider:

1. We usually talk because we want to communicate some need. If we want nothing, we say nothing, usually. We also speak when we want to: threaten, teach, explain, cajole, joke, murmur, pontificate, persuade, defend ourselves, apologize, seduce, evade, pout, challenge, yell, scold, cry, praise, question, convince, criticize, etc.

2. Dialogue is action. It is an action taken to satisfy a want or desire. What a character wants or desires moves them to speak and act. This is part of characterization--and the best way to build your character.

3. When we don't get what we want (often immediately), humans tend to become shy, aggressive, or hide our agendas in our words. This is often our subtext (the meaning hidden in a line of dialogue; or saying one thing, but meaning another) and is very important to actors. It is often this subtext that a good actor will uncover in a performance.

4. Actors have to hear each other. But characters often do not listen the same way we do. Characters interpret what is being said, ask questions, ignore speech, get confused, miss a meaning and even read special meaning into something that has no meaning. Listening, therefore, will often help build the conflict and drama in your scene. A response reveals something important about the listener. How a character hears, then, is an important point to consider.

Dialogue & the Roots of Action - Writing Exercise

HOMEWORK: None. Watch the videos concerning dialogue above. Complete the basic scene starter exercise we started in class. Get a character idea for an upcoming writing project. 

God of Carnage

Please turn in your play analysis for The God of Carnage.

As stated before, characters are the driving force of a play. Without well designed and depicted characters, a play will certainly fall short. There are some types of characters we want to be intimately familiar with (so that they are 'cast' in our plays):

• Dynamic characters: characters that change through the events of the play or story.
• Round characters: characters that are fully developed. They often have contradictory traits. A  wise chauffeur who is illiterate (Driving Miss Daisy), or a cranky old Jewish lady who has a heart of gold (Driving Miss Daisy), a bitter couple who actually love one another, despite their bickering (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf), a distraught mother who needs to convince her daughter not to kill herself ('Night Mother), etc. These characters are interesting because they possess contradictory or conflictual traits or qualities.
• Confidante: someone in whom a character can confide or speak his/her mind freely.
• Foil: a character who enhances a quality or trait of a major character or protagonist through contrast.
• Sympathetic character: a character with whom an audience can identify.
• Unsympathetic character: a character with whom an audience cannot identify. Usually this character has motives that are questionable, unappealing, or difficult to understand.
• Ally: a character who helps the protagonist accomplish, achieve, or learn something.
• Messenger/Herald: Usually a minor character, although not always--this character delivers an important message or brings some sort of external insight to the protagonist.
• Minor characters: stock characters, spear-carriers, static, flat, cardboard cut-out, stereotype, supporting, allegorical, etc.

How do I develop a character?

• Know what role the character plays in your play/story.
• Use characterization: what a character says, what a character says about another character, actions, thoughts, or description. Description is best delivered through dialogue in plays. In fiction, it is delivered by description and imagery.
• Provide backstory through flashbacks (fiction), or monologues (plays)

TASK: Watch the film Carnage by Yasmina Reza, directed by Roman Polanski (2011). Starring Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christopher Waltz, and John Reilly. The play won a Tony Award for Best Play in 2009.

As you watch the film based on the play, examine the characters:

• Alan Raleigh
• Annette Raleigh
• Michael Novak
• Veronica Novak

Using the list above, argue what kind of character or what role(s) these 4 characters play within the drama. Take notes as you watch/read to help you build your case or answer.

1. Identify and explain each character's "role" (see above)
2. How do they shift or balance or grow or conflict? 
3. Which are protagonists or antagonists and when does this role shift in the play/film? 

Use evidence from the film or play script to support your answer. Your COMMENT response will be due when we complete the film.

Turn in your COMMENT at the end of the play for credit.

HOMEWORK: None.

Play Project Draft Due! Preparing Your Script; Yasmin Raza's The God of Carnage

Period 1: Please work on preparing your script.

Period 2:

God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza won a Tony Award for Best Play in 2009.

As stated before, characters are the driving force of a play. Without well designed and depicted characters, a play will certainly fall short. There are some types of characters we want to be intimately familiar with (so that they are 'cast' in our plays):

• Dynamic characters: characters that change through the events of the play or story.
• Round characters: characters that are fully developed. They often have contradictory traits. A loving uncle, but a pedophile (How I Learned to Drive), or a wise chauffeur who is illiterate (Driving Miss Daisy), or a cranky old Jewish lady who has a heart of gold (Driving Miss Daisy), a bitter couple who actually love one another, despite their bickering (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf), etc. These characters are interesting because they possess contradictory or conflictual traits or qualities.
• Confidante: someone in whom a character can confide or speak his/her mind freely.
• Foil: a character who enhances a quality or trait of a major character or protagonist through contrast.
• Sympathetic character: a character with whom an audience can identify.
• Unsympathetic character: a character with whom an audience cannot identify. Usually this character has motives that are questionable, unappealing, or difficult to understand.
• Ally: a character who helps the protagonist accomplish, achieve, or learn something.
• Messenger/Herald: Usually a minor character, although not always--this character delivers an important message or brings some sort of external insight to the protagonist.
• Minor characters: stock characters, spear-carriers, static, flat, cardboard cut-out, stereotype, supporting, allegorical, etc.

How do I develop a character?

• Know what role the character plays in your play/story.
• Use characterization: what a character says, what a character says about another character, actions, thoughts, or description. Description is best delivered through dialogue in plays. In fiction, it is delivered by description and imagery.
• Provide backstory through flashbacks (fiction), or monologues (plays)

As you read God of Carnage (due Friday, Oct. 18) please do the following:

1. Complete a play analysis for the play. Due Friday, Oct. 18.
2. As you read, examine and consider or identify how the characters in the play shift their character type roles throughout the play's narrative. 

We will discuss the play next Friday.

HOMEWORK: Read God of Carnage. Complete a play analysis of the play. Examine character types in the play. Bring your scripts back with you to our next class (Friday, Oct. 18).

Our Reader's Theater production opens next Thursday and Friday (Oct. 17 & 18) at 7:00 in the Ensemble Theater. Come see Pipeline (see clip for details about the play) and get extra credit! Cost is $5 and benefits the Creative Writing Department (for coffeehouse supplies, guest speakers, Scholastic contests, playwrights' festival, etc.) 

Driving Miss Daisy Seminar/Discussion; Play Project Draft

This morning, please turn in your Driving Miss Daisy analysis (either in the in-box or in Google Classroom). We will conduct a discussion/analysis of the play:

There are two types of sets a playwright can prepare a script for:

A. a realistic set
B. a suggested set

A realistic set (like the set used in 'Night Mother or The Mountaintop) is a standard, realistic set that looks and feels like the actual setting of the play. It is more detailed and infinitely more expensive. Characters interact with props, costumes, and set pieces. It is not practical to change the setting or location in a realistic set.

A suggested set (like the set used in Driving Miss Daisy or Spic-O-Rama) allows actors to create the setting through actions (like pretending to drive a car--which would be impractical in a theater) or through dialogue. Setting is described, not built. We use our imagination. Ah, the power of words...

 

Driving Miss Daisy by Alfred Uhry. Sample discussion questions:

1. Pay close attention to the role of the dynamic triangle in this play. Explain how Uhry uses it effectively.
2. Examine the characters of Daisy, Hoke, and Boolie. 
• How are each of these character's connected? 
• What is it they want from one another? 
• How is each character an antagonist to another character in the play? 
• Why do you think Uhry built his characters this way? 
• What dramatic tension is inherent in the characters and how does this play out in the course of the play?
3. Plays deal with human issues in our society that are often overlooked, unsolved, or important. What are some human issues that Uhry works within this play? How are these themes and issues introduced, developed, and resolved?
4. What are some absolute truths (about society, human life, ourselves, each other, community, etc.) communicated to us in this play? Are these truths relevant or important in our contemporary lives? Why or why not?
5. Would you pay to see this play performed live? Why or why not?
6. Other*

Period 2 (or after our discussion...)

Continue to work on and write your play. So far we have written a draft (draft 1 that was 2-3 pages;) then draft 2, (we developed each character in your play draft with a monologue and provided backstory, allowing our audience to get to know who each character is a bit;) then draft 3 (which introduces us to the idea of the dramatic triangle, while deepening your character's beliefs (Absolute Truths and Lies and What a Character Believes/Where a Character Lives). A draft of your play will be due Thursday, this week, October 10.

HOMEWORK: Work on the finishing touches for your play draft. Play drafts are due Thursday, Oct. 10. 

The Dramatic Triangle/Universal Truths/Lies; David Ives (Day 2); Play Writing Project

Period 1: please continue writing your play drafts. See the handouts and try to incorporate the following into your play:

The Dramatic Triangle & Universal Truths/Lies

• 2 characters in a story create a relationship. Relationships are often tested by the demands or conflicts of the story and undergo changes that affect the characters involved in positive or negative ways. 
• A stronger choice is not a linear connection between two characters, but a triangle connecting 3 points. There is often a third "character" that affects what happens between 2 characters. I.E., a dramatic triangle.
• The role or identity of the 3rd character (the third actor) can change from beat to beat or scene to scene.
• Dialogue should engage the audience in 2 ways: the unique details of the "world of the play: the setting, characters, events within this world, using dialogue to move the story (plot) forward revealing more and more about the setting, characters, events, etc. AND dialogue functions as the world in which we inhabit (the audience's world, our world!) by presenting universal statements, beliefs, adages, laws, principles, etc. of both the characters and us, the audience.

Complete the task as suggested by the handout. In your play draft, create a dramatic triangle (or several triangles) by doing the following:

1. Identify the relationship between 2 characters. 
2. Choose a specific beat or part of the scene you wish to focus in on this relationship.
3. For each character, identify at least one important fact that could affect how he or she interacts with the other character. [a relationship can be physical, personal, intellectual, professional, positive, negative, deep, shallow, etc. Consider what brings the characters together or pushes them apart...]
4. Answer: what is the relationship between character 1 and character 2? [Usually, one character relationship is not equal]
5. If character 1 is the first point, character 2 is the second point, who or what is the 3rd point of the triangle? [How will this character/event affect/influence the relationship?]
6. Sprinkle your dialogue with universal truths and lies (see handout!)

• Ex. In 'Night Mother, Jessie and Thelma make up the two characters; the relationship is mother/daughter. There are several "third" points to their triangle: Loretta, Dawson, Thelma's late husband, Ricky, epilepsy and, of course, the threat of suicide. Some universal truths might include Jessie's dialogue about the reasons why she is about to kill herself. 
• Ex. In 'The Mountaintop' Camae and Martin Luther King Jr. make up the two characters; the relationship is client/maid, but it also turns out that Camae is an angel sent by God (the third point of the triangle). The prophetic assassination also looms over the tension in the scene to create a "third" character (although not one that appears on stage...). Some universal truths include the truth of Dr. King's dialogue or the revelations he receives from the angel of God, Camae.

Use the exercise in this handout to affect the scene you have been writing. Introduce and develop your "third" point of the dramatic triangle. If you need some ideas about the top 5 relationship problems (conflicts) take a look here: Russell Brand.

Period 2:

We will read the short plays "Universal Language", "Words, Words, Words", and "Variations in the Death of Trotsky."

If we finish before the end of class please continue to read Driving Miss Daisy by Alfred Uhry. Complete this play (and a play analysis sheet) for TUESDAY, Oct. 8 or work on your plays.

HOMEWORK: Read Driving Miss Daisy by Alfred Uhry. Complete a play analysis sheet for this play. Continue to work on and write your next draft of your play. So far we have written a draft (draft 1 that was 2-3 pages;) then draft 2, (we developed each character in your play draft with a monologue and provided backstory, allowing our audience to get to know who each character is a bit;) then draft 3 (which introduces us to the idea of the dramatic triangle.)

NOTE: if your characters are still not well defined, you may use the exercises: "What the Character Believes" and "Where the Character Lives" to further develop your characters.

Oleanna: Conclusion; David Ives; Driving Miss Daisy; The Dramatic Triangle

Mamet's advice...

After we finish Oleanna this morning, let's look at David Ives collection of plays. We'll start with "Sure Thing"--a short one-act based on an improv game, with the contemporary issue of dating.

Find out more information about David Ives at this link.

Let's read the short plays "Sure Thing", "Universal Language", and "Variations on the Death of Trotsky" by David Ives.

These plays use what we call "The Dramatic Triangle"--let's take a look!

• 2 characters in a story create a relationship. Relationships are often tested by the demands or conflicts of the story and undergo changes that affect the characters involved in positive or negative ways. 
• A stronger choice is not a linear connection between two characters, but a triangle connecting 3 points. There is often a third "character" that affects what happens between 2 characters. I.E., a dramatic triangle.
• The role or identity of the 3rd character (the third actor) can change from beat to beat or scene to scene.

Complete the task as suggested by the handout. In your play draft, create a dramatic triangle (or several triangles) by doing the following:

1. Identify the relationship between 2 characters. 
2. Choose a specific beat or part of the scene you wish to focus in on this relationship.
3. For each character, identify at least one important fact that could affect how he or she interacts with the other character. [a relationship can be physical, personal, intellectual, professional, positive, negative, deep, shallow, etc. Consider what brings the characters together or pushes them apart...]
4. Answer: what is the relationship between character 1 and character 2? [Usually, one character relationship is not equal]
5. If character 1 is the first point, character 2 is the second point, who or what is the 3rd point of the triangle? [How will this character/event affect/influence the relationship?]

• Ex. In 'Night Mother, Jessie and Thelma make up the two characters; the relationship is mother/daughter. There are several "third" points to their triangle: Loretta, Dawson, Thelma's late husband, Ricky, epilepsy and, of course, the threat of suicide.
• Ex. In 'The Mountaintop' Camae and Martin Luther King Jr. make up the two characters; the relationship is client/maid, but it also turns out that Camae is an angel sent by God (the third point of the triangle). The prophetic assassination also looms over the tension in the scene to create a "third" character (although not one that appears on stage...)

Use the exercise in this handout to affect the scene you have been writing. Introduce and develop your "third" point of the dramatic triangle. If you need some ideas about the top 5 relationship problems (conflicts) take a look here: Russell Brand.

Period 2:

We will stop by the library to pick up your homework, Driving Miss Daisy by Alfred Uhry. Complete this play (and a play analysis sheet) for TUESDAY, Oct. 8.

When we return from the library, please work on developing your short play draft project.

HOMEWORK: Read Driving Miss Daisy by Alfred Uhry. Complete a play analysis sheet for this play. Continue to work on and write your next draft of your play. So far we have written a draft (draft 1 that was 2-3 pages;) then draft 2, (we developed each character in your play draft with a monologue and provided backstory, allowing our audience to get to know who each character is a bit;) then draft 3 (which introduces us to the idea of the dramatic triangle.)

NOTE: if your characters are still not well defined, you may use the exercises: "What the Character Believes" and "Where the Character Lives" to further develop your characters.