This is a paper written about a play that you have chosen and read, but don’t necessarily need to have seen. Please note that the scriipts for Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, The Crucible, Angels in America: Millennium Approaches, and Water by the Spoonful are not acceptable choices for analysis because we will be analyzing those scriipts as a class. I will be looking for three key components in this assignment.
1 – Plot Summary Identify and give a brief descriiption of the characters of the play, along with a summary of the play’s story and events. For this part of the assignment, give me what you would write if you were tasked with writing a summary of the play for its Wikipedia article. (Please don’t just copy the Wikipedia summary of your chosen play. You’re better than that, people!)
2 – Cultural Significance For this part of the assignment, you have two options. One: Do a bit of dramaturgy. Research into the events, trends, and attitudes that were prevalent in the world at the time of your play’s writing and tell me what sort of cultural meaning or importance your chosen play had at the time of its writing. Or two: Look at the societal environment we’re currently living in and tell me what sort of cultural importance this play would represent if it was produced today.
3 – Theatre Element Choose one of the five key elements of theatre discussed in class (Performers, Set, Lights, Costumes, or Sound), then tell me how you would utilize that element if you were in charge of putting on a production of your chosen play and why. For example: Would you try to build a set that is realistic, creating the image of a place that could exist in normal life? Would your lighting design include areas on stage with stark contrast of light and shadow? Whichever element you choose and how you choose to display it, be sure to explain your reasoning.
