Advanced Studies in Theatre History II

Transcription

1 Drama Advanced Studies in Theatre History II Intended for students who have acquired some background in the theatre from 1850 to the present day. The course will involve more intensive study of the aesthetic, literary and production/performance aspects of the contemporary period, integrating theoretical and practical approaches to the material. Moira Day Rm. 187, John Mitchell (Office) (Home) Instructor Office Hours: TT 10:00-11:30 Booklist Collingwood, R.G.. The Idea of History. Oxford: Clarendon Press, (Excerpts handout) Counsell, Colin and Laurie Wolf. Performance Analysis: An Introductory Coursebook. London and New York: Routledge, Ibsen, Henrik. Peer Gynt. (Handout). Theatre History Notes Package Recommended Brockett, Oscar. History of the Theatre 10th edition. Allyn and Bacon, 2008 Critiques 10% Grades Seminar 10% 1 st Essay 10% Revised essay 10% Poster 10% Bibliography 5% Individual annotated bib 10% And research notes Participation 5% Final Exam 30% %

2 I will be in class five minutes ahead of time for consultation, and begin and end lectures on time. I will also return quizzes within TWO class periods after giving them. Exams, quizzes and papers not picked up at that class time may be picked up during office hours. Students are expected to be punctual and to submit all classwork on time. Any requests for an extension must be submitted in writing one week in advance of the formal deadline. Late assignments, except in the case of certifiable illness or death in the family, will be heavily penalized (10% per day deducted). NO CLASS WORK WILL BE ACCEPTED BEYOND THE FINAL EXAM EXCEPT IN THE CASE OF AN OFFICIAL INCOMPLETE GRANTED BECAUSE OF ILLNESS OR DEATH IN THE FAMILY. Students should be aware that there is a $5.00 photocopy fee per term to be paid to the instructor by the end of January. Attendance at student class seminars is compulsory because these are graded "live" performances that can be negatively affected by poor audience attendance and participation. Attendance at student class seminars is compulsory because these are graded "live" performances that can be negatively affected by poor audience and participation. For this reason, 5% OF YOUR OWN INDIVIDUAL GROUP GRADE WILL BE DOCKED FOR EVERY UNEXCUSED ABSENCE FROM A STUDENT SEMINAR. IF YOU ARE ACTUALLY IN THE SEMINAR, YOU WILL LOSE 25% OF YOUR GROUP GRADE FOR AN UNEXCUSED NO-SHOW. Instructors are NOT permitted to reschedule final exams at their own discretion. Please take heed of the final exam dates (April 10-30) and do not schedule other activities at that time. If you find yourself in difficulties and are considering dropping the course late in the term, please come and talk to me first. If you decide to drop the course, please come and notify me so I can take your name off my record book. (Jan 15. Last day to withdraw without financial penalty. March 13 Last day to withdraw without academic penalty.) If there is a time conflict with my office hours, then feel free to make an appointment or leave me a number where I can reach you. I can't give you heavy-duty, on-going counselling, but I'd be delighted to help you with any immediate problem I feel is within my power to handle, and if I feel it isn't, I'll try to refer you to people or places that can help you with it. Welcome on board!

3 Jan 5 Introduction Defining History as Philosophy 12 R.G. Collingwood and The Idea of History R.G. Collingwood and The Idea of History 21 Peer Gynt as viewed as historical philosophy Group Work time Defining History as Myth 28 Saussure, Peirce, Feb 2 Barthes, Levi-Strauss, Peer Gynt as viewed as myth Defining History as Class and Colonial Oppression 9 Althusser 2.1, Lyotard 2.3, JanMohamed Peer Gynt viewed as class and colonial oppression Feb 23 ***** Reading Week (Feb 15-19)***** Director s visit 25 Group work time Mar 2 Group 1 4 Group Group 3 11 Group work time ---- Post 1960 Performing Gender and Sexual Identity I 16 Irigaray 3.1, Cixous Grosz Peer Gynt viewed as feminist gender critique The Performing Body 25 Goffman 1.4, Mulvey 7.2 Peer Gynt opens 30 Foucault, 5.1, Wilson 5.4 Apr 1 The Performed body as sign in Peer Gynt At the Borders of Performance 6 Turner 8.1, Bahktin Conclusion ---

4 Important Dates and Deadlines Critiques Jan 28 Saussure, or Peirce, 1.1 Feb 2 Barthes, or Levi-Strauss, Althusser 2.1, Lyotard 2.3, or JanMohamed 4.1 Mar 16 Irigaray 3.1, or Cixous or Grosz Goffman 1.4, or Mulvey Foucault 5.1, or Wilson 5.4 Apr 6 Turner, 8.1, or Bakhtin 8.3 Group Seminars and Response Papers Group 1 Feb 23 One week meeting with instructor Mar 2 Seminar. First draft of group paper submitted Mar 9 First draft of group paper returned with corrections Mar 11 Poster with images and text completed for submission Mar 16 Second revised draft of group paper returned to instructor Apr 1-8 Submission of individual annotated bibliographies, research notes, and interview with instructor Group 2 Feb 25 One week meeting with instructor Mar 4 Seminar. First draft of group paper submitted Mar 11 First draft of group paper returned with corrections Poster with images and text completed for submission Mar 16 Second revised draft of group paper returned to instructor Apr 1-8 Submission of individual annotated bibliographies, research notes, and interview with instructor Group 3 Mar 2 Mar 9 Mar 11 Mar 16 Mar 23 Apr 1-8 One week meeting with instructor Seminar. First draft of group paper submitted Poster with images and text completed for submission First draft of group paper returned with corrections Second revised draft of group paper returned to instructor Submission of individual annotated bibliographies, research notes, and interview with instructor

5 Group Projects 2010 Mar 2 Group 1 Peer Gynt (1867) Man, know thyself! : the text, the times, the playwright To live, wrote Ibsen to a friend in connection with Peer Gynt, is to live with trolls in heart and soul. To write is to sit in judgement on oneself, and not just one s personal trolls since every man shares the responsibility and guilt of the society to which he belongs. Between 1850 and 1864, the younger Ibsen wrote plays as part of a nationalistic theatre movement in Norway intent on celebrating Norwegian myth, history and national culture. Peer Gynt (1867) along with his earlier great verse drama, Brand (1865) - in many ways marked the culmination of Ibsen s first Romantic, poetic and largely heroic stage of playwriting. However, while Ibsen returned to the familiar realm of Norwegian myth and fairytale with Peer Gynt, his treatment of them both in style and content - were to be the source of considerable controversy in Norway, where the play s underlying themes of social and religious satire and serious philosophical inquiry (Ibsen was increasingly influenced by Kierkegaard over this time) were variously praised, strongly attacked or met with baffled and disappointed silence. In many ways, the play and the hostile and mixed response to it not only reinforced Ibsen s decision to leave a homeland he had become increasingly disillusioned with (he left in 1864 and was not to return to until 1891) but his dissatisfaction with a personal self, and an older conception of playwriting and theatre that he felt did not adequately challenge modern human beings and societies to truly know themselves in a complacent, materialistic age. Making particular reference to the thought of Collingwood, discuss Peer Gynt as an important transitional work that uses the terms of Romanticism and national myth to explore the dangers of Romanticism and heroic myth as way of effectively and ethically understanding the history of either a nation or an individual in a way that will lead to true self-knowledge. Mar 4 Group 2 Staging Peer Gynt ( ) - The reindeer jumped sky-high out into space with both of us. Wrestling with the reindeer on the late 19 th and early 20 th -century stage. Ibsen, impatient with the limitations of the early 19 th century stage, frankly admitted that he wrote Peer Gynt for a reading audience instead. Still, even he could not resist the opportunity to eventually adapt the play for production in his native Norway. Nonetheless, the nine years that elapsed between the writing of the play and its first production an unusual length of time for a mature Ibsen play to go unperformed - gives an indication of the challenges it presented both the playwright and the theatre in producing it for the late nineteenth century stage. The most lasting heritage of the 1876 production, the famous music composed by Edvard Grieg, gives some sense of what aspects of the play the producers felt would appeal to a general 19 th century audience, and what aspects of it that even Ibsen felt needed to be edited out, adapted or cut to make the play stageworthy. (As was true of the alternative happy ending for A Doll s House, he felt less damage would be done to the original if he did the job himself.) Three years later, A Doll s House (1879) was to establish Ibsen s international reputation as the Father of Modern Realism. While the new interest in Ibsen led to translations and performances of his earlier work as well as his contemporary social problem plays, Peer Gynt was still among the last of his existing canon to be premiered even in other Scandinavian countries; Denmark produced it in 1886, almost ten years after its Norwegian stage premiere, to be followed by Sweden in 1892 and Finland in Translations of the play into German (1881), English (William Archer 1891) and

6 French (1896) were also relatively slow to arrive at a time when the first foreignlanguage translations and performances of Ibsen s social problem plays were starting to make an impact on the European, British and American stages of the 1880s and 1890s. Outside of a notable production by Lugné-Poe at the Thèâtre de l Oeuvre in 1896, actual production of the play outside of Scandinavia did not occur until the 20 th century. Peer Gynt was among the last of Ibsen s plays to be produced in German (1902) and English, being performed publicly for the first time in America by Richard Mansfield in 1906, and privately in Scotland in1908 and England in The play s first public production in England in fact did not occur until 1922 at the Old Vic, with its next significant American production only happening on Broadway in Making particular reference to the thought of Barthes and Levi-Strauss, discuss the reasons that a play considered controversial for its treatment of folklore and myth in 1867 had become regarded as more of an unwieldy curiosity by a new art theatre now dedicated largely to naturalism and realism as the best dramatic modes for challenging modern human beings and societies to truly know themselves in a complacent, materialistic age. Also discuss the growing interest in dream, myth, folktales, fairytales and fantasy as a deeper symbolic language of the human consciousness as a factor that led to Peer Gynt being done relatively early by the French Symbolists and helped reattract attention to the play going into the 20 th century. March 9 Group 3 Staging Peer Gynt ( ) Right to the centre it s all made of layers - Reinterpreting Peer Gynt in a Modern and Post-modern Age. With the completion of When We Dead Awaken in 1899, Ibsen declared that the cycle of plays that had started with A Doll s House was now finished, and if he was granted the time, he would be entering the new century ready to embark on fresh new directions in his playwriting. Instead, a debilitating series of strokes left him incapacitated in the final years before his death in Ibsen s suggestion that he might have achieved as much as he could within the limitations of even an advanced form of realism has ironically been borne out by the fact that a number of the social problem plays that seemed radical, avant-garde and shocking when they first appeared, now seem dated, while some of Ibsen s more flawed, difficult and inaccessible early work is enjoying a revival of interest given the magic of new stage technology, and a post-modern sensibility more open to the multiple fragmentations of identity and multiple layers of constructed reality. Some, like the annual Peer Gynt Festival in Norway (1928) do large-cast environmental productions on one of the natural sites referred to in the play, using the famous Grieg music. Significant 20 th century professional productions were also done in English at the Old Vic in 1944, and by Ingmar Bergman in Sweden in 1957 and again in Entering the 21 st century, productions have continued to proliferate. Celebrations marking the 100 th anniversary of Ibsen s death in 2006 included a Norwegian production at the foot of the Great Sphinx in Egypt, and a striking international co-production by American impressario, Robert Wilson and two major Norwegian theatre companies in Bergen and Oslo. Other notable productions were staged in Scotland in 2007 and Minneapolis, USA in Making particular reference to the thought of Althuser, Lyotard and JanMohamed discuss the extent to which the original challenge Ibsen threw down in Peer Gynt to contemporary human beings and societies to truly know themselves metaphysically, historically, mythically, and ethically - has become a far more complex, difficult and multi-levelled imperative - with far more potentially tragic consequences in the event of failure - than was true when the challenge was first issued by Ibsen in 1867.

7 Guidelines for Group Presentations Guidelines for Group Presentations Outlines for Group Projects Objectives The purpose of this project is to help students apply the general knowledge of theatre history they have acquired in the lectures and readings to a more focused in-depth study of one aspect of theatre history. This project will involve (I) A group presentation of the group s research into the subject. Each speaker will talk minutes on an area of the topic they have individually researched. (II) A practical application and demonstration and demonstration of that research. This should occupy 5-10 minutes of the period. It can involve (1) a live reading or staging of a scene or part of a scene or (2) the use of audio or visual materials to demonstrate elements of the lecture or (3) any combination of the same. It can be placed at the start or the end of the seminar or dispersed throughout it. (III) A bibliography of the research sources consulted in the project This should include all primary and secondary sources in terms of plays, books, articles, websites, audio-visual materials consulted in the researching the topic organized into proper MLA format. By doing this exercise you will: (1) deepen your own knowledge of an important aspect of theatre history by finding and accessing a wide variety of library, archival and electronic sources on the subject (2) sharpen your ability to recognize, analyse and understand the relationship between theatre and the larger technical, social, political, economic and cultural forces shaping and being shaped by it (3) sharpen your ability to communicate that knowledge to others by: - working effectively with others within the context of a research/production team to divide up the topic, share information as you find it, then organize and present it effectively in an oral situation - effectively share your research and insights with your fellow students in an interesting, engaging fashion that both teaches them about the subject and intrigues them to want to know even more about it. - creating an informed bibliography on the subject so that others can pursue the topic further on their own Sample schedule Time Frame

8 3 weeks Establish overall schedule. Exchange phone numbers and e-addresses. General areas of research for group members established 2 weeks Research your individual areas. Keep track of overall research. Adjust people s assignments or areas of research as needed. If you have any questions or concerns be sure to raise them with the instructor. She is more than willing to give you help or guidance with the topic. 1 week Group meeting with the instructor. Everyone should be present, and you should be able to outline for me how the whole presentation is going to work and what sources you are using to research it. A preliminary bibliography (worth 2% of the seminar mark) should be submitted to me to check over for completeness and stylistic accuracy. This is the time to voice any needs or concerns you have going into the home stretch, doublecheck with me that my lecture materials won t overlap with yours, and that you re aware of all the materials at your disposal. This is also the time to tell me about any a-v needs you may have. 2 days Arrange to have any handouts given to the instructor if you need them run off for the seminar. Finalize any changes to a-v arrangements Seminar Preliminary bibliography returned. 1 st draft of essay and bibliography due 1 week Initial draft of essay returned to group for final editing and revisions. 2 week 2nd draft of essay with fuller, complete bibliography should be submitted. 2-3 weeks Individual research materials, and personal annotated bibliography submitted. Oral interview by instructor with every group member for wrap-up and assessment. 3-4 week Written group critique with letter grade. Research materials returned Selection of Students Students will work in groups of four or five (six maximum) While students will be allowed to choose their own group, it is suggested that they try to strike a balance between production and academically-oriented members in their group, since skills in both areas will be needed. It is also wise to try to co-ordinate schedules with other group members well in advance. Evaluation: Each student will be evaluated according to their individual contribution to the project and by the effectiveness and quality of the team results. Teamwork marks are distributed evenly to each member of a group. Individual marks will be assigned separately. Teamwork: Group work (45% of term mark) Seminar 10% All students are expected to contribute to and take part in the group seminar. 50% of the grade will be assigned to content (accuracy, depth and comprehensiveness of material presented) and 40% to presentation (effective organization and structuring of the material, pacing of the presentation, and clarity, variety and expressiveness of delivery) 10% to effective use of handouts and other illustrative aids.

9 First draft of group essay 10% This should be a composite essay assembled by the group out of their own research for the topic, and should form the first draft of what will be a set of program notes to go with the production. While it is acceptable to divide it into subsections that define and contain a particular person s individual research, it should still read as a coherent whole with a clearly defined introduction, clearly defined throughlines and conclusion. It should also be referenced properly with a properly organized and structured bibliography in MLA style. Second draft of group essay 10% Bibliography mark 5% This draft should show substantial improvement over the first draft in response to the suggestions, corrections and revisions of the instructor. Perfection is not expected, but responsiveness and improvement are. The final bibliography mark will be based on the completed bibliography in the second draft. (Note again that 2% of the bibliography mark will be deducted if a preliminary bibliography is not submitted at the time of the first group meeting, and is missing from the first draft of the paper.) Group bibliographies based solely on websites and containing less than seven substantial books and/or articles will not be accepted. Significant irregularities or inconsistencies in style and format will be heavily penalized. Poster 10% This should largely be based on text and images from the presentation. It should attempt to give the essence of your presentation in an interesting, compact visual form that can be browsed, read and appreciated quickly by a general audience member passing through the lobby. Note that illustrations and photos need to be the public domain because of copyright reasons, and that colour illustrations are more difficult and expensive to produce than black and white. Powerpoint, film, and audio displays are not suitable because of copyright and space restrictions. Remember that these materials need to be in 10 days prior to the production so that they can be processed properly in time. Individual Evaluation: Written work (10% of term mark) Individual research notes, annotated bibliography based on your own research. Wrap-up interview

10 Responsibilities of the Instructor: Project Facilitation: - to provide a general overview of project, including outcomes and expectations - be in attendance during scheduled classes to help all groups on an informal basis - to provide additional guidance and direction as necessary to individual members and the group as a whole. - will meet once a week with individual group leaders to check on the progress of the group. A week before the presentation, the group should meet formally with me to review progress, submit av needs, and a preliminary bibliography. - will meet with members individually at an agreed on time after presentation to give an oral evaluation of their project work. A final written evaluation will be given a week after all written materials have been submitted. Individual responsibilities: Each group should have: 1.Team Leader - establishes timelines for meeting objectives in consultation with research and production co-ordinator. Meets regularly with instructor to discuss progress of group and any problems and needs that require her attention. Supplies contact sheet of phone numbers and ensures that any handouts to be run off for class are submitted to me on time, or otherwise arranged. Submits bibliography and research materials for his/her part of the presentation at the end of the project. 2. Research co-ordinator(s) - takes responsibility for insuring that research elements of the group presentation are being fairly distributed and accomplished on time. Responsible for setting deadlines for academic work with the team leader, and monitoring individual progress of members with their academic work. Also responsible for submitting bibliography at the oneweek mark and setting up any rehearsals for the group presentation. Keep individual logs of their own overall work and the group's work being done in the research area up to date

11 Presentations Practical Tips: 1. Practice reading your material OUT LOUD (preferably before a sympathetic audience) and projecting from the diaphragm. Nerves often cause us to "speed up" or become a bit "breathy" and familiarity with your material will help you to be a more relaxed, confident speaker capable of making effective eye contact with your audience. Also time your talk before you give it. Inexperienced presenters are often surprised either at how much time is left over at the end of their material - or more commonly - how much material is left at the end of their time. 2. A "live" audience often has to be "cued" more clearly and more often as to where the presentation is going, than a reading audience. A reader can return to puzzle out obscure or difficult passages he/she missed on the first read-through, or was too hurried to absorb properly; a "live" audience has to "get it" the first time or it's gone. So organize well, making your key points or thesis clear early on in the talk, and don't be afraid to highlight or reinforce them as you go on. 3. Humor is fine, but avoid flippancy; if you don't appear to take your subject and yourself seriously and with some enthusiasm, your audience won't take it and you seriously either. At the same time, be careful of being overly dry and emotionally "distanced" from your material. What registers as a desirable state of "objectivity" in the written medium can register on a live audience as disinterest, flatness or lack of engagement with them and/or your subject. 4. Review all your notes before you go in to the presentation and practical assignment, and have them close at hand when you go in. If people get interested in what you've said in the talk they will probably want to ask larger, more general questions about the subject or ask you to elaborate on specifics or details. Also, let people know if questions are welcome during the talk, or if you would prefer them to wait until afterwards. 5. The same plethora of facts, figures, statistics, dates and names that may delight a reader, may leave a listener numb and reeling. These are often better included in the handout for quick reference, or chalked up on the board. 6. Be considerate of your fellow-presenters and remember to function as a team. Review and be familiar with each other's material so you can eliminate unnecessary repetition of information and draw larger connections and links between each other's individual research sections. Listen attentively while your fellow-presenters are talking and be considerate of time limits.

12 The Critique The critique should serve as a considered response to the material you are reading for class. It is meant to (a) clarify and focus your own thinking about the material and (b) help initiate class discussion. It should about words long and not exceed two pages in length. It can expand on one point at length or deal with two or three smaller ones (much more than that and you may be spreading yourself too thin) It can also include an application of the theory to aspects of the play we re studying. It should be submitted at the end of the class when it is due, and will be returned at the time of the next class. If you are unable to attend the class in person, please arrange for the critique to appear even you can't. Things you may want to comment on: (1) how the reading illuminates or clarifies for you certain historical, literary or social themes and concerns we have raised in class. (2) where you find interesting comparisons or contrasts between what you see here and what you have discovered in other of your areas of study or experience. (3) how this reading sheds a new light on other literary material we have studied in the class. (4) something about the reading that particularly excited or interested you and you would like to share with others. (5) something that particularly intrigued or puzzled you and you would like to know more about (6) something that particularly bothered you or that you disagreed with, and would like to see addressed by the class as a group. At its best, it should read as an informal but short personal essay that develops your idea, thesis, argument, query or quibble in a clear, articulate and concise fashion. Humor, and poetic or metaphoric personal touches are fine - it is a personal essay after all - but only as long as they support and advance the ideas you are trying to express and do not become a substitute for them. As with an exam or quiz, I will not be putting a high premium on formal style and mechanics, but I do expect the critique to be clear, neat and legible, and will be paying close attention to how well you express, develop and argue your thoughts in writing.

13 The Beginnings of Modern Realism Ibsen Brockett Readings (Optional) English-Language Theatre in the Early Twentieth Century English Theatre and Drama, Continental European and Latin American Theatre in the Late Twentieth Century Theatre in Poland and Czechoslovakia to 1990 German Theatre to 1990 Theatre in Italy to 1990 Theatre in France to 1990 Latin America Theatre to 1990 English-Language Theatre in the Late Twentieth Century British Theatre to 1990 Theatre in the United States after 1968 Canadian Theatre to 1990 Theatre in Australia and New Zealand to 1990 Contemporary Theatre Theatre in Russia Theatre in Poland and the Czech Republic Theatre in Germany Theatre in Italy Theatre in France Theatre in Britain Theatre in Ireland Theatre in Canada Theatre in the United States The Theatre of Africa Some Basic Issues and Problems Nigeria

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