HNRS 267-01: Contemporary Drama

This course examines English and American drama from 1956, when John Osborne wrote his revolutionary play, Look Back in Anger, to the present. We shall begin by exploring plays that have already become classics of the contemporary theater, such as Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Amiri Baraka’s “Dutchman,” Harold Pinter’s Old Times, Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Peter Barnes’ The Ruling Class, Caryl Churchill’s Top Girls, and Ntozake Shange’s for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf. We shall then address our attention to the more recent theatrical scene, exploring Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning plays, and Broadway, off-Broadway, West End (London), fringe (London), and regional dramas, such as Martin Sherman’s Bent, Wendy Wasserstein’s An American Daughter, David Henry Hwang’s M. Butterfly, Wendy MacLeod’s The House of Yes, George C. Wolfe’s The Colored Museum, Moises Kaufman’s The Laramie Project, Suzan-Lori Parks’ Topdog/Underdog, John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt, Richard Greenberg’s Take Me Out, Tony Kushner’s Angels in America, and David Mamet's November. Our examination will focus on the developing concerns, problems, and techniques of contemporary drama. We shall also explore the generic forms peculiar to the contemporary scene (such as comedy of menace) and concentrate especially on the emerging drama of minority groups. Since drama is an embodied art, we shall view some filmed performances of the plays and attend area theatrical performances when possible.

Term: Fall 2009

Credits: 4

Fulfills: GE Requirement in Humanities (U)

Cross-listed: ENGL 340-01

Meeting times: 13:30-14:50 TR

Instructor: Lisa McDonnell