MIT – 21M.710

BREAKING WALLS / BUILDING BRIDGES:

PLAYS FOR THE 21^st CENTURY

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

In this script analysis course, we will explore contemporary plays from around the world that in some way or another try to break walls or build bridges. We will practice “present readership” and all five levels of play analysis as a way to expand our understanding of plays: contextual, structural, affective, interpretive, and creative. In doing so, we will also inquire into the cognitive processes of meaning-making and develop dramaturgical skills crucial for all theatre-makers. We will also engage with history and theory as a launchpad to examine how power relationships between various identities are negotiated through the play text. Each class will include a research component and short presentation to support discussion.

LEARNING GOALS:

Apply principles of script analysis, where the play text is examined from a theater maker’s perspective, rather than solely as an object of literary studies
Critically reflect on text-based theatre in contemporary society from a transcultural perspective
Engage in meaningful research and practice oral and written skills through targeted assignments
Form and articulate crucial evaluations of plays through a final presentation and paper that shows curatorial thinking

PLAYS:

The Rage of Narcissus, by Sergio Blanco

Fairview, by Jackie Siblies Drury

I love XXX, Meng Jinghui

HIR, by Taylor Mac

a profoundly affectionate, passionate devotion to someone (-noun), by debbie tucker green

Pah-La, by Abhishek Majumdar

The Sitahara, by Monirah Hashemi

Scorched, by Wajdi Mouawad

Babel, by Ana Candida Carneiro

The Thanksgiving Play, by Larissa Fasthorse

Guest artists: Monirah Hashemi (Afghanistan); Abhishek Majumdar (India)

Recommended reading:

Ball, David. Backwards and Forwards : a Technical Manual for Reading Plays. Southern Illinois University Press, 1983.

SYLLABUS

Sep 10. Short Plays for a Long Century

Readings:

Fuchs, Elinor. “EF's Visit to a Small Planet: Some Questions to Ask a Play.” Theater (New Haven, Conn.), vol. 34, no. 2, Duke University Press, 2004, pp. 5–9.

Moya, P. M. (2011). “Who We Are and From Where We Speak.” TRANSMODERNITY: Journal of Peripheral Cultural Production of the Luso-Hispanic World, 1(2).

Bring to class:

Map of Myself – homework

Sep 17. Immigrant Body, Dismembered

Readings:

Blanco, Sergio, and Daniel Goldman (trans.) The Rage of Narcissus. Oberon Books, 2020.
Vicente, Alvaro. “Interview with Sergio Blanco: A Creator Must Know the Times in Which He Lives,” The Theatre Times, May 2018. https://thetheatretimes.com/interview-sergio-blanco-creator-must-know-times-lives/
Mostaço, Edélcio. “Thebes Land. Kassandra – Migrant Myth.” The Theatre Times, Oct 2017. https://thetheatretimes.com/kassandra-migrant-myth/

Viewings (short clips):

Uruguayan production – Gabriel Calderón (2016) – https://youtu.be/wVVQ7YdiLYA
Brazilian production – Celso Curi / Gilberto Gawronski (2018) – https://vimeo.com/266624681
Spanish production (Catalunya) – (2019) – https://youtu.be/0d_Y5jJkVuw
Mexican production – Fabián Sales (2019) – https://youtu.be/0d_Y5jJkVuw

Research Presentation:

Theatre and immigration – GROUP 1

Todorovic, Dragan. “Who we are and who we are not.” Dramaturgy of Migration. Meerzon, Yana, and Katharina Pewny (eds.). Routledge, 2020.

Sep 24. Who is afraid of the Black Bourgeoisie?

Readings:

Drury, Jackie Sibblies. Fairview : a Play. First edition., Theatre Communications Group, 2019.

Viewings:

Meet Jackie Sibblies Drury – Young Vic London – https://youtu.be/u4EZT3rB1tY
PBS interview with JSD – https://www.pbs.org/wnet/amanpour-and-company/video/jackie-sibblies-drury-discusses-her-play-fairview/

Browse website:

https://www.weseeyouwat.com/

Research Presentation:

Black Theater in America – GROUP 2

Wilson, August. "The Ground on Which I Stand." Callaloo, vol. 20 no. 3, 1997, p. 493-503.

Due Sep 26:

Assignment #1 – upload on class Google drive

Oct 1. Postcolonial Controversies – CLASS ON ZOOM

Guest Visit – Abhishek Majumdar (Indian playwright/director)

Readings:

Majumdar, Abhishek. Pah-La. Oberon Books, 2019.
Doji, Georgian Choekyi, et. al. “Pah-La, a shallow and confusing examination of Tibetan non-violent resistance.” TibetanReview.net, April 18 2019.

https://www.tibetanreview.net/pah-la-a-shallow-and-confusing-examination-of-tibetan-non-violent-resistance/

Phukan, Vikram. “The Politics of Tibetan Representation, The Hindu, March 22, 2019.

https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/theatre/the-politics-of-tibetan-representation/article26613072.ece

Dharwadker, Aparna Bhargava. Theatres of Independence : Drama, Theory, and Urban Performance in India since 1947, University of Iowa Press, 2005, 54-84. [OPTIONAL]

Viewing:

Abhishek Majumdar on his research for Pah-La (Royal Court, 2019) – https://youtu.be/xy-CBiqK1yU

Oct 8. Queer Imagination

Readings:

Mac, Taylor. Hir : a Play. Northwestern University Press, 2015.

Viewings:

Taylor Mac on HIR – Steppenwolf Theatre Company, 2017 – https://youtu.be/WPw4hgVFC9E
Playwrights Horizons HIR trailer, 2015 – https://youtu.be/XmXx6rE9304
https://www.gq.com/story/colbert-mac-best-late-night-interview (read article too)

Research Presentation:

Lesbian & Gay Theatre in the USA – GROUP 3

Oct 15. Feminist Theatre: Privilege? – CLASS ON ZOOM

Guest Visit – Monirah Hashemi (Afghani playwright/performer)

Reading:

The Sitaraha, by Monirah Hashemi (unpublished manuscript, author’s courtesy)

Viewing:

A performance of The Sitaraha (The Starts), by Monirah Hashemi, followed by a panel discussion (February 2021) – https://howlround.com/happenings/performance-sitaraha-stars-monirah-hashemi

Oct 22. Fractured Desires, Intimate and Political

Readings:

green, debbie tucker. a profoundly affectionate, passionate devotion to someone (-noun), Nick Hern Books, 2017.
Goddard, L. “Breaking the Silence: Women’s Solidarity in debbie tucker green’s Abuse and Trauma Plays.” In: Contemporary Black British Playwrights. Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2015, pp. 69-82.

Viewing:

A profoundly affectionate… (Royal Court Theatre, 2017) – https://youtu.be/3wfGvGhKkLE

Research Presentation:

Feminist Theatre – GROUP 4

hooks, bell. “Selling Hot Pussy Representations of Black Female Sexuality in the Cultural Marketplace.” Black Looks, Routledge, 2015, pp. 73–90.

Due Oct 24:

Assignment #2 – first draft – upload on class Google drive

Oct 29. Electric Body, Electric Words [Taught by Professor Claire Conceison]

Readings:

Meng, Jinghui, and Claire Conceison (trans.). I Love XXX and Other Plays. Seagull Books, 2017.
Conceison, Claire. “China's Experimental Mainstream: The Badass Theatre of Meng Jinghui.” TDR/The Drama Review2014; 58: 1 (221), 64–88.

Nov 5. Arabic Losses, Diasporic Challenges

Reading:

Mouawad, Wajdi, and Linda Gaboriau (trans.). Scorched = Incendies. 1st ed., Playwrights Canada Press, 2005.
Khordoc, Catherine. “Visibility Graphs and Blindspots: Wajdi Mouawad’s Incendies and Its Mathematical Poetics.” French Cultural Studies, vol. 30, no. 4, SAGE Publications, 2019, pp. 307–16.
Graham-Smith, Greg. “Burned into Being: Forms of Trauma and Exile in Wajdi Mouawad's Incendies.” Scrutiny 2, vol. 20, no. 2, Routledge, 2015, pp. 54–64 [OPTIONAL]

Viewing:

Incendies. Directed by Dennis Villeneuve, performances by Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Désormeaux Poulin, Maixim Gaudette and Rémy Poulard, micro_scope, 2010. [OPTIONAL]

Research Presentation:

Arabic Theatre – GROUP 5

Carlson, Marvin. “Negotiating Theatrical Modernism in the Arab World.” Theatre Journal, vol. 65, no. 4, 2013, pp. 523–535.

Due Nov 7:

Peer-review – Assignment #2 – comment on uploaded documents

Nov 12. That Lost Continent of LA

Readings:

Babel, by Ana Candida Carneiro (unpublished translation).
Carlson, Marvin. Speaking in Tongues: Languages at Play in Theatre. University of Michigan Press, 2006, pp. 105-14.

Viewing:

Sarah’s monologue – Italian production, 2011 (author’s personal archive)

Research Presentation:

Latinx Theatre in the USA – GROUP 6

Sanchez, Gabriela Serena, and Hudes, Quiara Alegría. “Pausing and Breathing: Two Sisters Deliver the ATHE 2018 Conference Keynote Address.” Theatre Topics, vol. 29, no. 1, 2019, pp. E-1-E-13.

Due Nov 14:

Final draft – Assignment #2

Nov 19. Giving Thanks?

Reading:

Fasthorse, Larissa. The Thanksgiving Play ; What Would Crazy Horse Do? Theatre Communications Group, 2021.

Viewings:

I am Theatre: Larissa FastHorse (TCG) – https://youtu.be/a2cjjfgIPdg
MacArthur Foundation: Larissa Fasthorse 2020 Fellow – https://youtu.be/fJqqW2qzQ1A
WBUR coverage of Playwrights Horizon’s production of The Thanksgiving Play:

https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2019/11/26/thanksgiving-play-larissa-fasthorse

Research Presentation:

Native American theatre – GROUP 7

Mojica, Monique. “Stories from the Body: Blood Memory and Organic Texts.” Native American Performance and Representation, edited by S. E. WILMER, University of Arizona Press, 2009, pp. 97–109.

Dec 3. Final Presentations – Assignment #3 – oral portion

Due Dec 4:

Assignment #3 – written portion

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Graded assignments:

Assignment #1 –Short reflection paper (min. 1,000 words)

Assignment #2 – Prepare a dramaturgical packet for the production of a play that is not in this syllabus (min. 3,500 words) – Peer reviewed

Assignment #3 – Curating a season / Play selection activity (oral presentation + paper motivating your choices and vision – min. 1,500 words)

Grading distribution:

45% Participation (attendance, involvement in class discussions, other forms of collaborative contribution)

15% Assignment #1

20% Assignment #2

20% Assignment #3

Detailed rubrics will be provided.

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The Writing and Communication Center (WCC)

The Writing and Communication Center offers free one-on-one professional advice from communication experts with advanced degrees and publishing experience. The WCC can help you further develop your oral communication skills and learn about all types of academic and professional writing. You can learn more about the WCC consultations at http://cmsw.mit.edu/writing-and-communication-center and register with the online scheduler to make appointments through https://mit.mywconline.com. Please note that the WCC hours are offered Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m., and fill up fast.

Plagiarism note:

Please remember that plagiarism is a serious academic offense, involving the unacknowledged use of another person’s intellectual work by quotation, paraphrase, or summary. If you are confused about what this means, see http://writing.mit.edu/wcc/avoidingplagiarism. Keep in mind that citation guidelines for the kinds of online materials you might want to reference in your assignments, including video clips and music, are constantly evolving. For further information regarding MIT’s Academic Integrity policies, visit: http://web.mit.edu/academicintegrity/index.html.

Disabilities Services note

Students requiring accommodations because of a documented disability must present an Accommodation Letter prepared by Disabilities Services and speak with the instructor by the end of the second week of the term. Failure to do so may result in the instructor’s inability to respond in a timely manner. If you have questions regarding accommodations, please contact Disabilities Services (3-1674 or dso-www@mit.edu). All discussions will remain confidential.

Course content and counseling statement

By nature, theatre is provocative and emotional. As a community of learners my hope is that we will hold space for the kinds of emotions that may come up in response to the materials we will engage with. Please, take care of yourself and reach out if you are struggling with particular content. You can also find resources at the link below. Help is available.

https://medical.mit.edu/services/mental-health-counseling