ENGLISH 109
Drama on Stage and Screen
Please note: this is archived course information from 2017 for ENGLISH 109.
Description
Introduces the conventions and techniques of drama both on stage and on screen, using texts drawn from the cinema as well as the theatre. The selection of texts will represent a variety of dramatic forms from a range of periods and styles: Ancient Greece, Renaissance England, Modernist Europe, contemporary Britain, twentieth century America or present-day Australia and New Zealand. Some theatre texts are paired with screen productions of the same drama.
The course emphasises performance in drama, comparing the different approaches on stage and screen. Broader issues addressed include: translation; adaptation; gender and representation; self-reflexivity and metatheatricality. Students will have the opportunity to participate in practical exercises in tutorials and in lectures. Students may also undertake creative projects as part of their course assessment. Stage productions from the Drama programme will coincide with the teaching of some of the plays.This course can be credited to a major or minor in Drama or English or Media, Film and Television.
Availability 2017
Semester 1
Lecturer(s)
Coordinator(s) Dr Emma Willis
Reading/Texts
Plays:
Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, The World of Extreme Happiness
Anne Washburn, Mr Burns: A Post Electric Play
Tenessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire
Andrea Dunbar, The Arbor (excerpts provided online)
Robin Soans, A State Affair
William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Samuel Beckett, short plays provided online
Toa Fraser, No. 2
Albert Belz, Awhi Tapu
Films:
Adaptation, dir. Spike Jonze
A Streetcar Named Desire, dir. Elia Kazan
The Arbor, dir. Cleo Barnard
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (various)
No. 2, dir. Toa Fraser
Awhi Tapu, dir. Tammy Davis
The Orator, dir. Tusi Tamasese
Assessment
Coursework plus exam
Class participation (10%)
1 in-lecture test (15%)
1,500 word essay OR creative project (options include playwriting, staging exercise, and video making) (25%)
2 hour exam, with 3 questions: 50% pre-announced question using 2 or more texts to address a thematic topic plus two 25% answers on individual texts (50%)
Points
ENGLISH 109: 15 points