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.

View the course syllabus

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