OLLI, JANUARY 2016
"American Playwrights from the l960s to Today"
Overview
Through an exploration of eight plays, written from the l960s until the present, we will explore some key dramatic motifs as they mirror our modern American society and psyche. The course pairs an earlier with a later playwright, bound together through their common thematic considerations; our focus will be both on the larger subject matter and on the playwrights' signature treatment of their themes and sub-themes. In the process we will bridge the gap between the 1960s and our current moment. Through a focused discussion and sharing of ideas, we will identify the dramatic characteristics of plays and playwrights who have shaped, and continue to shape, our contemporary dramatic conversation. The course will combine lecture, discussion and some video. A course reader from the Copy Central (at the corner of Shattuck and University) will be available on December l8, 2015 and will include: Good People, In the Company of Men, Emilie: La Marquise Du Chatelet Defends Her Life Tonight, and Lydia. The remaining plays can easily be obtained from your library, bookstore or Amazon.com.
Week OneLecture: Changes in the Landscape of the Modern American Theatre. Focus: our expansive (and expanding) contemporary theatre, embracing diverse cultural priorities, perspectives and styles. New "themes" in drama. Outline of American playwrighting from l960-present. Ways to identify "notable" contemporary playwrights. Video.
Week Two: Class in America
Lorraine Hansberry: A Raisin in the Sun
David Lindsay Abaire: Good People
Lecture: Defining "class" in America; American class conflicts. Intersection between racial discrimination and class. "Class" as it relates to the vagaries of the "American Dream." Video.
Week Three:Tough Guys: Honor and Betrayal
David Mamet: American Buffalo
Neil LaBute: In the Company of Men
Lecture: The brotherhood of men. "Speech-ifying": angry voices and violent situations. Language as a vehicle for violence and evasion and as a creator of a moral and emotional entropy. The ethics of latter-day capitalism. Video.
Week Four: Uncommon Women
Wendy Wasserstein: Uncommon Women and Others
Lauren Gunderson: Emilie: La Marquise Du Chatelet Defends Her Life Tonight
Lecture: Dramatizing women, their choices and their boundaries. Identifying the female voice in theatre. Shifts in focus of female playwrights. Video.
Weeks Five: Crossing Borders
Sam Shepard: True West
Octavio Solis: Lydia
Lecture: Crossing psychological and cultural borders. Family life and boundaries: when do we go too far? The immigrant experience and borders. Video.
Week Six: Wrap-up