Cheng/ THTR 525/4
Seminar in Contemporary Theatre
Dr. Meiling Cheng
USC School of Theatre
Spring 2008
THTR 525, 63235D, 4 Units Thursday 2-4:50 p.m.; KAP 150
Office: CWT, Room 2 E:
Tel. (213) 740-1496; 740-8686 Office Hrs: Fri. 10-noon. By Appointment Only.
Course Description
This seminar explores the aesthetic visions, directorial approaches, dramaturgical practices, and performance genres that characterize the changing contours of contemporary (western) theatre. As focal points of discussion, the course will examine how theatre confronts emergent cultural forces and intersects with other disciplines in its continuous search for innovation and significance.
Syllabus
1/17 Introduction; the Initiation Performance.
Configuring the Field: Theatricality; Dramaturgy; Performance Studies.
R. Schechner, "Introduction: The Fan and the Web," in Performance Theory.*
Rabkin, "Is There a Text on This Stage? Theatre, Authorship, Interpretation," in Re:direction.
I. Theatricality
1/24 Futurism and Dada.
R. Kirby, "Introduction,"
Marinetti, Settimelli, and Corra, "The Futurist Synthetic Theatre,"
Corra and Settimelli, "Negative Act/Atto Negativo,"
Corra and Settimelli, "Old Age/Passatismo,"
Corradini and Corra, "Alternation of Character/Alternazione di Carattere."
Melzer, "Introduction,"*
"Dada and Futurism," in Dada and Surrealist Performance.*
Tzara, "Dada Manifesto."*
Ref. Jarry, Ubu Roi;
Tzara, The Gas Heart in Modern French Theatre.
1/31 Artaud, Surrealism, and the Theatre of Cruelty.
R: Artaud, "The Theatre and the Plague,"
"Metaphysics and the Mise en Scène," in The Theater and its Double.
Ref. Kane, Blasted.
Arrabal, Guernica in Guernica and Other Plays.
"Artaud's Les Cenci," in Re:direction.
2/7 Peter Brook's Intercultural Initiatives.
R. Carrière and Brook, The Mahabharata: A Play.
"Talking with Peter Brook," in Re:direction.
View: The Mahabharata, dir., Brook.
Ref. Weiss, Marat/Sade, dir. Brook.
2/14 Robert Wilson's Theatre of Images.
R: Wilson, "A Letter for Queen Victoria," in The Theatre of Images.
Cheng, Performance Review for A Space That Is Filled with Time.*
Cheng, Performance Review for Monsters of Grace 1.0.*
"Theatre and Therapy," in Re:direction.
"Robert Wilson: Entry," "Biography" and "Archive," www.robertwilson.com/.
View: Robert Wilson and the Civil Wars, dir.Brookner.
Ref. Klossowicz, "Tadeuz Kantor's Journey," in Re:direction.
Cheng, "Haiku in the Flesh: Oguri's Theatre of Transmutation," in Re:direction.
II. Dramaturgy
2/21 Special event: Visit by Timberlake Wertenbaker.
R: Wertenbaker, Our Country's Good.
Ref. Wertenbaker, The Love of the Nightingale.
Cixous, The Perjured City in Selected Plays of Hélène Cixous.
Féral, "Building up the Muscle: An Interview with Ariane Mnouchkine," in Re:direction.
2/28 Chekhovian Permutations.
R: Chekhov, The Three Sisters.
Arratia, "Island Hopping: Rehearsing the Wooster Group's Brace Up!" in Re:direction.
Ref. Beckett, Endgame.
Stroyeva, "Three Sisters at the MAT," in Re:direction.
Carnicke, "Stanislavsky: Uncensored and Unabridged," in Re:direction.
Schneider, "Three Sisters at Millennium's End: Richard Schechner's Production at La Mama," in Re:direction.
3/6 Brecht and the Epic Theatre.
R: Brecht, Galileo.
Brecht, "The Modern Theatre is the Epic Theatre,"
"The Street Scene," in Brecht on Theatre.
Weber, "Brecht as Director," in Re:direction.
Ref. Boal, "Invisible Theatre," in Re:direction.
3/13 Taboo; Eros; Thanatos.
R: Shaffer, Equus.
Ref. Vogel, How I Learned to Drive.
DUE: The First Set of Weekly Commentaries.
3/20 Spring Break. No Class.
3/27 Feminist Experimentation.
R: Churchill, Top Girls.
Churchill, Far Away.
Ref. Fornes, Fefu and Her Friends.
4/3 Language, History, Subjectivity.
R: Parks, The American Play in The American Play and Other Works.
Garrett, "The Possession of Suzan-Lori Parks."*
Drukman, "Suzan-Lori Parks and Liz Diamond: Doo-a-diddly-dit-dit - An Interview," in Re:direction.
Ref. Kennedy, Funnyhouse of a Negro in Adrienne Kennedy in One Act.
Parks, The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World in The American Play and Other Works.
4/10 Body, Psyche, Polis, Fantasia.
R: Kushner, Homebody/Kabul.
Ref. Churchill, Skriker
III. Performance Studies
4/17 Performance Art. Feminisms and Feminist Performance.
R: Stiles, "Performance Art," in Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art.*
Withers, "Feminist Performance Art: Performing, Discovering, Transforming Ourselves," in The Power of Feminist Art.*
Walker, "Womanist."*
Montano, "From Art in Everyday Life," in Re:direction.
View: Sphinxes with Secrets.
Ref. Combahee River Collective, "A Black Feminist Statement";
Cody, "Woman, Man, Dog, Tree: Two Decades of Intimate and Monumental Bodies in Pina Bausch's Tanztheater," in Re:direction.
4/24 Other American Histories. Border Aesthetics.
R. Fusco, "The Other History of Intercultural Performance," in Re:direction.
View: Fusco, "A Couple in a Cage."
Ref. Moraga, Heroes and Saints in Heroes and Saints and Other Plays.
5/1 Self Performance.
R: Cheng, "A Hetero-locus in Process: Self Performances at Highways," in In Other Los Angeleses.
View: Miller, My Queer Body. Uyehara, Big Head. Danny Hoch, Some People.
Ref. Cheng,"Elia Arce," in In Other Los Angeleses.
DUE: The Second Set of Weekly Commentaries.
5/8 Final project presentations (in lieu of final exam, scheduled for 2-4PM).
DUE: The Final Project
Texts
I. Required Texts
The following texts are ordered through the USC Bookstore.
1. Schneider, Rebecca and Cody, Gabrielle, ed. Re:direction: A Theoretical and Practical Guide. Routledge, 2002. [0-415-21391-6]
2. Kirby, Michael and Kirby, Victoria Nes, ed. Futurist Performance. PAJ Publications, 1986 [1971]. [1-55554-009-0]
3. Artaud, Antonin. The Theatre and its Double. Trans., Mary Caroline Richards. Grove P, 1958. [0-8021-5030-6]
4. Brecht, Bertolt. Brecht on Theatre. Trans., John Willett. Hill and Wang, 1986. [0-8090-0542-5]
5. Carrière, Jean-Claude. The Mahabharata: A Play. HarperCollins, 1989. [0060390794]
6. Marranca, Bonnie, ed. The Theatre of Images. PAJ, 2005. [1555540732]
7. Wertenbaker, Timberlake. Timberlake Wertenbaker: Plays 1. London: Faber and Faber, 1996. [0-571-17743-3]
8. Cheknov, Anton. Chekhov: The Major Plays. Trans. Ann Dunnigan. Signet Classic: New American Library, 1989. [0-451-51767-9]
9. Beckett, Samuel. Endgame. Grove Press, 1958. [0-394-17208-6]
10. Brecht, Bertolt. Galileo. Grove Press, 1991. [0802130593]
10. Shaffer, Peter. Equus: A Play. Avon Books, 1977. [0380003570]
12. Churchill, Caryl. Top Girls. Methuen Drama, 1982. [0413644707]
13. Churchill, Caryl. Far Away. TCG, 2000. [1-55936-199-9]
14. Parks, Suzan-Lori. The American Play and Other Works. Theatre Communications Group, 1995. [1-55936-092-5]
15. Kushner, Tony. Homebody/Kabul. Theatre Communications Group, 2002. [1-55936-209-x]
16. Cheng, Meiling. In Other Los Angeleses: Multicentric Performance Art. University of California Press, 2002. [0-520-23515-0]
II. Required Texts in the Course Reader
The required texts marked with * are collected in a "Course Reader," available for purchase from the USC Bookstore.
III. Reference Texts: Reference texts may be purchased on your own.
Course Requirements;
Explanation of Grading System and Written Assignments:
The evaluation of your course performance will include your attendance, your eagerness to be involved in the class activities, and the quality of your contribution, performance and written works. You will fail the class if you only turn in written assignments without fulfilling all other requirements.
During the semester, you will participate in weekly discussion forums and in-class improvisation writing workshops, present two individual research/performance events, and organize a final research projects. All written assignments should be typed and double-spaced.
I. Attendance (5%) and Participation (15%)
Attendance
The attendance is mandatory for a seminar course. You need to submit a written note to have your absence excused. The note should document the date and explain the reason for your absence, and should be given to the Professor when you return to class. Usually you lose 6 points for an unexcused absence and 3 points for an excused absence.
Participation
"Participation" includes your contributions to the weekly discussions, your comments on the presentations and performance events, and your willingness to collaborate with your colleagues in an effort to maintain "good" citizenship in the class.
Your attempts to engage in the on-going process of learning and thinking in class will be valued as much as the quality of your participation. Courage, discipline, determination, and the adventurous spirit will speak well for you in this class.
Close Reading
Every week, there will be required readings and reference readings. You should plan to finish the required readings before we meet. In addition, you are encouraged to familiarize yourself with the reference readings, and bring in more references for our discussion.
II. Improvisation Writing Workshops: 10%
In-class Writing Exercises
I will design writing exercises in correspondence with the weekly topics for you to complete within our class time. You are encouraged to experiment with various writing styles, while following the rules of these improvisational workshops.
III. Weekly Discussion Forum: 20%
Weekly Commentaries/Responses (10% for each set)
For every class, you are required to bring in one substantiated comment in response to the required or reference readings. You are to collect these comments and turn in one set by the spring break and another set by the end of the semester in a typewritten format. These responses could be provocative questions, a series of ideas, or drawings and images. They may also be written as thesis paragraphs. These commentaries may range from 1 to 2 pages.
III. Seminar Presentation: 15%
Analytical Research, Performance Interpretation, Creative Re-writing
You will sign up for one individual or collaborative presentation on a selected seminar subject defined by the required readings. A typewritten outline, with bibliography, is due on the day of the presentation.
The presentation should be no more than 20 minutes in length. It could be a critical assessment of the artist/s under discussion. It could be a philosophical meditation, an impressionistic sketch, or an expressionist ballad inspired by the readings. It could also be a design fair or a performance event, as long as it offers pertinent insights to our subjects.
IV. Reports on Reference Research: 15%
Oral Presentation on Reference Research
You will sign up for one individual oral presentation on the reference readings for the seminar subject under discussion. A typewritten outline, with bibliography, is due on the day of the report.
The presentation should be no more than 20 minutes in length. The purpose of this assignment is for you to provide a critical or comparative context for our required readings. Therefore, you need not confine yourself by the reference readings listed on the syllabus. You may also substitute this assignment with a report on a recent production you've seen on campus or in Los Angeles.
V. The Final Research Project: 20% (10-12 pages)
Due: May 8, 2008.
This assignment aims to train your research ability. Thus, you have to draw at least three outside critical or journalistic sources, in addition to the references made from the original text.
Consult the Chicago Manual of Style or the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers for the editorial format. Be sure to document your sources properly.
Option 1--Critical Essay:
Write an analytical paper on one of the topics or artists we have discussed in the semester. You will develop your own thesis based on a close reading of the artist's works and an examination of other critical sources.
Option 2--Encyclopedic Introduction:
You may choose to write an encyclopedic piece on one of the artists or genres we have studied during the term. The piece will deal with the cultural and historical contexts that have shaped the artist's works or have given rise to the genre.
Option 3--Dramaturg's, Designer's, or Director's Protocol:
Or, you may choose to act as a dramaturg on spec. Recommend a play for production--pick one work by one of the artists we have covered during the term. It does not have to be among the plays we read. Describe the basis of your choice. Survey at least two previous productions. Include whatever visual materials you have found. And present your own ideal approach to the production.
You may gear your research toward the design and directorial elements, and write an extensive report on your research.
School of Theatre Grading Criteria
i) There shall be no unexcused absences.
ii) Letter grades and marks are defined as follows:
A work of excellent quality
B work of good quality
C- failing grade for graduate credit
F failure
Grading Scale:
All assignments and presentations will be graded on a percentage (100 points) scale system, which will then be converted into a final letter grade.
A+: 100-98; A: 97-94; A-: 93-90; B+: 89-87; B: 86-84; B-: 83-80;
C+: 79-77; C: 76-74; C-: 73-70; D+: 69-67; D: 66-64; D-: 63-60.
Procedures and Agreement:
I. How to schedule an individual conference.
If you want to have an appointment with me, talk to me after class, call my office at (213) 740-1496 to leave a message, or email me at <>. The best way to contact me is via email.
II. How to arrange for academic accommodation.
Students requesting academic accommodation based on a disability are required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP when adequate documentation is filed. Please be sure the letter is delivered to the Professor and to the TA as early in the semester as possible. DSP is open Monday-Friday, 8:30-5:00. The office is in Student Union 301 and their phone number is (213) 740-0776.
III. How to receive early notification of grades at the end of the term.
You may email the professor to get your grade. For the sake of confidentiality, no grade postcard will be sent, nor any grade sheet posted.
IV. How to have an absence excused.
Bring in a written letter, documenting the date and the reasons for your absence. If you need to miss more than three consecutive classes, you need to supply a letter from a guardian or partner that contains a telephone number so that the Professor may contact your guardian when necessary. Note: a telephone message won't be sufficient to have your absence excused.
V. Cheating or Plagiarism.
Dishonesty in any form harms the individual, other students, and the School of Theatre. Therefore, USC policies on academic integrity will be enforced in this course. Papers suspected of containing plagiarized material (the unacknowledged or inappropriate use of another's ideas, wording, or images) will be verified for authenticity through turn-it-in.com, an Internet service subscribed by USC. I expect you to familiarize yourself with the academic integrity guidelines found in the current "SCampus" www.usc.edu/dept/publicatiohns/scampus).
VI. The syllabus is subject to change.