About the Course
Art exists to expand the imagination; to do that, sooner or later, it has to provoke. Imagination, naturally, is what we want in our age. Imagination is unpleasant and frightening; it puts you in touch with parts of yourself you may be trying to conceal; it shows you how things might be, in dramatic contrast to the way they actually are. The educated heart can look on all this with un-frightened calm; people with something to fear, either in themselves or in their actions, cover their fear with blustering rage.
Falling asleep with the TV on is one of the central images of our culture; falling asleep in the theater implies criticism of the performance. The crucial difference underscores what makes the theater so important: It's a waking place, where human senses, feelings, and brains come alive. This course is thus designed to increase understanding and appreciation of modern drama. In class, we will experience and enjoy the variety and richness of the art of drama in our time. The plays we are going to read have been selected primarily for their artistic greatness. We will have extended discussions of representative works of well-known contemporary playwrights, such as Eugene O'Neill, Edward Albee, Arthur Miller, David Mamet, John Guare, David Henry Hwang, A. R. Gurney, Peter Shaffer, Willy Russell, Caryl Churchill, and Heiner Muller. Available video taped productions by each playwright will be shown. Class format is arranged to feature students' input from reading and conducted by group reports and discussions.
|