In class on Wednesday, we returned to Tartuffe and spent quite a bit of time meditating on the motif of blindness, the nature of sight, and ultimate conclusions about the play; we also considered the impact of a historical awareness of its staging, especially insofar as spectators would have been seated on the stage, and …
Renaissance/Restoration Theater History
Last Wednesday, we had one of the best classes this term, I think--it was sad to see that some students were missing! We spent the first bit of class going over the midterm exam, especially the matching section, which many students found more difficult than I'd expected--this gave us the opportunity to talk about test-taking …
…and Midterms and Essays, O My!
Finally having gotten miterm grades in, I took a bit of a breather, relaxed, and contemplated the last month and a half of classes. It seems to have gone so much more quickly than I thought at all possible, but there you have it! I'm immensely enjoying my world lit survey course, and the class …
Dog in the Manger Discussion, Presentations, and Incest Plays!
Last Wednesday we were finally able to get back together as a class and contemplate our response to the Shakespeare Theatre's production of Dog in the Manger, and I was very gratified to see how eager everyone was to discuss! Many students had questions that, significantly, we couldn't really find good answers to--like the significance …
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Live Theater in DC
Lope de Vega's Dog in the Manger, tonight, at the Shakespeare Theatre in DC! Reread the program online if you forget to pick one up or lose yours before turning in the review.
Theater Outing, Lope de Vega
I've secured the tickets for Wednesday, February 11, when we'll be seeing the 7:30 performance of Dog in the Manger, at the Shakespeare Theatre in DC. The Shakespeare Theatre has two venues--we'll be in the Lansburgh theater. Since I'm canceling class in order to go as a group to see the play, I think we …
Early Roman and Medieval Theater
Last class, we discussed David Wiles' essay on theater in early Rome and Medieval Christian Europe, though we paid most attention to the materiality of Medieval performance. Students were generally surprised by the real heterogeneity of performance modes in the Medieval period--from processionals to place-and-scaffold to Church interiors and the halls of private dwellings, the …
Ancient Greek Theater, Lysistrata
Last class period, we had our first real session--filled with fun facts and close reading! Instead of a lecture, I wanted to encourage students to participate in their own learning by "specializing" on a question from the reading guide for Oliver Taplin's essay on ancient Greek theater. I handed out key questions from the guide …
Theater History: The Use of Theater?
The first evening of Theater History, we went over the syllabus as usual, spending a bit of time going over each of the texts we're reading and the major assignments--students seemed interested in the performance project option, though I think many will choose to do the essay, instead. We're starting with the typical, ancient Greek …