drama research paper You will select one of the works of drama that we covered: Henrik Ibsen œDoll’s House, Eugene O’Neill’s œLong Day’s Journey Into Night, Susan Glaspbell’s œTrifles, Amiri Baraka’s œDutchman,. If you choose œDoll’sHouse or œDutchman for your project, be sure to get a hard copy of the play to read; in all cases, you will need to reread the play(s) you have chosen. You must use at least two critical studies for your analysis, and these might include historical play reviews. The plays may be researched in the context of Feminist Theory, The Black Arts Movement, New Critical or Psychological Theory. Special considerations for this essay form 1. Incorporate a minimum of two sources in your analysis, but do not Google analyses.. 2. Take care to consider issues of production; that is to say, your discussion should reflect the fact that the play is not only a written text. Therefore your analysis might discuss ways in which directing, acting, mise-en-scene, can be or have been worked to achieve certain effects. 3. I encourage creativity. You might consider writing a play that reflects issues of relationships that is a contemporary take on œDoll’s House or œTrifles, for example. If you want to design a model of a set, for example, as part of your work and discuss it in your paper, go for it. If you want to enact a scene for class as part of your paper, I’d love it (but let me know in advance so I can allow time). You may want to compare/contrast artists or plays. You might look at various ways a play has been cast or directed. If you have other ideas, feel free to run them by me; there may be a way to substitute some of the writing with other modes of presentation/analysis. 4. As always, do not expect to know your thesis statement when you start out. You might have some notions, but the thesis should come with writing and ideas generated by reading of critical studies. I urge you to use the writing process to discover ideas and connections. Once you’ve written the paper, you can outline what you’ve actually written to improve the organization. 5. Use quotes and paraphrases to support your claims and be sure that for each you have an in-text citation. However, always avoid using long, block quotes unless it is absolutely necessary; quotes of 3 lines or more are styled as block quotes, indented and single spaced. An œA paper will use no fewer than three relevant quotes or paraphrases from critical studies or production reviews. 6. The tone of the paper is more formal. Poetic language or first person experience is not appropriate. If you wish to incorporate elements of a production, you can do it without saying œI saw. . . but instead, something like, œin a recent production of the play, the stage lighting was manipulated to accomplish. . . If you use a production from tape or DVD, that needs to be in your works cited. 7. Be sure your introduction is compelling. I strongly recommend writing the introduction last, once you know what you want to say. Write a conclusion that goes beyond summary; perhaps discuss the relevance of the play today, and NEVER write œIn conclusion. 8. Use theater terminology accurately and appropriately. I expect to see discussion of mise-en-scene, monolog, one-act-play, acts, scenes, flat and round character, protagonist & antagonist. Specifications Paper length is a full 6 pages, typed, double-spaced, using MLA style format. Failure to meet the length requirement will affect the final grade. Prepare a works cited and be sure each item on your works cited relates to an in-text citation (the works cited should be page 7). Be sure to submit it to Turnitin Optional Prompts: 1. Choose one of the plays we have studied and research at least three productions of it over the years. Be sure to include reviews from original productions. Analyze how the play was staged”use photos if available”including mise-en-scene. Were any changes made to the play? How did the public receive the play? You might focus exclusively on issues of production and translation in another country, such as your home country. 2. Ibsen develops interesting supporting characters in Mrs. Linde, Dr. Rank, Krogstad and Anne-Marie; how do these characters reflect the issues of the main characters? How do these characters reveal the social institutions and norms that restrict the main characters? Mrs. Linde is arguably a model of a new, more equal woman: how so? And how does her character still reflect stereotyped views of women? 3. Amiri Baraka was influenced both by the Beat poets and by the Theater of the Absurd movement. How are these (one or both) movements reflected in œDutchman? How does a Theater of the Absurd sensibility contribute to his message? 4. Discuss the ways œTrifles explores what is legally right versus what is morally right. How does the play evoke emotions that problematize a sense of justice? How does the setting and choices of staging contribute to the feeling evoked? How do audiences today react to this play? 5. œLong Day’s Journey Into Night is a play about the inescapable power family has on us throughout our lives. Do any of the characters escape the history of the family? If so, how? What is O’Neill suggesting in this work about the influence of family on our destiny? Perform a psychological reading of this play in which you analyze family dynamics, using Freudian or Jungian theory. 6. Does œLong Day’s Journey Into Night offer any sense of redemption? What does the role of Catholic faith in the play suggest about redemption? Does ART redeem? Do any of the characters have a chance to transcend their past?