THEA 2850 - Realism, Surrealism, and Expressionism: Twentieth Century Drama in Theory and Practice

Institution:

New College of Florida

Subject:

Theater

Description:

The twentieth century is the period in which drama most explicitly confronted the question of its own nature and function, seeking to assert its unique power and significance in the face of other representational media. Does the theater's power and purpose lie in it ability to represent the world around it with the objective realism championed by Zola? Or does "its very power, its whole authority, come from the fact that it is not true, and the idea of accuracy is fatal to its peculiar unsettling and revolutionary power," as Howard Barker suggests a hundred years later? If the goal of theater is truth, is that truth subjective or objective? If the goal of the theater is experiential, how might performance circumvent rational thought? And how do any of these questions affect actual performance and reception? This course will consider the plays and theoretical writings of European and American playwrights including Chekov, Strindberg, Jarry, Artaud, O'Neill, Pirandello, Genet, Beckett, Barker, Churchill, Kushner, and Parks. A significant portion of the course will be devoted to exploration of these works through performance experiments. Students are expected to write several short papers, present one or two performance experiments, and participate actively in class discussion. This class is designed for students with previous work literature or theater; enrollment is limited to 20. This course satisfies the English AOC requirements for Criticism/Theory and Textual Analysis.(This course with the same title is also listed under English and Literature. Students may list only one of them on their contract.)

Credits:

4.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.ncf.edu

Phone Number:

(941) 487-5000

Regional Accreditation:

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Four-one-four plan

The Course Profile information is provided and updated by third parties including the respective institutions. While the institutions are able to update their information at any time, the information is not independently validated, and no party associated with this website can accept responsibility for its accuracy.