Modern Drama Workshop

   Political Theatre

       Death of a Salesman

       The Crucible

       The Caucasian Chalk Circle

                        The Herbal Bed

   Theatre of the Absurd?

    Waiting for Godot

        Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

         Arcadia

edited by John Hughes

contributors: Mike O’Brien, Terry Mundy, Greg King, Brenda Pinder, Belinda Wright, Greg King

 These volumes offer workshop approaches for studying some of the classic plays of modern drama. The approaches offered will help secondary and tertiary students gain critical insights into the language used in the plays, and the theatrical forms and devices employed, and provide methods for character analysis and thematic examination.

The student-centred interactive strategies presented will also encourage students to bring a play alive by exploring form and content which takes the play off the page and, in the imagination of the students, onto the stage.

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                         click here for sample pages of Theatre of the Absurd

                        click here for sample pages of Political Theatre

    Political Theatre Contents

Introduction ― John Hughes                                         

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

Chronology: Miller’s life and work

Past and present

Contrasts

Student as director/designer

Alternative viewpoint

Character jigsaw: Happy

Spotlight on Biff

Inquest

Thinking visually: Relationships

Salesman theme: Focus on politics

Ben and the great outdoors

The Crucible by Arthur Miller

Parallels & politics

Ripple chart: Dramatic structure

Play into novel

Student as designer

Newspaper account

Auditions                                                                                            

Dreams                                                                                

Running commentary

Improvisation: Elizabeth Proctor

Tragedy: John Proctor                                                            

APPENDIX: Senator Joseph McCarthy

Hoover Ltd: Handbook for Salesmen

The Caucasian Chalk Circle by Bertolt Brecht        

Student as designer                                                                        

Designing a set for epic theatre                                                      

Three Stories in One                                                                       

Focus on Adzak

Intellectual vs emotional involvement

The plight of the soldier

Grusha

Student as director / designer

Grusha & Simon – a romance

Prologue  

The Herbal Bed by Peter Whelan ― Greg King

Set design                                                                                       

Sexual tension and banter

Faith and practice

The Language of character

Lying and dissembling

The tension of the moment

Susanna and the elders

Falling for Rafe                                                                                

Chaos theory

Husbands and wives

Vengeance and repentance                                                                

Essays

 Theatre of the Absurd Contents

Introduction ― John Hughes

Play plot grid

Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett

Comedy in Godot                                                                   

Character profile: Vladimir and Estragon                                   

Relationship: Pozzo & Lucky

The pattern of waiting

Role of the audience

The student designer

God in Godot

Playing with language

Comparing scenes: ‘Enter Boy’

The role of Godot

What is communication?

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee

Character trees

Character assassination

Games people play: a jigsaw approach

An ebb and flow chart

To be or not to be

Marriage counselling

Conscience plays

Setting / staging

Communication and conflict            

Workshop and essay

Arcadia by Tom Stoppard

Dramatic devices (1)

Dramatic devices (2)

Allusions

Classicism and romanticism

Et in Arcadia Ego

On Byron and romantic poetry

Characters — then

Characters — now

Language play

Epigrams and wit

Lost genius

Essays