American Drama Flashcards
Who was the first important professional American playwright? Why?
William Dunlap. He is important because of his work, ‘A History of the American Theatre’ and he was also the director of the John Street theatre, the first permanent theatre in NYC.
Which theatre had an important role during the Harlem Renaissance?
The African Grove Theatre.
Which theatre is ‘the oldest in America?
The Walnut theatre, which was the first theatre with gas footlights and air conditioning.
Describe a minstrel show.
It was a show consisting of comic skits, dancing and music performances. It developed in early 19th century and was particularly popular in 1850-70. The performers mocked people of African descent and Native Americans and featured white actors in blackface, a form of racist face painting.
How does the vaudeville show differ from a minstrel show?
A vaudeville show is a type of theatrical entertainment that consists of a series of unrelated acts that includes comedians, dancers, singers, musicians and acrobats among others. They are described as variety entertainment. The stars were often seen as more important than the shows itself. They stayed popular until the introduction of film. One of the most famous vaudeville shows is Oklahoma, a musical by Richard Rodgers.
What is Oklahoma?
It is the most famous vaudeville show. It is a musical by Richard Rogers, which received numerous award including a Pulitzer Prize and the Academy Award. The author based it on the play Green Grow the Lilacs by Lynn Riggs. The story revolves around a farm girl and her two suitors- a cowboy and a farm worker.
Describe the Post Civil War Period theatre, the prominent representatives and their works.
This is when theatre started to flourish and popular forms included melodramas and farces. There was an emphasis on realism. The main representatives of this period are James Herne (Margaret Fleming) ->first ‘modern’ drama because of psychological complexity) , Augustin Daly (Under the Gaslight- realism+ melodrama) and Bronson Howard (Saratoga- satire, Shenondoah- military drama of Civil War).
What is Ben-Hur A Tale of the Christ
It is a religious themed drama, which got a revival in early 20th century. It is an adaptation of Lew Wallace’s novel about a Jewish nobleman who was falsely accused and convicted of attempted assassination of the Roman governor of Judaea and consequently enslaved by the Romans.
Which forms of drama emerged with the 20th century and what are some of the works?
Religious drama (Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ?)
Folk drama (Paul Green- The Lost Colony)
Poetic Drama (Maxwell Anderson)
The Living Newspaper (Elmer Rice)
Socially Engaged Drama (Clifford Odets, Lillian Hellman, John Steinbeck, )
Black American drama (Lorraine Hansberry, Amiri Baraka, James Baldwin)
Realism (Lorraine Hansberry, William Inge, Tennesse Williams, Arthur Miller)
Experimentalism (naturalism+expressionism; Eugene O’Neill)
Expressionism (Emer Rice, Thornton Wilder also Eugene O’Neill)
Avantgarde movement (
What functions can a title perform?
A title can say something about the content or form of the literary work, it can provide commentary or a response, be a part of the work or not, can be close to the work or completely distant from it.
What topics did playwrights focus on between the two wars?
Various kinds of problems: social, ethical, psychological, political, religious, …
Various types of psychological deviations: homosexuality, mental disability, miscegenation, incest, abortion, adultery, religious fanatism
Anti-nazi or pro-democratic plays
Theatre was used as a weapon
What is expressionism? Give historical background, main representatives and their works and characteristics.
Representatives: Eugene O’Neill, Elmer Rice (The Adding Machine, Street Scene- realistic portrayal of life in slums of NYC and won the Pulitzer Prize), Thornton Wilder (Our Town, The Skin of our Teeth, The Matchmaker).
Expressionism was first applied to painting and was then applied to drama after German drama in 1910. It was a modernist movement, a rebellion against realism and naturalism, materialism, rapid machinization, urbanization, …It idealises the creative personality, confronts taboos, unmasks social and family norms and values, world is presented from a subjective viewpoint, focus on the internal mental state but then, after WWII it assume a politically radical and Marxist temper (influence of Brecht).
The atmosphere: often dreamlike or nightmarish, setting: often done with very few props, abstract and the plot and structure is broken into episodes, incidents and tableaus.
Characters: stereotypes rather than individual personalities, representing social groups rather than a particular person, appear grotesque and unreal in masks
Dialogue: unlike real conversation, long monologues
acting: intense, violent, energetic gestures
Why is The Adding Machine an expressionist play?
It is the first expressionist play because it has no setting or the setting is minimal. The characters are types rather than rounded characters and they represent the dehumanising effect of industrial capitalism by having only numbers for names. It also focuses on the mind and thoughts of characters by jumping inside the characters head and their internal monologue. Additionally, the conversations are not natural, like Zero’s wife who nags him for an entire scene with him barely speaking.
How does the plot of Our Town relate to its theme(s)
The play is structured in three parts- the courtship between George and Emily, their marriage and Emily’s death. One of the themes is growing up, the cyclical nature of life, which is also reflected in the sun. The first act is in the morning, the second in the afternoon and the final one is at night, but a human’s life, unlike the sun, is not eternal. However, it becomes infinite because of reproduction (aka Emily died during her second child’s birth, so their ‘line’ continues).
What does the minimal setting in Our Town achieve?
By leaving out most scenery and leaving minimal props, Thornton Wilder wanted to shift to focus on interpersonal relationships, placing value on everyday interactions, our feelings are what is substantive not the things around us, …
What and how is being foreshadowed by the morning star in Our Town?
In Thornton Wilder’s play, the morning star is said to be brightest before the very end. This functions similarly to the Greek chorus tradition and signals the end of the play.
Discuss the main themes and symbolism in Our Town.
The main themes in Thornton Wilder’s ‘Our Town’ are:
- love, marriage, friendships, mortality, gender, choices, religion,
Symbolism:
- the cycle of life represented by different stages of life
- minimal props: focusing on emotions, relationships, ….
Which issues does Our Town touch on?
The problems of drinking, social injustices& industrial inequality and culture.
What kind of play is Our Town an explain why.
It is an expressionist play. The characters represent more their social class (middle and working class of America) and types (Emily- girl next door) than actual personalities. The stage is very minimal, with little to no props. The dialogue is a exaggerated, not very realistic. The plot is structured into 3 episodes , which mimic the cycle of life. The atmosphere is dreamlike, it is a small town America that we all imagine.
What are some of Clifford Odets works?
Waiting for Lefty, Paradise Lost, Golden Boy and Rocket to the Moon.
What is an agitprop production? Who was it influenced by? Name an example.
It is a work that agitates and propagates certain, usually leftist ideas. An example of this is Waiting for Lefty, which is a series of related events within a cab drivers’ union meeting, inspired by a 1934 strike. These plays were inspired by Bertolt Brecht and his dialectical theatre.
How does the following quotation relate to Golden Boy?
Cut is the branch that might have grown full straight,
With the warning not
To practice more than heavenly power permits.
(Marlowe, Doctor Faustus, 1604)
The original quote is referring to the conclusion of Doctor Faustus, when the chorus warns the audience to not make the same mistakes as Faustus, who ‘flew too close to the sun’ so to speak and fell down quite hard. Similarly, Clifford Odets Golden boy has a similar theme: the consequences one has to face when pursuing material gains, fame, . The main character, Joe Bonaparte, wanted to be famous so badly he was willing to pursue a violent past time and ended up killing someone in the ring. Additionally, the play has a tragic end with him and Lorna dying in a car crash.
What does the tragic ending in Golden Boy suggest?
Joe Bonaparte and Lorna die tragically in a car crash after Joe fatally wounds his opponent in the ring. It suggests that the pursuit of the American Dream, of fame and fortune is not the ideal one should strive for.
What are the main themes of Golden Boy?
Golden Boy is a deviation for Clifford Odette, who at first focused on broader social issues. In it, he explored more subjective topics like the dilemma of individual choice between materialism and artistic pursuits, ethical consciousness, romantic and domestic relationships, …It explores the pursuit and validity of the American Dream, art vs. materialism, the price of fame, consequences of material gain, …
How is Golden Boy relevant today?
The central theme, which Clifford Odets characterizes through the struggle between art and materialism is still applicable today, especially in the context of the American Dream and how it people seemingly know no boundaries they are unwilling to cross to achieve it.
How are The Little Foxes relevant today?
Lillian Hellman’s play The Little Foxes’ main themes revolve around the ruthlessness of capitalism and the business world in general. It is the division between the haves and have nots, those who eat and those who are eaten and is perhaps even more relevant today than it was at the time of its writing, because the divide between the rich and the poor has never been as prominent or as large as today.
What are the themes of Little Foxes?
Lilian Hellman’s play Three Little Foxes’ themes:
- the ruthlessness of business world (Horace and Alexandra’s dissatisfaction with trickery)
- the role of women in society (Birdie was the only ‘aristocrat’ but was powerless against her husband, Regina would get nothing because she is a woman, also sexism everywhere)
- racism (the n word on literally every page, Addie’s surprise of being included in the will of Mr. Horace, Addie, who is a black housekeeper, is dissatisfied with how it’s a dog-eat-dog world and it is always the black people who get eaten)
Where does the title of Three Little Foxes comes from?
It comes from the ‘‘Song of Solomon’’- ‘‘Take us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes’’ –> foxes who are willing to destroy anyone and anything in order to make a profit.
Name three plays of Lillian Hellman.
The Children’s Hour
The Little Foxes
Watch on the Rhine (anti-nazi)
