Offering an introduction to a varied selection of modern plays, this class is mainly meant for students who have little or no experience with reading drama.  We will learn about the lives and contributions of major playwrights, experiment with different techniques of analyzing plays, acquire useful terminology, close read and act out scenes, and discuss the role of language, race, and gender in drama.  As this is an intensive writing class, you will be expected to write a number of short, informal responses and two five-page papers.  There is no final exam.

Last year's selection included the following works:

Henrik Ibsen, A Doll's House (Faber, 1997)
Oscar Wilde, An Ideal Husband (Penguin Putnam, 1999)
Anton Chekhov, Uncle Vanya, trans. Pam Gems (Theatre Communication Group, 1998)
Lillian Hellman, The Children's Hour, (Dramatists Play Service, 1953)
Tennessee Williams, Summer and Smoke (Dramatists Play Service, 1950)
Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot (Grove/Atlantic, 1987)
Harold Pinter, The Caretaker and the Dumbwaiter (Illustrated) (Grove, Atlantic, 1991)
Edward Albee, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (New York: NAL, 1983)
Tom Stoppard, Jumpers (Grove/Atlantic, 1989)
Brian Friel, Dancing at Lughnasa (New York, Faber, 1998)
Sarah Kane, Blasted (London: Methuen, 1996)