ENGLISH 109

Drama on Stage and Screen

Please note: this is archived course information from 2014 for ENGLISH 109.

Description

Introduces the conventions and techniques of drama both on stage and on screen, using texts drawn from the cinema as well as the theatre. The selection of texts will represent a variety of dramatic forms from a range of periods and styles: Ancient Greece, Renaissance England, Modernist Europe, contemporary Britain, twentieth century America or present-day Australia and New Zealand. Some theatre texts are paired with screen productions of the same drama.

The course emphasises performance in drama, comparing the different approaches on stage and screen. Broader issues addressed include: translation; adaptation; gender and representation; self-reflexivity and metatheatricality. Stage productions from the Drama programme will coincide with the teaching of some of the plays. This course can be credited to a major or minor in Drama or English or Media, Film and Television.

Availability 2014

Semester 2

Lecturer(s)

Coordinator(s) Associate Professor Murray Edmond

Reading/Texts

Churchill, Cloud 9 (play)

Polanski/Towne, Chinatown (film)

Keaton, The Playhouse (film)

Fraser, No.2 (play and film)

Bovell, Speaking in Tongues (play)

Lawrence/Bovell, Lantana (film)

Littlewood/Attenborough, Oh What a Lovely War (play and film)

Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream (play and films)

Kneubuhl, A Play A Play (play)

Powell/Pressburger, The Red Shoes (film)

Jonze/Orlean/Kaufman, Adaptation (film)

Assessment

Coursework plus exam

4 short reading responses (c. 2 paragraphs each)

1 in-lecture test (50 mins close reading of selected excerpt)

one 1,500 word essay

2 hour exam, with 3 questions: 50% pre-announced question using 2 or more texts to address a thematic topic plus two 25% answers on individual texts

Points

ENGLISH 109: 15 points