Thea 291 Final Project (200 points)

Dr. Larsen

For this final project, you will act as dramaturg in the pre-production phase of a fictitious production of Sam Shepherd’s Buried Child. You will be conducting the preliminary work in order to prepare a production dramaturg’s book that would be given to a director. You will organize it in a 3 ring binder. Make sure each section is labeled. Your writing should be MLA 6^th edition. Make sure you use the terms provided and the terms we have previously discussed.

Binder (Total paper should be 15-20 FULL pages MLA style with work cited page at the end)

Section 1. This section should be the largest section in the binder (7-10 pages). The examples you choose of the different parts of the analysis should support your concept of the play.

-Brief analysis of the Plot using the terms provided in bold. Address each term and give one good example. - the sequence of events and the connections between them (causal) that comprise the unified dramatic action. Use the following terms, which include inciting incident or incidents (the event or event that "lit the fuse" before the on-stage action of the play begins); exposition (the background information required for audience understanding of the action); foreshadowing (indications of what action may happen, underscores what is important action to follow); point of attack (where the action of the play begins, the first major complication); major complications (changes in the course of action in the play, linked to the terms reversals and obstacles); climax (usually the greatest intensity of action; the scene in which the major dramatic question is answered and the protagonist discovers whether or not her or his goal will be realized) resolution (the conclusion of the action, the restoration of sense of balance) – This is a version of the structural analysis that you did.

-Include pertinent notes on characters and their functions within the play including the protagonist's goal and the major dramatic question (what does the major character want, and how does that relate to the basic question about the way in which the action will unfold?) Who is the antagonist(s) and why do you think so? This is a version of the dynamic analysis.

- Discuss what kind of emotional experience might a production of this play provide an audience? What has the playwright done to promote identification with a character/s? This is a version of the affective analysis.

- Discuss what this play asks an audience to believe? What is the value structure and point of view of the text. This is a version of the rhetorical analysis.

Section 2. Glossary of important terms within the text. This should include words certainly, but customs and cultural terms, as well.

Section 3 (1-2 pages). Bio on playwright and how his/her life relates to the play.

Section 4 (1-2 pages). History (political, social, economic, etc.) of that particular period in the country where the play is set and how the information you discover relates to the play. Also, discuss how, in terms of history, the script relates to today. This is a version of thematic analysis.

Section 5 (3-5 pages). Pick at least three past productions that were influential of the script and do a synopsis of them. You will get this information from reviews of the productions. Include what the production companies did and why you have included it in your report. In other words, why do you think these particular productions were most influential? You will have to conduct some extensive research.

Section 6. Images of art, architecture, geography, etc. that are referred to or alluded to in the text along with why you feel they are important. This is a version of the imagistic analysis and functional analysis