Literature

Play/Playwright Research Project

THEATER APPRECIATION PRESENTATION

  • Choose a play...

  • Research the playwright

    • Where are they from (America, England, elsewhere)?

    • What about their life influenced their work?

    • What time period did they live and work in?

      • The period can influence the style or subject matter of the play.

      • 1800s, 1900s, 1950s,60s,70s, etc.

    • What are some of their other famous works (plays, novels, poems)?

  • Research the Play

    • Summary of the plot

    • Main or notable characters and their traits

    • Setting (time period, location)

    • Themes

    • What is the style of the play? Is it considered comedy, drama, melodrama, realism, naturalistic, expressionism, Renaissance, absurdist, modernism, postmodernism, theater of cruelty, etc.?

    • Why is this play considered a top play? What makes it important, worth reading, or having lasted so long?

  • Interesting facts

    • Is there a movie version?

    • Records on Broadway? (longest running show, most revivals)

    • Significant revivals?

    • Famous actors who played the role either on film or stage?

  • Include a video clip(s)

    • Find multimedia clips of scenes from the performance.

    • This could be of the famous movie version or a comparison of a few.

    • If you find a professional stage version clip...

    • Why did you choose this clip? What about this in comparison to others you have seen makes it a better representation of the work?

  • Include photos

    • Set designs

    • Costumes

    • Actors, characters, etc.

  • Provide sides from a cutting of the play to be read by several of the class members. Assign parts based on who you feel would read the parts well. Explain the scene. Let the actors stand up and read it. Explain why you chose this section.

  • Include a source page


  • Create a google presentation to be added to a class database on the class website.

    • Share your Google Slide with teacher.