3rd quarter papers (Modern Drama)

Paper 1 All my Sons: CONGRATULATIONS! You have been chosen to direct the Ouray High School Drama Club’s upcoming production of All my Sons. You are meeting with your staff this week to introduce your brilliant self. Prepare the handout you’ll give them to help them do their jobs:

1. What is the action of the play? Describe the change in fortune for the main character. What is his hamartia? Where does the major reversal occur? What recognition does he come to?
2. Describe the cast of famous actors (or OHS personalities) you have hired. Why did you hire each of these people? What is the most important quality you were looking for in each role?(Required: Joe, Kate, Chris, Ann. Optional: George, Jim, Sue, Frank, Lydia.)
3. Describe what the set and costumes will look like.
4. Tell the story of at least one current event that this play relates to, something that you have read about or observed yourself.
5. Write a good long paragraph about WHY YOU HAVE CHOSEN THIS PLAY. What important question(s) about human nature and experience (theme) do you want the audience to be talking about when they leave the theater? How do you want to affect your audience (catharsis)? Why is it important that they come to see it?
6. Choose a moment from the play to describe in detail, a reversal that you feel is important. What changes, for whom? How is this moment interesting and important in terms of the play's action and theme? So... DESIGN the scene. Take us through it, showing how, as director, you would use the tools of the theater (staging, blocking, acting, lights, sounds, props, costume, etc.) to make its impact as powerful as possible on the audience.

Paper 2 A Streetcar Named Desire: Things are getting better and better! The reviews of your production of All My Sons were so amazing that you’ve been hired to direct a revival of A Streetcar Named Desire on Broadway. Next week you’re traveling there to meet your production staff. Prepare the handout you’ll give them to help them do their jobs:

1. What is the action of the play? Describe the change in fortune for the main character. What is his/her hamartia? Where does the major reversal occur? What recognition does s/he come to?
2. Describe the cast of famous actors (or OHS personalities) you have hired. Why did you hire each of these people? What is the most important quality you were looking for in each role?(Required: Blanche, Stella, Stanley, Mitch. Optional: Eunice, Steve, Pablo, the Doctor.)
3. Describe what the set and costumes will look like.
4. Tell the story of at least one current event that this play relates to, something that you have read about or observed yourself.
5. Write a good long paragraph about WHY YOU HAVE CHOSEN THIS PLAY. What important question(s) about human nature and experience (theme) do you want the audience to be talking about when they leave the theater? How do you want to affect your audience (catharsis)? Why is it important that they come to see it?
6. Choose a moment from the play to describe in detail, a reversal that you feel is important. What changes, for whom? How is this moment interesting and important in terms of the play's action and theme? So... DESIGN the scene. Take us through it, showing how, as director, you would use the tools of the theater (staging, blocking, acting, lights, sounds, props, costume, etc.) to make its impact as powerful as possible on the audience.

Paper 3: You've read one of two contemporary plays. Should UpstART Theater produce this play at the Wright (or maybe Sherb?) in 2020? Write a letter to their artistic director (Kate) explaining why this play SHOULD or SHOULD NOT be produced in Ouray County.

(Again, perhaps you see how this breaks down into paragraphs:)

• your opinion: should UpstART do this play? Why, or why not?
• a discussion how the play is written. What is excellent or lame about its style and presentation?
• a discussion of the issues it brings up. What is the action of the play? To what extent does it bring up important questions that Ouray can relate to?
• a discussion of production problems one might anticipate. Are there things in the script that might be too controversial for the community to handle, or too unrelatable, or otherwise inappropriate? Are there technical or other demands that would be insurmountable? If you see no problems, anticipate the most controversial aspect of the play and give Kate advice about how to navigate it.
• your recommendation: would you want to see this play produced here? What difference would it make for audiences here?

(alternatively, see Father Paper)