Embedded Files
If you're bringing a class or encouraging students to come see Our Town, here are some potential resources to use in conjunction with your classes. We have included some discussion questions that you can utilize in your own class sessions.
If you're bringing a class or encouraging students to come see Our Town, here are some potential resources to use in conjunction with your classes. We have included some discussion questions that you can utilize in your own class sessions.
Please note, you can mix and match questions however it suits your needs.
Please note, you can mix and match questions however it suits your needs.
For English Classes
For English Classes
Wilder's play was written in 1938, but focuses on events many years earlier. How is the play encouraging us to reflect on our own memories and understanding of history? How does watching this play in 2025 change how we feel about this community?
Wilder described that he wanted this play not to focus on one particular family, but to trigger memories of familiar experiences for the audience. What aspects of this story felt familiar to you?
What does it mean to be part of a community? What does it mean to the people of Grover's Corners? What does it mean to us?
Why do you think the members of the dead discourage Emily from returning to her memories? How does hindsight change our perspective of memories? What might be Wilder's point about these memories?
For Theatre Classes
For Theatre Classes
Our production incorporated ensemble movement to tell this story. How did this choreography create stage pictures? Which one was most impactful to you?
This play uses a lot of direct address--how does that change the character's relationship to the audience? How might this change the way an actor approaches a character?
Much of this play relies on the audiences' imagination, including descriptions of locations, limited scenic design, and double-casting. How did this effect your ability to suspend your disbelief in the play?
Video Resources
Video Resources
Below you'll find videos from Frantic Assembly and outside productions of Our Town. These may provide useful background for students and classes attending the production.
Chair Duets--Othello Cast
One of the foundational elements of Frantic Assembly's work includes the chair duet. This process is a two-person exercise that builds various movements between the two of them. In this clip, cast members Kirsty Oswald and Richard James Neale perform their variation of a chair duet.
Things I Know to Be True: Clip and Teaser
Produced in 2016, Things I Know to Be True explores various relationships, encounters, and connections based on love. This clip highlights the way that Frantic Assembly utilizes both text and movement to create dynamic stage pictures--the choreography is used to underscore the emotional experience described in the speech while keeping the scene fluid.
The Lasting Impact of Our Town
Featured on CBS in 2010, this report features the 2008 production directed by David Cromer. This would be the longest running production of Our Town, and it won the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Production and Outstanding Direction and an Obie Award for Outstanding Director. In this production, Cromer focused on a deeply intimate space and the relatability of the characters.
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