Theatre 365-1: American Theatre and Drama Eugene O’Neill and His Contemporaries

Monday/Wednesday 9:30-10:50am, Parkes Hall 215 Instructor: Shannon K. Fitzsimons ([email protected]) Office Hours: By appointment Course Description

This course will examine American drama and theatre history from 1915 to 1945 through the stylistically diverse career of Eugene O'Neill, the only American dramatist to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. Special emphasis will be placed on O'Neill's early career with the , the expressionistic experiments of the 1920s, social dramas of the Depression years, and finally, the realist family dramas of the 1940s. Playwrights (besides O'Neill) to be studied include , , , Gertrude Stein, Marc Blitzstein, Clifford Odets, , and .

Assignments

Discussion Questions

Beginning with class on Wednesday, January 4, and continuing through class on Wednesday, February 29, students are required to post TWO discussion questions on the assigned reading(s) for each class on Blackboard. Discussion questions are due by 8 am on the day of class. Students are expected to post discussion questions for 15 of the 17 discussion days; in other words, you may opt to not write questions for two classes of your choice. The discussion questions for each class are worth 1% of your final grade, for a total of 15%. They will be marked on a complete/incomplete basis, with complete questions receiving an A and incomplete questions receiving a zero.

Contextual Presentation and Summary/Bibliography

Each student will be responsible for presenting one ten-minute in-class presentation on a topic related to the course material; topics for each class meeting are listed on the weekly schedule below and a sign-up sheet for these presentations will be circulated on the first day of class. Students are encouraged to meet with me as they are preparing their presentations to discuss possible approaches/sources.

These presentations will be the product of independent research and should be succinct, rich in information, clearly organized, and well-rehearsed, both with regards to content and to time limit. Presentations that go over the ten-minute mark will be stopped; it is in your best interest to practice your presentation before class.

Students are encouraged to use audio-visual aids (handouts, Powerpoint presentations, sound or video clips) to enhance their presentations as appropriate; please make arrangements in advance to have the proper equipment set up for your presentation.

In addition to the oral presentation, each student is expected to prepare a written three-page summary of their findings, along with a bibliography of five sources. These sources may include: biographies, academic books/book chapters, academic journal articles, newspaper articles/reviews from original productions, plays (other than those assigned for class) and videorecordings of performances or film adaptations (with instructor’s approval). It may not include encyclopedia entries or material from popular websites (unless advance written permission is given by the instructor). The presenter should bring hard copies of their summary/bibliography for each course member and the instructor to class on the day of their presentation. Collectively, these summaries will provide an excellent set of contextual notes for each student to take away at the end of the course. The presentation, summary and bibliography are worth 25 percent of the final grade.

Director’s Concept Presentation

In Week 10 of the quarter, each student will present an 8-minute director’s concept presentation for a hypothetical production of one of the plays we have studied in the course (or another play by one of the playwrights we have studied, with instructor’s approval). Please email me with your choice of play by Monday, February 20th. The schedule for the presentations is included in the weekly schedule below. In the interests of getting everyone’s presentation done during the last week of class, and not using our final exam period the following week, each presentation will be limited to 8 minutes and those that run over will be interrupted. As with the contextual presentations, advance rehearsal is strongly encouraged.

A successful presentation will address the following questions: What are the particular challenges and benefits of presenting this play now? What is the relationship between the present moment and the time when the play was originally produced (and, if markedly different, the time in which the play is set)? What choices in setting, staging, design, and performance style will you make to address those challenges/points of connection in your production? What story are you trying to tell/what ideas are you trying to express through your production? The use of visual materials (inspiration images/sketches for costumes, set, etc.) will be extremely helpful in communicating your ideas to the class; depending on your concept for your production, you may find audio aids helpful as well. The director’s concept presentation is worth 15% of your final grade.

Director’s Concept Statement

The director’s concept statement (5-7 pages) will address the same questions as the director’s presentation, but in greater depth than that allowed in eight minutes; it should not simply be a transcription of your presentation. You may find it helpful to draw on scholarly resources about/reviews of the play you are directing to support your ideas; the bibliographies from your peer’s contextual summaries may prove handy here! In addition, you should detail your interpretive, staging and design approach to TWO specific scenes in your play; in plays with long acts rather than short scenes, simply indicate the page numbers from the editions used in class and describe the major action of the scene (for example, “Biff and Willy’s fight on pages 47-51” for Death of a Salesman). You will want to provide scanned copies or photographs of your visual materials from the in-class presentation to accompany your statement. The statements are due via email on TUESDAY, MARCH 13 by 5 PM. They are worth 25% of your final grade.

Assessment

Breakdown

Class Attendance/Participation: 20% Discussion Questions: 15% Contextual Presentation/Summary and Bibliography: 25% Director’s Concept Presentation: 15% Director’s Concept Statement: 25%

Assessment Standards

A Superior work demonstrating student’s ability to engage the materials in a stimulating, creative, and insightful manner; clearly written with no or minimal typographical or grammatical errors

B Completion of requirements demonstrating student’s understanding of materials and ability to apply knowledge; minor writing and/or conceptual problems

C Satisfactory completion of assignment requirements; lacks clear writing or has significant conceptual problems, and/or is inadequately proof-read

D Failure to meet majority of requirements of the assignment

F Failure to meet all requirements of the assignment

Grading Scale

A 93-100 C 73-76 A- 90-92 C- 70-72 B+ 87-89 D+ 67-69 B 83-86 D 63-66 B- 80-82 D- 60-62 C+ 77-79 F 59 and below

Course Policies

Formatting. All written work will be submitted by email to [email protected] by the time specified on the due date. Written work should always be submitted in the following format: 12 point font, Times New Roman, double-spaced in MLA style only, in .doc, .docx, or PDF format.

Attendance. Attendance is mandatory. Because of our limited time together, it is important that you make every effort to attend class and arrive on time. Note that being tardy three times will count as one absence. Appropriate proof is necessary in order for an absence to be excused (e.g. doctor’s note, letter from the Dean). You are allowed one unexcused absence, no questions asked. After that, your final grade for the course will drop one increment for each missed class (from an A- to a B+). Missing more than three classes is grounds for failure for the course.

Participation. The success of this course relies on your active participation. In addition to completing the readings and assignments, you are expected to engage regularly in class discussion. Come prepared to share your questions and insights. Active participation is equal parts listening and speaking. Not only do you earn a grade for participation, your ability to do well and achieve in this course is impacted greatly by the critical sharing of your ideas.

A note about electronic devices: You are welcome to use your laptop in class during your presentations and/or to take notes. However, checking your email, updating your Facebook status, and sending instant messages means that you are absent from class—you are specifically discouraged from keeping your e-mail or social networking sites on your screen behind your notes. These absences will have the same impact on your final grade as the absences outlined above.

Late Work: Late assignments will be lowered one letter grade increment per day (from an A- to a B if it is two days late). Students are allowed one extension of 24 hours to complete one written assignment. Inform the instructor by email on the day the assignment is due if you plan to take advantage of this policy; no questions will be asked. No extensions will be granted for in-class presentations. Missing class on the day of your presentation will result in a failing grade for that assignment. Note: It is a good idea to review your syllabi at the beginning of the quarter in order to identify any potential “train wrecks” and to address them accordingly! If you are having a problem with an assignment or deadline, always contact me sooner rather than later.

Weekly Schedule (please note that this schedule is subject to change)

Week 1: Introduction

Tuesday, January 3

Course Introduction, Review of Syllabus

Wednesday, January 4

Watch: Eugene O’Neill: A Documentary Film

Read: David Savran: “The Canonization of Eugene O’Neill” from Highbrow/Lowdown

Week 2: O’Neill and Provincetown

Monday, January 9

Presentation: Popular Theatre in the Early Twentieth Century (pre-World War I)

Read: Dorothy Chansky: Chapter 1 from Composing Ourselves: The and the American Audience Brenda Murphy: Chapter 1 from The Provincetown Players and the Culture of Modernity Robert Edmund Jones: selections from The Dramatic Imagination

Wednesday, January 11

Presentation: O’Neill’s Sailing Years and Their Impact on His Work

Read: Eugene O’Neill: “The Sea Plays”: Bound East for Cardiff, In the Zone, The Long Voyage Home, and The Moon of the Caribbees

Week 3: O’Neill and Provincetown, continued

Monday, January 16

NO CLASS

Wednesday, January 18

Presentation: Susan Glaspell and other early 20th-century female playwrights

Read: Susan Glaspell: Suppressed Desires (written with ), Trifles, and The Verge

Week 4: and other Experiments

Monday, January 23

Presentation: Stage Representations of Blackness in the 1910s and 1920s

Read: Eugene O’Neill: The Emperor Jones, The Hairy Ape, and All God’s Chillun Got Wings

Wednesday, January 25

Presentation: Expressionism and Psychoanalysis

Read: Eugene O’Neill: Strange Interlude

Week 5: Expressionism and other Experiments, continued

Monday, January 30

Presentation: Expressionism, Technology and Industry

Read: Elmer Rice: The Adding Machine Sophie Treadwell: Machinal

Wednesday, February 1

Presentation: (TARA GUEST TALKING) Gertrude Stein and Theatre as Landscape

Read: Gertrude Stein: Four Saints in Three Acts

Week 6: Dramas of the Depression

Monday, February 6

Presentation: Commercial Theatre in the 1930’s: Impact of the Depression and the Talkies

Read: Eugene O’Neill: The Iceman Cometh

Wednesday, February 8

Presentation: Clifford Odets and the Group Theatre

Read: Clifford Odets: Waiting for Lefty and Awake and Sing

Week 7: Dramas of the Depression, continued

Monday, February 13

Presentation: Programs of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the

Read: Arthur Arent, One Third of a Nation Orson Welles, Voodoo Macbeth

Wednesday, February 15

Presentation: Red Scares and the End of the Federal Theatre Project

Read: Marc Blitzstein, The Cradle Will Rock

Watch: The Cradle Will Rock

Week 8: 1940’s Family Dramas

Monday, February 20

Presentation: The Posthumous Production and Reception of A Long Day’s Journey Into Night and A Moon for the Misbegotten

Read: Eugene O’Neill: A Long Day’s Journey Into Night

Watch: Section from A Long Day’s Journey Into Night (TBA)

Wednesday, February 22

Presentation: Leading Actors and Directors of O’Neill

Read: Eugene O’Neill: A Moon for the Misbegotten

Watch: Section from A Moon for the Misbegotten (TBA)

Week 9: 1940’s Family Dramas, continued

Monday, February 27

Presentation: ’s The Skin of Our Teeth plagiarism scandal

Read: Thornton Wilder: The Skin of Our Teeth and Some Notes on Playwriting

Wednesday, February 29

Presentation: The Emergence of Miller and Williams

Read: Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman Tennessee Williams, The Glass Menagerie

Week 10: Director’s Concept Presentations

Monday, March 5

Director’s Presentations

Wednesday, March 7

Director’s Presentations

Week 11: Finals

Tuesday, March 13

Finals Due by 5 pm via email to [email protected]

Other Policies

Safety During the Study of Theatre and Dance: The study of Theatre and Dance involves intensive physical and emotional challenges. Every effort is made to provide a supportive and reasonably safe learning environment. To aid in this regard, students enrolled in Theatre and Dance courses are responsible for the following standards: (1) All members of the class, including the instructor, are to be treated with respect. No one may intentionally hurt themselves, another person or the physical space and its contents at any time. (2) Students have the right to egress from any class activity, to step out of work that they believe may compromise their well-being. (3) Students will not abuse the privilege of egress, a privilege that will be respected by the classroom community. (4) Students are responsible for informing faculty of anything that might limit their full participation in the class (injuries, restrictions, etc.) Appropriate physical contact, between student and student, as well as student and instructor, can be expected in the practice of Theatre and Dance. A student who does not wish to be touched, for whatever reason, is responsible for informing the instructor. Failure of students to meet these standards may result in disciplinary and academic consequences.

Students with Disabilities: In compliance with Northwestern University policy and equal access laws, I am available to discuss appropriate academic accommodations that you may require as a student with a disability. Request for academic accommodations need to be made during the first week of the quarter, except for unusual circumstances, so arrangements can be made. Students are required to register with Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) for disability verification and for determination of reasonable academic accommodations. For more information, visit: http://www.northwestern.edu/disability/

**In order to ensure a safe, respectful and honorable learning environment, the university maintains both an Academic Integrity Policy and a Sexual Harassment Policy. Students have an affirmative responsibility to familiarize themselves with these policies, which can be found at http://www.northwestern.edu/uacc/uniprin.html and http://www.northwestern.edu/sexual-harassment/policy/index.html respectively.

Academic Integrity at Northwestern: Students are expected to comply with University regulations regarding academic integrity. If you are in doubt about what constitutes academic dishonesty, speak to the instructor before the assignment is due and/or examine the University website. Academic dishonesty includes, bit is not limited to cheating on an exam (e.g., taking material from sources without citation, copying another student’s paper). Failure to maintain academic integrity on an assignment will result in a loss of credit for that assignment – at a minimum. Other penalties may also apply. The guidelines for determining academic dishonesty and procedures followed in a suspected incident of academic dishonesty are detailed on the university and school websites. For more information visit: http://www.communication.northwestern.edu/programs/undergraduate/policies_procedur es/academic_integrity/