Theatre / English / Interdisciplinary / Women & Gender Studies The Kemble Theatre Dynasty Viewed from a 21st Century Stage Faculty: Ms Megan Burnett, Theatre Program Director - Bellarmine University Assistant Professor Theatre Program in the English Department Course: Credit Hours: 3 Course Levels Offered: Upper Division (300-400 Level) Can this course be taken to fulfill major and minor requirements? YES Can this course be taken to fulfill general elective credit? YES Local Course Designator at Bellarmine University: THEA 300 Multicultural Theatre, or THEA 246 Introductory Special Topics in Theatre, or IDC 300 Prerequisites: NO Description: Explore the world of 19th Century British actors and playwrights by reading their plays, visiting the theatres they built and in which they acted, and exploring what it meant to be an actor before film and television. The men and women of the Kemble family acted, wrote, built and managed theatres in the 18th and 19th centuries in England, Europe and America. Through interactive tours to Drury Lane Theatre, The Royal Theatre, Shakespeare’sGlobe Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, and theatres in London’s West End, develop a complete picture of how the Kemble’s theatrical influence compares to the Redgrave family of actors today. Content: My CCSA course is tentatively titled "The Kemble Theatre Dynasty Viewed from a 21st Century Stage." Students will focus on the following: * 19th Century Theatre * Theatrical genres such as Romanticism, melodrama, well-made plays, Realism and how they are the foundation of today's theatre productions. * Classical plays by works such as Shakespeare, Shelley, Byron, Robertson, the Kembles, Wilde, Shaw, as well as plays by Elizabeth Inchbald, George Eliot, Augusta Webster, and other women playwrights. * The Kemble-Siddons family, more specifically the women of the Kemble-Siddons family. * Students will gain additional insight into this era through visits to the following places: * Theatre Museum, now a part of the Victoria & Albert Museum * Backstage tours of Drury Lane Theatre, The Royal Theatre and Shakespeare's Globe Theatre will offer students direct knowledge of what actors experienced in the 1830's vs the 1890's and how that has evolved into the theatre we see in 2016. * Attend productions at the Royal National Theatres including Drury Lane Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, and other theatres established in the 19th century. * The National Portrait Gallery * The British Museum Why focus on the Kemble family? Roger Kemble was the patriarch of a large, and influential theatrical family who performed in Great Britain, Europe and America, spanning the 18th and 19th centuries, and whose influence is felt even today in the way plays are produced, theatres are run, and how actors, especially female actors, are respected. Two of the most famous women from this theatre clan are Mrs. Sarah Kemble Siddons, known for her portrayal of Shakespeare's women, and Fanny Kemble, her niece. Fanny became known for her acting, her journals, and finally, for her marriage to an American slave owner, Pierce Butler. Her publication, Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation in 1838-1839, became a significant tool in the fight against slavery before and during the American Civil War. The course will explore the types of theatre the Kembles produced, acted in, plays they wrote, famous roles, as well as the building and managing of theatres in London. Fanny Kemble's uncle, John Philip Kemble, arguably one of the best actors in the Kemble male line, built the Covent Garden Theatre in the early 1800's. Her father and uncle presided over the newly rebuilt Covent Garden Theatre when the 'Old Price' riots broke out. Fanny and her father, Charles Kemble, took the American theatre circuit by storm in a tour of the eastern states in the early 1830's. Fanny's sister, Adelaide, who became an opera singer, met and mingled with the highest of European society. Many would compare the Kemble-Siddons family to the Redgraves of the 20th and 21st century. Texts we will use include: * The Kemble era: John Philip Kemble, Sarah Siddons and the London stage Author: Linda Kelly Hardcover: 220 pages Publisher: Random House; 1st American ed edition (1980) Language: English ISBN- 10: 0394410343 ISBN-13: 978-0394410340 * Women in British Romantic Theatre, Drama, Performance, and Society, 1790-1840 Editor: Catherine Burroughs Date Published: January 2007 ISBN: 9780521032438 * The Performing Century: Nineteenth-Century Theatre's History Palgrave Macmillan * Hardback * 271 pages ISBN 0230572561 * Women and Playwriting in Nineteenth-Century Britain Editors: Tracy C. Davis, Northwestern University, Illinois, Ellen Donkin, Hampshire College, Amherst, Massachusetts Date Published: June 1999 ISBN: 9780521659826 Assessment Methods: I will use the following assessment tools in this course: 2 essays at 10% each; two play reviews and weekly journal 25%; final paper/project 30%; participation 25%. I have attached a draft of a syllabus for this course. Once accepted into the CCSA Summer 2016 program, I will determine the Tentative Weekly Schedule for the course, including the tours and theatre performances the students will attend. Course Description Explore the world of 19th Century British actors and playwrights by reading their plays, visiting the theatres they built and in which they acted, and exploring what it meant to be an actor before film and television. The men and women of the Kemble family acted, wrote, built and managed theatres in the 18th and 19th centuries in England, Europe and America. Through interactive tours to Drury Lane Theatre, The Royal 1906 College Heights Blvd – Tate Page Hall Room 104 – Bowling Green, KY 42101 – 270‐745‐4512 – [email protected] Theatre, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, and theatres in London's West End, develop a complete picture of how the Kemble's theatrical influence compares to the Redgrave family of actors today. Students will focus on the following: 19th Century Theatre Theatrical genres such as Romanticism, melodrama, well-made plays, Realism and how they are the foundation of today's theatre productions. Classical plays by works such as Shakespeare, Shelley, Byron, Robertson, the Kembles, Wilde, Shaw, as well as plays by Elizabeth Inchbald, George Eliot, Augusta Webster, and other women playwrights. The Kemble-Siddons family, more specifically the women of the Kemble-Siddons family. Students will gain additional insight into this era through visits to the following places: Theatre Museum, now a part of the Victoria & Albert Museum Backstage tours of Drury Lane Theatre, The Royal Theatre and Shakespeare's Globe Theatre will offer students direct knowledge of what actors experienced in the 1830's vs the 1890's and how that has evolved into the theatre we see in 2016. Attend productions at the Royal National Theatres including Drury Lane Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, and other theatres established in the 19th century. The National Portrait Gallery The British MuseumWhy focus on the Kemble family? Roger Kemble was the patriarch of a large, and influential theatrical family who performed in Great Britain, Europe and America, spanning the 18th and 19th centuries, and whose influence is felt even today in the way plays are produced, theatres are run, and how actors, especially female actors, are respected. Two of the most famous women from this theatre clan are Mrs. Sarah Kemble Siddons, known for her portrayal of Shakespeare's women, and Fanny Kemble, her niece. Fanny became known for her acting, her journals, and finally, for her marriage to an American slave owner, Pierce Butler. Her publication, Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation in 1838-1839, became a significant tool in the fight against slavery before and during the American Civil War. The course will explore the types of theatre the Kembles produced, acted in, plays they wrote, famous roles, as well as the building and managing of theatres in London. Fanny Kemble's uncle, John Philip Kemble, arguably one of the best actors in the Kemble male line, built the Covent Garden Theatre in the early 1800's. Her father and uncle presided over the newly rebuilt Covent Garden Theatre when the 'Old Price' riots broke out. Fanny and her father, Charles Kemble, took the American theatre circuit by storm in a tour of the eastern states in the early 1830's. Fanny's sister, Adelaide, who became an opera singer, met and mingled with the highest of European society. Many would compare the Kemble-Siddons family to the Redgraves of the 20th and 21st century. Learning Outcomes and Assessment Strategies [From Bellarmine University Course Catalogue 2014.] Bellarmine General Education Objective How this objective will be demonstrated Comparative understanding of the world's peoples, place, and cultures. Place works studied in this class within other influential dramatic and cultural works from the U.S., the Americas, Europe, and the rest of the world. Through class discussions and research students will compare and contrast people and cultures different from their own experiences. This knowledge will be used in class discussions, response papers, and creative projects. Familiarity with forms and creative processes in literature and the arts. Students will attend plays off campus learning more about all forms of theatre. Class discussions, class readings, and discussions with industry professionals will expand students' knowledge of theatre history and its literature. Critical thinking skills. Communicate artistically and conceptually in written and verbal forms about the theatre arts. Apply acquired intellectual and critical skills in textual analyses and scholarly research. Facility in oral and written communication. Students will write reviews of plays seen off campus. Discuss, present and apply theatrical concepts and skills through group and creative presentations in class. Course Methodology: Students will be asked to examine work of the Kemble family of actors, the theatres they operated, and the plays they produced.