Paper #3: Final Project Proposal

Your third paper is a kind of ‘abstract’ to your Final Project, suggesting what you might want to do, or explore, in that larger assignment (see that assignment below). Since the final project will focus on the modernization and performance of a single play, I want you to choose ONE of the four plays from this class to focus on. Imagine which play you would most like to see performed in a modern production, and which of the four you think a modern audience would most benefit from seeing live.

The Proposal should do three things, and can be much more informal than the typical English paper: 

1.       Explain why you think this play is the best candidate for a modern production: why you think the audience needs to see it, or why the play is underappreciated or could expand our notion of Shakespeare’s writing.

2.       Suggest an alternative (more modern) setting for the play that makes sense to an audience. Instead of Ephesus or Athens, for example, why not Las Vegas or Cancun? Or a historical period, such as 1930’s Chicago (gangsters) or Studio 54 in the 70’s (in NYC). Explain why this setting (with its appropriate costumes) would help your audience see the characters and the comedy that Shakespeare intended.

3.       Identify 2 or 3 potential “problem scenes” in the play. But “problem,” I’m referring to scenes where you think the audience would have trouble with the content, the language, the characters, or some other element (is it sexist? Racist? Too confusing?). It doesn’t have to be the entire scene, necessarily, but explain why a specific passage might have to be changed, adapted, edited, or cut slightly. You can’t re-write lines, but you can adapt them (delete lines, remove a character, combine characters, etc.). Be SPECIFIC. Don’t just say that something is too confusing or too sexist; explain why and where you see it. You don’t have to offer elaborate changes, but suggest how you might approach it.

For this assignment, you don’t have to use any secondary sources, but think about Bevis’ ideas throughout. I’m only interested in seeing you talk shop here: tell me the what, why, and where of each play. And that’s it. However, the more thought you put into this assignment, the easier the final project will be. No page limit, but this due IN-CLASS ON TUESDAY, APRIL 13^th. This will be our primary focus in class that week, and I’ll give you a break from the reading/questions/videos.