The Group Presentation Assignment: Shakespearean Dramaturgy

The OED defines a dramaturgy as “Dramatic composition; the dramatic art.”  Though this term historically meant a playwright, it has come to mean someone who translates a playwright’s ideas to a theatrical company prior to performance.  This scholar uses historical research, as well as performance and character histories to help the actors interpret (and re-interpret) classic roles for a modern audience.  In our class of “Global Shakepeares,” your role is to read and study another Shakespearean play and figure out how to do just that—make Shakespeare live for a new generation of ‘groundlings.’  How can you use your English major know-how to penetrate the layers of language and history to give us a new, postmodern, postcolonial, post 9/11 Shakespeare?  And as always, how modern should we go?  What balance should we strike between respecting the text and challenging established traditions? 

In your group, I will ask you to create an “approach” to staging this play.  By approach I mean a framework for seeing/understanding the play and making it live for an audience that might not get Shakespeare.  This could be changing the setting (19^th century Japan?), highlighting some aspect of the play (anti-semitism?) or simply underscoring a tone or feel of the play (comedy? Tragi-comedy?  Satire?).  You will collaboratively present this reading to us in the last two weeks of class and give us food for thought when we ‘stage’ this play in our own heads—or venture to teach it ourselves in the classroom.

Before you do all of this, you need to take the following steps:

• Read the play in question: since you are in groups of 3, you don’t all necessarily have to read it; one person could read it and use this knowledge in the overall collaboration and help with close readings, character illustrations, and other textual details
• Watch at least one modern (post 1980) production: on the blog post for each of your plays, I will suggest versions to watch and give links to productions on-line.  The more ‘global’ the production, the better.  Shakespeare in other languages is also acceptable. 
• Read 2-3 scholarly articles (from JSTOR, etc.) on the play; again, someone in your group could do this reading and report back with detailed notes that will help your conception.  Interviews on-line are also acceptable, as long as they are from authoritative sources.

THE PRESENTATION

When you present before the class, you should give a 15-20 minute presentation that presents most of the following information:

• A brief synopsis of the play
• Your basic idea/approach to making this a ‘global’ production
• A close reading of a scene or two to establish how this would work
• A clip from a modern production to show either your ideas in action, or perhaps what you want to avoid, or simply what could happen in this play
• Any historical, linguistic, or theoretical ideas that can help us appreciate your approach; you can show us these through handouts, powerpoints/Prezis, etc. 
• A bibliography of sources and productions you consulted for the class (a handout)

Remember, this is a group project not because I like group projects (they can be a pain in the ass!) but because this is a big task.  It’s not fair to make one person do all of this (well, I had to do it in grad school, but it was all we had to do for the entire semester!).  Try to split up the work, help one another, discuss ideas often, and come to a real consensus of what the play can do.  You don’t necessarily have to agree, and you can suggest disagreement in your presentation, but do offer a unified vision of how you might stage this play.  I am available for help at any time this semester, and will give you materials on the blog to get you started.  I’ll also check in with you periodically to make sure you’re moving along.  Good luck and enjoy this process!  By the end of it you will be a mini-expert on this play and may be tempted to stage it yourself!