History of Theatre

DOUBLE SPACED. SHOW WORD COUNT FOR EACH ANSWER. HARD COPY ONLY.

NO LATE PAPERS ACCEPTED. Please put papers in my mailbox outside rm 119.

THIS EXAM IS OPEN BOOK. YOU CAN DISCUSS QUESTIONS WITH OTHERS AS MUCH AS YOU LIKE UNTIL YOU BEGIN WRITING. WRITE IN YOUR OWN WORDS. IF YOU QUOTE, USE QUOTATIONS MARKS AND CITE SOURCE IN BODY OF THE TEXT IN MLA FORMAT.

This exam has TWO parts for a total of 100 points:
Part One=40 points; Part Two=60 points.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PART ONE: Choose ONE quote to unpack.
Write a 400-word essay; DOUBLE SPACED:
● Identify the play, who is speaking AND to whom.
● Discuss the meaning of the quote in detail; especially show how the quote reinforces the play’s thematic concerns and intentions of the playwright.

Quote 1
RAPPACCINI: Child! Why have you abandoned me?

Quote 2
CLIVE: I think another drink, and send for the children, and isn’t that Harry riding down the hill? Wave, wave. Just in time before dark. Cuts it fine, the blighter. Always a hothead, Harry.
BETTY: Can he see us?
CLIVE: Stand further forward. He’ll see your white dress. There, he waved back.
BETTY: Do you think so? I wonder what he saw. Sometimes sunset is so terrifying. I can’t bear to look.
CLIVE: It makes me proud. Elsewhere in the Empire the sun is rising.
BETTY: Harry looks so small on the hillside.

Quote 3
THE ACTOR PLAYING HAMLET: I force open my sealed flesh. I want to dwell in my veins, in the marrow of my bones, in the maze of my skull. I retreat into my entrails.”

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PART TWO: Choose ONE from the three below.
Write a 600-word essay; DOUBLE SPACED; show word-count:
● Start with a strong thesis statement; write complete sentences; check and double check for spelling and grammar errors; use paragraphs.
● Italicize the Titles of plays and books (e.g. Theatre Histories or Endgame).
● USE 3 VERY SHORT QUOTES from your two textbooks or from the plays we have read.
o Quotes must be placed within the body of the essay.
o NO LONG QUOTES ALLOWED.

CHOOSE ONLY ONE:
Choice 1
Make a case that Cloud Nine is attempting to liberate not only the characters, but also the art form of theatre itself.
● A successful essay will define terms; cite evidence from the play, your textbooks and class lecture about feminist theatre; and show reasons you have for your conclusions.
Choice 2
Defend the statement that HAMLETMACHINE uses Shakespeare’s Hamlet as a referent, but is otherwise allusive and indirect.
● A successful essay will defend this claim using evidence from the play, your textbooks, and Sarah Holguin’s lecture. Carefully define all terms and show the reasons you have for your conclusions.
Choice 3
In an interview in 1995, Octavio Paz stated that Rappaccini’s Daughter “combines two traditions which are both very different and at the same time have points of contact: the Japanese Noh theatre and the Spanish auto sacramental.”
● Analyze Paz’s statement, using evidence from the play, your textbooks, class lectures, and other plays you may have read in the Noh and auto sacramental traditions, examples of which are in Worthen. Define your terms and show reasons for drawing your conclusions.

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