Theatre History: American Theatre

Catalog description

Survey of American drama and theatre from the colonial period to the present. THEA 405 Theatre History - American Theatre is a course that introduces students to the rich history of American theatre from the colonial era to today. Each week plays and supporting materials become the focus of conversations about the intersections of race, gender, class, religion, and art. Early plays from the colonial and post-colonial years reveal the peculiar love/hate relationship between colonists and theatre. After the Revolutionary War plays become the rallying cry as the new nation attempts to forge an identity separate from and equal to Europe. In the decades that follow theatre provides a voice to previously silent Americans: women, former slaves, immigrants, and non-Christians. The course culminates in the present with readings of the three most recent Pulitzer Prize winning plays and discussion of their impact. This is a Writing-Intensive course.