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How a Play Is Produced (It’s a
Miracle!) |
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Making It
Real
Actors, playwrights, and directors aren’t
the only creative forces in a stage production. Lighting, costume, and set
designers are equally important. Visit The International Theater Design
Archive to see how these artists work above, between, and behind the
scenes to create real spaces where anything can happen.
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The History of American Drama: The Caboose
of Literature |
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Polarizing
Plays
Stepping inside a theater to become a
member of its audience isn’t quite the same as curling up at home with a
book. Events on the stage have been known to inspire action in the
streets. Visit the Library of Congress to learn how the Federal Theater
Project of the 1930s stirred audiences and angered
Congress.
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Realism and Eugene O’Neill: Putting American
Drama on the Map |
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Eugene
O’Neill
Expelled from Princeton, Eugene O’Neill
became a gold prospector in Honduras, then a sailor on a transatlantic
liner, and later a vaudeville actor. Finally, he decided to write a play.
To hear him tell it, you’d think it was the most natural path one could
take to become a Nobel Laureate. Visit The Nobel Foundation to read
O’Neill’s autobiographical essay.
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Arthur Miller: Playwright of Our Social
Conscience |
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The American Dream:
Buyer Beware!
Arthur Miller’s plays explore the
impact that society has on his characters’ lives. From The Crucible
to Death of a Salesman, Miller shows his audiences that shared
social ideals can sometimes lead people to make dangerous moral
compromises. Meet the playwright in this 1983 interview and find out why
he insists that great plays can help to make us more
civilized.
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Tennessee Williams: Playwright of Our
Souls |
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The Complexity of a
Real Character
His brand of realism may seem
colorful and extreme, but that’s not surprising since Tennessee Williams
endured his own colorful and extreme reality—his family. Visit the
Hippodrome State Theater to learn about the playwright’s tumultuous life.
Then, check out Tandy vs. Tennessee and read along as Williams and actress
Jessica Tandy discuss the two worlds inhabited by a single
character.
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The Revolt Against Realism: Theater of
Fragmentation |
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Master of the
Absurd
Before he visited their school, most
drama students at Cherry Hill High Schools East and West knew very little
about playwright Edward Albee. But ninety minutes after he appeared in
their classroom, the students were swooning at his feet. Visit
Philadelphia Online to learn how the master of Absurdism captivated the
hearts and minds of these aspiring drama students.
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