Unit 5: American Drama & Realism

OBJECTIVES:
● To explore the history and purpose of theatre in American society
● To become familiar with prominent American playwrights and plays
● To practice script analysis, research, and writing skills
● To develop, rehearse, and perform scenes using the Stella Adler approach of using Objectives, Obstacles, and
Tactics

COMPONENTS AND TIMELINE:

History of American Drama and Script Analysis Paper
Monday, March 5: Discussion on the purpose of theatre and drama, reflecting on the Wayne State
presentation from February 28. Introduce the idea of social commentary.
Wednesday, March 7: Presentation - history of American Drama and its prominent playwrights.
Discussions on groundbreaking plays and ideas explored by Pulitzer and Tony award
winning playwrights.
Thursday, March 8: Review keys of script analysis. Introduce SOAPStone in context of script
analysis. Students will continue reading and taking notes on their script as they
prepare to write their analytical research paper on the play.
Friday, March 9: Partner work - finish reading the script. Begin researching more about the
playwright, the play, and any noteworthy productions. Add these to your SOAPS
notes.

Script Analysis Research Paper

● Students will write a 4-5 page research and analysis paper on a script of their choice written by a prominent
American author.
● Students will research the life of the playwright, the background and history of the play, and any notable
productions of that play on or off Broadway or on film.
● Students will use the SOAPStone method to organize their essay, focusing on:
Speaker: students should start their essay by talking about the playwright (use your research)
Occasion: what prompted the playwright to write this play? (use your research)
Audience: who was the playwrights intended audience? (use your research)
Subject/Purpose: What was the playwright talking about? What is the plot of the show? What
broader social themes or problems is the playwright trying to explore? Why is the
playwright talking about these issues (should connect back to the Occasion).
Tone/Mood: How was the playwright addressing the issue? Were they being comedic or
serious or both? What mood and tone were they trying to get their audience to feel?
Why? How does the way they wrote this play impact the audience?
Production History: When did the show first open? What was the production like? How did this
play do? Did it win any awards? Why? Did the intended audience like it? Did
the audience understand the subject and the purpose?
● Essay MUST be typed in MLA format using GOOGLE DOCS and SHARED with Mrs. Josephson
● Essay MUST include a Works Cited page
● Students should use at least 6 legitimate sources in writing this essay.

ROUGH DRAFT will be due on WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21.

 FINAL DRAFT will be due on THURSDAY, MARCH 29.
March 12 - March 19: Students will use the computer labs to research their play and playwright and
begin typing their rough draft. They will also review the elements of MLA format,
properly citing sources, and basic essay structure.

Wednesday, March 21: Discussion on what we have learned from our research so far into American
Drama. What issues are the playwrights trying to bring up? What about society
prompted them to write their plays? Introduce the idea of realism in acting. American
Drama is about real people with real problems in our society, so as actors we need to
treat our characters as authentically as possible. Introduce Stella Adler and Objective,
Obstacle, Tactic.
March 22 and 23: Objective, Obstacle, Tactic exercises - bus stop, A/B scenes, scenes from a hat

March 26 and 28: Students will be in the computer lab to finish working on their final drafts.

Thursday, March 29: Final drafts due. Students will spend today choosing a scene to perform from
their play. We will discuss what makes a good dramatic scene.

MARCH 30 - APRIL 8 -- SPRING BREAK

American Drama Scene Rehearsal & Performance

Students will use class time starting April 9 until April 30 to rehearse their scenes from classic American
Dramas. The scenes MUST be approved by Mrs. Josephson. Students will work on finding Objectives,
Obstacles and Tactics for their scenes as well as completing a character analysis assignment for their scene.

● Scenes need to be memorized by April 20.

● On April 20, 23, and 25, Mrs. Josephson will be coming around to the various groups to watch a dress
rehearsal and give feedback and direction.

During this period, students will be graded on their use of rehearsal time, their ability to take and follow
directions and feedback, and their written work.

Final Performances will begin on Wednesday, May 2.

Students will be graded on performance skills including: projection, memorization, movement and
blocking, clarity of Objective, Obstacle and Tactics, varying emotional levels, energy, and overall
believability of the character and scene.

Monday, April 9 - Monday, April 30: In class rehearsal time for American Drama scenes.

Friday, April 20, Monday, April 23, & Wednesday, April 25: Individual dress rehearsals

Michigan Theatre Standards:

Perform: ART. T. I. HS
Create: ART. T. II. HS. 2
Analyze: ART. T. III. HS. 1; ART. T. III. HS. 2; ART. T. III. HS. 7;
Analyze in Context: ART. IV. HS. 1; ART. IV. HS. 2; ART. IV. HS. 3;