March 30 - April 3

This week I want us to consider the Theatrical History units we have covered thus far in the year. Consider the plays below and locate a PDF of the script online – they are all in the public domain, so it is legal and possible to find digital copies of these texts.
 
Select one play to read; if solitary reading is not for you, FaceTime with a small group of friends, cast the play, and read the play aloud! 
 

• Aeschylus Prometheus Bound
• Sophocles Oedipus the King or Antigone
• Euripedes Medea
• Aristophanes The Birds
• Plautus The Twin Manaechmi
• Terence The Brothers
• Seneca Thyestes
• Calderon Life is a Dream (1636)
• Ben Johnson Volpone (1606)
• Christopher Marlowe Dr. Faustus (1588)
• Moliere Tartuffe (1664)

When finished with the play answer/consider the following questions:

1. How did the play add to your understanding of that period of theatrical history?
2. To what extent does the playwright, theme, structure, or characters embody the perceptions and opinions of the time period?

 
Discuss these questions with classmates as well as debriefing the play itself.
 
Also, the 5th Avenue Theatre will hold (Free) Fridays at the 5th every Friday at 4pm! https://www.5thavenue.org/education/youth You will be able to “attend” workshops hosted by professionals as they engage in vocal and physical theatre clinics! Enjoy!