This course examines the development of the uniquely American theatrical voice, from the early American plays of the late 18th/early 19th centuries through the 20th and into the 21st. The course examines both social and cultural context as well as dramatic structure and use of language. Playwrights may include Anna Cora Mowatt, James Nelson Barker, early O'Neill, Sophie Treadwell, Susan Glaspell, Elmer Rice, Hellman, late O'Neill, Miller, Williams, Odets, Wilder, Hansberry, Shepard, Adrienne Kennedy, Mamet, Kushner, Vogel, Parks, Rivera, and others. |