This course will focus on the lifetime achievement of one of the nation’s greatest playwrights, Christopher Durang, who will be participating in the class as the inaugural Roger S. Berlind ’52 Playwright-in-Residence. We’ll focus on Durang’s writing and rehearsal process, the writers who have meant most to him, the joys and pains of theatrical collaboration, and the perils of writing comedy with a satiric edge.
Sample reading list:
Durang, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
Durang, The Marriage of Bette and Boo
Durang, For Whom The Southern Belle Tolls
Durang, Why Torture is Wrong and the People Who Love Them
Durang, Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All To You
Durang, The Actor’s Nightmare
Reading/Writing assignments:
Two plays each week, plus ancillary critical reading. Grading basis of 20% ‘Other’: Weekly Blackboard Discussion Entries of 250-300 words
Other information:
Mr. Durang will be a weekly presence in the seminar. A Tony and OBIE Award-winning Playwright, he will share with the class information about his writing process, his production history, and his sometimes parallel career as a performer – on stage, on television and in film
