This course offers an in depth exploration of the role of creative producing in professional theater and its relationship to the produced work. Students will cultivate an understanding of the reciprocal relationship between reading and producing plays, reading plays as literature written for production with a detailed appreciation for what production entails. We will explore the critical process of creating work for the stage, both classic and contemporary, and the context in which it is produced. Models of producing, collaboration and dramaturgy will be explored.
Sample reading list:
Peter Brook, The Empty Space
Bathing in Moonlight, Nilo Cruz
Lynn Nottage, Intimate Apparel
Anais Mitchell, Hadestown
Ayad Akhtar, Disgraced
Tarell Alvin McCraney, The Brother/ Sister Plays
See instructor for complete list
Reading/Writing assignments:
120 pages of reading per week (2 plays), one 6-8 page paper, eight 2-page response papers. Final presentation.
Other information:
Professional guest producers, playwrights and directors will join the class at McCarter. Students will be required to attend productions at McCarter and in New York.
