Wednesday, January 7, 2009

SS Course 2009: Psychological Realism in American Drama

Course 253
Date: 26–30 January
Time: 8.00 pm
Full Price: R270,00 Staff: R135,00 Reduced: R70,00


Psychological Realism in American Drama
Presented by Dr Dana Rufolo, writer, broadcaster, art therapist

This course will explore 20th century American drama by looking at five major playwrights who changed the way we look at theatre. It will focus on the way psychoanalytic theories and the emotional realities of characters are intertwined with experiments in dramatic style. The concept of ‘psychological realism’ will be defined and biographical information offered alongside a focus on the playwrights’ expressed attitude to the use of psychological realism in their plays.
In the first lecture, Nobel Prize winning dramatist Eugene O’Neill’s work will be considered, followed by an exploration of the psycho- logical realism techniques of Tennessee Williams, Edward Albee, Sam Shepard and Tony Kushner. Special attention will be paid to the set of writers – Albee, Williams and Kushner – whose dramatisations of issues of sexual identity interrogate the psychological role of the victim.

LECTURE TITLES

  1. Psychological realism: Eugene O’Neill’s love affair with Freudian psychology.
  2. Tennessee Williams: the victim as heroic and mad.
  3. Edward Albee: the drive towards psychological integration.
  4. Sam Shepard’s theatrical world: the spooky and abnormal.
  5. Tony Kushner’s dramatic forays: shock and consequence.


Recommended reading

  • O’Neill, E. Long Day’s Journey into Night. Yale University Press, 1956.
  • Albee, E. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Penguin Group (USA), 1983.
  • Williams, T. A Streetcar Named Desire. New Directions, 1947.
  • Shepard, S. Buried Child. Dramatists Play Service, 1997.
  • Kushner, T. Angels in America. Theatre Communications Group, 1992. (Or any other editions of the plays.)

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