WGST 250T(F) Women and Theatre: Gender, Sexuality and the Stage (Same as English 253T and Theatre 250T) (W)

THEA 250T(F) Women and Theatre: Gender, Sexuality and the Stage (Same as English 253T and Women and Gender Studies 250T) (W)
This tutorial course will consider the understudied role of women in western theatre-as active subjects, spectators, and authors -focusing on gender identity, sexuality, performativity, and representations of the body on stage and within drama. While the focus of the tutorial will be directed towards the modern period, we will begin by studying the role of women on the English Restoration stage and consider the increasing presence of women as audience members, playwrights, and performers throughout the nineteenth century. Within the modern period, close analysis of plays by Sophie Treadwell, Gertrude Stein, Lillian Hellman, Lorraine Hansberry, Maria Irene Fornes, Caryl Churchill, Adrienne Kennedy, Holly Hughes (WOW Cafe), Wendy Wasserstein, Naomi Iizuka, Suzan-Lori Parks, Eve Ensler, Sarah Kane, Sarah Ruhl, and others, will accompany readings of select gender and performance theory. Attention will be given to the diversity of race and class represented by the women subjects of our study. This tutorial is intended for sophomores and above.
Format: tutorial. Requirements: Students will meet with instructor in pairs for an hour each week; they will write a 5- to 7-page paper every other week (five in all), and comment on their partner's papers in alternate weeks. Emphasis will be placed on developing skills in reading, interpretation, critical argumentation, and critical written and oral response.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 10 (expected: 10). Preference if over-enrolled: Majors in Theatre, English or Women and Gender Studies.
Tutorial meetings to be arranged. HOLZAPFEL