Course syllabus
English 109:
Drama on Stage and Screen (15 points), 2017
Image: Mr Burns, a post-electric play by Anne Washburn, Playwrights Horizon Theatre, New York, 2013. Photo: Joan Marcus
Staff:
Convenor:
Dr Emma Willis (Rm 639 in Arts One Bldg 206, Phone: 3737599 ext 82254, email: emma.willis@auckland.ac.nz ).
Guests:
Dr Margaret Henley
Dr Selina Marsh
Professor Tom Bishop
James Wenley
Tutoring Staff:
Dr Emma Willis. Office hours Wednesday 12-1, room 639.
Nicholas Sturgess-Monks. Office hours Tuesday 10-11, room 304 Arts One.
Lecture Times:
Monday 2-3, 401-401 (Engineering Block 1, Room 401)
Wednesday 2-3, 401-401 (Engineering Block 1, Room 401)
Tutorial Times:
Monday, 3-4,
WEEKS 1-2, Arts One, room 210, Emma Willis
WEEK 3 onwards Arts 1, Room 325, Drama Studio, Emma Willis
Tuesday 9-10, Arts 1, Room 325, Drama Studio, Nicholas Sturgess-Monks
Tuesday 12-1, Arts 1, Room 325, Drama Studio, Nicholas Sturgess-Monks
Tuesday 1-2, Arts 1, Room 325, Drama Studio, Nicholas Sturgess-Monks
Wednesday, 3-4, Fale - Office Building, Rm 104, Emma Willis
Course content and aims:
In this course we 'read' plays and films for their own sake, in other words as individual texts. But the overall aim of the course is to discover, through close reading of these texts, some wider knowledge of the structures and conventions of drama as they are manifested in the modes of stage (the theatre) and film (the cinema). We move through texts with reasonable rapidity. We will study seven plays and nine films in fifteen weeks. Some of these are stage and film versions of the same drama. Some of these are dramas that have only a stage or a film version. But they are all dramas. Drama is the heart of all our study. Not all stage performance is dramatic (eg. concerts, cabaret etc) nor is all film dramatic (eg. documentary, news). In looking at drama, at what it is and how it works, we look at issues such as dramatic structure, genre, audience relationship, representation, acting versus reality, self-presentation and gender. We will also consider the questions of 'translation' and 'adaptation,' particularly in relation to film and stage versions of the same drama. Another important part of our reading will be the relationship between text and performance. There will be opportunities for students to perform, in lectures, scenes from the texts we study in lectures.
Learning outcomes:
By attending lectures and tutorials, and completing coursework and assessments to a passing level, by the the end of the course you will be able to:
- Identify, describe and analyse the principles of drama
- Compare and contrast the dramatic elements of stage and screen dramas
- Compare and contrast different dramatic styles and genres
- Employ the basic technical language of dramatic technique for stage and screen
Expected workload:
The expected workload for this course is 10 hours per week, including lectures, tutorials, readings/screenings and assignments.
Public performances of dramas taught in English 109:
You are strongly encouraged both to take part in and to see as much live theatre as possible. The shows below are particularly relevant to our course:
A Streetcar Named Desire
SiLO Theatre
Directed by Shane Bosher
24 August - 16 September, Q Theatre, Queen St
http://silotheatre.co.nz/a-streetcar-named-desire
Drama 204 Production
Directed by Andrew Foster
Thursday-Sunday, 21, 22, 23, 24 September
Drama Studio, Auckland University
List of Plays and Films for study:
Plays:
Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, The World of Extreme Happiness
Anne Washburn, Mr Burns: A Post Electric Play
Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire
Andrea Dunbar, the Arbor (excerpts provided online)
Robin Soans, A State Affair (excerpts provided online)
William Shakespeare. A Midsummer Night’s Dream
No. 2, Toa Fraser
Albert Belz, Awhi Tapu
These texts can be purchased from the University Bookshop. They can also be borrowed from the University Library or read in the short-loan collection. Some texts are available as e-books via the UoA Library. Please check online. Please make sure you have read the text before coming to the lecture or the tutorial on that text.
Films:
Adaptation, dir. Spike Jonze
A Streetcar Named Desire dir. Elia Kazan
The Arbor, dir. Cleo Barnard
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (various)
No. 2, dir. Toa Fraser
Awhi Tapu, dir. Tammy Davis
The Orator, dir. Tusi Tamasese
The Audio-Visual Library holds each of the films in the course on desk copy. If you miss the screening or are unable to attend at the set screening time, then you can watch the film in the A/V Library. And you can use the A/V Library to watch a film for a second or third time or to look at a section of the film. To watch a film, cite the title of the film and the course number to a librarian at the desk. Films must be watched in the library and cannot be taken out of the library. Please make sure you have watched the film before coming to the lecture or the tutorial on that film.
Teaching Format:
The course will be taught in three kinds of classes:
- Lectures: Here (mostly) you will be audience and the teachers will be the performers. Lectures are not there to provide you with ‘the answers.’ The answers you write in the readings responses and the test and the essay and the exam are your answers. The function of lectures is much more to provide you with questions; and also to provide you with background, context, and perspective on the text and its relation to stage and/or screen drama. It is from this material that you can construct your argument in writing your own answer. Though lectures are large and impersonal, audience participation in the form of questions is welcome. We will endeavour to stage a number of scenes from the plays we study inside the lecture format. If you are interested in performing, please let Murray Edmond or your tutor know. You will be notified about auditions for these performances. The lectures will make a lot more sense to you if YOU HAVE READ THE TEXT BEFORE THE LECTURE. Please make sure you do the reading/watching!
- Tutorials: In the smaller tutorial classes you have a chance to take the stage. The active presentation of your thoughts makes for lively tutorial classes. Again, coming to tutorial having read the text makes a positive difference. Your tutor will mark your essay and test and will be your first stop for advice and information. You will have TEN tutorials during the semester. There will be NO tutorial in week six and NO tutorial in the ninth week of semester, which is the week the essay/creative project is due.
Lecture Schedule:
Week One: 24-28 July
Mon: Introduction and World of Extreme Happiness (E. Willis)
Weds: Extreme Happiness (E. Willis)
Tutorials begin in week one!
Week Two: 31 July - 4 August
Mon: Extreme Happiness (E. Willis)
Weds: Mr Burns (E. Willis)
Watch: The Simpsons, Season 5, episode "Cape Feare"
Week Three: 7-11 Aug
Mon: Mr Burns (E. Willis)
Weds: Test
Watch: Adaptation
Week Four: 14-18 August
Mon: Adaptation (M.Henley)
Weds: Adaptation (M.Henley)
Watch: A Streetcar Named Desire
Week Five: 21-25 August
Mon: A Streetcar Named Desire (E. Willis)
Weds: A Streetcar Named Desire (E. Willis)
Watch: The Arbor
Week Six: 28 August - 1 September
Mon: The Arbor/A State Affair (E. Willis)
Weds: The Arbor (E. Willis)
*No tutorials this week (except for Emma's Wednesday class)
Essay/creative project proposal due 1 September
Mid-semester break Monday 4 September – Sun 17 September
Week Seven: 18-22 September
Mon: Drama 204 Production lecture and excerpt (Andrew Foster)
Weds: Main assignment in-lecture workshop (you will have received your mini assignments back before this workshop)
Watch: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Drama 204 Production
Week Eight: 25-29 September
Mon: Shakespeare’s Theatre (T.Bishop)
Weds: Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (T.Bishop)
Week Nine: 2-6 October
Mon: Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (T.Bishop)
Weds: Main assignment final Q & A in lecture (E. Willis)
No tutorial this week
Essay/creative project due Friday 6th October
Week Ten: 9-13 October
Mon: No. 2 (J. Wenley)
Weds: No. 2 (J. Wenley)
Watch: Awhi Tapu
Week Eleven: 16 October-20 October
Mon: Awhi Tapu (E. Willis)
Weds: Awhi Tapu (E. Willis)
Watch: The Orator
Week Twelve: 23-27 October
Mon: Labour Day, no lecture or tutorial
Weds:The Orator (S. Marsh)
Assessment:
Note: The texts which you write about in your ESSAY or CREATIVE PROJECT cannot be written about for answers in the examination. You may repeat texts from the test.
Note, too, that each pairing of a play and of a film based on that play counts as ONE TEXT. Therefore, you may not write, for example, on A Streetcar Named Desire the play in one question and then on A Streetcar Named Desire the film in another. Nor may you write a comparative essay in Section A of the exam on, for example, A Streetcar Named Desire the play and A Streetcar Named Desire the film and count these as two different texts.
Coursework, 50%
- Participation 10%
Participation will be based on attendance, participation in class discussions and activities, and may include pop quizzes based on course texts.
- Test in Class 15% Wednesday 9 August
This test will be held in the lecture room during the lecture hour. The test will consist of short answer questions related to The World of Extreme Happiness and Mr Burns. Questions will cover specific aspects of the texts that were discussed in lectures. You will be given further detail about the test closer to the time.
- Essay 5% + 20% 1,500 words
Proposal due week 6: Friday 1 Sept 4pm
Essay due week 9: Friday 6th Oct 4pm
You will have a choice of the following options
A review of either A Streetcar Named Desire or The Drama 204 production
OR an essay on a topic about ONE of the following texts
- Adaptation
- A Streetcar Named Desire
- The Arbor
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
OR a creative writing task involving writing a scene for the stage that extends the drama of either The World of Extreme Happiness, A Streetcar Named Desire or A Midsummer Night’s Dream
OR writing a short verbatim play
OR A video trailer of 1 minute - 90 seconds for a hypothetical stage production of either: A State Affair or The Arbor, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Mr Burns or The World of Extreme Happiness
OR working in a group to stage a scene from either The World of Extreme Happiness, Mr Burns, A Streetcar Named Desire or A Midsummer Night's Dream
Examination: 2 hours, 3 questions 50%
Section A: ONE Comparative Essay, addressing a topic in relation to two or more texts.
The topics will be pre-announced: they will be distributed in the final week of teaching.
50% of exam
Section B: TWO answers, each on an individual play or film or play and related film.
In some cases the question may be a close analysis of a selected passage.
Each 25% of exam
NB: In the exam you cannot write on the text you wrote on for your essay or creative project.
* * *
Preparation and Presentation of Essay
- You should consult the English Department's A Guide for Writing Essays in preparing and writing your essay. The Guide can be found on CECIL under “Resources”.
- All assignments should be written with keyboard on A4 paper.
- Leave a margin at least 5cm wide on the left-hand side of each page.
- Write on one side of the paper only, as this makes reading and responding easier.
- Use wide spacing between lines.
Handing in Assignments
- ALWAYS keep a copy of your assignment.
- Fold your essay lengthwise inside an ENGLISH 109 cover sheet and attach to cover sheet. Fill in all the information requested on the cover sheet. You will be required to sign a declaration that there is no element of plagiarism in your work.
- Deposit your essay in the assigned place in the Arts Assignment Centre near the Arts Students Centre in the Social Sciences building.
- Assignments must also be deposited electronically on Turnitin.com – Instructions will be given on the Essay Assignment sheet. Essays will not be marked unless they are submitted to Turnitin.
Extensions & Penalties for late submission of assignments
Extensions will be granted only in exceptional circumstances and must be requested in advance of the due date from your tutor, preferably well in advance. A medical certificate may be required, and should certainly be supplied if an essay is late without prior arrangement. Those granted extensions will be given an approval form to attach to their essays.
Essays are expected to demonstrate competence in spelling, grammar and punctuation. You must reference all sources you quote and these citations must be accompanied by a bibliography of texts cited at the end of the essay. (For guidance see A Guide for Writing Essays which will be available on CECIL under Resources.) Failure to fulfil these requirements will affect grades.
Tuakana Arts Undergraduate Mentoring Programme:
http://www.arts.auckland.ac.nz/sites/index.cfm?S=M_TUAKANA
The aim of the Tuakana Arts Undergraduate Mentoring Programme is to provide a mentoring service that assists first year students to achieve to their full academic potential. This programme is for Maori and Pacific students and all other students who think they would benefit from working in a collaborative study environment.
The Tuakana mentor is Maria Sopoaga. She can be reached at: m.sopoaga@auckland.ac.nz or mmas812@aucklanduni.ac.nz
For information about applications for aegrotat or compassionate consideration:
(http://www.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/for/currentstudents/academiclife/aegrotatinfo.cfm)
Plagiarism:
The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting his or her learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the world-wide web. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against electronic source material using computerised detection mechanisms. Upon reasonable request, students may be required to provide an electronic version of their work for computerised review.
Complaint procedures
(http://www.ausa.auckland.ac.nz/wave/grievance.html)
Course summary:
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