Archives Into Drama

Undergraduate

A theoretical and practical exploration of the process of creating drama out of the lives of real people.What event(s) in a person’s s life – personal and/or political – might inspire a play? What discovery, crisis, epiphany, or other turning point might grab you enough to bring characters to life and write a script? Using Yale's archives of letters, memoirs, diaries, interviews, ship's logs, articles of clothing, and photographs, students write two monologues, two scenes, and, as a final project, a play to be presented at the end of the semester as a rehearsed reading. Discussion topics include story, plot, suspense, the world of the play, characterization, and secrets. The third class session meets in the Beinecke Library to discuss search methods in the archives and privacy concerns with archived materials. One course in acting, directing, or playwriting; and one reading course in drama (plays and performances) HU RP W 1:30pm-3:25pm