Module Five: DISCUSSION TWO
ANTIGONE by Sophocles
Discussion Prompt (see rubric for assessment values)
IMPORTANT: Before we begin, know that according to MLA rules, play titles are ITALICIZED not put in quotes
See syllabus for submission requirements.
Discuss your opinions of Antigone and be truthful. Be specific in your reasons for liking or disliking it (include your thoughts on the CHORUS’ significance).
How would you describe the hypokrites in this play?
Who is the protagonist and antagonist and why?
Who did you feel empathy or sympathy for and why?
Discuss the reasons why this play is PRO-democracy ANTI-monarchy and use a scene as your reference. (Feel free to embed video clips and/or images from the production.)
Why do you think Sophocles would write something like this?
What influence might this play have on its observers both then and now?
•••PART TWO •••
Module Four: DISCUSSION ONE
I DO, YOU DIE by Carrie McCrossen
IMPORTANT! Before you read your discussion prompt, something to consider…
Theatre is so much more than entertainment. Like all legitimate art, social and human significance is what the informed critic looks for in terms of relevance.
In the 10-minute play, I Do, You Die, the literal presentation reveals a heated argument between a husband and wife. However, plays are so much more than just their superficial content. When watching this play, students are encouraged to reach for the bigger meaning; asking how does this play serve a broader topic metaphorically or allegorically? However, hereinafter, we will only focus on metaphors and not allegories.
The same is true of film. For instance, some might know that Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back is a metaphor for fascism or more specifically the Third Reich and the Nazi party. Compounding that metaphor, are the art designers’ aesthetic uses of visual metaphors. For instance the color palette for Darth Vader’s Death Star is red, white, and black, inspired by the colors of the Nazi flag (for more on this, please see the power-point, “Theatre as an Art Form”).
These are subtle details that make the film politically relevant (despite the fact that it takes place “in a galaxy, far, far away”) and elevates the production value. Playwrights like Bertolt Brecht and Samuel Beckett are well-known for their abilities to write metaphorically (more on them later in the course).
Remember, though, that aesthetic significance refers to anything we can see and/or hear on that stage.
Lastly, it is important to clearly define the terms protagonist and antagonist for the purposes of future discussions.
The protagonist is the lead character, that drives, the story, that experiences a journey or change of thought and/or heart. Not always a good guy–think Scrooge in A Christmas Carol.
The antagonist is the lead character that challenges the protagonist’s stasis (or way of being), disrupting them, creating conflict that in turn fosters drama.
Social significance trumps human significance. The character’s behaviors are fundamentally influenced by their environment, but informed theatre critics should shy away from asserting society is an antagonist. In dramatic literature, we assume this to be a given. The antagonist should be another human being. The caveat to this rule is the one-person show, in which case the idea that (hu)man vs him/herself is acceptable.
DISCUSSION PROMPT (see rubrics for assessment values)
IMPORTANT: Before we begin, know that according to MLA rules, play titles are ITALICIZED not put in quotes…
See syllabus for submission requirements.
Discuss your opinions of I Do, You Die and be truthful. Be specific in your reasons for liking or disliking it.
Discuss who you think the protagonist and antagonist is and why?
Explain how the characters’ blocking choices created dynamics (i.e. tension, compassion, etc.)?
(Feel free to embed video clips and/or images from the production.)
Why do you think the bowl is red? Could this be symbolic?
Discuss the social significance of the institutional ‘rules’ of marriage. Patriarchy?
How does the social significance effect the human significance of the characters? Attitudes?
How is this play a metaphor for a larger social issue?
Why do these actors as storytellers depend on an audience for the success or failure of this production?
Lastly, how would you describe yourself; casual observer or informed critic? Why?
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