The Casebook and The World of the Play

Objective

Students will identify “The World of the Play” by preparing a brief list of 15-20 items from their selected one-act plays as research possibilities for their casebooks.

 

Materials Needed

Casebook and World of Play Handout
Casebook Example – Casebook Example.Mockingbird
Make 11×8 posters of the following pairs of words/phrases:
Title page Contains playwright’s and dramaturg’s names and an image
Table of contents Lists items in the casebook
Playwright bio Born/died, other works
Short articles Source material
Glossary Definitions of unusual/obscure terms
Bibliography Reference list

 

Lesson Directions

 

Anticipatory Set/Hook

Review/assessment: Students will turn in a copy of their completed glossaries.

 

Instruction

1. Introduce the Casebook
Ask the following: What is something the dramaturgical casebook can give a production team and cast? [Answer (prompt a response if needed): Context; structure; a story in a form that can be acted.]
o Show a dramaturgical casebook and explain its contents. [Examples of some contents for this section are included at the end of this lesson, but in an actual classroom a real casebook would be shown.]
o A dramaturgical casebook will contain the following [define and clarify during discussion; a copy of this list will be handed out to each student]:
· A title page; first page of the casebook; contains the title of play, an image, playwright’s name, and dramaturg’s name (Show examples from a casebook created for To Kill a Mockingbird, a play the students will have already read in the first unit of this class.)
· A table of contents [show example]; lists the items that are included in the casebook in the order they appear. Uses capitalization appropriately.
· Brief playwright biography: contains important information about the playwright: when he/she wrote this play, when born/died, other works; ½ – 1 page and an image if available [show example].
· 8-12 short articles/other items pertaining to the play [show examples of a few articles]; some images may be included, but images by themselves do not count toward the 8-12 items; these articles are not original writings, but source material–gathered from the internet, books, magazines, programs from other productions–to give information to a production company about a play; some articles may need to be cut down. Use the world of the play [introduced in next section of this lesson] to guide ideas. Look for variety! What would you want to know if you were an actor/director/designer about this play? Let your curiosity guide you.
· The glossary: definitions of obscure/unusual terms in the play [already turned in]
· The bibliography: a reference list of where materials in the casebook originally were found [show example].
o Be sure to point out: A professional casebook is usually 150-200 pages. The format of a printed casebook is standard in the theatre industry; the contentsof each play’s casebook, of course, will vary.
Review/assessment: Students will identify and describe the main parts of a dramaturgical casebook by playing a matching game.
Matching game: Make 11×8 posters of the following pairs of words/phrases:
Title page Contains playwright’s and dramaturg’s names and an image
Table of contents Lists items in the casebook
Playwright bio Born/died, other works
Short articles Source material
Glossary Definitions of unusual/obscure terms
Bibliography Reference list
Use magnets or tape to put cards facedown at random on the whiteboard [or place on floor facedown]. Place students in two groups (split the room, boys against girls, count off 1s and 2s, etc.). Teams will take turns sending one student to turn pairs of cards over and try to match an item contained in the dramaturgical casebook with its definition (teams may coach members/make a plan before sending a teammate). If a team gets a match, they get another turn. If a team does not get a match, the next team gets a turn. The team with the most matches wins and is Coolest for the Day.

 

2. The World of the Play: What to consider when researching a play
Tell the students that they will be assigned to identify “The World of the Play” by preparing a brief list of 15-20 items from their selected one-act plays as research possibilities for their casebooks. From these items, they will select 8-12 resources of information that will create their casebooks for their plays.
o Discuss with students ideas that they can base their dramaturgical research on. The body of the casebook can contain information based on the following suggestions (a copy of this list will be handed out to each student). These concepts (excluding the last two) constitute “The World of the Play.” [During the discussion, show examples from the casebook where applicable (not included in this lesson).]
· Time: time of day; length of time; season; period play takes place in; period play was written in.
· Place: geographic place; immediate setting; locations of various scenes.
· Economics and politics: economic system–capitalism, communism, socialism, etc.; economics of characters; democracy, monarchy, theocracy, etc.; family and/or individual finances.
· Social issues: Slavery? Women’s rights/suffrage? Racism? Alcohol/drugs? Justice/mercy?
· Power: Who has power in the play? Who does not?
· Playwright: Who? When? Why?
· Previous productions: When? Who? Why? Different production approaches?
o Demonstrate how to write a brief item description: [Suggest: Bullet points or outline forms are easiest, but other formatting that is clear and easy to follow is acceptable.]
· Suppose you are dramaturging To Kill a Mockingbird. Beginning with the list of possible ideas from “The World of the Play”, write “Time” as your first item. Then simply answer the item suggestions that are applicable based on your reading and the context of the play, as follows:
§ Time:
· length of time: several months
· season: summer and fall
· period the play takes place in: 1935
· period the play was written in: 1962
o Ask/discuss: How could the contextual elements in the world of the play lead to research that might be included in a casebook? [Ask for/prompt examples.]
· Seasons: weather/temperatures in Alabama in summer and fall could inform actors/costumers/designers.
· Periods: informs historical research–what is going on in 1935 in the USA? In Alabama? What is going on in 1962 in the USA? In Alabama?
[Point out that the above list under “Time” would qualify as 4 items toward the 15-20 minimum requirement list as research possibilities for their casebooks. The heading (Time) does not count, but the specific items listed do. The casebooks should not be heavy in one research area, but this initial list will aid students in choosing research items that will be most pertinent to their plays.]

 

o Ask students to complete some of the items in the next section (Place) on the board or at their desks on paper using To Kill a Mockingbird. It will look something like this:
· Place:
· geographic place: Maycomb, Alabama, USA
· immediate settings: street in front of Finch home; Maycomb courthouse
o Ask/discuss: How could the contextual elements in the world of the play lead to research that might be included in a casebook? [Ask for/prompt examples.]
· Geography and immediate setting: might research what homes looked like in 1935; what people wore, what kind of entertainment they used, etc.
· Many of these contextual elements cross over; knowing that the setting is in Alabama in 1935 will cross over into helping you ask other questions. For example:
§ The setting and time period of TKAM can lead to questions about economics: what is the major economic issue in Alabama in 1935? Can that serve as a good research item?

 

Assessment

1. Assignment (Due next class): Identifying the World of the Play
Based on the suggestions above, and using the handout section called “The World of the Play” included in this lesson, students will bring a paper briefly identifying and describing 15-20 possibilities (1 sentence or bullet point each) they can consider researching for their casebooks based on the plays they have selected. The playwright biography must be included as one item. Students will be prepared to make a short (informal) presentation, describing for the class 3-5 of the items they have included on their lists. The 8-12 research items that will make up their casebooks will come from this list.