Introduction to Theatreical Contexts and Research (160-2-24)
Topic
Theatre & Incarceration
Instructors
Gillian Hemme
Meeting Info
Wirtz 240 Seminar Room 2: Tues, Thurs 12:30PM - 1:50PM
Overview of class
"This course will survey theatre and incarceration in the United States starting in the twentieth century and continuing to present day, from Sarah Bernhardt's 1913 performance in California's San Quentin Prison to Piven Theatre Workshop's EPIC theatre and improvisation program at Chicago's Cook County Jail. We will read plays about the experience of incarceration, including the adaptation of Sr. Helen Prejean's Dead Man Walking and Kae Tempest's Hopelessly Devoted. In addition to performances in carceral spaces by outside guests and artistic works about incarceration, this class will focus on devised works created by individuals experiencing incarceration, like the commedia dell'arte performances by the Actors' Gang Prison Project in Los Angeles. This range of performances about and by individuals navigating mass incarceration in the United States will provide insights to the thousands of lives impacted by carcerality and the role of theatre in imagining a world beyond the carceral state.
Like all 160-2 classes, this class equips students with critical modes of thinking about theatre as an academic discipline and practice. It features a range of analytical skills and critical approaches for play and performance analysis, incorporating aspects of theatre history, historiography, and performance theory. Through class discussions, readings, study of plays and performances, creative responses, and written assignments students will develop their analytical skills and learn to craft research papers in a guided process."
Enrollment Requirements
Enrollment Requirements: Registration is reserved for Theatre Majors only.