Schedule

In this course, we will read an international range of contemporary plays from recent theatre productions. This course is taught in English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI). Students are required to read plays and undertake homework between classes. Please understand that some of the plays we are reading contain strong language and explicit topics.

Week 1 Introduction: What is a play? Ideas from Drama in Performance by Raymond Williams (1958). Dramatic discourse. Play scripts and productions.

Week 2 Reading plays, performing scripts. Time as story. Space as setting. Bodies as characters. Words as actions. Approaches from Elinor Fuchs (2004).

Week 3 Playwriting – story, source, and adaptation. Introducing Orlando by Virginia Woolf (1928), adapted by Neil Bartlett (2022).

Week 4 Orlando – reading scenes.

Week 5 Orlando – reading scenes.

Week 6 Orlando – discussion.

Week 7 Introducing Love and Information by Caryl Churchill (2012).

Week 8 Love and Information – reading scenes.

Week 9  Love and Information – discussion. Setting up groups for rehearsed readings in weeks 12 and 14.

Week 10 Annual Sports Meet – no class. Mid-term reflection due.

Week 11 Introducing Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan Miller with Johnny Donohue (2014).

Week 12 Rehearsed reading of scenes from Every Brilliant Thing – presented in groups.

Week 13 Introducing Golden Blood by Merlynn Tong (2022).

Week 14 Rehearsed reading of scenes from Golden Blood – presented in groups.

Week 15 Writing workshop – key concepts, ideas and approaches for final essay in revision.

Week 16 Round up discussion – prospects for plays in production. Feedback on draft essays. Final essay due.

Attendance and participation

Students are expected to attend all classes on time and to participate in learning activities. Students are particularly encouraged to draw on their own experience of reading plays and watching performance, including current theatre productions. Students are encouraged to focus on learning during class. Using mobile phones and laptops for purposes other than learning is discouraged. Any absence should be explained in advance. It is the student's responsibilty to inform the teacher if they are absent prior to the class. Unexplained absences will reduce a student's grade for participation. Late attendence for more than twenty minutes on two occasions will be recorded as one unexecused absence. 

Assignments

Assignments are to be written in English. Please prepare a PDF file for A4 size paper, double line-spacing with a serif font (such as Baskerville, Cambria, Georgia, and Times New Roman) in size 12. Spell-checking and grammar tools are acceptable ways to improve the quality of your writing. Extensive use of automated translation (such as Google Translate) or text generated using artificial intelligence (such as ChatGP) are unacceptable as evidence of your learning. Be prepared to answer questions in interview about your assignments, if required, as part of the assessment process.  

Consultation

This course encourages independent study and you are welcome to discuss your learning with me. My regular office hours for student consultation are Wednesdays 10:00-12:00 and Fridays 13:00-15:00. Other times may be possible; please email jonathan.bollen@ntnu.edu.tw for appointment. Usually I will reply to your emails within 2 working days, and you are advised to do the same. A follow-up reply will be much appreciated, so that I know you've received my message. 

Play scripts – required readings

• Orlando by Virginia Woolf (1928), adapted by Neil Bartlett (London: Nick Hern Books, 2022).
• Love and Information by Caryl Churchill (London: Nick Hern Books, 2012).
• Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan Miller with Johnny Donohue (2014, London: Oberon Books, 2022).
• Golden Blood by Merlynn Tong (Sydney: Currency Press, 2022).

Reference works – recommended readings

• Williams, Raymond. Drama in Performance (1958; republished, Open University Press, 1991).
• Fuchs, Elinor. ‘EF’s visit to a small planet: some questions to ask a play,’ Theater, vol. 34, no. 2 (2004), pp. 4-9.
• Meisel, Martin. How Plays Work: Reading and Performance (Oxford: Oxford UP, 2007).
• Leach, Robert. Theatre Studies: The Basics (Abingdon & New York: Routledge, 2008).
• Unwin, Stephen. The Well Read Play (London: Oberon Books, 2011).
• Helbo, André, J. Dines Johansen, Patrice Pavis, Anne Ubserfeld. Approaching Theatre, rev. ed. (Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1991), open-access ebook – see Chapter 4 'Pedagogics of theatre – Analysis of the text'.