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Shakespearean Dramaturgy in Contemporary Performance
Course Rationale (Content)
The course enables students to investigate the distinctive role of Shakespearean dramaturgy within
contemporary performance cultures, as well as offering the opportunity for analytical and practical
exploration of Shakespeare’s plays. Examining the recent history and current practices of Shakespeare’s
works, this course contributes to a theoretically and historically informed understanding of how and
why the plays continue to be reproduced within contemporary cultures.
Syllabus
A range of issues and materials will be covered in this course, for example:
 the reading of selected plays by Shakespeare (Twelfth Night, Hamlet, and Macbeth)
 the Shakespeare experience
o Shakespeare’s status as a cultural myth
 heritage, tourism and the theme park
o Shakespeare’s status as an educational icon
o Shakespeare’s theatricality (i.e. scansion, rhetoric, audience interaction, embedded stage
directions, etc.)
 Western and some multi/intercultural stage-history of Shakespeare's plays
 appropriations, adaptations and off-shoots of multi/intercultural Shakespearean drama in
contemporary performance
 methodological and theoretical dramaturgical frameworks for investigating current
Shakespearean performance
 contemporary theatrical revivals of Shakespeare’s plays
 compilation of a dramaturgical production book relating to Shakespeare in contemporary
performance
Teaching and Learning Methods
Seminars, workshops, and supervised independent research
Contact Details
Mary Beth Geppert: [email protected] or 814.577.2382
Assessment
Attendance and Class Contribution
Portfolio of Dramaturgical Research Materials
2 1-2 page critical contextualization
1 3-5 page critical contextualization
Dramaturgical notebook
Group Presentation
15%
(10% each)
20%
10%
40%
15%
To comprise:
 A 1-2 page critical contextualization of TWO of the theatre performances seen during the class,
analyzing its relation to dominant interpretations of the play and to contemporary performance
culture.
 A 3-5 page critical contextualization of The American Shakespeare Center visit, paying
particular attention to scholarly debates about ‘authenticity’ and the cultural dynamics
Geppert’s Shakespearean Dramaturgy Syllabus
Page 2


A group project analysis of selected evidence (See “Dramaturgical Notebook” below) from
your dream production of Shakespeare in relation to current critical views of the play and
contemporary trends in staging and performance.
Selection, presentation and documentation of a dramaturgical production book for any
Shakespearean play.
Your group topic must have been discussed and approved prior to research and delivery.
“Dramaturgical Notebook”
1. 1-2 page concept statement
a. What is the guiding aesthetic and ideological vision?
b. Why are we staging this play today?
c. What idea(s) does the production seek to convey or provoke the audience to
consider?
d. What is the aesthetic of the production?
i. How does it work in relation to the production’s ideological goals?
e. Through what theatrical devices will this idea be conveyed?
f. How will content and form work cohesively to communicate the production’s point
of view?
2. Dramaturgical notebook elements
a. A script analysis
b. Character breakdown
i. Possible character cuts and/or doublings, and any additional thoughts on
casting
c. Analysis of the play’s use of source texts
d. Overview of pertinent dramatic criticism on the play
e. Glossary of terms and concepts
f. Pertinent sociocultural and historical information
g. Relevant images
h. Production history and reviews
i. Script revisions
i. Including an edited copy of the scene to be performed
j. At least one additional component specific to the concept for the production.
3. Program for the production
a. A director’s note: 1 paragraph version of the concept statement
b. A dramaturge’s note
c. A synopsis
d. A Cast List
4. Talkback questions: strive to discover what was communicated to the audience through
the staging.
Geppert’s Shakespearean Dramaturgy Syllabus
Page 3
Required Reading (Start Reading Joseph and Wright now)
Macbeth, Twelfth Night and Hamlet plus ‘Introductions’ in The Norton Shakespeare 2nd Ed. W. W. Norton &
Company, 2008.
Joseph, Sister Miriam. Shakesepare’s Use of The Arts of Language. Paul Dry Books, Philadelphia, 2005.
43-78, 242-286, 293-344
Wright, George T. Shakespeare’s Metrical Art. University of California Press, Berkeley, 1988.
Chapters 6, 7, 8 & 9
Extracts contained in Course Reader
To be provided at cost.
Required Viewing
For the purposes of this course, you should attend two current productions in Virginia:
 The American Shakespeare Center’s productions of Henry VIII, Julius Caesar, and Two Noble
Gentlemen http://www.americanshakespearecenter.com/v.php?pg=2
 William & Mary’s Virginia Shakespeare Festival’s production of Richard III
http://www.wm.edu/as/vsf/schedule/index.php
 Richmond Shakespeare’s production of The Tempest
http://www.richmondshakespeare.com/Tickets.asp
 Chesapeake Shakespeare Company’s production of Two Gentlemen of Verona
http://www.chesapeakeshakespeare.com/
Week 1
Shakespeare Today
How it came to be here, and how we came to it. In preparation for this session you should review
you own previous reading and viewing of Shakespeare and Shakespeare-related material, also
familiarise yourself with the contents of The Norton Shakespeare, including a reading of the
introduction.
Follow-up Reading (Course Reader):
Holland, ‘Shakespeare in the twentieth-century theatre’
Smallwood, ‘Twentieth-century performance’
Week 2
Shakespeare in London
Research into venues, companies, audiences, reviewers, and policies
Reading:
Thomson, ‘Shakespeare and the public purse’
Smallwood, ‘Directors’ Shakespeare’
Kennedy, ‘Century’s Close’
Week 3
Reading:
‘Authentic’ Shakespeares: from Poel to Shakespeare’s Globe
O’Connor, ‘Useful in the year 1999’
Rubidge, ‘Does authenticity matter?’
Further Reading
Essays in Shakespeare Survey 52 ‘Shakespeare and the Globe’ ed. S.Wells, Cambridge: CUP, 1999.
Drakakis, J. (1992) ‘Theatre, Ideology and Institutions: Shakespeare and the roadsweepers’ in
Holderness, G. ed. The Shakespeare Myth Manchester: MUP, 24-41.
Geppert’s Shakespearean Dramaturgy Syllabus
Page 4
Hawkes, T. (1992) ‘Bardbiz’ in Meaning by Shakespeare, London: Methuen, 141-53.
Henderson, D. (2002) ‘Shakespeare: The Theme Park’ in R.Burt ed. Shakespeare After Mass Media,
Basingstoke: Palgrave, 107-126.
Week 4
Visit to The American Shakespeare Center
Reading:
Snyder, Melanie G. “Blackfriars, Then And Now.” Calliope 15.8 (2005): 26-27. Humanities
International Complete.
Dean, Andrea Oppenheimer. “Blackfriars Playhouse Re-Created In Virginia.” Architectural Record
190.3 (2002).
Drama And Music. “Nation Vol. 96 Issue 2485” (1913): 160-162
Week 5
Shakespeare’s Language of Performance
Reading:
Wright, George T. Shakespeare’s Metrical Art. Chapters 6, 7, 8 & 9
Further Reading:
Kaiser, Scott. Shakespeare’s Wordcraft. Limelight Editions, New York, NY, 2007.
Week 6
Talking Back to Shakespeare
Reading:
Joseph, Sister Miriam. Shakesepare’s Use of The Arts of Language. Paul Dry Books, Philadelphia, 2005.
43-78, 242-286, 293-344
Further Reading:
Corbett, Edward P.J. and Robert J. Conners. Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student 4th Ed. Oxford
University Press, Oxford, 1999.
Lanham, Richard A. A Handlist of Rhetorical Terms 2nd Ed. University of California Press, Berkeley,
1991.
Week 7
Student Choice
Week 8
Reading:
Multi/Intercultural Shakespeare
Shakespeare, Twelfth Night, Hamlet
Dawson, ‘International Shakespeare’
Kennedy, ‘Shakespeare Worldwide’
Further Reading and Information:
Essays in the ‘Shakespeare Around the World’ section of the Internet Shakespeare Editions website
http://www.isc.uvic.ca
Week 9
Reading:
Macbeth and Modern times
Shakespeare, Macbeth
Greenhalgh, ‘Alas, poor country’
Further Reading/Information:
Aebischer, P. and N. Wheale, (2003) ‘Introduction’ in Remaking Shakespeare: Performance Across media,
Genres and Cultures eds. P.Aebisdher, E. Esche and N. Wheale, Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1-17.
Geppert’s Shakespearean Dramaturgy Syllabus
Page 5
McLuskie, K. (2000) ‘Unabatha/Macbeth: Global Shakespeare in a post-colonial context’ Shakespeare
Survey 53
Week 10
Week 11
Student Choice
Student Presentations
BIBLIOGRAPHY
In addition to the books listed below, you should consult the journals Shakespeare Quarterly,
Shakespeare Bulletin and Shakespeare Survey, and, for material on production histories, Theatre Record.
Useful websites
Encyclopedia Britannica's Shakespeare and The Globe: Then and Now:
http://search.eb.com/shakespeare/index2.html
The Shakespeare Bulletin http://www.shakespeare-bulletin.org
Thomas Larque, "Shakespeare and His Critics" http://shakespearean.org.uk
The Shakespeare Revue http://www.shakespeare-revue.com/index.htm
Performing Arts Data Service ‘Designing Shakespeare’ (click Enter, then Browse, then Theatre
Resources, then Designing Shakespeare): http://www.pads.ahds.ac.uk
The Folger Shakespeare Library http://www.folger.edu
The British Library Touchstone,http://www.touchstone.bham.ac.uk
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust http://www.shakespeare.org.uk
Recommended Reading
Aebischer, P., E.Esche and N. Wheale eds. (2003) Remaking Shakespeare: Performance
across Media, Genres and Cultures. London: Palgrave.
Bate, J. and Jackson, R., eds (1996) Shakespeare: An Illustrated Stage History. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
Bennett, S. (1994) Performing Nostalgia: Shifting Shakespeare and the Contemporary
Past. London: Routledge.
Burt, R. (1998) Unspeakable Shaxxxpeares: Queer Theory and American Kiddie Culture.
Basingstoke: Macmillan.
Bulman, J., ed (1996) Shakespeare, Theory and Performance. London: Routledge.
Hodgdon, B. (1998) The Shakespeare Trade: Performance and Appropriations.
Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press
Holmes, Jonathan (2004) Merely Players? Actors’ Accounts of Performing Shakespeare
London: Routledge.
Kennedy, D. (1993) Looking at Shakespeare: A Visual History of Twentieth-Century Performance.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Shaughnessy R (2002) The Shakespeare Effect: A History of Twentieth Century
Performance. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan
Shaughnessy, R., ed (2000) Shakespeare in Performance: Contemporary Critical Essays. Basingstoke:
Macmillan.
Wells, S and S. Stanton, eds (2002) The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Stage.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Geppert’s Shakespearean Dramaturgy Syllabus
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Background Reading
Bate, J. (1998) The Genius of Shakespeare. Basingstoke: Macmillan.
Bristol, M. (1985) Carnival and Theater: Plebeian Culture and the Structure of Authority in
Renaissance England. London: Methuen.
Bristol, M. (1996) Big-Time Shakespeare. London: Routledge.
Burt, R., ed. (2002) Shakespeare After Mass Media. Basingstoke: Macmillan.
Cartelli, T. (1999) Repositioning Shakespeare: National Formations, Postcolonial
Appropriations. London: Routledge.
Chambers, C. (1980) Other Spaces: New Theatre and the RSC. London: Methuen.
Drakakis, J., ed. (1985) Alternative Shakespeares. London: Methuen.
Hawkes, T. (1996) Meaning by Shakespeare. London: Routledge.
Hawkes, T., ed (1996) Alternative Shakespeares 2. London: Routledge.
Holderness, G. (1985) Shakespeare’s History. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan.
Holderness, G., ed (1988) The Shakespeare Myth. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Joughin, J. ed (1997) Shakespeare and National Culture. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Lanier, D. (2002) Shakespeare and Modern Popular Culture. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
McDonald, R. (2001) Shakespeare: An Anthology of Criticism and Theory 1945-2000 Oxford:
Blackwell.
Mcluskie, K. and M. Bristol, eds (2000) Shakespeare and Modern Theatre: The Performance of
Modernity. London: Routledge.
Styan, J. L. (1977) The Shakespeare Revolution: Criticism and Performance in the
Twentieth Century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wells, S., ed. (1997) Shakespeare in the Theatre: An Anthology of Criticism. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Worthen, W. B. (1997) Shakespeare and the Authority of Performance. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Worthen, W. B. (2003) Shakespeare and the Force of Modern Performance. Cambridge;
Cambridge University Press.