Download Study Guide: Domesticated

Study Guide: Domesticated
BY: Bruce Norris
DIRECTED BY: Philip Riccio
A Company Theatre and Canadian Stage production
Nov 17 – Dec 13, 2015
Overview and Classroom Activities
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Study Guide: Domesticated
A letter to teachers and students:
Education is a vital part of what we do at Canadian Stage. We are committed to sharing material with
our audiences that will challenge, enrich and deepen their perspectives while diversifying conversations.
Through its wickedly funny, deeply serious and totally unpredictable dramatic action, Bruce Norris’
Domesticated presents thoughtful commentary on politics, power, gender, sexuality, media, and family.
Inspired by the very public Clinton/Lewinsky scandal of 1998 and others like it, Norris identified an
opportunity and need to bring these significant issues to the forefront.
In Domesticated, Bill Pulver, a popular politician, is discovered by police at the bedside of an injured
prostitute. His credibility is irrevocably damaged and the lives of his wife and daughters are turned
upside-down. Pulitzer-winning playwright Bruce Norris wittingly explores the scandal beyond the
cameras and courtroom and peers into the private bedroom of a public humiliation. Using his token
dynamic characters, with whom the audience will be challenged to empathize, Norris presents a specific
story that lends itself to a discussion about universal and timely themes.
Seeing live theatre provides students with opportunities to learn about themselves and the world
through an immediate artistic experience and through the resulting discussions with their peers and
teachers. Domesticated is an exceptional starting point. The satirical work is certain to elicit dialogue
about how individuals and their families are affected by scandal, the role of the media in communicating
these events, power struggles between the sexes, and the representation of gender both in society and
on stage.
Based on the script, this guide explores Domesticated’s historical and social context, themes and
structure in order to offer an academic starting point for students and teachers. It is meant to be a
helpful classroom tool, providing educators with information and strategies for teaching diverse learners
across a variety of subjects. Connecting to curriculums such as Civics, Gender Studies, Media/Journalism,
Law, Philosophy, English, Anthropology/Sociology/Psychology, and of course Drama, this study guide
can provide a bridge from the stage to the classroom and encourage critical thinking in an artistic
context. By reviewing this resource I hope that you will agree that this production is an effective way to
dive into socially imperative and curriculum-relevant activities.
I welcome you to contact me to further discuss the suitability of this production and supplementary
workshop opportunities for your group.
See you at the theatre!
Cheers,
Erin Schachter, Education & Audience Development Manager
416.367.8243 x280
[email protected]
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Synopsis
Domesticated explores the personal and professional life of Bill Pulver, a politician, and his family after
police discovered him at the bedside of an injured prostitute. The play opens with his confession and
resignation from office. A tense family dynamic is established over a candid dinner.
The female voice dominates the first of two acts, as the audience hears from the women who surround
Bill: Judy, his wife, and their two daughters, Casey and Cassidy. Casey is an outspoken seventeen yearold, and Cassidy, a quiet thirteen year-old adopted from Cambodia. Bill is represented in his
controversial legal case by Bobbie, a high-profile lawyer and Judy’s close friend.
In the first act the shocking extent of Bill’s extramarital affairs surfaces. As the pressure of media
attention continues to mount, Bill and Judy settle the case with monetary compensation. The settlement
combined with the loss of Bill’s income leads to financial difficulties for the family. Bill and Judy
separate.
Act two focuses on Bill’s attempts to re-establish his life and career following his separation from Judy.
In the first scene of this act, Bill has an encounter in a bar with a transsexual woman whom he offends to
the point of physical violence. Faced with an injury, no job and no insurance, Bill returns to his prepolitical career, practicing gynaecology, but his female patients are not receptive to him in this role
following the public scandal. His daughters are resistant to forgiveness, and his relationship with Judy
seems unsalvageable when she visits his new apartment.
Domesticated concludes with Bill and his family visiting a college that Casey is considering attending. The
family unit is together, but their fate is left vaguely uncertain by Norris. The playwright offers no clear
answers about what will happen once the lights come up in the theatre.
This play features a large cast that is exclusively female, with the exception of Bill and a character who is
a transsexual woman, a detail used further to emphasize themes of power, sexuality and politics. The
work can be described as wickedly funny, deeply serious and highly topical.
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Characters
Bill - in his 50’s.
Judy - his wife, a few years younger.
Casey - seventeen, their older - natural - daughter
Cassidy - thirteen, their younger - adopted - daughter, Asian-American.
Bobbie - (female), Bill and Judy’s lawyer.
Other Characters, to be played by 4-6 women:
Pilar
Principal
Jackie
Caterer (at fund-raiser)
A.D.A.
Rich Woman at Party
Judge
Stage Manager
Waitress
Bartender
Shrink
Cop
Ed (Bill’s Mother)
EMT
Talk Show Host
Doctor (Pat)
Becky
Server (at ice cream shop)
Nurse
Patient
Hostess (in hotel bar)
Woman in Veil
Translator
Orderly
Woman in Bathrobe
Tour Guide
Transsexual (played by a
man)
Theatrical Context
About the play:
Domesticated was originally commissioned by and performed at the Lincoln Centre (New York) in 2013.
The original production was directed by Anna D. Shapiro and featured Jeff Goldblum, Laurie Metcalf,
Emily Meade, Misha Seo, Mia Barron, Karen Pittman, Lizbeth Mackay, Vanessa Aspillaga, Mary Beth Peil,
and Robin De Jesus. Canadian Stage’s production is the Canadian premiere of Domesticated.
About the playwright: Bruce Norris
Biography
The following is cited from the Steppenwolf Theatre Website:
Bruce Norris is the author of Domesticated, which was commissioned by Lincoln Center and premiered
there in November 2013. Earlier in 2013 the Royal Court premiered The Low Road in London. His play,
Clybourne Park, won the Tony Award for Best Play in 2012, the Olivier and Evening Standard Awards
(London) for Best Play, 2011 and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, 2011. It is currently receiving productions
throughout the United States as well as Germany, Australia, and elsewhere.
Other plays include The Infidel (2000), Purple Heart (2002), We All Went Down to Amsterdam (2003),
The Pain and the Itch (2004), The Unmentionables (2006) and A Parallelogram (2010), all of which had
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their premieres at Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago. His work has also been seen at Playwrights Horizons
(New York), Lookingglass Theatre (Chicago), Mark Taper Forum (Los Angeles) Philadelphia Theatre
Company, Woolly Mammoth Theatre (Washington, D.C.) Staatstheater Mainz (Germany) and the Galway
Festival (Ireland), among others. His plays have been published by Northwestern University Press, Nick
Hern Books, Faber & Faber and Dramatists Play Service.
He is the recipient of the Steinberg Playwright Award (2009) and The Whiting Foundation Prize for
Drama (2006) as well as two Joseph Jefferson Awards (Chicago) for Best New Work. As an actor he can
be seen in the films A Civil Action, The Sixth Sense and All Good Things. Born in Houston, Texas, he now
lives in New York.
Bruce Norris’ Style
According to The Telegraph’s Laura Barnett, “*Bruce Norris+ has built his career around provocation—on
watching middle-class theatre-goers squirm as his plays send their deeply-held liberal mores up in
smoke... and it is this sense of unease that Norris delights in.” These sentiments were written in 2011,
right around the opening of Clybourne Park, the play for which Norris was awarded the Pulitzer.
Norris has described himself as “contrary” (Gardner), a trait that he credits with inspiring his start in
writing following his successful acting career.
From The New York Times:
“Mr. Norris has perhaps the most teasingly paradoxical voice in American theatre today. While his
savage comedies have the reputation of being unusually bold conversation starters — daring to venture
where political correctness fears to tread — they are ultimately about the impossibility of an equable
exchange of ideas.
Though he uses a varied and explosive vocabulary, galloping between fashionable gobbledygook and
Anglo-Saxon bluntness, words almost always ring hollow in Mr. Norris’s work. Much of his humour and
pathos come from his characters’ awareness that language fails them. These people don’t have the tools
to say what they so desperately need to say, and it’s not because they’re undereducated. It’s because
they’re human.
That semantic tragedy is the basis of comedy for Mr. Norris, and it gives his plays their form as well as
their content. Clybourne Park, which might have been subtitled “What we talk about when we talk
about race,” searingly applied this sensibility to a monumental yet delicate subject. Set in both the
1950s and the early 21st century, and riffing pessimistically on the optimistic classic A Raisin in the Sun,
it was also steeped in a poignant, melancholy compassion for its unhappy, perpetually thwarted
characters, both black and white.
Having dealt successfully with the divisive power of skin color, Mr. Norris has moved on to the abyss
that separates the sexes. There’s no denying that Domesticated... is true to Mr. Norris’s vision or that it
percolates with his distinctive brand of the language of frustration” (Brantley).
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Historical/Social Context
In an episode of Platform Talk, a podcast from the Lincoln Center’s website, Bruce Norris says that
during the Bill Clinton scandal “public shaming of a man in a marriage put the idea of marriage into [his]
brain, and into national consciousness”(Platform Talk). The questions he was asking and conversations
that ensued were the inspiration for Domesticated.
Despite being written in the wake of a number of similar scandals (Lewinsky, Spitzer, Weiner), “Bill and
Judy aren’t based on any actual couple or incident .... Instead, the play uses an ambitious political couple
to examine the aspirations and trade-offs within any marriage” (Healy).
Critical Exploration
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Gender
Brecht’s Epic Theatre
Marriage in the public eye
Courtroom drama
Gender
There are many discussion topics under the large umbrella of “gender” in Norris’ play. Gender
expectations, constructs, identity, performance, performativity, voice, and power dynamics all surface in
Domesticated, driving the dense action of the play and leaving audiences questioning what gender
means in modern society.
Gender as Performance
Transsexual: You don’t know what it is to be a woman.
(Norris 52)
Throughout Domesticated characters interrogate gender constructs and question whether people are
pre-conditioned to behave a certain way based on their gender.
Feminist and queer theories arose in the early 20th century and have evolved in nature since then.
Contemporary (c 1970s onward) theorists argue that gender is “a concept or practice that doesn’t exist
innately in the world but is instead created by society” (MoMA Learning).
“As a process, gender creates the social differences that define ‘woman’ and ‘man’. In social interaction
throughout their lives, individuals learn what is expected, see what is expected, act and react in
expected ways, and thus simultaneously construct and maintain the gender order” (Lorber 100-101).
Bill: And as a man, see, what you’ve been taught is that you have to help
women and protect them, because... well, because it’s axiomatic in
liberal society that there are the strong, supposedly, and then there are
the weak, and that you - as a man - are obligated to defend the other fifty
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percent of the population, right?
(Norris 48)
“In almost every encounter, human beings produce gender, behaving in the ways they learned were
appropriate for their gender status, or resisting or rebelling against these norms” (Lorber 101). Feminist
and queer theorists argue that when we ‘do gender’ we are engaging in a kind of performance, we are
making a series of choices that indicate our gender to both ourselves and others.
Gender as Performative
Judith Butler: “It’s one thing to say that gender is performed and that is a little different from saying
gender is performative. When we say gender is performed we usually mean that we’ve taken on a role
or we’re acting in some way and that our acting or our role-playing is crucial to the gender that we are
and the gender that we present to the world. To say that gender is performative is different because for
something to be performative means that it produces a series of effects. We act and walk and speak and
talk in ways that consolidate an impression of being a man or being a woman” (Performative Acts and
Gender Constitution).
Judith Butler and other theorists point to the fluidity and intangibility of gender identity. They suggest
that identity cannot be reduced to a formula. Identity is not scientific—it is an intangible sense of being
that does not exist in the physical world. Despite societal cravings to label identities, they cannot be
simply defined.
Transsexual: Why am I not fully a woman, Bill?
Bill: Uhhhh....
Transsexual: You don’t know what I am.
(Norris 52)
For more information on gender as performance: Judith Butler. "Performative Acts and Gender
Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory." Theatre Journal. Vol. 40, No. 4, pp. 519531, December 1988.
Hegemonic Masculinity
Bill: And don’t you start with me! I am a man, all right?
(Norris 44)
In thinking about the ways in which we ‘do’ gender, masculinity studies theorists developed the concept
of ‘hegemonic masculinity’. Hegemonic masculinity refers to “the currently most honored way of being a
man” and is often used to assert “men’s dominance over women” (Connell and Messerschmidt 832).
Michael S. Kimmel states that “the hegemonic definition of manhood is a man in power, a man with
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power, and a man of power. We equate manhood with being strong, successful, capable, reliable, in
control” (30). Kimmel turns to Brannon and David who list key elements of hegemonic masculinity:
“1. ‘No Sissy Stuff!’ One may never do anything that even remotely suggests femininity.
Masculinity is the relentless repudiation of the feminine.
2. ‘Be a Big Wheel’ Masculinity is measured by power, success, wealth, and status.
3. ‘Be a Study Oak’ Masculinity depends on remaining calm and reliable in a crisis, holding
emotions in check. In fact, proving you’re a man depends on never showing your emotions
at all. Boys don’t cry.
4. ‘Give ‘Em Hell’ Exude an aura of manly daring and aggression. Go for it. Take risks.” (30-31)
Gender and Power
With a predominantly female cast, Domesticated innately offers an interesting conversation surrounding
power dynamics between men and women. Furthermore, Norris’ characters offer a spectrum of
perspectives on how genders, and sexes, interact.
Bobbie: Okay: My feeling - and I hope you don’t mind if I just cut through
some of the B.S., because you know, I can’t exactly claim the moral high
ground, as we’re both painfully aware, and furthermore? If I was a man? If
I could just unzip my pants and throw down a credit card?
(Norris 7)
Casey: The point is a woman’s right to make choices about her own body
and not to have those choices dictated by men.
(Norris 21)
Transsexual: How do you know what it is like? Huh? To be a woman?
Were you ever beat up, huh? Or raped or called a bitch? Huh? To be afraid
to walk down the street at night? - Looka this. You see this? This is how I
walk down the street. With my keys like this. So if someone come to fuck
with me I have a chance. That is what it is to be a woman.
(Norris 54-55)
Bill: You want to be treated equally? Fight for what you want. You got the
numerical advantage. But you don’t want to fight. You’d rather shame us
into giving you everything with your insufferable self-righteous whining
about your supposed victimization. You don’t even want equality. You
want deferential treatment.
(Norris 80)
Consider how these statements support or contradict each other. Furthermore, consider how they
support or challenge your existing perspectives and expectations regarding gender and power. Are these
statements from characters throughout Domesticated meant to teach us something new about the
dynamic of genders and sexes in society or are they there simply for the sake of provoking a reaction
from the audience? An extension of this is considering whether these are sentiments that Norris agrees
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with. Or, is it more important that we are offered different women’s voices in this play which pervert
our expectations and tell it like it is?
Brecht and Domesticated
Several aspects of Bruce Norris’ catalogue of plays, and Domesticated specifically, evoke concepts of
Bertolt Brecht’s Epic Theatre. As the Telegraph’s Jasper Rees said when a new Norris work was
programmed at The Royal Court in 2013, “Theatre-goers should start quaking in their Louboutins as
*Norris+ prepares to give them another bloody nose.” Norris admits that “to disrupt is what I like to do...
I just like to disrupt situations. I don’t like when people seem to think they know the answers or their
mind is made up about something” (Rees, Jasper). These sentiments about appealing to the bourgeois
audience and disrupting their established outlooks reflect Brecht’s Epic Theatre.
What is Epic Theatre?
The following is quoted from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/guides/zwmvd2p/revision/2
Bertolt Brecht was a theatre practitioner who significantly impacted the development of theatre styles.
Many of his ideas were so revolutionary that they changed the theatrical landscape forever. Modern
theatre owes a lot to his methods.
In naturalistic or dramatic theatre the audience cares about the lives of the characters onstage, escaping
their own lives and entering the world of others during a performance. When an audience cries for a
character or feels emotion through the events happening to them their experience is called “catharsis”.
Brecht was against cathartic theatre. He thought that when the audience believed in the action onstage
and became emotionally involved, they lost the ability to think and to judge. He wanted his audiences to
remain objective and distant from emotional involvement so that they could make considered and
rational judgements about any social comment or issues in his work. To do this he used a range of
theatrical devices or techniques so that the audience were reminded throughout that they were
watching theatre; a presentation of life, not real life itself. His kind of theatre was called Epic Theatre.
“Brecht and his fellow epic theatre artists devised a set of staging and acting techniques meant to teach
their audience to criticize the injustices and inequalities of modern life. Two keys to their technique are
the notion of ‘theatricalism’ and the concept of the ‘distancing’ or ‘alienation’ effect.”
(http://biomechanics.vtheatre.net/doc/epic.html)
Theatricalism
“Theatricalism simply means the audience is aware that they are in a theatre watching a play. Brecht
believed that ‘seducing’ the audience into believing they were watching ‘real life’ led to an uncritical
acceptance of society's values. He thought that by keeping stage sets simple, showing exposed lighting
instruments, breaking the action into open-ended episodes, projecting labels or photographs during
scenes, or using a narrator or actors to directly address the audience, a production would allow an
audience to maintain the emotional objectivity necessary to learn the truth about their society. “
(http://biomechanics.vtheatre.net/doc/epic.html)
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Theatricalism in Domesticated
Norris makes specific comments on how to stage Domesticated:
“The play is intended to be performed in an open space with as few pieces
of mobile furniture, lights and sound as necessary to establish a scene. The
only other necessities are a large screen (or screens) for projections and a
couple of doors for slamming. Action is continuous and scene changes
should be instantaneous and performed by cast members so that no
blackouts or ‘transition music’ (god forbid) need ever be used.”
(Norris 1)
Norris’ staging instructions lend themselves to epic theatre as they resist creating a world on stage for
the audience to “get caught up in”, or, in Brecht’s language, a strategy to help the audience keep a
critical distance.
Cassidy’s PowerPoint presentations are another way in which Norris breaks the fourth wall and
reinforces theatricalism:
“CASSIDY pulls out her microphone, turns to us: CASSIDY (to the audience)
End of part one.”
(Norris 46)
In these moments when Cassidy directly addresses the audience she breaks the fourth wall reminding
the audience that that they are witnessing a performance. This is theatrical in form. Consider also that in
content, her presentations offer commentary on the play’s exploration of gender. By using animals,
Norris makes the familiar, gender roles and relations, unfamiliar and invites audiences to question their
assumptions about how different genders interact.
Alienation
“The second key to Epic Theatre, the ‘distancing’ or ‘alienation’ effect in acting style, has these same
goals. Brecht wanted actors to strike a balance between ‘being’ their character onstage and ‘showing
the audience that the character is being performed.’ The use of ‘quotable gesture,’ (the employment of
a stance, mannerism, or repeated action to sum up a character), the sudden shift from one behavior to
another to put the audience off-balance, and the suggestion of the ‘roads not taken’ in each moment of
a character's decision-making are all the means to the didactic end of teaching us to criticize the society
we see onstage in Epic Theatre.” (http://biomechanics.vtheatre.net/doc/epic.html)
Alienation in Domesticated
Norris has also spoken about his desire to prevent audiences from empathizing too much with a
character, stating: “Audiences ‘want to align themselves with someone in a play... and one of the most
fun things to do is deny them that option’” (Norris in Kachka, Boris.)
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An example of alienation in Domesticated occurs within one Talk Show vignette. In this scene, Becky, the
severely injured girl Bill is said to have had sex with, still unable to speak, is a guest on a talk show and
escorted by her mother Jackie. While in theory their appearance on a Talk Show is believable, the
extreme and uncomfortable event that occurs “on-air” is shocking. The result is a sense of distance for
the audience both from the character, Becky, whose grave injury is being satirized in this moment as
well as from the playwright overall for forcing us to witness such an uncomfortable scene.
Host: And, can I ask? As a mother, how that must have felt? To
discover...(incredulous)...I mean, that your own child had been working as
a–
(BECKY gurgles and JACKIE turns on a compressor with a suction device)
Host: Whoops.
(...)
(JACKIE sticks the suction device into BECKY’s open mouth. We hear
phlegm being suctioned.)
(Norris 25)
Where Brecht and Norris contradict each other
When naturalistic theatre was at its height and acted as a mirror to what was happening in society,
Brecht decided to take a step further and use theatre as a force for change. He wanted to make his
audience think and famously said that theatre audiences at that time “hang up their brains with their
hats in the cloakroom” (BBC Bitesize education guides).
Norris does not believe that theatre is a particularly good catalyst for change. In fact, he expects that his
audience is coming to be delighted. Norris has said: "There is no political value in having sensitive
feelings about the world. I don't think it generates political action. You go, you watch, you say, 'That's
sad,' and then you go for a steak. The best you can hope for is to make people slightly uncomfortable. At
least if you take the piss out of the audience, they feel they are being addressed" (TCG interview).
Further Reading:
Epic Theatre and Brecht – BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/guides/zwmvd2p/revision/1)
An Introduction to Brechtian Theatre – National Theatre (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l828KqtTkA)
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Marriage in the Public Eye
Background information on political marriages and scandal, as well as some quotes from Bruce Norris,
from “Call it the Theatre of Contrition” by Patrick Healy for The New York Times.
As a culture, we are fascinated by the relationship between politicians’ personal lives and their roles as
public servants. Domesticated is one example of a fictional portrayal of a marriage in the public eye.
Other contemporary examples include: The Good Wife (CBS), House of Cards (Netflix), and Political
Animals (USA).
Being in the public eye puts a couple’s relationship under intense scrutiny. Public couples are often
subject to very personal and invasive questioning, particularly in the aftermath of a scandal. “For
political couples who endure extramarital embarrassment in public, these invasive questions represent
existential threats to their reputations, their carefully devised public images, their likability and support
among voters. The only answer is damage control” (Healy.)
“Too often we come away from these scandals with simplistic conclusions like men are bad, women are
[unlikable+”, said Mr. Norris, using an unprintable epithet, typical of his spiky manner and dialogue. “We
demonize ourselves rather than asking if there’s something species-related going on that we’re really
not interested in talking about.”
Political Sex Scandals in the United States
1998: Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky
“Revelations that White House intern Monica Lewinsky had oral sex with Clinton in the Oval Office
leading him to famously declare on TV on January 26, 1998, "I did not have sexual relations with that
woman, Miss Lewinsky." The scandal led to impeachment by the House for perjury, for lying about the
affair under oath. He was acquitted in the Senate with 55 senators voting Not Guilty to 45 senators
voting Guilty (falling 22 votes short of the two-thirds necessary to convict).”
2008: Eliot Spitzer
“On March 10, 2008, The New York Times reported that New York Governor Eliot Spitzer had patronized
an elite escort service run by Emperors Club VIP. The ensuing scandal led to Spitzer's resignation as
Governor on March 17.”
2009: John Ensign
“The John Ensign scandal constituted the 2009 revelations about an extramarital affair between United
States Senator John Ensign and Cynthia Hampton from 2007 to 2008, and Ensign's subsequent attempts
to keep the affair secret. The scandal led to Ensign's eventual resignation from the Senate in 2011.”
2009: Mark Sanford
“For six days in June 2009, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford's whereabouts were unknown and
there was media coverage of what was described as his disappearance. Subsequently the Governor
reappeared and reported that he had been in Buenos Aires, Argentina with a woman with whom he was
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having an extramarital affair. He stated that in 2001 he met and became friends with this woman and
that they started having a sexual relationship in 2008. His wife, Jenny Sanford became aware of the
relationship in January 2009, and it was later revealed that two weeks prior to June 24 Sanford and his
wife had begun a trial separation. The woman was later identified as Maria Belén Chapur, an Argentine
journalist.”
2011-2013: Anthony Weiner
“American politician Anthony Weiner, former member of the United States House of Representatives
from New York City, was involved in two sexual scandals related to sexting, or sending explicit sexual
material by cell phone. The first, sometimes dubbed Weinergate, led to his resignation as a congressman
in 2011.The second, during his attempt to return to politics as candidate for mayor of New York City,
involved three women Weiner admitted having sexted after further explicit pictures were published in
July 2013.”
Canadian Political Sex Scandals
Excerpts from: Blog of Lists.
1977: Margaret Trudeau and the Rolling Stones
Margaret Trudeau spent her sixth wedding anniversary not with her husband, the Prime Minister, but
partying with the Rolling Stones at a Toronto nightclub and later in Mick Jagger’s limousine. The
rendezvous sparked rumours that she was having an affair with the band’s front man. She later
disappeared to New York. The scandal signalled the end of the couple’s tumultuous marriage, but
Margaret Trudeau denied having affairs with any members of the Rolling Stones, later telling a
conference on mental health, “I should have slept with every single one of them.”
1978: Francis Fox
The 38-year-old solicitor general was the youngest member of Trudeau’s cabinet and a rising star when
he was forced to publicly admit that he had secretly arranged for a former mistress to have an abortion,
and had forged her husband’s signature on hospital records granting her permission for the procedure.
The relationship didn’t last and neither did Fox’s marriage. His political career, however, survived. Fox
resigned as solicitor general, but went on to be re-elected and reappointed to cabinet. He was made a
senator in 2005, and stepped down last year.
1983: Graham Harle
Alberta’s solicitor general, Graham Harle, was discovered by police parked outside a seedy Edmonton
motel with a prostitute in his government car. The 51-year-old Harle claimed he was conducting an
investigation into the province’s prostitution industry and had concluded that the sex trade didn’t
“appear to be a problem right at the moment.” He stepped down from cabinet after the public refused
to accept the story of his undercover operation.
1986: Bob McClelland
B.C. industry minister and one-time Social Credit leadership contender Bob McClelland admitted he had
paid $130 to Top Hat Escort in 1985 to have a prostitute sent to his hotel after having “a fair amount to
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drink.” His dalliance was uncovered after a police investigation into the escort agency uncovered his
credit card details. McClelland resigned in August 1986 after testifying at a trial into Top Hat’s activities.
2008: Maxime Bernier
Maxime Bernier, the star of Stephen Harper’s Quebec caucus, was forced to resign as foreign affairs
minister after admitting he had left classified government documents at the home of his then-girlfriend,
Julie Couillard, a woman who had previously dated two Hell’s Angels associates. Shortly after they broke
up, Couillard gave a tell-all television interview about the relationship, which she followed up with a
book.
In Domesticated Norris problematizes the equation between sexuality and political power. The historic
episodes in the play and the scandal in the play highlight the precarious relationship between sexual
licentiousness and political power. Furthermore, they reveal a pattern of a healthy marriage equating
trustworthiness in the public eye. Overall they suggest questions around private versus public persona
and more specifically the interrelation between private behaviour (of individual desire, not of ideology)
and public service.
Courtroom Drama
A.D.A.: So prove she wasn’t pushed.
Bobbie: Well, it’s not our job to prove a negative, but moreover, we have a
statement.
A.D.A.: (dubiously, re: BILL ) His statement.
Bobbie: Well, there were only two people in the hotel room and, to put it
bluntly, one of them’s not talking.
(Norris 10)
Bobbie: On the other hand, you have a man who made a mistake. Who for
twenty-two years has made women’s health a priority in both private
practice and public office and believe me, the irony is lost on none of us, but
if you’re going to claim intent? Then you’ll have to show us what you got.
Because if you really want to take that in front of a jury? I think we both
know you only stand to lose.
(Norris 11)
Although a relatively minor element of Domesticated, the trial scene in the play place Domesticated
within a rich and popular canon of plays that stage legal proceedings and playwrights often use court
cases as a means to examine complex social issues.
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A short list of plays that have used the law to investigate social issues:
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The Merchant of Venice (William Shakespeare)
The Crucible (Arthur Miller)
Twelve Angry Men (Reginald Rose)
Saint Joan (George Bernard Shaw)
Race (Davit Mamet)
A Few Good Men (Aaron Sorkin)
“Our legal system is pure theatre and always has been. Many barristers stand accused of being failed
actors and vice versa. Judges love the dressing-up box and a chance to give their gavel a good bang.
With murmuring galleries, shocking verdicts, swooning witnesses, cries of 'all rise' and 'take him down',
the flummery and drama of the courtroom has always supplied a rich genre for film, theatre and telly”
(Gore-Langton).
“The courtroom drama is a venerable and ubiquitous phenomenon on stage, screen, and tube” (Scott).
15
Study Links
Subject Area
The Arts
Sample Courses
Drama – ADA 3M
English
English – ENG 3U
Media Studies – EMS 3O
The Writer’s Craft – EWC 4U
Health and
Physical
Healthy Active Living Education –
PPL 4O
Curriculum Connections
B1.2 analyse drama works to determine how they
communicate ideas about issues, culture, and
society
B1.3 analyse and evaluate the aesthetic and
technical aspects of drama works of diverse genres
and styles
C1.1 identify and describe the forms, elements,
conventions, and techniques used in a variety
of drama styles, and explain how they help
achieve specific purposes and effects
C3.3 demonstrate an understanding of correct
theatre worker and audience etiquette in
classroom drama work and formal performance
contexts
Oral Communication:
1.5 develop and explain interpretations of oral
texts, including increasingly complex or difficult
texts, using evidence from the text and the
oral and visual cues used in it to effectively
support their interpretation
1.8 identify and analyse the perspectives and/or
biases evident in oral texts, including increasingly
complex or difficult texts, and comment
with growing understanding on any questions
they may raise about beliefs, values, identity,
and power
A1.2 identify and explain the messages in and
meanings of media texts
A2.2 analyse how the language, tone, and point of
view used in media texts work to influence the
interpretation of messages
B1.2 analyse media representations of current
social, political, and cultural issues and events, and
explain how the representations might affect
the audience’s interpretation of the issues
1.1 read a range of teacher- and self-selected
models of effective writing to become familiar
with the art, craft, and world of writing
1.5 explain various ways in which works by
selected writers from Canada and around the
world are influenced by the writers’ personal
experiences, beliefs, and socio-cultural contexts
C1.3 demonstrate an understanding of how
relationships develop through various stages, and
16
Education
Social
Sciences and
Humanities
Gender Studies – HSG 3M
Philosophy: Questions and
Theories HZT 4U
Dynamics of Human
Relationships – HHD 3O
Families in Canada – HHS 4U
describe the skills and strategies needed to
maintain a satisfactory relationship as the
relationship evolves
C3.4 analyse the portrayal of different
relationships in the media with respect to bias and
stereotyping, and describe how individuals can
take action to encourage more realistic and
inclusive messaging
B1.1 explain key terms and concepts relating to
gender studies
B1.2 explain how gender norms are socially
constructed and may be culturally specific, and
describe possible tensions between an individual’s
gender performance and societal norms
B3.1 analyse representations of gender in media
and popular culture
D3.1 demonstrate an understanding of the
influence that ideas related to ethics have on their
everyday life
C1.2 identify characteristics of healthy
relationships
C1.3 describe behaviours that characterize
unhealthy relationships
B1.2 assess research on sex-based similarities and
differences as well as gender-based similarities
and differences
B2.1 explain the development of intimate
relationships according to a variety of theoretical
perspectives
C1.2 explain how multiple roles can create
personal conflict
C2.1 analyse ways in which social norms and
expectations can influence the establishment and
maintenance of healthy intimate relationships
17
Curriculum Relevant Discussion Questions
Drama

The original production of Domesticated was staged in-the-round. How do choices of theatrical
structures influence the meaning of a play? What other theatrical formats do you think would
suit Domesticated and why?

How are power dynamics in relationships between and among characters depicted in the
staging of Domesticated?

After seeing a performance of Domesticated: did you see elements of Brecht’s Epic Theatre at
play? How and when where they used? How did these effects influence the audience’s
relationship with the characters and the story? How do Norris’ specific staging instructions
complement or contrast the journey and emotions of the characters? Was their use effective in
getting you to think critically about the issues addressed in the play? Consider both the text and
staging. (see Critical Exploration)

Plays with large female-driven casts are relatively rare. Investigate other plays that feature large
female casts (Fefu and her Friends, Les Belles Soeurs, The Rez Sisters, Top Girls, The Penelopiad,
Lysistrata, The House of Bernarda Alba). What do these plays have in common with
Domesticated? In what ways are they distinct? How does having an almost solely female cast
impact your experience as an audience member? What does it suggest about a theatre economy
when plays with an all-female cast (or nearly all-female) strikes the audience as unusual (Relate
this question back to the feminism/gender issues talked about earlier)?
English

In his review of Domesticated for the New York Times, Ben Brantley wrote: “The preferred form
of speech here is the monologue, even when it pretends to be dialogue.” What is the difference
between monologue and dialogue? What do you think Brantley meant by this? Use specific
examples from the play.

Bill: “actually, it’s funny – ya know, if you think about the function of an apology. About its
intended - It’s a series of words. Which is not to say merely. Not to say words aren’t important,
in and of themselves, as a way of - of - of - of - um” (Norris 2).
Judy: “No no no, let me talk. I’m gonna be doing the majority of the talking in this stage, all
right? This is gonna be the monologue stage” (Norris 6).
How does language act as a tool that benefits the characters? Are there specific examples of
when language fails characters in communicating their thoughts and arguments? What do these
moments tell us about the situations the characters find themselves in?

Anna D. Shapiro, director of the original production of Domesticated has said that “A huge part
of Bruce’s work has to do with how people use language to defend emotional position”(Lincoln
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Center Theater). How does this manifest itself in the production? Are certain characters more
prone to this behaviour than others? Do you also see manifestations of this in other plays by
Norris such as Clybourne Park?

“I like to disrupt is what I like to do... I just like to disrupt situations. I don’t like when people
seem to think they know the answers or their mind is made up about something”(Bruce Norris
as quoted in Rees, Jasper). How does this personal position manifest itself in Bruce Norris’
writing? How does this influence plot and character development in Domesticated?

Compare Norris’s writing style in Domesticated to Clybourne Park or another Norris play. What is
the same? What is different?

Consider naturalistic versus stylized dialogue, colloquial versus formal speech patterns. In
Domesticated, do we see people talk the way they talk in real life? Or is this an artificial
colloquial style Norris uses? And if so, to what end?
Civics

“Bobbie: no no no no no. (to the JUDGE) See, what’s happening here, is an attempt to exploit my
client’s desire for privacy - (cont’d.)
A.D.A.: (overlapping) He’s a public figure!” (Norris 10).
Host: “If you’re anything like me, you probably remember where you were when you first heard
the story - a story that left so many of us shaking our heads and thinking here we go again and
wondering whether those we place in positions of authority can ever really live up to the things
they espouse? Or maybe they never really meant them in the first place. And in that case, then
what does that say about us?” (Norris 24).
In your opinion, does a politician’s personal life have an impact on their suitability for public
office? Should politicians be held to a higher standard of behaviour than members of other
professions?

How does Domesticated compare to other fictional portrayals of political scandals (House of
Cards, The Good Wife, 24)?
Gender Studies (see Critical Exploration section for more details)

How do different characters in the play perform their gender identity? Are they reproducing
gender expectations or challenging them?

Based on your personal gender expectations, if you’ve read the script, do you think there are
differences in how the characters are written and how they are performed?

“Gender is such a familiar part of daily life that it usually takes a deliberate disruption of our
expectations of how women and men are supposed to act to pay attention to how it is
produced” (Lorber 100). Does Norris’ choice to feature a predominantly female cast act as a
“deliberate disruption”? Did seeing this play make you reconsider gender roles? If so, how? Did
certain scenes challenge how men and women are supposed to act?
19

Do different generations have different expectations for how gender should be performed?
What examples of this do we see in the play?

Bill says that “in the last fifty years we’ve reached a remarkable turning point in history where,
in a precise inversion of how we treated you - Now we’ve reached the historical moment in
which anything a woman could possibly want is universally construed as good, and all of a man’s
desires - for all intents and purposes – are bad” (Norris 50). Do you agree or disagree with Bill?
Do you think Norris agrees or disagrees with Bill? What evidence from the play (either the text
or performance) supports your idea?

How does Bill assert his masculinity in Domesticated? How does he react when his masculinity is
threatened? How do these reactions inform his predetermined expectations of the genders?

How does gender relate to power? Are there times in the play when characters see their gender
as a source of power (or as a reason why they experience oppression)? Are there times in the
play when characters see their genders as advantageous or as a disadvantage? Finally, are there
examples in the play of a power struggle among characters of the same gender (consider, for
example, how Casey speaks about her female peers)? Do these situations relate to larger
systemic issues in our society or are they unique to the play?

Are there times in the play when Bill performs or resists hegemonic masculinity?

How does the author’s gender influence the potential sexual or gender appropriation in the
play? Does the strength or influence of the female voice change when considering the male
authorship of the play?

Do you think that there is a biological reason for infidelity? Do you think the characters of Bill
and Judy lend themselves to such simple conclusions or do they invite us to consider them and
other couples in similar situations with more complexity?

How does Domesticated approach the legacy of gender structures in relation to concepts such
as fidelity, monogamy, sexual expression, and sexual taboos?

Do Bill and Judy lend themselves to a clear-cut definition of what it means to act like a man or a
woman? Or do they invite us to consider the complexities of each unique relationship in the
world and if so, how?

Consider the fact that Domesticated is written by a male author and portrays predominantly
female voices. Norris has said, “As a man, I’m kind of defensive about my gender ... and yet I’m
also aware that I’m completely as a man, especially a white heterosexual man, completely
culpable for all of the sins of my brethren for millennia, I’m completely aware of that, so there’s
no defence I can really amount, but that doesn’t stop me from writing a play” (Platform Talk). Is
20
this gender appropriation, or not? Do you think Norris’ voice emerges in either the female or
male characters? Is that intentional? Does this change how we think about the play?
Biology

Define the difference between sex and gender.

Bill says “And I mean this sincerely. That you’ve been nothing but a means to an end, and you’ve
served your purpose, and the big prize for your participation is: Now she loves something else
more than you.” (Norris 50)
Is a mother’s unconditional love for her child proven by biological theories? According to these
theories, is it valid for this connection to her child to usurp her spousal connection?
In 2005, Ayelet Waldman wrote an essay called “Truly, Madly, Guiltily” in The New York Times in
which she claimed to love her husband more than her four children. The reaction was hostile. Is
this a feasible truth according to biological theories? Read the article here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/27/fashion/truly-madly-guiltily.html

Is gender something we are born with, like a buck with antlers, or is it something we “put on”
(visually, mentally, or physically) based on societal expectations? Use Cassidy’s power point
presentation about animal reproductive patterns as evidence of your argument.

Is gender wholly scientific, or is it governed by the human element? Consider how gender
performance varies between species.
Media and Journalism

“The press is on trial with readers and viewers. The charge: Unnecessary violation of the privacy
of politicians and their families....the predominance of such so-called character questions is
eroding the credibility of political journalists and turning American democracy into a sort of
peepshow or soap opera” (Sabato, Stencel, and Lichter). How important a role do you think the
media plays in swaying public opinion on social/political issues? Whose opinions do you think
the media reflect?

Do the talk show hosts in Domesticated cross any ethical lines in their questions or portrayals of
the situation? What ethical standards should talk show hosts be held to? Are these standards
the same as those for journalists? Compare the talk show scenes in Domesticated to reporting
on actual political scandals.
Media and Performance Studies

Jill Dolan argues “that theatre creates an ideal spectator carved in the likeness of the dominant
culture whose ideology he represents is the motivating assumption behind the discourse of
feminist performance criticism” (Dolan 288).
How can a play with an almost all female cast challenge the male gaze (or the idea that media is
created with a male audience in mind, through a “male” lens? Do you think this production
challenges the male gaze? Do the women in Domesticated connote “to-be-looked-at-ness”
21
(Mulvey 62)? Can a play like Domesticated be effective in shifting the male gaze if it is written by
a man?
Law

In addition to the trial scene, the characters in Domesticated are frequently called on to defend
their actions and beliefs during their interactions with family, friends, and co-workers. Are there
moments in the play when characters appear to be “on trial” outside of the courtroom?

In the trial scene do you think Norris portrays the legal system as fair and unbiased?

How do aspects of the legal system (such as the phrase “innocent until proven guilty”) influence
our daily lives and those of the characters in Domesticated?
Film Studies

Ed: “And I don’t see what’s so wrong with having a little work done. Maybe it’s generational, but
I don’t have any problem with a little… re-upholstery. And maybe it’s a double standard, but
men are visually oriented and there’s nothing you can do about it” (Norris 20).
Film theorist Laura Mulvey states that “In a world ordered by sexual imbalance, pleasure in
looking has been split between active male and passive female. The determining male gaze
projects its fantasy on to the female figure which is styled accordingly, in their traditional
exhibitionist role women are simultaneously looked at and displayed ... they can be said to
connote to-be-looked-at-ness” (Mulvey 62). How have you seen this manifested in film? Is this
manifested in theatre as well? In similar or different ways? How is this manifested in
Domesticated specifically?
Health and Dynamics of Human Relationships

What skills are required for fostering honest, respectful, and responsible relationships? Are
these utilized by characters found in Domesticated? Consider the diverse relationships found in
the play: romantic, professional, familial, and friendly.

How do the characters in Domesticated manage stress? Do they choose healthy strategies?

How do the characters in Domesticated communicate effectively or ineffectively? Consider
moments of communication between Casey and Bill, Judy and Bill, the Transsexual Woman and
Bill?

How do you think being in the public eye can affect a relationship?
22
Anthropology, Sociology, and Psychology

Bill: “Anyway, week later I’m standing at the altar in some rented tuxedo thinking, what am I, a
salmon? I’m supposed to mate once and then die? No. We’re a promiscuous species”(Norris 49).
How would different schools of thought in psychology or sociology explain a cultural expectation
of monogamy? Is infidelity a universal cultural social taboo? Are there any cultures in which
monogamy is not the norm?

Throughout Domesticated, Cassidy is seen giving a PowerPoint presentation about the
reproductive tendencies of different species. How can Cassidy’s discussions of relationships in
different species inform our own understandings of human relationship dynamics and gender
roles/norms?
Family Studies

The Pulvers are a depiction of a traditional modern American family. Concurrently, the
individuals represent extremes. For instance, Casey the vocal oppositional teenager versus
Cassidy, the silent younger sibling. What commentary is being made about the influence of a
family unit on an individual? Do you think that their characters are impacted by their role within
the family before or during the scandal, or both?

What is the meaning of the detail that Cassidy is an adopted girl from a developing country?
How does this decision by the playwright comment on the American family today, and in the
context of the subjects explored in the play?
Philosophy

Judy: “People make mistakes. But what you do, then, is take steps so as not to repeat them”
(Norris 14).
Applying theories of ethics, prove or disprove Judy’s statement. Use examples of characters’
actions to support your argument.
23
Pre- and Post- Show Activities
Brechtian Staging (Drama)
“All those methods have been taken up as general practice. Every play since then, well not every play,
but it’s become very typical theatre language, to see lights, to have abstract scenery, to have music, all
the Brechtian techniques of alienation are used very regularly” (Tom Pye).
1. Assign students scenes from a play. Challenge students to create a design presentation and
performance of that scene from a naturalistic perspective.
2. Research Brecht’s Epic Theatre and Alienation. Complete the design and performance project
applying Brechtian techniques.
3. Discuss: What affect does each style produce? For the performers? For the audience? What
themes and ideas come to the foreground?
Gender Roles and Relationships (Social Sciences and Humanities)
1. Divide students into groups. Read the following statements made about men and women and
discuss how they manifest themselves in the play:
“Men marry women with the hope they will never change. Women marry men with the hope
they will change. Invariably they are both disappointed.” – Albert Einstein
“Why does a woman work ten years to change a man, then complain he's not the man she
married?” – Barbra Streisand
“Women need to feel loved and men need to feel needed.” – Rita Mae Brown
Extension: Have students assume the role of playwright and draft a proposal or storyboard for a play
they want to write in response to one of the quotes. Do they agree or disagree with the quote? Why?
Who would the key players in their story be?
Inside Public Marriages (Drama and English)
1. Have students find an image of a famous couple from throughout history.
2. Research the context of the image including when and where it was taken. Further, look into the
political, social, economic situation of the time and place. Consider variables such as media’s
role as well.
3. Using this information, allow students to write a monologue as one of the individuals depicted.
24
A Play as an “Onion” (Drama and English)
Original cast member Vanessa Aspillaga describes Domesticated as an “onion”—a play with multiple
layers that unfold as the play goes on (Broadway.com).
1. Choose a character from Domesticated and map their journey throughout the play taking note
of times in which a “layer of the onion” is peeled away and new information is revealed.
2. Consider the following questions reflecting specifically on the character mapped: Why do you
think Bruce Norris chose to reveal information when he did? What affect did these reveals have
on you as an audience member?
3. Revisit your map and chart how your own feelings towards the character were impacted by each
layer of information.
Extension: Create a storyboard for a new play in which a similar structure is used (more information is
revealed and situations become increasingly complex as “layers” are peeled away). Which information
do you choose to share with your audience first? Last? What informed these choices?
25
Works Cited (alphabetical)
("Anthony Weiner Sexting Scandal.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation Inc, n.d. Web. 9 April 2015.)
("Eliot Spitzer Prostitution Scandal." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation Inc, n.d. Web. 9 April 2015.)
("John Ensign Scandal." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation Inc, n.d. Web. 9 April 2015.)
("List of Federal Political Sex Scandals in the United States." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation Inc, n.d.
Web. 9 April 2015.)
("Mark Sanford Disappearance and Extramarital Affair." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation Inc, n.d. Web.
9 April 2015.)
(Healy). , Patrick. "Call It the Theater of Contrition." The New York Times. The New York Times Company,
23 Oct. 2013. Web. 9 April 2015.)
(Healy, Patrick. "Call It the Theater of Contrition." The New York Times. The New York Times Company,
23 Oct. 2013. Web. 9 April 2015.)
(http://biomechanics.vtheatre.net/doc/epic.html)
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/guides/zwmvd2p/revision/1)
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-828KqtTkA)
(Norris in Kachka, Boris. "I’m a Racist.” New York Theater. New York Media, LLC, 14 Feb. 2010. Web. 9
April 2015)
BBC Bitesize education guides. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/guides/zwmvd2p/revision/2)
Biography from Steppenwolf Theatre website ("Member Profiles: Bruce Norris." Steppenwolf Theatre.
Steppenwolf Theatre Company, n.d. Web. 9 April 2015.)
Blog of Lists. "8 Canadian Political Sex Scandals – And One Maybe." Macleans. Rogers Digital Media, 29
Aug. 2012. Web. 9 April 2015.
Brantley, Ben. "After Extramarital Activities, Politician Looks for the Words." The New York Times. The
New York Times, 04 Nov. 2013. Web. 09 Apr.
2015.http://www.nytimes.com/theater/show/132373/Domesticated/overview
Broadway.com. " Vanessa Aspillaga on Why Bruce Norris’ Domesticated Is Like an Onion." Online video
clip.Broadway.com , n.d.. Web. 9 Apr. 2015.
Connell, R. W., & Messerschmidt, James W. "Hegemonic Masculinity: Rethinking the Concept." Gender
and Society 19 (2005): 829-59. Web.
26
Dolan, Jill. “The Discourse of Feminisms: The Spectator and Representation.” The Routledge Reader in
Gender and Performance. Ed. Lizbeth Goodman. London: Routledge, 1998. 288-293.
Gardner, Lyn. "Bruce Norris: Squirm, You Hypocrites!" The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited,
05 Mar. 2013. Web. 09 Apr. 2015. (http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2013/mar/05/brucenorris-interview-stage-theatre)
Gore-Langton, Robert. "Law in action: as a new production of Twelve Angry Men opens in the West End,
Robert Gore-Langton names his favourite courtroom dramas." Spectator 9 Nov. 2013: 57+.
General OneFile. Web. 27 Mar. 2015.
Judith Butler quote:"Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and
Feminist Theory." Theatre Journal. Vol. 40, No. 4, pp. 519-531, December 1988.
Kimmel, Michael S. The Gender of Desire: Essays on Male Sexuality. Albany: State University of New York
Press, 2005. Print.
Lincoln Center Theater. “Domesticated with Bruce Norris and Anna D. Shapiro.” Sound Clip. Lincoln
Center Theater. Lincoln Center Theater, date of posting. Web. 9 April 2015.
Lorber, Judith. “The Social Construction of Gender” Retrieved from:
http://www.li.suu.edu/library/circulation/Gurung/soc2370sgLorberSocialConstructionOfGend
erFall11.pdf
Lorber? Big Think. “Your Behaviour Creates Your Gender.” Web Video. Big Think. The Big Think Inc., n.d.
Web. 9 April 2015.
MoMA Learning. “Investigating Identity: Constructing Gender." MoMa. MoMa, n.d. Web. 9 April 2015.
Mulvey, Laura. “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.” Retrieved from:
http://www.asu.edu/courses/fms504/total-readings/mulvey-visualpleasure.pdf
Norris, Bruce. Domesticated. New York, New York: Harden-Curtis Associates, Rehearsal Draft – Oct 30,
2013. Print.
Platform Talk. (http://www.lct.org/explore/blog/platform-talk-author-and-director-domesticated/).
Rees, Jasper. "Bruce Norris: ‘I think We Are Doomed." The Telograph. Telegraph Media Group, 7 Mar.
2013. Web. 4 May 2009.
Sabato, Larry J., Lichter, S. Robert, & Stencel, Mark. Peepshow: Media and Politics in an Age of Scandal.
Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2000. Print.
Scott, Jay. "Making a Case for Courtroom Drama." The Globe and Mail (1936-Current): 1. Dec 18 1992.
ProQuest. Web. 27 Mar. 2015 .
TGC Interview. http://www.tcg.org/publications/at/oct11/brucenorris.cfm
27
Tom Pye, set designer, National Theatre in National Theatre Discover. "An Introduction to Brechtian
Theatre." Online video clip.
YouTube. YouTube, 26 Jul. 2012. Web. 9 April 2015.
Waldmen, Ayalet. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/27/fashion/truly-madly-guiltily.html
28
This Study Guide was created and compiled by:
Erin Schachter, Education & Audience Development Manager
Emily St-Aubin, Education Intern
Victoria Fraser, Producing Intern
Educator Outreach Program Sponsor:
Canadian Stage Educator Advisory Committee, 2015.2016
Please feel free to contact me or an Advisor from your own board to discuss productions and
further education opportunities at Canadian Stage.
Erin Schachter
Alicia Roberge
Christine Jackson
Janet O’Neill
Jennifer Burak
Julian Richings
Laurence Siegel
Melissa Farmer
Michael Limerick
Sally Spofforth
[email protected]
Marc Garneau, TDSB
TDSB
TDSB
Arts Educator
Arts Education Consultant
Arts Education Consultant
Branksome Hall, CIS
Monarch Park, TDSB
Marc Garneau, TDSB
[email protected]
Janet.O'[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
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