ENGL 161 Okanagan College A Dolls House Creative Components Paper https://www.gutenberg.org/files/15492/15492-h/15492-h.htm written playhttps://www.youtube

ENGL 161 Okanagan College A Dolls House Creative Components Paper https://www.gutenberg.org/files/15492/15492-h/15492-h.htm written playhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZo6gL3CwrE moviensdjfsjdfnsdfnldfsndfslnkdfnkdsflnkdfklndfnkldfsknfdsknlfdknfdknsfnkdfklnfdsknldfkdfskndfnkdfknlkldfskldfsklndfknlfdsklfdklnsfdksdf Assignment #2 – ENGL 161 – 001
Dramaturgy Assignment: A Doll’s House
(Roughly) 1000 words – 15%
DUE: June 4, 2020
“I must make up my mind which is right – society or I.” – Nora
A script is not a performance but a set of instructions for a performance. Every performance is an act
of interpretation.
For this assignment, you will think about theatre from the inside; you will create an interpretation by
reflecting on how a play gets written or performed. Your task is to write a creative engagement with
Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, as either a playwright, a production designer, or a director.
There are two parts to this assignment. Complete both parts! Word count will vary, but length should
reflect both the type of assignment you choose and the overall weighting. It is worth 20% of your final
mark.
PART 1: THE CREATIVE COMPONENT
There are three roles you can choose between for this assignment: The Playwright, The Production
Designer or The Director.
CREATIVE COMPONENT OPTION 1: Playwright
You have been tasked with writing a sequel to A Doll’s House, chronicling Nora’s return to her former
home. Write a scene of approximately three pages (40-50 lines of dialogue), with stage and setting
instructions as necessary.
You may imagine Nora’s return in any way you wish—a matter of days or decades. Your script should
incorporate the themes and concerns of the original, and your characterization should be consistent,
if not identical. You do not have to take the same position as Ibsen’s play – in fact, you may take the
opportunity to “talk back” to the 1879 original, but it should address similar questions.
You may write a realist sequel, or you may choose…not to. Set A Doll’s House, Part Two in the 1920s,
in the 1980s or on the USS Enterprise. The idea is to engage with the thematic concerns of Ibsen’s
play in a theatrical way.
Format the page approximately the same as the script published in our anthology.
CREATIVE COMPONENT OPTION 2: Production Design
You are a production designer who has just been hired by a (very) small theatrical company to
produce a performance of A Doll’s House. You have a budget of $1,500. Create a plan for an
imagined performance and briefly describe the aspects of a theatrical production, the choices you
would make, and why these are appropriate to Ibsen’s play. Again, feel free to be creative: will you
set the play in 1880s Norway? 1980s Manhattan? In outer space?
Consult the list of staging elements below, and choose TWO to focus on:
1. Location and set
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The entire play is set in the same room of Torvald’s middle-class home. Where will you perform
the play? Inside? Outside? A community space? A theatre? Someone’s home? What kind of
staging will you use? Round? Thrust? Proscenium? Will the actors be elevated, as is usual in a
theatre, or on the same level as the audience? (Or below, as in a stadium?) Describe or illustrate
the set you intend to use and be as specific as possible. Be sure to refer to specific scenes or
actions in the play to show, practically, how the set will function. Will the set be minimalist?
Hyper-realist? Surreal? Include key props if you use them. How will the sets change? Who will
change them? Stagehands? The actors?
2. Lighting, sound effects and transitions
What kind of lighting effects will you use? What colours? Will you use stencils or gobos? How will
you indicate changes of mood or tone, like the beginning of act two or the tense conclusion?
What kind of music will you use? Will it be diegetic (i.e. the source of the sound is onstage or
implied in the action, like from a TV or radio) or non-diegetic (coming from outside the story
space)?
3. Actors
There are five major characters in A Doll’s House, three children and three minor roles. How
many actors will you hire? Who do you imagine in the roles? Be specific: gender, hair colour, skin
colour, height, body shape and size, age, and so on. Will you change the genders of any roles?
What would be the effect of reversing gender roles? Of casting both Torvald and Nora in the
same gender? Describe or illustrate each of the four main characters and indicate how the other
roles will be filled. If you have specific actors in mind, you may indicate a preference, within
reason.
4. Costume, hair and make-up
Artists and sketchers, represent! What would the performers wear? What does their hair look
like? Is it modern, dated, extravagant, austere? Any noticeable make-up? Describe or illustrate
the costumes and be specific as possible.
CREATIVE COMPONENT OPTION 3: Director
The production designer from the above company has hired you to direct A Doll’s House.
Congratulations! Block out a short scene (or part of a longer scene). Where will the characters stand
on stage? Which way will they face? What emotions or directives should they channel while reciting
their lines? What should characters do when they’re not speaking? Divide your scene into units, and
indicate what each actor should be thinking and doing. Include blocking diagrams (referencing page
numbers) where possible. Include pauses (or “beats”), emphases and indicate the most important
line of the scene (and why). If you like, you and a partner can act out your scene, incorporating your
direction.
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PART 2: THE ESSAY (400-500 words, MLA format)
The essay is the place you will directly explain your thought process and your goals for the
assignment, so make sure it is clear, thoughtful, and well-organized. I expect to see interpretation of
the play itself here, and explanations about how your creative component engages with the difficult
questions the script raises: gender, middle-class respectability, and moral hypocrisy.
Use your essay to explore some of the following questions:
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•
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How did you choose your creative option?
How did you decide on the specific details you’ve chosen?
What aspect of the play was it most important for you to emphasize in your creative
component?
o What specific ideas, questions, images or themes did you want to feature?
o How did you do that?
o How do you want the audience to make the connection between your creative
choices and the ideas you are trying to express?
What issues might arise when you stage the play or add your new scene? How would you
address those issues?
What did you find out about the play by creating your staging or scene?
What did you find out about theatre in general by creating your staging or scene?
What effect do you hope your staging / scene will have for your audience? What do you want
them to take away from it?
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