plessy 2008 fall syllabus
TRANSCRIPT
8/14/2019 Plessy 2008 Fall Syllabus
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____________________________________________________
PLESSY v. FERGUSON: THE
PLAY
FIRST Y EAR SEMINAR
SYLLABUS ________________________________
Political Science 51
FALL 2008 LeFebvre ________________________________
Professor: Donna LeFebvre, J.D.
http://www.unc.edu/depts/polisci/faculty_pages/lefebvre.html
Office Hours: Thursdays: 3:30-5 pm, or by appt.Office: 306 Hamilton HallAddress: CB #3265, UNC-CH, 27599Email: [email protected] Tel.: 962-0429 (office); 933-6822 (home)
Class Listserv: <[email protected]>
TAs: Cameran Hebb <[email protected]> Tel: 360-701-2483 _________________________ Address: 519 Senlac Road
Jake Reardon < [email protected]> Tel: 336-583-4020 ______________________ Address: 322 Joyner Dorm
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_________________________________ _______ IMPORTANT DATES – Mark your calendars!!
2 Weeks-Down-Pizza-Get-Together:Cameran’s house 6:30-9 pm, Sept. 4, 5, or 11th
Turn in LIST of Play-Writing-Group-Members Thurs., Oct. 2
EXAM Tues., Oct. 7
Your Group Play Draft is due Tues., Oct. 21
Your Group's Final Play- Finished Script
Due
Tues., Oct. 28
Halloween Party -Thurs., Oct. 30, 6:30-9:30
Roles Cast, Production Assts [PAs],TA Directors assigned info emailed to listserv
by lead TA.
Thurs., Oct. 30 Please Note:
You will NOT be cast in the Playyou helped write
First Revision, by Cast and Director Tues., Nov. 4
Final Revisions, by Cast and Director -clean
scripts
Tues., Nov. 11
REHEARSAL Schedule (on, at least, 3 different days)
FRi,-- Nov. 14 to Sat.- Nov. 22
DRESS Rehearsal Sunday, Nov. 23, 5:30-9 pm
PERFORMANCE !!!!!
Cast Party- -9-10:30 pm, after performance;transportation provided
Monday, Nov 24, at 7pm
Be there at 5:30 pm
Thanksgiving Holiday Wed., Nov. 26, thru Sun., Nov. 30
Last Day this Class Tuesday, Dec. 2
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I. PURPOSE and SCOPE OF COURSE
The purpose of this seminar is to introduce you to the law, civil rights, Southern history, politics,moral questions, and culture surrounding the 1896 case of Plessy v. Ferguson, a case that hashad an impact on every part of our life in America. You'll learn all about the legal issues andthen bring them and the case to life by researching, writing, producing, and performing a playabout some aspect of this case.
In Plessy v. Ferguson, the United States Supreme Court created the "separate but equal"doctrine, allowing the legal segregation of citizens of America, based solely on their race. Thiscase is one of the most important ones in our legal and cultural history; it marked a dreadfulturning point in American constitutional law and civil rights, and it created a moral and legalcatastrophe from which we have never fully recovered. In Plessy, the United States SupremeCourt gave its stamp of approval to "Jim Crow" laws, race discrimination, segregation, andsecond class citizenship for African Americans. With this case, as one historian said,"Permission to hate had been granted." It took the Supreme Court nearly 60 years to reverse Plessy, in Brown v. Board of Education, in 1954. However, despite the Brown case, the legacy
of Plessy v. Fergusonendures into the twenty-first century, and it continues to have an impacton the lives of all Americans.
This course is multidisciplinary in content. Therefore, the materials that you'll be studying andreading are diverse and cover a variety of disciplines— political science; law; African-Americanstudies; Southern culture and politics; history; philosophy; sociology; literature; and dramaticarts. By looking at the Plessy case from the points of view of various disciplines, you'll be ableto see the connections that occur between them. In this seminar, we'll look at how society andthe legal system both created and reacted to the social, moral, and legal dilemmas of the Plessycase. You will critically examine those moral issues through the eyes of the law and through thelenses of race, economics, class, history, and culture, and then discuss and compare these
different perspectives. Why are the Brown and Plessy cases different? Why is the dissent in Plessy famous? In what ways are you different from and the same as the people you're studying?
Students will read and learn about the social, cultural, political, racial, religious, and economictraditions and realities of New Orleans, before and after the Civil War, from 1800 to 1900.You'llmeet and get to know the major characters in the Plessy case, including the members of the New Orleans Citizens' Committee, who decided in 1892 to take the state of Louisiana to courtand challenge the law that made it a crime for whites and African Americans to sit in the sametrain car, and Homer Plessy, the New Orleans shoemaker, "seven-eighths white and one-eighth black", who "looked white" and who agreed to board the "white" train and break the law. Youwill also get to know Homer Plessy's lawyers: Albion Tourgee, a well-known, controversial“carpetbagger” lawyer, novelist, businessman, newspaper writer, judge, and civil rights activistin post-Civil War North Carolina; Sam Phillips, a Chapel Hill lawyer who became an outcast inChapel Hill and North Carolina for his civil rights views and cases, his prosecution of KKK members, and for his relationship to President Ulysses S. Grant, who made Phillips Solicitor General of the United States. You'll learn, as well, about U.S. Supreme Court Justice JohnMarshall Harlan, the iconoclastic, former slave-holder, who in his famous dissent in the case,correctly predicted the future of U.S. race relations, and about Henry Billings Brown, the Justice
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who penned the Plessy opinion and who, during the Civil War, paid someone else to take his place as a soldier.
In this course, I want you to see the Plessy case through the eyes of those who lived it. You willthen translate your new knowledge of the times, the people, and the historical, moral, legal, andsocial context of Plessy into the medium of drama. You'll read about and have workshops on playwriting and acting. You'll then collaborate with a group of classmates on writing, producing,and performing your play. You'll have a lot of flexibility in creating this dramatic piece, as longas the play is meaningfully connected to the Plessy case; effectively communicates the problemsand issues presented in that case, as well as the difficulties those issues continue to present for allof us; and reflects substantial knowledge and serious research. Some groups may want to createa play, or a "playlet", that is stark and minimalist, with a twenty-first century —or even later— setting. Other students may be more interested in a nineteenth century period piece, or a musical.Towards the end of the semester, each group will present its play to a larger audience. Other important purposes of this course are as follows: to allow you to perfect your researchskill and writing skills through the researching, writing—and rewritings— of your plays; to
develop your speaking skills through informal discussions and informal and formal dramatic presentations; and to encourage you to go to plays, with the hope that participation in thedramatic arts will become for you a lifetime habit. You will accomplish the purposes of thecourse through reading books, articles, and court cases; by attending plays in the community; byclass and group oral presentations, discussions, group work, through role-playing, andsimulations; through local field trips; and by writing, producing, and performing a dramaticwork.
** NOTE: *No prior drama or play-writing experience is expected or required!
II. COURSE METHODS
We will accomplish the purposes of the course through reading books, articles, and court cases;attending plays; by class and group oral presentations, discussions, group work, role-playing,and simulations; field trips; and by writing, producing, and performing a dramatic work.
III. FIELD TRIPWe'll go on a short field trip to Sam Phillips' law office; his house; to the houses of his brother and father; to his family's graves; and to Phillips Hall, all on or next to campus.
III. COURSE REQUIREMENTS
A. Books and Course Pack : The main text is the Plessy Course Pack, composed of articles
and readings for this course, plus a Supplement of articles about New Orleans that I will puton E-Reserve. The other books for the course are Perfect Ten: Writing and Producing the
10 Minute Play, by Gary Garrison; We As Free Men: Plessy v. Ferguson, by Keith WeldonMedley; and Life On the Color Line, by Greg Williams. All are available at Student Stores.
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B. The Plays: Writing and Acting as part of Small Groups: Much of the work in this course
will take place in small groups. Interaction and collaboration are important—in your futurecareers, whatever they are, most projects are done with at least one other person. Working asa member of a group, you'll be able to contribute your particular talents and knowledge tothe project, but it takes patience, hard work, and cooperation to make a group succeed.
Guidelines for Groups: READ!!!• Meet Early and Often.• Divide Up the Work - Each person should know clearly what his/her job is. You also
need to make sure that the work is divided up fairly and equally.• Share Your Work Regularly - Exchange your work with your partner or team members
often for input and as a way of staying on track.
• Set Deadlines, and then meet them . Don’t miss meetings with your group!
• Evaluate Yourselves Regularly - You should ask yourselves and each other thefollowing questions a few times during your work together:(1) What is each member of the group contributing?(2) What more can each member do?(3) What part of the group process is working well?(4) What part of the group process is not working well?
(5) How does each member propose to improve the process?
C. In-Class Team Dramatic Presentations-- You will write and perform short plays during
class on topics from our readings. Each student will be part of a team. Instructions and thedates for the presentations are on the assignment sheet at the end of the syllabus
D. Class Participation and Commitment: The success of the course depends on you —on
your participation in class, as well as on your commitment to being open, tolerant of others'work and opinions, enthusiastic about your work and the work of your classmates, and being on time and present for all rehearsals, etc. I'm relying on each of you to make this
class a success. If you decide to take this seminar, I'll take that to mean that you've agreedto commit yourself to both the spirit and the substance of this course.
E. Seating Chart and Attendance -- Please choose your seat carefully and sit in that seat until
we all know each other's names. I will pass out a copy of the seating chart to everyone.Class attendance is required.
F. Grading:• Exam: 30% of your grade—Covers class notes, class presentations, books,
Course Pack readings, and any other assignments and handouts.• Class Participation: 20% of your grade. This includes contributions to your
playwriting group and to the play you’re cast in; cooperation with your director and other cast members; being on time and present at all rehearsals and other class meetings; and general participation in the class.
• Group In-Class Plays/Dramatic Presentations: see send of syllabus: 20% of totalgrade
• THE PLAY-Dramatic Work: Creation and Public Performance-30% of your grade(includes your written work):
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• Grading Scale –Grading is on a 10-point scale, as follows: A = 93 - 100;A- = 90 - 92; B+ = 87 - 89; B = 83 - 86; B- = 80 - 82; etc.
G. The Honor Code– The Honor Code is very important to UNC and to me; you
should adhere to it scrupulously..
* * *
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ASSiGNMENTS & OUTLINE POLI. 51- Plessy v. Ferguson: The Play
• Assignments - IMP. NOTE!- I will let you know when you should move on to thenext assignment.
• Exam: Includes all class notes, readings, and handouts; and all other assigned materials.
• 2 Sets of READINGS: You have 2 Sets of Assignment Readings, below:-Poli. Readings and -Drama Readings. The course readings are divided between these 2 sets.
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Set 1~ POLI. ReadingsAssignment 1 - Assignment
1. Read the course syllabus, including this outline, carefully.2. Autobiography: Type and staple a 2-3-page autobiography. Include your activities,hobbies, goals, and anything else you would like to say about yourself. THESE WILL NOT BE SHARED.
Assignment 2- New Orleans Before and During the Civil War Assignment --Readings: N.O. (New Orleans Supplement) pp.1-41 Discussion Topics: New Orleans, 1800-1893: The Lives and Times of Its Citizens; Free
Persons of Color; Background of Plessy case.Assignment 3-N.O. Before and During the Civil War (con’t) Assignment - Medley: Chap.1, and bottom of p.68 to middle of 78 Discussion Topics: New Orleans before and during the War.
Assignment 4- Reconstruction, Separate Car Law, & Plessy Actors Assignment: N.O: pp. 42-51; Medley: middle of p.78 to 87; bottom of
p.95 to bottom of p.107; Course Pack pp 1-42. Discussion Topics: New Orleans during and after Reconstruction; Who Were These
People? Major characters in Plessy: The New Orleans Citizens' Committee; Homer Plessy;Albion Tourgee; Sam Phillips; the Phillips Family (Cornelia , James, and Charles; thesecret past of James Phillips, AKA James Postlethwaite, bigamist, deserter, UNC professor and pillar of community).
Assignment 5- (Con’t) Reconstruction, Separate Car Law, & Plessy Actors. Assignment: Medley: bottom of p.117 to top of p.149; middle of p.158 to168; middle of
p.179 to 183; first full paragraph of p.190 to 208. Discussion Topics: New Orleans during and after Reconstruction: President Ulysses S.
Grant; Justices John Marshall Harlan, and Henry Billings Brown, etc.; how to read and brief a legal case.
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Assignment 6- Plessy v. Ferguson and Jim Crow Assignment: Medley: pp.214-223; CP-read Plessy v. Ferguson, pp. 43-59 Field Trip: To Sam Phillips' law office, house, and grave in Chapel Hill; Phillips Hall.
Assignment 7- Plessy v.Ferguson and Jim Crow (con’t) Assignment: Brief Plessy v. Ferguson and bring your case brief to class; read CP-pp.60-
80 Discussion Topics: The Court's rationale in Plessy; Harlan's dissenting opinion—did his
predictions come true?
Assignment 8- Brown v. Board of Education; The Legacy of Plessy Assignments and Readings: Read all of Life On the Color Line; CP- read pp. 81 to end of
CP, including briefing Brown v. Board of Education Discussion Topics: Brown v. Board of Education: Plessy is repudiated, segregation is
illegal, but not abandoned, and racism persists. Brown I and Brown II : what was going onhere?; enforcing the case. The career and impact of Thurgood Marshall.
Assignment 9- Brown v. Board of Education; The Legacy of Plessy (con’t)
Discussion Topic: More than a century later , the legacy of Plessy: Is race bias still present? How do we know?
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Set 2~ DRAMA Readings: Creating and Performing in aDramatic Work ASsignment #1- Overview of a Play
Discussion Topic: -Overview of the elements of a successful play-Read: Play Elementssheet at the end of this syllabus
ASsignment #2- Acting
•
Class activities: Acting in a Play; elements of good acting- Read: Acting Elements sheetat the end of this syllabus
ASsignment #3- Acting (Con’t)
• Class activities: Applying the elements of good acting; acting exercises.ASsignment #4- Acting (Con’t)
• Class activities: acting exercises.
ASsignment #5- Writing a Play
Assignments and Readings: 10 Minute Play: Chapters 1, 2 Discussion Topics: Writing a Play; playwriting exercises.
ASsignment #6- Writing a Play (con’t)
Assignments and Readings: 10 Minute Play: Chapters 7 & 8 Discussion Topics: Applying elements of good playwriting; playwriting exercises.
- Writing a Play (con’t) Class activities: Applying elements of good playwritingto plays; playwriting exercises.
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ASsignment #8- Writing & Acting together
Class activities: Writing and acting in a scene; playwriting groups
ASsignment #9-Beginning the Writing of the FIRST DRAFT of Seminar Plays
NOTE: Plays must be about one of the topics on the Play Topic Hand-out• Class activities: assignment to play-writing groups; brainstorming with your group;
laying the groundwork for your first draft.ASsignment #10-Writing Your FIRST DRAFT (Con’t)
• Assignments and Readings: From 10 Minute Play: Chap. 3 and 4, producing anddirecting a play
Class: playwriting group work
ASsignment #11-GROUP PLAYS-Finishing the FIRST DRAFT
• Assignment: Bring the first draft of your group’s play to class; be prepared to read it
ASsignment #12--THE SECOND DRAFT and First Reading Assignment: each group brings a 10 minute play; bring copies of your play for every
member of the class. Class: Each group reads its 10 minute play; critique by class.
ASsignment #13- -THE THIRD DRAFT: Last Reading Assignments: bring copies of your play for every member of the class. Read and Print Out Plays : Entire class should read and print out on Wed. all plays
sent to them, for class Thurs.
ASsignment #14 : Making a List of Jobs, etc. Assignment: Read all the plays and decide which roles you would like to be considered
for and out those first choices on a list—make sure you include the name of the play for each; set out your second choices, as well. REMEMBER: you cannot act in a play thatyou helped write.
In Class: Each group should make a list of the props, etc., that they need for their playand assign a person to get each prop.
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ASsignment #15: CAST Names; Production Assistants; Rehearsal Schedule; andFINAL, FINAL Scripts
Assignment due: Clean up your script and put it in its final, formal format; bring copiesfor each actor in your group’s play
First Read Through- in class for all plays
ASsignment #16- The Plays: Rehearsals; publicity
ASsignment #17- Dress RehearSal
ASsignment #18- THE PERFORMANCES
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P lessy : Directions-Group In-Class PLAYS [20% of grade ]: R E A D
Carefully
1) TIME: Each team has about 35 minutes total only for your plays AND the discussion.: 3-4 persons
per group.2) CONTENT: I expect your presentations to be as imaginative as you like, as long as what you do is a
play incorporating your class readings AND that you follow the outline of “Elements of a Play”[attached]. After your play, you should lead a short discussion on your topic.
3) LENGTH: Your play should not be shorter than 10 minutes and no longer than 15 minutes.
4) ACTING and PROPS: you should use/bring props and be in costume as much as possible. Make sure
that you follow carefully the “Principles of Acting”, attached.5) REHEARSALS-2: Each group is required to rehearse the entire presentation at least twice
before you present to the class, the last one with a TA, to make sure you meet the timeconstraints, have reviewed the work as a whole, and fine-tuned it. The TA will providefeedback, but she/he is not the director—YOU are.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////DATE~Tues., Sept. 9 _______ *GROUP # 1: Dramatic Presentation TOPIC: “Free Persons of Color in New Orleans and as
Slave Owners in Louisiana in the 1800s.” Include: Where did they come from? What was a white Creole in nineteenth century NO? A Black Creole? Other African Americans? What other countries had FPC lived in? Why did they leave thosecountries? How did they become free? What were their trades, professions, and other jobs in NewOrleans? What were some example of laws in NO that discriminated against them? Who were these people? How many slaves did they own? Why didn’t they feel conflict about owning slaves? Whathappened to them during the Civil War? How were they treated? What happened to them inthe Civil War and afterwards?”
Members of Group: 4_____________________________________________________
Members of Group__________________________
*GROUP # 2: Dramatic Presentation TOPIC: “Nineteenth Century Voodoo in New Orleans.”Where did it come from? What were the practices? Who believed? Who were the important leaders?What was its role in Black Creole, white Creole, and African American society? What was the role of Congo Square? Why was it important? To whom? Is it still around today?Members of Group: 4 ______________________________________________________________
*************************************************************************
DATE~Tues., Sept. 16________ *GROUP # 3: ? Dramatic Presentation TOPIC: Cholera, Yellow Fever, Riot, Politics,Immigrants, Slaves, FPC, Whites in New Orleans from 1800-1860: What Were the MostImportant Events in the Lives of the People?
If you had lived in NO in the 1800s, up until the CVivil War, and you looked back over your life, what would you list as the most important things that happened there, with the most impacton your life and the lives of others?Members of Group: 4____ _______________________________________________________
*GROUP # 4: Presentation TOPIC: “The Quadroon Balls.”Where did they come from? What were the practices? Why were they important? To whom? Why did thewomen participate? Why did the men participate? What were these Balls like? Why didn’t they survive
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the Civil War?Members of Group: 3 ________________________________________________________________
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~DATE~Thurs., Sept. 23 __________
*GROUP # 5: Dramatic Presentation TOPIC : “The Phillips Family in Nineteenth Century Chapel Hill” : What was James, the father, like? What was his deep, dark secret and why did he do what he did indeserting his family and creating a new identity? Do you think he was afraid of being found out? Whatwas Cornelia like? Why is she controversial at UNC? Why did Sam break away from his family’sattitudes? Was it hard for someone like Sam Phillips to have the courage of his convictions, to stand upfor what he believed in? Why? What impact do you think Albion Tourgee had on Sam?Members of Group: 3_________________________________________________________
*GROUP # 6: Dramatic Presentation TOPIC : “The Plessy Family in Nineteenth Century New Orleans” : What was Homer Plessy like, do you think? What was his life like, growing up? What about his wife?Was it hard being a shoemaker then? Why do you think he volunteered for this case? How you you think did he felt being arrested, convicted, losing ultimately? How do you think he lived his life later? Was ithard for him to have the courage of his convictions, to stand up for what he believed in?Members of Group: 3_________________________________________________________
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E LEMENTS In Every SHORT PLAY
VERY IMPORTANT: Before you write each play, read this sheet EVERY time. After you write
it, check your play against this list to make sure ALL these elements are present.
*YOUR PLAYS MUST HAVE ALL OF THESE, in order to get a good grade:
1- The STRUCTURE ~ Create a Defined Structure: Your play must have A BEGINNING, AMIDDLE, and AN END—but you need to start writing towards The Middle! -This is a short play. Ask yourselves—what can I leave out? SO-get to the Heart of the Play asap--get to the central point of it allfast, to get and keep the audience interested.
2- The CONFLICT/TENSION
1. SHE/HE . . . NEEDS !~ The Central Character(s) Really Need/Want/Desire/GOT-to-have
Something—you must create that thing she/he has got to have—the audience quickly need toknow what this is--what is it that creates his/her emotional struggle?
AND
2. The OBSTACLES! ~ What are the Obstacles You are creating to the Central Character's
Getting what He/She Really Needs/Wants/Desires/GOT to Have? You need to set these upright away. You need to create things, or people, or whatever, that stand in the centralcharacter’s way, keeping that character from getting what he/she wants.
3. OVERCOMING THOSE OBSTACLES ~ or not. Next, you need next to create ways that
the central character tries to get around/past those things standing in his/her way—what doesshe/he DO to TRY to WIN what she/he wants??
4. OTHERS ALSO NEED BUT HAVE TROUBLE GETTING!~ What do the Other
5.
6. Characters in the Play Really Need/Want/Desire/GOT to Have? You need to create DESIRES
for them, too, AND you need to create OBSTACLES to those folks getting what they want.
7. EVERYONE in your play WANTS something—but not everyone has to get it—that’s up to
you. You have to decide how those characters WIN, LOSE, or DRAW/TIE. SO-by the end of
the play, you need to make sure that each character either GETS what he/she wants or FAILS.3- The RESOLUTION
1. RESOLVE the CONFLICT/TENSION, in your Ending~ By The End, you must make surein that your Main Character(s) in your play:
(1) GETS what she/he really wants/got to have; OR
(2) CAN’T GET what she/he really wants/got to have; OR
(3) CANT get it, BUT comes up w/ a PLAN B to deal with it.
4 . THE CHARACTERS ~ Miscellaneous:1. NUMBER~Don’t have more than 3-4 characters—this is a short play.
2. DIALOGUE~ Remember—different characters talk differently from each other and
have different quirks and different ways of putting words together—just like you. SO-
when you read your play, if you can’t tell who is talking because they all talk like eachother—then you need to revise your play so that each has a different style.5. THE INTRODUCTION to your Play ~ In the Beginning, before the dialogue starts, be sure
to set up your Play's World: WHO? ~Name and describe the characters—names, ages, gender, physical description, clothes, etc. WHERE?~ Where is the locale, the setting? WHEN?~The year,month, season, or whatever you think is important for the audience to know WHAT?~What is goingon that you want the audience to know, if anything, before the characters speak?
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Poli.51. Plessy
A ctin g
1. “Given Circumstances”- What just happened to you the character BEFORE theplay/action started? “Given Circumstances” are the backstory to what is going on. For example, my “givens” right now as I write this are that I had a good day, I just talked to somefriends, and I’m wearing long pants, and I just drank orange juice.
2. Relationships-What are your relationships to the other characters in the play?
3. Objectives- What do you, the character, want--past, present, and future? Theseobjectives can be broken down into scene objectives, play objectives, and super objectives-what you want in the grand scheme of life.
3. Obstacles- What is in your way of achieving your objective? These can be literal—such as
somebody’s marriage, or figurative, such as lack of motivation.
Uta Hagen’s 9 Questions + 1 ALWAYS ask these questions about your character and KNOW THE ANSWERS (mostof which you’ve created) BEFORE you learn your lines:
1. Who am I?2. What time is it? (century, year, season, day, minute)3. Where am I? (Country, city, neighborhood, house, room, area of room)4. What surrounds me? (Animate and Inanim ate objects)
5. What are the given circumstances? (past, present, future, and EVENTS)
6. What is my relationship? (relation to total events, other characters, things)7. What do I want? (Character, main and immediate objectives)8. What is in my way? (Obstacles)9. What do I have to do to get what I want?10.Do I have siblings, what ages, gender; how much school do I have; how old am I;
am I single, married, live with someone, have a partner; what do I do for a living;what kind of house did I grow up in; what are my hobbies; where was I raised;what did my parents do and what were they like; am I happy; do I have pets, if so,what and their names; etc., etc.
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