English 111 - Lukomski - Research on plays and theatre criticism

About this Resource

Students will find recommended print and electronic resources for students to conduct research.

The "four prompts" to guide your research effort:

Discuss issues related to staging/producing “Emperor Jones” today. Remember that plays are performed and not just texts, so please consider issues such as set design and casting. For example, you might research set design examples from the past and even include photos Use race representation theories to evaluate the relevance and reception of this play to audiences today. Consider James Earl Jones’ comments that today’s African American would see E.J. as a powerful hero. Perhaps explore what scholars say on this subject. Consider what notes could be included in the program. EONeill.com happens to be an excellent source; on it, you can even find some of the best scholarly books on O’Neill, including Travis Bogart’s Contour In Time.

Discuss the portrayal of women in “Trifles.” How are irony and the mystery genre used to portray women and to destabilize patriarchal-centered ideas? Consider how the power of traditional women’s “intelligence” is portrayed. How did audiences of the day receive the play? How is it received today? Incorporate specific quotes from feminist theories you’ve researched.

Discuss how women are portrayed in Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.” What scholarly comments have been made about the play? Does Albee use or disrupt stereotyped images of women? Have any productions of the play cast and staged the female roles in an innovative way to strengthen the women?

How do the plays “Dutchman” and “Emperor Jones” demonstrate the transformation of how African Americans have be represented theatrically? To what extent does each playwrights use of expressionism support the goals of representation of an African-American point of view? To what extent is either of these plays problematic by today’s standards? How have these plays been received by today’s standards? To what extent does Amiri Baraka hold the same views today that were portrayed in “Dutchman”? What issues does he represent in more contemporary works?