Tips for Scene Writing

1) Try not to have too many characters. No more than four.
2) Write about something that is familiar to you.
3) Keep it simple.
4) It doesn't have to be chronological. Plays can jump forward or backward in time.
5) Dialogue! Remember there isn't a whole lot of descriptive writing. It's all stage directions and dialogue unless your character is singing or giving a vivid image of something he or she sees/has seen/ would like to see one day.
6) Turning point. Remember to focus on a play in which the character changes by the end of the piece.

HAVE FUN!

Discussion Questions for Ruined

1) Is there anyone in the play who escapes from some form of damage--either psychological, physical or both? Defend your answer with passages from the text.
2) How are birds used as symbols in the play? Defend your answer with passages from the text.
3) What is the climax of the play? Defend your answer.
4) Discuss the role of power in the play. Who has it, how does it shift, and why is it important?
5) how are women symbols of Africa? Defend your answer.
6) Which male character do you most sympathize with and why?
7) How are songs and poems used in the play? How do they help the play?
8) How would you relate the play to the expression, "the political is personal, the personal is political"?
9) Which female character do you sympathize the most with and why?
10) What is your favorite moment in the play? Why?

Homework for the Week of January 12-16

Monday,January 12, 2009:
In class: you will have an essay test for practice.
Homework: Read For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf

Tuesday,January 13, 2009:
In class: We will discuss the choreopoem project
Homework: Write your first two choreo speeches.

Wednesday,January 14, 2009:
In class: You will share your choreopoem sections with your classmates and write a chorus scene together.
Homework: Write the next three choreo speeches

Thursday, January 15, 2009:
In class: You will share your choreo sections and start to put them together. Adding in the transitions and we will try to hear what sections are missing.
Homework: You should write three final sections and edit any sections discovered in class.

Friday, January 16, 2009:
In class: We will read the choreopoem aloud and evaluate it for success and where it could be improved.
Homework: Critical Analysis paper on Drama (additional handout for this Thursday).

Homework for the week of October 27, 2008

Monday, October 27, 2008: In class, you will be taking your final poetry exam. For homework, read pages 211-215. What is a tragedy? Mark the introduction. Pink= words you do not know. Be sure to look them up and bring in index cards with these new words on them to show me on Tuesday.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008: In class, you will be working on your poetry final exam. For homework, read pages 215-230. Use the green flags to mark the foreshadowing of the tragedy. Use pink for unfamiliar words.
Wednesday, October 30, 2008: In class, depending on the time needed, you will be finishing your exam. For homework, read pages 230-245.
Use the blue flags, to mark images, sensory details or examples of personification.
Thursday, October 30, 2008: In class, we will do an introduction to theater terms, classic drama and poetics. For homework, please finish the play (245-263). Use the green flags to illustrate examples of characterization (where we learn something about who Oedipus is as a person).
Friday, October 31, 2008: Happy Halloween! There will be a separate hand-out for the weekend's homework as it pertains to a project you'll be working on next week.

Slangolicious Assignment

Due Wednesday, February 28th, 2007

Write a scene in which one person wants out and the other does not. One person can only speak using slang while the other person will not speak that way.