Theatre 312 - Masters and Movements in Performance: Verbatim and Documentary Theatre

Topics course: This course explores—through reading, viewing and making,—theatre created using documentary sources, including interviews, found texts, historical documents, and other sources. We will explore the dramatic, social, and political implications of this work, while considering notions of authenticity and authority derived from direct testimony, documentary sources, and community involvement. We will also explore the tension between maintaining truth and creating dramatic shape, theatricality, and audience engagement. Readings and viewings will include the work of theatre-makers such as Anna Deveare Smith, Moises Kaufman, and many others. Students in the course will also create original work.