Writing for the Stage
| Writing for the Stage | |
| Campus(es) | East |
| Instructor(s) | Vanessa |
Writing for the Stage was a class offered at East Campus during Term II of 2006 and 2007. In both 2006 and 2007, it was taught by Vanessa, known as the lovable pan-Caribbean priestess, the Ice Queen, or Sister Mary Agregious. During the 2006 class, she was assisted by her pet TA Jake, an enthusiastic killer of small animals. Jake was followed in 2007 by Evan, who was possesed by Mr. Bunny. During the course of the class, students read a number of short plays such as A Number by Caryl Churchill (2006), A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams (2006), The Piano Lesson by August Wilson (2006), Stop Kiss by Diana Son (2006 and 2007), "A Doll's House" by Henrik Ibsen (2007), and "Top Dog/Under Dog" by Suzan-Lori Parks (2007). They explored plot, character, and thought within plays, had the one-hour version of the entire history of theatre taught to them, and played altogether too many improv games; a real live! director named Emily came to teach class at one point. Also helping them along the way in 2006 was The Dramatist's Toolkit which was not very well-reeived. A highlight of the class was the annual field trip to go spy on people, which took place at the Raleigh-Durham Airport, Whole Foods, and the museum.
At the end of Term II, the final project assigment for each student was to create a play (up to five scenes). A summary of this would be judged, and, though everyone turned in their plays and spoke before the "dramaturgs", only a few were selected to be performed on Friday (the last day of classes) in a student-directed and -acted play festival, taking place in the dance studio of Bivins Building. The three plays selected in 2006 were "Save the English Majors Foundation!" by Maxine Anderson, "Medals" by Mitch Marois, and "Purpose," by Emma Miller. In 2007, the selected plays were "Aftershots" by Elizabeth and "The Legend..." by Taylor.
Upon watching the movie version of Streetcar in 2006 a few members of the class (namely Jaclyn and Maddie) decided that the late Marlon Brando was the sexiest person...er...who was once alive...and inserted his name into Chuck Norris jokes and other things. Eventually he made it onto the class t-shirt and into the termbook, as most of the other class jokes were non-existent or not at all TiPpropriate.
During breaks, the class bonded over Ultimate Hat, Ninja, and many games of Never Have I Ever.
The Writing for the Stage Class of Term II, 2006
- Maddie
- Maxine
- Leah
- Isha
- Jaclyn
- Rhett
- Cailey
- Emma
- Alyssa
- Elizabeth
- Zach
- Mitc
- Steve
- Josh
- Dan (Padre)
- John Michael
- Helen
- Kyle
The Writing for the Stage Class of Term II, 2007
"During the course the class learned about the sexual implications of both macaroni and water, why one's characters simply may NOT have laser eyes, and about dancing cats. It was also deduced that there is not a lesbian way to report traffic."
- Haley
- Brett
- Emily
- Elizabeth
- Taylor
- Ray
- Maddie
- Nikki
- Kate
- Caroline
- Zach
- Sara