Response Paper

Follow these five instructions. Keep in mind that the grading rubric includes the criteria called “Organization” which means “…following the provided guidelines.”

1) Put the following information in the upper left-hand corner of the first page

Name
Theatre Class [for example, THEA104-010]
Question #

Email Address

2) Give your RP an interesting title. This is the place to be creative in an attempt to draw the reader into your text. The title should be centered above the first paragraph.

3) You will respond according to the following template, numbering both sections:

Section 1. Summarize your personal and general experience with the readings, performance, or concept involved in your chosen question (How did it make you feel? Did you agree or disagree with its ideas, characters, styles, or qualities? Did it resonate with anything in your personal life? Was it difficult or easy to experience and why?). Feel free to use an informal writing style and first person. [125-150 words]

Section 2. Provide an argument (i.e. convince the reader of your answer) in response to your selected question in one paragraph using the following writing structure. The degree to which you are successful in following these guidelines will be reflected in your grade.

Thesis sentence —the “thesis statement” of your paragraph or what you intend to prove, including all of the pertinent information that may be involved in answering the question (like the play or performance involved, your key terms, and your assertion regarding the question).

Lead-in sentence(s) —one or two sentences that establishes the context for the evidence you provide.

Evidence sentence(s) —the specific example or examples from the class experience or performance that best helps you answer the question.

Analysis and Conclusion —this is the longest part of the paragraph, explaining what the evidence means and how it applies to your assertion and other aspects of the question.

Use a formal writing style, and do your best to avoid first person. [1 paragraph -250-300 words]

4) You have only a small amount of space so express each of your ideas succinctly. In other words, be direct and get to the point. Using vague, general language to express an idea weakens a paper.

* Every time you use the title of a play, like Romeo and Juliet, it should be italicized or underlined.
* Grammar and punctuation matter. Re-read and review your paper before submitting. Many mistakes, especially spelling, could easily be avoided by using spell check.
* Use action verbs.
* Vary sentence structure and length.
* Make your margins 1 inch on all sides and double space your text.

5) You will submit your RP as a Word or PDF attachment on Canvas on or before the due date and time before the assignment closes. DO NOT SUBMIT YOUR PAPER FROM YOUR SMARTPHONE.
We will be unable to open it.

First Writing Assignment

For your first writing assignment, you will have a choice between three different questions:

Question #1 – You have seen HAMILTON. Using what you have learned in class, make an argument as to what genre you believe the production demonstrated.

Question #2 – Using Aristotle’s six elements, choose the best possible example from the production of HAMILTON and explain how one of the elements did or did not work for you.

Question #3 – Using HAMILTON make an argument as to what theatrical style the play falls into.

Grading

The RPs will be graded on how well you follow the instructions, the quality of your evidence, the quality of your writing, and the strength of your assertions. It will be graded out of 30 points. See the RP Rubric in the Files page for more details.

Sample Question and Answer [This answer earned the student an A)

August: Osage County: Choose the best possible example from the conception or vision of the REP’s production, August: Osage County, and explain how that vision worked or did not work to engage the audience in the action of the play. The conception/vision refers to the overall spectacle of a production and its effect on the audience. It includes ALL of the production elements from lighting to sound to set design and costumes.

Mary Shelly

THEA104-010

Question 3

franknfurter@udel.edu

August: Osage County: Putting the “Dysfunction” in Dysfunctional Family

Section 1

In one of my English classes, we viewed a few clips from the movie version of August: Osage County. In particular, the clip that stuck with me the most was from the dinner scene which resulted in a massive argument between Violet and Barbara over drugs. While I did have slight background on what the play would be about–a dynamic and complex family–I did not foresee the drama, chaos, and reality that would emerge in front of me at the Thompson Theater. August: Osage County portrayed, to an extreme degree, the dysfunction that every family possesses.

Although some families are better off than others, they all go through their highs and lows, and they all have their issues. The play wove together a narrative that contained a plethora of topics: incest, addiction, infidelity, rape, racism, and suicide among others. Afterward, I felt exhausted and even uncomfortable at all that I had witnessed as these hard-hitting themes emerged on stage. At times, it was admittedly difficult to watch. Seeing Violet stumble down the stairs for the first time, Charles and Ivy sneak away, knowing that they were siblings, and Steve go after Jean in the middle of the night were moments in the play that added to the shock factor of the narrative. However, as intense and uncomfortable as they were, these moments also made me reflect on my own family dynamic–which would require a novel to describe. My family has undergone its involvement with some similar topics, but we also have issues that are unique to us. What August: Osage County accomplishes is a universality; any family has its problems, and anyone with a family that is imperfect, dysfunctional, and chaotic can relate to what the play puts forth.

Section 2

In the REP’s production of August: Osage County, the conception of the chaotic and dysfunctional Weston family worked to engage the audience in the action of the play through a busy set, varied costumes, and sound and lighting that focused the audience’s attention yet also stunned the audience, as well. With a total of twelve different family members, each telling their own narrative through the play, August: Osage County presents a story not only dynamic in terms of character and plot but dynamic in terms of action and presentation. From the very beginning, the play situated the audience within this chaos. With the unexpected clucking of a chicken and a display of colored lights illuminating the set, the play opened abruptly and unexpectedly. At scene changes, music that was absent throughout the play boomed in through the speakers, making the audience jump or even gasp at certain points. The startling sound offstage paralleled the startling events onstage in an almost anarchic manner. The lighting designer used lighting to help guide the audience’s attention; with so much happening on the three-story set with a number of different actors scattered throughout the house, lighting functioned as a way to reign in the audience and to focus their attention on what the Director deemed most important. That being said, however, the lighting often directed the audience towards the chaos, away from stagnant characters–such as Bev asleep on the window seat on the second floor or Little Charles watching television on the sofa. From there arises the argument that the set added to this chaos. Upon first looking at it–without knowing the background of the play–the set seems busy. Varying brightly-colored wallpapers for each room in the house, a distressed staircase and wooden finishes, full bookshelves, an outdoor space, duct-tape covered windows, and countless entrances and exits create this vision. It is hard for the audience to focus on one single room or spot, but instead, they feel their own sense of inner chaos representative of the play. At times, many characters were crammed into these spaces such as at the dinner table or on the air mattress. This increased the business. Finally, the costumes served as a way to illustrate the various personalities present in the Weston family. Jean showed her age through Converse and fuchsia dip dyed hair. Violet was often disheveled in a robe and pajamas. Karen wore a mini dress and heels. Ivy relentlessly clung onto her tailored black pantsuit. Pairing these contrasting outfits together helps to show just how divergent this family is. Finding similarities among the characters, despite the fact that they come from the same family, is a rarity. Overall, the design elements used to put on August: Osage County succeeded in reflecting the dysfunctional and chaotic nature of the Weston family, one that is highly incomprehensible yet also relatable.