Prerequisites
London, like all large cities, requires a great amount of walking. On an ordinary day students will walk a couple of miles just getting to, on, and from public transport.
Credits
5 UW Quarter Credits
Courses
ENGL 395: Shakespeare on Stage: London & Stratford Upon Avon (5 Credits: VLPA)
A study of the texts and performances of four or five of Shakespeare's plays in production in London and Stratford Upon Avon. What plays we study will depend on what's on during the time of our program, but in every year there are a variety of Shakespeare's plays on offer in London at the Globe and other West End venues and in the Royal Festival theaters in Stratford. We'll read and discuss the texts before we see them in the theater and we will learn to "read" the performances on stage--the styles of acting and movement, the delivery of dialogue, the contributions of setting and costuming, the impact of lighting, music, and other sound effects, and the relationship between audience and stage production fostered by the venue itself. We'll spend some time in class, of course, but many of our session will be conducted in museums, art galleries, and on walking tours of theater districts in London and of the Shakespeare properties in Stratford.
Learning goals include:
The goal of this course is to help students identify iambic pentameter and other verse forms and to evaluate their effects, understand the role of genre in interpreting texts, appreciate the differences among different types of venues and the impact they have on an audience's reception of performances, grasp the importance of the effects of music, sound, and lighting in performances, appreciate the rhythm and style of dialogue on stage, understand the significance of different settings and costume designs (modern vs.traditional), and frame in both discussion and writing meaningful responses to the texts and productions. The course is approved for VLPA credit. By arrangement with the instructor W credit is available, as is Ad Hoc Honors credit for those who qualify.