Discussing audiences, and plays, and Sam Shepard, and the UNB production

On the assumption that most of the people who posted on having read Buried Child will have gone down to Memorial Hall and seen the production, Len Falkenstein, who directed the show, is going to visit class this morning to respond to any questions you have about the show, your responses and observations as an audience, and related matters. He's agreed to stay as long as there are questions.

On to other plays

Scripts for Perfect Pie, Heart's Desire, The Real Inspector Hound, and Black Comedy will be available later this morning to be signed out.  Here's how it works: a number of copies of each of the scripts are in a box just outside my office door (EC 308; mind the construction work in the hallway). Take one script, and sign your name on the signout sheet, indicating which one you took and when you took it. You can keep it for 24 hours (or, if you sign it out after noon on Friday, till noon Monday). When you bring it back, indicate on the sheet the time and date you returned it.

This means, if it's not clear, that you shouldn't take a script unless you've budgeted time to read it in the next 24 hours. If it's not back within that time, you are liable to have your kneecaps broken by irate colleagues. (I'm going to see if I can arrange for the texts to be accessible through the Moodle site, but I haven't done that yet.  In any case, most people find it better to read extended texts in hard copy.)

When you've read the play, go to the Forum on reading it, and post your reflection (the Forums are linked from the main course Web page).  Just as with your reflection on seeing a production, the sooner you do this the better, because you'll be able to remember concrete examples to support your impressions. In fact, if you have the text in hand, you'll be able to quote from it.

You'll probably want to begin by reading the play for which you're a member of the Task Force. You'll also want pretty soon to begin posting on your section of the play wiki: you might begin by listing some questions you might think need to be answered, some issues that might be explored, and some information or ideas you've found.

This is particularly urgent for the first three plays on the list; I'll be posting deadlines for completion of wikis and presentations to the class in the prompt on Friday. The deadlines won't be far off.

Learning Journals

If you haven't posted an entry on your learning journal, you need to do that. As I said last time, there are some very good, thoughtful entries already there; make your own judgment about which they are, and make yours like them.