A actividade teatral americana até ao limiar do século XX

Dear Students

To satisfy everybody, this message is issued in English with a bit of Portuguese thrown in.

First I am sending you the direct link to the Secção de Estudos Ingleses e Norte Americanos, which you should save, as it publishes regularly information that might interest you. If you open the link to cursos, on your right, and scroll the page down, you will find a list on recent dissertations that may give you an idea of what has been done in our Mestrado, namely in the area of American Studies.

I am also enclosing, as promissed, the link to the syllabus of this seminar, so that you may open the three links included, namely the exhibition, the glossary and the chronology.

As to the three plays you will be discussing next Thursday, you might like to know that the 1778 comedy The Contrast has been recently revived, in an updated version. Open the link to read a review. You may also read on Royall Tyler here. You may also see here its original bookcover.

The Octoroon, the second play to be discussed is by Dion Boucicault and was first staged in 1859 (the year before the start of the Civil War). Here you may see a poster advertising its performance.

It has also been staged recently as you may read.
Boucicault addressed the anti-slavery message of the play though a narrative of passing, as we will no doubt discuss.

Margaret Fleming, by James A, Herne, from 1890, is often considered the first modern American play. It bridges the tradition of American melodrama and the new realist tendencies introduced, among others, by Ibsen. Read here about recent production of the play.

You may also read about James A. Herne, often called "the American Ibsen".

Next Thusday these plays will be discussed in the second half of the session. Each one of you will have about ten minutes to let the rest of the group know about the plays they have not read.
You should be prepared to give a brief idea if the plot, but especially to contextualise the play in its time and context, as well as your personal reading and impressions. You may use notes. Both English and Portuguese are accepted as working languages or a mixture of the two.

Good readings

PS. Richard Zimler will be speaking in room 44, edifício B1 (the low building on your left as you enter the faculty (on the first floor) and not where I first told you. That will be at 3, on Wednesday.