Prepare a presentation about the playwright of your choice

Pick any theater play. You need to prepare a presentation about the playwright of your choice, including where he is from, which period they belong to (you can mention other plays to give an example of their works), when it was presented, and the reaction the play received. Then, select a scene from the play you choose that gives an example of the theme or central idea the playwright wanted to present. You need to see if there is a video presentation of the play, look for the scene you chose, and compare the performance and the written play. You can use PowerPoint for the presentation. The PowerPoint will be submitted here on Blackboard. It is due by the end of week 3.

Important!!! Try to choose a playwright you are not familiar with.

Here is a list of some of the most important and influential playwrights in the history of theater, spanning different eras and cultures:

Ancient Greek Playwrights

1. Aeschylus – Known as the “Father of Tragedy,” his works include The Oresteia trilogy.

2. Sophocles – Famous for Oedipus Rex and Antigone.

3. Euripides – Known for Medea and The Bacchae.

4. Aristophanes – The greatest comic playwright of ancient Greece, known for Lysistrata and The Clouds.

Roman Playwrights

1. Seneca – A Stoic philosopher and tragedian, known for his influential tragedies like Thyestes.

2. Plautus – A comedic playwright known for Menaechmi and Pseudolus.

3. Terence – Known for his comedies, such as The Brothers and The Eunuch.

Elizabethan and Jacobean Playwrights

1. Christopher Marlowe – Known for Doctor Faustus and Tamburlaine.

2. Ben Jonson – Known for Volpone and The Alchemist.

French Classical Playwrights

1. Molière – The master of French comedy, known for Tartuffe and The Misanthrope.

2. Jean Racine is known for his tragedies, such as those of Phèdre and Andromaque.

3. Pierre Corneille – Known for Le Cid.

Modern Playwrights (19th–20th Century)

1. Henrik Ibsen – The father of modern drama, known for A Doll’s House and Hedda Gabler.

2. Anton Chekhov – Known for The Cherry Orchard and Uncle Vanya.

3. George Bernard Shaw – Known for Pygmalion and Man and Superman.

4. August Strindberg – Known for Miss Julie and The Father.

5. Bertolt Brecht – Known for The Threepenny Opera and Mother Courage and Her Children.

6. Tennessee Williams – Known for A Streetcar Named Desire and The Glass Menagerie.

7. Arthur Miller – Known for Death of a Salesman and The Crucible.

8. Samuel Beckett – Known for Waiting for Godot and Endgame.

9. Eugene O’Neill – Known for Long Day’s Journey into Night and The Iceman Cometh.

10. Luigi Pirandello – Known for Six Characters in Search of an Author.

Contemporary Playwrights (20th–21st Century)

1. Harold Pinter – Known for The Birthday Party and The Homecoming.

2. Tom Stoppard – Known for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead and Arcadia.

3. Caryl Churchill – Known for Top Girls and Cloud Nine.

4. August Wilson – Known for Fences and The Piano Lesson.

5. Tony Kushner – Known for Angels in America.

6. Lorraine Hansberry – Known for A Raisin in the Sun.

7. Suzan-Lori Parks – Parks is Known for Topdog/Underdog and The America Play.

This list is not exhaustive but highlights some of the most significant figures in theater history.

Influential African American playwrights who have made significant contributions to theater:

1. Lorraine Hansberry

o Known for A Raisin in the Sun (1959), the first play written by an African American woman to be produced on Broadway. It explores themes of racial discrimination and the pursuit of the American Dream.

2. August Wilson

A Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Wilson is best known for his Pittsburgh Cycle (or Century Cycle), a series of ten plays that depict the African American experience in the 20th century. Notable works include Fences (1985) and The Piano Lesson (1987).

3. Suzan-Lori Parks

A Pulitzer Prize winner for Topdog/Underdog (2001), Parks is known for her innovative and poetic style. Other notable works include The America Play (1994) and Venus (1996).

4. Amiri Baraka (formerly LeRoi Jones)

Baraka was a leading figure in the Black Arts Movement. Baraka’s works often address racial and social issues. His most famous play is Dutchman (1964), a provocative exploration of race relations in America.

5. Ntozake Shange

Best known for her groundbreaking choreopoem for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf (1976), Shange’s work blends poetry, music, and dance to tell the stories of Black women.

These playwrights have shaped American theater and brought critical perspectives on race, identity, and social justice to the stage.

Here is a list of 10 of the most important Spanish-speaking playwrights from Spain and Latin America, spanning different eras and styles:

From Spain

1. Lope de Vega (1562–1635)

· A towering figure of the Spanish Golden Age, known for Fuenteovejuna and The Dog in the Manger. He wrote over 1,800 plays and helped define the comedia genre.

1. Pedro Calderón de la Barca (1600–1681)

· A master of Baroque drama, famous for Life is a Dream ( La vida es sueño) and The Mayor of Zalamea.

1. Tirso de Molina (1579–1648)

· Known for creating the character of Don Juan in The Trickster of Seville ( El burlador de Sevilla).

1. Federico García Lorca (1898–1936)

· A leading voice of 20th-century Spanish theater, known for Blood Wedding ( Bodas de Sangre), Yerma, and The House of Bernarda Alba ( La casa de Bernarda Alba).

1. Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616)

· Though best known for Don Quixote, Cervantes wrote influential plays like The Siege of Numantia ( El cerco de Numancia).

From Latin America

1. Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1651–1695, Mexico)

· A nun and one of the most important literary figures of the colonial era, known for The Divine Narcissus ( El divino Narciso) and Loa to the Divine Narcissus.

1. Rodolfo Usigli (1905–1979, Mexico)

· Often called the “father of modern Mexican theater” and is known for The Gesticulator ( El gesticulador), a critique of political corruption.

1. Griselda Gambaro (1928–, Argentina)

· A leading figure in contemporary Latin American theater, known for The Walls ( Las paredes) and Information for Foreigners ( Información para extranjeros), which address themes of oppression and violence.

1. Mario Vargas Llosa (1936–, Peru)

· Primarily known as a novelist, Vargas Llosa has also written significant plays, such as La señorita de Tacna and Kathie y el hipopótamo.

1. Ariel Dorfman (1942–, Chile)

· Known for Death and the Maiden ( La muerte y la doncella), a powerful exploration of justice and trauma in post-dictatorship Chile.

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