Abstract

Since Aristophanes wrote the first “anti-war” plays for Athenian audiences attending the Dionysian Festivals around 400 B.C., theatre has frequently been created in the name of social justice. Using Aristophanes as its starting place, the first half of this course draws upon dramatic literature and theatre history to provide a broad context for the use (and abuse) of theatre and performance in the name of social change. The second half of the course will be devoted to the creation of our own theatre company, “The Ozark Living Newspaper.” Based on the students’ well-informed reading about current social issues, our company will devise four to five short “playlets” to create a twenty minute “Living Newspaper.” Performed in a shadow puppetry format, our production will tour to at least three middle school social studies classes. Following each performance, Honors students will lead discussion with middle schools students about the themes and issues brought out in the play. In the short term, the purpose of this service project is to inspire kids to think about the issues that affect their lives and to identify ways that they can make positive changes in their schools, communities, and world. In the long term, the goal of the Ozark Living Newspaper is to take a step toward creating a more thoughtful future electorate in Arkansas, an electorate that has the tools to engage in well-informed, civil political discussion and debate. Students who register for this course should plan on at least three weekend, half-day rehearsals during the semester. In the second half of the course, there will also be a one-hour per week lab requirement that students can fulfill around their own schedule.

Keywords: China, Hong Kong, Japan, Literature, Performing Arts, United States, Vietnam

How to Cite:

D. Frank, A., (2016) ““Shadow R & J and The Girl Who Flew: Introducing Asia through Theater in an Interdisciplinary Honors Program” Syllabus”, Education About Asia 21(1).

Rights: https://www.asianstudies.org/publications/eaa/archives/shadow-r-j-and-the-girl-who-flew-introducing-asia-through-theater-in-an-interdisciplinary-honors-program-syllabus/