Portfolio, Charles Busch, & Spring Awakening

Your portfolio is due Monday, Jan. 25. I will not be accepting late portfolios, so please turn this in on time. What should be in it? Your creative writing for this class. I should expect to see: a piece on race, a piece on feminism, a piece on gender and/or sexual orientation. I should expect to see at least one previous piece revised. Then anything else you've written this marking period (not for Mr. Painting). If you revised a piece for Sokol or Gannon, please include these. Consider creating and entering a 10 minute play for Geva's 10-minute play contest. Murder several birds with stones.

After reading "Vampire Lesbians of Sodom", please continue to read the Charles Busch collection at your leisure (we will be getting a new book after midterms, so please complete your reading by then). Here's some information about Charles Busch. By the way, little Marcy Gamzon knew him as a child. If you get inspired, try your own "drag" play. How to do it?

1. Allow male actors to play female roles (and vise versa).
2. Choose a film style (preferably anything not contemporary)
3. Choose a historical period to match your film style (for example, Beach Party films of the 60's, or Spy films of the 1940's)
4. Be campy. Use hyperbole and innuendo liberally.

If it's 10 pages or less, submit it to Geva.

Info on Charles Busch:

Please take a look at Charles Busch's blog. He has placed a variety of play video clips here. Take a look at a few of these. His official website is located here.

Please watch a few video clips, read an interview or two with the author, and learn a little about his background. All this information can/should be recorded in your journal/notebook for later reference.

A note about cross-dressing and theatre:

Since theatre began, cross-dressing has been a common occurrence on the stage. As far back as ancient Greek theatre, male actors acted both male and female roles on stage. Later in pantomime, commedia dell'arte, and medieval theatre the tradition continued. Of course, Shakespeare and his contemporaries also used cross-dressing in Elizabethan theatre. Many of Shakespeare's funniest comedies use the trope of cross-dressing, for example: Twelfth Night, As You Like It, and even the Merchant of Venice.

If you are attending Spring Awakening, please get the checks to me by the end of the week. The master class is $40 and includes a ticket and script for the play. You will also gain extra credit for going, as this play deals with gender issues, among other things. Don't pass up the opportunity.

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