The Normal Heart

Doug Cooney, Professor

Cypress College -- Theatre/Dance Dept.

Diversity in American Theater

Spring 2014

Worksheet #3 for “The Normal Heart”

1. Describe each of the following characters in detail. Their age, ethnicity, goals, attitude and personality.

a. NED

b. BRUCE

c. FELIX

d. EMMA

2. The play concerns the earliest years in what would become the AIDS epidemic (1981-1984) – before the HIV virus had even been identified. What were the symptoms of the disease? What were the consequences of the disease? Did medical professionals know how it was transmitted?

3. The playwright gives each of his characters a moment to make a passionate speech. Pick a specific speech made by a character – (you get to choose) -- identify where that speech occurs in the action of the play – and summarize the point that the character is trying to make. Explain the reasons why you chose that particular speech.

4. With research and drug therapy, AIDS has now become a treatable blood condition – instead of a death sentence. Why should THE NORMAL HEART still be produced? What benefit does the play serve thirty years later?