Playwrights

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.