Theatre Assignment

1. Watch “August Wilson Biography”

2. Read Act One of “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone”. A PDF of the script is attached.

3. Watch the four videos below. In them you will see different director’s approaches and different stagings of the text.

4. Read Act Two.

Answer the following:

1. Aristotle said a character had to have an “overarching desire”, something that they wanted, that they went after through the play. Pick 2 characters from Joe Turner’s Come and Gone and 1) describe them, 2) say what you believe their overarching desire to be and 30 explain whether they achieve that desire or not.

2. One thing that distinguishes the plays of August Wilson is his love of storytelling. His plays are remembered for long speeches/stories. Pick a long speech from the play and write a short essay that includes your response to the following questions: 1) what do we come to learn about the character from the story, 2) what images in the story make the strongest impressions on you and 3) how does the story relate to the events of the play and the play’s overall meaning?