Courses

This graduate seminar will examine how performance was produced in the early modern English commercial theater. We will track the emergence of London’s acting companies in the late sixteenth century, identifying both how they operated in relation to each other and the distinct styles of performance and dramatic tropes they individually cultivated. Moving roughly chronologically and centering our investigation on a different play each week, we will give special attention to the changing conventions that governed early modern performance, the material technologies of stage production, and the range of playhouse structures, both indoor and outdoor, in which commercial performances took place. The secondary readings will introduce you to a range of methodologies, from the theoretical to the pragmatic, that have so far shaped early modern theatricality studies. By the end of the semester, you will be able to place yourself within the discussions and debates that define this productive and growing field of study.