For this assignment, you will explore the technique of verisimilitude and its relationship with the “well-made” play in a production of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. You’ve already read about the play in terms of the basic plot and the chronology of events from

For this assignment, you will explore the technique of verisimilitude and its relationship with the “well-made” play in a production of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. You’ve already read about the play in terms of the basic plot and the chronology of events from the textbook reading, so now it’s time to explain how the ideas explored in the play are visually/audibly realized and accomplished in a specific production of the play. By doing this, you will demonstrate your understanding of theater generally and of A Dolls House specifically.

GRADING: See the Module Activity Grading Criteria for detailed information regarding the minimum requirements. Please note: there is no minimum research requirement for this module activity.

MATERIALS: Use Chapter 7 in your textbook. You will also need to gain access to the production of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House available for free through Digital Theatre+. Link and login information can be found within the Module 5 folder, but as a reminder, here it is again:

Website = Digital Theatre+

Username = spcollege

Password = establish@5297

Once logged in, type in “Carrie Cracknell A Doll’s House” in the search bar and the full-length ‘Production’ will be available.

The streamed production of the play through Digital Theatre+ directed by Carrie Cracknell is the only version you may use for this module activity.

INSTRUCTIONS:

All items that follow relate specifically to the streamed version of the production that you were to have watched for this module. After you’ve watched the streamed version of the play in its entirety, construct an essay that includes the following:

    Choose one of the following themes to ground your interpretation of the play and complete the following sentence, A Dolls House is best understood as
        an argument for the importance of self-knowledge.
        an argument for the importance of freedom.
        a critique of repressive social roles.
        a critique of materialism and social markers of achievement like reputation and wealth.
    Write a 1 paragraph justification for why you think this is the most compelling reading of the play. You must use evidence from the production to successfully support your choice.
    Considering the technique of verisimilitude, provide 2 specific examples of this technique used in the production that supports your chosen theme from #1 above. For this step, you’ll want to consider the staging, props, costuming, acting, sound, etc. Fully describe how each of your 2 chosen examples function within the production to support your chosen theme.
    In this final part, provide justification for why the director may have chosen to venture away from presenting the play in a way that would make it look and sound like the real world. Provide 2 examples of how the production deviates from the technique of verisimilitude in order to achieve what you established as your chosen theme from #1 above.

NOTE:

You’ll see that there are two deadlines for this analytical assignment. The first deadline is labeled “optional” and the second deadline is the final day/time that you can submit the final version of the assignment for grading purposes. The optional first deadline is when you may submit a rough draft to the Dropbox for review prior to the final deadline. If you would like to have a rough draft reviewed, please label it as “ROUGH DRAFT.” I will provide feedback on all rough drafts and allow revisions before final drafts are submitted for grading. Please note that if you are confident in your work and do not wish to submit a rough draft, then you can ignore the optional deadline as long as you meet the final deadline for this assignment.