Scottish Contemporary Theatre How to answer essay questions.

 A good introduction sets up your train of thought and gives you something to refer back to in your analysis.  You MUST:  Name the play and the playwright –spelled correctly and the title in speech marks!!!!  Give a short summary of the action of the play.  Take the question, translate it into your own words to show your understanding and show what your argument is going to be about.

 “Discuss the gender inequalities that have been highlighted in two or more…..You must ensure that you explain the reasons for the gender inequalities in your answer.” The plays “Men Should Weep” by Ena Lamont Stewart, “Tally’s Blood” by Anne Marie Di Mambro and “Passing Places” by Stephen Greenhorn are plays that portray men and women and the relationships between them in different ways. Whether the action takes place in Glasgow tenement, a Lanarkshire café or around modern Scotland; common themes emerge regarding the male and female characters, their relationships, their expectations and their place in society. More often than not the balance of power between the sexes is unequal for a variety of reasons but not always in the way the we might expect. TASK: In pairs – write your own introduction to this question that covers all of the necessary components and explains what the essay will be about.

 “Describe and analyse the portrayal of domineering and/or submissive women in two or more plays that you have seen or studied.”  “Are there any unconventional women in Scottish contemporary drama? You should illustrate you answer with reference to at least two plays you have seen or studied.”  “In two plays you have studied, discuss whether or not young men display the same characteristics as their male elders.”  “In at least 2 plays you have seen or studied, discuss the extent to which women in Scottish drama are portrayed as independent.”  “Discuss the relationship between parents and children in contemporary Scottish plays. You should illustrate your answer with reference to at least two plays you have either seen or read”

 Too often we take up precious time explaining the story or concentrating on the plot. If you are focussing on the events of the drama the chances are you are not analysing properly.  E.G. In the final scene of “Men Should Weep”, the relationship between Maggie and John changes completely. She stands up and says that she can “manage” John while he sits slumped in the chair.  This is a topic sentence with an outline of the situation but no analysis.  Task: In pairs, take this piece of action from the play and describe what this symbolises, what it says about the nature of the relationship between the sexes. What has Maggie become? What has John become? How does it relate to what has gone before? How does it relate to other plays/characters? IN OTHER WORDS – ANALYSE WHAT IT MEANS!  N.B. This task should easily stretch to several paragraphs!

 “Towards the end of the play, Lucia is taken back to Italy to live with her father and his new family. Her position in life is completely changed in this situation. She enters a culture alien to her which treats women in a way that does not sit well with her experience and expectations.”  Task : Take this as an introduction to a section of an essay that analyses the position of women in the society and in relation to men. To do this you need multiple examples and analysis of each.  N.B. This should run to several paragraphs.

 “The main characters in the play represent a very different portrayal of men and their position in society than many Scottish plays of the past.”  Task: In pairs, collate examples of how Alex and Brian do not fit with the stereotype of the traditional male.  What examples can you find that show they do retain some aspects of the stereotype?  Use these to write half of an essay (8 examples/quotes) that assesses how far Alex and Brian fulfil this stereotype.

 The essays in this section are different. They require you evaluate a performance or body of work.  That means that you must analyse key aspects of the performance and comment on their effectiveness.  If you are mentioning aspects of the performance without taking apart how it was done then you are just retelling the story

 Quality of acting  Set design  Use of costume  Lights and sound  Overall design concept  Interaction with the audience  Moments that had a significant impact on the audience  Characters that had an impact on the audience  Tension and timing  Message and target audience

In each case you should: describe the aspect being discussed Explain how it fit into the performance Go into detail about how it was done Comment on what these details communicated to the audience Comment on the impact these had on the audience Words you could use: Powerfulfacial expressionpitch Suspensegesturespace Tensioneye contacttone Emotiveposturevolume Politicalbody languageregister Educationalstanceemphasis Surprisinggaitfluency Atmosphericblockingarticulation Creativelevelsaccent Humoroustimingclarity Depressingchoreography

 Flats  Apron  Front of house  Wings  Rostra  Levels  Wash  Profile  Fresnel  Backdrop…..