Discussion Post: Drama
• The fortune teller says she can easily tell you the future but only a charlatan tries to tell you the past. Why is the past unrecoverable? Is history false? What is the fortune teller's role in the play? What themes does she introduce or comment on? (Answer in paragraph form with evidence from the script)
• Imagine you are the director for a production of The Skin of Our Teeth-what would the scene look like at the end of Act 1, with the ushers running through the audience with chairs, the iceberg heading towards the house, and the Antrobuses and others huddled around the fire? What would we see onstage? What music would you play? What would the lighting look like? Describe the scene in a paragraph.
• The second act of the play takes place on the "Atlantic City Boardwalk"--let's imagine you are a director moving the time period of the play to a different year between 1960-2020--how would the Boardwalk look different? What would the fortune teller look like? The weather signal? Choose 8-10 images of the 'Boardwalk' from a different time in the last century that you would use as inspiration for your design, arrange them on a word doc and submit it as a file here
• Henry, it turns out, rose to lead the enemy in the war and above all he wants to kill his father. Is he "evil"? Mentally disturbed? Does the conflict between Henry and his father represent some universal, psychological conflict between generations? Is Mr. Antrobus naive to think Henry will ever change? (Answer in paragraph form with evidence from the script)
• Imagine you are the costume designer for The Skin of Our Teeth-how would you costume Henry and Mr. Antrobus in Act 3 to show they are on different sides of the war? Create an inspiration collage of 10 to 12 pictures of clothing, fabrics, colors, etc. for Henry and Mr. Antrobus and write a paragraph about your choices.
• What do you think is the purpose of the Newsreels in Act 1 and Act 2? How would a modern audience relate to the things being said in the newsreel? In Act 2, Mr. and Mrs. Antrobus make speeches to the audience, how do they differ in what they focus on? What comment do you think Wilder is making about the nature of public speaking? (Answer in paragraph form with evidence from the script)
• In Act 2, Sabina says the reason she refuses to play the scene is because: "there are some lines in that scene that would hurt some people's feelings and I don't think the theatre is a place where people's feelings out to be hurt." Do you agree? Do you think that the theatre should be a place where you go to have your feelings acknowledged and not hurt? What do you notice about this scene in comparison to when the show has to stop in Act 3 with Henry and Mr. Antrobus fighting? (Answer in paragraph form with evidence from the script)
The response should include a reference list. Double-space, using Times New Roman 12 pnt font, one-inch margins, and APA style of writing and citations.