During the fall of 2004, two sessions of 21L.005 were recorded especially for OpenCourseWare. These sessions feature students’ discussion and performance of Luigi Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of an Author and Bertolt Brecht’s Galileo. The students formed two groups, the Pirandellans and Brechtians, each with the task of performing scenes from the selected play and leading the class discussion and analysis of that particular work. Below are links to the videos.
Session 1
Video: (MP4 - 172MB)
| SEG # | SEGMENT TOPICS |
STARTS AT (H:MIN:SEC) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jennifer M. provides an overview of the Pirandellans’ performance of Six Characters in Search of an Author. | 00:00:01 |
| 2 | Pirandellans describe the context of their first scene. | 00:03:48 |
| 3 | Pirandellans perform first scene. The performers are Jennifer M., Jennifer L., Min-wah, Matt, and Tucker. | 00:05:55 |
| 4 | Class discusses the performance with Prof. Henderson. | 00:12:50 |
| 5 | Pirandellans introduce the next scene, at the end of the play. | 00:15:40 |
| 6 | Performance of next scene begins. | 00:19:40 |
| 7 | Class discusses performance. | 00:25:40 |
| 8 | Matt discusses the relationship of the producer to the story. | 00:39:05 |
| 9 | Class discusses which character in the play would be considered the protagonist. | 00:51:25 |
| 10 | Prof. Henderson discusses different interpretations of male and female roles in the play. | 01:05:25 |
Session 2
Video: (MP4 - 161MB)
| SEG # | SEGMENT TOPICS |
STARTS AT (H:MIN:SEC) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brechtians Richa, Stephanie, Julia, and Jenn provide background information on Brecht and a synopsis of scenes in Galileo. | 00:00:01 |
| 2 | Brechtians perform scenes 11-14 of Galileo. | 00:07:54 |
| 3 | Prof. Henderson engages actors in discussion of what they learned from the experience of performing the play versus reading it. | 00:32:26 |
| 4 | Reactions from the audience, particularly on the issue of characterization. | 00:40:56 |
| 5 | In response to students’ comments on Brecht’s relationship to ideals of art versus science, Prof. Henderson describes Brecht as attempting to promote rational and scientific inquiry in his audience. | 00:50:51 |
| 6 | Prof. Henderson asks students to analyze the time sequence in the play. Why use these gaps of time? | 00:55:40 |
| 7 | Prof. Henderson summarizes the discussion on Brecht and politics as articulated in Galileo. | 01:00:05 |
