During the modernist and post-modernist era, a large variety of expressionist theatre came out and became popular or known among larger audiences. This changed the way many people saw theatre, and introduced many new issues and pieces about social change and growth. Conflicts that needed to be addressed were finally becoming voiced and introduced to the larger social community by being expressed through the theatre arts. Many plays about women's oppression, sexuality, and rebellion began to become popular. Some of these plays include A Doll's House, Machinal, Hedda Gabler, Trestle at Pope Lick Creek, Angels in America, Miss Julie, Top Girls, etc, by playwrights including Henrik Ibsen, Eugene O'Neill, August Strindberg, Carol Churchill, Bertolt Brecht, Arthur Miller, Tony Kushner, Sophie Treadwell, and many many more.
For my performance piece, there will be a series of scenes in different gallery spaces that will address the themes of rebellion and sexuality from different plays. The focus of the pieces will be on the woman, and the woman's quest for freedom. One scene from each play will be performed at a different gallery space including art, or a performance space where a dance or musical piece is simultaneously happening. The actors will consist of a variety of people with different ethnic backgrounds to represent that the issues being addressed are universal. The actors have the freedom to improv within the scene whether it be interacting with the audience, repeating lines for emphasis, interacting with the other performers of other artistic abilities, or however else they might improv to put emphasis on a specific point in the scene. The scenes will be going on all day, so as the audience travels from space to space, not one audience member will receive the same experience as another.
The plays will include (Play- Scene):
A Doll's House (Scene 8: Nora leaves Torvald)
Machinal (Episode 6: Young has extra-marital affair)
Miss Julie (Part II- Miss Julie and Jean have an affair and Jean confesses his love to her; this happens soon after Julie has had a broken-off engagement. Julie is known as "sado-masochistic" towards men)
Hedda Gabler (Act 4, Part 2: Hedda Gabler learns that the police will most likely trace her crime and realize that she has killed her husband, and so she shoots herself)
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