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Matthew Freeman is a Brooklyn based playwright with a BFA from Emerson College. His plays include THE DEATH OF KING ARTHUR, REASONS FOR MOVING, THE GREAT ESCAPE, THE AMERICANS, THE WHITE SWALLOW, AN INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR, THE MOST WONDERFUL LOVE, WHEN IS A CLOCK, GLEE CLUB, THAT OLD SOFT SHOE and BRANDYWINE DISTILLERY FIRE. He served as Assistant Producer and Senior Writer for the live webcast from Times Square on New Year's Eve 2010-2012. As a freelance writer, he has contributed to Gamespy, Premiere, Complex Magazine, Maxim Online, and MTV Magazine. His plays have been published by Playscripts, Inc., New York Theatre Experience, and Samuel French.

Tuesday, March 09, 2010

Question

What is the most contemporary play that is currently a part of the public school curriculum? I mean, I know this changes from state to state, but generally... what would it be? The Zoo Story?

5 comments:

Sabina E. said...

the Zoo Story?! No wayyy! That play would be considered inappropriate for some public schools.

in high school, I took drama classes and we read Tennesse Williams, Arthur Miller. But since I was a hardcore thespian, the drama teacher (who worked for a regional theatre) would hand me copies of newer plays in private for me to read.

honestly, I don't recall anyone teaching contemporary American plays in high school. just Tennesse Williams, Arthur Miller and Thornton Wilder. I'm pretty sure it never went beyond the 1950s.

Sigh.

Unknown said...

Yeah, I'll second that. Miller is the most contemporary thing I ever remember in my public education... although when I went to a private high school, the most contemporary play we got to was The Laramie Project.

Scott Walters said...

You mean K-12? My impression from my students is that it is Death of a Salesman or The Crucible.

Sabina E. said...

CultureFuture, we didn't do the Laramie Project at my high school because that was fairly new (I graduated in 2001). but we read that in an "Introduction to Theatre" class at my college.

It's really pathetic how new, contemporary plays of the 1980s to the 2000s are ignored in drama classes at public schools.

David D. said...

There is a middle school I had a residency at this year, Manhattan East, whose drama class was working on, and doing some sort of performance, of The Laramie Project.