Since the terms Realism and Naturalism were first applied to plays by writers like Ibsen or Strindberg, the attempt to create a semblance of everyday life on stage has defined and sometimes dominated Western drama, even by inspiring other styles and movements in reaction. This course will explore the forms and purposes – the how and the why – of these “realistic” approaches to theater, both from a literary and a performance perspective. With the 19th Century movement in visual arts and literature as background, and contemporary equivalents in other media as context, we will ask what is particular about Realism as a way of seeing or defining the “real”? What perspectives and assumptions does it use to recreate the details of lived experience, and what does a theater audience experience? We will look at some classic 20th Century English-language theatrical examples (e.g. Miller, Hansberry), alongside contemporary pieces that draw from them (Baker, Hudes, Lee). Acting and directing texts from Uta Hagen and Harold Clurman, as well as writing about associated acting styles (such as “The Method”), will guide our work. Through rehearsing scenes and critical analysis, students will interrogate the techniques and their assumptions, asking what they now might offer us, in a culture suffused in “reality TV” and filmed recreations of the “real”. The class will then create and perform their own scenes inspired by and/or critiquing this tradition.