Abstract
This paper considers the state of theater in Canada and Winnipeg prior to the creation of the Manitoba Theater Center in 1958, looking at the goals of the Massey Commission in promoting the development of a Canadian culture. It also looks at the intentions of Theater 77 and the Winnipeg Little Theater in their merger to become the Manitoba Theater Center. The main body of the analysis is concerned with the mandate of the Manitoba Theater Center. Finally, consideration is also given to an additional fourth goal introduced later in the Center's history that was concerned with encouraging the production of Canadian plays.
Outline
Introduction
Setting the Scene: The State of Theatre in Canada and Winnipeg and the Establishment of the Manitoba Theatre Centre
Goal A
Goal B
Goal C
Goal D
The Legacy and Prospects for the Centre as it Entered the 1980s

From the Paper
"Canadian theater, in the 1950s, consisted mostly of amateur societies, with professional theater only really finding a niche in Toronto. The Massey Commission Report of 1951 was concerned with the state of Canadian culture and its tendency to import art from other cultural centers, such as New York and London. The Massey Commission's Report outlined steps to create a government body that would grant funds to art programmes to promote a national culture. Such a concern had been similarly expressed by other major figures in Canadian theater, some of whom had suggested that if the state of the theater were to improve, it would require a national theater that would tour the country with several permanent provincial theater buildings to house professional productions (Massey 55). "

Tags:arts, commission, identity, massey, Winnipeg

Abstract
This paper first explains that "A Doll's House" by Henrik Ibsen and "A Streetcar Named Desire" by Tennessee Williams are two plays that explore the ways in which a woman can be very desirable but cannot satisfy either herself or her world. The paper then goes on to explore how the protagonist Nora in Ibsen's play reacts to her relationship with her husband and finally rejects it. Whereas, Blanche Dubois in Williams' play, after considering desire as her only source of life, retreats into insanity. The paper stresses that society has formed the ways in which these women are viewed.

From the Paper
"This quote shows that for him, the whole point, the whole image of being a man derives from a masculinity that is shown through the dominance of women. Nora is his dream come true, constantly playing the "damsel in distress" in need of his assistance. It also shows a certain falseness in his love for her, as he does not actually say "love" in this passage but instead "attractive", suggesting that he is only interested in the surface of Nora."

Tags:flirtatious, feminine helplessness, manipulative husband isolated

From the Paper
"Playwright David Henry Hwang's M. Butterfly is based on a true story. In 1964, a French diplomat stationed in China fell in love with a native Chinese opera singer, lived with her for twenty years, and believed he had fathered a child by her, and then discovered she was a man. One would expect Hwang's play to be a farce -- and yet it is not a farce at all. It is a deeply riveting study of not only the psychology of two individuals but of the way the West stereotypes the East and prefers its fantasies to the reality of a changing Orient."

Tags:butterflies, madame

Abstract
This essay analyzes the change in character of the protagonist, Nora Helmer, in Henrik Ibsen?s," A Doll's House". An alphabetized works cited is included, with reference to a critical review of the play.

From the Paper
"Everyone experiences change. One might move far away from the town in which they grew up, or a best friend's death could disrupt a person's comfortable lifestyle. Hardly any changes, however, are as dramatic as the transformation in character of Nora Helmer, the protagonist in Henrik Ibsen's A Doll House. Nora's transformation from doll-like puppet to real-life human being concludes with her decision to leave her family. By leaving, she becomes the evidence for Ibsen's idea that women should be free to discover their own true identities."

Tags:character, characterization, dynamic, english, henrik, literature, marriage, play, plays, rights, women

Abstract
This paper examines how modern drama works closely with the concept of the repression of fear and aggression and how Freudian theory had a direct impact on dramatists after the 1920s. It looks at how Beckett's drama portrays the human condition through the depreciation of psychological forces and how, conversely, Chekhov allows his characters a sense of realization through negative capability whereby the characters are respectively voiced without emphasis on any one viewpoint. It also shows how like Ibsen he allows the characters the freedom to speak almost randomly, in what Freud would term the technique of free association used to cure patients by articulating their repressed fears and aggressions.

From the Paper
"Freud formed a theory of the id and the ego which attempted to explain the unconscious psychological forces of an individual, and can be illustrated through Beckett's Waiting for Godot (1952). Vladimir and Estragon are embodiments of a mind and body duality. By reversing Vladimir's epithet Didi it is possible to form Id-Id, where, by psychological definition id represents the desire for physical contact and body warmth, characteristic of babies. Estragon, or "Gogo" can be reversed to (e)go-(e)go, the ego, which forms the conscious and socially aware psyche developed in adulthood. The mind is purely conscious, and can detach itself from the more base instincts of the body, an extended reality, which is controlled by specific laws."

Tags:freud, aggression, fear, id, uncle, vanya, dolls, house

Abstract
This essay deals with the philosophical themes underlying two of the most influential French plays of the twentieth century, placing them in the context of the latently similar thinking of their authors. From a close reading of a very small sample of their theatrical output, with sustained reference to existentialist, Marxist, and psychoanalytical (that of Irigaray and Levi-Strauss in particular) philosophies, it makes a detailed interpretation of the engagement with bourgeois, patriarchal values the two authors share.

From the Paper
"This essay will make a comparative analysis of the treatment of the role of the father in Jean-Paul Sartre's Les Sequestr's d'Altona (1959) and Hlne Cixous's Portrait de Dora (1976). At first sight this may seem to be an unusual choice of texts one might be justified in wondering where any common ground can lie between the two plays. It is true that Sartre and Cixous seem to have little in common, aside from both being prolific writers who use the largest possible variety of media to communicate the philosophies they hold as being important truths. In terms of their periods of activity, their aims in writing theater, and most importantly their treatment of the feminine in their work, they are indeed very different. Most importantly as regards the feminine, for as Cranston remarks, He [Sartre] is revolted by women. There is something sickening about all the female characters in Sartre's plays and stories.1 Although Dora is a difficult character, even impenetrable, it could not be said that she is repulsive, as Freud's determination to solve her apparent neurosis shows. Even given the context of their production, though, this essay will seek to show similarities in theme and objective in the two plays. There are, in effect, latent points in common between Cixous's 'theatre of the body' and Sartre's existentialist writing, and this has an important bearing as to the role of the father as being first and foremost the role of a male human being, with sexual desires and sexual desirability. This in turn has important consequences on the notions of subjectivity and the "look" or "gaze" of the "other" - in other words how characters identify themselves through the other characters on stage. This essay will explore these concepts, which are the essence of characterization in the two plays, examining the consequences of the father's influence in the child's self identification, and the negative outcome that this has. If the role of the father is thus seen in a negative light, then this is not without social and political consequences, and an exploration of the engagement of the two plays in interpreting the social role of the father will form the final part of this essay."

Tags:bourgeois, ethics, existentialism, feminist, freud, irigaray, lesbianism, marxism, patriarchal, psychoanalysis, strauss, theatre, unconsciousness, woman

Abstract
Examining the themes of fantasy, reality, sanity and insanity. This essay both analyzes and criticizes Nowra's work in relation to other works by the same author and those of other contemporary and historical authors. Specifically examining recurring themes and motifs within the play. Shows how the play is part of the larger structure of Australian writing.

From the Paper
"Louis Nowra is one of Australia's most noted dramatists of recent years. His early plays are generally concerned with political and social events in other countries such as Russia and Paraguay, (The Precious Woman and Visions) for which he has been criticised. As an Australian playwright the general criticism of his early work is that he should represent Australian issues rather than being concerned with the happenings in other countries. These plays did however have some allegorical relationship to Australian society but as they were not set in Australia this relationship was often difficult to see. His later plays however are set in Australia and examine the society of which they are a part, Cosi is one of these plays and rather than being overtly political in its nature it is an intimate exploration of representations and common perceptions of sanity and insanity within Australian society. The play is set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War in the 1970's and so follows Nowra's usual style in that it is set against a major historical event. Nowra uses a mixture of fantasy and reality in the play's structure and content to explore and explode commonly held perceptions of mental illness and the people that it affects."

Tags:australian, insanity, sanity

Abstract
This paper discusses whether the play "Danton's Death", which professes a nihilistic philosophy which states that life and specifically political struggle is futile, can be considered political. It examines whether Danton's loss of faith in humanity makes the play existential to the point where it considers politics a pointless endeavor.

From the Paper
"It is Danton's moment of sanguinity, which takes this bleakest of plays into the realm of political theater. For a brief moment Danton believes that all is not lost, even if he can no longer achieve anything himself, there is hope for the future; his acts would not be futile if they inspire revolution after him; his actions have not been worthless. Even if he is dead, buried and forgotten, in this moment he shows that he has some belief in the human race; he believes that there can be others like him that will rebuild the foundations of liberty on the graves of their forefathers."

Tags:humanity, faith

Abstract
This paper shows how the key to understanding Brecht's "Der gute Mensch von Sezuan" and its place in the development of Epic Theatre is to understand the way in which he uses songs and poetic language throughout the action of the play. At certain significant moments, the actors break into song, or speak in blank verse, a style vastly different from their characteristic mode of expression. The essay's discussion of these moments, and explanation of their function within Brecht's dramatic theory, will enable the reader to fully understand the play and its importance. The essay concentrates fully on the text of the work rather than reworking critical literature on the subject.

From the Paper
"As well as the five songs, on around twenty-five occasions the play is "interrupted" by excerpts of free verse, lacking rhyme and meter but distinct in style and vocabulary from the character's normal speech. These interludes form a framework of comment and reflection embracing the action of the play and are usually directed to the audience rather than to the other characters. This commentary intertwined with the action of the play force the audience to consider it immediately whilst still under the direct influence of the playwright instead of reflecting on it later and at a distance. The characters are more perceptive in this altered mood and provide the audience with insight into their behavior, and for this reason as well as because the action of the play is interrupted, the songs and heightened lyrical passages are also an important part of Brecht's Verfremdungeffekt (estrangement effect). The fact that several of the characters break into song at different points in the play is an anti-naturalistic device and the elevated language is also clearly not spontaneous or believable dialogue. Some of the dialogue and songs also have a persuasive function, serving Brechts interests. Many of them could stand alone, indeed some did before Brecht appropriated them for his work, and are simple and memorable excerpts that the audience could take home from the theater."

Tags:bertolt, epic, epische, gute, mensch, theater, theatre, verfremdungseffekt

Abstract
This paper considers aspects of satire, farce and political conscience within "Heart of a Dog." Also considered, is whether "Heart of a Dog" is primarily a polemic or a comic piece, and what can be understood about the author's own feelings toward the new political order through his writing.

From the Paper
"In order to fully appreciate Mikhail Bulgakov's "The Heart of a Dog," it is necessary to consider the author's position at the time. The novella was written in 1925, the New Economic Policy period and life was improving for the playwright. Several of his plays had been performed on stage and he had published a few short stories, which although not received well by state newspaper critics, were popular. The NEP period promised a softening of otherwise crippling and ridiculous policies and must have been heartening for Bulgakov, who, as Lesley Milne writes, had a style of writing that was "unashamedly elitist and an affront to the revolutionary ethos of the time." In "Fatal Eggs" written a year before "Heart of a Dog," Bulgakov had predicted that by 1928 Muscovites would be all housed and well dressed, and that even the bourgeois treasures of Moscow's galleries would be protected in a state of emergency. During the time of writing, Bulgakov was optimistic, and it is in this context that "Heart of a Dog" should be viewed."

Tags:bulgakov, evolution, experiment, farce, moscow, politics, revolution, satire