Complete any necessary research and write an essay on the following subjects.

1		Compare the classical kind of tragedy as exemplified in Oedipus Tyrannus and Hamlet to more modern tragic approaches such as Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman and Long Day’s Journey Into Night by Eugene O’Neill. How are they similar? How do they differ? Is it possible to have a real tragedy in the modern era?
2		Can we use an analysis of the structure of a play as a guide to understanding a performance or does it interfere with the appreciation of the event? Attend a local performance of a play and, using Aristotle’s six components, review the show in a brief essay.
3		There is an increasingly common practice in many regional theatres for the director of the show or artistic director of the theatre to come out and chat with the audience about matters unrelated to the current production. (i.e. season tickets, the next show on the bill, financial concerns, etc.) Is this helpful or harmful to the transition from daily life to the world of the theatre? Evaluate this practice in a brief essay.
4		Comment on why conflict is so interesting. What makes us actually enjoy and identify with the conflict in a play? What happens to us at the moment of climax? What sources can you bring to bear on this subject?