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

1		Discuss how Beth Henley balances the elements of intrigue and credibility in Crimes of the Heart. In this play the characters seem to be bizarre and out of touch. How does she make them credible? What are the elements of surprise she uses to intensify the action?
2		Discuss how a play celebrates life even when the play is serious and seems to say demeaning things about life. For example, how do Oedipus Tyrannus and Death of a Salesman celebrate life?
3		In Picasso at the Lapine Agile, Steve Martin creates an imagined dialogue between Einstein and Picasso at the turn of the century and in Copenhagen Michael Frayn creates a hypothetical conversation between physicists Neils Bohr and Werner Heisenberg. Select two important figures from history or literature and write an imaginary dialogue between them. Could you expand the conversation into a play?
4		Read a play by each of two totally different playwrights such as David Mamet and Tom Stoppard. Compare their styles, use of words and syntax, and the characters they create.