Look forward in anger: non-orthodox structure in the works of Kane, Parks, and Morrison

48 Pages·2017·0.35 MB·English

University of Iowa
Iowa Research Online
Theses and Dissertations
Spring 2017
Look forward in anger: non-orthodox structure in
the works of Kane, Parks, and Morrison
Alison Ruth
University of Iowa
Copyright © 2017 Alison Ruth
This thesis is available at Iowa Research Online: https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/5618
Recommended Citation
Ruth, Alison. "Look forward in anger: non-orthodox structure in the works of Kane, Parks, and Morrison." MFA (Master of Fine Arts)
thesis, University of Iowa, 2017.
https://doi.org/10.17077/etd.anjqblgl
Follow this and additional works at:https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd
Part of theTheatre and Performance Studies Commons
LOOK FORWARD IN ANGER: NON-ORTHODOX STRUCTURE IN KANE, PARKS, AND
MORRISON

by

Alison Ruth

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the Master of Fine Arts
degree in Theatre Arts (Dramaturgy) in the
Graduate College of
The University of Iowa

May 2017

Thesis Supervisor: Associate Professor Art Borreca
Copyright by

ALISON RUTH

2017

All Rights Reserved
Graduate College
The University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa

CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL

____________________________

MASTER’S THESIS

_________________

This is to certify that the Master’s thesis of

Alison Ruth

has been approved by the Examining Committee for
the thesis requirement for the Master of Fine Arts degree
in Theatre Arts (Dramaturgy) at the May 2017 graduation.

Thesis Committee: ____________________________________________
Art Borreca, Thesis Supervisor

____________________________________________
Kim Marra

____________________________________________
Lisa Schlesinger

____________________________________________
Meredith Alexander
To Nina Morrison and Lukas Brasherfons

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“If we added up all of women’s depression – all our compulsive smiling, ego-tending,
and sacrifice; all our psychosomatic illness, and all our passivity – we could gauge
our rage’s unarticulated, negative force.”

Julia Lesage
Women’s Rage

ii
PUBLIC ABSTRACT

This thesis examines the relationship between dramatic structure and
women’s responses to oppression. By looking at Blasted by Sarah Kane, Father
Comes Home From the Wars Parts 1,2 & 3 by Suzan-Lori Parks, and Féminaal by Nina
Morrison, I examine the ways that questions of structure become questions of
gender. I argue that these plays’ forms are purposeful embodiments of resistance
and that the energetic connection between these plays is a current of anger.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF FIGURES..………………………………...…………………………………………………………… viii

INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………………………….……. 1

BLASTED …………………………..………………………………………………………………………….…….. 7

FATHER COMES HOME FROM THE WARS……………………………………………………………17

FÉMINAAL………………………….……………………………………………………………………………... 25

CONCLUSION …………………….……………………………………………………………………………… 35

BIBLIOGRAPHY ………………………….…………..…………………………………………………………. 37

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure
1. Nina Morrison, Féminaal …………………………….….…………….……….….……………………. 27
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Introduction

This thesis explores Sarah Kane’s Blasted, Suzan-Lori Parks’ Father Comes
Home From the Wars, and Nina Morrison’s Féminaal and looks at the relationship
between dramatic structure and responses to female oppression. While there is
much scholarship written about Kane and Parks, Morrison’s Féminaal has yet to be
published and is relatively unknown. Regardless of the established nature of these
works each of them exemplify how dramatic structure, like other confining social
structures, is primed for only a certain type of person and story. They illuminate
how shocks to this system challenge not only drama, but also other systems of
structure that influence our perceptions of gender, race, and sexuality.
As the original production dramaturg for Féminaal, I was able not only to
track the development of the script, but also to talk with Nina Morrison about her
motivations for writing the play. What I remember most vividly from our
conversations was my excitement at finding an artistic collaborator who seemed as
frustrated and impatient as I did with contemporary plays that were bafflingly tone
deaf to issues of sexism. Even more unsettling was witnessing the endless praise
that seemed to be heaped on these works. As a result, our discussions moved back
and forth between her play and the current political and social climate we were
making theater in. I was fascinated and energized by Nina’s ideas about subverting
dramatic forms that male artists used to create work that was formally exciting but
filled with content that felt like an endorsement of the power imbalance between
men and women. Through this collaboration I became curious about the
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