Academic Bulletin Theater - 2011-12 - 103 THE 103

Is there little difference between theater and sports, the play and the playbook, actors and athletes, an audience and spectators? Isn’t all sport, at its core, a form of drama? Action and hubris? A cathartic experience? Spectacle? And isn’t theater an act of physical exertion and skill? What about that moment or the peripeteia that leads to victory or defeat? There is ritual and aesthetics, the tragic downfall of a hero, the clock, the playing space, the ensemble—a deep affinity for pleasing patterns and a human search for meaningful action. In sports and theater, we construct narratives about conflict, competition, and collaboration that reflect our cultural identities and illustrate human desires. In this seminar,we will study playwrights and directors who have used sports to frame a theatrical performance. We will read essays by Joyce Carol Oates and Johan Huizinga, adaptations such as The Shakespearean Baseball Game and Shakespeare’s World Cup, and plays by Tom Stoppard, Jason Miller, Richard Greenberg, among others. We will discuss great moments in sports. Game on!