DOI
https://doi.org/10.25772/VW7R-W930
Defense Date
2012
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts
Department
Theatre
First Advisor
Noreen Barnes
Abstract
Although there are countless manuals devoted to playwriting, very few take up the craft of dramatic adaptation in a practical context. My rendering of Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie is an exploration of fundamental elements that require consideration when adapting for the stage. My approach to the characters’ inarticulateness reveals an inherent theatricality in the novel, which both respects Dreiser’s themes and makes them accessible through the conventions of the stage. I suggest the craft of dramatic adaptation should strike a delicate balance between being a “pilgrim” toward the intentions of the source and an “outlaw” in its innovative theatrical representation of them.
Rights
© The Author
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
April 2012