Levi Stroud
An Education (2011-12)
This section explores two very important works from my Freshman year at the University of Michigan, specifically in the Residential College. These two works are a reflection of me learning how to analyze a dramatic text and then produce one. For me, it was the beginning of learning dramatic structure, literary analysis, and audience engagement.
August Guilt: A One Act Play on Dealing with the Demon
August Guilt is a play that I wrote for my freshman writing seminar. It was the first play that I wrote that consisted of a set of interacting characters (rather than a set of monologues in my earlier work). It is a clear demonstration of my development as a writer and how that was affected by the look at the American Family Drama which we studied in my class. The southern setting also relates to the role my southern heritage plays in my identity, and how I began to relate to that more in college The picture above is from its production.
The Lomans--A Sale's Industry
Coming from a rather underdeveloped high school, I never did a close analysis of a text before. In my freshman writing seminar under Katherine Mendeloff, I was able to do so for the first time while exploring the complex themes within the Loman family from Death of a Salesman. This work exemplifies my development as a writer through my deeper understanding of how to read dramatic literature.