Playwrights

Pick any theater play. You need to prepare a presentation about the playwright of your choice, including where he is from, which period they belong to (you can mention other plays to give an example of their works), when it was presented, and the reaction the play received. Then, select a scene from the play you choose that gives an example of the theme or central idea the playwright wanted to present. You need to see if there is a video presentation of the play, look for the scene you chose, and compare the performance and the written play. You can use PowerPoint for the presentation. The PowerPoint will be submitted here on Blackboard. It is due by the end of week 3.

Important!!! Try to choose a playwright you are not familiar with.

Here is a list of some of the most important and influential playwrights in the history of theater, spanning different eras and cultures:

Ancient Greek Playwrights

1.
Aeschylus – Known as the “Father of Tragedy,” his works include 
The Oresteia trilogy.

2.
Sophocles – Famous for 
Oedipus Rex and 
Antigone.

3.
Euripides – Known for 
Medea and 
The Bacchae.

4.
Aristophanes – The greatest comic playwright of ancient Greece, known for 
Lysistrata and 
The Clouds.

Roman Playwrights

1.
Seneca – A Stoic philosopher and tragedian, known for his influential tragedies like 
Thyestes.

2.
Plautus – A comedic playwright known for 
Menaechmi and 
Pseudolus.

3.
Terence – Known for his comedies, such as 
The Brothers and 
The Eunuch.

Elizabethan and Jacobean Playwrights

1.
Christopher Marlowe – Known for 
Doctor Faustus and 
Tamburlaine.

2.
Ben Jonson – Known for 
Volpone and 
The Alchemist.

French Classical Playwrights

1.
Molière – The master of French comedy, known for 
Tartuffe and 
The Misanthrope.

2.
Jean Racine is known for his tragedies, such as 
those of Phèdre and 
Andromaque.

3.
Pierre Corneille – Known for 
Le Cid.

Modern Playwrights (19th–20th Century)

1.
Henrik Ibsen – The father of modern drama, known for 
A Doll’s House and 
Hedda Gabler.

2.
Anton Chekhov – Known for 
The Cherry Orchard and 
Uncle Vanya.

3.
George Bernard Shaw – Known for 
Pygmalion and 
Man and Superman.

4.
August Strindberg – Known for 
Miss Julie and 
The Father.

5.
Bertolt Brecht – Known for 
The Threepenny Opera and 
Mother Courage and Her Children.

6.
Tennessee Williams – Known for 
A Streetcar Named Desire and 
The Glass Menagerie.

7.
Arthur Miller – Known for 
Death of a Salesman and 
The Crucible.

8.
Samuel Beckett – Known for 
Waiting for Godot and 
Endgame.

9.
Eugene O’Neill – Known for 
Long Day’s Journey into Night and 
The Iceman Cometh.

10.
Luigi Pirandello – Known for 
Six Characters in Search of an Author.

Contemporary Playwrights (20th–21st Century)

1.
Harold Pinter – Known for 
The Birthday Party and 
The Homecoming.

2.
Tom Stoppard – Known for 
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead and 
Arcadia.

3.
Caryl Churchill – Known for 
Top Girls and 
Cloud Nine.

4.
August Wilson – Known for 
Fences and 
The Piano Lesson.

5.
Tony Kushner – Known for 
Angels in America.

6.
Lorraine Hansberry – Known for 
A Raisin in the Sun.

7.
Suzan-Lori Parks – Parks is Known for 
Topdog/Underdog and 
The America Play.

This list is not exhaustive but highlights some of the most significant figures in theater history.

Influential African American playwrights who have made significant contributions to theater:

1.     
Lorraine Hansberry

o   Known for
A Raisin in the Sun (1959), the first play written by an African American woman to be produced on Broadway. It explores themes of racial discrimination and the pursuit of the American Dream.

2.     
August Wilson

A Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Wilson is best known for his
Pittsburgh Cycle (or
Century Cycle), a series of ten plays that depict the African American experience in the 20th century. Notable works include
Fences (1985) and
The Piano Lesson (1987).

3.     
Suzan-Lori Parks

A Pulitzer Prize winner for
Topdog/Underdog (2001), Parks is known for her innovative and poetic style. Other notable works include
The America Play (1994) and
Venus (1996).

4.     
Amiri Baraka (formerly LeRoi Jones)

Baraka was a leading figure in the Black Arts Movement. Baraka’s works often address racial and social issues. His most famous play is
Dutchman (1964), a provocative exploration of race relations in America.

5.     
Ntozake Shange

Best known for her groundbreaking choreopoem
for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf (1976), Shange’s work blends poetry, music, and dance to tell the stories of Black women.

These playwrights have shaped American theater and brought critical perspectives on race, identity, and social justice to the stage.

Here is a list of
10 of the most important Spanish-speaking playwrights from Spain and Latin America, spanning different eras and styles:

From Spain

1.
Lope de Vega (1562–1635)

· A towering figure of the Spanish Golden Age, known for 
Fuenteovejuna and 
The Dog in the Manger. He wrote over 1,800 plays and helped define the 
comedia genre.

1.
Pedro Calderón de la Barca (1600–1681)

· A master of Baroque drama, famous for 
Life is a Dream (
La vida es sueño) and 
The Mayor of Zalamea.

1.
Tirso de Molina (1579–1648)

· Known for creating the character of Don Juan in 
The Trickster of Seville (
El burlador de Sevilla).

1.
Federico García Lorca (1898–1936)

· A leading voice of 20th-century Spanish theater, known for 
Blood Wedding (
Bodas de Sangre), 
Yerma, and 
The House of Bernarda Alba (
La casa de Bernarda Alba).

1.
Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616)

· Though best known for 
Don Quixote, Cervantes wrote influential plays like 
The Siege of Numantia (
El cerco de Numancia).

From Latin America

1.
Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1651–1695, Mexico)

· A nun and one of the most important literary figures of the colonial era, known for 
The Divine Narcissus (
El divino Narciso) and 
Loa to the Divine Narcissus.

1.
Rodolfo Usigli (1905–1979, Mexico)

· Often called the “father of modern Mexican theater” and is known for 
The Gesticulator (
El gesticulador), a critique of political corruption.

1.
Griselda Gambaro (1928–, Argentina)

· A leading figure in contemporary Latin American theater, known for 
The Walls (
Las paredes) and 
Information for Foreigners (
Información para extranjeros), which address themes of oppression and violence.

1.
Mario Vargas Llosa (1936–, Peru)

· Primarily known as a novelist, Vargas Llosa has also written significant plays, such as 
La señorita de Tacna and 
Kathie y el hipopótamo.

1.
Ariel Dorfman (1942–, Chile)

· Known for 
Death and the Maiden (
La muerte y la doncella), a powerful exploration of justice and trauma in post-dictatorship Chile.