Item Response #1 – Due 3/29

Your assignment is to find an archival document or item relating to popular entertainment in the United States.

First, find an item to analyze. An item can be a photograph of something from one of these ancient traditions, a drawing or building plan, or anything else that relates to these performance traditions. Please choose something ancient and not modern (i.e. no photographs of a 2012 staging of Oedipus). You can find such items in the following archive:

Library of Congress Variety Stage archive

I suggest clicking on “motion pictures” “Houdini” or “sound recordings,” then clicking “browse” to find your item.

Your next step is to analyze the item. What is it that you found? What details can you observe about it? What does this item tell us about theater in the ancient world? See this handout for more questions you might ask of an archival document.

Then, write about it. Your paper should be 2-3 double-spaced, typed pages and should contextualize your item in its historical and theatrical context based on your observations and the readings (not on outside research). You will be assessed on how well you contextualize the object and how carefully and thoughtfully you’ve examined it.

Please include a printout of the object with your paper, as well as information about where you found it.