The Art of Comedy: Four Notable Plays

In this literary overview course, students will study the comedic elements of four notable plays in their historical contexts, beginning with the Ancient Greek world of Aristophanes’ The Frogs, moving through Elizabethan and Victorian England, and concluding with the Belle Époque French tragic comedy Cyrano de Bergerac. Students will learn about fascinating features of the theater as a place of communal storytelling throughout the centuries.

With each play, students explore these questions:

What has defined comedy through the centuries?
What was it like to attend the theater in each of these ages and places?
What qualities of these comedies endure in today’s comedic storytelling?

We will discuss what it means to be humans made for laughter and what comedy can teach us about life. The course will move at a restful pace, focusing on one play each quarter of the year. At the end of the year, students will select one monologue to memorize and recite. (Costumes and props encouraged!)

Required Materials:
Books and supplies are not included in the purchase of the course.

The Frogs by Aristophanes (Penguin Classics)
Much Ado about Nothing by William Shakespeare
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostad (Penguin Classics)

Emily Cook

[email protected]

Emily Cook is a lifelong lover of literature, seeking insight into the complex beauty of the world and the One who made it through well-written stories. Emily taught full-time for five years at a classical Christian school in Kailua, Hawaii, developing courses for the growing secondary school. While she primarily taught literature classes, she also taught logic, rhetoric, and drama.
Emily holds a B.A. in English from Trinity University in San Antonio, TX. Trinity University is also where she met her dear husband Joel, who she married in 2009 just after graduating. Emily and Joel live in San Antonio and have four lively, hilarious, and wonderful kids. During her leisure time, you can often find Emily enjoying a meal with friends, spending time outside, or reading aloud to her children the tales she loved as a child (with voices, of course!).

Computer: You will need a stable, reliable computer, running with a processor with a speed of 1 GHz or better on one of the following operating systems: Mac OS X with Mac OS 10.7 or later; Windows 8, 7, Vista (with SP1 or later), or XP (with SP3 or later). We do not recommend using an iPad or other tablet for joining classes. An inexpensive laptop or netbook would be much better solutions, as they enable you to plug an Ethernet cable directly into your computer. Please note that Chromebooks are allowed but not preferred, as they do not support certain features of the Zoom video conference software such as breakout sessions and annotation, which may be used by our teachers for class activities.

High-Speed Internet Connection: You will also need access to high-speed Internet, preferably accessible via Ethernet cable right into your computer. Using Wi-Fi may work, but will not guarantee you the optimal use of your bandwidth. The faster your Internet, the better. We recommend using a connection with a download/upload speed of 5/1 Mbps or better. You can test your Internet connection here.

Webcam: You may use an external webcam or one that is built in to the computer. Webcam Recommendations: Good (PC only) | Best (Mac and PC)

Headset: We recommend using a headset rather than a built-in microphone and speakers. Using a headset reduces the level of background noise heard by the entire class. Headset Recommendations: USB | 3.5mm

Zoom: We use a web conferencing software called Zoom for our classes, which enables students and teachers to gather from around the globe face to face in real time. Zoom is free to download and easy to use. To download Zoom:

Visit zoom.us/download.
Click to download the first option listed, Zoom Client for Meetings.
Open and run the installer on your computer.
In August, students will be provided with instructions and a link for joining their particular class.

Scanner: In this class, students frequently submit homework assignments by scanning pages from their workbooks. Students and/or their parents should have easy access to a scanner and the ability to use it.

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