Discussion questions: (about 300 words)

-There was an interesting conversation going on in the “Shrew” responses about what’s known as “breaking the 4th wall”, a theatrical convention in which the actors acknowledge the presence of the audience and often directly interact with them. We obviously saw quite a bit of that again last night. These two plays come from roughly the same time period, and many other plays from this period use this convention. If you haven’t already addressed this, what’s your opinion of it? What are the advantages? Disadvantages? Why do you think that this style was so prevalent during this time period but much less so now?

-I had one student tell me at intermission of last night’s show that they thought the play was “over acted”. Do you agree? Are there any mitigating factors to this criticism?

-From a design standpoint, ‘Fair Maid’ was presented in what has become the PAC’s (Philadelphia Artists’ Collective) “signature style” – sparse, nearly improvised sets and props, mismatched costumes, and an overall sense of simplicity.  Did this work for you as an audience member? Why or why not?