Educator's Packet

It is with great excitment and pleasure that I can share this amazing piece of theatre with you and your students. Tennessee Williams is considered one of America's greatest playwrites and is a vital literary resource. "A Streetcar Named Desire" is heralded as one of his greatest works. Tennessee Williams was born in 1911 in Columbus, Mississippi to very difficult household. A heavy drinking father, hysterical mother and mentaly challenged sister is not the ideal upbringing for anyone. Williams turned to writing as an escape and found that is was his one true passion. Attending college at Washington University in St. Louis local theatre groups began performing his plays. Shortly after arriving Williams dropped out due to personal problems only to return and graduate from the University of Iowa. After graduation he lived a confusting but creative bohemian lifestyle that led him to study playwriting at the New School in New York. His first Broadway production premiered in 1945, "The Glass Menagerie" opened to rave reviews, ran for 563 performances and was awarded the New York Drama Critics Circle award. A string of theatrical and literary smash hits followed. Tennessee Williams' brilliance sparks contstant interest into his lonely, dependent world that led to the birth of today's theatre classics!
Written in 1947 "Streetcar" is full length drama done in three acts. Set in the 1940's "A Streetcar Named Desire" transports us to the tempting, toe-tapping streets of New Orleans' French Quarter. Known for it's colorful street performers, diverse cultural population, woman, whiskey and all night jazz fests! Just off lively Bourbon Street we meet the people that narrate this twisted world for us. Stanley Kowalski is a WWII veteran that is dripping with brute sexuality and steaming with a hot-headed Polish temper. Stella Kowalski brings us balance to Stanley. She is more docile and level headed but at the same time ironically finds nothing wrong with Stanley's outlandish behavior. Finally we meet Blanche du Bois. Blanche is Stella's sister and thats about the only normal thing about her. She is a delusional, fading southern belle with a scandelous past. She lives in a self-created world of nonsense! First performed on Broadway in 1947, "A Streetcar Named Desire" became a instant success and it's relitivly unkown lead actors became stars over night. Running for a total of 855 performances and going on to be awarded Tony's and a Pulitzer Prize. The popularity of the show led it to be one of the most performed works of Williams. In 1951 the movie was made, including some of the original Broadway cast. Elia Kazan silver screen version won 4 Oscars, was nominated for a total of 12 and went on to win many other prestigious awards.
**Classroom Activity**
Setting the Scene
Tell students that they will be studying the Tennessee Williams play, A Streetcar Named Desire. The setting of the play, New Orleans, is an essential element of Williams' play.
Ask if any students have lived in or visited New Orleans, which is the setting of A Streetcar Named Desire. If so, have them share their impressions of the city. Expand this discussion by asking other students to share any perceptions they have of New Orleans. Break students up into groups, making sure they can work productivly together.
Advise them to take notes as preparation for brief class presentations of the information they have gathered. A display map of New Orleans would be a useful backup for the presentations.
The following can be used as topics for the groups to discuss:

The French Quarter
Elysian Fields
Bourbon Street
Preservation Hall
Lake Pontchartrain
Location of Desire streetcar and others that visit Bourbon and Canal Street

Discussion Questions
1. What influence did the fact the play is set in the South have to do with building the set?
2. Did you give the actors specific traits and qualities to play or did you give them freedom to explore on thier own?(for director)
3. Were there key points or scenes that you spent more time and than others? If so which ones and why?(for director)
4. Is there music that is specific to New Orleans or could you have used just Southern jazz music?
5. How did you design Blanche's costumes? Were they modled after the movie version?