Prioritizing Theatre History

[ActualReality2]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 1:22pm

For my Theatre History class final paper, we're being asked to basically discuss how theatre historians choose which plays are "important" and should be studied.

Some questions that have been brought up are- should we study the plays that sold the most tickets? should things like vaudeville and minstrel shows be covered in theatre history? Should all theatre be didactic? Or is it more important for it to be entertaining?

I think all of this is really interesting, and was wondering what everyone else thought? Also, if anyone knows of any essays or books that discuss these topics, I would love to know so I can do some additional research for my paper!

Discuss away :)