Questions to Consider: And the Soul Shall Dance

Subject: Possible Meditation Subjects

Wondering what to write about on And the Soul Shall Dance?

As always, consider the questions and concepts raised and advanced in the text as starting points for a meditation. You might also write in response to these questions:

How does realism work, exactly? What techniques make "realism" a distinct genre of theatre, and how are these techniques deployed by Wakako Yamauchi? (For example: what is the stage world of the play made of, and how is it used? How do the characters interact? What do they discuss, and how does this dialogue further the plot?)

Consider how this play reveals the past. In realism, the audience learns about past events through personal recollections rather than narrative exposition. How is "the story so far" made clear in this play, as opposed (say) to Into the Woods or Catastrophe or The Shawl?

What importance does the cultural milieu play in And the Soul Shall Dance? How much do you need to know about the historical moment and the culture of the characters to make sense of the play? How does the playwright inform the audience (or fail to inform it) of the background that it might need to know to follow the action?

As always, these are not questions to be answered comprehensively, but merely starting points for potential discussion. Remember to use specific examples from the play (or the text) as demonstrations or illustrations of your point of view.