A Pilgrim, An Outlaw: Features of Dramatic Adaptation and Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie

Although there are countless manuals devoted to playwriting, very few take up the craft of dramatic adaptation in a practical context. My rendering of Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie is an exploration of fundamental elements that require consideration when adapting for the stage. My approach to the characters’ inarticulateness reveals an inherent theatricality in the novel, which both respects Dreiser’s themes and makes them accessible through the conventions of the stage. I suggest the craft of dramatic adaptation should strike a delicate balance between being a “pilgrim” toward the intentions of the source and an “outlaw” in its innovative theatrical representation of them.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Fine Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Theatre

Year dc:date.available

2012

Author dc:creator

• DiCintio, Matt

Contributors dc:contributor

• Noreen Barnes

• adaptation
• theatre
• stage
• playwriting
• Dreiser
• theatricality
• Arts and Humanities
• Theatre and Performance Studies

Statement dc:rights

• © The Author

Identifier

https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/305

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarscompass.vcu.edu:etd-1304