Play Reading 101

Eugene O'Neill

Just finished reading the 1922 play, The Hairy Ape by Eugene O'Neill.
It appears that reading plays is what play writing courses and workshops suggest.
I think they are correct. It's one heckuva way to learn a craft by experiencing what 
others who are more involved do. 

I wonder why this is called an expressionist play. 

Samuel Beckett

The other thing that occurs is the length of the main character's monologues. Perhaps actors had better memories in the '20s. Also, the sets seem improbable, but then again, we hadn't got to 
 Beckett and Ionescu at this point with their sparse sets and minimal dialogue. Think, Waiting for Godot, where it's a tree and a couple guys sitting beneath it talking. And I recall seeing a play that was simply a large box on stage with one or two characters. I  have no idea who wrote it.