Educators Introduction

Welcome to the McCarter Audience Resource Guide Educator Edition for our production of Lanford Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Talley’s Folly.  This guide has been assembled to complement both your students’ theater-going experience as well as your class curriculum by offering a variety of interesting and engaging activities for both pre-show and post-performance instruction and enjoyment.

This production of Talley’s Folly offers enrichment opportunities in language arts, historical and socio-cultural studies, theater and media/visual arts. Students can analyze the themes central to Lanford Wilson’s play and reflect upon them in relation to their own personal experience; make investigations into the life, career, and theatrical works of this great American playwright and into the historical context of the world of Talley’s Folly; learn about the principles of action and conflict in preparation for their own dramatic analysis of Wilson’s play; as well as creatively contemplate Talley’s Folly and its performance in imaginative, artistic activities.  Teachers can also link their classroom directly to McCarter Theatre via the McCarter Theatre Blog, which can be used to read about the production as it moves from pre-production into rehearsal and performance.

Our student audiences are often our favorite audiences at McCarter, and we encourage you and your students to join us for a live and lively conversation with members of the cast after the performance. Our visiting artists are always impressed with the preparation and thoughtfulness of McCarter’s young audiences, and the post-performance discussion offers a unique opportunity for students to engage intellectually with professional theater practitioners. We look forward to seeing all of you for a wonderful discussion about Talley’s Folly.