A Doll's House, Part 2: Curriculum Guide

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Common Core Standards 3 Massachusetts Standards in Theatre 4 Artists 5 Themes 7 Mastery Assessment 11 For Further Exploration 13 Suggested Activities 15 Notes 17

Š Huntington Theatre Company Boston, MA 02115 December 2018 No portion of this curriculum guide may be reproduced without written permission from the Huntington Theatre Company’s Department of Education & Community Programs Inquiries should be directed to: Alexandra Smith | Interim Co-Director of Education asmith@huntingtontheatre.org This curriculum guide was prepared for the Huntington Theatre Company by: Marisa Jones | Education Associate Alexandra Smith | Interim Co-Director of Education

COMMON CORE STANDARDS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS

STANDARDS: Student Matinee performances and pre-show workshops provide unique opportunities for experiential learning and support various combinations of the Common Core Standards for English Language Arts. They may also support standards in other subject areas such as Social Studies and History, depending on the individual play’s subject matter.

Activities are also included in this Curriculum Guide and in our pre-show workshops that support several of the Massachusetts state standards in Theatre. Other arts areas may also be addressed depending on the individual play’s subject matter.

Reading Literature: Key Ideas and Details 1

Reading Literature: Craft and Structure 5

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Grade 7: Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

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Grade 7: Analyze how a drama’s or poem’s form or structure (e.g., soliloquy, sonnet) contributes to its meaning.

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Grade 8: Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

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Grades 9-10: Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks), create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.

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Grades 9-10: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

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Grades 11-12: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.

Grades 11-12: Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.

Reading Literature: Key Ideas and Details 2

Reading Literature: Craft and Structure 6 •

Grade 7: Analyze how an author develops and contrasts the points of view of different characters or narrators in a text.

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Grade 7: Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text.

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Grade 8: Analyze how differences in the points of view of the characters and the audience or reader (e.g., created through dramatic irony) create such effects as suspense or humor.

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Grade 8: Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide and objective summary of the text.

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Grades 9-10: Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature from outside the United States, drawing on a wide reading of world literature.

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Grades 9-10: Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.

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Grades 11-12: Analyze a case in which grasping point of view required distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant (e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or understatement).

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Grades 11-12: Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.

Reading Literature: Key Ideas and Details 3 •

Grade 7: Analyze how particular elements of a story or drama interact (e.g., how setting shapes the characters or plot).

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Grade 8: Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision.

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Grades 9-10: Analyze how complex characters (e.g. those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the themes.

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Grades 11-12: Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop related elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).

Reading Literature: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas 7 •

Grade 7: Compare and contrast a written story, drama, or poem to its audio, filmed, staged, or multimedia version, analyzing the effects of techniques unique to each medium (e.g., lighting, sound, color, or camera focus and angles in a film).

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Grade 8: Analyze the extent to which a filmed or live production of a story or drama stays faithful to or departs from the text or script, evaluating the choices made by the director or actors.

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Grades 9-12: Analyze multiple interpretations of a story, drama, or poem (e.g. recorded or live production of a play or recorded novel or poetry), evaluating how each version interprets the source text (Include at least one play by Shakespeare and one play by an American dramatist).

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MASSACHUSETTS STANDARDS IN THEATRE ACTING •

1.7: Create and sustain a believable character throughout a scripted or improvised scene (By the end of Grade 8).

AUDIENCE ETIQUETTE

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1.12: Describe and analyze, in written and oral form, characters’ wants, needs, objectives, and personality characteristics (By the end of Grade 8).

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1.13: In rehearsal and performance situations, perform as a productive and responsible member of an acting ensemble (i.e., demonstrate personal responsibility and commitment to a collaborative process) (By the end of Grade 8).

Attending live theatre is a unique experience with many valuable educational and social benefits. To ensure that all audience members are able to enjoy the performance, please take a few minutes to discuss the following audience etiquette topics with your students before you come to the Huntington Theatre Company.

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1.14: Create complex and believable characters through the integration of physical, vocal, and emotional choices (Grades 9-12).

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1.15: Demonstrate an understanding of a dramatic work by developing a character analysis (Grades 9-12).

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1.17: Demonstrate increased ability to work effectively alone and collaboratively with a partner or in an ensemble (Grades 9-12).

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How is attending the theatre similar to and different from going to the movies? What behaviors are and are not appropriate when seeing a play? Why?

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Remind students that because the performance is live, the audience’s behavior and reactions will affect the actors’ performances. No two audiences are exactly the same, and therefore no two performances are exactly the same—this is part of what makes theatre so special! Students’ behavior should reflect the level of performance they wish to see.

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Theatre should be an enjoyable experience for the audience. It is absolutely all right to applaud when appropriate and laugh at the funny moments.

Talking and calling out during the performance, however, are not allowed. Why might this be?

Be sure to mention that not only would the people seated around them be able to hear their conversation, but the actors on stage could hear them, too. Theatres are constructed to carry sound efficiently!

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Any noise or light can be a distraction, so please remind students to make sure their cell phones are turned off (or better yet, left at home or at school!). Texting, photography, and video recording are prohibited.

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Food, gum, and drinks should not be brought into the theatre.

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Students should sit with their group as seated by the Front of House staff and should not leave their seats once the performance has begun.

READING AND WRITING SCRIPTS •

2.7: Read plays and stories from a variety of cultures and historical periods and identify the characters, setting, plot, theme, and conflict (By the end of Grade 8).

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2.8: Improvise characters, dialogue, and actions that focus on the development and resolution of dramatic conflicts (By the end of Grade 8).

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2.11: Read plays from a variety of genres and styles; compare and contrast the structure of plays to the structures of other forms of literature (Grades 9-12).

TECHNICAL THEATRE •

4.6: Draw renderings, floor plans, and/or build models of sets for a dramatic work and explain choices in using visual elements (line, shape/ form, texture, color, space) and visual principals (unity, variety, harmony, balance, rhythm) (By the end of Grade 8).

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4.13: Conduct research to inform the design of sets, costumes, sound, and lighting for a dramatic production (Grades 9-12).

CONNECTIONS •

Strand 6: Purposes and Meanings in the Arts — Students will describe the purposes for which works of dance, music, theatre, visual arts, and architecture were and are created, and, when appropriate, interpret their meanings (Grades PreK-12).

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Strand 10: Interdisciplinary Connections — Students will apply their knowledge of the arts to the study of English language arts, foreign languages, health, history and social science, mathematics, and science and technology/engineering (Grades PreK-12).

FIND US ONLINE! Did you know the Huntington Theatre Company’s website provides students and teachers opportunities to more deeply explore the season’s offerings and learn about upcoming events in the Education department?

Utilizing the website at huntingtontheatre.org find the answers to the following questions:

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A DOLL’S HOUSE, PART 2 CURRICULUM GUIDE

1.

Who will play Anne Marie in A Doll’s House, Part 2? What other productions has she appeared in at the Huntington Theatre Company and throughout Boston?

2. Who is the artistic director of the Huntington Theatre Company? Who is the managing director? How long have they each been in their respective positions?

3. Your friend broke her foot and needs to use a wheelchair.

What accessibility services does the Huntington provide for patrons like her?

ARTISTS Hnath’s Broadway success includes a Tony Award nomination for Best Play for A Doll’s House, Part 2, which premiered at the John Golden Theatre in the spring of 2017, followed by a production of his play, Hillary and Clinton, debuting in the spring of 2019. Hnath is also the proud recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship (2015), Obie Award for excellence in playwriting for The Christians (2016), recipient of a grant from The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust (2017), and winner of the Windham-Campbell Prize for drama (2018). Adding to the list of Hnath’s many accomplishments, A Doll’s House, Part 2 is the most produced play in the United States in the 2018-2019 season. Reflecting upon his work and the importance of theatre in general he said, “a play can uniquely speak back to the world.”

Playwright Lucas Hnath

Hnath worked through an unusual writing process for A Doll’s House, Part 2, offering a mere 20 pages at a time to the talented cast dedicated to his play. He remarked, “with [A Doll’s House, Part 2] by the time we went in to rehearsal, I was not finished writing the play, and that was intentional . . . I worked out every possible alternate for every moment in the play . . . what says what you want to say the best?” But the answer to that question can often be elusive and as a playwright, Hnath relies heavily on the editing process, producing an endless series of drafts for revision. “I need some people around me to say, ‘It’s good.’ I’ll say, ‘you have to explain to me how it’s good because I can’t see it right now.’”

Audiences and critics seem to agree: Hnath’s plays are very good.

LUCAS HNATH: A PLAYWRIGHT FOR STORIES REIMAGINED

QUESTIONS:

Lucas Hnath grew up in Orlando, Florida and credits the whimsical, entertaining, and “highly artificial” city for his theatrical roots. As a high school student, Hnath was immersed in the plays of Sam Shepherd and Edward Albee but thought of himself as a “math and science kid,” and considered medical school before leaving Florida in 1997, headed for New York. In 2001, he received a BFA, followed in 2002 by an MFA, from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts in dramatic writing.

1.

How does Hnath balance the emotions and opinions of the main characters in A Doll’s House, Part 2? Do all characters’ voices have equal opportunity to be heard as the play unfolds?

2.

Rather than act or scene numbers, Hnath titles each new scene with the name of one or more characters. After reading or viewing the play, what do you think is the purpose of these titles?

3.

Do you consider yourself to be a “math and science” or “reading and writing” person? Can you be both? Does thinking of yourself in these terms limit your future possibilities? What skills are beneficial to both artists and people who work in the sciences?

With complete disregard to his obvious natural talent, Hnath did not initially view himself as a writer. In fact, he tricked himself into believing that “playwriting is not actually writing;” he imagined playwriting as merely the production of a “blueprint for a three-dimensional space.”

But his view shifted as his career progressed. The distinguished author of more than a dozen highly-regarded plays, Hnath says that he uses his work to wrestle with that which he doesn’t understand. “Anything that perplexes me, I try to figure it out,” he explains. He enjoys reading plays by writers such as Caryl Churchill, who constantly re-invent the playwriting form and “force [him] to reconsider how a play is built.”

He sees himself as a “bad” audience member, easily bored in the theatre and sometimes bored by his own work. Yet Hnath deploys this tendency as an asset and strives to keep the tension alive in his stories by giving equal weight to all sides of the conflict or the argument.

When asked about what inspires him to write, he cites the why of what motivates debate (i.e., doping in professional sports in Red Speedo) and what happens when people behave unexpectedly (i.e., churchgoers confronting a radical pastor in The Christians) as topics he strives to investigate. On his journey to becoming a playwright, Hnath found inspiration in his day job where worked for a time “teaching law students unemployment insurance law. I was completely unqualified to be doing it. But legal briefs are really interesting to me, especially the rhythms, language, and the verbs that are used. You just need to listen for inspiration.”

4. How are strong writing skills useful in fields beyond the arts? How would Hnath have benefitted from his talents as a writer even if he had become a doctor or a law professor?

For further information about Lucas Hnath, consider the following videos and articles: 1. “An Interview with Lucas Hnath” by Theatre Exile 11/14/14 2. “The Christians in Process” by Playwrights Horizons 10/7/2015 3. “Interview: Lucas Hnath, The Christians” by Actors Theatre of Louisville 2/28/14 4. “Playwright Lucas Hnath on ‘The Christians’: It’s Really Antigone” 2/1/16 5. “This Season’s Most Produced Play” The New York Times Online, 9/20/18 6. “Lucas Hnath” at theatregold.com 7. Windhamcampbell.org/2018/winner/lucas-hnath 8. Newdramatists.org/lucas-hnath

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While making its Boston debut, A Doll’s House, Part 2 is not a new play to Waters. He says “the play is audacious” and that audiences “don’t have to know [Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House]” to understand Hnath’s play. Waters believes it is easy to agree with each of the main characters at various points in the story; the banter, he says, is “fun to listen to.”

Waters likes to explore the major conflicts of the play and works to dissect the arguments between the characters: “What’s a relationship?

What does marriage mean? How are you an authentic person? How do you find your own voice? What is responsibility?” The latest WatersHnath collaboration is likely to leave audiences excited about their future projects and the questions they will answer together through their art.

QUESTIONS: 1.

Theatre, as exemplified by Waters and Hnath’s partnership, is a highly collaborative art form. Can you think of any other art forms which require artists to work together? Why is it important that artists work well together when producing a play?

2.

Do you agree with Waters that Hnath’s riff on the classic A Doll’s House is “audacious”? Why or why not? Do you share Waters’ view that you don’t need to have read Ibsen’s original play to enjoy this new interpretation?

Director Les Waters

For further information about Les Waters, consider the following articles and videos:

LES WATERS: A PASSION FOR DIRECTING Director Les Waters and playwright Lucas Hnath enjoy a strong working relationship with multiple collaborations on plays in theatres across the country. They reunite at the Huntington Theatre Company, in a co-production with California’s Berkeley Repertory Theatre, to bring Boston audiences a new perspective on the classic story of Nora and Torvald Helmer in A Doll’s House, Part 2. Waters was born in 1952 in England where he worked with a variety of world-renowned theatres including the National Theatre, Royal Court Theatre, and the Bristol Old Vic. As a director, educator, and theatrical collaborator, Waters’s career spans decades. Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s Artistic Director, Tony Taccone, has remarked that Waters’s “productions are always inspired, marked by a deep understanding of the text and a fervent theatrical imagination.”

1. “Meet and Greet” by Berkeley Repertory Theatre, 8/14/18 2. “Behind the Scenes: A Conversation with Les Waters,” 9/12/18 3. “First Look at A Doll’s House, Part 2” broadwayworld.com/san-Francisco/article/VIDEO-First-lookat-a- DOLLS-HOUSE-PART-2-at-Berkeley-Rep-20180919

Waters has directed productions at Playwrights Horizons, The Public Theater, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Goodman Theatre, American Repertory Theater among many others and received national and international acclaim, winning the Edinburgh Fringe First Award and the Drama-Logue Award. He also counts many of contemporary theatres finest playwrights among his collaborators, including Anne Washburn, Sarah Ruhl, and Lucas Hnath.

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KEVIN BERNE

From 1995 to 2003, Waters led the MFA directing program at the University of California San Diego during which time he received an Obie Award for his direction of Big Love (2003). He went on to become the associate artistic director at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, holding the position from 2003 until 2011, and in 2009 made his Broadway debut by directing Sarah Ruhl’s In the Next Room (or the vibrator play) which premiered at Berkeley Rep. From 2012 to 2018, Waters served as the artistic director for the Actors Theatre of Louisville where Waters directed, among many other notable plays, Lucas Hnath’s play, The Christians. Hnath remarked that the Actors Theatre of Louisville provided him the greatest opportunities for growth as an artist, saying he was given the “most room to experiment, and to fail, and to restart.”

As a champion of new work, Waters has worked throughout his career to create spaces in which other theatre artists can continue their own creative growth and development.

Nancy E. Carroll as Anne Marie and Mary Beth Fisher as Nora

THEMES FOR WRITING AND ASSESMENT Nora Helmer is a feminist in an impossible situation. Prior to the events of A Doll’s House, Part 2, she left her marriage to Torvald because she believed it was the only way for her to live freely. Nora believes that women should have equal legal rights to those enjoyed by men, but this was an atypical view in 19th century Europe, which drove Nora to take drastic actions. Her perspective was that the restrictions of her marriage and of the prevailing social structures of her time forced her into abandoning her family. Nora remarks early in A Doll’s House, Part 2 that “there’s something in our time and place and culture that teaches us to expect and even want for women who leave their families to be punished” (NORA, page 14). Nora is aware that the choice she made to leave was unusual and that her belief that society should “end marriage” is currently unpopular, but she believes that marriage is an untenable institution and is convinced that the world will eventually rid itself of marriage altogether. Nora sees a future where marriage is replaced by individuals choosing to start and end relationships without binding contracts, pursuing personal autonomy over vows and ownership.

At the heart of Nora’s frustration is the imbalance of power between men and women. Nora, while free in her own mind, is subject to constant societal pressure and a rigid legal system in the real world.

After extracting herself from her marriage, Nora established a new life for herself. On her way to success and affluence, she lived a lifestyle that men of her time would not accept from a married woman, and she makes her way to Torvald’s doorstep because she needs him to file papers to secure the legal divorce she already thought she had. When Torvald refuses, Nora pushes back. “Because you won’t file the divorce because you’re holding me in this marriage that’s not a marriage, you have made me a criminal . . . I’ve behaved as an unmarried woman, I have conducted business that married women are not allowed to conduct without the consent of their husbands, signed contracts that are now void, I could be prosecuted and put in prison” (TORVALD, page 37).” Nora also explains, not knowing Torvald’s situation, that securing a divorce for them would be much easier for him to accomplish: As a man, Torvald is not required under 19th century Norwegian law to provide a reason for seeking divorce, while a woman, like Nora, must.

Women’s movements to attain equal legal rights, from voting to equal pay, has been hard fought. Women were not granted the right to vote until the 1920s when the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, and many nonwhite women were not permitted to vote until the 1960s. For much of early US history, the law exclusively allowed white men to own property and only property owners were allowed to

KEVIN BERNE

NORA’S CHANGING WORLD

Mary Beth Fisher as Nora and Nancy E. Carroll as Anne Marie

vote, thus concentrating political and social power in that demographic.

Nora, had she been a real person, would have likely lived to see her own country of Norway grant women the right to vote in 1913. However, social expectations did not and would not change as quickly as Nora believed they would.

The writer of A Doll’s House, Henrik Ibsen, is considered by many to be an early feminist. Feminists do not believe women are superior to men and do not necessarily see marriage as an institution is inherently oppressive, but rather promote equality in legal rights and status, whether that be property ownership, fare wages, and the pursuit of divorce. In the United States and across the world, legal rights are spreading to include marriage equality for the LGBTQ+ communities.

While Hnath’s Nora may have been disappointed by the continued existence of marriage in contemporary society, she would certainly see that women’s rights, from the workplace to family planning, have dramatically improved in many places around the world, including her home country of Norway.

QUESTIONS: 1.

Do you think Nora would be satisfied with the state of women’s rights across the globe today? What political and social causes would Nora advocate for today?

2.

Would earlier changes in Norway’s legal system changed Nora’s perspective on the institution of marriage? Or were her problems with marriage less of a legal concern and more the result of issues in her own relationship?

3.

Are men and women equal under the law today in the United States? Why or why not? In American culture, does equality among the sexes exist?

4. For additional information on women’s suffrage in the United States, please visit: history.com/topics/womens-history/the-fight-forwomens-suffrage

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PERSONAL FREEDOM VS. INTERPERSONAL SACRIFICE

As a single person, Nora enjoys a high level of freedom. The lovers she takes do not require a long-term commitment and she is able to move in and out of relationships freely. Nora suggests that her previous marriage to Torvald was inherently oppressive. Does she feel this way because the level of personal sacrifice within the relationship was unbalanced between them? Did Torvald hold more power in their relationship?

In Nora’s conversation with Anne Marie, she explains her belief that “marriage is cruel, and it destroys women’s lives” (NORA, page 18).

She goes on to suggest that the institution of marriage is fundamentally flawed because it requires individuals to tie themselves to each other forever, regardless of how the people themselves or other circumstances may change over time. Nora believes this contract is particularly damaging to women because they do not have the same legal rights to dissolve their marriages as their husbands. Nora asserts that being physically and emotionally close to another person should not require the level of self-sacrifice that marriage demands, and sees the entire institution of marriage is unsustainable for society. “And it will end,” she declares. “I know it. In the future, 20, 30 years from now marriage will be a thing of the past and those in the future will look back on us, and they’ll be in shock, in total — just awe — at how stupid we are . . . that we put ourselves through this completely unnecessary self-torture” (NORA, page 21).

KEVIN BERNE

Anne Marie disagrees with Nora, as does Nora’s daughter, Emmy. Emmy admits to her mother that she had been advised not to mention her engagement because Nora does not believe in love or marriage. Nora clarifies that she does, in fact, believe in love but that she also sees the two as opposing forces. “Love is different form marriage,” Nora explains.

“Marriage is the binding contract . . . love has to be the opposite of a

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KEVIN BERNE

All committed relationships require some measure of self-sacrifice, or at least awareness of what the other person in the relationship expects out of it and is willing to give. To live with another person in harmony requires flexibility; no two people, no matter how compatible, have the exact same interests or desires all the time.

Mary Beth Fisher as Nora and Nancy E. Carroll as Anne Marie

contract — love needs to be free” (EMMY, page 75). Nora declares that a woman cannot be free in marriage because marriage requires two separate people to behave as one, “and you get swallowed up . . . it’s you [the woman] that’s going to get swallowed up into him” (EMMY, page 75).

Emmy acknowledges that she knows nothing about marriage because Nora left Emmy’s father when Emmy was very young, and thus Emmy never had the opportunity to see a marriage in action. However, she did experience what it feels like when marriage is absent from a household and concluded that she wants the opposite for her own future. Emmy criticizes Nora by suggesting that Nora’s novels cause irreparable harm in people’s lives by encouraging them to leave their marriages without having a plan in place for their financial security. Emmy also believes that “it’s good to be stuck in a marriage” because it forces people to work together through moments of challenge. “It’s the fact that we’re bound together, that it’s difficult to leave” that makes the love at the center of a marriage all the more relevant (EMMY, page 79). In the future, when marriage is no longer practiced people are “never finding a home, never finding a place to rest, a person to rest with,” Emmy envisions a world “that sounds so sad . . . so deeply unsatisfying this future where we’re all just nomads” (EMMY, page 75). For the characters in A Doll’s House, Part 2, weighing the benefits and burdens of nurturing

Nikki Massoud as Emmy and Mary Beth Fisher as Nora

A DOLL’S HOUSE, PART 2 CURRICULUM GUIDE

personal relationships, in romance and family, is of central concern when Nora appears ready to dismantle them all. Will Nora be moved by the other voices around her that beg her to see the positive aspects of committing to another person?

QUESTIONS: 1.

How do you stay true to yourself while maintaining a romantic relationship? What might Nora have done to make her relationship with Torvald more equitable? Could Nora have saved her own marriage if she decided not to leave?

2.

What is your opinion of the institution of marriage? Can you see yourself entering into a marriage contract? Do you think there’s a future in which people no longer get married?

3.

In close personal relationships other than marriage (parent-child, siblings, friends who are chosen family), when might individuals need to compromise or even set aside their own needs or personal preferences for the sake of the relationship?

HE SAID/SHE SAID: WHO OWNS THE STORY?

T. CHARLES ERICKSON

Nora and Torvald do not see their marriage in the same way. In fact, Torvald is devastated by Nora’s abandonment and is horrified by the way he is portrayed in Nora’s writing. Nora, however, believes her only path to freedom was leaving her husband, children, and home.

During the intervening years, Nora and Torvald have both changed as people, which further complicates the way in which they interpret their shared history.

Nora, through her writing and new circle of friends and lovers, created and controlled the narrative regarding her marriage to Torvald and the intimacies of their relationship. It is only when she angers the judge, a man with considerable power, she is forced into damage control for the sake of her reputation and status. The exposure also threatens Torvald, who inadvertently allowed the lie of Nora’s untimely death to take the place of the embarrassing reality of her hasty departure from their home.

Torvald is frustrated by what Nora has written about him. Her account of their relationship bears no resemblance to what he felt or believed to be the truth. Torvald doesn’t have a written account of his experience or any witnesses beyond Anne Marie, however, he fights Nora’s interpretation of events, bitter and regretful that he hadn’t left Nora first. He recalls being manipulated by Nora, such as moments when she declared her love for him immediately after a request for money, and the times he was made to feel weak, useless, or unimportant when he couldn’t make good on Nora’s promises to help friends and acquaintances. He felt like a failure when Nora brought him problems he couldn’t fix. He also found it embarrassing when Nora chose to flirt with men or rolled her eyes at him in front of others. Torvald feels that Nora’s greatest failing, the action by which he was most personally wounded, was that Nora allowed her personal needs to trump not only their marriage but also her responsibilities as a mother.

Nora’s version of events, of course, is very different. She disagrees by asserting that Torvald has “changed what really happened, in your mind.

You make yourself into the victim” (TORVALD, page 40). Nora argues that Torvald is still using a condescending tone with her, asserting his

Andrea Syglowski and Sekou Laidlow in the Huntington’s production of A Doll’s House (2017)

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KEVIN BERNE

John Judd as Torvald and Mary Beth Fisher as Nora

superiority, and because of the status granted to him as a man, and insisting upon “educating” her about “how the world works” (TORVALD, page 40). Nora also points out that while Torvald declares his love for her, Nora knows that she did not reveal her true self for the sake of their marriage. Torvald didn’t love Nora; he loved the idealized wife, a version of herself, that she played for him.

From Torvald’s vantage point, he simply can’t win with Nora. Even after he puts his reputation, career, and friendships on the line to protect her, Nora ultimately rejects the idea that she needs Torvald’s help. She instead chooses to move forward without it, to write her own end to their story.

QUESTIONS: In the dispute between Nora and Torvald, who provides the most accurate account of their relationship and its troubles?

2.

Is it possible that both Nora and Torvald are telling the truth? What is the relationship between truth and perspective? If Nora and Torvald’s accounts are an honest portrayal of their feelings, what might they have done earlier on in their relationship to prevent Nora from believing she had no choice but to leave?

T. CHARLES ERICKSON

1.

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A DOLL’S HOUSE, PART 2 CURRICULUM GUIDE

Andrea Syglowski and Sekou Laidlow in the Huntington’s production of A Doll’s House (2017)

MASTERY ASSESSMENT NORA 1.

Describe the set of A Doll’s House, Part 2.

2. Who is at the door when Anne Marie opens it?

3. How much time has passed since the last time Anne Marie and Nora saw each other?

4. According to Anne Marie, what has changed about Nora (and herself) during their time apart?

5. Who is Torvald? Why did people assume Nora was dead?

6. How does Anne Marie conclude that Nora has found financial success?

7. According to Nora, how has the house changed?

8. Where is Torvald and when will he return?

KEVIN BERNE

9. Why does Nora insist the children would not want to see her?

10. What does Anne Marie think will make Torvald happier?

11. Why did Anne Marie believe Nora would struggle after leaving Torvald?

John Judd as Torvald and Mary Beth Fisher as Nora

TORVALD

12. Anne Marie guesses Nora’s profession and the reason for her financial success. List three of her ideas. Why did Nora find Anne Marie’s first few answers to be “interesting?”

13. Briefly describe the plot of Nora’s first book.

1.

Torvald admits that he thought about what it would be like to see Nora again. How does her presence make him feel?

2. What reason does Nora give for her surprise visit?

3. Does Torvald want a divorce?

14. How does Nora feel about the institution of marriage?

4. In the eyes of the law, why is Nora a criminal?

15. According to Nora, people act differently when they are beginning a new relationship. What happens to the relationship, in her opinion, after people are married?

5. How does Torvald feel about his prospects for a re-marriage?

6. What is Torvald’s “big regret?”

16. At the end of Nora’s first novel, what happens to the main character? Why did Nora believe it was necessary to write the story this way?

7. List three reasons Torvald felt he should’ve been the one to leave Nora.

17. What is the reason for Nora’s visit? Who is angry with her and for what reason?

8. According to Torvald, what was Nora’s greatest mistake in their relationship? Why was she wrong to leave when she did?

18. What is the status of Nora’s relationship with Torvald?

9. Why does Nora believe it was easier to leave than to stay?

19. What is the judge threatening to do to Nora? What could happen if he follows through on his threat?

10. Why is Nora asking Torvald to file for divorce and rather than filing for divorce herself?

20. What does Nora need Torvald to do in order to avoid trouble with the judge?

11. Why does Torvald want Nora to file for divorce?

21. Why is Anne Marie uncomfortable with Nora’s surprise visit?

Who arrives unexpectedly?

12. Nora has two options before her that are not ideal: What are they?

13. Why is Anne Marie angry at Nora? How does Anne Marie feel about Torvald?

14. On what grounds does Nora refuse to leave the house?

15. Does Nora believe Anne Marie is an innocent bystander amidst her current conflicts with Torvald?

16. In what ways has Anne Marie already helped Nora?

17. What is Nora’s reason for not reaching out to her children over the years?

KEVIN BERNE

Mary Beth Fisher as Nora

18. What does Nora offer Anne Marie in exchange for her help?

19. What idea does Anne Marie suggest to Nora as “the only option?”

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EMMY 1.

Why is Nora concerned about meeting Emmy?

2. Who told Emmy that Nora was not dead?

3. What are Emmy’s brothers’ names?

4. Emmy asks what makes Nora happy. How does Nora respond?

5. Emmy feels no animosity towards her mother. How does Emmy see the situation?

6. What does Nora want Emmy to do for her?

7. What does Emmy believe is the “stupid” thing her father did with respect to Nora’s departure?

8. What is Emmy’s solution to Nora’s problem of being alive and still married?

9. Why is Nora hesitant to move forward with Emmy’s plan?

10. Why does Emmy want to Nora to disappear? What big life event is Emmy planning?

11. What are Nora’s opinions about the proposition of Emmy’s marriage?

12. Describe Emmy’s ideas about marriage. Why does she believe it is good to be “stuck?”

14. Why does Nora finally decide she has to be the one to go before a judge?

15. What has happened to Torvald that is upsetting to Anne Marie?

KEVIN BERNE

13. How does Emmy envision the future if “Nora Helmer” is officially dead?

Nikki Massoud as Emmy

NORA & TORVALD 1.

What has Torvald been reading?

2. How did Torvald sustain his injuries?

3. At what personal cost did Torvald decide to file the divorce?

4. Is Nora grateful for the divorce Torvald has given her?

5. Why does Nora think Torvald would be looking forward to being “ruined?” Why does Torvald think he can’t “win?”

KEVIN BERNE

6. Has Nora remained faithful to Torvald since she left? Has Nora experienced the ideal relationship she demanded from Torvald as she walked out the door?

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7. What was Nora’s objective in living alone in the woods for two years?

John Judd as Torvald and Mary Beth Fisher as Nora

A DOLL’S HOUSE, PART 2 CURRICULUM GUIDE

8. What are Nora’s hopes for the future?

FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION

HENRIK IBSEN: THE FATHER OF MODERN DRAMA EHenrik Ibsen was born on March 20, 1828, in Skien, Norway, to Knud Ibsen, a merchant, and Marichen Altenburg. Young Henrik’s creative leanings were apparent early on, and his mother, who enjoyed visual art and theatre, encouraged her son’s interest in painting. While Knud was, for many years, a successful businessman, he suffered several economic setbacks when Henrik was a young teenager. Knud went bankrupt and the comfortably established Ibsen family was suddenly impoverished.

Henrik, the oldest of five children, left home at the age of 15 and became an apprentice to an apothecary in the town of Grimstad. While living and working in Grimstad, Henrik made his first serious forays into creative writing, penning several poems and his first play, Catiline. He also fathered an illegitimate child during this time with whom he would have no contact, though he sent financial support to the child’s mother for many years.

In 1850, Henrik Ibsen moved to the Norwegian capital of Christiania with the intent of studying medicine at Christiania University, but failed the required entrance exams. He then shifted his focus to writing full-time. After a brief stint in journalism, Ibsen was made playwright-inresidence at the Norwegian Theatre in Bergen, where he wrote, directed, and produced. His time there was a significant theatrical learning experience and allowed him to apply his new understanding of the theatre profession to his writing. Given Norway’s lack of dramatic literary heritage (most plays produced at the time were translations of French and German works), Ibsen’s early plays were considered somewhat awkward and largely unsuccessful. During his six years in Bergen, he also met Suzannah Thoresen, whom he would marry in 1858 (their son, Sigurd, was born in 1859). Throughout their marriage, Suzannah devoted herself to supporting her husband’s career.

In 1857, Ibsen returned to Christiania where he became artistic director of the Norwegian Theatre; his financially troubled tenure concluded with

Ibsen returned to Norway in 1891 on what was supposed to be a temporary visit, but friends convinced him to stay in Christiania. He continued to write until he suffered the first of several strokes in 1900.

Henrik Ibsen died on May 23, 1906.

QUESTIONS: 1.

Continue your research of the life and work of Henrik Ibsen. What in his personal life may have inspired him to write A Doll’s House?

2.

Why do you think playwright Lucas Hnath thought there should be a sequel to Ibsen’s classic? What still needed to be said by the members of the Helmer household?

T. CHARLES ERICKSON

Henrik Ibsen

the theatre’s bankruptcy in 1862. Next, he took a position as a literary consultant at the Christiania Theatre. The theatre’s production of his play, The Pretenders, was poorly received. Ibsen relocated to Sorrento, Italy, in 1864 and spent the next 27 years living abroad, largely in Rome, Dresden, and Munich. These were also his most productive years, during which he wrote many of his best-known plays, including Brand (1866), Peer Gynt (1867), A Doll’s House (1879), Ghosts (1881), An Enemy of the People (1882), The Wild Duck (1884), The Lady from the Sea (1888), and Hedda Gabler (1890), and published a book of poetry, simply titled Poems, in 1871. Leaving his native land was both a physical and stylistic departure for Ibsen. He transitioned from attempted imitations of the melodramas and conventional well-made plays with which he was most familiar and began penning philosophically infused works that featured satire and sharp criticism of Norwegian society. Productions of his plays were rarely seen but heavily debated internationally because they broke the mold of what was considered acceptable drama and were frequently censored and even banned (the London ban on Ghosts lasted 23 years).

Major companies refused to produce his plays, but there were small theatres in Berlin, Paris, and London that were dedicated specifically to Ibsen’s work. The alienation and “otherness” that Ibsen’s work depicted were familiar to artists and audiences who considered themselves outsiders to the politics and culture of modern society. Despite the small theatres’ dedication and his international fame, Ibsen found little financial success as a playwright.

The set of the Huntington’s production of A Doll’s House (2017)

A DOLL’S HOUSE, PART 2 CURRICULUM GUIDE

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Former President Bill Clinton with then-Senator Hillary Clinton during her first presidential run in 2008

HILLARY AND CLINTON: A NEW SPIN ON A POLITICAL DYNASTY Following the success of A Doll’s House, Part 2, Lucas Hnath’s next play slated for a Broadway debut is Hillary and Clinton, which had its world premiere at Chicago’s Victory Gardens Theatre in the spring of 2016.

The play reimagines the 2008 presidential primary election, setting it in an alternate universe: With a possible failure to secure the Democratic party’s nomination, Hillary calls in her husband to help, but when Clinton arrives, he dramatically disrupts the process. The play examines the personal sacrifices individuals make to achieve power and the reality of risk and reward in the American political system.

Hillary and Clinton will be produced on Broadway in the spring of 2019 starring John Lithgow and Laurie Metcalf. Metcalf starred in a A Doll’s House, Part 2 and won a Tony Award for her portrayal of Nora Helmer.

QUESTIONS: 1.

Lucas Hnath is considered an important voice in contemporary American theatre. Why do you think his plays resonate with audiences around the country?

2.

Both A Doll’s House, Part 2 and Hillary and Clinton are inspired by stories, one fictional and the other real, that already exist. Is this device more or less powerful than creating an entirely new story?

3.

What potential issues might arise from using another artist’s work as the backdrop for your own, or representing real people in a fictionalized theatrical production?

THE ROLE OF CHILDCARE WORKERS The care and education of infants and young children has been a central issue for families and communities around the globe for generations.

Formal schooling where children were taught to read and write outside of the home was introduced in Europe as early as the 16th century.

Only male children went on to grammar school and the smartest of those were sent off to university. More affluent families would hire private tutors for both their sons and daughters. Some affluent women chose not to nurse their babies, in those cases as well as in incidents of maternal death during childbirth, a wet nurse might be hired to care for the newborn. In contrast, children born in less affluent circumstances might be raised exclusively by their parents and required to work as early as six or seven years old, pushed into the labor force without any formal education.

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A DOLL’S HOUSE, PART 2 CURRICULUM GUIDE

In A Doll’s House and A Doll’s House, Part 2, Torvald is in the fortunate position to afford Anne Marie’s services, which became of great importance after Nora’s departure from the household. Anne Marie willingly took on the role of raising and caring for the Helmer’s children.

However, in A Doll’s House, Part 2, Nora is not exactly grateful. Anne Marie tells Nora, the “first words out of your mouth should have been: Thank you Anne Marie. Thank you for abandoning your own life, your own child and raising mine, so that I could go off to do my little thing.”

Yet Nora balks at this notion. “You had your own child, but you left her to raise another mother’s child . . . don’t tell me we’re different.

We’re the same” (TORVALD, page 53). Anne Marie disagrees with this assertion. Anne Marie believes Nora made a choice whereas Anne Marie was essentially forced into her role in the Helmer household in order to provide for her own child. Anne Marie draws a stark difference between herself and Nora. “I didn’t have a father with money like you had,” Anne Marie declares. “Do you think I wanted to leave my home and become a nanny? . . . I would never have left my child if I didn’t absolutely have to” (TORVALD, page 54). Nora argues that she, too, had no choice, but this perspective seems laughable to Anne Marie, who worked toward survival and not personal fulfillment.

QUESTIONS: 1.

For many childcare workers, caring for other people’s children comes at the cost of caring for their own. How could modern society do a better job supporting parents who must care for or teach other people’s children in order to support their own?

2.

How do Nora’s views on personal autonomy conflict with the demands of motherhood? Should she have been held accountable for abandoning her children?

3.

Did Anne Marie make the right decision when she agreed to raise Torvald and Nora’s children? What other options were available to her? Do you think Torvald and Nora understand the sacrifice she has made for their family?

PLAYS BY LUCAS HNATH •

Death Tax (2012)

•

A Public Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay About the Death of Walt Disney (2013)

•

Red Speedo (2013)

•

The Christians (2015)

•

Hillary and Clinton (2016)

•

A Doll’s House, Part 2 (2017)

RECOMMENDED PLAYS BY HENRIK IBSEN •

Brand (1865)

•

Peer Gynt (1867)

•

Pillars of Society (1877)

•

A Doll’s House (1879)

•

Ghosts (1881)

•

An Enemy of the People (1882)

•

The Wild Duck (1884)

•

Hedda Gabler (1890)

SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES QUOTABLE MOMENTS Choose one of the following quotes from A Doll’s House, Part 2. Write an essay analyzing the quote’s meaning. Consider the following: 1.

Who said the line?

2. Does the character mean it literally or is there unspoken subtext?

3. What does this statement reveal about the character’s view of the world?

4. How do the character’s actions support or contradict the quote?

5. How does the quote contribute to the forward progression of the scene and of the plot as a whole?

•

“ They’re grown up, they’re grown ups, they have their lives, their lives are without me, there’s no point” (NORA, page 8).

•

“Dogs die. They get sick, their bodies break, they hurt, and when that happens he’d have to put the thing out of its misery. . . and he doesn’t want to come to love something only to have to kill it” (NORA, page 10).

•

“There’s something in our time and place and culture that teaches us to expect and even want for women who leave their families to be punished” (NORA, page 14).

•

“We do a lot of things that aren’t good for us, things we do because our parents tell us from an early age” (NORA, page 19).

•

“Who is this ‘you’ that they’re choosing? Because people change into different people, so how can you say that “I want to be with this person” when “this person” is not going to be “this person” 3 or 5 or 10 years from now” (NORA, page 20).

•

“I don’t like being in the middle of things — allies? That sounds like war, I like everybody just fine” (NORA, page 26).

•

“And when you told me that I was kind but being kind wasn’t enough to make you want to be with — and the moment when you told me that your own needs were more important than taking care of your kids, your own kids who needed you, who missed you, who wanted you — and then the moment you told me you didn’t love me anymore — that moment that was maybe a minute before you walked out of here — but I wish — I wish I didn’t take it like I took it” (TORVALD, page 39).

•

“You’ve changed what really happened, in your mind” (TORVALD, page 40).

•

“Easier than staying and trying to tough it out with me — us toughing it out together — instead you run off and pretend that this is the same thing as being strong” (TORVALD, page 44).

•

“Don’t bring up the children as though that drowns out anything I have to say about why I did what I did and whether what I did was right” (TORVALD, page 45).

•

“You don’t have to run with every feeling you have, you don’t have to indulge — because some feelings make trouble — and here I am — forget how I feel — I have feelings too, but also my livelihood is at stake” (TORVALD, page 50).

•

“A wound has to be allowed to heal, no matter how much you have the desire, the urge to touch it . . . it’s not good for the . . . the healing” (TORVALD, page 55).

•

“You came right out of me — like you were racing to get out into the world — like you couldn’t wait” (EMMY, page 64).

•

“I think I’m better at life because of it, I had a lot more responsibility, I had to deal with some difficult truths about life” (EMMY, page 65).

•

“And by saying nothing he was sort of saying something” (EMMY, page 70).

•

“Love is different from marriage, marriage is this binding contract, and love is — love has to be the opposite of a contract — love needs to be free, and it is free until the moment you marry, and then something changes and you’re no longer as free as you once were — because you got from being two separate people to something more like one person, and you get swallowed up — and because of the way the world is — it’s you that’s going to get swallowed up into him” (EMMY, page 75).

•

“I want to be somebody’s something” (EMMY, page 76).

•

“This is why I lived in terror. Not because he was violent — he wasn’t — not because he ever threatened my life — he never did unless you count living with someone who can’t see you as life threatening — which in a way it is” (NORA & TORVALD, page 86).

•

“You don’t think I see you, that I don’t know who you are, but I don’t know — I think maybe the same way I made assumptions about you, you made assumptions about me” (NORA & TORVALD, page 93).

•

“It’s really hard to hear your own voice, and every lie you tell makes your voice harder to hear, and a lot of what we do is lying.

Especially when what we want so badly from other people is for them to love us” (NORA & TORVALD, page 98).

A DOLL’S HOUSE, PART 2 CURRICULUM GUIDE

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Step One: Casting Cast the roles of judge, jury, and witnesses (Nora, Torvald, Anne Marie, Emmy).

Step Two: Writing Instructions / Questions / Opening Statements The judge will be responsible for writing instructions for the jury and the witnesses, including the purpose of the trial and the importance of their role in the proceedings. Each juror will write down 1-4 questions for each witness. All questions will be submitted to the judge. Each witness will be responsible for giving a statement that includes his or her position as to whether the divorce should be granted by the court and evidence to support his or her position.

Step Three: Court Called into Session The judge will call order to the court and read their instructions to the courtroom.

Step Four: Testimony Each witness will be called and read his or her opening statement.

Step Five: Questioning The witnesses will return to the stand for questioning in the following order: Torvald, Emmy, Anne Marie, and Nora.

Step Six: Jury Deliberations The witnesses will leave the courtroom while the judge and jury members debate the case. Should Torvald and Nora be granted a divorce? Should the court allow it under these circumstances? After a few minutes of discussion, the judge will ask the jury to vote on whether to grant the divorce.

A production of A Doll’s House using period costumes

PERIOD DESIGN: COSTUMES AND SETS Costuming: According to the stage directions in A Doll’s House, Part 2, costumes should be “roughly period.” The play is set in Norway, 15 years after Nora first left Torvald. Relying on information you can gather about Norwegian dress during the 1890s, create character sketches for costumes for all four major characters. How do you show age, social class, gender, and status through costume choices?

Set Design: The stage directions dictate that “the play takes place in a room. It’s quite spare. Some chairs, maybe a table, not much else. It ought to feel a touch like a forum. I (playwright, Lucas Hnath) wouldn’t be sad at all if the play were played in the round. And it’s crucial there be a door. A very prominent door to the outside.”

Using a large poster board, create a set design from your own imagination. Will you stage the production in the round or on a proscenium arch stage? How will you highlight the “prominent door” and why do you think the outside door is critical to staging this production?

ROLE PLAY: COURT APPEARANCE Torvald finds himself involved in a nasty altercation with the court clerk after revealing he wants a divorce from Nora, who, to everyone’s surprise, is very much alive. Imagine that the clerk, instead of filing the divorce papers, asked Torvald and Nora to appear before the judge, with Anne Marie and Emmy as additional witnesses. Volunteers will be selected to play the part of the judge and the four main characters from the play. The rest of the students will act as jurors.

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A DOLL’S HOUSE, PART 2 CURRICULUM GUIDE

Step Seven: Verdict Once the voting is complete and a verdict has been reached, the witnesses will return to the stand for the final announcement. Court session is then adjourned.

CRITICAL REVIEW: YOUR TURN! Imagine you are the theatre critic for your school’s newspaper. Write a review after seeing the play, A Doll’s House, Part 2, examining one of the following topics: 1.

A Doll’s House, Part 2 is marketed as a comedy. What about this story is funny? Do you agree with this classification? What are the humorous elements of the script, or is the comedy derived from the strength of the acting and interpretation of actors on stage?

2.

Describe the scenic and costume choices in the Huntington’s production. How do they evoke the world of the Henrik Ibsen play upon which A Doll’s House is based? How do they transform it into something new and different?

3.

Some theatre-goers might mistakenly assume that A Doll’s House, Part 2 is Ibsen’s sequel to his own classic masterpiece. Do you think it is appropriate for modern playwrights to expand upon classic works, or should the original works stand alone? How does the relationship with the original play impact the meaning and power of the modern play?

4. Does this play have a clear takeaway for the audience? What big ideas were you thinking and talking about at the end of the performance?

NOTES

A DOLL’S HOUSE, PART 2 CURRICULUM GUIDE

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A DOLL’S HOUSE, PART 2 CURRICULUM GUIDE

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