A Life in the Theatre Study Questions & Topics for Discussion

A Life in the Theatre Topics for Further Study

Choose one of the playlets that John and Robert perform and analyze it. Discuss the style of the playlet and compare it to other, similar plays.

Compare and contrast the relationship between Robert and John with that between the rival characters William Charles Macready and Edwin Forrest in Richard Nelson's Two Shakespearean Actors (1992).

In what ways could Robert and John have better balanced their mentor-neophyte relationship? Research the psychological aspects of such a relationship.

There were many backstage plays (a play that takes the audience behind the curtain) and musicals produced in the 1970s, including 1975's A Chorus Line. Choose one of these backstage plays and compare it to A Life in the Theatre. In your essay, consider the historical context in which such plays were produced. Why were they so popular?