Study Guide
Loot
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A Noise
Within
A Noise
Within
2006/2007 ANNIVERSARY SEASON
2006/2007 ANNIVERSARY SEASON
A Noise Within
Table of Contents
About this Study Guide About the Play
Cast & Characters
3
About the Play
Synopsis
5
Loot A Production History
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Glossary of Terms
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An Interview with Simon Ward
9
Farce in a Nutshell
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Joe Orton Biography
11
Joe Orton Timeline
12
London in the Swinging 60’s
15
Orton on Orton
18
Joe Orton
22
Recommended Resources
24
About A Noise Within
25
g A Noise Within 2006/2007 15th Anniversary Season
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About this Study Guide
Thank you for your commitment to sharing great literature with your students.
It is a commitment that
A Noise Within has shared with you since its founding in 1991, with the staging of its first play, William
Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
Classical works are an important part of our collective culture and history, and unless students are given the opportunity to read historical texts and to experience them live, as they were meant to be experienced, many will think of those written treasures as outdated words in a textbook anthology. With the goal of increasing student’s lifelong understanding and enjoyment of classic works and theatre going, A Noise Within is honored to partner with you in the effort to preserve our literary heritage.
This study guide has been prepared as a prelude to A Noise
Within’s production of Loot. Please use it as a reference or as a teaching aid as you prepare your students to enter the classical world.
If your high school students are attending A Noise Within’s performance of Loot and are participating in the post-performance discussion, they are fulfilling the following of California’s Theatre Standards, as set forth by the State Board of
Education:
Theatre Standards grades 9 – 12
Artistic Perception – 1.1 and 1.2
Creative Expression – 2.1
Historical and Cultural Context – 3.2 and 3.3
Aesthetic Valuing – 4.1 and 4.2
All