Drama Thornton Wilder's "Our Town" "When reading Our Town, you are never allowed to think that you are following unique events that could only happen once" Our Town by Thornton Wilder is set in the early twentieth century in the small town of New Hampshire in USA, where nothing much really happens. The people who reside in the town live ordinary lives and the events that occur in the town are common. In fact Our Town could be just about any small town in America, but there was a reason behind why playwright Thornton Wilder made the town and the life in the town central to his play. Wilder believed that theatre was becoming to repetitive and not creative enough. Wilder created a play that had more reality in it and that people could relate to. He also wanted to create more interest in the characters so he decided to do away with props and scenery and instead uses a Stage Manager to describe the happenings in the town.
English: Photograph of American author Thornton Wi...
Portrait of Thornton Wilder, as Mr. Antrobus in "T...
English: Thornton Wilder pictured in his Yale Coll...Some of the common themes that are raised in play are family, growth, death and everyday life.
When reading Our Town, you are never allowed to think that you are following unique events that could only happen once. The play was written so that people could relate to it. The events that happen in the town, are meant to be every day occurrences and realistic.
The audience is introduced and led through the play by a Stage Manager. Throughout the play the Stage Manager gives general information about the people in the town and the surroundings. In Act 1 we are introduced to the small town in New Hampshire and the everyday people that reside with in it. The first family we meet are the Gibbs...