Once you have decided which scene you will be concentrating
on, you must pick a time period in which to set the scene. Choose
from these four:
The Wild West
| 1920's Chicago | 1950's
Suburbia | 1960's Counterculture
Image from Hee
Yun's Graphics Collection
The American West in the late nineteenth century was a rough place. Gangs of cowboys roamed the often lawless territory robbing banks and trains, stealing horses and cattle. There are many interesting figures: both crooks and lawmen. Some that you might have heard of include Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Wyatt Earp, the James brothers - the list goes on. Find out more about these and others in the following sites, and use what you learn about their escapades to turn the Montegues and Capulets into true frontiersmen!
Image from Mafia
Homepage
The Mafia was around for along time before the 1920's and existed in almost every major city in the United States. But 1920's Chicago is particularly noteworthy because of what was going on in American policy at the time: Prohibition. The Mafia got involved in huge bootlegging rackets, bringing alcohol to the masses illegally. This was a risky business involving huge sums of money. Whenever such large amounts of money are involved, greed, deception, and murder tend to follow. Learn more about the Mafia in the following pages, and use what you learn to bring the play into the Twentieth Century!
Image from Elvis
Presley: The Early Years
Post World War II America was a place of seeming peace and prosperity as thousands of servicemen returned home to pick up their young families and move to the suburbs, starting "The Baby Boom" generation. Children played with hula hoops. Teenagers shocked their elders by listening to the new "rock and roll" music. Television began to play a large role in defining society as people began to get not only their daily news from the TV, but also their entertainment, from such shows as "I Love Lucy" and "Gunsmoke". However, there is also a serious side to this decade. The Korean War raged, the first hydrogen bomb was detonated, and the U.S. Supreme Court declared racial segregation to be unconstitutional, setting off a fight for racial equity that would continue for decades to come. The Cold War began, and this threat of Communism led to a veritable witch hunt for Communists in America. Use the web sites below to find out more about the 1950s!
U.S. History Timeline of Events, 1945-1959
1950s: Family Fun, Suburbia, and Nuclear Threats
American Cultural History, 1950-1959
Image from BBHQ:
The Sixties
The 1960s was one of the most turbulent time periods in American history. The decade was full of events that had a major effect on how people viewed the world: President Kennedy's assassination, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the constant threat of nuclear attack, racial strife, and especially, the Vietnam War. Some people saw the war as a waste of American money and lives, and protested against it. This group of people, often called "hippies", was unhappy with the state of America. They marked a new stage of American culture, full of new thoughts and ideas, some of them revolutionary, some unremarkable. With its theme of "sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll", this "hippie counterculture" upset many members of society, and was the source of much conflict. Use the following web sites to understand how this time period is the perfect setting for your version of Romeo and Juliet!
U.S. History Timeline of Events, 1960-1969
American Cultural History, 1960-1969
Psychedelic
Sixties: The Scence
