Innovations In Thornton Wilder's Our Town

Innovations in Thornton Wilder’s Our Town

When Thornton Wilder wrote Our Town, he violated many of the rules of traditional play writing. Wilder introduced innovations in characterization, dramatic structure, and stagecraft in this landmark play.

In creating the role of the stage manager, Wilder has created an important character who performs the duties not associated with a traditional stage manager of a play. The Stage Manager is, in reality, is a character in Our Town. This character has many roles in the play. He functions as an onstage director as he is ushering Professor Willard offstage: “This way professor, and thank you again.” (p. 23). He is also a minor character actor. As Mrs. Forrest, the Stage Manager scolds George Gibbs for

He uses the specific to represent the general. Archetypes are an excellent way to do so, because they are one-dimensional. This leaves room for connection between the audience and the characters. One of the most apparent archetypes are the parents. Both Mr. Gibbs and Mr. Webb are the bread winners, and the mothers stay at home and take care of the house. The mothers are so similar, they even have the same morning routine. Mrs. Gibbs and Mrs. Webb both begin the morning with saying, “Time to get up” (p. 12 & 13), to their children. The families both have two tens and two pre-teens. George is the typical teenage boy; he loves baseball. When Emily asks her mother, “am I pretty?” (p. 31), she is acting like the average teenage girl who cares about her looks. Wilder also added in some minor characters who are archetypal. The town gossip, Mrs. Soames, was talking to Mrs. Gibbs about Simon Stimson, the town drunk: “To have the organist of a church drink and drunk year after year.” (p. 39). Even though these characters don’t appear very often, they add a realisticness to the town. Grover’s Corners residents have so little detail, but have just enough for the audience to make