Photo: Shows 6 members of the 2005 film adaptation of RENT.
Discussion Questions and Activities for Students:
- RENT is a play that uses jargon that exists within the various communities it represents: the homosexual community, the HIV/AIDS community, the drug affiliated community, the poor community in New York, etc. For example, in Scene 21, Mimi is talking to a character named “The Man,” and asks, “Got any X/ Any smack/ Any horse/ Any jugie boogie, boy/ Any blow?” People in the drug affiliated community would be more or less hip to this language and know exactly what was being asked for; however, others would be lost. Work in a group and think of other scenes in the play that are exclusive to those ‘in the know.’ Then think of times in your own lives when you have experienced this, or movies etc. that do the same.
- In the play, we see a character named Maureen put together a show in order to rebel against the corporation that is trying to bulldoze their homes and build something else on the land. She uses a nursery rhyme to present a metaphor of a cow being stuck in “Cyberland,” and therefore, unable to produce milk. Maureen creates a one woman skit to get her supporters excited and ready to fight against authorities planning to take away their homes. In your groups, think of something you feel is being handled unfairly in the world today, as RENT is set in the 1900s, and find a way you all would act out against this injustice.
- Being that RENT was first performed in 1996, it is fair to say that many of our societal views of what is acceptable/unacceptable have altered and changed. Back then, homosexuality was widely rejected in the United States. In what ways do you think our society’s reaction to homosexuality has changed and/or remained the same over time?
- Technology plays an important yet slightly subtle role in RENT. As stated before, it can serve as a distraction in everyday life. Think about your own life and compose a one to two paragraph argument on how technology today aids and/or hinders you in your daily tasks. Allude to specific examples from the play to support your claim.
Bray, Phil. RENT 2005 Film Cast. 2005. Columbia Pictures, New York Times. Web. 21 April 21, 2015.
Photo: Rosario Dawson as Mimi Marquez in the film, RENT, exemplifying the Bohemian lifestyle. She works at a club and dances for money.
- Bohemians in RENT are characterized and portrayed as people who live a free-spirited, unconventional way of life. What would constitute a person as ‘Bohemian’ in the world today? Once you answer this, work with your group to put together a 2 minute skit that represents that lifestyle.
“[RENT’s] idea of Bohemia is not realistic, but romantic, even utopian. Openhearted to a fault, it stakes its integrity on the faith that even in millennial New York, some things – friendship, compassion, grief, pleasure, beauty – are more important than money or real estate.”
- A. O. Scott, NYT
Works Cited
Scott, A. O. “New Tenants in Tinseltown.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 22 Nov. 2005. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.
Created By: Jaleisha Freeman
From Page to Stage 