Seeds
Discussion Questions
Pre-Production
- What is "corporate social responsibility"?
- Can a company give back to its community in a purely altruistic way?
- Who is to blame when a company loses its integrity? Management? Staff? Shareholders? Society at large? Explain your response.
- Do companies have an obligation to act morally?
- Define "greed". Are corporations inherently greedy or just carrying out a function for which they are designed (i.e. making a profit)?
- What does a lobbyist do?
- Should corporations be able to contribute to political campaigns? (For background, have students conduct research on the Citizens United case that went to the Supreme Court. http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/07/the-supreme-court-still-thinks-corporations-are-people/259995)
Post-Production
- Do you feel the production offered a balanced view of the issues it presented? Why or why not?
- How can art reveal truth?
- Did you have a strong belief on the issues dealt with in the play prior to seeing the production? If so, was this belief challenged or re-enforced? If not, do you have a strong belief now?
- Do you think family farmers can survive in today's economy?
- Should it be possible to patent food?
- Schmeiser poses the question "who owns life?". Discuss this part of the play and the various points of view held by the different parties. With whom do you agree?
- What is a GMO?
- After attending this play, will you change the way you eat and shop for food?
- Eric Peterson has said that this play allows people to see the issues presented in a rational and emotional way. In what ways is the play rational and in what ways does the play show the emotional side of the issue?
- What does the term "revolving door" mean in the context of Seeds?
- Playwright Annabel Soutar integrates transcripts from the actual courtroom proceedings. This is a device called verbatim theatre. Is this effective? If so, how? If not, why not?
- Play the following clip of anti-GMO activist Rachel Parent defending her point of view on the CBC television show, The Lang and O'Leary Exhange.
http://m.youtube.com/results?q=rachel%20parent%20kevin%20o'leary%20debate&sm
What do students think of Miss Parent's arguments? Does she express herself clearly? Do students think that Miss Parent will feel the same way on the GMO issue in five years? Ten years? Why or Why not?