Seven Guitars

The title of the play is Seven Guitars, which isn’t a phrase that appears anywhere in the dialogue. However, there are seven primary characters. If the title is referring to the characters, what do you think it means to represent them as guitars? Why do you think Wilson chose that title?

Research Wilson’s Century Cycle and choose another play from the series to read. How is it similar to or different from Seven Guitars? What themes recur in both plays? How does the play relate to Seven Guitars through characters, plot points, conflicts, and structure?

The play is set in 1947, but it was first performed in 1995. How might the issues presented in the play speak to what was going on in the United States at that time? What issues would the play speak to in our present moment?