ritual vs. theatre
-both concerned with "the things done," with emphasis on the concrete and actual doing rather than the metaphysical or spiritual-theatre confines itself to showing and saying things about social needs; ritual reinforces or brings about change
early performance
-in such rituals, we can see the beginnings of modern theatre—enactment, imitation and seasonal performances—all held in special or privileged spaces designated by the community-theatre's most common objective is to please and entertain rather than to pacify, protect, or heal the community-theatrical space in modern terms has two components: stage and auditorium
Theatre of Dionysus
-the most celebrated theatre of fifth century B.C Athens is called the Theatre of Dionysus in honor of the fertility god-it was an open air structure located on the slope of the hill below the Acropolis
orchestra
-the dancing circle
skene
-the open area backed by a scene building
paradoi
the passageways that the chorus, actor and audience all entered through
Theatre at Delphi
-the theatre at Delphi is built on a hillside with seating on three sides surrounding the dancing circle, or orchestra
four Greek playwrights
-Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripedes and Aristophanes
Athenian festival
-actors competed in acting four sets of plays with each set containing three tragedies and a satyr play
ideal spectator
-the greek chorus shared the audience's reactions to events and characters and sometimes interacted with the actors; they gave advice, expressed opinions, asked questions and generally set the ethical framework by which events were judged
fixed stages
-precursors of medieval fixed stages are to be found in the permanent Greek and Roman theatres and in the Christian churches-one of the best known fixed stages were constructed in 1547 for the Valenciennes Passion Play in northern France
movable stage
-the pageant wagon was a platform on wheels something like our modern parade float; it was a portable playing are with a hut on top for the actors, which could also serve as a scenic background or acting area
The Crucifixion Play
-the crucifixion play was one of 32 surviving plays and is based on Christ's torture
James Burbage
-in 1576 James Burbage built London's first theatre naming it "The Theatre"-it was an open air structure that adopted features from various places of entertainment
Globe Theatre
-in 1599, Richard Burbage, James's son and leading actor for The Lord Chamberlain's Men (Shakespeare's company) and associates built the Globe Theatre which became a showcase for Shakespeare's talents as actor and playwright-Globe was most famous of all Elizabethan theatres and was an open air building with a platform stage
proscenium theatre
-the proscenium theatre dates from the Italian renaissance of the early 1600s; the Farnese theatre was built in 1618 at Parma was one of the early proscenium theatres
picture frame stages
the concern of scenic designers working within this picture fame stage was to create illusion, that is, to use perspective scenery and movable scenic pieces to achieve the effect of real streets and houses-these theatres contain a framed stage with movable scenery, machines, lighting and sound equipment-Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard an example
thrust stages
-thrust stages were largely designed to minimize the separation of actor and audience created by the proscenium arch and the recessed stage; the actor literally performs on a platform that thrusts into the audience and audiences have a keen sense of the actor in direct communication with them
environmental theatre
-environmental theatre rejects conventional seating and includes audiences as part of the performance space
forerunners of alternative approaches
Meyerhold and Max Reinhardt are the chief forerunners of today's many experiments in nontraditional performance styles and alternative spaces
Jerzy Grotowski
-jerzy grotowski founded the polish laboratory theatre in Opole in 1959-he evolved the concept of poor theatre; theatre's essentials were the actor and the audience in a bare space. He found that that theatre could happen without costumes, scenery, makeup, stage lighting and sound effects-he created the "holy theatre"; performance became a semireligious act in which the actor undergoes a psychospiritual experience
Akropolis
in grotowskis Akropolis, he adapted the play to take place in a modern extermination camp instead of the Old testament; he juxtaposes biblical and Homeric scenes and heroes against the grotesque reality of the modern death camp
the Living Theatre
-the oldest of the collective groups in the united states began in 1948 in a basement on Wooster Street-Julian Beck and Judith Malina encouraged a nonviolent revolution to overhaul society and created a performance style to confront that society-1958 Jack Gelber's The Connection was a disturbing play about heroin addicts-the significance of the living theatre rests on its naturalistic environmental productions and alter techniques that included altering texts to argue for anarchy and social change, nudity and athleticism in performance, use of human voices and cacophonous sounds to assault the audience's sensibilities, and confrontations with audiences with calls for revolution
The Brig
The Brig was written by Kenneth Brown addressed civil disobedience; it was first an environment of intimidation and second a plea for nonviolence
theatre du soleil
-means theatre of the sun-it was founded in paris in 1964 by ariane mnouchkine and a group of politically committed individuals-the ensemble works on the notion of collaborative creation and democratic participation at all levels of decision making; all members share equal responsibilities -the company attracted considerable international attention and was acclaimed for its radical environmental staging techniques and its explosive politicizing of dramatic materials-in 1980s, the company's kathakali and kabuski inspired productions of shakespeare's plays blended eastern and western traditions
Les Atrides
-a four part cycle of greek tragedy based on euripedes Iphigenia in Aulis and Aeschylus's three plays of the Oresteia
Peter Schumann
-founded the bread and puppet theatre in nyc in 1961-his group did not attempt to create an environment but performed in almost any setting: streets, fields, graveyards etc.-developed from biblical and legendary sources and using actors, stilt walkers and larger than life size puppets, bread and puppet theatre plays advocated the virtues of love, charity and humility-loaves of bread were passed among spectators and when everyone tasted bread, the performance began
playwright
-means play builder
catharsis
-the purging of strong emotions
Bertolt Brecht
set about in epic theatre to distance audiences so that they would make judgments about the social and economic issues of his plays; this was called the alienation effect-the script is the playwright's blueprint created to appeal as much to the eye as to the ear-Bertolt brecht and carol Churchill make political statements about people, economies and political systems-brecht usually worked from a story outline, which he called the draft plan; he wrote a dozen versions of a fool for love but the first five pages were always the same
how playwrights start
-playwrights start with an idea, theme, dream , image or notes and work out an action; or they begin with an unusual character or a real person and start with a situation based on a personal experience, their reading or an anecdote
Edward Albee
-the zoo story, who's afraid of Virginia woolf, the goat or who is Sylvia
Sam Shepard
buried child, true west, the tooth of crime, fool for love
essential tools
-plot, character and language-performability is the key to the success of the playwright's story and dialogue
Tennessee Williams
Streetcar, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Glass Menagerie
August Wilson
Ma Rainey's Black Botton
postmodern texts
-art that places contradictory experiences within the same frame of reference-postmodern works spring directly from the earlier antirealistic theatre of the symbolists and surrealists-b. Stream of consciousness—reflects exactly what would be going on in someone's mindc. Fractured reality
Robert Wilson
-Einstein on the Beach, A Letter for Queen Victoria, The Black Rider, The Life and Times of Joseph Stalin, The Life and Times of Sigmund Freud-Created the Byrd Hoffman Foundation to work with autistic children as well as performers of all ages-Called his plays Operas-Worked with Phillip Glass (part of Mabou Mines) and created Einstein on the beach together-Met Raymond Andrews who was a young, homeless, deaf boy who would draw pictures for him and whom Wilson practically adopted-Wilson met Christopher Knowles after a play of his Knowles came up to Wilson-Knowles was autistic and gave Wilson a recording of him speaking; "EMILY LIKES THE TV"-Wilson liked it and incorporated this line into his play
Richard Foreman
-"Rhoda in Potatoland" (Her Fall-Starts)-Wrote it without any censoring of himself and then to make it longer he just added other beginnings he had drafted earlier-Would make outlines of his plays and then do the opposite to keep it spontaneous-Worked with the Wooster Group-Important plays:Samuel's Major Problems;Tormented by a women and a younger man Film is Evil, Radio is Good, King Cowboy Rufus Rules the Universe!
Reza Abdoh
-Gay Iranian-Into gay S and M-Plays include: The Law of Remains and Quotations from a Ruined City-Andy Warhol-Jeffrey Dahmer
Mabou Mines
a. Lee Breuer was company's primary director; Lee Breuer created The Gospel at Colonusb. Artistic collectivec. Collaborate Avant Garde theater companyd. Called their plays animations and worked with puppetse. Started working on plays of Samuel Becketf. The B. Beaver Animationsg. A Prelude to a Death in Veniceh. The Red Horse Animations
Elinor Fuchs
-the death of charactera. No character, it's just what we dob. Characters were more 2D
Heiner Muller
The Hamlet Machinea. Post humanismb. Used robots
The Wooster Group
a. Grew out of the Performance Groupi. Started by Richard Schechnerb. Plays include:i. Olga's House of Shameii. LSD ...Just the High Points...iii. Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights
Charles L Mee
Mee created the Bacchae 2.1 which added in historical women on the edges of societya. Valeria Solanas—one of Chuck's women he quotedi. She wrote Up Your Ass and the SCUM Manifesto (Society for Cutting Up Men)
Mac Wellman
a. Sincerity Foreveri. About kids from the south who are KKK members and are visiting by aliensii. Jesus comes as a black femaleb. 7 Blowjobsi. Congressmen mailed an envelope of pictures of 7 blowjobs
Theatre of Images
-Term coined in 1976 by Bonnie Marranca to describe work of Robert Wilson, Philip Glass, and Lee Breuer-painter's collages-theatrical events dominated by visual and aural images
visual and audio texts
-Robert Wilson-visual book and the audio book are separate screens that can be adjusted to relate what the audience is seeing to what it is hearing and vice versa
Phillip Glass
1,000 Airplanes on the Roof
11 conventions
1. Stage directions 2. Exposition 3. Point of attack or inciting incident 4. Complication 5. Crisis 6. Climax 7. Resolution 8. simultaneous or double plots 9. Time 10. Metaphor 11. The play within a play
stage directions
-modern stage directions are included at the beginning of each act to provide information about how the playwright imagines details of the stage or playing space-the playwright's directions include facts about geography, season of the year, time of day or night, weather conditions, furnishings, dress, mood, stage properties, music cues, sound effects, and general impressions of place or environment-stage directions provide crucial information for the reader, describing how the playwright has imagined the play's environment and the characters' ages and appearances
exposition
-in a play's opening scene, we are frequently given certain information (exposition) about what is going on, what has happened in the past and who is to be seen-exposition is usually conveyed through dialogue in short scenes or between several characters-some modern plays begin with the telephone ringing: the person answering—for instance as maid or butler, gives the play's background information by talking to an unseen party about the family, its plans and conflicts-in most cases, plays begin with informational exchanges of dialogue to establish who, what, when and where
point of attack
-the moment early in the play when the story is taken up is the point of attack, or inciting incident
complication, crisis, climax
-the middle of a play is made up of complications—new information, unexpected events or newly disclosed facts accompanied by increasing emotional intensity-a play's complications usually develop into a crisis, or turning point of the action; the crisis is an event that makes the resolution of the plays conflict inevitable-a play usually ends when the conflict is resolved in the climax or point of highest emotional intensity, and any loose strands of action are then tied off
resolution
the resolution usually restores balance and satisfies the audience's expectations; it brings a sense of completed or suspended action, of conflicts resolved in probable ways and of promises fulfilled
simultaneous plots
-simultaneous, or double plots, relate past and present events and behavior; two stories are told concurrently; the lives of one group of characters affect the lives of the other group-the secondary plot, or subplot is always resolved before the main plot to maintain a sense of priority
actual time vs. dramatic time
-dramatic time can be accelerated by using gaps of days, months and even years; or it can be slowed down by interrupting the forward action soliloquies and flashbacks
play within a play
-shakespeare used the play within a play most notably found in Hamlet with The Mouse Trap-the long inner play manifests a kind of collective wisdom that has practical applications in the actual dispute over ownership of property-in modern theatre the play within a play has become a means for demonstrating life's theatricality; the stage is the most accessible medium to show life's artifice, playacting and heightened moments of passion, anger and even violence-another example is a Caucasian Chalk Circle
Marat sade
long play
words
-words are signs and symbols with the potential for making something happen in the theatre in an act of communication
signs/symbol
-signs have a direct relationship to the thing it represents; symbols have an arbitrary connection to their referents
verbal and nonverbal communication
-in theatre, both verbal and nonverbal symbols and signs are used to enhance audience perception of the actor's living presence
monologue, soliloquy, aside
-monologue: a character's extended, uninterrupted speech addressed to others-aside:a brief remark by a character spoken directly to the audience and is not overheard by other characters onstage-soliloquy: a long speech delivered by a character, usually alone onstage, for the audience to overhear the character's inner thoughts
The Cherry Orchard; sounds and silences
anton chekhov's the cherry orchard: the cherry orchard is a verbal symbol variously interpreted as the passing of the old way of life and/or the coming of a new social order-anton Chekhov ends the cherry orchard with verbal and nonverbal effects: sounds with silence, words with noise, physical activity with aural effects
iambic pentameter
5 beats per line, spoken in a rhythym
shakespeare's verse
-the soliloquy is a means of taking the audience into the character's mind to overhear unspoken thoughts and arguments with the self-shakespeare's verse; hamlets soliloquy
Theatre of Cruelty
-Artonin Artaud called for a "theatre of cruelty" to purge the audience's feelings of hatred and violence against individuals and groups through use of nonverbal effects: shrill sounds, waves of light, and violent physicalizations in unusual theatre spaces-aimed to assault the audience's senses, thereby cleansing spectators morally and spiritually for the improvement of humankind
magical realism
sam shepard's plays take audiences into the inner workings of the modern American family in carefully structure, seemingly realistic plays set in well scrubbed kitchens and seedy living rooms; magical realism-Buried Child an example
designers
-designers collaborate with directors to focus the audience's attention on the actor in the theatrical space
scenic artist
-the scene or set designer entered the American theatre more than 200 years ago; its forerunner was the resident scenic artist, who painted large pieces of scenery for theatre managers
scenery
-main function was to give the actor a painted background and to indicate place: a drawing room, garden etc.
Adolphe Appia and Edward Craig
-adolphe appia and Edward Gordon craig assaulted the illusion of stage realism and led the way to rethinking theatrical art as expressive
set designer assembles an imaginary world
-many think of designers as detectives who uncover the visual clues that reveal the inner life of the play, its characters and the environment in which they live' the set designer assembles an imaginative world out of words, images, notes, sketches, photographs, paint chips, 3-d models, computer renderings and so on
Ming Cho Lee
designer for A Moon for the Misbegotten
advances in technology
-advanced technologies in computer software are available to assist in technical areas of theatrical design and production with speed and efficiency; they offer rapid communication with the director, other members of the design team and shop managers
costumes
-costumes include all of the character's garments and accessories, all items related to hairdressing and everything associated with face and body makeup, including masks-they tell us many things about the characters and about the nature, mood and style of the play; they establish period, social class, economic status, occupation, age, geography, weather and time of day
dress parade
-designer and director examine the costumes on the actors before the dress rehearsal begins-the dress parade and dress rehearsal usually take place a week before opening night
makeup
-makeup enhances the actor and completes the costume; it is essential to the actor's visibility-makeup is classified as straight and character: straight makeup highlights an actor's features and coloring for distinctness and visibility and character makeup transforms the actor's features to reveal age or attitude-actor usually does it themselves
masks
-masks more popular in early theatre, greek masks expressed basic emotions
war horse
-use of puppets
stage lighting
-a powerful theatrical tool to focus an audience's attention, enhance understanding, and give aesthetic pleasure
Jennifer Tipton
-lighting designer who was involved in Cherry Orchard-used darkness
Jules Fisher
-one of America's leading light designers-involved in Hair, Pippin, Jesus Christ Superstar, Chicago
light designer's tools
-form (the shape of the lighting's pattern), color (the mood achieved by filters), and movement (the changes of forms and color by means of dimmers, motorized instruments and computerized control consoles)
visibility and ambience
visibility and ambience (the surrounding atmosphere) must be inherent to the total theatrical design, including scenery and costumes
designer's process
-first step is to read the script, giving attention to visual images-then meet with the director and to confer with the set and cosutme designers-designer then creates a light plot-designer for sound has process just like this
light plot
-a finished light plot shows 1. the location of each lighting instruments to be used 2. the type of instrument, wattage and color filter 3. the general area to be lighted by each instrument 4. circuitry necessary to operate the instruments 5. any other details necessary for the operation of the lighting system
cue sheet
chart of the control console indicating instrument settings and color, with each cue numbered and keyed to the script
gobos
a slide inserted into the gate of an instrument to project images of trees, clouds, water, windows, abstract shapes and so forth
sound effects
-capture the audience's attention for a theatrical moment and increase the emotional impact of a scene-may be an offstage noise such as the sound of a car door shutting-sound effects date back to greek theatre with the use of human voices-shakespeare used percussion
production manager
the production manager coordinates the staffing, scheduling, and budgeting of every element in the production, including building, installation and operation of all design and technical elements-most important position
David Mamet Interview
-plays would come to him in dreams-The main question in drama, the way I was taught, is always what does the protagonist want. -People only speak to get something-character is action, as Aristotle had said-Get into the scene late, get out of the scene early.-his company was the St. Nicholas Theatre-a dramatic influence was Harold Pinter-Drama has to do with circumstance, tragedy has to do with individual choice; That's why we identify with a tragic hero more than with a dramatic hero—we understand the tragic hero to be ourselves.