Theatre Final

Characteristics of Climactic Structure

(well-made plays//compression//severely restricted) 1) Plot Begins LATE - play starts w *exposition - plot begins at the *climax 2) Scenes, Locales, and Characters are LIMITED - lim number of acts (usually 2) -limiting scenes = restricting locale to one room or house and restricting characters 3) TIGHT Construction (get to the point , never bored) - cause-and-effect -*well-made plays: -make events inevtiable like there is no escape until *deus ex machina

Thrust

- (3/4 seating) -U-shape arrangement - most widely used of all stage spaces -sit on three sides enclosing a stage which protrudes into the center

Domestic Drama (Bourgeois)

- (Streetcar Named Desire) - drama dealing with particularly family problems of middle and lower class characters ; can be both serious and comic - ordinary peeps become main characters - problems with society, family struggles, dashed hopes, renewed determination

Arena

- (circle stage) -came about after WWII to break away from formality of proscenium theatre -overall desire to bring theatre closer to everyday life

Proscenium

- (picture-frame stage) - most familiar type of stage (Ex) Broadway-style theatre - audience looks at the stage

Traditional Tragedy (and characteristics)

- 5th century BCE Greece, late 16th cent England, 17th cent France -tragic heroes and heroines (usually an extraordinary character) -tragic circumstances -tragic irretrievability (no turning back) -acceptance of responsibility (immense capacity for suffering) -tragic verse (language is in verse cus lofty and profound ideas) -pessimism, affirmation, and defy the gods effect of tragedy Aristotle: Tragic heroes has to be a man "who is not eminently good and just, whose misfortune is brought about by n

Exposition

- Climactic Structure - (background info): info necessary for an understanding of the story but not covered by the action onstage

Well-Made Play

- Climactic Structure - play that combines apparent plausibility of incident and surface realism w a tightly constructed, highly causal and contrived plot

Deus ex machina

- Climactic Structure -intervention of supernatural forces usually at the last moment to save the action from its logical conclusion (god from the machine)

Extraordinary Characters

- Dramatic Character Type - larger than life (kings, queens, bishops, nobles) -use extreme behaviors but also possess traits common to us all in great abundance

Narrator/ Chorus

- Dramatic Character Type - narrator: speaks directly and can assume a dramatic persona - chorus: comment on action of the main plot and react to events -use of chorus + narrator creates dialect or counterpart

Minor Characters

- Dramatic Character Type - those who play a small part in the overall action - appear briefly and serve chiefly to further the story or support more important characters

Nonhuman Characters

- Dramatic Character Type - performers portray birds and animals or robots

Stock Characters

- Dramatic Character type - 2D stereotypical characters - exemplify one particular characteristic -known by station in life, sex, occupation - usually in comedy and melodrama - *dominant trait: related to stock characters; have a single excess or "humor"

Absurd plots

- Illogicality

Orchestra

- In American usage, ground floor meeting in an auditorium // another word for the main floor

Mezzanine

- Middle level seating.

Created or Found Spaces

- Not trying to copy another stage style. (Street Theatre) -Multi-focus environment. Everything is happening everywhere at once.

Aristotle on Tragedy

- The Poetics 335 BC (how drama ought to be) - "imitation of an action": a play - "complete": beginning, middle, end - "of a certain magnitude": actually tragedy not a small everyday disappointment -"embellished w each kind of artistic ornament": song -"in the form of action not narrative": want to see the tragedy, not be told about it -"through pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of these emotions (catharsis)": when so overwhelmed w emotion it drains (sitting in stunned silence)

Tragic Circumstance

- a change by which the actions turns itself around - reversal of fortune (Ex) when Sweeney Todd is about to kill but Anthony walks in

Comedy (and Characteristics)

- a play that is light in tone, is concerned w issues that point out the excesses and folly of human behavior, has a happy ending, and is designed to amuse 1) range of comedies (light to outrageous) 2) suspension of natural laws (probability, cause and effect, logic) - actions dont have conseq they would in real life - *slapstick 3) the comic premise *def: idea or concept in a comedy that turns the accepted notion of things upside down

Crises

- a point in a play when events and opposing forces are at a crucial moment, and when the course of further action will be determined; series of crises leading to the definitive climax

Subplot

- a secondary plot that reinforces or runs parallel to the major plot in an episodic play

Modern Tragedy

- beginning in late 19th century - no kings or queens as central figures -written in prose -tragedy of common man ; ordinary people in domestic surroundings

Tragic effect

- catharsis (drained by the end)

Theatre of the Absurd (Modern Tragedy)

- convey humanity's sense of alienation and its loss of bearing in an illogical, unjust, ridiculous world - serious but depicted w considerable humor - lots of irony 1) *absurdist plots: Illogicality 2) *absurdist language: nonsense and non sequitur (does not follow) 3) *absurdist characters: existential beings -probes deeply into human problems and casts a cold eye on the world - yet imbued with a comic spirit - comedies of menace: a theatre simultaneously terrifying and entertaining

Tragedy

- dramatic form involving serious actions of universal significance and w important moral/philosophical implications ; usually with an unhappy ending -assumes universe is indifferent to human concerns and often cruel -2 types of Tragedy: 1) Traditional Tragedy 2) Modern Tragedy

Melodrama (music drama)

- dramatic form made popular in the 19th century that emphasized action and spectacular effects and used music to underscore the action - uses stock characters ; clearly defined heroes and villains - strives for fright/horror effect (Ex) murder mysteries and detective stories - stress suspense, danger, close brushed w disaster - either victims are murdered or they are rescued (ex) westerns, science fiction films, horror films, superhero films, detective/spy films - *key to melodrama: good is almost always victorious over evil good guys v bad guys (sometimes political)

Absurd Characteristics

- existential beings -characters have no personal history = no causes for their actions

Climax

- final and most significant crisis; the high point in the development of a dramatic plot; scene toward the end of a drama in which all the forces reach their highest pitch and the fate of all the characters is determined

Commedia dell'arte

- form of comic theatre, originating in Italy in 16th century, in which dialogue was improvised around a scenario involving a set of stock characters, each with a traditional costume, name, and mask (no script) (divided into servants and members of ruling class) ; (one particular trait was stressed)

Obstacles

- impediments that delay or prevent the achieving of a goal by a character; creates complication and conflict

Irretrievability

- line is crossed; action is taken; secret revealed

Antagonist

- main character's chief opponent

Absurd Language

- nonsense and non sequitur (does not follow)

Complications

- outside forces or new twists in the plot introduced at an opportune moment

Plot

- patterned arrangements of events and characters in a drama, with incidents selected and arranged for max dramatic impact ; plot is based on a story (narrative account of what people do)

Tragicomedy

- play having tragic themes and noble characters but a happy ending - serious and comic elements are integrated - comic/ironic treatment of a serious theme - idea that all will end well and much of what happens is ludicrous/ridiculous but serious effects of a character's actions are not dismissed - cynical smile, bitter laughter

House

- portion of a theatre reserved for the audience

Heroic Drama

- serious but basically optimistic drama written in verse or elevated prose, with noble or heroic characters in extreme situations or unusual adventures - like a traditional tragedy (verse, extreme situations) but has a happy ending

Boxes

- small private compartments for a group of spectators built into the walls of a traditional proscenium-arch theatre

Apron

- stage area in front of the main curtain

Romanticism

- subdivision of heroic drama - 19th cent. dramatic movement that imitated the episodic structure of Shakespeare, and focused on the gulf between human being's spiritual aspirations and physical limitations (celebrated spirit of hope, freedom, instincts)

Verse

- the language of traditional tragedy is verse

Protagonist

- the main character

Acceptance of Responsibility

- trag hero realizes he crossed a line and know they have to see things thru the end

Slapstick

- type of comedy that relies on ridiculous physical activity often violent in nature for humor

Representative or Quintessential Characters

-Dramatic Character Types - typical or ordinary people but embody an entire group - stand apart from the crown but sum up the personalities of a certain type of person

Black Box

-an open space with a pipe grid on the ceiling from which lighting and some instruments can be suspended -every aspect of such a theatre is flexible and movable

Anton Chekhov

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Eugene Scribe

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Konstantin Stanislavski

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Forms of Comedy

1) Farce - emphasis on exaggerated plot complications - few or no intellectual pretensions; just wants to make laughter - ridiculous situations not verbal wit - mock violence, rapid movement, accelerating pace - bedroom farce: marriage and sex are made fun of 2) Burlesque - ludicrous, comic imitation - knockabout physical humor - gross exaggerations - vulgarity 3) Satire - uses irony and exaggeration to attack and expose folly and vice -more intellectual and moral content -can attack specific figures 4) Domestic Comedy (sitcoms) - comic equivalent to bourgeois/domestic drama - deals w family situations (Ex) Two and a Half Men or Modern Family 5) Comedy of Manners - became popular in English Restoration - set w/in sphisticated society while poking fun at its characters' social pretensions thru verbal wit - makes fun of the upper class - stresses witty phrases 6) Comedy of Ideas - humor based on intellectual and verbal aspects of comedy rather than physical comedy or comedy of character - emphasis on the clash of ideas - debate intellectual propositions and further own moral/social pov

Structural Conventions of Drama

1) Limited Space - stage - action of play confined to world of its own 2) Limited Time - 1-3 hrs long - time limit or deadline within the play 3) Strongly Opposed Forces 4) A Balance of Forces - make conflict equal and more exciting 5) Incentive and Motivation - motivations for characters

Characteristics of Episodic Structure

1) People, Places, and Events PROLIFERATE - action begins early and over an extensive period of time -number of locations -short scenes alternate w long scenes 2) Parallel Plot or Subplot - *subplot 3) Juxtaposition and Contrast - action alternates between elements (comic v serious, public to private) 4) Overall Effect is Cumulative - the impression created is of events piling up

Dramatic Character Types

1) Stock characters 2) Extraordinary Characters 3) Representative Characters 4) Minor Characters 5) Narrator/ Chorus Characters 6) Non-humans Characters

Commedia dell'arte Character Types (Gilligans Island)

1) arlecchino (comic servant) 2) brighella (greedy villiain) 3) columbina (clever maidservant) 4) II Capitano (braggart soldier) 5) II Dottore (learned doctor) 6) Innamorata (young lover female) 7) Innamorato (young lover male) 8) Pantalone (rich and misery old man) 9) Pedrolino (mild mannered servant who takes alot of blame) 10) Scaramuccia (roguish adventurer)

Aristotles 6 Elements of Drama

1) plot 2) character 3) thought or theme 4) language (artistic ornament) 5) music 6) spectacle

4 Variables of costume design

1) silhouette or line 2) color 3) texture

3 Comedy (techniques of)

1)*verbal humor - pun, malaprop (word that sounds like right word but acc means something diff), epigram (sophisticated form of verbal humor) 2) *characterization - who characters think they are vs how they actually are (Alan 2 govs) - stock characters, stereotypes, and characters w dominant traits are emphasized (big bang theory) 3)*comic situations - coincidences and mistaken identity

Antiquarianism

19th century Europe, the practice of researching and recreating authentic styles of dress, architecture, and interior design when producing plays written/set in the past

Costume plot

A chart that records items of clothing worn by each actor in each scene of a play.

Ground plan

A drafting of the plan of the set as seen from overhead.

Rendering

A picture created by a designer to communicate with other production personnel. picture of actor in costume, picture of set.

Callbacks

A second or later round of auditions to which specific actors are invited.

Light plot

A technical drawing created by the lighting designer showing where each instrument is to be hung, along with the type of instrument and color filters to be used.

Theatre of Cruelty

An approach to theatre developed by Antonin Artaud between the world wars emphasizing a breakdown of causality and stressing emotion over intellect

Avant-Garde

Art that pushes recognized boundaries. "experiment" rebelled against real and naturalism.

Concept

Artistic decisions meant to communicate a specific interpretation of a play to the audience. Uses scenery, costumes, lighting, tempo, etc.

Play: Importance of Being Earnest

Author: Oscar Wilde Characters: - Jack Worthing (guardian to Cecily, loves Gwendolyn, eventually finds name Earnest) -Algernon Moncrieff (loves Cecily, cares about looks, younger bro to Jack) -Gwendolen Fairfax (city girl, Algernon cousin, loves Jack as Earnest) -Cecily Cardew (country girl, Loves Algernon as Earnest) -Lady Augusta Bracknell (Gwendolen's mom, denies Jack) -Miss Prism (educates Cecily, likes Chasuble, lost Jack as child) -Dr. Chasuble (likes Prism) -Lane (Algernons Butler) -Merriman (Jacks butler) Plot: Jack Worthing has invented a brother, Earnest, who he uses as an excuse to leave his dull country life behind to visit the ravishing Gwendolen.. Algy Montcrieff decides to take the name 'Earnest' when visiting Worthing's young and beautiful ward, Cecily at the country manor. Find out neither named Earnest; Miss Prism lost Jack as child; Thus Lady Bracknell son and older brother to Algy as named Earnest

Play: Waiting for Godot

Author: Samuel Beckett Characters: - Vladimir ("Didi, Albert," remembers everything, not like suffereing of Pozzo, not help when people on ground, messes with hat) -Estragon ("Gogo, Adam," lets hang ourselves, messes with shoes) -Pozzo (cld be God, mystical watch, goes blind) -Lucky (Pozzo's slave, only act when hat is off) -Godot (Maybe God, never comes) Plot: wo men, Vladimir and Estragon, meet near a tree. They converse on various topics and reveal that they are waiting there for a man named Godot. While they wait, two other men enter. Pozzo is on his way to the market to sell his slave, Lucky. He pauses for a while to converse with Vladimir and Estragon. Lucky entertains them by dancing and thinking, and Pozzo and Lucky leave. After Pozzo and Lucky leave, a boy enters and tells Vladimir that he is a messenger from Godot. He tells Vladimir that Godot will not be coming tonight, but that he will surely come tomorrow. Vladimir asks him some questions about Godot and the boy departs. After his departure, Vladimir and Estragon decide to leave, but they do not move as the curtain falls. The next night, Vladimir and Estragon again meet near the tree to wait for Godot. Lucky and Pozzo enter again, but this time Pozzo is blind and Lucky is dumb. Pozzo does not remember meeting the two men the night before. They leave and Vladimir and Estragon continue to wait. Shortly after, the boy enters and once again tells Vladimir that Godot will not be coming. He insists that he did not speak to Vladimir yesterday. After he leaves, Estragon and Vladimir decide to leave, but again they do not move as the curtain falls, ending the play.

Play: Sweeney Todd

Characters: Sweeney Todd or Benjamin Barker (demon barber of fleet street) Mrs. Lovett (meat pie; loves Todd) Judge Turpin (took Todd wife; has his daughter) Lucy Barker (beggar women, Todds wife) Johanna Barker (Todds daughter) Anthony Hope (loves Johanna) Tobias Ragg (lil boy, kills Todd) Plot: Evil Judge Turpin lusts for the beautiful wife of a London barber Todd and transports him to Australia for a crime he did not commit. Returning after 15 years and calling himself Sweeney Todd, the now-mad man vows revenge, applying his razor to unlucky customers and shuttling the bodies down to Mrs. Lovett who uses them in her meat-pie shop. Though many fall to his blade, he will not be satisfied until he slits Turpin's throat.

Play: Fences

Characters: Troy Maxson (dad) Cory Maxson (son) Rose Maxson (mom) Bono (Troys best friend) Gabriel (Troys brother) Lyons (Troys son from previous rel) Plot: Troy Maxson makes his living as a sanitation worker in 1950s Pittsburgh. Maxson once dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player, but was deemed too old when the major leagues began admitting black athletes. Bitter over his missed opportunity, Troy creates further tension in his family when he squashes his son Corys chance to meet a college football recruiter.

Naturalism

Emile Zola- plays were to present a "slice of life" on the stage, following the actual pace of everyday life and avoiding well-made play structure.

Henrik Ibsen

Father of realism

Duke of Saxe Meiningen

First modern director

Designer

Job is to control the environment in the theatre. Communicate information (time &place) and to influence the audience's emotional involvement.

Actor's tools

Mind, Body, Voice

Romanticism

Movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries that rejected nearly every aspect of neoclassicism, celebrated the natural world, and valued intense emotion and individuality

Improv

Performance in which dialogue and action are not planned ahead of time and written down but are made up on the spot

Blocking

Planned actor movement usually recorded in a prompt book.

The Box Set

Scenery that imitates the interior of a room with walls, sometimes ceiling, furniture, and visual detail, standard in Europe and North America after 1830

Fourth Wall

actors in the play do not acknowledge the presence of audience.

Ensemble

actors who function seamlessly together as a unit rather than as individual performers

Representational acting

attempts to represent reality on stage. Does not acknowledge the presence of audience and uses techniques that result in a subtle, authentic style of performance

Meyerhold

body-theatre will never be "real". focused on the audience

Sturm & Drang movement

broke all the rules of neoclassicism. full of violence and forbidden topics.

Melodrama

dramatic genre featuring a conflict of good and bad characters, fast paced action, a spectacular climax, and poetic justice

Components of actors job

memorize lines, research,record and memorize blocking, take direction, experiment in rehearsal, respond to what is given, trust other actors, modify, run throughs, adjust to costume, warm-up, perform

Realism

movement of late 19th century depicting everyday life on stage and the frank treatment of social problems in the theatre.

Director

person in charge of the artistic aspects of theatrical production. Guides the transformation of the play to live production.

Dramaturg

specialist in dramatic literature and theatre history who serves as a consultant for production. Conducts research on the play, author, or historical period.

Stage Manager

staff member who ensure that things run smoothly and and backstage.

Differences between stage and film acting

stage- audience response, build role gradually, sustain performance. film- no contact with audience, shot out of sequence, lines learned in pieces, subtlety in acting.

Auditions

standard tool for casting a production.

Affective memory

technique for developing a character in which the actor reexperiences a moment from his or her life that stimulated an emotion similar to that of the character role being played

Sense memory

the actor's recall of sights, sound, touch, and smells from specific past events.

Subtext

the actual meaning of dialogue behind the words spoken

Postmodernism

work that is no longer "modern"