Theater test 2

Arena Stage

circle theatre or theatre-in-the-round, has a playing space in the center of a square or circle, with seats for the audience all around it. Sporting events use this kind of set up. In the theatre, this type of space is usually much smaller than sporting event spaces. One advantage of the arena stage is that is offers the most intimacy, because the audience surrounds the action. There is no frame or barrier to separate the performers from the audience. Using an arena stage is also very economical because any large room can be converted in to this type of space.

To create walls or divisions the most commonly used element is a ___________________________ - canvas over a wood frame. A_____________ uses a piece of wood instead of fabric. All flats are then painted.

flat or soft flat; hard flat

A designer begins from the _________ up.

floor

A ______________________ is a blueprint or floor plan outlining the various levels onstage and indicating placement of all scenery, furniture, doors windows and so on.

ground plan

Centering

is a technique used by actors to pull everything together and eliminate any blocks that impede the body or the voice.

Alley Stages

place the audience on two sides, with the actors performing between them, and often with scenic units at each end. In some countries such arrangements such arrangement are found in regular theatres; in the United States, however, they are used mostly by actors who find it necessary to perform in school gymnasiums.

Scenic Designer

responsible for the stage set, which can very from a bare stage to extremely elaborate.

Scrims are great for __________________. They give a fuzzy other worldly quality.

special effects and flashbacks

Objectives of Lighting Design

#1. Provide Visibility #2. Help Establish Time and Place #3. Help Create Mood #4. Reinforce the Style of the Production #5. Provide Focus Onstage and Create Visual Compositions #6. Establish Rhythm of Visual Movement

Objectives of Sound Design

#1. To provide all background or other aural effects called for in the production. #2. To reinforce spoken and musical sounds.

The Costume Designer's Objectives number 2

#2. Indicate the historical period of a play and the locale in which it is set. Costumes indicate the period and location of a play whether it is historical or modern, set in foreign country or the US etc. Ancient Egypt? Rome? Elizabethan?

The Costume Designer's Objectives number 3

#3. Indicate the nature of individual characters or groups in a play: their stations in life, their occupations, their personalities. Costumes will tell us whether their wearers are aristocrats or ordinary people, blue-collar workers or professionals. In theatre, such signals must be clear and unmistakable. Costumes also tell us about characters' personalities Flamboyant? Flashy colors and dress Shy? Reserved, subdued colors

The Costume Designer's Objectives number 4

#4. Show relationships among characters: separate major characters from minor ones, contrast one group with another. Characters can be set apart by the way they are costumed or grouped together. Romeo and Juliet

The Costume Designer's Objectives number 5

#5. Meet the needs of individual performers: make it possible for an actor to move freely in a costume; allow a performer to dance or engage in a sword fight. When necessary, allow a performer to change quickly from one costume to another. The costume must work for the performer.

The Costume Designer's Objectives number 6

#6. Be consistent with the production as a whole, especially with other visual elements. Costumes should fit with the scenery and other visual elements.

The Costume Designer's Objectives number 1

1. Help establish the tone and style of a production. Along with the scenery and lighting, costumes should inform the audience about the style of a play.

Scenic Designer Objectives number one

1. Help set the tone and style of a production. Scenery can help establish mood and the manner in which a play is done - Is it Realistic? Non-realistic? Symbolism? Surrealist?

Elements of scenic design

1. Line - outline or silhouette of elements onstage - curved or angular lines. 2. Mass - overall bulk of scenic elements - very large, heavy platforms or a bare stage. 3. Composition - balance and arrangement of elements- vertical or horizontal? Equally distributed or all to one side? 4. Texture - the "feel" projected by surfaces and fabrics - chrome, glass, wood, brick. #5. Color - Shading and contrast of color combinations

Three Challenges of Acting

1. To acquire the many skills - both physical and vocal - that stage performances demand; to master the craft of acting. 2. To make characters believable. 3. To integrate the first two, that is, combine skills with credibility.

Scenic designer objective number 2

2.Establish the locale and period in which the play takes place. It should tell the audience where and when the play takes place. It can also tell us what kind of characters the play is about

Scenic Designer objective number 3

3.Develop a design concept consistent with the director's concept. To convey information a scenic designer often develops a design concept. This is a unifying idea carried out visually. This concept should be arrived at in consultation with the director.

Scenic Designer Objective number 4

4.. Provide a central image or metaphor where appropriate. Stage design must be consistent with the play, as well as, have its own integrity. The Elements of design - lines, shapes, colors - should add up to a complete visual universe for the play. Designers often use a central image or metaphor to tie it all together

Scenic Designer Objective number 5

5.Ensure scenery is coordinated with the other production elements. A scenic designer must provide scenery consistent with the playwrights intent and the directors concept. If text and acting are highly stylized - the set should be too. Realistic? - the set should be too.

Scenic Designer objective number 6

6.Solve practical design problems Solving these problems often involve the elements of scenic design.

The Process of Scene Design

Read the script Makes preliminary sketches: thumb nail sketches. Complete sketches in full color and detail: Rendering. Once the director approves it a model will be constructed. The set is built

A ___________ is a gauze or cloth screen. It can be painted but also allow light to pass through.

Scrim

The Scene Designers Collaborators

The Technical Director - Oversees construction of the set and the scene shop. Scenic Painters Carpenters

Thrust Stage

The Thrust Stage has been the most widely used of all theatre spaces. The thrust has been around since the time of the Greeks

Audience in a thrust stage

The audience sits on three sides or in a semicircle around the stage. At the back of the playing area is some form of stage house, providing entrances exits and scene changes. Thrust stages offer staging challenges for directors because the audience is on three side of the action instead of just one. Set pieces are also usually less complicated on a thrust stage.

Why is the proscenium stage also called the fourth wall

The proscenium is like a large picture frame the audience looks through. Another term for this type of stage is fourth wall. This comes from the idea that the proscenium arch is an invisible wall through which the audience looks at the other three walls of a room. The stage is usually deep to allow for elaborate scenery and scene shifts. There is also often a fly loft above the stage to hold scenery so it can be flown in and out.

Blocking

There are also many challenges to working on an arena stage. Blocking is very complicated and often done on angles so that most of the people in the audience can see. There may be times in an arena performance when a actor has their back to a certain part of the audience.

Where was the Proscenium stage introduced?

This frame was first introduced in Italy during the Renaissance. In the past it was an actual arch, today it is almost always a rectangle.

project

Throw her/his voice into the audience so that it penetrates to the uttermost reaches of the theatre, all while maintaining believability.

The Stanislavski System

a technique for realistic acting. Stanislavski said the actor must believe in everything that takes place on stage. Relaxation - To create realistic, natural characters an actor must be relaxed on stage. Concentration and Observation - Focus on stage, the scene, the people on stage, not the audience. Observation of life. Inner Truth - Developing the characters inner life, what they are thinking and feeling. Through Line of a Role - How a character goes through the play, moment to moment, from beginning to end. Superobjective - what the character wants above all else. They will pursue this objective moment to moment through out the play. Ensemble Playing - The playing together of all the performers on stage. Giving and taking focus.

Realism

an attempt to present onstage people and events corresponding to those in everyday life.

Before a performer ever goes before an audience she/he must:

Audition and get the role Read and analyze the script Discover the superobjective for the character Put together the spine - moment to moment life of the character Deal with all of the outer aspects of the character How does this character walk? eat? talk? move? Does he/she have a limp? accent? Swagger? Any idiosyncrasies? What does she/he look like?

Elements of Stage Lighting

Intensity - Brightness controlled by a dimmer. Brighter or Darker. Color - Gels are used to switch colors, many can be combined for depth, texture and naturalness. Direction - the way lights are placed on or near the stage so that illumination comes from a particular angle. Form - The form or shape of lightMovement - Light can shift its focus from location to location, it can change color, it can shift from day, to sunset, to night.

Found Theatre

It's "Street Theatre." Basically, putting on a show in a place you "found"; bar, basement, coffee house, outdoors, etc.

Elements of Costume Design

Line - of prime importance is the cut or line of a costume. Color - used to make characters stand out or together or to contrast with other characters. Fabric - the medium of a costume designer, it is how line and color are displayed. Accessories - Ornamentation and accessories are another resource for designers. Fringe, lace, ruffles, feathers, belts, beads, jewelry can add attractiveness and individuality to a costume

Related Elements

Makeup - the application of cosmetics such as paints, powders, and rouges to the face and body help a Hairstyles - have varied a great deal in different historical periods and among different social classes. Masks - are as old as theatre. They were first used in primitive tribes and ancient Greek theatre. A mask is an extension of a performer: a face on top of a face.

Proscenium

Most familiar type, picture frame. Proscenium comes from proscenium arch, the frame that separates the stage from the auditorium and forms an outline for the stage. The McGinnis theatre you saw on your tour is a proscenium stage

Shakespeare's plays performed at what kind of stages

Plays of Shakespeare's day performed at the Swan, the Rose, the Globe and the Fortune which all had a form of thrust stage

Clothes have always suggested a number of things about the wearer:

Position and status Gender Occupation Flamboyance or modesty Independence or regimentation Occasion - work or leisure, a routine event or special event

Wagons

a low platform set on wheels

The Magic "If "

a technique developed by Stanislavski where the actor uses phases like "as If I suddenly became wealthy..." or "as If I'm walking on ice..." to get the right feeling for scenes.

The costume designer must decide

whether the costumes will be pulled or built.