Theatre Exam I

community theatre

-In towns where there's no professional or educational theater, they introduce new audiences to live theater -Very little pay, if at all -Rely on volunteers -A mix of amateur and professional actors and designers

what does the playbill say

-Look for "Director's Notes" -Look for indications of time and place that the play will take place within -Get familiar with the character names and sometimes their relationship with each other -Find out if there's an intermission

looking at the physical surroundings within the theatre when seeing a play

-Setting the mood of the show -The theater itself might be ornately designed -The set, if visible, can give a sense of time, place & social class -Lighting may establish mood -Sound/Music - Bach says something different than Country -Actors doing things on stage or in audience before start of show

how does theatre please the senses

-Visually thru scenery, costumes, lighting -Sound by language, music, special effects

basic rules of seeing a play (during the show)

-no use of cellphone -audience can react however they like (unwritten agreement between actors & audience)

differences among performances

-purpose (Church services so people can warship, sports so ppl can win) -relationship between audience & performers (Sports fans or spectators interact with each other) -organizing principles (Church services follow a schedule determined by custom, symbolism and doctrine; Sporting events determined by schedule, record, playoffs)

presentation

All the elements that the audience will see and hear Text Actors Scenery Props Costumes Lighting Sound

thrust stage

Audience on 3 sides of stage -No arch -Actors can enter from the aisles -Actors can enter from the vomitories (or voms) that come from beneath the audience -Proscenium Thrust Stage

proscenium stage

Identified by having a "proscenium arch" -The action of the play fits within a frame -Rigging system behind arch and possibly trap flooring -Wings -Most have an area that extends a few feet in front of arch Sightlines can sometimes be ba

bowdlerizing

The censorship and/or removal of material from a text that is considered vulgar, improper or offensive. -EX: sexual/racial content, cursing, religion, politics

performance

an activity where some people do something while other people watch. -This happens in everyday life. ex: Job interview, students & teachers, religion, sports, politics,

Where do playwrights get their ideas?

anywhere -overheard convo -current events -news headlines -injustice

Alley or booth Stage

audience on 2 sides

"insider" playwrights

come from outside the theatre world -Social insiders write about specific topics EX: African-American playwrights that write about social issues that pertain to the Black community LGBTQ playwrights that write about issues within their community Feminist playwrights that write about women's rights

how long does it take to write a play

depends on person -7 days to 7 years, it depends on the playwright -There's even 24 hour play festivals that happen around the country. Usually in major cities, but not always.

EDI

equity, diversity, inclusion

the group theatre

founded by: Lee Strasberg, Harold Clurman, & CHeryl Crawford -The Group Theatre was a collection of theater artists formed in 1931 to create a natural and disciplined form of theater. - -What they began became an "American Acting Technique" based on the teachings of Konstantin Stanislavski

abstraction

how weird is the production? -Set Design:A room design is as real as possible; The room has transparent walls; The stage is an empty space with geometric shapes or hanging windows to represent a room -Costume design: use real clothes; odd colors or patterns -

training the director

many started as actors, choreographers, stage managers, designers -some went to college for directing -many different paths

where do playwrights come from?

most work within the theatrical world -previous or current actors -write for their own theatre troupe

interpretation

the actors and designers all understand the play in the same way

Clandea gunarte

the art of comedy -comedic actors, the SNL of italy 400 yrs ago -you get paid more if the audience laughs more -padro started wearing white face -traveled & became famous in paris -Padro became Pierrott w white face, long smok, and completely voiceless. just wanted to be loved

analyzing the script (actor training)

the script is the foundation of the actor's work -3 goals of script analysis: 1. understand the entire play 2. understand the place of the character in the whole play 3. understand the details of ur character

nationality

the status of belonging or being a citizen of a particular nation

why do mimes wear white on their faces?

to show facial expression white reflects light white is a blank slate

"newcomer" playwrights

come from outside the theatre world & probably don't follow the traditional form, style, length, and subject matter

given circumstances

everything that delineates or defines the special world of the play

neutral mask work

"Neutral" masks are used so that the character or image is expressed through the body -The actor is not able to use facial expressions to convey emotion -It must all be expressed through the body

Panjamine

"click" "tok' so much energy it stops u -fixed point, hands stuck like glue to a wall

reasons people go to theatre

- Theater has immediacy, relevance, and engagement. -theatre is social -theatre pleases the senses -engages imagination -offers experiences we dont often have (exotic yet familiar, good vs evil) -appeals intellectually

William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

-(April 23rd, 1564-April 23rd, 1616) -Born in Stratford-upon-Avon -Married Anne Hathaway -3 Children: Susanna and twins Hamnet and Judith -Sometime around 1585-1590, began a career as an actor, playwright and part owner of the Lord Chamberlain's Men, an acting company -He wrote 38 plays (A Midsummer night's dream, Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello) -wrote 154 Sonnets & 2 narrative poems (Venus and Adonis & The Rape of Lucrese) -His plays have been translated into every major living language on Earth -His plays are performed more often than any other playwright Even after 400 years!! -invented over 1700 words (Eyeball, Bedroom, Puking)

paying the playwright for amateur or stock productions

-2 organizations handle rights to plays (Dramatist Play Service Samuel French, Inc.) -They collect royalties for the life of the play's copyright -Copyright law of 1977: Author's life + 50 yrs -royalties can be small or large as many organizations put on the play

shared traits of art

-Art is ARTIFICIAL: an artist makes art, it doesn't just happen -Art STANDS ALONE: does not need a practical purpose in life -Art is SELF AWARE: artists know in a general way they're trying to do something -Art produces a kind of RESPONSE: an aesthetic response, an appreciation of beauty that goes beyond merely intellectual or entertainment

plot of sense & sensibility

-Dashwood's father dies, leaves estate to the half brother, John -John's wife hates his sisters & mom so they are kicked out -the Dashwoods stay with the Jennings -Elenor (more level headed) leaves Edward Farris bc hes married -Maryanne is in and out of love w john willabee & kernal Brendan -elenor and edward end up together -Maryanne and kernal brendan end up together

actor training

-Formal training at colleges or private studios have taken the place of the "standard" way -Most colleges, university and private studios use various actor-training systems -No one system is best for everybody, however almost all systems involve at least the following 3 characteristics: 1. Analyzing the script 2. Training the actor's "instrument" Body and Voice 3. Training the actor's imagination

theatre moves at its own pace thru time

-No rewind or fast forward like a movie or TV show -Can't set it aside and pick it up later like a book or downloaded movie

drama vs. literature

-Novelists and poets don't always make good playwrights -Playwrights don't always make good literary artists -Shakespeare is a rare exception

shared traits of performances

-People that do something (performers, actors) -Something done (a speech, ritual, or play) -Watchers (spectators, audiences) -Performance space (stadium, church, theater) -Time (beginning and ending)

the warship director

-Playwright-centered -Believes nothing should stand in the way of the script as written -no diversity in casting -given circumstances followed

etiquette of acting

-Prompt: arrive on time -Prepared: done prep work -Constructive, not destructive: don't comment on others acting -Respectful: They talk to the director of stage manager about problems, not to actors, designers or playwright -Aware: know their theatre history

5 major benefits that regional theaters offer

-Provide a place where new and classic plays can coexist -Developing new audiences for live theater -Training ground for theater artists -Help to stretch an actor's craft -Provide more jobs

getting the play produced

-Recently, the number of theaters that produce new plays has increased, mostly by not-for-profit theaters -"New Play Festivals" happen all over the country -NYC is the goal (Best reviews, Most prestigious) -Playwrights 1st hurdle: finding that first production of their play -playwrights will have workshops of their plays or simple read-throughs to hear their play out loud

educational theatre

-Rutgers Mason Gross Theater Dept. is an example -First theater degree in 1914 at Carnegie Institute of Technology -More than 2,000 programs in the U.S. -Whole range of plays offered

why is theatre immediate & ephemeral

-Theater is live, now -Theater is also fleeting -You will never see the same performance twice

Shakespeare's 4 categories of plays

-Tragedies (Hamlet, Macbeth) -Comedies (A Midsummer Night's Dream, As You Like It) -Histories (Henry IV, part 1 &2) -Romances (Pericles, The Winter's Tale)

an "inspirational" actor

-Use mental and emotional techniques to reach their "center" -Often use past personal experiences to inform characters -Which then turns into onstage movement & vocalization -The theory is that it's more "natural"

theatre as a performance space

-Usually has artificial settings -Unlike film where the camera can take you around the world -Can't do car chases! -Audiences appreciate the skill in making spectacles happen on stage

August Wilson

-Wrote The Pittsburgh Cycle, a series of ten plays, each set in a different decade, and depicts various aspects of the African -American experience in the 20th century. -Recent Broadway production of Jitney won the Tony Award for Best Play Revival.

training the actors imagination

-actors encouraged to discover their imaginations -encouraged to play games

how to playwrights work

-alone -in groups -in collaboration w/ actors or producers or directors -in teams with other playwrights

basic rules to seeing a play (before)

-arrive 30 mins before start -bring tickets -dress accordingly (wear gown on opening night) -no use of cellphone -you can familiarize yourself w the plot -look at playbill -look at physical surroundings

mood before sense & sensibility started?

-classical covers of modern songs -white room set, showed wealthy family

types of amateur theater

-educational theatre -community theatre -children's theatre

how to do a performance analysis

-explaining why u did or did not like it -watching while participating (engaging in action, empathizing, observe how effects are achieved) -story & character (do u identify w characters or story? how r they intertwined?) -idea (an actors appearance, stark set design)

Theatre as a performing art

-has actors -performed in front of a live audience -immediate & ephemeral

taking it in during sense & sensibility

-lighting would change -chandelier would change -British dialect -audience would laugh -elenor wore muted colors -maryanne wore bright colors -gossips wore masks, represented society & rumors

the play in rehersal

-many changes happen to the script in rehersal (notes from 1st read thrus, producer, director, & actors ideas) -"painful" changes like scenes being cut -actors can get a better sense as to why the characters they're playing say the things they say when they rehearse their lines

the actor

-needed for theatre -good performers -portray characters to the audience

differences between arts

-relationship between time & space -audience (solitary-sculpture & pantings; groups- opera, dance) -mode of presentation (printed,drawn,live audience,played)

playwright training

-usually don't go thru formal training -there are university programs that do offer training -no real rules for playwrights, but there are maxims to follow: Write what you know Write for your own time Write action, not speeches Write for actors, not readers Be truthful

regional theatres

-usually nor for profit -can be more adventurous w play selection, production style

taking it all in during the play

-visual & aural spectacle (lighting, sound/music, costumes, acting) -language of the play (dialect?) -characters (who do u identify w most or least?) -plot (are u engaged? is it plausible? how did audience react?)

2 approaches to acting

1. Inspiration 2. Technique *most actors are a combo of both

regional theatre contracts

1. LORT-League of Resident theaters (5 categories: A+, A, B, C, D based on weekly box office gross) 2. SPT-Small Professional Theatre (Commercial or non-profit theaters smaller than 350 seats outside of NY or Chicago 10 salary categories, or tiers, mostly determined by number of performances) 3. LOA- Letter of Agreement (individually negotiated, often reference other contracts such as LORT D)

a play from start to finish

1. Playwright - writes the play 2. Producer - willing to produce the play 3. Director - hired by Producer to direct the play 4. Designers - chosen by Director, approved by Producer 5. Actors - auditions are held and play is cast by Director 6. Designers - begin building sets and costumes 7. Rehearsals begin 8. Tech rehearsals begin 9. Preview performances begin 10. Opening night 11. Closing night and strike

6 parts of the play

1. Plot - the order of incidents in the play 2. Character - how do they fit into the plot? 3. Idea - the meaning of the play 4. Language - ie. Shakespeare vs. a contemporary play 5. Music - rhythms in non-musical language or the music in musicals 6. Spectacle - design aspects

3 kinds of given circumstances

1. Previous action 2. Environmental facts 3. Polar attitudes

7 steps all directors follow (maybe not in in the same order)

1. selecting the play 2. interpreting the play 3. creating the production 4. developing a ground plan 5. casting & coaching actors 6. staging the production 7. planning, coordinating, rehearsing, & Polishing

environmental facts- 6 types (given circumstances)

1.Geographical Location - where the play takes place 2. Time - Date, year, season, time of day 3.Economical Environment - The character's relationship to wealth or poverty and their class in the play's society 4. Social Environment - The character's moral values and social beliefs 5.Political Environment - The character's relationship with the government they live under 6. Religious Environment - Religious beliefs, if any

The directors view of the text

2 extreme approaches to te text 1. the warship director 2. the heretical director

what broadway season has been the most diverse so far?

2015-2016

Konstantin Stanislavski

A Russian actor and director known for his system of actor training, preparation and rehearsal technique

directors traits

A director needs to have many abilities -organizational skills -ability to make decisions -a problem solver -sensitive interpersonal skills -stamina and concentration

actor

A person who impersonates someone other than themselves -Impersonation and presence are key qualities for actors to have in front of an audience

structural racism

A system in which public policies, institutional practices, cultural representations, and other norms work in various, often reinforcing ways to perpetuate racial group inequity.

previous action (given circumstances)

Any action mentioned in the play's dialogue that reveals any incident or action that took place BEFORE the current action of the play. -This is also known as EXPOSITION

black box theatre

Audience can be placed anywhere -The stage can be placed wherever you want in any configuration -Often painted black to give the theater a neutral space to start with -The Levin Theater here at Rutgers is a black box theater

racial supremacy

Belief that one is superior One imposed these beliefs via weapons, laws, actions, etc.

polar attitudes (given circumstances)

Beliefs held by a character that are in direct opposition to the world in which they live -This opposition creates CONFLICT -Conflict creates DRAMATIC ACTION

method acting

Created by Lee Strasberg, founding member of the Group Theatre -The process of connecting to a character by using personal emotions and memories, or "affective memory," to portray the role -Actors imagine themselves with thoughts and emotions of the character to give a life-like performance

Meisner Technique

Created by Sanford Meisner, a member of the Group Theatre -Taught here at Rutgers Does away with "affective memory" and puts the emphasis on "the reality of doing" -Strives to "get the actor out of their head" and react more to their surroundings -The actors "live truthfully under the given imaginary circumstances"

cultural representation

Cultural representations refer to popular stereotypes, images, frames and narratives that are socialized and reinforced by media, language and other forms of mass communication and "common sense."

broadway

Highest level of American Theater -Distinguished stars -Elaborate sets and costumes Sophisticated musicals and plays Defined by how many seats it has - 500+ -There are currently 41 Broadway theaters -Only theaters eligible for Tony Awards (except for the Regional Theater award) -expensive

why is it spelled playwright and not playwrite?

wright means "maker" ex: Wheelwrights make wheels

Librettists

write the words for the music

can theatre happen anywhere?

yes ex: plays preformed in parks

off broadway

Originally named so because of the actual theater's location, on a street just off of Broadway -Defined by number of seats - 100 to 499 -Some shows "transfer" to Broadway

playwriting

Playwrights create copies of human life by creating a "language" for characters -They create dialogue for characters to say to one another that: Forwards the plot Reveals character Express ideas

"book writers"

Playwrights that write for musicals

playwrights as sreenwriters

Playwrights will often write for TV shows and films -Film scripts are often called "screenplays" -Similar style of storytelling between playwriting and screen writing (Length Dialogue)

arena stage

Stage is surrounded on all sides by the audience -Also called "Theater in the Round" -Entrances are through audience Scene changes are done either in blackout or in full view of the audience -Can sometimes have trap flooring

off off broadway

Started in late 1950's as a place for experimental, anti-commercial theater -Defined by 99 seats or less -Performed in various spaces ex: Coffee houses Cellars Churches, etc.

creative excercises

Teachers use exercises to free actors from embarrassment and inhibition -image exercises -sense memory exercises -improvisational exercises

the paradox

The actor both is and pretends to be the character -Successful acting is making the audience believe that the falseness on stage is true. TO BE CONVINCING, AN ACTOR MUST LIE

the actor vs. character

The actor is a person, the character is a construct -The character is defined on the basis of its function within the play NOT on the basis of how well it imitates a human being

Body Language & Nonverbal Communication

Using your body to express ideas and emotions without words -simple gesture: hand waving -complex statement: posture -the use of props

a "technical" actor

-Builds a character out of careful and conscious use of body and voice -Rehearses inflections or carefully chooses specific poses and hand gestures -Can sometimes be thought of as "full of tricks" with no life or imagination in their work

children's theatre

-Created to produce plays geared toward young audiences to instill a love of theater -Can vary in content -Creative retellings of fairy tales, myths, and legends -Plays that discuss social issues like: Drugs Divorce Sexual abuse Bubbalonian Encounter

the heretical director

-Director-centered -Director is equal to the playwright -Believes the author's script is only the starting point -2 possible results 1. May lead to innovative and exciting productions 2. People may find production offensive or meaningless

mime

storytelling without words or sounds, silent creating illusions -use your body -imaginary objects -body mirrors the real world

theatre=

Actor(s) + Audience + Space -without AUDIENCE it would be a rehearsal -Without SPACE, it would be a radio performance -Without ACTORS, it would be a group of people in a room.

convention vs. common sense

An agreement between artist and audience to do things a certain way for the good of all EX: -Time can pass between acts of a play -In scenic design - when a setting is in a room of a house, a door in that house leads to another part of the house and not backstage.

paying the playwright on broadway

Broadway standard: a percentage of the theater's weekly gross from the production -A Broadway hit = $1,000's per week -A modest success = $1,000 or less per week -A flop = $0

why is theatre a process and not an object/thing

It's a system of constantly changing relationships between: Actor Action Audience Time Space Changing one of these relationships changes the whole process

director of sense & sensability

Malika written by Kate Hamill based on novel by Jane Austen 1790 playbill

unlike a novelist, playwrights must write words that are

More active More intense More selective ...than everyday speech or a novelist's words

The American Stanislavski System

The actor is trained to analyze character to discover: 1. Given circumstances (Age ,Sex, State of health,Social status, Education, Most likely found in script or they must be deduced or invented) 2. Motivation: (behavior is motivated) 3. Objective (goal of character in scene vs. whole play)

is there a difference in the spelling "theatre" and "theater"

No -Some consider the craft to be theatRE and the actual space to be theatER.

directors control

The degree of control the director has over a production depends on the situation ex: Broadway Production Overall artistic vision may rest with the producer rather than the director while Routine details of rehearsal and performance would fall to the stage manager

the director

The director came into being in the late 19th century -Now, the director is considered the dominant figure in a theatrical production -took over a job that used to be done by several ppl -unifies & binds all elements of production together

the actor's voice

The shaping and control of the actor's voice is not simple -must learn to control the muscles involved in speaking, including the resonance chamber or chest -Everyday sounds are inadequate for the stage - project their voice Actor's train to maximize control over every word that is spoken and also sounds that are not words (ie. screaming)

environmental stage

Theater done in or at specific (usually outdoor) spaces -No traditional stage -The audience can be anywhere and can sometimes physically move with the actors from scene to scene -New York Classical Theater -A production can take over an entire building -A play can take place in a car

racism

a combination of prejudice and power

race

a group of people who share a biological ancestor (PHYSICAL TRAITS)

ethnicity

a group of people who share common and distinctive culture, religion, and/ or language

reverse racism

not a thing

what type of theatre was for sense & sensibility

proscenium stage