Week 3

3 types of street theatre

1) plays from the standard repertoire presented in the streets, 2) neighborhood theatre, in which an original play deals with problems and aspirations of a specific population of a city, 3) guerrilla theatre, aggressive, politically oriented theatre produced by an activist group in the streets to try and make people more politically involved.

rake

1) to position scenery on a slant or at an angle other than parallel or perpendicular to the curtain line 2) an upward slope of the stage floor away from the audience

Scene Designer's Objectives

1. Help set the tone and style of the production 2. Establish the locale and period in which the play takes place 3. Develop a design concept consistent with the director's concept 4. Provide a central image or metaphor, where appropriate 5. Ensure that scenery is coordinated with other production elements 6. Solve practical design problems

ground plan

A blueprint or floor plan of the stage indicating the placement of scenery, furniture, doors and windows, and the various levels of the stage, as well as the walls of rooms, platforms, etc.

Thumbnail Sketch

A preliminary visual of a possible idea for a design. Most thumbnail sketches are not full-size and have little detail. They are intended to quickly explore possible alternative designs.

black box

A theatre space that is open, flexible, and adaptable, usually without fixed seating. The stage-audience configuration can be rearranged to suit the individual requirements of a given production, making it both economical and particularly well suited to experimental work.

In this chapter, the photograph of the cast in a production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is intended to illustrate

African American cast (photo was removed from textbook)

proscenium

Arch or frame surrounding the stage opening in a box or picture stage.

realism

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

fourth wall

Convention, in a proscenium-arch theatre, that the audience is looking into a room through an invisible fourth wall.

Computer-assisted design (CAD)

Designs created by computer. All features of a set design, including ground plans, elevations, and walls, can be indicated by computer, and variations and alternations can be easily created and displayed.

An auteur director focuses closely on interpreting the vision of the playwright.

False

Generally speaking, the audience-performance arrangement created in a proscenium theater results in less "aesthetic distance" than that created by an arena theater.

False

It is during the dress rehearsals that the technical elements of a production are brought together for the first time.

False

Oedipus is grateful for the wisdom that Teiresias imparts about who is at fault in causing the plague on Thebes.

False

Oedipus is sentenced to die by imprisonment in a cave deep in the mountains of Cithaeron.

False

Oedipus worries about what will become of his sons.

False

The actual term director came into common usage during the time of Shakespeare.

False

downstage

Front of the stage, closest to the audience.

Teiresias says that the person responsible for bringing a plague upon Thebes is

Oedipus

Oedipus the King is a Greek play written by

Sophocles

The __________________ is the person who coordinates the running of the actual performances.

Stage Manager

kinetic stage

Svoboda's belief that the set should not function independently of the actors, but rather should develop and adapt as a performance progresses

stage left

The left side of the stage from the perspective of an actor facing the audience.

stage right

The right side of the stage from the perspective of an actor facing the audience.

"Corrales" refers to Spanish courtyard theaters.

True

A directorial concept is a director's overall image or metaphor for the play

True

A dramaturg is a literary manager or adviser of a theatre company

True

In British usage, a producer is the equivalent of an American director.

True

Oedipus asks Creon to cast him out of Thebes into exile.

True

The "front of the house" in a theatre refers to such areas as the auditorium, box office and lobby.

True

The ancient Greek theater at Epidauros, pictured at the very start of the chapter, is an outdoor theater.

True

The basic theater spaces have prevailed throughout history are proscenium, arena, thrust, and created/found space.

True

multimedia theatre

Use of electronic media, such as slides, film, and videotape, in live theatrical presentations (sometimes used in combination with multifocus theatre)

What distinguishes Teiresias from other seers?

a and b (he is always right and is blind)

turntable

a circle, set into the floor, which is rotated mechanically or electronically to bring one set into view as another disappears

orchestra

a circular playing space in ancient Greek theatres; in modern times, the ground-floor seating in a theatre auditorium

rendering

a complete drawing of a set, usually in color

flat

a scenic unit consisting of canvas stretched on a wooden frame often used with similar units to create a set

Oedipus finally understands that he

all of the above (murdered his father, married his mother, and is father and brother to his children)

nonrealism

also known as departures from realism, means all types of theatre that depart from observable reality

multifocus theatre

an environment in which there is more than one playing area

screen projection

an image used for scenery. Projected from a high powered slide, lighting instrument, or computer projector.

The stage is entirely surrounded by audience in ________ theater.

arena

Upstage

at or toward the back of the stage, away from the front edge of the stage

to upstage someone origins

being more visible because they are farther back on the stage and easier for the audience to see when the stage is raked

all purpose theatre space (black box)

called the black box because it is often an empty rectangular space into which various audience seating and stage arrangements can be introduced.

property designer

creates and executes all props; this work may include building special pieces of furniture, finding or devising magical equipment, and selecting items such as lamps and other accessories

scene designer

creates the visual world in which a play unfolds

designer/front elevations

drawings that show all exact scenic details from the point of view of the audience

special effects

effects of scenery, lighting, sound, and props that seem unusual or even miraculous. Special effects include fog, ghosts, knives or swords that appear to stab victims, wall and windows that fall apart. Chandelier drop/ drawing on chalkboard with projection

Platform stage (trestle stage)

elevated stage with no proscenium

diapolyekran

employed whole walls of small, square screens making up a composite image (Svoboda)

When Jocasta learns the truth, she

hangs herself

hard flat (movie/hollywood flat)

it consists of a thin, solid material, called lauan, mounted on a wooden or hollow metal frame

Five Elements of Scene Design

line, mass, composition, texture, color

wagon

low platform mounted on wheels or casters by means of which scenery is moved on and offstage

wagon stage

low platform mounted on wheels or casters by means of which scenery is moved on and offstage

Polyekran

means multiscreen and was the practice devised Svoboda of using multiple screens at multiple angles and heights.

________ is a theater space that is open, flexible, and adaptable, usually without fixed seating or a permanent stage area.

none of the above (Options were proscenium, arena, and thrust)

Laterna Magika

one of Svoboda's best know innovations used screens in conjunction with actors, the actors were part of the film, and the film was part of the action

One meaning of ________ is "a circular playing space in ancient Greek theaters."

orchestra

front of the house

portion of a theatre reserved for the audience; sometimes called simply the house

The __________________ is the person responsible for handling the business side of a theatre production.

producer

prop

properties; objects that are used by performers onstage or are necessary to complete a set

In a _________ theater, there is an arch or frame surrounding the stage, and the audience looks through the frame from one side.

proscenium

_______ is an upward slope of a stage floor away from the audience.

raking

appropriateness

relationship of a stage space to a play or production

box

small private compartment for a group of spectators built into the walls of a traditional proscenium-arch and other theatres

fly loft

space above the stage where scenery may be lifted out of sight by ropes and pulleys

Technical Director

staff member responsible for scheduling, construction, and installation of all equipment; he or she is responsible for guaranteeing that designs are executed according to the designer's specifications

arena

stage entirely surrounded by the audience; also known as circle theatre or theatre-in-the-round

stage house

stage floor and the space around it to the side walls, as well as the space above it up to the grid

thrust stage

stage space that thrusts into the audience space; a stage surrounded on three sides by audience seating

to fly

term used when scenery is raised into the area above the stage, out of sight of the audience

Texture

the "feel" projected by surfaces and fabrics. For example, the slickness of chrome or glass versus the roughness of brick or burlap.

Composition

the balance and arrangement of elements; the way elements are arranged. For example, mostly to one side of the stage, in a vertical or horizontal configuration , or equally distributed onstage

A plague sits heavily on the city of Thebes: the fields yield no crops, children are stillborn, and pestilence causes widespread sickness and death because

the death of the previous king is unavenged

line

the outline or silhouette of elements onstage. For example, predominately curved lines versus sharply angular lines

Mass

the overall bulk or weight of scenic elements. For example, a series of high, heavy platforms or fortress walls versus a bare stage or a stage with only a single tree on it

paint charge artist

the person responsible for seeing that all painting of scenery is carried out in accordance with the specifications of the designer

scenic charge artist

the person responsible for seeing that the sets are built and painted according to the specifications of the designer

The photo from the Broadway musical Wicked is used in this chapter to illustrate which of the following?

the proscenium type of theatre is ideal for scenic spectacle and seemingly magic effects (photo not in textbook)

design concept

the scene designer develops this in order to convey information

Color

the shadings and contrasts of color combinations

corral

theatre building of the spanish golden age, usually located in the courtyard of a series of adjoining buildings

Site-specific companies

theatre groups that create productions for specific nontheatre locations

street theatre

theatre held outdoors in nontraditional settings

scrim

thin, open-weave fabric which is nearly transparent when lit from behind and opaque when lit from the front

treadmill

used on stage and can carry performers, furniture, or props

Scenography

what Svoboda called his art, conveying the sense that he created a whole physical space, not just designs on paper intended for the back of the stage