Drama summer term

The kabuki concept of jo-ha-kyo

This japanese concept governs the actions of actors and the structures of plays and sets. Jo- A slow and auspicious begining (berkoff introduces character and plot) Ha- Speeds up the events (berkoff will culminate the story with a moment of tragedy) Kyo- short satisfying conclusion (Berkoffs characters move on quickly after tragedy)

What is total theatre

Total theatre is the use of the imagination, actors express the genius of the body, express the story without a set. Berkoff focused on the physical abilities of the actors as a substitute for set and props this was often referred to as total theatre.

Setting

Where the story takes place . Also called 'the scene' or 'sense of place' shapes the stories main events and motivates the characters to act as they do

pause and silence

a dramatic pause is used to set up and spotlight what you will say next. it usually involves the actor being quiet for a moment. This heightens the tenson in your narrative and gets the audience involved.

what is a duologue

a duologue is a dramatic performance or piece in the form of dialogue, limited to two spekers before an audience.

Narration

allowed the playwrite comment on the action in the play narration stopped the action of the play, reminding the audience it wasn't real.

Frantic method

approching devising as a series of tasks each broken down into building blocks.. designed to approach progress from simplest beginings. Performers are advised to take a moment back to its simplest form and build from there.

stage direction

basic stage direction like, stge left, stage right apply to the actor as they face the audience.

verfrendungseffect

distancing audience from a play. remind them that what they are seeing is not real

frantic assembly - history

founded in 1994 by Scott Graham, Steven Hogget and Vicki Middleton. three students at swansew university. Neither of them studied drama. Wanted to create non-realistic peices through movement and music, although they have always mentioned not straying from the storyline.

Frantic assembly

frantic assemby creates thrilling, energetic, unfergettable theatre. the company attracts new and young audiences with work that reflects contemporary culture. Frantic assemblies unique physical style combines movement design music and text. Let by Artistic Director, Scott Graham

esnsemble

helps v-effect. Bretcht hates seeing one actor being a star. to stop this, one actor will play multiple roles to show that it is all an illusion. Bretcht also made actors change from ne character to another in front of the audience, and often have them sit out in the audience and watch the play when not in a particular scene.

episodic

instead of interelating scenes or scenes with short gaps, epic plays had episodes. with episodes having up to years between them. Scenes will sometimes feature a montage, a rolling tableux, to show what hppened in between. Characters do not neccessarily develop from one scene to the next.

gestus

reoresents social meaning for either a character or a whole scene allegry- a charater / prop/ event that symbolizes deeper/ political meaning didacticism- intending to teach

Steven Berkoff

Born in Stepney London in 1937 till date. He is still an energized acot playright and director. Real name leslie steven berks although his Russian jewish family name was berkowitz.

what is a monologue?

From the greek words 'monos' which means single and 'leigen' to speak. is a speech given by a single person to an audience.

imagery and metaphor

imagery is used to crete images in the mind of the reader while metaphor is used to improve the readers experience through their senses.

uses of frantic assembly

labelled as physical theatre storytelling through physical naunce physicality can be brutally explosive or minutly observed has dynamic/ complex effect on audience very fast paced and keeps actors on their toes.

What is at stake?

main obejtive of the play stake refers to intensity of drama that is happening in a scene the goal every protagonist wants to achieve which the antagonist fight. could be: family, love, job ,freedom

What is Kabuki?

movement is considered to be elegant and grand, very melodrsmstic in style. Stylized gesture and forms, performance is like a slow dance. Similar to Kata and martial arts.

what does steven berkoff practice?

non naturalism attention on movement rather than voice no comformist experimantation marxist political themes

repitition

repitition of words and phrases helps to lay emphasis on important thoughts and points.

Duologue links

situation: the setting and circumstances of the dramatic action. The who what where when and what is at stake of the character makes up the situation. Relationships: cnnections and interactions between people that affect the dramatic situation.

Who

the poeple in the duologue.The characters are the main components that move the action of the play foward

When

the time at which the dramatic monologue takes place. the fictional time in the narrative or setting can alsoo refer to day season or historical period

What

this refers to conflict. conflict is the main problem which the main characters need to solve in order to achieve their goals. Dramatic conflict is the persistent tension, the driving force that produces the content of the story. Types of conflict: Internal conflict External conflict People vs people People vs society

tone

tone is the emotional sound of the voice and is highly important in getting the subtext of a line

what is a dramatic monologue

A dramatic monologue is about a character facing a critical moment in time, it usually happens before crisis or decision making. It requires the conditions : first person POV, conflict, recognisable tone and mood.

no stage illusions

Actors moved props around no black out for scene change scenes were often augmented with slide projection minal props

chorus/song

Actors spoke or sang in unison scenes were broken up by chorus they commented on the play directly to the audinece ( breaking the forth wall and destroying naturalism)

Theatre purposes and practice

As an actor, playwrite, director and general non-comformist, berkoff wanted to shake naturalistic theatre and encourage experiment through the idea of total theatre.

Berkoffs methods and techniques

Berkoff tells stories in a poetic and heightened way both vocally and physically using minial set and non naturalistic style with lighting and music. Characters use a mix of poetic language and sometimes shakespaerean, often vulgar, muscular and almost physical. Berkoffs early works is based on classical greek texts and contemporary modern day verse in an ensemble enviroment

Chorus

Berkoff uses chorus in a stylised sequence of movement usually hightened both vocally and physically. they reflect the mood of the story and express what main characters cannot say.

who was berkoff influensed by?

Bretcht: Verfrendungseffect, which berkoss uses in east where actors destroy naturalism by addressing the audience. Artaud: a move from structured melodrama to theatre of danger and cruelty, using the power of word and gesture to release emotion. Leqoc: Berkoff studied with Claude Chargin, a student of jaques leqoq, and later briefly with leqoc himself. Mime, masks movement and ensenble are characteristics of berkoff. Lawrence Oliver and Edward Kean: Mime and exaggeration.

Total Theatre

Every aspect of theatre must have a purpose. every movement, which has been choreographed, each line, lighting effect, mood or message. Each sound to each prop that has a purpose. Extreme moods are used to give the audience and overwhelming feeling and to shock, amuse, scare or amaze them. Minimalist stage and little language, this way the focus remains on the physical movement. Mime, an actor strikes a pose and holds it for a while. the rest of the cast is frozen.

What is physical theatre?

Physical thearte is a type of performance where physical movement is the main method of storytelling. As opposed to text in plays or music and lyrics in opera. It may also incooperate other techniques such as mine gesture and dance in order to make a performance piece. It often has little or no dialogue as the movement is the main focus.