Theatre Experience Chapter 2
What types of theatre are there in the US?
-Broadway and touring -Resident professional -Alternative (off-broadway) -Young people, and children's College and University -Community and Amateur
What are an audience's individual memories and experience?
-Childhood memories -Emotional scars -Private Fantasies
Today's theatre reflects?
-Developments in communications -Changes in Society -Human-made and natural disasters
What is a Dramaturg's duties?
-Discovering and reading promising new plays -Working with playwrights on the development of new scripts -Identifying significant plays from the past that may have been overlooked -Conducting research on previous productions of classic plays -Preparing reports on the history of the plays -Researching criticism and interpretations of plays from the past -Writing articles for the programs that are distributed when plays are produced
What are some examples of critical criteria?
-What is being attempted? -Have the intentions been achieved? -Was the attempt worthwhile?
Critics offer?
-background material about the playwright -subject matter of the play, or the style of the production
An ideal theatre critic should possess:
-knowledge of theatre history -knowledge of acting, directing, and design -Familiarity with different plays and different styles as well as playwrights -The ability to relate theatrical to society
To have a complete theatre experience one must understand?
-the play itself; some plays contain obscure references -the playwright and his or her techniques
What criticism attempts to clearly and accurately describe what is happening in a play or performance?
Descriptive
What type of drama could move to a number of locations and cover a period of many years?
Elizabethan Theatre
What type of drama took place in one locale (usually in front of a palace) within a short span of time?
Greek Theatre
What occurred offstage during Greek Theatre?
Murders, suicides, and other acts of violence
What criticism attempts to not only describe the play or performance, but also offer advice and comments about how it should be done?
Prescriptive
Audience members not only bring their________to the theatre; they also bring with them_________and________.
Presence; personal knowledge; expectations
What is a Critic?
Someone who observes theatre and then analyzes and comments on it.
_______ and________ are closely connected; art is a mirror of its________.
Theatre;Society; age
What factors shape the experience of each individual audience member as well as the group as a whole?
Their personal knowledge and expectations
What is a dramaturg or literary manager?
a person who often serves a theatre company as a resident or in-house critic
There is no_______; critics often______with one another about a play.
absolute authority; disagree
Most audience members act as___________.
amateur critics
Critics can make us?
aware of information we might not otherwise have known
For plays set in the present, audience has a__________.
background of common information and beliefs
For plays set in other times, and places; an audience_______.
can relate to characters and emotions
Every critic should develop__________by which to judge a play and production.
criteria (often in the form of a set of questions)
Theatergoers should not be intimidated by_________.
critical authority
Different types of theaters and theatrical events carry with them_________.
different sets of expectations
Dramaturg comes from the German word for"_________"
dramatic advisor
It is important to always distinguish the________in a criticism from the________of the critic!
facts; opinions
Sometimes theatre critics cannot help but enjoy "________"
finding fault
Modern Theatre is a theatre of_______, and_________.
fragmentation; eclecticism
Modern Theatre is a________theatre.
global
A critic goes into_______ in________and_________the theatre event.
greater detail; describing; analyzing
In Elizabethan Theatre there was no________ about showing_______, and________.
hesitancy; murder; bloodshed
When seeing a play from or about a different period, we must be familiar with the________, __________, _________, and __________ of that period.
history; culture; psychology; philosophy
A critic is presumably better?
informed about theatre than the average spectator
Some critics can become so concerned with criticizing the play that they miss the____of the experience.
joy
A critic is a_______and_______audience member.
knowledgeable; highly sensitive
How many scenes were their in Greek Theatre?
limited number; usually 5 interspersed with choral sections
A critic usually works for________.
magazine or scholarly journal
Audience members can and should_________.
make up their own minds
Elizabethan Theatre plays were expansive in terms of the_______, and________.
number characters; action
The critic must be aware of the job without letting it?
overshadow the immediacy of the theatrical event
An audience brings a deep awareness of that world for________.
plays set in the present
A reviewer_______on the theatrical event.
reports
A reviewer______, and__________.
summarizes plot; identifies actors
A reviewer usually works for________.
television, radio, or newspaper
What is Criticism?
the understanding and appraising of a theatrical event.
Not all_________are alike.
theatre experiences
A critic should have a?
through knowledge and background in theatre
A reviewer offers their opinion on?
whether or not the event is worth seeing
