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20 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Romanticism
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-spiritual, intuitive, visceral
-opposite of Neo Classicism -genius doesn't need rules -mixed forms (drama & comedy) -drama doesn't need purpose, art for art's sake Tenets: -belief in eternal truth, which transcends material world -natural = good (Rousseau); city bad, country good -dualities in world: ppl have good/bad; earth/soul -afterlife is better -April 25th 1830: feud b/w NeoCs and them @ play Hernani, --> riot b/w old guys vs young Hernani = robin hood-like -old way pushed aside -philosopher: John Herder - poetry drama = expression similar to religion/myth snatched by genius from God Goethe & Schiller: illuminate souls of their character Emmanuel Kant - ppl need geniuses to understand universe |
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Early American Theatre
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-initially everything imported from England
-British, Elitist, Amateur (BEA) -"ye barr & Ye cubb" (1665) Attomack County - 1st play ever -stigma against theatre, authorities shut it down, ppl call them operahouses, museums, lecture houses/rooms -By 1812: British, Elitist, Professional (BEP) professionals come from England to be stars in U.S. -1st 3 theatres in: Phili, NY, Charleston -1820: split into Elitist & Popular (poor) theatres -Elitist: serious, British, smart, theatre as art -Popular: comic, nationalistic, visual, melodramas, Yankee character, leads to 'American' theatre -stars: Edwin Forrest (=Sly Stallone), Frank Chanfrau (Bowery boy, street smarts w/rural values, American hero), Charlotte Cushman (big lady, played men's roles 1st famous actress) -1832, New Orleans: actor = servant of ppl, has to do what audience likes |
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Melodrama
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-origins in sentimentalism
-political -dealt w/morality and promoting values of the time -dominated internationally in 19th century -pre-psychology; characterizations were allegorical -constant threat of castrophe (individual & society) -optimistic, pitched to lower class audience, gave hope Characters: -hero: from country, uneducated, physically strong -heroine: vessel for society's morality; must keep her from sinning; unredeemable; target of villain who threatens her chastity, family, home Villain: from city, educated, all evil is in him, not society (devil incarnate); in positions of power, intellectual, foreign |
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Saxe-Meiningen (Duke of)
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-1874 toured Europe, seen by impt ppl (Stan'ski, Reinhart), very influential
-Chronik - took out the tour part; recruited extras from bars -in charge of training = stage manager Saxe-Meiningen -troupe: 75-200 ppl -cost a lot of $, could afford it -had depth of talent, could afford them -are no stars, ensemble instead -rehearsal method - did it for months; evening-midnight -actors lived on actor's compound on country estate -no union, no protection; rigid discipline -controlled everything artistic; had big focus on details; 1st to do levels -coordination of elements -lot of research, accurate designs (Rome for Julius Caesar) -used box set Group Scenes -set standard for directing grps -ppl spilling off stage to make grp look bigger -used levels -appointed grp leaders -everyone is a character -rehearsed crowd -creates focus using extras, their levels, colors |
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Symbolism
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-Organic
-away from Realism (1870s-80s) Manifesto: Theatre shuld be filled with symbols -shouldn't try to make it completely real "art is myth" wagner -influenced by Beaudelaire, Poe; try to bring mystery + irrationality to theatre -artist works through mysterious realm -Mallarmé - leader: theatre = "sacred & mysterious rite" -similar to romanticism, but denies material world -eliminate movement (opposite of realism) -make things static, true action happens in the soul -idea of ominous unseen forces -Maurice Maeterlinck - actors as marionettes -John Fort - 'theatre d'arte - 1890: word creates decor -M & F try to dematerialize life on stage Techniques still used today: -black velour to create infinite distance -scrim - make things (dis)appear -silhouettes & backlighting - got idea from cabaret shadow puppets -steep lighting angles - create a pool of light, rest is dark -bas relief staging - 3-d painting, flatten out staging of actors -actors: weird, monotone, in trance, put audience to sleep, hypnotic (put audience in same state of consciousness) -synethesia - experiencing stimulus w/>1 sense -attracted followers, normal, but curious ppl, and Darcy, famous mean critic |
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Modernism
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Chekhov
-dispassionate modernist; bad things happen to characters; pessimistic -a lot of rambling, not much dramatic happens on surface; a lot under it -let events be as simple and complex on stage as are in life -has no political agenda; writes on human condition -work is the only thing we can do in life, rely on, just stay busy -has melodramatic characters/scenes, but no redemption Ibsen -he & Strindberg contemporaries (S insane, talked to Nietzsche) -Father of Modernism -revolutionary, challenged middle class society, values -modern artists become rebels -1881 Ghosts - congenital syphillis, attacked clergy -1882 An Enemy of the People one person stands up to wrong ppl, publicly attacked (him after Ghosts) -earlier plays were messianic, trying to fix/save world; later darker and more depressing |
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Realism
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-maybe part of Modernism (debated)
Often confused w/ Naturalism: -Realists frequently had social mission. -Naturalists and realists diff. in degree & severity of play: naturalism a lot harsher, pessimistic - -comes first in writing, then staging, then acting -Industrial Rev., world changing fast, urbanization (depersonalization, anonymity, noise, pollution) Different Ideas -Comte - scientific thought should be used to solve societal problems -only material reality matters Darwin, Freud, Marx, Renan Literature -becomes more radical -new drama: (generally) central figure not noble hero, nor ideal person, but everyday man; situations more ordinary, believable; language of common ppl; if you can't sense it w/5 senses, don't put it on stage; concentration on psycho/social problems; environment becomes important, detailed, measured against what could be done on camera; characters lives more detailed |
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Futurists
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Formal Organic w/manifesto
-power of modern machine, love of city's energy -artists outrageous, in your face -machine warfare = awesome -founder: Filippo Marinetti, wrote Futurist Manifesto, 1908 -"Art [...] can be nothing but violence, cruelty, and injustice." -Serate = evening performances: -read manifestos, did sound music, invited/forced audience to take leap into future, to get rid of past/present -violent & disrespectful to old art "destroy the museums, the libraries, every type of academy" -confrontational, testosterone driven -introduced physical conflicts into performances (itching powder or glue on seats, sell multiple ppl same seat, food fights, suckering in police, etc) -had Variety shows: -dumb show at beginning, chaser at end (bad to make audience leave) -Marinetti liked its illogical nature, how each act is valued in and of itself, no need to understand it, just experience it -combined difft forms of media (>1 at a time, like 3-ring circus) -loved idea of danger, things crashing -attacked language (hegemony) -performer-audience antagonism -art of noise = music of new age (sound machines) -syntacy (sp?) = shortened, condensed pieces -cubism - dynamic scenery, see it from difft perspectives, a lot done through lighting -similar to fascism and anarchy for love of weapons, aggression |
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Expressionism
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Critical
-Germany, 1910s -opposed to realism (art of middle class = enemy) and naturalism, b/c they glorify science/industry which are responsible for war -thought romantics weren't serious enough -industry crushes human beings (common man's battle) -honor subjective over objective -emotional, extreme, driven by visions -driven by immediate experience -anti-patriarchal, father figure has to be overthrown Abstract: -less political; represents nightmare of human existence -mystical, deals w/visions Empathetic: -activist; revolutionize society; want war-free, just world -mass/mob movement, overthrow ruling class -episodic in plot; pieces unrelated but contribute to overall message -message centered -individual goes on quest, pilgrimage; usually scapegoat sacrificed for society (Christ-like) -everything reduced to essentials, characters allegorical, telegraphic language, short and to point (b/c agit prop) -everything distorted: weird light angles, things leaning, out of kilter, sizes exaggerated -sharp contrasts, violent emotions => trigger response (long dialogue then short lines; prayer then cussing) -time, material, space fluid; don't worry about rules of reality, everything a dream -things to look for: reaching hand, holy mob |
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Expressionism
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Critical
-Germany, 1910s -opposed to realism (art of middle class = enemy) and naturalism, b/c they glorify science/industry which are responsible for war -thought romantics weren't serious enough -industry crushes human beings (common man's battle) -honor subjective over objective -emotional, extreme, driven by visions -driven by immediate experience -anti-patriarchal, father figure has to be overthrown Abstract: -less political; represents nightmare of human existence -mystical, deals w/visions Empathetic: -activist; revolutionize society; want war-free, just world -mass/mob movement, overthrow ruling class -episodic in plot; pieces unrelated but contribute to overall message -message centered -individual goes on quest, pilgrimage; usually scapegoat sacrificed for society (Christ-like) -everything reduced to essentials, characters allegorical, telegraphic language, short and to point (b/c agit prop) -everything distorted: weird light angles, things leaning, out of kilter, sizes exaggerated -sharp contrasts, violent emotions => trigger response (long dialogue then short lines; prayer then cussing) -time, material, space fluid; don't worry about rules of reality, everything a dream -things to look for: reaching hand, holy mob |
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Modernism
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Chekhov
-dispassionate modernist; bad things happen to characters; pessimistic -a lot of rambling, not much dramatic happens on surface; a lot under it -let events be as simple and complex on stage as are in life -has no political agenda; writes on human condition -work is the only thing we can do in life, rely on, just stay busy -has melodramatic characters/scenes, but no redemption Ibsen -he & Strindberg contemporaries (S insane, talked to Nietzsche) -Father of Modernism -revolutionary, challenged middle class society, values -modern artists become rebels -1865 Brand - Old Test style preacher trying to save world -1881 Ghosts - congenital syphillis, attacked clergy -1882 An Enemy of the People one person stands up to wrong ppl, publicly attacked (him after Ghosts) -earlier plays were messianic, trying to fix/save world; later darker and more depressing |
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Dada
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1916-24
-anti: art, middle-class, rules, principles -- "destruction of art by artistic means" -reaction to WWI; avoided it, went to Swtzrlnd -precursor of movements to follow, cleared slate -Dada as "shock troops" -in performance, anything possible (crazy stuff) -chance is imprtnt, just as good as genius; even name picked by chance; anyone can create art; attack on artistry, take it off its pedestal -Venue: The Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich -formed by Hugo Ball & Emmy Hemmings; later Tzara, Hans Arp, Marcel & George Tanco -Tzara, very charismatic and destructive, takes over dada mvmt -After war, everyone goes home, dada spreads thru europe |
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Surrealism
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-Organic, Dada origins
-Andre Breton, w/other dadaists in paris, coolide w/Tzara -Breton calls meeting to decide fate of Modernism -- "Congress of Paris", which Tzara ridicules -During performance, Tzara has to beg police for help from Breton's ppl; discredited and Breton changes Dada mvmt to Surrealism in 1923 -Surrealism = elevated realism -impt ppl: Andre Breton, Louis Aragon, Philip Soupault |
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Adolph Appia
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-revolutionary, innovative scene designer
-wanted to if Wagner's plays could be staged a certain way -1899 wrote Music & the Art of the Theatre -harmonize 3 elements of production: 1) Dynamic and 3d movements by actors 2) perpendicular scenery 3) Use depth and horizontal dynamics of performance space -use 3d set pieces: what you put on floor/set dictates how actors can move (i.e. stairs) -realized need for director -everything conceived in space, volume, mass -abstract, used pillars, drapes, walls in lieu of realistic scenery (added to symbolism) -thought in terms of light & shadow; designs are "atmospheric" -- mood created by light design -light as flexible; as responsive as music -multi-directional lighting to achieve plasticity (3d-ness) -all black & white, just shadow -dispensed w/proscenium arch -worked w/Emile Jaques-Dalcroze (developed Eurythmics, experiencing music thru mvmnt); experimented to see how set affected dancing/mvmt |
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Edward Gordon Craig
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-raised in theatre, son of famous 1800s actress Ellen Terry); started designing for her company
-became internationally renowned -major theorist, wrote 4 books, published periodicals -sought an "artist of the theatre" to coordinate all elements (director) -employed color, line, mass, light, mvmt, and sound for evocative (not representative) quality -theatre should be visual (not verbal) -used space, volume, and height (<3'd verticals - inspire awe) to create mood -influenced by modern dancer and lover Isadora Duncan - light, up dance; introduced by her to Stan'ski -created mobile sets -advocated actor "uber marionette" (totally followed director; no creativity of own) -1912 Hamlet, one of greatest scenic disasters ever (technlgy mostly to blame) -rendered and lit in color (mostly saturated) -like symbolists, worked through suggestion |
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Brecht
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Important Theorist of 20th cent (one of 2)
-also playwright & director; work followed theories -negative, anti: capitalist, bourgeoisie, Aristotelian (no purgation of fear & pity, and spectator leave theatre harmless and incapable of action), Wagner (anti-illusion), Gesamkunstwerk = total artwork (each of elements of thtre remain independent), Stan'ski -"culinary theatre = unfulfilling, consumable theatre; wants ppl to think about it later, be engaged intellectually, not emotionally -"V" effect - distancing/alienation; things to break mood to remind ppl they're in a theater (song that doesn't match; historification, emotional response gone b/c outcome already known) Devices -lights in full view -use of film, slides, placards, other projections -actors "wear" characters, recite stage directions, speak of self in 3rd person -gestus = central gesture, might be spelled out for audience |
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Antonin Artaud
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-one of actors Breton kicked out when Dada -> Surrsm
-minor playwright -had 40 min radio broacast cussing out god -best known as theorist -fascinated by Balinese dance (spiritual & political); thought theatre should be mysterious, magical, evocative -Toping dance - theatre should be dangerous, part of ppl's lives -Manifestos, 1938 The Theatre and Its Double: Cruelty of theatre (life as cruel), can be catastrophic as a tsunami |
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Naturalism
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-often mixed up w/ realism, but very related and defended in same manifestoes by same ppl
"Naturalism in The Theatre" (1881) -Zola: principally a novelist. Wrote that if you want to be an artist, you should be a naturalist. Believed theatre should be clinical reliever. - Big on determinism--that environment determines character's actions. Heredity and environment are critical factors in life = determinism. -take "scientific" approach to theatre. -shared belief in efficacy of science as solver of problems and in role of drama in improvement of society, but were more pessimistic; believed people were victims, not actors in life, Unlike Realists who have social mission "I go into the sewer to clean it, Zola goes in it to bathe" -Ibsen -Brecht's "Baal": pessimistic, naturalistic play. Baal cabaret singer. Plays dead in final scene, buzzards circle him with final line: "And Baal feasted on buzzards this evening." - along w/Realism, demanded new kind of acting, portraying ordinary people speaking in conversational prose about daily lives, need to play with fellow actors rather than perform for audience...this rose in Russia -Naturalism emphasized squalor, featured lower-class houses and sordid details, characters poorly dressed and ill spoken -Theatre more artistic in Europe, more commercial in US in 1880s/1890s. -Term "avant-garde" emerges around 1880s/1890s, literally means "frontline" in France which refers to first line of troops in military. Now refers to new and bold art, artists starting new tendencies and trends. Experimental, dangerous, edgy. New theatres and approaches to theatre. "Theatre Libre" -experimental theatre in Paris -Andre Antoine wanted to produce plays of hot controversial playwrights of time (Ibsen, Strindberg, Shaw, etc. -worked in very realistic style -demanded new set for each play -played around with 4th wall -fostered sense of ensemble - -First to dim house lights for show, keep audience focused on stage, not on each other -produced French translation of Ghosts - theatre became a rallying-point for young dramatists -Produced many of Ibsen's plays, and with casting of talented actresses, he helped to bring Ibsen to the English stage -Comedie rosse -"Freie Buhne" and Max Weinhardt: German theatre modeled off of Theatre Libre and Andre Antoine, means "free theatre" in German, private club, Max Weinhardt was apprentice at Buhne who later opened "Ghost" in Germany -Independent Theatre opened by JT Grein in 1891: English theatre modeled off of Theatre Libre, opened "Ghost" in England; Shaw plays -Art theatres were numerous in late-19th century. Influential on minimalism (subtracting scenery rather than adding it, unlike Antoine), fostered advent of one-act play. -Moscow Art Theatre in Russia, Provincetown Playhouse (O'Neill) in US also art theatres |
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Stanislavsky
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-began as amateur (actor/director) for Moscow Society of Art and Literature
-emulated autocratic methods (discipline, scenic design, etc.) -lousy judge of plays -1897: met critic/novelist/playwright Vladimir Nemirovich Danchenko Moscow Art Theater -playwright and actors' theater -ensemble, no stars -each play thoroughly rehearsed -each play furnished with new materials -actors trained in school/studio -Out of this school eventually comes the "Method," and acting schools become more prominent over old custom of apprenticeship -artistic performance, not social occasion (seats built towards stage, not other ppl) -goals influenced by Saxe-M: goals: 1) remain free of demands of commercialism, 2) avoid overemphasis on scenic elements of production 3) reflect inner truth of play -1st season: 9 productions -Went to Venice to sketch costumes, purchase authentic furniture, etc. for Tsar Fydor over 70 rehearsals -shifted focus from external realism of production to psychological realism of actors, towards finding inner truth -strove to develop technique helping actors achieve inner truth (Method) -Stanislovsky meets Chekhov--former able to train actors to interpret subtext & subtlety of the latter's dialogue (whose genius was not understood up until this point) -S convinced C to let him put on The Seagull after having bombed when directed by Vera K -Meyerhold: acted, left, came back as director, experimenting w/ biomechanics (rigorous and systematic path for the development of the actor’s body as a psycho-physical instrument) -Adler, Strasberg, and Clurman brought Stanislavski to America via founding the Group Theatre |
