Last Theatre Exam

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System

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The system was developed by Stanislavski. The method is based on Stanislavski's system. His system revolutionized the way we think about acting. Almost every acting school is indebted to his method. His system was developed on the scientific, artistic, literary and cultural influences of the time. He was extremely influenced by psychophisiology. His system can therefore, be described as spiritual realism, but is better known as psychological realism. His system was a means of exposing the hidden aspects of relationships between people and of revealing the repressed elements of everyday life. The ultimate goal was for each actor to “live” his or her part without falling into the trap of complete belief in the character being portrayed. Stanislavski felt very strongly that while an actor should be able effectively to demonstrate the emotions and physicality of a character, there should always be an intellectual detachment between character and actor.

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Method

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In the US, method acting is striving for emotional truth in performance. In modern times, Heath Ledger is considered a great method actor. Let us also note that there is a fine line between knowing the method and thinking one knows it. This was, mainly, a system of training and rehearsal for actors which bases a performance upon inner emotional experience, discovered largely through the medium of improvisation.

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The Group Theatre

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The goal of the group theatre was to mirror the life of their time. The group theatre was founded by Harold Clurman, Lee Strasberg, and Cheryl Crawford. They desired to express important social issues through the plays they developed. The group theatre was disbanded in 1941 after WWII, and the members were investigated by HUAC. Many of them went on to open their own acting studios and explore other acting/theatre ventures.

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Strasberg

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Particularly emphasized a technique in Stanislavsky's early writings called emotional recall, memory. His greatest influence, however, was through the Actors Studio, where he became director in 1950. A proponent of "method" acting, which he adapted from the "system" brought to America by Konstantin Stanislavski's disciple--and Marlon Brando's mentor--Stella Adler, he influenced several generations of actors, from James Dean to Dustin Hoffman. Film audiences would know him best as gangster Hyman Roth in The Godfather: Part II. He was first an actor, but was mostly known for his coaching and directing talents.

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Emotional recall/memory

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-This is a tool intended to help the performer achieve a sense of emotional truth onstage; it consists of remembering a past experience in the performer's life that is similar to one in a play. By recalling sensory impressions of an experience in the past (such as what a room looked like, any prevalent odors, and any contact with objects), the actor arouses emotions associated with the experience that can be used as the basis of feelings called for in the play.

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Moscow Art Theatre/Tour to US

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-Stanislavski was in charge of the Moscow Art Theatre. The first toured the us in the 1920's. Moscow Art Theatre, in full Moscow Art Academic Theatre, Russian Moscovsky Akademichesky Khudozhestvenny Teatr, or Moscovsky Khudozhestvenny Teatr, outstanding Russian theatre of theatrical naturalism founded in 1898 by two teachers of dramatic art, Konstantin Stanislavsky and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko. Its purpose was to establish a theatre of new art forms, with a fresh approach to its function. Sharing similar theatrical experience and interests, the cofounders met and it was agreed that Stanislavsky was to have absolute control over stage direction while Nemirovich-Danchenko was assigned the literary and administrative duties. The original ensemble was made up of amateur actors from the Society of Art and Literature and from the dramatic classes of the Moscow Philharmonic Society, where Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko had taught. Influenced by the German Meiningen Company, Stanislavsky began to develop a system of training for actors that would enable them to perform realistically in any sort of role and situation.

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Stanislavsky

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-A russian director, Stanislavsky, developed a system or method of acting to enable performers to believe in the 'truth' of what they say and do. His suggestions included applying techniques of relaxation and concentration; dealing with specific objects and feelings (a handkerchief, a glass of water, etc.) using the power of fantasy or imagination (the 'magic'

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Delsarte

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-His ideas were originally used when teaching at the American Academy of the Dramatic Arts. Delsarte's ideas on how a character's emotional state could be projected to the audience was the foundation of the Delsarte System of Expression published in 1885 by Genevieve Stebbins (1857-1914). This system was used during the last fifteen years of the 19th century in the actor training programs at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and Emerson's School of Oratory. Although the this approach was replaced by the Stanislavski method in the 20th centry, the influence of Delsarte can still be seen in American Modern Dance.

The Delsarte Exercises to the left from Pastimes at Home and School: A Practical Manual of Delsarte Exercises and Elocution (1897) illustrate a posture for discovery, mourning, and supplication. This formal, conventional, often melodramatic approach to acting can be seen in silent films such as DW Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (1915) and The Phantom of the Opera (1925) starring Lon Chaney.

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Edwin Forrest

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-He is generally acknowledged as the first star and grand tragedian of the American stage.He made his first stage appearance on the 27th of November 1820, at the Walnut Street theater, in John Home's Douglas. In 1826 he had a great success in New York as Othello. He played at Drury Lane in the Gladiator in 1836, but his Macbeth in 1845 was hissed by the English audience, and his affront to William Charles Macready in Edinburgh shortly afterwards -- when he stood up in a private box and hissed him -- was fatal to his popularity in Great Britain. His jealousy of Macready resulted in the Astor Place riot in 1849, leaving seventeen dead. In 1837 he had married Catherine, daughter of John Sinclair, an English singer, and his divorce suit in 1852 was a cause célèbre which hurt his reputation and soured his temper. His last appearance was as Richelieu in Boston in 1871. He died on the 12th of December 1872. He had amassed a large fortune, much of which he left by will to found a home for aged actors.

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Arena

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This is otherwise known as the circle stage. It places the playing area in the center with the audience seated in a circle or square around it. This offers an economical way to produce theatre and an opportunity for great intimacy between performers and spectators, but it cannot offer full visual displays in terms of scenery and scene changes.

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Thrust

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-The three-quarters stage, with three-quarters seating. With the thrust stage, The seating is a platform stage with seating on three sides. Entrances and exits are made at the rear, and there is an opportunity for a certain amount of scenery. This form combines some of the scenic features of the proscenium theatre with the intimacy of the arena stage.

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Proscenium

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-This is also known as the picture frame stage. This is a picture framing stage, in which the audience faces directly toward the stage and look through the proscenium opening at the, 'picture.' The proscenium stage aids illusion placing a room of a house behind the proscenium, for example, allows the scene designer to create an extremely realistic set. This type of stage also allows elaborate scene shifts and visual displays because it generally has a large backstage area and a fly loft. It also creates a distance effect, which works to the advantage of certain types of drama. At the same time, however, the proscenium frame sets up a barrier between the performers and the audience.

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Fourth Wall

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-The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play.[1][2] The idea of the fourth wall was made explicit by philosopher and critic Denis Diderot and spread in 19th-century theatre with the advent of theatrical realism,[3] which extended the idea to the imaginary boundary between any fictional work and its audience. Speaking directly to or otherwise acknowledging the audience through the camera in a film or television program, or through this imaginary wall in a play, is referred to as "breaking the fourth wall" and is considered a technique of metafiction, as it penetrates the boundaries normally set up by works of fiction.

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Steps in the Set Design Process

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1. The designer carefully reads the script and begins to form ideas about how the play should come to life visually.
2. The designer next develops rough sketches, sometimes called thumbnail sketches and rough plans to provide the basis for further discussions about the scenic elements.
3. When the designer and the director have decided on an idea and a rough design, the designer will make a more complete sketch, often in color called a rendering. If the director approves of this, the designer will make a small-scale three-dimensional model, which the director can use to help stage the show
4. The two types of models are
A) one that shows the location of the platform and walls, with perhaps some light detail drawn in; is is usually all white.
B) The other is a complete finished model: everything is duplicated as fully as possible, including color and perhaps moldings and textures.

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Fly Loft

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-A fly system, flying system or theatrical rigging system, is a system of lines (e.g. ropes), blocks (pulleys), counterweights and related devices within a theater that enables a stage crew to quickly, quietly and safely fly (hoist) components such as curtains, lights, scenery, stage effects and, sometimes, people (e.g. in Peter Pan). Systems are typically designed to fly components between clear view of the audience and out of view, into the large opening, fly loft, above the stage. Fly systems are often used in conjunction with other theatre systems, such as scenery wagons, stage lifts and stage turntables, to physically manipulate the mise en scène.[1] Theatrical rigging is most prevalent in proscenium theatres with stage houses designed specifically to handle the significant dead and live loads associated with fly systems.

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Black Box (Studio)

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-This is a theatre out of which a version of any one of the other four can be created. The theatre space referred to as a black box is an open, adaptable space that can be configured into a variety of stage-audience arrangements, providing a maximum flexibility and economy.

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Characteristics of the Globe Theatre (open to the sky, etc.)

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-Open to sky; thrust stage; 3 levels of seating; the pit; lavish costuming; 2,000-3,000 spectators, company of professional actors; men played ALL roles

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Shubert Organization

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-Welcome! The Shubert Organization is America's oldest professional theatre company and the largest theatre owner on the Great White Way. Since 1900, the company has operated hundreds of theatres and produced hundreds of plays and musicals both in New York City and throughout the United States. The Shubert Foundation, the non-for-profit arm of the company established in 1945, provides general operating support for not-for-profit, professional, resident theatre and dance companies. Since the 1980s, the company's ticketing service, Telecharge.com, has developed into the leading ticket provider in New York City's thriving theatre industry.

Today, the Shubert Organization owns and operates seventeen Broadway theatres and one Off-Broadway theatre in New York City. Outside New York, the company owns both the Shubert Theatre in Boston and the Forrest Theatre in Philadelphia.

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Introduction of Gas Lighting (1816)

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-The impact of gaslight on stage was dramatic and impressed the public and press of the period alike. The following account, given by Leigh Hunt, editor and critic at the Examiner, describes the possibilities inherent in gas lighting. After watching gaslit performances at the Covent Garden and the Drury Lane theatres, he wrote on September 7, 1818: "… can promise our readers much satisfaction with the gas-light, which is introduced not only in front of the stage, but at various compartments on each side: their effect, as they appear suddenly from the gloom, is like the striking of day light …".

The gaslight installation included footlights and winglights, but lacked lighting from above, on which Hunt commented: "… if the front light could be thrown, as daylight is, from above instead of below the effect would be perfect".The first great revolution in stage lighting began in England with the introduction of gas lighting. In 1804, F. A. Winsor, an entrepreneur, took out a patent on a lighting apparatus based on gas. An English engineer, William Murdock, towards the end of the 18th century, had developed this practical method, which used coal gas for illumination. Interestingly enough, the first public demonstration, which Winsor gave of his new gaslight, was held in July 1804 at a theatre - the London Lyceum. At first, gaslight was used only for illumination of the facade and entrances of the theatre. Although the advantages of this new and powerful light source were obvious, it was thirteen years before gaslight was adopted on the stage of the Lyceum in August 1817. The Lyceum was not the first theatre to introduce gaslight onto its stage - the Olympic Theatre preceded the Lyceum by introducing gaslight in October 1815.

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Syndicate

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-The Theatrical Syndicate was an organization that controlled the booking of the top theatrical attractions in the United States, starting in 1896. The organization was composed of six men, each of whom controlled theatres and bookings. Early in 1896, six men gathered for lunch at the Holland House in New York City. These men were Charles Frohman, Al Hayman, A. L. Erlanger, Marc Klaw, Samuel F. Nirdlinger, and Frederick Zimmerman. All were theatrical managers and/or booking agents with influence throughout the country. Frohman and Hayman owned theatres in New York and the surrounding area, Erlanger and Klaw were booking agents for almost all the major theatres in the South, and Nirdlinger and Zimmerman controlled theatres in the Ohio region. Frohman also owned a chain of theatres extending to the West Coast. At lunch, the men discussed the disarray in American theatre. These men had essentially formed the outline of the Theatrical Syndicate. In order for the Syndicate to succeed, it needed to form a monopoly. Within weeks of their lunch meeting, the men organized all the theatres which they owned or represented into a national chain, marking the beginning of the Theatrical Syndicate.

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Style

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-A good working definition of, "Style", is how something is done. Theatrical styles are influenced by their time and place, artistic and other social structures, as well as the individual style of the particular artist or artists. As theater is a mongrel art form, a production may or may not have stylistic integrity with regard to script, acting, direction, design, music, and venue.
There are a variety of theatrical styles used in theater/drama. These include
Naturalism: Portraying life on stage with a close attention to detail, based on observation of real life. Cause and effect are central to the script's structure, with the subjects focused on conflicts of "nature vs. nurture", the natural order of things, survival, notions of evolution. The production style is one of everyday reality. Emil Zola's works may be regarded as naturalism, as would be early works from Strindberg such as Miss Julie.
Realism: Portraying characters on stage that are close to real life, with realistic settings and staging. Realism is an effort to satisfy all the theatrical conventions necessary to the production, but to do so in a way that seems to be "normal" life.
Expressionism: Anti-realistic in seeing appearance as distorted and the truth lying within man. The outward appearance on stage can be distorted and unrealistic to portray an eternal truth.
Absurdity: Presents a perspective that all human attempts at significance are illogical. Ultimate truth is chaos with little certainty. There is no necessity that need drive us.
Modernism: A broad concept that sees art, including theater, as detached from life in a pure way and able to reflect on life critically.
Postmodernism: There are multiple meanings, and meaning is what you create, not what is. This approach often uses other media and breaks accepted conventions and practices.
Classical: A type of theater which relies upon imagination (and therefore limited props) to convey the setting and atmosphere of the play. Classical theatre usually contains lofty, grand prose or free verse dialogue. Good examples are the Elizabethan dramatists William Shakespeare
Epic Theatre: As devised by Bertolt Brecht, epic theatre forces audience members to constantly return to rational observation, rather that emotional immersion. Sudden bursts of song, elements of absurdity and breaches of the fourth wall are all prime examples of how this rational observation is constantly revitalized; this idea is known as Verfremdung.

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Design Concept

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-In the world of theatre a design concept is basically how to present a play to the audience.
The concept is the part of the design process where you develop the idea of what you
want the audience to see, hear, feel and sense as they watch the production. It is based on
visual images and how those images enhance mood and create atmosphere. The purpose
of the concept is to communicate the author’s message, theme, and intent.

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Directoral Concept

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-A directorial concept is how the director envisions the play. It is a written expression of how the director
will approach the play and what s(he) wants the audience to take away from the show. The concept
defines the central themes, ideas, mood, tone, and visual appeal of the play. The DC is the unifying idea
that the production team will try to create—it is the specific point of view the play will be approached
from. Basically, it is your analysis of the play (use the answers from the guiding questions for this) and
your general ideas about what you would want to do as a director to make sure that the audience
understood what you wanted them to feel, think, or know about the show. C

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Central Metaphor

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-The central metaphor has to do with the compilation of the elements of a design- lines, shapes and colors, and should add up to a 'whole.' The design concept and director's concept is a huge part to this. It largely has to do with the main character's objective and the overall 'thesis' of the production.

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Tragic Destiny

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-Tragedy depicts the downfall of a noble hero or heroine, usually through some combination of hubris, fate, and the will of the gods. The tragic hero's powerful wish to achieve some goal inevitably encounters limits, usually those of human frailty (flaws in reason, hubris, society), the gods (through oracles, prophets, fate), or nature. Aristotle says that the tragic hero should have a flaw and/or make some mistake (hamartia). The hero need not die at the end, but he/she must undergo a change in fortune. In addition, the tragic hero may achieve some revelation or recognition (anagnorisis--"knowing again" or "knowing back" or "knowing throughout" ) about human fate, destiny, and the will of the gods. Aristotle quite nicely terms this sort of recognition "a change from ignorance to awareness of a bond of love or hate." A good example of 'tragic destiny' can be seen through the character of Hamlet in the manner of this: He causes his tragic destiny through his obsession of avenging his father’s death, his passion to plan the perfect revenge, his habit of doubting and overanalyzing.

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Hamartia

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-This is the character's 'tragic flaw.' It is the flaw in a character which leads to the downfall of the protagonist in a tragedy. An example of a tragic flaw would be Oedipus' lack of knowledge about his adoption. Not knowing who his real parents were led him to unknowingly murder his father and marry his mother. Another example is Othello, whose flaw was his jealousy. It lead him to murder his wife, thinking she had been unfaithful.

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Aristotle

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-Aristotle was a Greek philosopher. His undertaking was primarily to analyze the tragedies of playwrights like Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euriphides. He was also a scientist, but his method was chiefly to describe tragedy. He attempted to break it down into is component parts and to note how it worked and what effect it had on spectators.

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Characteristics of Classical Tragedy (all male, verse, outside, religious, etc.)

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-Aristotle lays out the characteristics of a classical tragedy in his work “Poetics”, a piece which dates to roughly 335 BCE. According to him, a tragedy has six parts: plot (mythos), character (ethos), thought (dianoia), diction (lexia), melody (melos), and spectacle (opsis). Though the best tragedy will have all of these things, he does list them in descending order of importance. Other characteristics include:
1. The protagonist is somehow a "hero".
2. This hero has a pivotal flaw as a character trait.
3. This character trait eventually leads to the downfall of the hero.
http://quizlet.com/23137232/elements-of-a-classical-tragedy-flash-cards/4. The hero is the catharsis of the audience.

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Realism/Expressionism

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-Realism and expressionism are opposite movements, the former is the movement of mid- to late 19th-century art, and the last one is the style initiated in the second decade of the 20th century. The goal of realism is to represent the external world objectively basing on unbiased life observation. Realism prefers mere observation to idealization; it reveals accurate and detailed nature and life depiction. Different painters worked within this style French, American, German. Sometimes such frank depiction of life were shocking to the viewers. There were close to realism style social realism, which developed later, during the depression-era, and it was also quite straightforward in life depicting.

Expressionism developed later than realism, the term was first used in 1910 and it united such artists as Kandinsky, Marc and Nolde. The style put an emphasis on feelings expressions which are expressed in personal and powerful way. In broader sense expressionism term is referred to independently working artists Rouault, Soutine, Vlaminck, Kokoschka, Schiele. Realism and expressionism are quite opposite in their goals, the last one conveys inner experience opposite to realism which directly represent natural images.

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"Golden Age"/5th century BC

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-Major elements of the Greek Golden Age of Theatre: http://quizlet.com/18613803/golden-age-of-greecegreek-theater-flash-cards/

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Elizabethan Era (1558-1603)

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-The Elizabethan theatre was named after Queen Elizabeth. From medieval drama, the Elizabethans had inherited stage practices that made it possible to shift rapidly in a play from place to place and from one time period to another. Using these techniques, as well as others they perfected, Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe and their conetmporaries wrote plays that are quite different from the more formal drama of the Greeks. A single play might move to a number of locations and cover a period of many years. Rather than being restrictive, Elizabethan plays are expansive in terms of numbers of characters and in terms of action, and there is no hesitancy whatsoever about showing murder and bloodshed on stage. In this era, women were forbidden to appear on stage.

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Catharsis

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-Catharsis is the purging of the emotions or relieving of emotional tensions, especially through certain kinds of art, as tragedy or music.
-2. A purifying or figurative cleansing of the emotions, especially pity and fear, described by Aristotle as an effect of tragic drama on its audience.
3. A release of emotional tension, as after an overwhelming experience, that restores or refreshes the spirit.
4. Psychology
a. A technique used to relieve tension and anxiety by bringing repressed feelings and fears to consciousness.
b. The therapeutic result of this process; abreaction.

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Ground Plan

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-A theatrical ground plan is a scale drawing showing the theater, set, stage and the locations of scenery and properties (commonly referred to as "props"), somewhat analogous to a blueprint of a house.

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Scale Model/Model Box

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-Before a three-dimensional white model is created the scenic designer constructs a theater model box. A theater model box is
an exact scale model of the entire stage area including backstage, wings, under-stage, entrances and exits. The theater model box is
painted matte black so that when the white model is placed inside, it is easy to see the “difference between the proposed design
and the existing theater space.”1

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Stage right, Stage left

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-"R" and "L" are "stage right" and "stage left". HOWEVER (This is really important to understand) stage right is the actor's right as the actor stands on the stage facing the audience. Stage left is the actor's left as the actor stands on the stage facing the audience.If the actor is facing up stage (toward the back wall), stage right and stage left are determined as if the actor were standing on the stage facing the audience. So the left side of the stage is always the left side. It doesn't change when the actor faces different directions. The right side of the stage is always the right side. It also doesn't change when the actor faces different directions.

This left and right thing can be confusing. Try this simple exercise. Stand up. Make believe you are standing on a stage in a rehearsal. Your computer screen is the audience. Now stretch your left arm out to your left. Your arm is pointing "stage left". Keep you arm out there and turn around, face away from your computer. Make believe you are facing the back wall of the stage with the audience behind you. Your left arm is now pointing "stage right". Stage left and stage right will always be the same, no matter which way you are facing. http://redbirdstudio.com/AWOL/stage.html

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Blocking

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-Blocking is the process of planning where, when, and how actors will move about the stage during a performance. A term coined by W.S. Gilbert, who used small wooden blocks to represent actors, moving these about on a miniature of a set of a planned work.
Examples: In blocking the show, the director determined the lead actor would cross from stage left to stage right at the end of Act I.

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Broadway

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-Broadway theatre,[n 1] commonly called simply Broadway, are theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theater District and Lincoln Center along Broadway, in the Manhattan borough of New York City.[1] Along with London's West End theatres, Broadway theatres are widely considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world.
The Broadway Theater District is a popular tourist attraction in New York City. According to The Broadway League, Broadway shows sold approximately $1.081 billion worth of tickets in calendar year 2012, compared with $1.037 billion for 2010. Attendance in 2012 stood at 12.13 million.

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Off Broadway

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-off-Broad·way (ôfbrôdw, f-)
n.
Theatrical work, often experimental and inexpensive, presented in New York City outside the Broadway entertainment district.
adj.
1. Of or being such a theatrical work.
2. Located outside the Broadway entertainment district.

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Off-Off Broadway

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-off-off-Broad·way (ôfôf-brôdw, ff-)
n.
The avant-garde or experimental theatrical productions of New York City, typically performed in small or multipurpose venues.off-off-Broadway
adj
of or relating to highly experimental informal small-scale theatrical productions in New York, usually taking place in cafés, small halls, etc. Compare off-Broadway

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Regional Theatres

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-A regional theater, or resident theater, in the United States is a professional or semi-professional theater company that produces its own seasons. The term regional theatre most often refers to a professional theatre outside of New York City. A regional theater may be a non-profit, commercial, union, or non-union house.
Regional theaters often produce new plays and challenging works that do not necessarily have the commercial appeal required of a Broadway production. Companies often round out their seasons with selections from classic dramas, popular comedies, and musicals. Some regional theaters have a loyal and predictable base of audience members which can give the company latitude to experiment with a range of unknown or "non-commercial" works. In 2003, Time magazine praised regional theatres in general, and some top theaters in particular, for their enrichment of the theatre culture in the United States.[1] Some regional theaters serve as the "out of town tryout" for Broadway-bound shows, and some will even accept touring broadway shows, though those more typically play at commercial road houses.
All nonprofits must have a mission statement, which means that the type of plays staged at each regional theater varies dramatically. While some are devoted to the classics, others only produce new work, or American work, or something else entirely depending on the vision of the organization's leadership as well as its founding charter.
Many regional theaters operate at least two stages: a main stage for shows requiring larger sets or cast, and one or more other stages (often studio theaters or black box theaters) for smaller, more experimental or avant-garde productions. In addition to box-office revenue, regional theatres rely on donations from patrons and businesses, season ticket subscriptions, and grants from foundations and government. Some have criticized regional theatres for being conservative in their selection of shows to accommodate the demographics of their subscribers and donors.[2] However, regional theaters are often much more experimental than that commercial theaters that rely solely on ticket sales. The LORT theaters represent the not-for-profit theatres in the country that pay wages to artists.[3] Due to audience feedback, artistic staff, and a theater's history, each theater may develop its own reputation both in its city and nationally.