Theatre Exam Ii

Front 1

o Thesbis

Back 1

first know actor, appeared before even playwriting

Front 2

o The Two Notions of Acting

Back 2

 Actor “presents” to the audience
• Aka. Presentational, external, or technical acting
• Learns to present role through series of external exercises
 Actor emanates role from inside
• Aka. Internal or representational acting
• Actor honestly lives the characters life within the play
• Was deemed Method acting by Stanislavsky and Strasburg
o Stanislavy was into emotional memory-wanted everything to be as real and gimmick-free as possible= “artist’s communion”
 Not one or the other, both are used

Front 3

 All great actors have attributes of virtuosity and magic

Back 3

o Virtuosity
 Actor’s exquisite use of voice, body,
 One having mastered multiple dramatic techniques
o Magic
 Incorporation of virtuosity and conviction leads to magic—presence, magnetism
 Derived from confidence

Front 4

o Acting training has 2 phases

Back 4

 Development of actor’s instrument
 Development of an actor’s way of approaching a particular role.

Front 5

o The Actor’s Instrument

Back 5

 The Physiological Instrument
• Voice training
o Breathing, resonance, phonation
o Speech training
 Articulation, pronunciation, phrasation
o Voice + Speech = Projection
• Movement
o Physical relaxation, muscular control, ability to “hold stage” for hours on end
 The Psychological Instrument
• Actor must be able to use imagination to make a stage’s artifice real for the audience
• Actor must be able to use imagination to place one’s self in the interpersonal situation of the play
• Must be able to uniquely fashion a role with specific imagination—“make it fresh”
• Discipline of actor to use imagination but still keep within the appropriate role

Front 6

o The Actor’s Approach

Back 6

 Stanislavsky’s components to the actor’s approach
• Zadacha—the actor embodies the role by pursuing the character’s goals—helps to enliven acting
• Identification of the tactics necessary to achieve foals and avoid defeats—achieves hope even if goal is no materialized—(Laura does not get a date in Glass Menagerie, we still hope for her)
• Research into the style of the play and the mode of performance that will govern the production

Front 7

• The Actor’s Routine

Back 7

o The actor’s professional routine consists of three stages: audition, rehearsal, performance
o Each stage imposes demands on actor’s instrument and on his approach

Front 8

o Audition

Back 8

 Opportunity of actor to demonstrate to director how he can fulfill a given role
• Prepared or “cold readings”
 What do directors look for/
• Ease of handling role, capable of mastering technical demands, power, spontaneity, suitability toward role

Front 9

o Rehearsal

Back 9

 Generally there is between 1-10 weeks of rehearsals depending on the complexity of the play
 Memorizing lines, stage movements (blocking) and directed stage movements (business)
 Time for experimentation—what works, what doesn’t

Front 10

o Performance

Back 10

 “holding back until opening night” is frowned upon and is thought to induce recklessness
 Elemental feedback—change from rehearsal to performance induced by presence of audience reactions
 Must maintain spontaneity night after night which is difficult

Front 11

• The Arrival of the Director: a Historical Overview
o Separated into three evolutionary stages

Back 11

o Teacher-Directors
 Earliest form—directing was associated with teaching
 Passed along techniques of correct performance within a given convention
 Big during Enlightenment and Victorian era
o Realistic Directors
 End of 19th century
 Wanted to make theatre more lifelike
 First modern director George II
 Stanislavsky was a Naturalist
 Theatre as social/ political instrument—encouraged psychological interpretations of works
o Stylizing Directors
 Director to present position of power and recognition
 Modern, anti-realistic, don’t follow theatre formulas, “pure theatre”
o Contemporary Director
 Creating what is stimulating—still not following classic theatre rules
 Blank slate

Front 12

• Directorial Functions

Back 12

vision/leadership
play selection
conceptualizing
designer selection
director-designer collaboration
casting
implementation (staging, actor coaching, pacing, coordinating, presenting)

Front 13

o Vision and Leadership

Back 13

 Providing artistic leadership for vision
 Not plotting everything—giving a direction
 Steps of directing
• Preparation period---selects play, gathers designers, conceptualizes big picture
• Implementation period—play is rehearsed
• Run through of everything including lights, costumes, cues, everything

Front 14

o Play Selection

Back 14

 Most critical decision
 3 basic considerations
• Directors interest
• Interest in intended audience
• Capability of director and producer to make this play happen

Front 15

o Conceptualizing

Back 15

 “directorial image”
 2 concepts
• Core Concept Directors decision on core message/image that is relayed via a play
• High Concept make a familiar play surprising by introducing a new high concept—like moving a play out of a period—audience is typically more intrigued by this

Front 16

o Designer Selection

Back 16

 Concept is the directors however the refinement of this is by the designers

Front 17

o Director-Designer Collaboration

Back 17

 Work together but the director ultimately has the last say

Front 18

o Casting

Back 18

 Casting is 90% than directing
 Takes place in 2-4 minutes auditions—cold reading or prepare presentations
 Training experience, impersonability, personality traits, physical appearances
 Call-backs

Front 19

o Implementation

Back 19

 Staging
• Positioning actors on a set in a theatrically effective manner
• Space—acting area
• Time—duration of event
• Blocking—basic architecture of theatre, time of all actors’ movements
o Preplanning movements, on paper, or improvisation
o Important for fights or dances
• Business—small scale movement that a character performs within the larger scale of actor movement (mixing a drink, snorting a line)
 Actor-coaching
• Director is the actors coach—starts acting activities
 Pacing
• Only aspect that directors are given credit/ receive criticism for
• Liveliness of play
 Coordinating
• Bringing together the play and production elements
• Final rehearsals are “technical rehearsals”
• Reversal of roles
 Presenting
• Director is useless on opening night

Front 20

• Scenery

Back 20

o European indoor stages were original scenery design---was just painted flat board
o Illusionism—realistic settings (18th century)
o Realistic Scenic Design
 Arena audience on all sides
 Proscenium typical high school auditorium set-up
 Thrust stage comes out and audience is 180* around stage
 Black Box series of black flats
o Metaphoric Scenic Design (more conceptual)

Front 21

o Scenic Materials

Back 21

 Platforms—elevates specific people/things for viewing
 Drapes, boards
 Light—images
 Elevators
 Sound
 Props, furnitures

Front 22

o The Scene Designer at Work

Back 22

 Read the play, research of play,
 Needs director approval

Front 23

• Lighting

Back 23

o Basic precondition for theatrical conditioning
o Greeks used to orient theatre to catch suns rays
o 19th century introduced the first gas light, soon after electricity
o Incandescence is much more conditions today---can be manipulated into a number of colors and shapes in modern color design

Front 24

o Modern Lighting Design

Back 24

 Visibility and Focus are prime focuses
 Visibility-- see what is meant to be seen
 Focus-- see what is meant to be seen without undue distraction
 Creates mood

Front 25

 2 major appropriations that is required of the Lighting Designer

Back 25

• Light plot—plan or series of plan showing the placement and angle of eaching lighting instrument taking into consideration its type, wattage, and size
• Cue sheet—lists of light cues—intensity, color, etc.

Front 26

 Fixed focus spotlights—main instruments

Back 26

• Ellipsoidal reflector spotlight—conical shape, intense, focus lighting
• Fresno spotlight—less defined, less shapeable theme—backlighting, skys

Front 27

o The Function of costumes

Back 27

 First costumes were ceremonial vestments
 Consistency but not realistic accuracy
 Modern Costume Design has Four Functions
• Attuned with ancient origins—maintains hint of “ceremonial” origins
• Costumes show what kind of world we are asked to enter
• Express specific individuality of each characters role
• Wearable clothing for actor

Front 28

Technical Production Team

Back 28

o Production Stage Manager—scheduling, staffing, budgeting management
o Assistant Stage Manager work for Production Manager—prompt actors, take line notes, get props ready, substitute for absent actors
o Technical Director—in charge of building and operation of stage machinery
o Technical Crews—visual back stage army—shift props

Front 29

o Costume Shop

Back 29

 Costume Director—supervises personal workspaces, scheduling of Costume Shop
 Dyers—dye fabrics
 Drapers—drape fabrics on actors, choosing the way the fabric falls
 Cutters--- cut fabric
 First Hands—work for cutter and correct the pattern after the prototype has been fitted
 Stitcher—sew garments
 Craft Specialist—make costumes that involve more than fabric—armor etc
 Hair stylist/ wig makers—
 Wardrobe supervisors—ensure costumes are clean and maintained and are delivered to appropriate backstage areas
 Dressers—help with costume changes