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89 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Define Theatre |
Originates from the Greek word "theatron" meaning "seeing place" An action witnessed. |
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Drama |
Originates from "dran" meaning "something done" |
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Basic elements of theatre |
Audience Text Script Performer Space |
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Audience |
The essence of theatre is the audience and performer interaction. May be there willingly, may happen upon it, or may have it forced upon them |
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Text |
A blueprint of a production An inclusive term that includes scripted work and also non-literary theatrical texts such as improv and choreo |
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Script |
story, incident, or event |
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Performer |
person presenting the dramatic action could be historical figure, imaginary figure, self- presentation, etc People assume these roles of others and we say "yes", we accept them |
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Space |
does not have to be in an actual theatre theatre spaces are getting more and more varied audience can be part of the space or architecture |
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Name two examples where the audience was a part of the theatre space or architecture. |
Sleep no more- masks in background Audience- video played back to them |
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Additional elements of theatre (8) |
Director Playwright Tech crew Design (costume, set, sound, lights) Producer Box office staff Production manager Artistic direction |
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Special Qualities of Theatre (4) |
It is present tense (unlike film) - ie unpredictable It is interactive It is imaginative It is ephemeral |
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(-) and (+) influences by audience |
applause, laughter, listening, respect, silence, being present booing, heckling, screaming, eating, sleeping, silence, photography |
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What is the Communicative Cycle? |
Audience responds to actors Actors respond to audience Audience responds to audience |
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What are the 3 major influences on audience? |
1) Group Dynamics 2) Suspension of Disbelief 3) Aesthetic Distance |
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Audience Group Dynamics: Individual Factors |
-personal history - outside of inside the culture - traumatic events - knowledge of tradition or show -knowledge of the industry -focal point |
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What is a personal history made up of? (8) |
age, religion, race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, education, class |
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How does the focal point effect one's viewing of a show? |
Audience members have control over their personal experiences and what they see at a show- directors use multifocus and local focus to force the attention to certain scenes/characters |
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Audience Group Dynamics: Group Factors |
-size and arrangement - self- image - audience response -humans react different in groups -a temporal community is created - more emotional/ less intellectual |
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What is an example of group dynamics? |
St. Mary's frosh week. |
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Who invented the idea of Suspension of Disbelief? |
Samuel Taylor Coleridge |
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What is suspension of disbelief? |
A willingness to suspend one's critical facilities and believe the unbelievable, sacrifice realism and logic for the sake of enjoyment |
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What is an example of suspension of disbelief that we talked about in class? |
Stage Beauty plays with this idea as we suspend our belief that he's actually killing her until a certain point but we're always unsure. |
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What is Aesthetic Distance? |
-the gap between a viewer's conscious reality and the fictional reality -the degree of (de)attachment or (non) identification with the characters and circumstances |
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The rewind scene from Funny Games is an example of what concept? |
Aesthetic Distance |
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What are the two main levels of Participation? |
Representational and Presentational |
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What is Representational participation? |
-Audience participates vicariously/empathetically - Participate with the imagination but separated from the action -Utilizes "fourth wall" and "box set" |
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What is Presentational participation? |
Active participation may eliminate the distinction between audience and performer -Action is more immediate and intense -Utilizes "asides"- breaks fourth wall |
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Criticism: What are the two jobs in theatre? |
Critics and Reviewers |
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Theatre critic: |
Hopes to shape the dialogue about a work of art and the further the genre and people involved |
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Theatre reviewer: |
Guides public opinion and shapes the market for a production |
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Someone who criticizes theatre in a quick period of time, using limited space, with a surface analysis targeted at the general public would be a theatre: |
reviewer |
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A theatre critic takes a ____ amount of time, usually has a ______ space allotted for a _____ analysis that is directed towards educated and ____ markets: |
lengthy, large, complex, niche |
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What are three critical components of a critic? |
- knowledgeable - demanding (to do the best) - compassionate (words things professionally) |
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What are some roles a critic can play? |
-critic as interpreter -critic as an artistic muse -critic as a visionary |
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What 3 questions are usually being held in mind when criticizing theatre? |
-what is being attempted?
-how fully was it accomplished? -how valuable was the experience? |
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What are the main differences between major and minor works? |
Macro: relevance- culturally relevant, opens up debate, offers solutions Micro: humanity- how personal is the play? do we find insights into our own lives? |
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Narrative: Dramatic Structure- What is plot? |
the ordering of the incidents in a play |
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Protagonist vs antagonist |
main character we connect with vs that opposing protagonist |
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What is climactic structure also known as? |
casual or linear plot |
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What does a climactic structure look like? |
Exposition-->Inciting Incident-->point of attack--> climax (catharsis)--> rising and falling action--> resolution/denouement. |
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Define exposition: |
info about past events given by the playwright through character conversation (often comes at beginning of play) |
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Inciting Incident: |
sets action into motion
trigger for climactic outcome attached to protagonist may occur outside of text |
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Point of attack: |
1st action taken by the protagonist to achieve their goal
usually late in the story, at heightened part of action |
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climax: |
moment of peak struggle in the central conflict of the play
-derived from Greek word "ladder" |
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rising action vs falling action |
event that intesifies and complicates central plot vs even that temporarily decreases tension
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Resolution is also called what? |
Denouement
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Resolution/Denouement: |
act of bringing all the parts of the play to a final conclusion |
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Narrative: Episodic Structure: |
made up of a series of scenes linked together by character, theme, or place but held apart by their individual plot, purpose, and subtext
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Episodic plot contains which 7 characteristics? |
-characters, places and events proliferate
-spans extensive period of time -covers range of locations -contains variety of characters -parallel plots or subplots occur -juxtaposition and contrast occur -overall effect is cumulative |
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Episodic plot vs climactic plot: |
events layer vs cause and effect
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A Doll's House |
-Henrik Ibsen wrote it in 1879 (he was 50 yrs old)
-written just before women's rights movements began around the world -premiered in Denmark |
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Who was Nora based off of in Ibsen's real life? |
Laura Kieler's husband had tuberculosis, took out a loan, developed depression, and was committed to an asylum
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What happened at the German premier that was different that the original? |
The ending was changed so that Nora stayed with her family.
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What is "Breaking a Butterfly?" |
The English retitled "A Doll's House" where the author completely changed Nora's characterization and called it "repairing" the original.
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What was special about Mabou Mines production of a Doll's House? |
It was set in an actual doll's house where everything fit except Nora.
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Who was the father of naturalism? |
Emile Zota
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What was important about Emile Zota's jobs? |
He was a novelist, playwright, and journalist so he was able to include his view on theatre in the public media
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What is the general idea of Naturalism? |
Aims to present ordinary life as accurately as possible- focused on big picture life
Inquiry into nature, beings, and things |
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Who was the father of Realism? |
Henrik Ibsen, a Norwegian director and playwright
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What is Realism focused on? |
the psychological and social problems of ordinary life- narrowed in on specific problems and OFFERED SOLUTIONS
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What are some commonalities between Naturalism and Realism? |
Setting, language and costume
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Who is the father of Futurism? |
Fillipo Marinetti, italy 1909
(created Futurism in years leading up to the war) |
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Futurist principles: |
-pro-war
-speed/machines -truth in technology -anti-tradition -Nonsensical |
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Futurist Aesthetics:
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-Synthetic
-sintesi -audience participation and provocation -variety -demotion of humans |
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What is a sintesi and what group does it belong to? |
A brief, compressed play that frequently incorporated simultaneous action occurring in different places or times which rarely took more than 5 minutes to perform
-futurism |
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What are the Neo-Futurists? |
Chicago group that does 30 sintesis in 60 minutes
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Who is the father of Dadaism? |
Tristan Tzara- Zurich Switzerland in 1916
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Dadaism principles: |
-pacifists
-there is no truth -mirrored meaninglessness of society -anti-art, anti-tradition -Abolish logic (don't need to understand art) |
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Dada Aesthetics: |
-anarchy in the structure
-simultaneous action -antagonistic relationship with audience -monotony -fragmentation |
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Who was the father of Surrealism? |
Andre Breton came from Dada in 1924
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What inspired Surrealism? |
Freud (father of psychoanalysis) in 1890s attempted to see inner soul
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Surrealism principles: |
-truth is in subconscious
-sought to reveal higher reality |
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Surrealism Aesthetics: |
-automatic writing
-dream-like -shocking imagery and emotions -rejection of traditional forms |
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Expressionism: |
-1920s and 1930s Germany
-gives outward expression to inner feelings -audience sees story through mind of character -audience sees characters inner reality -life is seen through a single set of subjective elements |
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Expressionism principles: |
-counters materialism and industrialism
-truth is within soul, spirit, and vision of individual -displays inner struggle we all experience -loss of identity--> human regeneration |
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Expressionism aesthetics: |
-Nightmarish setting
-loss of identity- you are a role -staccato dialogue -disjointed structure -big, mechanical acting |
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Where did the term Absurdism originate? |
Martin Esslin wrote "Theatre of the Absurd" in 1961
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Who originally created the theory of Absurdism? |
Albert Cummus: playwright and philosopher, wrote "Myth of Sisyphus"
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Arbsurdism philosophy: |
- expressed helplessness and uselessness in a world that seemed to have no purpose
-dealt with the atrocities of war |
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Absurdism Aesthetic: |
-dialogue can be a series of inconsequential cliches; doesn't seem important or significant
-characters will lack motivations found in realistic dramas -absence of plot to reinforce monotony -cyclical nature -used laughter to entertain (farce etc) -audience doesn't wonder what's next but rather what it means |
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What theory is Samuel Beckett associated with? |
Absurdism
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Samuel Beckett: |
(1906-1989)
-irish playwright/poet/novelist/ director -much of adult life spent in france -very VERY firm with how plays were produced/performed |
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Who is the main person connected with Epic Theatre?
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Bertolt Brecht |
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Who developed Epic Theatre? |
Erwin Piscator
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What is the alienation effect? |
the use of techniques designed to distance the audience from emotional involvement
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What is Gestus in Epic theatre/? |
the demonstrable social attitude; the basic disposition through movement, stance, and vocal display
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Dramatic theatre vs Epic theatre |
-spectator shares the experience -spectator involved in something -an experience that provides the spectator with sensations -wears down the capacity for action in the spectator -"I've felt that too!" _"It'll never change" |
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Epic theatre vs Dramatic Theatre |
-spectator stands outside and studies -spectator is made to face something - arouses the capacity for action in the spectator - "I've never thought about that" -"It's got to stop" |
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Episodic Structure: |
-Eyes on the course, not finish
-doesn't move in linear fashion but curves |
