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74 Cards in this Set
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German Romanticism
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Late 18th century and early 19th century
New regard for folk culture Shakespeare gains popularity Emotion Religion (spirituality) Nature (secret of nature, ruining it in process) Individualism |
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People of German Romanticism
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Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805) - Wallenstein's Camp, The Piccolominis, Wallenstein's Death (1796-1799)
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) - Faust (1808) |
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English Romanticism
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Of the English Romanticism we remember chiefly the poetry and the novels.
Consider Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1798) and Mary Shelley's (1797-1851) Frankenstein (1817) |
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After the French Revolution Romanticism
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Victor Hugo (1802-1885) argues that it was important to show both the sublime and grotesque. Sublime = our spiritual qualities, grotesque = our animal nature
1830 - Hugo's Hernani incites a 45 day riot. Altered the accepted verse (Alexandrine) Used words which were considered unacceptable Broke the unities Showed violence on stage Mixed humor with seriousness |
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Novels from after French Revolution Romanticism
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Hugo - The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1834), Les Miserable (1862)
Alexandre Dumas, pere (1802-1870) - The Three Musketeers (1828), The Count of Monte Cristo (1845), The Man in the Iron Mask (1846) Alexandre Dumas, fils (1824 -1895) stages La dame aux Camilias (Camille) in 1852 |
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Melodrama
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"I can't pay the rent!"
"You must pay the rent!" |
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August Friedrich von Kotzebue (1761-1819) (melodrama)
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1st internationally famous playwright in any language
Plays hold stage through 19th century Earliest melodrama writer; adapts any subject matter for mass public |
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Rene Charles Guilbert de Pixerecourt (1773-1844) (melodrama)
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With German Kotzebue, most popular international playwrights
Over 120 plays, including Victor, or The Child of the Forest (1798) Directs own plays, largely because their effect is dependent on spectacle |
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What we have come to understand as melodrama
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Clear delineations of good vs. evil
� Poetic justice (the good guy always wins) � Happy endings � Appeals to the emotions � Contrivances drive the plot (mistaken identity, intercepted letters) � musical accompaniment � Great spectacle � Local color |
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Some writers (melodrama)
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Dion Boucicault, Sr. (c. 1820-90) - The Octoroon (1859)
Augustin Daly, (1838-99) - Under the Gaslight (1867) - Known for the famous tied to the railroad tracks scene which Boucicault borrowed for After Dark (1968). Daly successfully sued Boucicault. |
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Richard Wagner - (1813-1883)
The beginnings of nonrealism. |
Opera composer, director.
� despised Melodrama because he thought the music was a trivial part of the performance. � wanted a 'synthetic art' meaning he wanted to synthesize music, drama, and dance. � developed the Bayreuth Opera House to create his total theatre � wanted to reclaim a mythology of the German volk as the subject of his operas Accomplishes this with Tristan and Isolde (1865) and his most ambitious work, The Ring (1848 - 1874), a series of operas which took 26 years to complete. His ideas of gesamtkunstwerk and the use of mythic archetypes had a profound influence on the later avant-garde. |
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Years to consider
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1830's - Darwin journeys on the HMS Beagle.
1848 - Darwin published the Origin of Species 1848 - Karl Marx publishes the Communist Manifesto 1870 - Karl Marx publishes Das Kapital 1879 - The incandescant lamp is invented 1881 - Electric lighting is used in the Savoy Theatre, London 1900 - Sigmund Freud publishes The Interpretation of Dreams |
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Saxe-Meiningen Court Theatre - 1866
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Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, Georg II (1826-1914)
centralized artistic vision rehearsals - hours a day for up to six months ensemble acting use of crowd scenes and stage business historically accurate sets and costumes 1874 - they perform in Berlin |
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Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906)
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No soliloquies, asides, or supernatural characters
Everything was psychologically based and logically motivated Ibsen's stage directions detail how a character appears and what they do and reveal important things about the character. Plays dealt with pressing social issues A Doll's House (1879), Hedda Gabler (1890), The Master Builder (1892) |
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Theatre Libre - 1887 (The Independent Theatre Movement)
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founded by Andr� Antoine
open only to members to escape censorship Emile Zola (1840-1902) thought that theatre artists should use the scientific method to observe reality, compared artist to a doctor "slice of life" The Butchers (1888) - real carcasses of beef on stage, "fourth wall" observed completely with furniture arranged like it was a real room, actors would even turn their backs on the audience |
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The Freie Buhne - 1889, inspired by both the Saxe-Meiningen and the Theatre Libre (independent theatre movement)
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ounded by Otto Brahm (1856-1912)
no set ideology, just a place for writers to escape censorship Gerhart Hauptmann (1862-1946) wrote The Weavers (1892) about workers attempting to revolt against an evil overseer Although this theatre didn't have great influence in its time, it inspired other companies |
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The Moscow Art Theatre -1898
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Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) wrote The Sea Gull (1896) flopped at a different theatre because actors couldn't make sense of the play.
Constantin Stanislavsky (1863-1938) convinced Chekhov to allow the MAT to do it Chekhov's plays depict a displaced class of landowners. They are bored and wish to improve their lives, but can't seem to do that The Three Sisters (1901) - the three sisters wish to go to Moscow. The keep saying that they will. They never do. The end |
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Constantin Stanislavsky
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realism through acting
the actor must imagine him or herself in the place of the character the actor must concentrate on the moment the actor must observe life Idea of a psychological character |
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Some acting history
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Apprentice - in England boys played minor characters and women until they were old enough to have larger roles
Lines of business - once trained an actor would stay in the same type of role his entire life. By late 18th century there were four ranks Players of leading roles � Players of secondary roles � Players of third-line parts "walking ladies" or "walking gentlemen" � General utility |
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David Garrick (18th century English actor)
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Trained actors
Instituted rehearsals Called for more "realistic" style of acting |
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Charles Macklin
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revolutionized the role of Shylock by attempting a realistic portrayal
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Saxe-Meiningen Players
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Instituted in 1866 by Georg II
Long rehearsal periods 5 or 6 hours for sometimes months Actors no longer responsible for design elements |
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Stanislavsky Revolutionizes Acting
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The actor must imagine him or herself in the place of the character ("magic if")
The actor must concentrate on the moment. The actor must observe life. The actor must train and study. |
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Modernism
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there is a single, universal truth
humans can accomplish anything and science is infallible you can reach the truth through art people need to be shocked out of their apathy (modernist avant garde) |
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The Modernist Avant-Garde
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symbolists
futurists dadaists expressionists surrealists |
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Symbolists
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first of the non-realistic movements)
1893 Theatre de l'Oeuvre founded by Aurelien-Marie Lugne Poe (1869-1904) |
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Inspired by (symbolists)
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Edgar Allan Poe
Henrik Ibsen Romantic poets The Iliad The Bible Believed in getting to deeper meaning under the words through mythology and spirituality |
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Alfred Jarry (1873-1907)
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Ubu Roi - staged in 1896 by Lugne-Poe
A vulgar and disgusting parody of classical tragedy (mostly Macbeth) A man kills the king and his family so that he can become king First word causes a riot |
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Futurists (1910 Italy)
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Filippo Marinetti (1876-1944)
Belief in technology, speed, and machinery Associated with Italian fascist ideology Incited rioting in Trieste by burning Austrian flag (pro-war) Art of Noise - use words and noises that sound like machinery and artillery Movement - gesticulate geometrically |
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Dada-1916-1920, Zurich
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Cabaret Voltaire , Tristan Tzara (1896-1963), Hugo Ball (1886-1927),
and Emmy Hennings (1885-1948) Sound poems Trying to convey the nonsense of current events simultaneity and indeterminacy |
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Expressionists 1910-1920, Germany
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Ernst Toller (1893-1939) - Transfiguration (1918), and Man and Masses (1921)
Sophie Treadwell (1885-1970) - Machinal (1928) Distorted line, exaggerated shape, abnormal coloring (nightmarish) Universal character types Set looks like world as seen through the eyes of the protagonist Usually attacks war, industrialization, and prisons and suggests a utopian future |
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Surrealists 1920-1930 France
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"to express . . . the true functioning of thought," "the omnipotence of the dream. . ."
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Antonin Artaud (1896-1948)
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Meningitis as a child
syphilis as a young adult addicted to opium and laudinum Theatre and Its Double (1938) Jet of Blood (1925) Primitivism - looked to primitive cultures for truth "Theatre of Cruelty" to disrupt logic and help audience find the truth in their sub-conscious minds |
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Epic Theatre
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Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956)
Epic Theatre - Believed in a theatre that would awaken people to reality. Verfremdungseffekt - alienation effect. To make the spectators aware of the fact that they are watching a play: 1. The use of projections and other mechanical devices visible to the audience. 2. Using songs and narrative passages. 3. Having characters refer to themselves in the 3rd person. The Three-penny Opera (1928) - Cabaret-style political satire. Based on John Gay's The Beggar's Opera (1728). Mother Courage and her Children (1939) Galileo (1939) - what happens when people don't stick up for their principles. Later revised in 1949-51 after the bombing of Hiroshima. |
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absurdism
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Absurdism is a label invented by scholar Martin Esslin. It is important to note that none of these people saw themselves as part of a movement.
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Eugene Ionesco (1912-1994)
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Rebellion against conventional drama.
The Bald Soprano (1949) - mostly exercises in nonsense. A parody on language and cliche. The Chairs (1952) - Futility of conveying a message. |
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Jean Genet (1910-1986)
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The Maids (1948)
The Balcony (1957) reenactment and memory, "playing" at gender and race, deviants as important part of society |
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Samuel Beckett
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Born in Ireland, moved to Paris.
Friends with James Joyce, and initially a writer of Irish poetry. In Paris, he met Ionesco and others, and began writing in French. Waiting for Godot (1950) - a play about nothing. Two men wait and wait and wait. Staged in 1953 to great acclaim. Act Without Words (1956) and Play (1963) |
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Radical Theatre in The United States (1920s-1950s)
Federal Theatre Project |
part of the WPA
Hallie Flanagan (1890-1969) - Vassar English professor who became director of the FTP in 1935. |
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FTP Units
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Living Newspaper Units
Negro Units - Voodoo Macbeth, directed by Orson Welles Children's Theatre Units - Revolt of the Beavers Welles was set to do Marc Blitzstein's Cradle Will Rock (1937) when funding cuts and a steel strike caused the opening to be cancelled. The company performed it anyway. |
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The Closing of the FTP
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Martin Dies chaired the House Un-American Activities Committee (created in 1938) which cut FTP funding in 1939.
The committee called the theatre workers communists. They called Marlowe and Euripides communists as well. |
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Radical Playwrights
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Clifford Odets (1906-1963) - Waiting for Lefty (1935)
Produced at the Group Theatre founded by Odets, Elia Kazan, Stella Adler, Cheryl Crawford, Harold Clurman, and Lee Strasburg, based on the ideas of Stanislavsky. Lillian Hellman (1905-1984) Born in New Orleans, known for political plays. The Children's Hour (1934) - based on a 19th century case at a boarding school in Scotland. A rumor that two teachers are lesbians ruins their lives. Arthur Miller (1915- ) The Crucible (1953) - Set in Puritan New England, some young girls accuse good citizens of witchcraft and inspire fear, suspicion, and prejudice in the community. |
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HUAC and the blacklist
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Joseph McCarthy (1908-1957) (note: Wisconsin apologizes for him, and for Gein and for Dahmer). McCarthy leads the hearings from 1951-1954.
Note: Elia Kazan is the director who named names. |
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Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)
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Formed in 1960
Motivated by Civil Rights Movement and later by the Vietnam War Became increasingly militant and aligned itself with the Vietcong National Liberation Front 1968 - the group staged one of the most confrontational sit-ins at Columbia University 1969 - splinter groups formed such as the guerilla group The Weathermen |
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Vietnam War
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1961 - Kennedy sent advisors and military personnel to Vietnam
1964 - Johnson sent troops to Vietnam 1968 - Tet Offensive and My Lai Massacre 1969 - Nixon ordered the secret bombing of Cambodia, march on Washington The war cost the lives of nearly 60,000 U.S. military personnel and millions of Vietnamese. 1975 - Saigon falls to the Vietcong |
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Civil Rights, etc.
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1964 - Civil Rights Act
1965 - Watts Riot, raised the awareness of living conditions in the inner-city Black Panther Party 1966 - Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale Advocated self-defense against police brutality, provided free clinics and food to needy children in the Oakland area. 1967 - the Panthers marched into the California legislature to protest gun control Newton was shot and arrested. He was charged with killing a white Oakland officer 1969 - 21 Panthers were arrested and charged with conspiracy, Fred Hampton was murdered in his sleep by Chicago police. |
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The Living Theatre (1948-)
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Founded by Julian Beck (1925-1985) and Judith Molina (1926- )
The Brig (1963) Political theatre until they were closed for not paying taxes. Moved to France. Continue to make collective pieces based on an idea that we are a tribe. Ideas based both on Artaud and Brecht. Idea of "Happenings," theatre that is created which can't be commodified or captured. Frankenstein (1965) and Paradise Now (1968-70) In Paradise Now - members of the audience were encouraged to come up and take off their clothes, burn their draft cards, and smoke marijuana. |
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The Open Theatre
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Living Theater member Joseph Chaikin (1935-2003) began the Open Theater in 1963.
More concerned with artistic expression, and not as interested in political activism. Interested in developing ways to help train actors to perform non-realism - "sound and movement" acting. Viet Rock (1966) - by Megan Terry (1932- ), possible prototype for Hair! The Serpent (1969) - by Jean-Claude van Itallie (1936- ) |
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Jerzy Grotowski (1933-1999)
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wrote Towards a Poor Theatre
Founded the Polish Laboratory Theatre in 1959 Sought to eliminate the trappings of theatre (set, costumes, lights) so that there would be a direct relationship between the actors and the audience. Akropolis (1962) about Auschwitz Perform The Constant Prince (adapted in 1965) in Greenwich Village in 1968 |
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The Bread and Puppet Theatre (1963-)
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Peter Schumann (1935- ), a German sculptor and choreographer opened the group in New York, but after 1970 moved the group to rural Vermont.
Larger than life puppets performing plays that deal with a variety of social and political issues: the Vietnam War, tenant rights, Puerto Rican independence,150th anniversary of "The Communist Manifesto" and a regular Domestic Resurrection Circus |
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The San Francisco Mime Troupe (1959-)
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not silent mime, but commedia dell'arte
Founded by R.G. Davis 1960s - Continually denied park permits and even arrested by city police for obscenity. Mind you, the troupe is only performing commedia pieces and works by Moliere. Group quickly takes up social and political issues such as political corruption, racism, immigration, gay rights, and globalization. 1966 - Search and Seizure performed as a cabaret about police harassment 1989 - won an obie for Seeing Double about Israel and Palastine You can still see them in the park for free in SF in the summer. |
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Culture, Ethnicity, and the Theatre
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� Questions of moving from the margins to the center
� Retaining ethnic uniqueness vs. assimilating � Dealing with racial stereotypes vs. identity � Rewriting lost history |
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David Henry Hwang (Asian American Theatre)
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M. Butterfly (1988) - a French diplomat is involved with a Chinese opera performer, believing he is a woman.
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Ping Chong
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grew up in Chinatown in New York City
Kind Ness - elementary school students explore their ethnic identities, and the ideas of differences and heritage. |
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Spiderwoman (Native American Theatre)
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Winnetou's Snake Oil Show from Wigwam City - explores the idea that all native peoples are alike, and the ethnic stereotypes that white people believe and native people perpetuate.
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Luis Valdez (Latino Theatre)
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� Grew up in California as a migrant farm worker.
� Worked with the San Francisco Mime Troupe. � Joined United Farm Workers in 1965 was involved in the strike. � Began El Teatro Campesino to entertain workers. � Zoot Suit (1976) - based on Sleepy Lagoon murder case, a "pachuco" gang leader is framed for a murder in the 40s as police attempt to shut down the vibrant Mexican-American culture in Los Angeles. � La Bamba. |
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Guillermo Gomez Pena
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� Mexican-born performance artist.
� 1991 received a MacArthur Fellowship - "genius grant." � 1992 - deconstruction of the "discovery" of the Americas � Gringostroika - the "evil empire" is the U.S. in relation to Mexico. � "Border Art" or "reverse anthropology" |
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Defining Feminism
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Sue-Ellen Case - Feminism and Theatre (1988)
Jill Dolan - The Feminist Spectator as Critic (1991) |
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Liberal Feminism
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Liberal - the idea that women are as capable as men and should be allowed to succeed in all the areas in which men succeed.
ERA Canon formation Discovering lost women's history |
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LIberal Feminists
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Beth Henley - Pulitzer Prize for Crimes of the Heart (1980)
Marsha Norman - Pulitzer Prize for 'Night Mother (1983) "kitchen-sink" realism |
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'Night Mother
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"kitchen-sink" realism
� compared to Arthur Miller and Death of a Salesman � debate over whether it could enter the canon or not - universal experience? |
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Wendy Wasserstein
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Pulitzer Prize for The Heidi Chronicles (1989)
What does this play say about the feminist movement? |
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Radical Feminism
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Radical - In the 1960s and 70s, radical feminists wanted to do away with gender categories altogether. Androgyny was the ideal.
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Cultural Feminism
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Evolved from Radical Feminism
the idea that men and women are culturally different � women are superior (reproduction, intuition, spiritual connection) � women close to nature, men removed and violent � male art forms are also inferior (like classical music) Consciousness-raising groups ritual separatism |
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At the Foot of the Mountain
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non-linear plays
� written collectively � avoid narrative authority (perceived as white, middle-class, male, and heterosexual) |
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Ashes, Ashes
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ritual that connects the impending nuclear holocaust with the male tendency toward destruction of living things, invites the audience into grief ritual where they envision saying goodbye to a loved one as the bomb drops.
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The Story of a Mother II (1987)
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performance ritual where performers recite their matrilineage and celebrate the strengths of their female ancestors.
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Contradictions
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� Privileges mother/daughter relationship as a common experience among all women while simultaneously critiquing the family model.
� Collapses differences between women while simultaneously trying to subvert white, straight male oppression. |
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Materialist Feminism
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the idea that gender and sexuality are culturally constructed categories which have material (money/power) consequences.
Performance strategies based on Brecht's idea of showing how representation naturalizes certain subject positions. |
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Maria Irene Fornes
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The Conduct of Life (1985) - A man abuses his wife and the girl he has kidnapped to be his servant/mistress. He is also in charge of torturing prisoners where he works. The wife shoots him to free herself, but puts the gun in the girl's hand. Shows a myriad of power relationships along both gender and class lines.
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Mud (1983)
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Mae is trapped by poverty with two men who use her. One man, Henry, is teaching her to read, but is crippled by an accident. When Mae makes the decision to leave, the other man kills her. Shows how poverty and illiteracy work along to male superiority, putting women in their place
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Split Britches
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Peggy Shaw, Lois Weaver
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Little Women the Tragedy (1987)
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Louisa May Alcott is trapped along with the characters she created by the historical record. The actors simultaneously occupy positions of Meg, Jo, and Amy/ the Preacher, the Whore, and Louisa / and the three actors themselves. Performed with Deb Margolin.
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Lust and Comfort (1999)
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Peggy and Lois act out several scenes from film noir. An American writer (Peggy) has come to Europe and interacts with his 'man,' or valet (Lois). Eventually Lois doffs the male attire for a dress and acts the part of the femme fatale. Through the vignettes, the two try to define and redefine their 20-year relationship acting out codependence and the search for independence. Gender and sexuality shift continuously.
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