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INTRO TO THEATRE, ANALYZING THEATRE, By Eugene O'Neill :pencil2: First…
INTRO TO THEATRE
STRAIGHT PLAYS
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Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play
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ANALYZING THEATRE
THEATRE CRITICISM
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Ben Brantley: A Critic Is a Mirror, Not a Shaper
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Maya Phillips: "Black Bodies, White Writers"
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Plot, Character, Thought/Theme, Diction/Dialogue, Spectacle, Song/Music
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- How to define the action in a play
- a play is a series of actions. action is something that allows something else to happen
- Going forwards is unpredictable possibility. Going backwards shows what is required
- stasis is when all forces balance each other
- a character's desire motivates talking, which motivates action
- exposition - relevant information for the audience to know to understand action
- Forwards - the audience needs dramatic tension to wonder what happens next
- image - use of something the audience knows to tell the audience something they don't know. Expand what is happening or being talked about
- Theme - a concept made concrete by the play's action. A topic in the play
- there are no accidents in the world of the play
- the world of the play may not obey the same rules as ours
- space can be exterior or interior
- time can move linearly, backwards, etc.
- the mood can stay similar the entire time or fluctuate - space may exist outside of the stage
- what theatrical mirrors are there to other productions?
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- August Wilson gave this speech at the Theatre Communications Conference in 1996
- Wilson created a theater for the purpose of black stories. Wrote racial struggles into characters and gave black communities a chance to show stories
- Created a debate of what American theatre is (that is, including white and black stories) and what diversity looks like
- Credibility and intrigue
- Speakability, steageability, flow
- Richness
- depth of characterization
- gravity and pertinence
- compression, economy, intensity
- acting is an inward discipline
- an actor must have a sense of their own identity
- Be observant to connect our own identifications with characters
- Own self identity and self knowledge are the sources to play a character
- Pre-Preparation Period
- Preparation Period
- Implementation
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- Scenic Design - type of stage/theater (ex. proscenium, avant garde)
- Lighting Design - describe emotion or mood, different lighting instruments. Projection and Video Design
- Sound Design - create more dimensions to play, tell environment, place, weather, time, offstage events
- Costume Design - can be used to set time period, tell character differences, comfortable for actors, work in tune with lighting design
- Dramaturg - research play's context and historical accuracies
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- Musicals can have spoken text, some are completely sung-through
- Musical numbers advance the plot
- Choreographed dance numbers progress character develop and exposition
- requires suspension of disbelief that singing and dancing happens randomly; some songs can be diegetic
- Minstrel Shows - performed by white actors in blackface. Mocked enslaved Africans through voice and mannerisms (ex. The Black Crook)
- Vaudeville - grew to popularity after Minstrel Shows. Most of humor were based on ethnic and racial stereotypes, was a French genre and did not require much understanding of English
- Musical Comedy - emphasized comedy, singing, romance, dancing, light hearted plots
- By Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II :pencil2:
first premiered in 1943
- Known as the start of the "Golden Age" of the Broadway Musical
- Very exaggerated acting/ characters
Songs:
- I want song
- List Song
- Overture
- Opening Number
- Act 1 Finisher
- 11 O'Clock Number
- Finale
- Reprises
By Lin Manuel Miranda :pencil2:
first premiered on Broadway in 2008
- a Modern American Musical
- Jukebox Musical - takes already written music and constructs plot around song. Songs are usually sung diegetic by the characters (ex. Mamma Mia!)
- Concept Musical - songs and dances are constructed around a theme or message (ex. Chicago)
- Megamusical - large scale musicals with the intent of making a large profit, large casts, spectacle (Ex. Cats)
- Rock Musical - focus on the different type of music (ex. Hair)
- Adapt animated or live action movies to stage, but not always exact plot and dialogue
- Biggest hit was Lion King (1997)
Critical Perspectives
- Social Significance
- Human Significance
- Artistic Quality
- Relationship to the Theatre Itself
- Entertainment Value
You should act like you are eating a guest's home cooked meal while you are in the theater; don't be rude. Once you get into your car in the parking lot, then you can think about your negative remarks to yourself
Form of theatre that emotionally affects the viewer, asks audience to engage and participate in the production. Actively works towards a solution to an issue
Written and Performed by Anna Deavere Smith :pencil2:
In 2016
- part of social justice initiative "The Anna Deavere Smith Pipeline Project" seeking to extend conversation on discriminating issues through audiences
- Smith portrays multiple people to tell stories from different perspectives through a solo performance (ex. students, mayors, mothers)
Made by Augusto Boal in 1973
- Practicing for a future. Blurs boundary between audience and actor
- Trial and error process to see how society reacts to real life issues
- Boal created "spect-actors", getting the audience to participate
- Image Theater, Invisible Theater, Forum Theater, Legislative Theatre
Idea created by Diana Oh, began in 2014
- A form of queer performance and Performance Art
- Started off as a Time Square pop up performance, grew into a show to initiate a call to arms
- Narrative, movement, environment, voice
- Begins with a story or question, body makes story tangible
- Often experimental
Pina Bausch
- uses repetition and expressionism
- died unexpectedly 2 days before the documentary Pina was released. Dancers convinced Wenders to release it in 2011
Written by Chantal Bilodeau :pencil2:
World Premiere in 2014 as part of the Catalyst Collaborative at MIT
- Science in Theatre - shows about how scientists construct knowledge. See how performers and audience can understand science
- This is an ecodramaturgy, focusing on how theatre must change in order to address human and non-human problems
Performed by Coco Fusco and Guillermo Gómez-Peña in 1992-1993
- A form of "Freak Show" theatre - exhibiting people with supposed physical anomalies (popularly known with P.T. Barnum's Circus)
- Wanted to perform for a white audience to see reactions - performed all over world in museums, parks in NYC, Washington DC, London, Madrid, etc.
- many people thought the performance was of "real" indigenous people
A form of theatre and performance that mixes different cultural aesthetics, styles, theatrical presentationsNon-Western Theatre:
- Yoruba Masque Theatre
- Kathakali
- Noh
- Kabuki
- Beijing Opera
- Wayang Puppet Theatre
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Based on O'Neill's life with his immediate family, this play shows a broken family living in Connecticut
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