THAR 281 1st Edition Lecture 12Outline of Last Lecture I. DirectorsII. Background: 19th CenturyIII. Popular EntertainmentOutline of Current LectureIV. Romanticism, Melodrama, and the Well-Made PlayV. Acting Styles of the 19th CenturyVI. Development of the Modern DirectorCurrent LectureI. Romanticism, Melodrama, and the Well-Made Play-Romanticism• Rejected neoclassical (basically, all) rules: “Genius creates his own rules.”• Revered Shakespeare, focused on mood, atmosphere-Melodrama• Music or song drama• Heroes & villains strongly delineated• Suspenseful plot, nostalgia (“Aw, just like back at home”)• Pure escapism - people had hard-working jobs and wanted to come to the theatre to escape it all, characters were very 2-D & easy to know if they’re good or bad-Well-Made Play Structure (movement, not category like Romanticism/Melodrama)• Use of exposition and foreshadowing• Secrets known to the audience• “Obligatory Scene” or showdown (the scene that the audience knows is going to happen)• No loose ends, not left hanging-All of these categories are overlapping, there wasn’t a distinct change from Romanticism to MelodramaII. Acting Styles of the 19th Century-Classical: carefully planned and crafted-Romantic: relied on inspirations in the moment-Melodramatic/Comic: portrayed stereotypes-Acting is starting to become more natural and less formulaic-Touring companies exist now and stars are becoming internationally knownThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.• which ended up killing local theatresIII. Development of the Modern Director-Emergence of the director as a separate creative figure-Richard Wagner (1813 - 1883)• gesamtkunstwerk: “total theatre”, his obsession• opera was the highest form-Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen (1826 - 1914)• famous for historically accurate costumes• wanted every tiny detail accurate, would rehearse full plays in full costume every time• very good with crowds• toured
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