(Start Unit 1) Introduction to Theatre and Theatre HistoryWednesday, December 25, 20138:30 AMWeek of Feb 24: "Riders to the Sea" and "Trifles" are now SUGGESTED readings.Quiz 6 will open Sat. April 19 at noon.Quiz 3 is on Tues. Feb 25, not Wednesday. What is theatre?-Performance with the intent of telling a story or to teach a lesson.-Aspects you need: audience, stage, actors, crew, money, sponsors, script. -Eric Bentley's definition: A performs B for C in X <---- (Oscar Brockett addition)oA= at least one person (actor or performer)oB= performance content (thing that they are doing, in theatre we expect it to be some kind of story, usually scripted, with character(s))oC= audienceoX= location-What elements of theatre does this leave out?oSpecific time that audience and performers come togetheroVisual aspect such as design, costumes, sets, lighting, props (not necessarily needed, but are still a very important part of theatre)-What activities or events that we wouldn't normally consider theatre might fit this definition?oA lecturer teaching a class. Skill: Script Analysis-BasicsoPay attention to character listoRead all stage directions (tell you what people are doing, things that are not said)oImagine it being staged (written to be performed, not written to be read)oWhat are the major themes and ideas? How can you tell?-Analyze your emotional reactionoWhich characters (if any) do you feel sympathetic to? Which do you dislike? How do the choices made by the playwright affect this?oIs it easy to read? Confusing? Different or similar to things you're familiar with? How?oDoes the playwright seem to have different values or assumptions than you do? How do your personal beliefs, experiences, and interests shape your reading of the play? ***Quizzed on specific plot points and specific things that happen in the script*** Some basic reception theory terms:-Reception: how the audience receives something, comes to an understanding based on this interpretation-Preferred reading/ reader: the most straightforward reading, best guess at the author's intentions, "reader" is the person who the plays seems to be written for, someone who would agree with whatever the author's views are-Resistant or oppositional reading/reader: don't engage with the values of the piece, reader doesnot share the same assumptions Skill: Performance Analysis-Identify what you see/hear:oColor, movement, sound, words, expressions, etc.oKeep this at the most literal level.-Explore what it means:oWhat does each individual element add to the whole piece? Theatre History-What plays have been performed?oOld or new? Comedy or tragedy?-Where and how have they been performed?oSpectacle or minimal design? Urban or rural? How are they financed?-Who has been performing?oProfessional or amateur? What kind of training? Who works behind the scenes?-Who has been in the audience?oIs limited by gender, class, race, etc.? How are these norms enforced?-How are the plays related to the things that have happened at the same time?oPrevious art? Strengthen or challenge the status quo? Directly comment on events or provide escape?Also keep in mind…-We will be making a lot of generalizations and simplifications. Pay attention to moments where they don't hold up.Shakespeare in ProductionFriday, January 17, 20149:09 AM-What are the goals/concerns of those who have produced Shakespeare in different eras?-How have the choices they made in production served those goals? Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries:Theatre as a Moral Force -There is a lot of freedom to adapt the plays in order to emphasize a message.-Nahum Tate's adaptation of King Lear, 1681 (performed regularly until at least 1838)oSome rewrote the tragic ending for this script by keeping some of the good characters alive and added in a love story.oChanged the play to convey a more moral message.-There is not a whole lot of attention paid to costume and design.oActors reuse costumes.oDesigns and backdrops are very generic. Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries:Theatre as Emotion and Spectacle -A lot more emphasis on design.oMore money put into costumes and sets.-When theatre became a very commercial enterprise.oWanting to draw audiences in for entertainment.-Actors who were more dramatic in their monologues.oIdeal form of acting was seen as being big, dramatic, and emotional.-Not really the presence of a director, but instead an "actor manager."oResponsible for financial decisions and hiring other actors.oNot necessarily "guiding" the production, more for directing and solving conflicts. Early-mid Twentieth Century:Theatre as a Psychological Window -Rise in psychology of a disciplineoPeople start to ask "why?"oMost important thing for the actor is what is going on inside the character's head, wantingto fully understand them from the inside.-Rise of the role of the directoroActors needed to be guided, asking more of them emotionally rather than just physically.-More realistic delivery and portrayaloMuch more subdued and subtle, attempt to recreate reality.oLess dramatic and grandiose and emotional. Late-Twentieth and Twenty-First CenturiesTheatre and the search for something new -Much more freedom allowedoPeople are allowed to experiment with things that may even be strange.oEmphasis on new ideas.oPeople are going to the theatre less, so in order to attract audiences, directors want to givethem something they already know, but in a different way.-Production option: New SettingoTrying to find a way to make a script new and exciting as well as humanizing a conflict.-Production option: New Approach to the Text-Production option: Non-traditional CastingoGender, age, raceoIn most Shakespeare plays, most actors were white males.oDeliberate changing of "ideal" or "expected" actors to make point or send a message.French Neoclassical TragedyWednesday, January 22, 20149:00 AMPolitical Background-King Louis XIII (1601-1643)oReigns 1610-1643-Cardinal Richelieu (1585-1642)oBecomes chief minister 1624oPolitical figure, advisor to the king-Academie FrancaiseoOfficially established 1635o40 membersoTrying to maintain purity of French language, control art and the way it's done-Efforts to make the king the center of France, people owe loyalty to the king Rules-Bienseance: Decorum, appropriate behavioroAppearance of goodnessoCharacters be morally noble, heroes should not diverge from "proper" behavioroCharacters who behave badly usually