THET 110 Midterm Review Sheet I Why does your generation prefer film to theater A Cost B Accessibility C Visual culture D Advertising E The Graying of the American Audience II Why do we study theater A Universality of theater B Theatrical impulse C Innate mimetic desire in humans D Mimesis imitation III The Definition of Theater A Theater must have 1 Actor 2 Story 3 Audience 4 Liveness a A performs B for C B Communication interaction model 1 Sender message receiver Sender feedback receiver IV 3 Way Theatrical Interaction A Performers audience B Audience performers C Audience audience V Similarities and differences between theater and A Jugglers football film ritual 1 Theater requires action 2 Theater uses actors actor is a performer who impersonates 3 Theater is a hybrid form 4 Theater is collaborative art 5 Theater relies on liveness 6 Theater is ephemeral VI How do audiences negotiate the theater event A Theatrical convention Rules practices or shorthand that the audience agrees to accept B Willing suspension of disbelief Although audiences know the events of a play are not real they agree for the moment not to disbelieve them Theater Etiquette VII A Before 1 Appropriate dress 2 Arrive early 3 Read program B During 1 Avoid noise ex food candy wrappers talking 2 No phones 3 Site lines C After 1 No early departures 2 Standing ovations 3 Three block rule do not talk about the performance until you are three blocks away because you do not know who can hear you VIII How to think critically about performance A The theater production is the 1 Sum of a set of choices 2 Playwright 3 Flashbacks 4 Artistic director CEO Admiral of Navy a Decides what plays a theater does for a season b For profit theaters c Not for profit theaters put on shows to send a message put on a show that people know and will make money budget balance 5 Director Captain of the Ship 6 Directors concept what is the message going to be what do we need to communicate to the audience 7 Designers 8 Actors B Given circumstances information the playwright provides C Imagined circumstances choices the actor can make D What current issues does Death of a Salesman resonate 1 The drive for wealth 2 The economic environment 3 Facebook and social media 4 Great depression recent economic downfall IX Tools of the Playwright A Theme 1 Title 2 An abstract concept which part or all of a play is about B Action and conflict 1 Super objectives objectives and obstacle 2 Action is a series of events 3 Conflict is the soul of drama 4 Drama happens when a character wants something and meets obstacles 1 The world of the play must be understandable and complete with its own logic and C The world of the play rules D Language 1 Reveals information about characters 2 Helps create the world of the play E Styles of Death of a Salesman a Story a full account of an event or series of events usually told in chronological b Plot a selection and arrangement of scenes taken from a story for presentation 1 Realism and expressionism X History of directing A Richard Wagner 1813 1883 B Unified production Gesam Kunstwerk C Master artist XI Director s concept or thematic thrust A Overall image or metaphor for the play B The director s main jobs are Interpretation 1 2 Unification 3 Communication Playwriting and Dramaturgy XII A Playwright making order of chaos 1 Story vs Plot order B Playwrights toolkit 1 Elements of drama a Plot b Character c Thought d Diction e Melody f Spectacle 2 Other tools a People and action b Conflict c Motivation d Stakes e Limited time and space C Dramatic structure 1 Climactic structure Freytag s pyramid a Exposition rising action climax falling action resolution 2 Episodic structure many characters a lot of time passes 3 Combination mix of climactic and episodic 4 Theater of the absurd 5 Ritual ex wedding 6 Serial one theme with different sets of scenes around that 7 Avant garde 8 Musical theater D Contemporary playwrights 1 Collaborative artists 2 Subsidizing stage rights 3 Dealing with rejections 4 Resident playwrights E Dramaturgy 1 Gotthold Ephraim Lessing 1729 1781 Father of dramaturgy 2 Many dramaturgies a Production of dramaturgy b Script reading and selection c Translation and adaptation d New play development e Generate new work 3 Responsibilities of a dramaturg 4 Listen and ask good questions 5 Prepare the script for production 6 Consult with the playwright 7 Research creating the dramaturg s protocol a Presenting research in a variety of forms 8 Attend casting sessions production meetings rehearsals a Give notes the audience before there is an audience 9 Write program notes newsletter articles etc 10 Lead post show discussions F Dramaturg s toolkit 1 Critical and analytical sensibility 2 Knowledge of the dramatic repertory 3 Ability to conduct scholarly research 4 Organization and good note taking 5 Knowledge of decorum and conduct in meetings and rehearsals 6 A collaborative spirit 7 A well developed individual idea of the theater G The natural habitat of Homo Dramaturgis 1 Resident dramaturg or literary director of a theater company 2 Freelance dramaturg 3 Script reader 4 Script consultant 5 Profession of theater history of dramaturgy XIII A Midsummer Night s Dream with Dramaturg Rob Thompson A Concept production B Two cultures coming together Chinese and American 1 Beijing opera roles traditional a Tan roles female roles with hands a lot b Sheng male roles c Chou clown broad and physical 2 Face painting and costumes had code for the color about place in hierarchy 3 Lots of symbolism 4 Gestures very clean and direct gestures give them polish feeling and characteristics to indicate time and place and to cue the orchestra 5 History Beijing 1790 Shakespeare 1600s a Japanese invasions 30s 40s b Communist opera 50s 60s c Return to tradition 80s 6 American side American folk music songs a Some common man being taken advantage of XIV Theater Design A Theater spaces 1 Proscenium stage or picture frame stage a The 4th wall imaginary wall between actors and audience b All of the audience is in front of the stage c Advantage special effects and backgrounds 2 Thrust stage a Or stage b Audience surrounds three sides of the stage c More intimate experience 3 Arena stage or theater in the round a Audience surrounds the whole state 4 Black box B The fly systems a Can have multiple configurations flexible space 1 A pulley system 2 The fly loft fly rails battens poles that sets and lights can hang from a Used to lower things down C
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