THET110 Intro To Theater Why do we go to movies more often than the theater 02 07 2012 Cost Accessibility Visual Advertisement o PROBLEM The Greying of the American Audience leading to theaters trying to be edgier Why do we study theater Universality of theater Mimesis imitation Innate mimetic desire in humans The definition of theater Theater must have o 1 An actor o 2 A story text o 3 An audience o liveliness 1 performs 2 for 3 Communication Interaction Model Message sender receiver feedback 3 Way Theatrical Interaction o performers audience o audience performers o audience audience theater is ephemeral lasting only temporarily How audiences negotiate theater Theatrical Convention Willing suspension of disbelief to not disbelieve them Aesthetic Distance o Rules practices or shorthand that audiences agree to accept o Although audiences know the events of a play are not real they agree for the moment o Audiences remember that events on stage are not real so they do not intervene THET110 Theatre Etiquette 02 07 2012 BEFORE DURING Appropriate dress Arrive early Read program Avoid noise Site lines No food or wrappers No talking or singing No phones AFTER No early departures Standing ovations only when necessary The Three Block Rule don t talk about the performance until you are far away How to think critically about a play The theater production is the sum of a set of choices o Playwright o Artistic director o Director o Designers o Actors Director s Concept how the director visualizes individual productions Director cannot change script of a play but can change stage directions As an audience member ask yourself o What choices were made by the people involved How and when do they work o What was attempted Was it accomplished Is it valuable THET110 Directing 02 07 2012 History of Directing Richard Wagner 1813 1883 o Wrote operas German o Unified production Gesam Kunstwerk German o Called a Master Artist Prior to Wagner before 19th cent it is most likely that actors used to direct themselves Directors Concept Thematic Thrust Overall image or metaphor for the play The directors main jobs are o Interpretation o Unification o Communication GUEST LECTURER SCOT REESE director What made you decide to work as an actor director Music major and theater minor from Illinois Went to UCLA o Did soap operas in LA Moved to NY o Did Broadway o Daytime on The Today Show won an Emmy Award Moved to Chicago to direct Moved to Maryland for the great theater scene What do you see as the job of a director Interpreter read and analyze play to interpret it for performance Unification collaboration to have a unified theme concept Communicator communicate with the audience What is the process a director goes through Hired by an artistic director o Has to be interviewed about his her vision of the play Gets a timeline for the meetings with the theater o 3 6 months before play research about play bio of playwright books movies articles etc o Read the play as many times as necessary o Present researched information to the designers break for 2 weeks for designers to do research o Designers present research o Find actors Casting Calls invited auditions and open auditions Call backs Understudy shadows specific part incase actor cannot perform o 4 weeks to put on the show Rehearse in open space not on real stage 2 weeks in designers come in 3rd week run throughs 4th week move into theater rehearse 3 4 days on stage tech rehearsal dress rehearsal invited dress rehearsal Preview is open to public Invited dress rehearsal must be invited Show opens Stage manager directs show after opening night THET110 Playwright 02 07 2012 Didactic playwright teaches has lesson within play ex Arthur Miller Where do you start Image Character Location Story Just a line Action and Conflict Theme The World of the Play Action series of events Drama only occurs when a character wants something objectives but meets obstacles that he must overcome tactics An abstract concept which part or all of a play is about The world of the play must be understandable and complete with its own rules and logic Character Revealed through o Through how a character interacts with others o Through a characters actions o Through what others say and do in relation to the character Language Reveals info about characters Helps create a world of play Plot and Structure Plot vs Story o Plot is the ordering of events incidents in the play o Story is the play as a whole Three major plot types o Climatic linear cause and effect based o Episodic doesn t have to happen in a specific order no cause or effect o Cyclical begins and ends in the same way Translation Every translation is also an adaptation Problems with translation meaning tone poetry etc DEATH OF A SALESMAN Dustin Hoffman version vs Lee J Cobb version 1 What are specific differences between the productions Dustin Hoffman is much smaller than his sons making him look weaker and more vulnerable while Cobb is about the same size as his sons Scenery in Hoffman version is very bland and grey Cobb version looks more real with painted walls and props to look like a real home Hoffman was much more aggressive and seemed to slur more Cobb looked like he was loosing it by his outfit confused messy but seemed more calm at certain points 2 How do these productions feel different Hoffman version is much more intense and aggressive and physical Cobb version is calmer yet seems more realistic 3 Which version is more effective Is actually a personal preference but o Hoffman version has a more modern father son relationship with Biff and Willy yelling at each other o Mothers interaction in Cobb version is believable cries and tried to step in DRAMATURGY Dramaturge works on new plays or established plays to help create a communication between the play the playwright and the audience o Established Research Ask questions Defend text Program Notes and Lobby Display Pre or post show discussions o New Plays Helps playwright refine script Direct staged readings Pre or post show discussions Acting Guest Lecturer Adam Schaffer 02 07 2012 How he got into acting Took high school theater Studied it in college Moved to NY after undergrad o Worked at bookstore called the Drama Book Store o Realized acting is about studying people acting is physical sympathy and is the study of people Questions to Ponder What is acting o Impersonation of a character What makes good acting and bad acting o Good acting actor needs to suspend their disbelief
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