BASICS Film vs Theatre Advertising Visual special effects Cost cheaper to go to a movie Perfectionism Accessibility Why don t we go to theatre often Expensive Not convenient must plan in advance and theaters may not be close by Requires more concentration than movies Movies turn over more quickly than plays Actor recognition Film is more talked about than theatre is graying of the american audience Why do we study theatre knowing a movie star vs A theatre star Historically relevant one of the oldest art forms Part of cultural literacy Universal all cultures have theatre Theatrical impulse innate mimetic desire in humans Language of theatre helps us to understand how we organize life Theatre must haves must be definition theatre audiences are getting older and aren t being replaced A performer actor An audience A text not always written following an action Liveness Theatre is Ephemeral meaning that theatre is fleeting and short lived so you can never recapture a show from the past makes theatre very difficult to study Aesthetic about vanity Requires action Requires space Is a hybrid form mixture of elements Communication Interaction Model Sender message receiver Receiver feedback sender Theatrical Convenctions Rules shorthands that the audience agrees to accept Ex Men playing female roles Ex When curtain goes down and hen up to show darkness night time Willing Suspension of Disbelief that we re in the theatre not to disbelieve them Aesthetic Distance remember that events on stage aren t real so don t intervene although we know the events of the play are not real we agree for the time PLAYWRITING DRAMATURGY Theatrical performance is the sum of a set of choices made by Producer or artistic director Choices to make on subject history biography autobiography current events abstract inspiration exist He she creates the blueprint for a production based on decisions made for the setting characters dia ing source material logue actions themes and textures How to Read a Play Playwright Director Designers Actors 2 step process identify evaluate as audience members Play vs Production You see read a play A production is an entire show everyone involved what you see Play vs Playwright Play is the text Playwright is the person author creator of the play Start with title understand what its going to be about Cast of characters personalities the order will set the level of importance Stage directions everything that isn t dialogue Given circumstances facts about the world of the play that are given Themes Plot The order of incidents in the play composed by actions Linear Climatic Plot cause and effect Ex Death of a Salesman Episodic Plot what happens in one episode doesn t affect another Ex Family guy Cyclical Plot Story begin and end int he same place Sets the scene and is what actually happened what happened beforehand Point of Attack Climax point of the greatest dramatic tension point in the story where the playwright begins the plot Ex In Death of a Salesman fight between Willy and Biff Denouncement Types of Characters falling action or resolution desires to sustain the dramatic action Willy creates complications for the protagonist Willy Society Biff speaks for the author other than protagonist Biff contrast to another character Charley common and predictable types that reappear Protagonist Antagonist Raisonneur Foil Stock Characters Dramaturgy Dramaturg good at analyzing plays interested in context and conversation Literary manager Production Dramaturg Full time position maintains script library for theatre helps with the season selection Hired for one play does research on playwrights context visual images etc communicates with production team directors actors designers marketing communicates with audience lobby dis play program notes pre and post show talks New Play Dramaturg Adaptation vs Translation Works with playwrights asks questions helps develop Adaptation is when a story is turned into a play production Challenges written stories have descriptions using dialogue and settings hard to get thoughts on stage play setting needs to be clear size of cast references to specific places Translation is a form of adaptation Plays are translated into different forms such as from old english Theatre Etiquette Dress business casual Arrive early Read program No noise candy wrappers talking phones No early departures Standing ovation up to you Production Manager Cary Gilett Sees show from beginning to end Makes sure that everyone is collaborating Leads negotiations Stage Manager Responsible to record blocking anything an actor does on stage Runs rehearsals calls the show make sure it follows how the director intended it to be Responsible for just as much communication but on a smaller scale Collaborates primarily with the director Different stage manager for every show Takes information that designers give them and regurgitate the information for every performance ex To light ing Sits in booth and has 2 assistants that run things backstage Hired by production manager Types of Theatre Spaces picture frame stage 3 4 stage audience on 3 sides shakespeare theatre Proscenium Thrust Arena In the Round Alley Theatre Lingo audience on all 4 sides challenging w scenery lighting etc audience on 2 sides all in the middle mostly in asia Fourth Wall imaginary space that separates the audience from the actors Black Box Theatre box shaped theatre flexible Downstage toward audience Upstage away from audience Stage left actors left Stage right actors right House left audience s left House right audience s right House where audience sits Wings backstage used for entrance storage crews Flies pulley system to bring things in and out Traps spaces underneath stage Rake stage on an angle Green Room actors lounge Superstitions ghost light pole with light that is constant when no one is in theatre and macbeth not sup posed to say it in the theatre considered bad luck developed an acting system that was designed to make acting seem like real life Acting Konstantin Stanislavski Actor s Choices Given circumstances information given early or later Imagined circumstances things that we don t really know Super Objective what the character wants the most Objectives in each scene what character wants in general To get objectives you will face obstacles and use tactics to get there Mitch Herbet Death of a Salesman By Arthur Miller Directed by Elia Kazaan Original title was inside his head Struggle of the common man crushed by
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