Theatre 110 Intro to Theatre 1 30 12 Why does our generation prefer film to theatre Cost 10 vs 140 Accessibility location of theatres planning Movies are a better known product quality Celebrity Advertising Visuals visual vs oral Special Effects Problem The Graying of the American Audience Why do we study theatre Universality of Theatre Theatrical Impulse o Aristotle The Poetics 335 BC o Innate mimetic desire in humans mimesis imitation Definition of Theatre Must have an A actor B story C audience D liveness Communication Interaction Model message Sender Receiver feedback 3 Way Theatrical Interaction Performers Audience Audience Performers Audience Audience Theatre requires action Theatre uses actors an actor is a person who impersonates Theatre is a hybrid form Theatre is a collaborative art Theatre relies on liveness Theatre is ephemeral fleeting short lived How do audiences negotiate the theatre event Theatrical Conventions o Rules practices or shorthand that an audience agrees to accept Wiling Suspension of Disbelief o Although audiences know the events of a play are not real they agree for the moment not to disbelieve them Aesthetic Distance o Audiences remember that events on stage are not real so they do not intervene Theatre 110 Theatre Etiquette 2 1 12 Before the show o Business casual o often a range in clothing depending on theatre o Be able to find get situated in seats avoid ass crotch Appropriate attire Arrive early dilemma Read the program Don t smell o Perfume o Smoking During the show Site lines Avoid noise Phones After the show o Be sensitive to how you re sitting o Theatres are designed to be amplified o ex food candy wrappers talking toe tapping etc o No talking texting looking at phone to see time light No early departures o No walking out in middle of act curtain call Standing ovations o Stand at your own discretion The Three Block Rule o wait until you re a distance away from the theatre before you start talking about what you ve seen Patti Lupone goes ape shit on a rude audience Gypsy she s doing the huge finale number and someone in the audience starts taking pictures Flipped out on them and forced them out This is the theatre Who do you think you are How to think critically about a performance The theatre production is the sum of a set of choices Playwright Artistic Director has a story they want to tell chooses name set etc CEO in charge of the theatre Big boss Chooses theatrical season Choose plays they can relate to seasonal fun valuable makes a statement etc Balance budgets by choosing popular shows followed by lesser known shows Captain of the ship makes choices about the production that guides Director actors etc Director s Concept Overall image of metaphor for the play what do you want this play to say what s the important parts May always put Linda in the light colors that differ They choose and create the world of the play Make choices Show something the text may not necessarily tell them Ex How you hold your face how angry is Willy at Biff etc Inside His Head was the original name of Death of a Salesman Arthur Miller Art can do more to sustain the peace than all the wars the armaments and the threats and warnings of the politicians Designers Actors THEME American dream can be a lie Willy never achieves it o make people look successful even if they aren t o working class Finding out who you are o Biff is the only one who figures out what he wants to do in life who he is o Says Willy should ve worked with his hands He dies never knowing who he is Happy says he will follow in Dad s footsteps win the game Stress on the family difficulty in family dynamics Society marginalizing women o Linda keeps family together o Pay attention Jo Mielziner s Set for Death of a Salesman Fragmented house Willy is being crushed by the trees Romeo and Juliet old vs new conflict gangs Old is representing a love story while the new is emphasizing more of the How to Write a Response Paper Writing a Response Paper 3 primary questions 1 what was attempted 2 was it accomplished 3 was it valuable What to include in your paper Paragraph 1 Title give sense of how you felt about play grabber brief summary themes goals make direction of review clear Body address prompt how well production achieves goals Support with specifics make argument interesting Look at details THEN conclusion AVOID 1 muddy organization 2 play titles in italics 3 DO NOT write in passive voice write in 1st person I thought don t confuse actor and character refer to them as their characters name 4 Use names Don t say The actor 5 For title don t say Review of old Settler Make it creative MIDTERM Death of a Salesman 1 Differences between productions Dull colors grey brown Biff dramatically cried at end Brighter Willy seems crazier older 2 How do they feel different Intense rushed Wily seemed intoxicated Biff started off pissed Didn t make eye contact Biff progressively got angrier 3 Which production was more effective Why 1st one More realistic acting Biff is sitting down when talk about pen so really makes a point so his dad understands Directing With Professor Scot Reese Interview History of Directing relatively recent job Richard Wagner 1813 1883 known in music especially opera Unified Production gesam kunstwerk 2 8 12 o Wanted audience fully engaged in what was happening o Fully suspend disbelief enter world of production on stage Master artist Director s Concept or Thematic Thrust overall image or metaphor for the play Director s main jobs are Interpretation Unification and Communication Interpretation what do I want that play to say Unification Make sure everything in production supports vision Communication make sure everyone knows what vision is SCOT REESE INTERVIEW What made you work as an actor director How did you train for jobs Did shows in college kept music major Did backup singing to pay rent Did soaps sitcoms for 6 years Moved to NY ended up in Boston doing CBS talk show Won daytime Emmy award Went back to Northwestern to get MFA Master of Fine Arts in directing o Like a PHD Get a specialized MFA ex acting directing etc Moved to DC to start teaching and never looked back Loves surfing What s the job as director Get the script then have to interpret the script Director has to have a point of view makes all productions different Collaboration Unification works with designers actors to unify the production They have to buy into the interpretation as well He s captain of the ship but they re on
View Full Document
Unlocking...