THET110 NotesWednesday, September 02, 2009- Why don’t people go to the theatre?o Costo Accessibilityo Theatre more aural than visualo Lack of advertisingo “Graying of the American audience” Audiences are getting older, and no younger generations are replacing them.- Why study theatre?o Universality of theatre All cultures have some sort of theatrical performance Represents how cultures were.o Theatrical impulse Aristotle wrote (The Poetics, 335 BC) about the innate mimetic (imitation) desire in humans.- Definition of theatreo Must have… Performer or actor Audience Text (not always written) “Liveness”o Communication interaction model- -> message -> Sender Receiver- <- feedback <-o Theatre requires actiono Theatre requires a spaceo Theatre uses actors. Actor is a performer who impersonateso Theatre relies on “liveness”.o Theatre is ephemeral. Ephemeral : Short lasting, fleetingo Theatre is aesthetic not efficacious. Aesthetic : Relating to beauty. Efficacious : Has an effect A ritual is efficacious because you come out of the ritual changed.o Theatre is a hybrid form. It combines many different art forms.o Theatre is a collaborative art.- How do audiences negotiate the theatre event?o Theatrical conventions : Rules or shorthand that the audience agrees to accept. EG: Lights dimming means that time has elapsed, young men may play female roles in earlier times.o Willing suspension of disbelief : Although we know the events of a play are not real, we agree for the time we are in the theatre not to disbelieve them.o Aesthetic distance : We remember that events on stage are not real so we do not intervene.Wednesday, September 09, 2009- Theatre Etiquetteo Before performance Dress should be nicer than usual Arrive early Read the programo During performance No texting No noise No food or candy wrapperso After performance No early departures Choose your standing ovations Be careful what you say when leaving- The 11-oclock number : The big crowd pleasing number featuring the star.- How to think critically about performanceo The theatrical production is the sum of a set of choiceso Generally theatre starts with a playtext from a playwright What and how to convey a storyo Producer or artistic director may put on a certain play due to… Money Politics Education Bring in a specific audience or cater to one Casting decisionso Director : Generally a directory is hired to match the play “Director’s concept”: What message the director wants to convey- Designers- ActorsMonday, September 14, 2009 – Guest Lecture- Dramaturge: A person who is really good at analyzing plays.- “Theatre is the sum of a set of choices”o What are the choices?o How do they work?o 1. Identifyo 2. Evaluate- Production: What you are going to see on-stage- Play: Can be read or seen- World of the play: Everything that is happening at the play.- Playwright choices when writing a playo Subject Anything from history Biography Autobiography Current events / contemporary life Abstract inspiration Existing source materialo Settingo Characterso Dialogueo Actionso Themeso Textures The little details that make it uniqueo Creating a blueprint for a production- How to read a playo Start with the title Sometimes a subtitle as wello Cast of characterso Stage directions Everything in the playtext that isn’t dialogueo Throughout the play, look for Given circumstances Themeso Plot: The order of events in the play. Plot types- Linear / Climactico Exposition: Basic informationo Point of attack: Something happens that kicks off the rest of the actiono Rising actiono Climaxo Falling action- Episodic- Cyclicalo Story: The whole thing.o Character types Protagonist: Character whose desires sustains the dramatic action Antagonist: Character who creates complications for the protagonist Foil: Character who sets off another character by contrast- Dramaturgs are found in different sittuationso Literary managers Hired by a regional theatre to manage the scripts library Select the seasono Production dramaturgs Hired for one specific play to aid in research- Research the playwright- Research the context of the play- Research the major productions- Research the context for this production- Research visual images Communicate with the production team- Directoro Share info from research- Actors- Designers- Marketing Communicating with the audience- Lobby display- Program notes- Pre and post show talkbackso New play dramaturgs Working with playwrights to help completion of play- Challenges of sceneso Long distanceso References to specific placeso Size of cast- Translation: Every translation is an adaptationo Problems with translation Meaning Tone Poetry Commercial and academicExtra credit: @ Roundhouse: 26 Miles, Portrait of Dorean GreyWednesday, September 16, 2009 – Cary Gillett- Cary: UMD theatre major. Wanted to act, decided againsto Went into stage management.- Production Manager: Sees a production from beginning to endo Sees what play will be doneo Starts the ball rolling Researches everything Coordinates design, actors, everything Communication and coordination Sets up auditions, but does not go to them Oversees rehearsal process to ensure communicationo Director’s job stops when the show openso All about communication- Stage Manager: “For the show”o Focus on one specific showo Sees show from beginning of rehearsals to the end of the runo Responsibilities At every rehearsal to ensure that information gets relayed to each department- Rehearsal doesn’t take place in the theatreo Tape on flooro Cheap costumes- EG: Director says ‘that coat needs to be red’. Stage manager tells art director- Takes blocking (anything an actor does on stage)o EG: Enter stage left, sit down, pickup cup….o Useful if an actor forgets what to do, or if a new actor comes ino All blocking is kept in the prompt script It belongs to the theatre, not the stage manager- “Off book”: When an actor has memorized his / her lineso Stage manager is always on book to feed actors their lines, and takes note of actor’s mistakes (“line notes”) At every technical rehearsal- Takes place onstage with set, lights, and props- Notates everything that takes place onstage so that it can be recreated the same way for
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