03 03 2014 15 54 00 1 28 13 Why do we study theatre What makes theatre theatre How do audiences negotiate the theatre experience What are the rules of theatre etiquette Why does our generation prefer film to theatre Cost Accessibility Visual Culture Theatre Aural Advertising Graying of the American Audience Why do we study theatre Universality of theatre all cultures have performances Theatrical Impulse Aristotle The Poetics 335 BC humans have innate mimetic desire in humans mimesis imitation 4 Liveness it s a live experience This factor is most distinct from The definition of theatre Theatre must have 1 an actor 2 a story something has to occur 3 a audience Communication Interaction Model Sender Message Receiver Feedback film audience Interactive audience energizing more excitement from the Similarities and differences between theatre and Jugglers require skill Theatre requires action something has to happen Theatre uses actors an actor is a performer who impersonates Theatre is a hybrid form Theatre is a collaborative art Theatre relies on liveness Theatre is ephemeral shortlived How do audiences negotiate the theatre event Theatrical conventions Rules practices or shorthand that audience Willing suspension of disbelief Although audience know the events of a ply are not real they agree for the moment not to disbelieve Aesthetic Distance Audiences remember that events on stage are agrees to accept them not real so they do not intervene Theatre Etiquette Before the show Appropriate Dress Arrive early Read Program Avoid Noise ie food talking candy etc theatres are designed to During the show amplify noise No early departures No standing Ovations The Three Block Rules Do not discuss the show in the lobby of the theatre because the staff might be there You don t want to be a jerk about it How to think critically about performance The theatre production is the sum of a set of choices Artistic director CEO of the theater company Admiral of the navy Director captain of the ship and decides what that play is going to in front of them Play wright say Designers Actors What are the choices made by all the people involved with the production and how well do they work Death of a salesman Willy and Biff the most important foil opposite of each other Very clear structure very realistic Original title was Inside his head Director s concept Overall image or metaphor for the play 2 6 2013 03 03 2014 15 54 00 Caroline Clay Devising work making play others What is revealed and what is hidden what Willy is doing after hours the tragedy What we hide from the world and what we put forward to Her specialization in voice and dialect Authored audio books Understudy they make money especially on Broadway Work ethic how she worked how she memorized her punctuality Went quickly from being understudy to leads Law and order used a lot of undernstudies Residual is the check she got two days ago for an episode she did 6 years ago Like royalties As long as the show runs somewhere she gets a check TV is a wonderful way to supplement income She is in a union Pay scale pension negotiations Actor s Equity AFLCIO advocates for the actors Actors were not respected before Public Domain around long enough that it can be done for free It s a classic The Sides a new version of the script An Actor s choices Given circumstances who what when situation Playwright gives you everything you need to know Stakes life or death Inciting incident The risk the need what are you willing to die live for Looking at the verbs tells us everything progression of the story thought roles etc 2 11 13 Directing Theatre Director s History Fairly new role around since early 20th century created out of necessity Theatre as a product as an audience of consumer as a product worth value Originally actors directed themselves Actor manager or lead actor most experienced Job flourished during the Industrial Revolution Professionalization Single Leader captain of the ship Making sure production as a whole looks sounds and feels as it should Richard Wagner 1813 1883 German opera composer and theatre manager Beyreuth THeatre Precursor to the modern director Illusionistic theatre spectacle Director the single most important figure Wanted total control of production A director s responsibilities Tell a story o Engage audience Interpret the text o Collective understanding o Director s concept Make the material relevant o Present day Focus the production o Making cohesive Manage the workflow o Direct energies operations If direction is strong usually not noticed seems effortless usually only notice flaws director Some directors have a very specific style iconic and recognizable The Director s process Very flexible organic and or structured 1 Play selection possible not always economic constraints of 2 Read and analyze First story enjoyment Then deeper meaning Finally formal analysis 3 Conceptualize Lens through which we see the play What is central dominant theme metaphor or image Worshipful script leading director vs heretical director s The Director s Concept responsibility to interpret the meaning of the script 4 Concept meetings with artistic collaborators 5 Cast the play auditions and callbacks 6 Table Work Read play familiarize 7 Production meetings 8 Blocking Physical life of play 9 Character and relationship 10 Final design metings 11 Big Picture Focus 12 Technical Dress Rehearsals 13 Previews Testing it all out Rewrites Rework scenes You have an actual audience a test audience to get feedback 03 03 2014 15 54 00
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