Ali Wendroff Theater 110 Greek Theater Difficulty in Studying Theater History Notes Western Theater A lot of generalizations Ephemeral Limited extant material Info About Greek Theater Extant texts Archeological remains Commentaries Visual Art statues and vase paintings specific roles for men and women not equals house Men were away at war a lot Women were supposed to be home with the children and run the Religious festival turns into 5 day play competition every march in Athens 1 wel coming ceremonies 2 3 4 day the playwrites submitted their plays Day 5 winner was determined Origins of Western Theater Ritual theories A Tragedy Dithyramb B Comedy Phalic Processions Great Man Theory Actor Thespis stepped out of dithyramb chorus to enact the role of God pretending to be someone Aeschyles introduced second actor to theater Sophocles introduced the 3rd actor Wrote Antigone and Oedipus Political Structure democratic city states or polis Religion polytheistic Gods interacted with humans Cultural Values competition wisdom and research rhetoric and oratory male dominated Theater Practices Occasional and competetive A Prize was a goat B Tragedy translates to goat song 3 major ones which were a package of plays Tragedy Comedy Satyr short comic plays making fun of politics Festivals Audience Tragedy whole polis very important for society theater was a civic duty plot based on historical and mythic stories characters feature kings queens gods Idea hero has a flaw that leads to his or her downfall teaches the audience a lesson and allows them to release their emotions music song everyday people main character faces a difficult situation happy idea humor comes from sex jokes scatological potty jokes and satires of fa features the satyr written to accompany tragedies parodied mythological stories only one extant satyr play Cyclops between 14 50 men Role characters source of discussion ideal spectator spectacle Comedy mous people Satyr Chorus Theater Practice Theater Costumes A Tragedy like a thrust theater and outside robes and accessories B Comedy Satyr padded body suits C Chorus same costumes human or animal Masks and Shoes actors played multiple characters emblems to communicate gender race class and jobs later developed in megaphone platform soles Parts of the Theater Theatron where audience sits seeing place Orchestra dancing place Skene building behind orchestra facade stage Parados entries Thymele Altar Ekkyklema revolving or rolling platform hidden behind skene doors Mechane crane a quick way to tie up an ending by dropping in a god from mechanical crane lowered an actor playing god onto the scene the sky Roman Theater big spectacle Putting on huge theatrical performances and theater was not really a huge part of it did not talk much about it English Theater Renaissance and Rebirth rebirth from Middle ages Return to classics of Greece and Rome Neoclassicism but rising interest in humanism Breaks stronghold of Catholic church Staging Practices public theaters private theaters blackfriars theaters Globe Theater polygon partial roof many levels of auditorium 2500 ppl yard for groundlings Characteristics of the stage raised thrust stage traps backed by Tiring House the heavens Shakespeare 38 plays roughly Stratford upon Avon born History Tragedy Comedy were his types of plays Other Playwrights Marlowe secret job was being a spy Died by stabbing in the eye Johnson Performance Practices male companies shareholding commercial theater Acting Clues prose and verse iambic pentameter scansion rhetorical devices alliteration consome couplets antithesis lists imagery Practices Skene to change actors wore clothing of their time Romanticism and Realism In response to neoclassicism action accompanied by musical score that enhanced emotional tone Melodrama simple powerful stories good is rewarded bad is punished set pattern of action characters stereotypes Realism Naturalism come from marx and freud break from romanticism Naturalism wants to put live on stage germs under a microscope vs germs on a petry dish Doesnt work bc it lasts a second Realism situation and put it on stage Tell a story about a situation going on Foundations art depicts physical world artist must be impersonal toward his subject work based on direct observation Effect on Theater theatrical design plays and playwriting Acting Directing Producing Theatrical Design emphasis on detail melodrama which uses detail to enhance spectacle techniques developed to make set and costumes better Box set allows audience to view characters and their actions Fourth wall environment is key and as realistic as possible subject matter contemporary issues characters are not idealized influenced by heredity and are lower mid class Realism vs Naturalism Zola naturalism on stage Plays and Playwriting Ibsen Acting dramas controversial realism Spurt of Blood Blood comes from the Bawd scorpions change into a sun Knight eats cheese stanislavski developed intensive training for actors because he felt that actors need to be observers to learn how to portray Dolls House Nora and Torvald Torvald treats nora like a doll Both have very different mindsets Nora leaves which is surprising given the time period and her future but she frees herself from the confines of her unhappy marriage Symbols tarantella costume and macaroons Influences on Realism Gregor Mendel Karl Marx Darwin Freud Comte Reactions to Realism Futurism nationalistic opposed to existing institutions and glorified war and vio lence Dada exploring the meaningless random parts of life Anti war and tried to redefine art Expressionism see protagonist having a nightmare world Product of WWI Looking how a human experiences a world that has become a nightmare industrialism Absurdism ridiculous ridiculing and humorous how do we live in a fundamentally meaningless universe Waiting for gudolt How do you find meaning Brecht and Artaud Two most important figures of the avant garde era Dramatic Theater Vs Epic Theater instinctive feelings preserved one scene makes another linear development spectator into observer each scene for itself alterable Brecht Artaud epic theater playwright and director from Germant who encourages people to think about how things are happening on stage Politically charges and said theater needed to create an alienation effect by creating distance with the audience and people on stage juxtapose odd elements breaking fourth wall placards which said what was happening in the scene wanted to
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