Canon core classic books important texts Film vs Theatre o Advertising o Visual special effects o Cost cheaper to go to a movie o Perfectionism o Accessibility o Expensive Why don t we go to theatre often o Not convenient plan in advance theater isn t close by o Requires more concentration than movies o Movies turn over more quickly than plays o Actor recognition knowing a movie star vs a theater star o We talk about film more than we do theater o Graying of the American audience theater audiences are getting older and aren t being replaced by younger audiences older people are more likely to be viewers Why do we study theater o Historically relevant it is one of the oldest forms of art o It s an art form part of cultural literacy o It s universal all cultures have theater o Theatrical impulse innate mimetic desire desire to imitate in humans o The language of theatre helps us understand how we organize life Theater must have be definition of theatre o A performer actor o An audience o Liveness o A text not always written following an action o Ephemeral theatre is fleeting and impermanent so you can never recapture a show from the past shortlived you can never experience the same thing twice which makes theatre a very difficult study o Aesthetic not efficacious Communication interaction model o Sender message receiver o Receiver feedback sender Theatre o requires action o requires a space o uses actors people who impersonate o relies on liveness o is a hybrid form it requires spoke word art and architecture because there are so many dif ferent components it is a collaborative art Theatrical conventions rules or shorthand that the audience agrees to accept Ex men playing parts of women or when the curtain goes down and then up to show darkness which would mean night time Willing suspension of disbelief although we know the events of the play are not real we agree for the time that we re in the theater not to disbelieve them Aesthetic distance we remember that events on stage are not real so we don t intervene Play writing and Dramaturgy The theatrical performance is the sum of a set of choices made by o The producer or artistic director o The playwright o The director o Designers o Actors Play vs Production o You see or read a play Play vs Playwright o The play is the text It is a two step process identifying and evaluating as audience members o A production is an entire show everyone is involved it is what you see o Playwright is the person author creator of the play Has choices to make based on subject history biography autobiography current events contemporary abstract inspiration existing source material He she creates the blueprint for a production based on decisions made for the setting characters dialogue actions themes and textures How to read a play o Start with the title understand what t is going to be about o Cast of characters personalities the order will set the level of importance for that character o Stage directions everything that is not dialogue o Given circumstances Facts about the world of the play that are given o Themes Plot the order of incidents in the play Composed by actions o Linear climactic plot cause and effect Ex DOAS o Episodic plot what happens in one episode doesn t affect another Ex family guy o Cyclical plot begin and end in the same place Story sets the scene and is what actually happened exposition things that happen before the play begins o Point of attack point in the story where the playwright begins the plot o Complications or obstacles o Climax point of the greatest dramatic tension Ex in DOAS it s the fight be tween Willy and Biff o Denouncement falling action or resolution Types of characters o Protagonist desires sustain the dramatic action Willy o Antagonist creates complications for the protagonist Willy society Biff o Raisonneur speaks for the author other than the protagonist Biff o Foil contrast to another character Charley o Stock characters common and predictable types that reappear Dramaturgy o Dramaturgs good at analyzing plays interested in context and conversation o Different situations Literary managers Production dramaturgs Hired for one play Full time position they maintain script library for theatre and help with the season selection Do a lot of research on the playwrights context for the play major productions context for this production and visual images Communicating with the production team directors actors de signers marketing Communicating with the audience lobby display program notes pre and post show talk backs New play dramaturgs Working with the playwrights Listen ask questions help develop o Adaption vs Translation Adaptation is when for example a story is turned into a play production Challenges of adaptation Stories are written with description Plays are described with dialogue and setting how do you get thoughts on the stage Play setting needs to be clear Size of the cast References of specific places Translation is a form of adaptation is helps to understand the true mean Plays are translated into different forms such as from old English to contemporary ways for better understanding ing Theater etiquette o Dress business casual o Arrive early read program o No noise candy wrappers talking phones o No early departures o Standing ovation is not necessary but up to you Production coordinator manager Cary Gillett o Sees the show from the very beginning to the end Responsible for overseeing o Makes sure that everyone is collaborating o Leads negotiations Stage manager take down blocking run rehearsals call the show o Responsible for just as much communication but on a smaller scale o He or she is at all of the rehearsals and performances and collaborate mostly with the director o There is a different one for every set cast show o Responsible for calling the show and making sure it follows out to be exactly how the director directed it and left it to be during the actual performances o Takes down all blocking anything an actor does on stage into a prompt script just in case an actor forgets o Calls the cues o Takes information that designers give them and regurgitate the information for every performance to the people doing the lights for example o Sits in the booth and has two assistants that are back stage running everything everyone works as a cohesive movement to get it done o Hired by production managers Types of theater spaces o Proscenium picture frame stage o Thrust stage Audience on 3 sides o Arena
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