Lecture 1 30 Quiz moved to next Wed 2 8 not this week Why our generation prefers film to theatre o Cost accessibility visual culture advertising Concern theatre is fading out because the audience is elderly Why we study theatre o Universality all cultures have some sort of theatrical performance o Theatrical impulse Poetics by Aristotle Innate mimetic desire in humans imitation Definition o Must have an actor story audience live ness Communication interaction model o Message via sender and receiver with feedback either verbal or nonverbal 3 way theatrical interaction o performers and audience o audience and performer o audience and audience Similarities and differences o Jugglers o Football o Film o Aesthetic distance Theatre etiquette Lecture 2 1 Death of a Salesman o Basis for further material Theatre Etiquette Theatre requires action uses actors is a hybrid form is a collaborative art is ephemeral How audiences negotiate theatre events o Theatrical conventions o Willing suspension of disbelief Rules practices or shorthand that audiences agree to accept Audiences agree for the moment not to disbelieve events of a play Audiences remember that events on stage are not real so they do not intervene o Before o During o After Appropriate dress business casual arrive early read program perfume smoking Site lines be sensitive to how you are sitting avoid noise some theatres are very amplified with acoustic sound no phones No early departures especially at curtain call standing ovations the three block rule wait until you are a distance away from the theatre to start talking about the performance o Patty Lupone goes ape c p on a rude audience How to think critically about performance o The theatre production is the sum of a set of choices of collaborative art o Playwright often has a story he she wants to tell or an idea to explore Death of a Salesman takes place in the Bronx Ex Arthur Miller interested in political theatre Not a straight linear narrative moves back and forth in time and a lot happens in Willie s imagination tells story via flashbacks Jo Mielziner s set for play mirrors the image See choices in dialog and how people talk Artistic director Director In essence the CEO of the theater picks the plays for the place Reasons for choosing a specific play making a statement responding to a current event personal connection to the audience season enjoyable Whether or not you are trying to bring in a current audience or a new one Make choices about the production that guides the actors and producers Usually hired by artistic director Director s concept o What do you want the play to say Importance about the play o Overall image or metaphor for the play o Theme how the American dream can be a lie o Theme difficulty of family dynamics Designers Actors o Where light should go which characters should stand out o Willie Loman how you hold your face whether to feel more guilt or anger Depictions of Romeo and Juliet o Zepharelli sets it in the time period more so than the modern movie o Older one emphasizes the love story while the modern attracts more with Leonardo of the audience 2 6 Lecture Writing a response paper o Three primary questions What was attempted Was it accomplished Was it valuable o May not be obvious but need to assess it for yourself o Writing reviews Title grabber brief summary themes goals preview make direction of review clear body address prompt should discuss how well the production achieves goals Support with specifics look at the details make your argument interesting conclusion proofread o Avoid these muddy organization and disconnected paragraphs use italics for play titles avoid passive voice write in first person do not confuse the character and the actor or the playwright and director refer to the actor designer etc by name write in past tense give your review a title what are specific differences between the two productions o difference in the way the scene was staged aggressiveness with willy in the newer one how do these two productions feel different o newer version costumes looked older old one has yellow lighting to affect the mood which production was more effective and why Lecture 2 8 History of directing o Relatively a new job in the theatre world Richard Wagner 1813 83 Unified production was strongest production Wanted the audience fully engaged in the performance Master artist o Interpretation unification and communication are the three jobs of a director o Thematic thrust and director s concept are the same thing Guest lecturer Professor Scot Reese o Will be directing Everything in the Garden o Professional director actor as well o What made you decide to work as an actor and director How did you train for the jobs Started out as music major went to theatre in UCLA but kept music started doing shows in school sitcoms and soaps for six years moved to new york got mfa master of fine arts which is a three year degree in directing moved here and started teaching and directing won daytime emmy for his talk show o What do you see are the job of a director Choose whether or not to do a play if given the script Interpret the script Figure out your point of view in the way you see it decide what you want to highlight Unify the production with everyone else collaborative production with Unification others Communication If play is collaborated have to communicate it to the audience o Process the director goes through from the time he is hired to the opening night Production meeting to present his point of view of the show present back to him after two weeks of research test light costume design settle the differences to create unison work independently for a few weeks then report back with sketches white model from designer everyone gives their ideas and go into final design Hired to do the show reads script roughly six times collect images and ideas such as production history and biographical information on the author find music that relates to the period develops directors concept or thematic thrust express concept peers cast the show give callbacks to chosen ones finalize cast list and give it to the designer casting to type best person for the role start rehearsing actors research their parts design presentation for first rehearsal table read read the play once aloud designers have Q A get show on its feet rehearse tweak things organic blocking done by actor vs director design run fix any problems about five days tech rehearsal starts lights and
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