ONLINE LECTURE NOTES week 2 Dr Beth Osborne Dr Anthony Rhine Jeff Paden no Aaron Ellis WHAT TO EXPECT Who Am I Dr Osborne BA Theare MFA in Dramaturgy PhD Theatre and Performance Study Interest moments contemporary or historical that impact the people the everyday people US theatre son Connor Dr Rhine theatre management teaching university for 10 years fundraising leadership management first time teaching theatre Paden born in Philadelphia Master s dissertation about human rights and relation to theatre Hybrid Class 50 online and 50 in class section Practice and history of theatre online is more focused on history and technical aspects Sections are more about practice Ends with a performance project group puts together a small 8 10 minute performance GOALS Getting to know and experience theatre Read theatre write about theatre talk about theatre create experience theatre Understanding theatre within society and how it functions how does society effect theatre and how does theatre affect society Investigate course site and blackboard site Get to know TA Complete Syllabus quiz WHAT IS THEATRE How would you define theatre What makes theatre different and unique from other performances Past students professionals audience members how theatre functions PAST STUDENTS Form of art using words and actions Drama taking place onstage A way for individuals to express themselves Storytelling with sparkle Pictures The Mystery of Edwin Drood Sweet Charity Phantom of the Opera Noises Off The Lion King Angels in America HOW DO PROFESSIONALS SCHOLARS DEFINE THEATRE Plato didn t like theatre said theatre was bad the original anti theatrical Aristotle the original theatre scholar Aristotle s Poetics VERY important still used Aristotle was a scientist the scientific approach to dissecting theatre what makes a good plot or character where did theatre start Etc Humans have an innate memetic desire imitation to tell stories when they tell stories not to just tell but to act out all the way back in caveman times Because of this innate need that humans have theatre is universal Begins even in childhood like cowboy and Indians cops and robbers house imaginary games etc CHARACTERISTICS OF THEATRE Actor or performer and audience Text theatrical event has to have some form plan like a script Noises Off text doesn t have to be rigid could just be a general idea first act ends with this second act ends with this etc guidelines ending is predetermined Liveness makes theatre sparkle stand out can be affected by audience or actor make it unique How is theatre different from other performances Basketball game Juggler Wedding Baptism Film The difference between sports and the arts is a long standing debate Some people argue that sports have a higher stature because they are more popular and make much more money Others say that sports have a lower stature because the arts are considered high culture If you d like to learn more about this NPR has a series of articles including Sports The Rodney Dangerfield of Academia and Comparing Sports Arts is Dangerous Business THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEATRE AND DRAMA Introduction to Drama English department Drama is the TEXT Theatre is the WHOLE PRODUCTION Drama is fixed experienced on a personal level Theatre is everything that builds on the text lights costume sound interpretation concept communal environment interpretive act always changing Drama is the skeleton provides base structure on which everything builds Theatre is the skeleton plus the muscle and skin and rest of body Sweet Charity is example WHAT MAKES THEATRE UNIQUE Theatre is ephemeral fleeting you will never see the same exact production again each experience will never be the same Theatre is collaborative more than just the actors always the director designer spotlight guy light guy stage manager quick change etc everyone has an integral role in the production Hybrid art form Richard Wagner Vogner Gesamtkunstwerk theatre combines all art form influenced Lord of the Rings theatre is vulnerable HOW DO AUDIENCES NEGOTIATE THE THEATRICAL EVENT The THEATICAL CONVENTION rules of the game Audience agrees and understand the rules of the conventions of the performance set up the internal logic of the play understands the meaning o Color creates meaning ex red is associated with lust passion love stop danger murderers in contrast in a communist country it is linked with communism red is happiness in China in Africa it is mourning cultural conventions change meaning o In Japanese Bunraku people wearing black are the puppeteers if someone onstage is dressed entirely black the audience is expected to believe that they are not there o Women not women in the English Renaissance women did not perform in Shakespeare s day young men played girl roles audiences knew and expected Audiences are expected to believe and accept everything that happens onstage THE WILLING SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF Willing to go along for the ride Partner of theatrical convention AESTHETIC DISTANCE Ex Romeo and Juliet Romeo s death Ex James Bond in GoldenEye James Bond jumps off a mountain to leap into the door of a plane that is crashing this is impossible but we accept Ex Speed with Keanu Reeves the bus did not make the leap but for the sake of not ruining the show the audience is willing to go along with it but they don t really believe The audience knows that what is happening on stage is not actually real Kids do not have this understanding Ex Story about her son Allows the audience to separate themselves from the events on stage and to recognize that these things are not a part of their objective reality THEATRICAL CONVENTIONS WILLING SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF AESTHETIC DISTANCE allow audience to experience and interpret theatre a certain way What choices are being made Is it unified meaning or fails to create interesting EX Pictures from productions of Othello Different choices makes different experiences Theatre is the sum of a set of choices meaning How well do they work Is there a unified meaning Look at pictures and what in the images tells you that HOW DOES THEATRE FUNCTION IN AMERICAN SOCIETY TODAY Varies by location and country Is theatre education oriented Entertainment Both Neither Something different Does theatre expand horizons or gloss over our ills Ex Andrew Lloyd Webber s Cats one of the longest running shows ever VS Heather Raffo s Nine Parts of Desire The Role of Arts in American Culture The Smithsonian Institution s annual budget in