THAR 281 Lecture 9 Outline of Last Lecture 18th Century English and French Theatre I The age of Enlightenment II 18th Century Drama a Drame Bourgeois b Ballad Opera c Comic Opera d Sentimental Comedy e Laughing Comedy f III Tearful Comedy Acting Styles Outline of Current Lecture Romanticism and Melodrama 1800 1875 I II III 1800 1875 Events Major Categories of Drama a Romanticism b Melodrama c Well Made Play Rise of the Star Current Lecture Romanticism and Melodrama 1800 1875 Events of 1800 1875 Age of independence Industrial revolution Rise of middle class Towns cities growing in population Idea of freedom and liberty prominent Nationalism These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute Charles Darwin On the Origin of Species 1859 Major Categories of Drama Romanticism Melodrama Well Made Play People went to theatre to escape everyday life theatre has never been this popular and this is the most popular period for theatre Romanticism Germany philosophical and literacy movement born out of storm distress movement Genus creates its own rules Romantists were about individuality freedom nature o Basic principles There is a higher truth creation from an absolute being some kind of greater power out there If everything is created from the same absolute being everything has a common origin the study of any one part can reveal truths about the whole Ex if god created everyone we all have something in common if you study part of us you will learn more about us as a whole man vs nature duality of all things evil vs good Physical vs spiritual chemical vs eternal artists and philosophers are more creative than everyone else and only ones who really get it and understand most people don t understand them Oscar G Brockett wrote that happiness can only be found in a spiritual realm not on this earth So as long as you re alive you will never be completely happy o Romantic drama characteristics o Individual independence all about one person o Rejected neoclassism all of it o Rejected narrow didacticism not everything had to be right or wrong just not everything is black and white there is some gray o No subject matter is off limits don t care if it offends you or makes you uncomfortable They supported grotesque subjects and some not ideal for stage o Had all the emotions Used emotions not logic Shakespeare romanticists like the works of Shakespeare Mood and atmosphere created a tone to help you understand and feel what they are feeling Hero social outcast Melodrama o Melodrama most popular drama of the 19th century o song drama or music drama Use music to underscore the action o French movement o Early 19th century o Used stock characters damsel in distress over the top characters the hero villain o Suspenseful plot o Music to build tension or emotion o Climactic moment at the end of each act Played off of suspense fear etc o Highly moral good vs evil no in between the hero always wins traditional values and stereotypes damsel pretty pure good person hero strong good person villain evil mean person Spectacular scene effects ex elephants on stage etc o Kinds of Melodrama Domestic ex soap operas Frontier ex life out west cowboy and Indians westerns Crime ex crime modern day equivalent to CSI etc Nautical ex happens on the sea Pirates of the Caribbean swashbuckling films Equestrian ex drama s dealing with horses Black Beauty now all kinds of animals included o Examples of Melodrama Betty Boop Muppets The Well Made Play Precursor to modern day realism Emphasizes carefully crafted dramatic structure Explains what you need to know to understand each opening act includes all necessary exposition Each act builds on the previous one Resolution leaves not unanswered questions Climax Rising action Exposition Falling action Denouement Rise of the Star 19th century theatre is at its highest Eleonora Duse quiet avoided press very popular Ira Aldridge most famous African American actor at the time didn t think was safe in U S became European star in England Sarah Bernhardt Ideal actress huge melodrama star had lots of rumors surrounding she was eccentric and odd Rumor she slept in a coffin Delsarte Acting So Francois Delsarte 1811 1871 advocated a way to teach people to act Acting theorist and teacher Came up with a scientific approach to acting o Ex poses for Flight scared run away Defiance pose angrily Problems with this Not realistic He taught this method to actors trying to make them more realistic good idea but didn t work made actors more mechanical etc o Had charts of eye hand and body postures for different feelings and moods o He began teaching based on observation in 1839 o Had the right idea but didn t work o Method rejected by realists to systematic play example Phantom of the Opera