THAR 281 Exam 2 Study Guide Lectures 7 9 Lecture 7 October 1 18th Century Theatre The Age of Enlightenment 18th century drama placed on emphasis on what Who was Denis Diderot Define Drame What is Ballad and Comic Opera What was the Storm and Stress movement Who were the Bibienas 18th Century Drama placed emphasis on sentimentality Most drama s at this time focused on morality and moral optimism Denis Diderot was a French philosopher who felt that the way actors moved and acted wasn t believable or natural He created Drame Drame a type of drama that is serious and doesn t adhere to neoclassical rules Ballad Opera From England spoken dialogue with songs no sung dialogue Songs were set to contemporary melodies this made them popular because the audience could sing along Had middle and lower class characters was satirical Comic Opera From France no sung dialogue the songs wer set to contemporary melodies Characters inspired by Commedia dell arte Satirical and first developed as an outdoor fairground type of performance Storm and Stress Movement late 18th century a group of people who did something different it was the forerunner to romanticism The Bibienas The bibiena family worked designing scenery for the stage over 100 yrs They used Baroque art and created ornate designs drew scenery and had stage innovations rooms silk screens for creating mood colored light etc Lecture 8 October 8 Romanticism and Melodrama List and define the basic principles of romanticism Who was Ira Aldridge Who was Sara Bernhardt Define melodrama List the characteristics of the Well Made play Basic Romanticism Principles o There is a higher truth creation from an absolute being some kind of greater power out there o 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 o man vs nature duality of all things evil vs good Physical vs spiritual chemical vs eternal o artists and philosophers are more creative than everyone else and only ones who really get it and understand most people don t understand them Ira Aldridge At the time the most famous African American Actor European star in England Sara Bernhardt The ideal actress huge melodrama star had rumors surrounding her saying she was eccentric and odd and slept in a coffin 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 Lecture 9 October 10 REALISM What is realism Who is considered to be the founder of modern realism List examples of the changes that occurred in drama with the emergence of realism Who was Heinrik Ibsen Who was George Bernard Shaw Who was Anton Chekhov What was naturalism Who was Konstantin Stanislavski Realism The World is mirrored in Theatre the goal of realism To convince the audience that theatre is real and stage action represents everyday life Founder of Realism Heinrik Ibsen Heinrik Ibsen founder of realism who wrote A Doll s House Emergence of Realism o No subject matter off limits can put everything in plays o Refused to make moral judgments it s not always right or wrong in real life o Didn t believe in the necessity of neat resolutions nothing has to be resolved peacefully o Realists believed in using drama as a means of calling attention to social issues Why In hopes to instigate social change Drama as a means of bringing about social change Characters in Realism o NO stock characters o Complicated personalities o Characters shaped by heredity and environment idea we all become who we are because of where we came from and how we lived George Bernard Shaw believed drama should inspire social reform wrote primarily comedies famous for Pygmalion Nobel Prize winner for Literature Anton Chekhov Originally a physician Russian wrote The Cherry Orchard Interwined comedy and tragedy to make tragic comedy Naturalism slice of life theatre drama where you could literally cut out a chunk of life and recreate into a play EXTREME realism same ideals short lived Konstantin Stanislavski created Stanislavski System of Acting the first system for training actors to develop true to life characters on stage