THEATER 2040 1nd Edition Lecture 12 Outline of Last Lecture I Asian Theatre a Elements of Asian Theatre II Ancient India a Natya Shastra b Rasa c Sanskrit drama III Ancient China a Xiqu b Pear Garden c Peking Beijing Opera d Painted face roles IV Ancient Japan a Noh b Kabuki i Hanamichi c Bunraku Outline of Current Lecture I Realism a Definition b Realism s goal c Shifts in realism d Theatre of the forth wall e The Spread of Realism II Henrik Ibsen III Anton Chekhov IV Eugene O Neill V Arthur Miller VI Tennessee Williams VII August Wilson Current Lecture I Realism a Definition 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 II III IV V VI i The general principle that the stage should portray ordinary people in ordinary circumstances and that actors should behave as much as possible as real people do in life b Likeness to life is realism s goal i No matter how real realism is it s still theatre c The realistic theatre movement brought about some shifts in stage production i The set is more ordinary ii The costumes are more ordinary iii Characters are more ordinary iv Characters deal with complex issues d Theatre of the forth wall i Lift up the forth wall to see living environment under the microscope s slide ii Realism mixture of tragedy and comedy at the same time tragicomedy 1 In other works realism explores the mystery of life 2 Interpretive freedom allows audience to judge the play how they want Henrik Ibsen 1828 1906 a Father of Modern Drama i Norwegian Playwright ii Wrote A Doll s House 1979 b Skill Show both sides of an issue with psychological detail i His plays shocked offended and captivated audiences c The Spread of Realism i Started slow ii Caught on in the major theatre cities and spread like wildfire iii Dominated European theater during late 19th century Anton Chekhov 1860 1904 a Russian physician and writer b Wrote Uncle Vanya the Three Sisters c Skill deeply complex relationships among characters i Characters are filled with secrets that dialogue never fully reveals Eugene O Neill 1888 1953 a Born in Broadway hotel room in New York i Worked as a sailor then started writing plays b His plays Long Day s Journey into Night America s greatest realistic masterpiece Arthur Miller 1915 2005 a Wrote Death of a Salesman The Crucible and A View from the Bridge b Known as America s social conscience c Only the truth is sacred Realism Tennessee Williams 1911 1983 a Wrote A Streetcar Named Desire Cat on a Hot Tin Roof VII b Skill sensually evocative character studies within play c Characters are usually psychologically unable to cope with brutalities of daily life very complex August Wilson 1945 2005 a Wrote a ten play series i Each is set in a different decade depicting the comic and tragic aspects of the African American experience in the twentieth century b Wrote Fences Ma Rainey s Black Bottom Joe Turner s Come and Gone c 2 Pulitzer Prizes 7 Tony nominations dozens other awards