72 terms

Theatre Final - Cronin

STUDY

PLAY

Terms in this set (...)

Nogaku

skilled musical entertainment; called saragaku-no

Noh Theater

Japanese theatre, came from religion, dance drama

The Noh stage

takes several years for training: bridge, hurry door, pine trees, drums, could be outside, (look at pic)

Kan'ami Kiyotsugu

creator of Noh, performs with zeami in from of yoshimitsu, zeami takes over when he dies, author of matsukaze

Zeami Motokiyo

creator of noh; son of Kan'ami

Shite

main actor of Noh Theatre, always masked, needs to know all the plays, his companion is the Tsure

Waki

supporting actor of Noh Theatre, bystander, Waki-zure are his attendants

Jiutai

chorus of Noh Theatre, earth singers, stage left

Hayashikata

musicians in Noh Theatre

Noh Play Categories

Influenced by:
Dengaku: "rice planting entertainment", Folk origins, Field rituals
Sarugaku: "monkey entertainment", Acrobatic style of performance, Various types of performance

2 broad groups: muyen no (fantasy, ghosts, deity) and Genzai no (shite is living character).

1. God Plays
2. Warrior plays
3. Female Wig plays
4. Misc. Plays
Mad (insane) characters, living characters
5. Kiri no: final no
Supernatural plays, normally about Demons

God plays

main character a God

Warrior plays

main character a warrior

Female wig plays

main character a female

Miscellaneous plays

mad characters, living characters

Kiri No

final no; supernatural characters, normally about demons

Jo-Ha-Kyu

pacing of the play; slow-medium-quick

Neoclassicism

derived from interpretation of classical models, universal behaviors, traits, generalized sets, costumes

Rules of neoclassicism

Desire for morality, reality, and generality (verisimilitude), Decorum, Unities, 5 act structure, purity of form, the purpose of drama: teaches a moral lesson, comedies and tragedies

Romanticism

higher truth beyond earthly existence, closer to nature, rebellion against societal constraints, quest for justice, knowledge, truth

Melodrama

music drama, suspenseful plot (like a soap opera), moral justice, characters were stereotypes, tableaux is the climax at the end of each act, used special effects (electricity)

conventions: artificial intrigue, concealed identity, coincidences, tableaux, incidental song and dances, last minute rescue, sensational scenes.

George II/Saxe - Meiningen

Melodrama: director of meiningen players, ensemble work, lavish historical productions, rehearsals

19th century acting styles

Classical - carefully planned, detailed.
Romantic- emotional, physical gestures, monologues.
Melodramatic- physically/emotional overdisplay

Realism

calls attention to social issues, stage action=everyday life, complex characters, conversational, no inappropriate subject, no euphemisms

Naturalism

slice of life, emphasis on heredity and environment, exactness of setting, Emile Zola

Theatre Libre

first independent theatre in Europe; André Antoine; in Paris

Andre Antoine

created theatre libre, modernist

Emile Zola

writer of the play theatre libre was made to perform, realist naturalism, year before doll house

Henrik Ibsen

writer of a doll's house, Early plays: romantic verse dramas
Middle period: realistic social dramas
Late works: symbolism and mysticism

"Problem play"

focus on social problem

"The well made play"

created by Eugene Scribe, Overemphasize exposition, ominous turnaround

Components of a Well-Made Play

1. careful exposition, 2. surprises, 3. suspense, 4. climax, 5. resolution

Independent Theatre Movement

Theatre libre, modernist/realistic, response to realism

The Moscow Art Theatre

public education, realistic approach to acting, rehearsals, and research into historical detail; created by Stanislavsky, example of independent theatre movement

Antirealism

a movement against realism; symbolism, expressionism, and futurism

Stanislavsky

created the Moscow Art Theatre

Symbolism

poetic theatre with universal themes,
plays: allude to archetypes, dream worlds, characters are figures, surface dialogue not important
Staging techniques: abstract, colors have meaning, creating an atmosphere

Paul Fort

created Theatre d'Art

Theatre d'Art

founded by Paul Fort; symbolist theater

Theatre de l'Oeuvre

first theatrical theatre in Paris; directed by Lugne-Poe

Elmer Rice

Adding Machine; American Expressionism
Themes: belief in importance of the individual, socialism, exposure of economic/social ills, existing order of things is flawed, deadening influence of conventional morality

(German) Expressionism

Subjective rendering of INTERNAL world. Intense and hardcore; display a series of abstract images on stage. Opposed to realism and naturalism appearance wise.
Plays: message centered, episodic, focus on one character, search or pilgrimage, dialogue: short phrases or monologues
Staging: Scenes = sequence of events, groupings = mass action or uniformity, Set = distorted, grotesque, harsh lighting
Acting: not goal oriented (acting is a display)

German Expressionist Components

Geist: Spirit (abstract)
Schrei: Ecstatic (scream; incredibly passionate acting style)
Ich: Total I (focuses on central character, e.g. Mr. Zero)

Early American Playhouses

Philly: The Chestnut Street Theatre, Southwalk Theatre
NYC: John Street Theatre, The Bowery Theatre (Melodrama), Park Theatre
Boston: Federal Street Theatre

Chestnut Street Theater

Philly

Park Theater

Federal Street Theater

Boston

American "Little Theaters"

small local theaters that catered to small groups, lack of original material and venues.
Similar to "Independent theatre movement"
1912: Toy Theatre in Boston
1912: Chicago Little Theatre

American Laboratory Theater

3 year training program, Stanislavsky system, Maria Osbenskaya started Stanislavsky method

The Group Theatre

Harold Clurman, Lee Strasberg, Cheryl Crawford, ensemble approach, popularized Stanislavski technique, Inner technique: improv, emotional memories, relaxation

Theatre Guild

subscription based; toured nationally, members departed to form group theatre

The Federal Theatre Project

supported theatrical ventures throughout the US; vast network of theatres; free or low cost performances. Negro theatre

The Provincetown Players

George Cram Cook and Susan Glaspell in 1915

The Provincetown Playhouse

experimental theatre inc., led by Eugene O'Neill, Kenneth MacGowan, Robert Edmund Jones

Arthur Miller

wrote Death of a Salesman

The African Grove Theatre (NY)

established 1821; William Henry Brown founded it. Ira Aldridge performed

Ira Aldridge

part of the African Grove Theatre (NY), Shakespearian roles

Bert Williams

African American actor, Shuffling Black Coon

The Chip Woman's Fortune

first non musical black show, written by Willis Richardson, produced by Ethiopian Arts Players

Amiri Baraka

Dutchman; Everett LeRoi Jones

Minstrel Show

comic skits by white people in black face, Bert Williams started in this show

Thomas "Daddy" Rice

the original Jim Crow; father of American minstrel show; white performers black face

Greenwich Mews Theater

shows African American plays off Broadway

African American Theatre: 50's vs 60's

50's: Abolish racial stereotypes
Integrate into mainstream
Plays dealing with racism
Racially mixed cast
Greenwich Mews Theatre

60's: Revolutionary Theatre
Black Theatre movement
Radical theatre
Protest drama
Community based theatre

Marina Carr

wrote by bog of cats, irish

Matsukaze

Noh play; Ka'nami

Lady Audley's Secret

Colin Hazlewood; Melodrama

A Doll's House

Henrik Ibsen; Realism

Death of a Salesman

Arthur Miller; Mid-Century American Problems

Adding Machine

Elmer Rice; Expressionism