Domain Three - Theatre Flashcards
Acting
Development and communication of characters in formal or informal productions or improvisations
Techniques include: physical and vocal warm-ups - pantomime and mime - improvisations - voice and diction exercises - theatre games - performance - monologues - script reading
Sensory elements = movement, sound, spectacle
Expressive qualities = mood, emotion, ideas, dynamics
Theatre
Formal presentation of a scripted play - incorporates elements such as acting, directing, designing, and managing
Organizational principles:
- plot and conflict
- setting
- character
- language
- rhythm and unity
Drama
The reenactment of life situations for entertainment and human understanding
**does not necessarily require a live-formal audience
Improvisation
Creative, cooperative, spontaneous, and flexible response to changing and unexpected dramatic stimuli
Embraces problem solving without preconception of how to perform, and allows anything within the environment to be used during the experience
Scriptwriting
Based on culture, imagination, literature, and personal life experiences - can apply to theatre, film, tv, or electronic media
Classroom activities can include reading and analyzing scripts, outlining dramatic structure, and working together in groups to plan scenarios
Technical Support Tools
Costumes, sets, lights, props, makeup, and sound
Stage
Structure where all drama and theatre takes place - many structures have similar components - offstage spaces can also be adaptable
Intent
Involves the objective, purpose, theme, or basic idea of a work of drama
Structure
Involves the interaction of all elements
includes but is not limited to design, rhythm, climax, conflict, balance, and sequence
Effectiveness
Involves the degree to which a dramatic work succeeds
includes the evaluation of the work’s success in such things as entertaining, informing, illuminating, persuading, inspiring, amusing, engaging, shocking, and instilling awe
Worth
Involves a value judgment
Includes assessment of the knowledge, insight, wisdom, or feeling imparted by a work
Ancient Greek Theatre (600-400 BC)
- amphitheaters (open air, sides of mountains, semicircular, orchestra, chorus/dance)
- playwrights - Sophocles (tragedy) and Euripides
- violence took place offstage
- Thespis was the first actor
- Dionysus festivals; plots came from legends
- influence of central actors and dialogue; masks used to show age and emotion
- women were barred from acting but could spectate
- Greek tragedy was not associated with theatre staging today
Roman Theatre (300 BC-AD 500)
- Latin versions of Greek plays - less influenced by religion
- introduction of subplot
- women are allowed minor parts
- spectacles of the coliseum
- mass appeal / impressive theatres
- raised stage replaced the Greek semicircular amphitheater - stage built at ground level with a raised seating area
- later Roman period - Christians disapproved of low comedy and pagan rituals
Medieval Theatre (500-1400)
- Theatre buildings were not permitted, minstrels, traveling groups, and jugglers from Greek-Roman period, open stage areas
- church / liturgical dramas: written in Latin/bible stories; intended to educate regarding religious events, not to entertain
- dramatic form to illustrate religious holidays to an illiterate
- genres: passion play, miracle play, and morality play with themes of religious loyalty
- theatre groups evolved into town guilds
Renaissance and Reformation Theatre (1400-1600)
- rebirth of Classical Greek and Roman art, culture, literature
- theatre reemerged with professional actors and set design
- open stages, “apron stages” to proscenium arch
- emphasis on the performer
- Protestant Reformation - away from Catholic teachings - secular works
- state licensed official theatre companies
Elizabethan Theatre
- playwrights included Christopher Marlowe and Ben Johnson
- theatre supported by Queen Elizabeth; patronage; raucous, open-air theatre; language of the educated; satire
- William Shakespeare (late 1500s-early 1600s) wrote comedies, histories, tragedies
Restoration England: 1660s
- 1642: Parliament closed theatres in England; allowed French ascendancy in theatre mechanics
- theatre architecture: France introduced new tech for scenery and set changes; artificial lighting; theatres began to be roofed in; drama moved indoors, and the stage was raised
- proscenium stage architecture/royal theatre (enclosed/arches); scene changes slid by on panels
- baroque period: French playwrights Racine and Moliere influenced theatre
- women began to appear onstage in the roles of boys and young men
Eighteenth Century
- changes in economics, society, and ruling powers determined direction of playwrights
- acting began to mareo closely mimic life
- art oof acting became prominent
- plays more often dealt with ordinary people
- commercial theatre evolved
Nineteenth Century
- industrial Revolution changed the way that people lived
- tech changed the theatre
- growth of melodrama
- actor predominated over the author; serious drama
- Late 1880s-1920 in the US: Golden Age of American theatre - mass appeal - more sophisticated plots and staging - moving away from hero character - Vaudeville
Twentieth Century
- social upheaval from WWI and WWII
- early: new movements such as realism, naturalism, symbolism, and Impressionism
- commercial theatres
- serious drama
- comedy
- actor’s studio
- experimental theatre
- community theatre and ensemble theatre (group)
Action
In a character-character interaction, the total array of purposeful activity, both external (physical) and internal (psychological), by which characters attempt to achieve their objectives
Antagonist
An element, usually a character, that resists the protagonist. conflict results from the efforts of the protagonist to achieve his or her objectives in spite of the obstacles introduced by the antagonist
Arena staging
Physical configuration of audience and actor in which the audience essentially surrounds the playing area - AKA “theatre in the round”
Aristotelian theatre
Includes clear, simple plotting - strong (not necessarily complicated) characters - high level of intellectual content - a minimum of spectacle
During renaissance, other criteria will be added:
three unities (unity of one main action, unity of one physical space, and unity of time)
Be written in five acts
avoid violence
Not mix comedy and tragedy
Block (verb)
To decide upon the gross movements of actors upon the stage - assign the physical relationship of actors and the locations of entrances and exits - create stage “pictures”
**early rehearsals often are devoted to blocking
Broadway theatre
Dominated the American theatre from the end of the 19th century until shortly after WWII
Profit-making enterprise in which shares of a production are sold to investors with the expectation that after meeting the initial expenses of production, they will receive a substantial return on their investment
to enhance profits, aspires to very long runs of a single play, frequently using star performers appearing in vehicles with the widest possible audience appeal
Center stage
Exact center of the floor of the stage
Character
Figure portrayed in the play
Sum total of the actions that define a person so portrayed
Chorus
Greek/Roman drama — a group of characters in a play who comment on the action, often speaking directly to the audience
often an intermediary between the audience and the major characters in the play
often given a collective role - usually don’t have separate names
detached from the dramatic action and can react to the action of main characters - can participate in multiple ways
Chronological time
Linear experience related to cause and effect - theatre often takes liberties with this —> led to flashbacks and flash forwards
Climax
The point of the play that completes the rising action - contending forces have raised the conflict to the highest point possible, face each other in confrontation so that only one emerges victorious
often a new piece of information is made public that tips the balance one way or another
Followed by the dénouement
Comedy
Any play that ends happily. genre of dramatic literature that is lighter in tone than drama, but more serious than farce
characters are less developed, theme is less weighty, language is wittier, ending is invariably happy
Farce = humor is more physical, characters are more broadly drawn, plots more contrived
Company
All of the people associated with producing a play, including the designers, technicians, directors, stage managers, and actors
Narrowest sense- confined to actors only
Connotative meaning
The meaning conveyed by connotative symbols, symbols that are vague in terms of strict definition, but rich in poetic meaning. off evoke an emotional rather than intellectual response
Content
What is portrayed in theatre - the interaction of at least one character with some aspect of his or her environment
Character - character interaction
Conventions
Temporary “rules” of the performance
specific to particular cultures, styles of theatre, and even individual productions
Creative drama
Form of entertainment in which students improvise scenes for their own growth and edification, not that of an audience
sometimes, the aim is to learn subjects other than theatre ( history, psychology, literature, etc) sometimes, to learn about theatre itsel
Dénouement
The portion of action that immediately follows the climax of a play
last remaining loose ends are “tied up”
reestablishment of stasis (balance and harmony)
Director
Major interpretive figure, whose job it is to bring life to the vision of the playwright or otherwise provide artistic meaning to the theatre experience
Downstage
Portion of the proscenium stage that is closest to the audience
Drama
Category of literature intended for the stage
Dramatic criticism
Work of a drama critic
Consists of commentary on a play or script intended to enrich the experience of seeing the play or reading the script by others
can be written or in public talks
Dramatic question
First and most important element in rising action
conflict established —> “How will this turn out?”
raises the issue of which of the conflicting parties will prevail and begin to develop suspense
Environmental staging
Form of physical relationship between the audience and performers in which there is little or no clear definition between the space dedicated to each; dictate the audience and performers use the same space during the course of the experience
Exposition
Playwriting device of providing information to the audience
retrospective exposition = occurs early and gives insight to what happened before the play
current exposition = information about events offstage happening during the play
Flashback
A manipulation of time in the plot in which a scene from earlier in the story is shown after those that occur later - more common in films than a traditional playwriting
Form
Relationship of all the parts of plays of a certain type considered apart from any single example of that type in
Full-length play
Single play that typically fulfills the expectation for a complete theatrical experience
western = one play, three to five acts, usually 2-4 hours
Gallery
One of a tier of alcoves surrounding the interior - those who could afford the greatest comfort sit here
Balconies/boxes
Illumination
The act of casting light upon an otherwise darkened stage
Improvisation
Acting without a script or prepared text
Inciting incident
Rising action - throws the world of play into disequilibrium - can be seemingly simple
Kabuki
Japanese - colorful song and dance, flamboyant characters, extravagant plots in a popular art that is widely popular
Lighting plot
Plan of the stage showing the location of each lighting instrument, its size and characters, and the area of the stage where its light will fall
Melodrama
Genre of theatre that is normally placed between tragedy and drama and has characteristics of both
Largely serious in tone, placing its major figures in great jeopardy, but saves them from destruction in the end
Mora lo stance is clear = good - very good, bad - very bad
Mood
Place on the humorous-serious scale that a play is e
Multiple plots
More than one story line is presented, usually simultaneously - usually kept separate until they come together towards the end
Neoclassic drama
Plays from or modeled after the neoclassic period - aided by application of certain rules of playwriting such as the unities, the enforced use of rigid verse forms, general concern for decorum on the stage
One-act play
Play of short duration (usually less than an hour) that can be presented without an intermission and without major changes in scenery
Orchestra
Open dancing area in front of the stagehouse (ancient Greece) lowest and usually most expensive array of seats directly in front of the stage (modern)
Pastoral play
Extinct genre - Italian Renaissance - persistently upbeat in tone and gave courtiers a chance to indulge a taste for dressing as peasants, singing, and dancing
Pit
Elizabethan theatre - portion immediately n front of the stage - occupied by those who paid lowest admission and were willing to stand
Playscript (script)
Detailed, written description of a play intended to give the reader as clear a sense of the produced work as possible - gives enough info so that a group of performers can mount a production of the play
Plot
Series of incidents that make up the action of a play
Proscenium arch
An opening in the wall between two rooms - one room = actors performing, one room = audience
Proscenium staging
Form of physical configuration between actor and audience encouraged by the proscenium arch - consists of a fairly narrow array of audience members gathered on one side of the stage only - clear distinction between the areas occupied by the actors and audience
Protagonist
Major figure in traditional theatre and the person around whom the action of the play turns
Restoration comedy
Comedy of the English restoration (1660-1700) - glittering language, salacious plots, frequently debauched characters
Revolving stage
Portion of the stage constructed so that it rotates around a pivot
Rising action
Portion of the plot that begins with the inciting incident and continues until the climax
Satyr play
Greek drama - ridiculing the gods and heroic legends, using the bawdiest language, dance, and song to do it
Stage left
Side of the stage to the left of an actor facing the audience - “audience right”
Stage right
Side of the stage to the right of an actor facing the audience - “audience left”
Stereotyped character
One based on the assumption that all members of a given group possess certain simple behavioral traits
Stock company
Form of resident company in which actors were hired according to lines of work and large numbers of plays were prepared usually with very short rehearsal periods and for relatively short runs
Storyboard
Visual display of the plot of a play or film in which each scene is represented by a single picture or short description - arranged to depict flow of plot
tempo
Speed with which incidents that make up the action that take place
Thrust staging
Physical configuration of audience and performers in which at least some part of the stage extends into and is surrounded by the audience. beyond surrounding 270 degrees, called arena staging
Upstage
Portion of the acting area that is farthest from the audience
Vomitoria
Roman theatre - tunnels that allowed the audience to enter and exit the theatres with ease
contemporary theatres - tunnels that allow the actors to reach the downstage portions of a thrust stage by passing through the audience
Conflict
Central feature of a dramatic action - arrangement of the objectives of two or more strong characters in such a way that those objectives are competing and mutually exclusive
