Final Flashcards
Father of tragedy
Aeschylus
Father of modern acting
Stanislavski
Theater that is not observed through an electronic medium.
Nonmediated or live theater
Permanent, professional, nonprofit theaters, offering first class productions to their audiences
Regional theaters
Semi professional and experienced amateur groups that present please that appeal to their specific audiences
Community theater
Theater presented in a nontraditional setting so that the chosen environment helps illuminate the text
Site specific theater
A contraction of costume, and play that combines role-playing, costume, in, and social interactions through the Internet, or at conventions
Cosplaying
To overcome perceived limitations of realistic theater, this strand of modern theater departs from realism via non-realistic or anti-realistic presentations. It often uses symbolism, nonlinear, narrative, dream, imagery, and other ways to avoid realistic representation.
Departures from realism
The founder of modern realistic drama
Henrick Ibsen
The creator of Hedda Gabler
Ibsen
Special form of realism developed in Europe in the late 19th century; it was not carefully plotted or constructed, but was meant to present a slice of life. Ibsen, Strindberg, and Chekhov
Naturalism
The most influential of the late 19th century theater dedicated to realism
Moscow Art Theater
Movement of the late 19th century and early 20th century that sought to express inner truth, rather than represent life realistically
Symbolism
Movement in Germany at about the time of World War I characterized by an attempt to dramatize subjective states through distortion; striking, often grotesque images; and lyric, an unrealistic dialogue
Expressionism
Art movement that began in Italy around 1909, that idealized mechanization and machinery. Opposite of expressionist who opposed war
Futurism
Departure from realism that attempted to present dramatically the working of the subconscious. Many of their plays seem to be set in a dreamworld , mixing recognizable and fantastic events
Surrealism
Single, setting, that can represent a variety of locales with a simple addition of properties or a scenic elements
Unit set
Exposing the elements of theater to make the audience members aware that they are watching theater.
Theatricalism
Meyerholds theory that are performers body should be machine like and that emotion could be represented externally
Biomechanics
Post-world war, one scene design movement in which sets frequently composed of rams, platforms, and levels – we’re not realistic and were intended to provide greater opportunities for physical action
Constructivism
Antonin Artauds visionary concept of a theater, based on magic and ritual, which would liberate deep, violet, and erotic impulses
Theater of cruelty
Form of drama associated with Bertolt Brecht and aimed at the intellect rather than the emotions in order to affect social change
Epic theater
Term applied to plays illustrating a philosophy, who is modern advocate, was Jean Paul Sartre , and which holds that there are no longer any fix standards or values
Existentialism
Term applied to the works of certain play rights of the 1950s in the 1960s, who expressed a similar point of view regarding the absurdity in futility of the human condition and believe that they should be reflected in the dramatic action
Theater of the absurd
Nonliterary or unscripted, theatrical event, using a scenario that allows for change occurrences
Happening
The use of electronic or digital media, such as projections, films, video, or computer animation in life, theatrical presentations
Multimedia
A type of theatrical production in which the total environment – the stage space, and the audience organization – is transformed in order to blur distinctions between performers in spectators
Environmental theater
Term coined by Jerzy Grotowski to describe his theater, which was stripped to the bare essentials of actor an audience
Poor theatre
This strand of modern theater, combines various theatrical trends, or works across boundaries or different trends
Eclecticism
Spoken (as opposed to sung)portion of the text of a musical play
Book
A strand of modern theater that involves the mutual influences of theater from around the world
Globalization
Experimental theater that initially incorporated elements of dance in the visual arts. Since performance art often is based on the vision of an individual performer or director rather than a playwright, the autobiographical monologue has become a popular performance art form. 
Performance art
Contemporary concept suggesting that artist and audiences have gone beyond the modernist movement of realism and departures of realism
Postmodernism
Term meaning that there is no text in a traditional sense with a dialogue written by a dramatist; rather, there is a scenario created by director or an ensemble, which is then usually expanded through improvisation
Non- text- based theater
Short agit- prop dramas about the lives of Chicano workers 
Actos
A term meaning agitation – propaganda, referring to place with a strong, social or political agenda
Agit-prop
Term encompassing different types of drama that presented material in the fashion or journalism of reporting period drama that is supposedly based on factual occurrences and materials
Documentary drama, (or theater of fact)
The audience is desire to believe in the reality of what is happening onstage
Willing suspension of disbelief
The separation of audience member from the performance of artwork to experience it, aesthetic qualities
Aesthetic distance
The audience plays an active role in someway, often moving through a performance space, sometimes even choosing where they go within that space, and what they say and do. Many immersive productions, use transformed, redesigned space, as well as require the audience member to engage in a complete sensory experience 
Immersive theater
Oldest and best-known genres are:
Tragedy and comedy
• Tragic Heroes and Heroines
• A person of stature—king, queen, general
• Stand as symbols of an entire culture or society
• Trapped in a fateful web of tragic circumstances
• Tragic Circumstances
• Tragic Irretrievability
• Acceptance of Responsibility
• Tragic Verse
• The Effect of Tragedy
Traditional tragedy
• No queens or kings as central figures
• Written in prose rather than poetry
• Probe the same depths and ask the same questions
Modern tragedy
_____ definition of tragedy:
Attractively is a dramatic imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude
Aristotles
• Serious drama that has heroic or noble
characters and certain other traits of classic tragedy
• Has a happy ending
• Assumes a basically optimistic worldview even if the hero or heroine dies at the end
Heroic drama
• Deals with people from everyday life instead of kings, queens, and nobility
• Common themes are:
• Problems of society
• Struggles within a family
• Dashed hopes
• Renewed determination
Domestic drama
• Suspension of Natural Laws
• The Comic Premise (its so absurd it can’t happen)
• contrast between individuals in the social order
Comedy
Anything that amuses, movement from unhappiness to happy, or action that excites joy: writing or playing which provokes laughter from the audience based on their recognition of incongruities, in their characters, situation, or line.
Aristotles definition of comedy
• Thrives on exaggeration
• Has no intellectual pretensions
• Aims are entertainment and laughter
• Has excessive plot complications
• Humor results from ridiculous situations as well as
pratfalls and horseplay
Farce (comedy)- been around the longest
• Relies on knockabout physical humor, gross exaggeration, and occasional vulgarity
• Historically, it was a ludicrous imitation of other
forms of drama
Burlesque (comedy)
• Uses wit, especially sophisticated language; irony;
and exaggeration to expose or attack evil and foolishness
Satire (comedy)
• Usually deals with family situations
• Found in TV situation comedies
Domestic comedy
influential Roman writer of architecture who was read and studied extensively by Renaissance. He wrote De Architectura
Vitruvius
First modern director
Duke of Saxe Meiningen
being stylistically accurate, then decorative, as to stage historicism. (Meiningens way of realism)
Antiquarianism
careful control of stage crowds had been tried before, but not too successful. (Meiningens way of realism)
Groupings and crowds
previous systems such as the star system and scenic practices made unity difficult. Made his own designs( Meiningens way of realism)
Unity
got rid of the star and made them abide by his rules. Got rid of ego. Saved money. (Meiningens way of realism)
Rejection of star sustem
was a private theatre that could only be attended by subscription.
Andre Antoine and Theatre Libre
Antonin seeks 4 things
1) Improvement of the repertory
2) First example of an “art” theatre-eclectic
3) Popularization of realistic acting “a work that is true must be played truly.”
4) Creation of realistic directorial styles
_______was an amateur actor/director. _______ is considered to be the “Father of Modern Acting.” Good at observing ppl
Stanislavski
felt one should place form over content and precise workmanship
-He praised purely decorative art – art needs no meaning.
Oscar Wilde. Aesthetic movement
-They produce plays for and about Ireland. -Yeats believed acting should be static, with concentration of the “sound of the human voice.” Lines sometime chanted or sung.
William Butler Yeats and Lady Gregory founded Irish
Theatre
not associated to one movement or “ism” but rather dealt with many.
-He begins in realism, but felt it unrewarding.
-Symbolist, and later expressionist
-His main objective was unity of play, setting and action; that the actor be emphasized in this setting.
The actor is center and not the trickery of the staging.
Adolphe Appia
Major design considerations for Appia
1) light 2) vertical shapes 3) low flights of steps 4) lighting is key throughout 5) actor center of all
He wanted to save theatre from itself. -Much like Appia but felt a need to move away from actor
to a stage of movement and mass.
Edwin Craig
Major design considerations for Craig
1) movement 2) color 3) light 4) mass 5) symbol 6) all one and same
it celebrated images of motion (machines,
cyclist, industrial workers) and used the shapes of
machines, industry and early aerodynamics. -Movement was heavy into politics which led it toward
Fascism. -Celebrated war, modernism, materials and machines.
Filippo Martinetti
Futurism
founded by Tristan Tzara. was chosen from French dictionary at random; and is
baby talk in French for anything to do with horses. Most negative. were disgusted by a world that could produce global war.
Dada
began around 1924 by André Breton
-Breton worked in a mental ward during WWI and also was a big fan of Sigmund Freud. makes the subconscious mind the source of the artist most significant perception.
Surrealism
most promising surrealist playwright
Jean Cocteau
Jean Cocteau work
The Ox on the Roof
Orpheus
The Infernal Machine
members of this new movement saw an internal truth with
all the clarity of nightmare, and presented their plays with sharp angles, garish colors and shocking angles. Major movement
Expressionism
1) they approved (sort of) realism and naturalism
2) fundamental truth found in man – his soul, his desires, his vision
3) sought a world free of war and hate
Rules of Expressionism
1) message centered
2) action of play takes place in form of a search,pilgrimage
3) central character is most often Christ-like- epitomizes social attitudes
4) sought to reduce each element to essentials
a) plot – argument
b) characters – the Son, the Man, the Wife.
c) dialogue – frequently reduced to one or two word sentences.
5) distortion is evident in every element (events are bizarre)
6) sharp contrast – dialogue; characters; realistic scenes fade into dream visions.
7) dreamlike fantasy and magic
8) message in a nightmare or vision
What the sought in expressionist plays
From Morn to Midnight & Gas I - George Kaiser
Man and the Masses – Ernest Toller
R.U.R. – Karl Capek
Adding Machine – Elmer Rice
Plays and Playwright of expressionism
he formed a theory known
as biomechanics
Vsevolod Meyerhold
1) rid oneself of unproductive, useless movement
2) rhythm
3) correct positioning of body center
4) stability
Made Rules of Biomechanics
(Meyerhold) wanted the setting to be machine like with no wasted space or useless detail. Practical rather than decorative
Constructivism
