Final Flashcards
Dionysus
God of wine, fertility and revelry. Later drama was presented in hot of Dionysus. Some historians believe that drama originated out of the dithryambic chorus praising him
What roles do puppets play?
And individual play an extension of the performer, a co actor, a design element
3 categories of art (+time and space)
Literary, visual performing:
Literary occupies time
Visual occupies space
Performing occupies both time and space
Main Characters of Medea
Meda, Jason, Creon (ruler of Corinth), Aegueus (king of Athens) Nurse of Medea, Two children. Chorus, Glauce daughter Creon
Theatre vs. Literary
Theatre versus literary. literary only occupies time theatre incorporates literary but adds visual to occupy time and space.
Theatre vs Visual
Visual only occupies space where theatre uses visual and add literary to occupy both
Theatre vs performing
Theater is considered a performing art
What is puppetry? Manipulation of ____
inanimate
Thespis
credited with transforming songs into drama in the sixth century. he stepped out of the chorus and became an actor. where the term thespian came from
Chorus
group that commented in song and dance on the action of the main plot and reacted to it
Plot of Medea
Jason and Medea return from their journey. Jason leaves Medea to marry Clauce Princess of Creon. Medea runs into Augeus, king of Athens, to help Medea get away but she says no. Medea goes crazy and plots to kill both Clasue (which she achieves) and Jason. She does not kill jason but kills her two children and flies away on a chariot led by dragons.
Choregus
Equivalent of modern day producer. for Each playwright he was an Appointed official city state who would choose which plays would be presented at City Diyonysia festival eleven months before a festival.
City Dionysia Festival
Spring festival honoring the god Dionysus incorporated tragic drama in 534 B.C.E and comedy in 487 B.C.E Lasted several days three days devoted to tragedies and had time set aside for five comedies. Satyr plays also performed. Awards were given.
Satyr Plays
one of there types of classical greek dramas ribald takeoff on greek mythology with a chorus a satyrs. where satire came from.
Types of Puppets (7)
Marionette, glove or hand, hand and rod, shadow puppet, table top or rear rod, kite puppets
6 elements of Theatre
- Audience (most important)
- Performers
- Text or script
- Director
- Theatre space
- Design Elements
Medea author
Euripides
Diversity
Striking in contemporary theatre. Artists who reflect multicultural landscapre of our global society
Can see revivals of plays dating back to Greek Times, or can see multiethnic performances
Tragedy
App. 900 written in Greek times, of which third one have survived, from Aeschylus Sophocles, and Euripedes
Aeschylus
525-456 first import greek dramatist first important western dramatist. raised chorus to fiftyHe was the first to call for a second actor, playing different parts with different masks. Known for the trilogy Oresteia
Oresteia
458 Aeschylus sag of Agmemnon, hero of trojan war who when returns home is murdered by his wife Clytemenstra. She in turn is killed by her children Electra and Orestes.
Sophocoles
496-406 raised chorus fifteen men and a third actor. Known for King Oedipus
Euripedes
484-406 considered most “modern” of greek times. sympathetic portrayal of female characters increased realism and mixture of triage and melodrama and comedy. skeptical treatment of the gods. Known for Medea
King Oedipus (oedipus rex)
Plague has hit and play begins. Takes place in one day and and one place; the front of the palace at Thebes. Many twists and turns. and ups and downs. Prophecy made that the plague will not end until murderer of the last king is murdered. Oedipus vows to find out who it was. He tells Jocasta he killed a man at the crossroads where the king died. Oedipus puts his eyes out and Jocasta kills herself. Raised questions about fate, pride, and ironic nature of human events.
pattern of greek tragedy
opening scene chorus enters, episode between characters then first choral song. then alternation between episodes of characters and choral songs until final episode. where everyone exits.
What happens before Oedipus rex
climatic structure story begins long before play starts. Oedipus is born, and sent away because he is prophesied to kill his father and marry his mother. He is then raised in Corinth. Oedipus hears this prophecy and thinks the king queen of Corinth are his parents so he flees to thebes. he encounters a man and kills him, who ends up being his father. he correctly answers the riddle of Sphinx and becomes king of Thebes, and marries his mother, then a plague hits Thebes. This is when play begins
Raisin in the Sun Characters
Ruth Younger, Travis Younger, Walter Lee younger (brother) beneatha younger Lena younger (mama) Joseph Asagai George Murchison
Old comedy
old comedy- comedy from the city of dionysia festival. Only surviving ones are from Aristophanes. Makes fun of social political or cultural conditions and has recognizable characters i.e. Socrates Modern day version would be saturday night live. underlined by fantastic and improbable plots. usually not climatic structure. avon
New comedy
end of the fourth century. dealt with romantic and domestic problems (more so considered roman comedy)
agon
debate between two forces representing opposite sides of political or social issue
parabasis
addressed directly to the audience makes fun of the spectators in general
Three tools of the actor
control of mind, body, and voice
Digital age
The digital age has pushed some theatre companies to try to push the boundaries and be as much like television or film as possible. Sometimes it works very well, Newsies, other times it does not work as well, Spider Man.
Three challenges of Acting
Believeilability, physical/vocal demand, combining inner and outer aspects to create credibility
The Poetics
Written by Aristotle (greek philosopher). sifnigacant work of dramatic criticism of Sophocles. loosely organized and incomplete, and the version we may have been based on a series of lecture notes. single most important piece of dramatic criticism in existence. describes six elements of drama.
A raisin in the Sun plot
The father of a black family has died and they are waiting on the death insurance check to come in. Each member has different goals on what the money should happen, MAMA wants to move to a new house, and a white man tries to stop them but they eventually move
six elements of drama
- plot-arrangement of dramatic incidents
- character-people represented in the play
- thought or theme-ideas explored
- language-dialogue or poetry
- music
- spectacle-scenery and other visual elements
outer vs inner
outer-outer aspects of character, posture, walk, vocal delivery
inner-feelings and emotions of a character
Theatricality in our lives the similarities/ differences
We use theatre terms to describe daily activity in life. Example, someone being melodramatic. But no one, at least no one sane, rants into a monologue on how they are feeling in front of a crowd of people
Theatrical elements can be combined in life events such as weddings or graduations, but are not considered theatre.
Raisin in the Sun Playwright
Lorraine Hansberry
theatre vs event
While events can have theatrical elements, they are usually missing one of the six components of theatre. It could be argued that many events are very close to being theatre
theatre vs spectacle
Again, they have theatrical elements but are missing a component to be considered theatre. In a spectacle such as a fireworks show, there is a generally consensus that there is not a performer.
theatre vs experience
This is similar to an event. They are very closely related to theatre and could be argued that experiences are in fact theatre, as long as there is a theatre space in which they are performing.
Responsibilites and and skills of the actor
assuming the role onstage. doing warm ups, taking dance classes if needed, doing vocal exercises, keeping body in shape
Greak Theatre
skena-stage house pardos-entrance audience-curved area orchestra-altar
August Osage county
Beverly Weston (father), Violet Weston (mother of weston family), Barbara Fordham (oldest weston daughter), Ivy Weston (middle daughter of Weston family), karen Weston (youngest of weston family), Bill Fordham (barbaras estranged husband) Jean Fordham (bill and barbers 14 year old daughter) Steve Huberbrecht ( Karens fiancé) Mattie Fae Aiken (violets sister) Charlie Aiken (married to mattie far) Little Charles (son of mattie fae and charles having an affair with ivy the plan to move to new york)
Ludi Romani Festival
Dedicated to Jupiter (roman counterpart of Zeus) first major roman festival to incorporate theatre.
Dominus (vs Greek Choregus)
Dominus was similar to choregus but was hired by local government official. Still in charge of making financial arrangements, bought dramas from playwrights, hired musicians, and obtained costumes.
Greek New comedy in Rome
Seneca was a playwright who based his plays of greek new comedy dealing with domestic situations
Plautas
254-184. almost all domestic greek new comedies. recurring stock characters. courtesans, lovers, and overbearing parents. most dialogue meant to be sung. Usually were farces, like to use mistaken identity. The meaechmi.
Terrence
Followed Plautas. 185-159. more literary and less exaggerated. but still complicated. Phormio (one of his plays) less slapstick and more verbal wit.
Seneca
most notable tragic dramatist of Roman period. 4-65 b.c.e his chorus is not integral to the dramatic action. emphasized violence on stage (greeks did not allow this)
Horace
Called the “Roman Aristotle” outlined correct technique in ARs Poetica. Argued that tragedy and drama must be distinct genres and tragedy should deal with royalty, whereas comedy should deal with common people. He also thought drama should teach a lesson.
Basics of a rehearsal process
Read through, script is learned, blocking, tech rehearsal, dress rehearsal, preview, opening night
Realism
drama that closely resembles what people could identify with and verify from their own experiences
Stanislavksy system
a technique of realistic acting
most important part of theatre?
the audience
relationship between audience and performer
of utmost importance. varies on how the relationship will be from space to space.
how audience can affect the performance
They can affect in many ways. Generally, a performer feeds of the energy that the audience is giving. If it is a dead crowd, it takes extra work to still give a good show knowing that your audience does not seem to be caring.
role of the audience
To achieve aesthetic distance, and suspension of disbelief, and become part of the world that is created in the theatrical play.
how is role decided
The role is decided by what type of theatrical play that is occurring. In a standard play they are just a spectator. In other plays such Sleep no More, and Spring Awakening, the audience becomes more part of the show. And in theater for political change they become specactors
August Osage county plot prologue and act 1
Prologue-Beverly hires a new house cook to take care of Violet who is diagnosed with mouth cancer. He tells her he is an alcoholic and she is addicted to drugs.
Act 1- It has been several weeks and Beverly has gone missing. Day by day different parts of the family begin to show up to help soothe Violet, even though she doesn’t seem to care. Ivy fights with her daughters over many different things. Barbara fights with her husband. Act ends with the sheriff telling the family that Beverly has killed himself.
reviewer vs critic
Reviewer- Gives opinions on how they believe the play went, but usually does not have extensive training in theatre
Critics- Usually have more of an impact if an audience is going to come, because audiences know that critics have had many years of training in theatre.
What must be considered when presenting an audience?
Reasons an audience attends
• To be entertained. Whether it be a tragedy or comedy, the whole purpose of theatre is to be entertained.
Desired response of audience
• Everyone hopes that all the work that they have put in will receive a positive reaction
Specific role of the audience/physical relationship
• The have a relationship that is a vicarious one. They respond through the mind and the heart.
Audience etiquette/expectations
• Depends on what type of theatrical event is happening. Typically it is to be quiet and respectful of the performers and give your utmost attention. If you are at a play that is intended for participation then this changes.
Evolution of the audience’s role
• The role of the audience becoming a specactor has been added, creating a more holistic experience
through line (objective) director/actor
director-the overall super objective or theme of the play
actor- the super objective of the character. what and what are they doing what they are doing
Given circumstances
what is my space? what is my relationship to my space? the moment before. action and place. who, what, when, where, why, and how
the moment before
what moment is driving the character
innovations in roman theatre
freestanding buildings, tiered audience connected to the stage house to form a single unit. orchestra was a semicircle. rarely used for staging rather for seating. stage house was two to three stories high and used storage and dressing space. facade of the stage house, the scare frond was elaborate. in between thrust and proscenium style stage.
August: Osage county author
Tracy Letts
what caused church to ban/close theatre
suppressed it because they wanted life to be fully based around going to church. and theatre had no part in that.
Why brought back?
liturgical dramas brought it back by Hildegard de Bingen and later vernacular dramas.
liturgical vs vernacular
liturigacal- in latin, short dramas, usually sung. honored saints and the virgin mary. written for religious days. presented on church steps
vernacular-everyday speech. more elaborate and were usually presentes as a series of one act dramas. presented in town squares.
5 m’s of medieval drama
Mystery, morality, miracle, mummings, and manners
mystery
vernacular play. (cycle play) dramatized a series of biblical religious events that could stretch from adam and eve all the way up to jesus christ. The second shepards play
morality
used religious characters and themes to teach a moral lesson. generally short and equivalent to a one act play today.
mummings
a theatrical drama in which people represent the order of vegetation. Many of the performers dressed in costumes that signified that they were a plant of some sort. performed in the dark part of the year. meant to be humorous
miracle
presents a real or fictitious account of the life, miracles, or martyrdom of a saint.
manners
the first secular dramas. These dramas were the beginning of breaking the tradition of keeping a religious purpose in the theatre world during the Medieval time period
upstage
part furthest away from audience
downstage
closest to audience
stage left
the part of the stage to the left of a performer facing the audience
stage right
the part of the stage to the right of a performer facing the audience
center stage
center stage
script vs text
Text is any type of theatrical activity presented onstage. The script is what the actors use a blueprint to learn how to perform their part.
specactor
when a spectator is used during theatre for political change
catharsis
release of emotional tension. tension usually caused by play
alienation effect
A type of production that hopes to distance the audiences emotions from the play
aesthetic distance
When the spectator tells themselves that they are watching a play and while they may not enjoy a character, they do not dislike the person who is playing it.
Willing suspension of disbelief
When a spectator willingly gives up the idea that what is happening on stage could not happen in real life, but still enjoys the play
emotional recall
brining back a memory to convert the emotions needed for the character
magic if
giving context, spawns emotional recall, playing a rolse as if you were that person
warm up excercises
exercises to warm up actors body and voice. designed to relax the body and the voice
responsibilites and skills of the director
pre-hearsal- reading anyalsis of the script, spine of the play, casting.
Parallel to this-collaborating with design team for design process.
Rehearsal period- meet and greet, table read, blocking, props rehearsal, run/clean throughs, tech runs, preview, dress rehearsal, opening night
directing process
determine spine of the play, collaborate with design team to determine the vision the director has from the playwright. lead actors in rehearsal to properly portray characters
style of the play
the distinguishing characteristics of a play that reflect conventional practice
Sanskrit theatre
Indian theatre. language of noble classes. to be performed in various court circles. fifty to sixty plays that reliably assigned to this period. each on had a leader (sudtradhara, chief actor) combined voice body emotions costume and makeup in an integrated whole. typical stage was a ninety six feet long and forty eight wide stage, divided equally into stage and auditorium. no scenery. most productive was Bhasa
Beijing/Peking Opera
form of traditional Chinese theatre which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance, and acrobatics. It arose in the late 18th century and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century. extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty court and has come to be regarded as one of the cultural treasures of China. four main types of performers.
