Lysistrata Flashcards
Name all 6 Berkoff methods
Stylised movement
Minimalistic use of set and costume
Exaggerating
Masks
Tableaux
Direct aside
Examples of stylised movement and how to apply them to the texts
Ensemble - used for the men’s and women’s chorus
Mime - mime reconciliation/ key activities or change in scenery
Unnatural movement - base pulse or marche sur place for the chorus
Choreographed fight - Stratyllis v men’s leader
Examples of exaggeration and how to apply them to the play
Exaggerated stylised movement - for the chorus
Exaggerated vocal sounds - women’s chorus
Kvetching - Magistrates speech
Physical movements exaggerated - exaggerated facial expressions when water is thrown on them
Why are masks used and where could they be used in the play
Masks were used in Greek times to exaggerate facial expressions so that audience members at the back of the theatre
Could be used throughout the whole play to demonstrate facial expressions - particularly on the men
Examples of minimalist costume within the performance according to your concept and what it shows
Simple overalls with white t-shirt underneath for women - minimalist to show stupidity of women
Less minimalist for the men to show hierarchy and their power (include something that can be stripped)
Examples of minimalistic set in the play according to your concept and why
Limited use of set with bland colours to keep it simple - Greeks would have had little to no set (OPC)
Concept - what will the women be sacrificing
They will still be sacrificing sex as it was as valuable to the rappers in the 90s as it was to the Greeks
Concept - What is your drink represented by? And why?
Drink is represented by a joint - represents the collective responsibility and can be passed around
Concept - what is the acropolis represented by? And why?
Death row records - it was a staple of the east coast west coast divide
Concept - what is the water represented by? Why?
The water will be represented by paint to cover the colours - the gang colours were a big part of the divide so covering them in white paint will make them neutral
Concept - What will the erections be represented by? And why?
The erections will be represented by the baseball caps that the men wear having extremely long flat bits - this will not only add a comedic effect to the play (OPC) but it will also use exaggeration
Concept - what is reconciliation represented by? And why? Also what does reconciliation represent herself
Reconciliation - a box of jewellery that would be shared among leaders as it represents the sharing of land that reconciliation originally represented
Context - why was the play originally written and what did it represent?
It was written in order to criticise the stupidity of the war at the time
It represented the fact that the solution to the war was so simple that even women, who were regarded as the lowest part of society, could resolve the conflict
Context - Where was it originally performed and who to?
It was first performed in the ancient theatre of Epidarus in front of the general of Athens who the play was made to mock
Context - What were the OPC?
In open air theatre
All wore masks which had facial expressions on them
Actors had to project voice
No female actors - all male playing both genders
Male characters wore exaggerated genitalia to heighten their masculinity
The Peloponnesian war raged on at the time
The play is a political comedy
