Midterm Flashcards
Joseph Campbell Quote
“The hero is the champion of things becoming, not of things become…”
- Book = Hero with a 1000 faces
Big 3 Questions
“Who am i”
“What is the meaning of life”
“What purpose do i have”
Socrates Beliefs
The purpose of human life was personal and spiritual growth
Aristotle Quote
“The purpose of art is to figure out the hidden meaning of things and not their appearance; for in this profound truth lies their true reality which does not appear in there external outlines”
Quest
A Long, arduous search for something, the hero embarks on this
- A better life
- to find one’s self
- the meaning of love
- run away from troubles
- The hero’s search of self, to discover meaning…
in so doing return to his community a changed person
Origin of Theatre
- Ritual
- Man’s attempt to control the unknowable forces of the universe through highly refined formalized repetition. - Human Instinct
- mans human instinct to play, to imitate, to minnie - Storytelling
- mans innate and strong desire to tell stories
The purpose of theatre
- To educate
- stress the dignity of humanity and human spirit
- examine individual, religious and secular values
- explore civic freedom and responsibility. - To entertain or to divert our minds
- What not to do (instructive)
- mock, make fun of (satire)
Thich Nhat hanh
Vietnamese buddhist monk, teacher, author, poet, peace activist.
“When you wash the dishes wash the dishes” - miracle of mindfulness
MEANS - you should be in that moment focuses on what is happening within that moment.
Define Theatre
- the performer must be live
- it must be presented before a live audience (shared space)
- it must be a representation of “humans” in actions
- it must be repeatable with infinite variation
- actors pretending to be someone else.
6 elements of Theatre
- Plot
- Character
- Thought
- Diction
- Song
- Spectacle
Plot is composed of..
- Exposition
- Inciting Incident
- Complication
- Crisis
- Climax
- Denouement
Exposition
The introduction to the world of the play, the characters, the setting, and the story
Inciting Incident
Opposing forces
- Man vs man
- Man vs himself
- Man vs nature
Complication
When events alter the course of the action of the play or film or television show
- Good to bad, bad to worse, bad to good
Crisis
Peak/Point of highest emotional intensity; final unfolding of action
- Moment is upon the hero
Climax
The reversal of the hero’s future; and recognition of his flaw, the old system can no longer be maintained
Denouement
A new understanding and a return to balance
4 elements of character
- Physical - judging a book by its cover
- Social - how they see themselves in the world
- Psychological - where they fit into society
- Moral - what are their values.
Thought
(THEME)
The ideas that govern the world of this particular play
- What is the play about?
- Plot + Character =
Diction
The the speech of the characters or language of the play/film
Music
All auditory material other than the actors voice
Spectacle
All the visual aspects of the dramatic event - everything you see
Define generes
categories or types of drama/performances
Types of generes
Tragedy
Comedy
Musical
(burlesque)
Tragedy
- a serious drama that takes a thoughtful sober attitude towards ts subject matter
- it asks serious questions about the human condition
- a common theme for tragedy is the notion of “free will” to chose ones fate.
Jean Paul Sarte Quote
“we are condemned to be free”
Comedy
A dramatic work that is light and often humorous that usually contains a happy resolution of events
Characteristics of Comedy
- Suspension of natural laws
- Contrast between the individual and society
- A comic premise
Characteristics of Comedy
- Suspension of natural laws
- - the pain is not so much physical as it is personal, emotional, psychological (Schadenfreude) - Contrast between the individual and society
- - comedy is a social corrective and teaches you what not to do - A comic premise
- - an idea of concept that turns the accepted notion of things upside down
Types of comedy
Situation Comedy Farce Satire Musical Ballad Anthem
Situation Comedy
The character finds themselves in a situation that produces comic effect (fish out of water)
Farce
Exaggerated, physical humor, no intellectual pretense, just pure silliness
Satire
Comedy used to attack evil or foolishness, to mock or make fun of, particularly powerful institutions or people
Musical
A narrative interspersed with music and lyrics, typically designed to advance the plot or develop character
Ballad
A simple narrative set to music that gives us a window into the character’s state of mind
Anthem
A song of praise, devotion, or patriotism
Soliloquy
speaking one’s thoughts aloud when they are by themselves.
Music and Lyrics creates…
- An emotional appeal that pulls at our hearts.
- a language that indicates how we should feel at a particular moment
- gives “poetic” voice to bottled up emotions
Schadenfreude
Take pleasure in other peoples pain
Horizon of expedition
“Every movie you have an expectation”
Theatrical
A selection of events; a distillation of a moment that like theatre, is:
- Events condensed and thus heightened
- Artificial (to mimic, as in symbolic)
- Exaggerated display/exhibition
Literature of Drama
Or its performance, is a manual for living.
Agon
struggle, battle, The issue between the protagonist and the antagonist.
Theatre illustrates
by doing we identify with the Hero because we share many of the values of the Hero of any given action
Difference between theater and film?
Audience is involved
Theater can only be performed on a traditional stage?
False
Aesthetic distance
the separation of audience member from the performance or art work to experience its aesthetic qualities.
Willing suspension of disbelief
The audience desire to believe in the reality of what is happening onstage.
Agent
Someone who acts own behalf or on behalf of someone else
Types of Theatre
Regional Theatres - permanent, professional, nonprofit theatres offering first-class productions to their audiences.
Community theatres - Semi Professional and experienced amateur groups that present plays that appeal to their specific audiences.
Site Specific - theatre presented in a nontraditional setting so that the chosen environment helps illuminate the text.
Performance art - most often refers to a solo performance created by the performer but also can be a work that mixes visual arts, dance, film or music.
Characteristics of art
Literary - novels, short stories, poetry
Visual - painting, sculpture, architecture and photography + film
Performing - theatre, dance, opera, and music + film
Spatial Art VS Temporal art
spatial - visual arts are spatial, they exist in space.
Temporal - performing .moves through time (music)
Elements of Theatre
Audience Performers Script/text Director Theatre space Design elements (scenery, costume, lighting and sound)
How does the audience participate ?
Vicariously, through the mind and heart.
Critic
Someone who observes a production and then analyzes and comments on it
Reviewer
A type of critic who reports on a production and gives a brief opinion about whether or not it is worth seeing.
Dramaturg
the individual works on literary and historical issues with members of the artistic team mounting a theatre production
Nonmediated or Live Theatre
Theatre that is not observed through an electronic medium.
Global VS Multicultural theatre
global - theatre from around the world
Multicultural - Diversity?
Theatrical
A selection of events; a distillation of a moment that like theatre, is:
- Events condensed and thus heightened
- Artificial (to mimic, as in symbolic)
- Exaggerated display/exhibition
Six aspects of a script
- selecting the specific subject of the play
- determining focus .
- establishing purpose
- developing dramatic structure
- creating dramatic characters
- establishing point of view
Dramatic Structure
Plot
Action
Conflict
Strong opposed Forces
Plot
As distinct from tstory, the patterned arrangement in a drama of events and characters, with incidents selected and arranged for maximum dramatic impact.
Action
a sequence of events linked by a cause and effect, with a beginning, middle, and end.
Conflict
tension between two or more characters that leads to crisis or a climax, a fundamental struggle or imbalance
Strong Opposed Forces
People in the conflict of the pay are determined to achieve their goals, they are powerful adversaries for one another
Sequence in Dramatic Structure
Opening Scene - starts action, sets tone.
Obstacles and Complications - O: delay achieving goal. C: new force that creates a new balance of power and entails a delay into reaching the climax.
Crisis/Climax- point when action reaches an important confrontation, leading to final crisis which is the climax, turning point
Two forms of structure
Climactic - there are few scenes, a short time passes, there are few locales, and the action begins chronologically close to the climax
episodic - there are many scenes, taking place over a considerable period of time in a number of locations, usually has subplots.
exposition
imparting of information necessary for an understanding of the story but not covered by the action onstage, events from the past, occurring outside the play,
Deus ex machina
“god from a machine” a resolution device in classic greek drama, intervention of supernatural forces to save the action from its logical conclusion.
Subplot
Secondary plot that reinforces or runs parallel to the major plot in an episodic play.
Dialogue
conversation between characters in a play
Types of Dramatic Characters
Extraordinary characters - larger than life
Representative - embody characteristics that represent the entire group
Stock - One outstanding trait. (stereotypes)
Dominate Trait - one trait that overshadows all others and controls the character.
Minor characters, narrators, chorus, nonhuman characters.
Commedia dell’arte
form of comic theatre, dialogue was improvised around a loose scenario calling for a set of stock characters.
Protagonist VS anatagonist
principal character in a play, the one whom that drama is about.
opponent of the protagonist in a drama.
Tragedy
Dramatic form involving serious actions of universal significance and with important moral and philosophical implications, usually with an unhappy ending.
Heroic Drama
Serious but basically optimistic drama written in verse with noble characters in extreme situations or unusual adventures.
Bourgeois or domestic drama
drama dealing with problems of middle and lower class characters. Serious and comic.
Melodrama
emphasized action and spectacular effects and also used music to underscore the action, had stock characters and clearly defined villians and heros.
Tragicomedy
play having tragic themes and noble characters but a happy ending.
Theatre of the absurd
sense of absurdity and futility of human existence through the dramatic techniques they employ.
