Midterm Flashcards
1
Q
Abbey Theatre:
A
- also known as the National Theatre of Ireland first opened its doors to the public in 1904.
- performances played to a mainly working-class audience rather than the usual middle-class
- The Abbey was the first state-subsidized theatre in the English-speaking world; from 1925 onwards it received an annual subsidy from the Irish Free State.
2
Q
Beaumarchais:
A
- experimented in writing short farces for private audiences, but he now had ambitions to write for the theatre
- plays are indicative of the change in social attitudes before, during, and after the French Revolution
- dramatic and comedic style
3
Q
Georg Buchner (1813-1837):
A
- Wrote Woyzeck
- German Novelist and Playwright
- considered part of the Sturn and Drang Movement
- died with two unfinished plays (one was Woyzeck)
- remained in manuscript until 1870’s but likely known to other authors
- not performed until 1913
- all version require someone to “finish” the play
4
Q
Anton Chekov (1860-1904):
A
- Russian
- grandson of serfs
- Doctor and Writer - jokes and short stories
- major bread winner for family - became a doctor to support himself
- closely tied to Moscow Art Theatre
- players where “nothing happens”
- very aware of social change
5
Q
Covent Garden:
A
- an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London.
- The large building is often referred to as simply “Covent Garden”, after a previous use of the site of the opera house’s original construction in 1732.
- It is the home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House.
- Originally called the Theatre Royal, it served primarily as a playhouse for the first hundred years of its history.
In 1734, the first ballet was presented.
6
Q
Hannah Cowley:
A
- wrote Belle’s Stratagem
- well respected
- comedic
- 1780 had trouble getting the show up
- equal following of men and women
7
Q
Diorama:
A
a model representing a scene with three-dimensional figures, either in miniature or as a large-scale museum exhibit.
8
Q
Domestic Tragedy:
A
- little “high” tragedy; middle class replaces Kings and Queens
- In English drama, a domestic tragedy is a tragedy in which the tragic protagonists are ordinary middle-class or lower-class individuals.
9
Q
Drury Lane Theatre:
A
?!?!?!
10
Q
William Dunlap:
A
- one of the forefathers of American Theatre
- Wrote Andre in 1798
- first political tragedy
11
Q
Expressionism 1900-1930:
A
- artistic movement of the early 20th century intended to show reality from individual (subjective) points of view
- truth lies in humanities spiritual qualities not external appearances
- like a dream-nightmare reality
- modern social and political conditions mechanize and distort the human spirit
Represented by:- mechanical movements and speech
- episodic, sometimes, disconnected action
12
Q
Forestage:
A
- the part of a stage in front of the proscenium or the closed curtain, as the apron or an extension of the apron
13
Q
David Garrick (1717-1779):
A
- most famous actor of the age
- manager of the Drury Lane for nearly 30 years
- skilled in both comedy and tragedy
- staged the “Shakespeare Jubilee” in 1769
- respected as writer/manager; loved as an actor
14
Q
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe:
A
- gained him enormous fame as a writer in the Sturm und Drang period which marked the early phase of Romanticism
- German writer
- the novel The Sorrows of Young Werther, book is often considered to be the “spark” which ignited the movement, and can arguably be called the world’s first “best-seller”
15
Q
Hamburg National Theatre:
A
- wanted to be a native and German National Theatre
- set up actor training program
- subsidized by the state
- wanted to stop imitations of French Writers
- contemporary German setting based on classical stories
- 1st ever Dramaturg
16
Q
Hanswurst:
A
- a popular coarse-comic figure of German-speaking impromptu comedy.
- He is “a half doltish half cunning partly stupid partly knowing enterprising and cowardly self indulgent and merry fellow who in accordance with circumstances accentuated one or other of these characteristics.
17
Q
The Independent Theatre Movement:
A
- non commercial (little theatre)
- players were very exclusive so it was membership-based
- no censorship; although there were censorship laws
- founded by Jacob Grein
- produced modern/realist plays
- allowed authors to experiment
- lasted 5 years
- first show was Ibsens Ghost
18
Q
Samuel Johnson:
A
- wrote the first dictionary (1755)
- the first dramatic critic
- Wrote the prefaces to Shakespeare in 1765
19
Q
Edmund Kean:
A
- 1814-1833 on stage
- “To see him act is like reading Shakespeare by flashes of lightning”
- emotional performance
- known alcoholic
- major influence on the gyrations that followed
- represented the break from company system to a star system
20
Q
John Phillip Kemble
A
- 1783-1817 onstage
- tragic characters with gravitas (very poised performance)
- broth of Sarah Siddons (another amazing actress during their time)
21
Q
Gotthold Lessing
A
- German writer
- philosopher, dramatist, publicist and art critic
- Enlightenment era
22
Q
Licensing Act of 1737:
A
- was a landmark act of censorship of the British stage and one of the determining factors in the development of Augustan drama
- Lord Chamberlain had the power to approve any play before it was staged
- only two legitimate Theaters:
- Drury Lane
- Coven Garden
23
Q
Melodrama 1810-1910:
A
- played telling sensational stories of exaggerated characters in a thrilling style
- takes its name from “melody drama”
- first unsecured plays
- music use to heighten emotion
Main Elements:- hero/heroine pursued by a villain and rescued after many dangers
- elaborate spectacles: floods, battles, volcanoes, earthquakes
- disguise and abduction were popular tropes
- coincidence also
- historical accuracy
- accuracy about daily life
- included technological innovations (trains, cameras etc.)
incorporated music through all area of the show
24
Q
Minstrel Show:
A
- show consisted of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, performed by white people in make-up or blackface for the purpose of playing the role of black people.
25
Moscow Art Theatre:
- Started by Stanislavski and Vladimir
- Aim was to create a home for naturalism
to challenge melodrama’s dominance of theatre in Russia
26
Vladimir Neimirovish-Danchenko:
- co founder of the Moscow art theatre along with Anton Chekov
27
Naturalism:
- a movement seeking to imitate almost scientifically realistic through plot and character
- power of outside forces to determine human action
- heredity and environment determine who were are, not free will
- “slice of life” theatre
- “cast study” plays
- creating entire story on the works of people around them
Stanislavsky loved this theatre
28
Alexander Ostrovsky:
- a Russian playwright, generally considered the greatest representative of the Russian realistic period.
- The author of 47 original plays, Ostrovsky "almost single-handedly created a Russian national repertoire.”
- His dramas are among the most widely read and frequently performed stage pieces in Russia.
29
Provincetown Players:
- Massachusetts/NYC
- George Cram “Jig” cos
- Susan Glaspell
Philosophy:
- amateur work: New writers/actors
- brought innovation
Audience: young audience
- impacted was the little Theatre Movement
- Boosted O’Neill fame
- speaks on American issues for the first time
30
Rationalism:
- Restoration comedy, an aristocratic and seemingly amoral form of theatre, declined, at least in part because of the rise of a conservative Protestant (Puritan) middle class.
- Rationalism (The Age of Reason), faith in reason, began to take over from faith in God – Rationalism begins to lead away from the strict rules of Neoclassicism. This comes from a faith in man.
31
Henrik Ibsen 1828-1906:
- Norwegian
- poet and playwright father of realism
- really verse plays
- Social Issues Prose (Realistic) Plays
late (Symbolic) Prose plays
- takes on contemporary issues in middle of the career
Ibsen was the Bernie of his time
- could have influenced Hitler (3rd Richt)
- Wrote Dolls House
32
Realism:
- a movement emphasizing ploys and character that imitate - selected traits of the language and appearance of everyday life
- power of the individual to shape their fate
- human will
- 4th wall is huge
33
Romanticism:
- inner experience is most important
- playwrights wrote “closet dramas”
- not meant to be produced
- takes out perspective of characters inner life
- not much great romantic theatre
- but Romantic ideas found their way into the popular theatre of the time
34
Friedrich Schiller:
- a German poet, philosopher, physician, historian, and playwright.
- Weimar Classicism
- friendship with the already famous and influential Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
- They frequently discussed issues concerning aesthetics, and Schiller encouraged Goethe to finish works he left as sketches.
35
Sentimental Comedy:
- “a pleasure too exquisite for laughter”
| - Strong moral conclusion
36
George Bernard Shaw:
- known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw
- an Irish playwright, critic and polemicist
- influenced western theatre
- both contemporary satire and historical allegory, Shaw became the leading dramatist of his generation
37
Showboats:
- 1830’s: traveled the Mississippi on boats
- a showboat was basically a barge that resembled a long, flat-roofed house, and in order to move down the river, it was pushed by a small towboat, also known as a pusher, which was attached to it
38
Sara Siddons:
- 1774-1812 on stage
- best actress of her time
- less gravitas, more passion in her work
- almost 6’ tall
- was most famous for her portrayal of the Shakespearean character, Lady Macbeth
39
Konstantin Stanislavsky (186-1938):
Acting System:
- emotional Memory
- the magic “IF”
- tables work: Units, Actions, Beats
- Physical action that displays psychology
40
August Strindberg:
- Swedish
- Dream Play
- Dance of Death
- prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience
- during which time he wrote over 60 plays
- A bold experimenter and iconoclast throughout, he explored a wide range of dramatic methods and purposes, from naturalistic tragedy, monodrama, and history plays, to his anticipations of expressionist and surrealist dramatic techniques.
41
Sturm and Drang (Storm and Stress):
- Weimer Classicism
- plays that broke rules
- risky subjects
- poetic and episodic
- not meant to be performed
- naturalistic
42
Symbolism:
- represents self and something else
- artistic movement in the 1890’s that rejected Realism in favor of non-realistic stories and forms
- truth is bigger than the observable world
- truth can only be evoked not represented
- symbols, legends, myths, moods
- drama that evokes the mystery and emotion of existence
if not written in verse it was heightened language
- atmospheric staging
- almost religious experience
43
Sophie Treadwell 1885-1970:
- of Scottish and Mexican Descent
- journalist and playwright
- suffragist
- pursued commercial success
- best known for her play Machinal which is often included in drama anthologies as an example of a expressionist or modernist play.
44
Royal Tyler:
- one of the forefathers of American Theatre
- wrote The Contrast in 1787
- first American Comedy with a Yankee
45
Weimar Classicism:
1788-1805
- plays follow classical structure
- portray both contemporary and historical material in a highly emotional structure
- drama should transform everyday human experience into - something poetic and sublime - it should not try to create and illusion of real life
Two Main Playwrights
- John Wolfgang Von Goethe
- Friedrich Schiller
46
Well Made Play:
- Eugene Scribe: “A Glass of Water” 1840
- careful exposition
- cause to effect arrangement of incidents
- building scenes to a climax
- skillful withholding of information
- startling reversals
47
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900):
- Irish Born
- poet and novelist before writing his first play
- melodrama mixed with satire on society
- themes of identity and double lives
- he was a gay man
- too scandalous to be read
48
Young Germany Movement:
- 1830-1850
- disalussioned Romantic Youth
- a push against the status quo of failed revolution
- a countries theatre should reflect culture
