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Transcript
Renaissance Theatre 1430 - 1630 Change is coming… In the mid-15th century three important events happen in rapid succession that drastically change the availability of knowledge: 1429 – Nicolas of Cusa discovers 12 Senecan tragedies never before seen/read 1453 – Constantinople falls to the Turks 1467 – printing press is invented and its use spreads across Europe What happens with all these changes? A renewed interest in classical learning and looking to humanity, rather than the church, for the salvation of the human race. The Renaissance (rebirth) begins Looking forward… Medieval dramas develop into looser theatrical forms that rely on sensational effects & romantic adventures Looking backward… Writers attempt to imitate Greek and Roman plays to achieve a “perfection of the classic form” Italian Renaissance – the plays Neoclassicism – the new old-classics Playwrights follow rigid rules & imitate Roman writers Seneca, Plautus, & Terence Renaissance writers are simply adapting & updating ancient Roman plays Rules stifle creativity Results… not much good theatre is produced Italian Renaissance – scenic design 1545 – Sebastiano Serlio writes Architettura showing how a theatre should be planned, scenery built and used, establishing 3 basic settings: tragic – comic – pastoral Goal: give the impression of distance! All use false perspective (closer elements are larger than those farther from the audience) Stage floors are raked (floor is sloped) Italian Renaissance – scenic design The PROSCENIUM ARCH theatre… n Italy’s most significant contribution 1618 – Teatro Farnese is first theatre built in this new style Proscenium arch provides definite separation of audience and stage action Commedia dell’arte Influences Trace back to early Roman street theatre Public performances Partially improvised Troupes settled in cities, but moved locations within the city Roman playwrights: Terence & Platus “borrowed” story-lines from the Classics Commedia dell’arte Terms to know Commedia dell’arte - “play of professionals” Scenario - Standard plot outline Intermezzi - short “in-between” shows Lazzi - bits of comic business Stock characters - characters who remain the same in many different plays Commedia dell’arte Conventions Scenarios Most performances, the performers would agree on a basic scenario, the characters involved and the eventual outcome… everything else was left as improvisational material. Sample Scenarios: A - Pantalone enlists Arlecchino's help in getting a date with Lavinia, who doesn't know he exists. Arlecchino gives him a lot of bad advice about his clothes and how to act. B - Alessandra tries to get her father Pantalone's permission to marry Fabian. Commedia dell’arte Conventions Set SET – no standard set was used… playing space could be a plain street, a pageant wagon, a ballroom or dining hall Commedia dell’arte Conventions PROPS The battacchio (called a “slap stick” in English) a club-like object composed of two wooden slats produces a loud smacking noise, though little force is transferred from the object to the person being struck. Actors may thus hit one another repeatedly with great audible effect while causing very little actual physical damage. Typically carried by Brighella The origin of the modern term “slapstick comedy” comes from this Italian device (think Charlie Chaplin, the 3 Stooges) Characters carried other misc. props befitting their occupation & station Many characters had signature props. For eg: female lovers carried fans, male lovers carried handkerchiefs & a posy Commedia dell’arte Conventions Costumes & Masks Actors wore stylized versions of modern clothing stylized theatrical costumes can exaggerate some aspect of a character Specific colors/patterns/cuts were used to portray characters' age, gender role, profession, social class, personality Each stock character had his/her own “stock” costume & mask Commedia dell’arte Conventions Actors (CALLED PERFORMERS) Skills needed: acrobats, dancers, musicians, singers, orators, quick wits, politically savvy (satire) An actor often portrayed an individual character for so long that they were known by the character’s name, not their own. WOMEN ALLOWED ON STAGE!!! Only place accepted until late 17th Century England Acting companies that stayed & traveled together, approx. 10-12 people I Gelosi – famous commedia acting company, all family: Francesco & Isabella Andreini Commedia dell’arte Conventions – Stock Characters Inamorati - The lovers • RANK - The lovers are of high status in their own. They are the sons and daughters of characters who are also high on the social ladder; very often the female lover is Pantalone's daughter (when she is not his daughter, the male lover is his son, and Pantalone lusts after her) NAMES - usually have beautiful, flowery, romantic names COSTUMES – they wore the latest Italian fashions. • MASKS – Lovers do not wear masks. They wear heavy makeup. • • • MOST COMMON LOVERS: (female) Donatella, Fabiana, Isabella, Ottavia; (male) Benedetto, Fabian, Giancarlo, Ottaviano Commedia dell’arte Conventions – Stock Characters The Innamorati These characters never developed, but were necessary for the action of the plays Commedia dell’arte Conventions – Stock Characters Vecchio (foolish elders) RANK: rich, old, high ranking but not always well-respected WHO: A category of aged, male characters. The primary members of this group are Pantalone, Il Doctoro and Il Capitano. The word means "old one" or simply "old" in Italian. They are overwhelmingly the antagonists, opposing the love of the inamorati; the comic ending is produced when the zanni manage to overcome them and unite the lovers. MASKS: wore ½ masks with long noses, the longer the nose, the dumber the person COSTUMES: dress to show wealth & look pretentious, often wear layers Commedia dell’arte Il Dottore Il Capitano Pantalone Vecchio – Masks & Costumes Commedia dell’arte Conventions – Stock Characters Zanni (clever servants) = (Columbina Arllechino, Brighella) CHARACTER: (the name is where we get our word "zany") is a servant character who serves one of the Vecchi. He never does well at his job, since all he thinks about is food or sleep. Often, he is distracted while on a mission, after hearing the name of a fruit--or after falling asleep. Zanni is stupid, poor, and slow, and therefore is the lowest character on the social scale. COSTUME: usually consists of a baggy white jumpsuit or shirt-andpants outfit, since he is too poor to afford anything else. MASK: has a wrinkled forehead with low eyebrows, giving him a stupid appearance. He also has a very big, wide nose with nose hair. The larger the nose, the stupider the Zanni. MOVEMENTS: are very big, broad, and exaggerated. He leads his body with his head and nose (his nose sticks out way in front of the rest of his body, and wherever his head goes, his body follows). Commedia dell’arte Zanni – the servants Columbina Arllechino Brighella Commedia dell’arte Influences Here are just some of the ways Commedia has influenced the world since the Renaissance… English vocabulary: "pants" from Pantalone, "zany" from the Zanni, Harlequin from Arlecchino. “Romeo & Juliet” = a translation of Flaminio la Scala's collection of scenario (published in 1611) (taken from the argument, or introduction to the play): There lived in Florence two gentlemen called Pantalone and Gratiano. They were of old and noble families, and bore a long hatred for each other ... (can you guess what’s next?) Moliere used stock characters in his plays. Modern screenplays: follow common scenarios, use stock characters (teen films) TV shows: scenarios & characters (“The Simpsons” and many others) Spanish Renaissance Politically independent and geographically isolated from the rest of Europe, Spain’s theatre develops on its own. 1580-1680 = Spain’s Golden Age of theatre Auto-sacramental miracle plays) (allegorical, and like medieval mystery & plays are the most popular Plays were presented in court theatres or corrales (open courtyards surrounded by houses) Acting troupes even included women!! Spanish Renaissance Lope de Vega 1562-1635 Spain’s best-known playwright Wrote 1800+ plays His plays were secular, and combined action – suspense – history - mythology English Renaissance Elizabeth I 1558 - 1603 The Golden Age of England Theatre flourished Playwriting becomes a viable and more respected profession 1572 – acting is a legally recognized profession Acting companies form, sponsored by royal and/or noble patrons One of the most creative periods in all of history Elizabethan Theatre Actors Performances develop into entertainment rather than celebration so an actor can support himself by acting All actors were men – women are not allowed on stage Actors still considered vagrants must be “sponsored” by a patron, actors are the patron's servants Acting companies must be licensed by the crown Public performances were outlawed within the city limits so a theatre community builds on the “South Bank” Elizabethan Theatre Playwrights Thomas Kyd 1558-1594 The Spanish Tragedie (c. 1585) May have written a version of Hamlet before Shakespeare did!!! arrested as a heretic in 1593 Elizabethan Theatre Playwrights Christopher Marlowe 1574 – 1637 Tamburlaine (c.1587) The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus (c.1589) The Jew of Malta (c.1589) Wrote for The Admiral’s Men Possibly an atheist, possibly a spy for England Was he also Shakespeare? Elizabethan Theatre Playwrights Ben Johnson 1572 – 1637 A Tale of a Tub (c.1596) Volpone (c.1605-6) Also wrote masques for James’ court (acted by courtiers, not actors) Acted (poorly) & wrote for The Admiral’s Men Poet & playwright William Shakespeare 1564 - 1616 actor, poet, playwright Shakespeare’s Life Born: 23 April 1564 (estimated based on baptism records), Stratford-upon-Avon Education: Free Stratford Grammar School Good base in Latin & the Classics (Terence, Platus, etc.) that he would liberally borrow from for his plots later 1582 - Married Anne Hathaway (he’s 18, she’s 26) 3 kids: Susanna, and twins Hamnet & Judith The Lord Chamberlain’s Men Actor first Later becomes “resident” playwright 1595 – becomes a shareholder in his own acting company 1603 – they become the King’s Men under James I Death: 23 April 1616, Stratford-upon-Avon Ophelia (detail). By John Everett Millais, 1851–52. Shakespeare’s Work POET = wrote 154 sonnets & 2+ narrative poems Prose Blank verse Iambic pentameter ACTOR = starts with Lord Admiral’s Men as an actor, then begins writing PLAYWRIGHT 38 plays published in the First Folio (1623) 3 categories: history, tragedy, comedy Sources: Terence, Petrarch, Holinshed's Chronicles Shakespeare’s Plays Tragedies to know: Comedies to know: Romeo & Juliet Hamlet Macbeth Othello (1st specifically black role!!!) A Midsummer Night’s Dream The Tempest Histories to know: Henry VI (3 parts) Richard III Titus Andronicus Theatres Pre Renaissance = travelling pageant wagons, in noblemen’s ballrooms or halls 1576 – James Burbage builds “The Theatre” (1st permanent performance space) on the South Bank Elizabethan Conventions The Theatres Standard characteristics: Open air - usually round - Thrust stage - no lights Terms to know: Galleries Pit Groundling (Penny-stinker) Heavens Hell Hut Inner stage Elizabethan Conventions Set & Props Very little of either used… That’s why you get so many declarative lines in Elizabethan plays. “I die” “Is this poison?” Elizabethan Conventions Costumes Actors wore clothes of the day regardless of the time period of the play **exception: plays set in Greece & Rome! Elizabethan Conventions Acting Companies Named after their noble sponsor (Lord Admiral’s Men, Lord Chamberlain’s Men, King’s Men, Leicester’s Men) Resident playwrights wrote for specific companies All male… 10-20 men 3-5 boy apprentices (they played the girls!) About half were shareholders in the company