Download 5.1 and 5.3 Theatre History Notes

Theatre History
Oral Communications
Mr. Shane Cole
What is Drama?
A genre of literature represented by works
intended for the stage
What is the definition of theatre
the performance of a dramatic presentation
DRAMA
 An art form
 ONLY art form to
incorporate all other
forms
 Provides…
– Entertainment
– Education
– Spiritual Uplift and
Joy
 Explores Past,
Present, and Future
Drama has four principal
elements
ACTORS
AUDIENCE
CONFLICT
SPACE
In the beginning…
 Ancient Greece,
rituals were dedicated
to the god Dionysus
 First dramatic
contests at Dionysus
festivals in ancient
Greece
 Winning playwright
crowned with a
wreath of ivy
In 534 B.C Thespis won the
first contest…
Considered the
first actor
Performers
known as
THESPIANS
 National Thespian
society or the
International Thespian
Society
There were two types of plays
performed
COMEDY
TRAGEDY
– Based in human
– Always more serious
conflict
– Usually not serious
– The endings were
generally happy in
tone.
in tone
– Generally resulted in
the destruction of the
hero or heroine.
Aristotle identified rules for
tragedy in his book Poetics…
1. CATHARSIS– allow the audience to
release pent up-emotions
2. The Hero or Heroine must possess a
TRAGIC FLAW.
3. Must contain REVERSAL or
DISCOVERY
4. Dignified, beautiful poetic writing
must be used.
Writers of the Greek
Period
“
The Golden
Age”
Aeschylus (525-456 B.C.)
• One of three great writers  Great work called the
of tragedy
Oresteia
• The “FATHER OF
trilogy
TRAGEDY”
– Agamemnon
• Invented the trilogy and
– Libation Bearers
first to add a second actor
– The Furies
on stage (dialogue)
Sophocles (497-406 B.C.)
 Wrote over 100 scripts and won 18 Dionysis
Festivals
 Introduced a third actor and reduced chorus to
15.
 Best known for Electra, Oedipus Rex, and
Antigone.
Euripides (485-406 B.C.)
 First to question religious ideas and gods
 Worked hard to humanize the tragedy
 Best known works are Medea and Alcestis
 First to attempt to combine comedy and tragedy
into one.
But what about COMEDY???
 Aristophanes (450-380
B.C.)
 Considered finest comic
writer of ancient Greece
 The Birds
 The Frogs
 The Clouds
 Menander (342-291 B.C.)
 Wrote about domestic and
private life instead of
social aspects
 1957, The Curmudgeon,
a complete farce by
Menander was discovered
But even though the show must go
on…
 ANCIENT GREECE
COULD NOT!!!!!!
 Caesar’s armies invaded
the land
 Greek theatre was imitated
but never duplicated
 So the Romans created
their own Theatre
All Roads may lead to Rome, but in drama…
The Road was much less traveled…
 Theatre became entertainment not intellectual
 Mainly for the lower classes, until Caesar ordered
a playhouse built
 This as well as the coliseum was used for
“DRAMA”
 Gladiator events were considered plays and
theatre
Three notable Roman playwrights
are…
 Plautus (254-184 B.C.) – copied Greek plots,
added characters, and added slapstick to the action
 Terence (185-159 B.C.) – based his style on
Menanader
 Seneca (4 B.C. – 65 A.D.) – plays were so gory
that they are read and not performed…but did
influence later drama
Theatre Overshadowed by
spectaculars
 Gladiator Contests
 Feeding Christians to the
lions
 (think the movie
Gladiator—that was drama
to them)
 Arenas filled with water
and slaves would fight on
ships until all were dead
(while people watched)
Then the Roman Empire fell
and there was no theatre in
Western Civilization for 400
years!!!!!
The Middle Ages (500 – 1450)
 The very church that buried drama dug it back up
in the fifth century.
 Plays began to center around the church (Easter
and Christmas) Passion Play
 Gave way to the “Three M’s”
– Mystery
– Miracle
– Morality
Gradually DRAMA moved back into
everyday life
 Re-added comedy
 Moved outside the
church
 Performed on street
corners by traveling
groups of actors
 These actors thought
to be the first
professional acting
companies
But things continued to change with
The Renaissance
(1350-1650)
 Means Re-Birth
 Exciting things were
going on around the
world including
Drama!!!!!!!!
It all started in Italy…
 Wealthy nobles became patrons or sponsors for
new dramatic performances
 Beautiful buildings were built for OPERA– a new
musical form of Drama
 Commedia dell’Arte professional improvised
comedy performed for the masses
– This is where improvisation comes from
– If it were not for the Italians there would be no
Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Then we move on to
the ELIZABETHAN
ERA
The reign of Queen
Elizabeth I
Elizabethan Theatre
 Much vitality, zest, and intellectual curiosity
throughout England during Queen Elizabeth I’s
reign (1558-1603)
 Theatre gained a most important friend
 Authorized the first public playhouse of the era,
called The Theatre
 It was created by James Burbage in 1576
Many great playwrights lived and
worked during this time period
 Christopher Marlowe
(1564-1593)
 Ben Jonson (15731637)
 William Shakespeare
(1564-1616)
Marlowe and Jonson
 Christopher Marlowe
graduated from
Cambridge
 Considered second
only to Shakespeare
 Died at 29.
 Tamburlaine, Edward
II, The Jew of Malta,
and Dr. Faustus
 Ben Jonson believed
in the classics
 Ridiculed
Shakespeare for his
lack of knowledge
 Best know for The
Alchemist
And then there was Shakespeare…
 Not much is known about his
life.
 Married with two children left
them behind in Stratford to
perform and write in London
 Was in good favor with the
Queen
 Has 38 plays attributed to him
The names of his plays speak for
themselves…
The French Renaissance Comes
Late…
 Because of the many wars, the Renaissance in
France did not happen until the 17th century.
 Gave rise to Neoclassicism
 Entertainment mainly for royalty
 French followed Italians in design of elaborate
play houses
 Three French playwrights are important to
remember
Two came first…
 Pierre Corneille (16061684) work highly
moralistic and
eloquent…..ignored the
classic form only once for
his best known work Le
Cid
 Jean Racine (1639-1673)
followed the rigid rules
for “polite tragedy”.
Phaedra was most
influential work
Then Came Moliere
 (1622-1673)
 Wrote scintillating satire
that still entertains
audiences today
 Participated in Commedia
dell’Arte
 His satire provided a
perfect blend of humor
and sarcasm
 The Doctor in Spite of
Himself spoofs the field
of medicine
 Tartuffe points fingers at
hypocrisy
 The Imaginary Invalid
spoofs hypochondria
 Died on stage after
performance of
Imaginary Invalid
Moliere’s Dying Wish comes true
 In 1680, a state supported
theatre began under the name
Comedie Française
 Stands for French Comedy
 Still the most important
theatre group in France today
When we last left England….
 Shakespeare was very successful, but he dies in
1616.
 James I did not have the control Elizabeth I did.
 When Charles I is crowned in 1625, civil war
broke out
 Oliver Cromwell took over and for Charles it was
“Off with his HEAD”!!!
 Public Theatre died until Stuarts regained control
in 1660.
The Restoration
 Drama was fashioned
after that in Paris
 Elizabethan playhouses
were destroyed by
Puritans so Charles II
had them build new
ones.
 Audience was a more
sophisticated aristocracy
 Restoration ended in 1737
when Parliament passes
the Licensing Act limiting
playhouses to two
 These were Covent
Garden and Drury Lane
 THEN things began to
change and with it the
American Revolution!!
19th Century Continental Theatre
 In early 19th Century, the first
established dramatic style was
ROMANTICISM
 An emotional escape into
adventure, beauty and
sentimental idealism
 Goethe, Schiller, Victor Hugo
and Alexander Dumas
Then Drama took a major turn to
REALISM…..
 Depicts a selected view of real life
 Major writer in this era Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906)
who is known as the Father of Realism
 First play of feminism “ A Doll’s House” written
by Ibsen
 Also includes Anton Chekhov, Stanislavski,
George Bernard Shaw, and Oscar Wilde
Then Drama took a major turn to
REALISM…..
 Henrik Ibsen – A Doll’s House, An Enemy of the
People
 Anton Chekhov – The Cherry Orchard, Three
Sisters
 George Bernard Shaw – The Devil’s Disciple
 Oscar Wilde – The Importance of Being Earnest
But what about us???
 19th Century American
Theatre developed its
own national flavor
 First playhouse built in
Williamsburg, VA in
1716
 Theatre blossomed as
moralistic opposition
disappeared
 Americans turned
Theatre into a business
with managers and stock
holders
 With the creation of
Broadway, New York
City became the
theatrical center of the
United States
The U.S.A. is bombarded with new
talent
 Eugene O’Neil (18881953) The Emperor
Jones and The Hairy Ape
 Thornton Wilder (18971975) Our Town
 Tennessee Williams
(1911-1983) Glass
Menagerie, A Streetcar
Named Desire, Cat on a
Hot Tin Roof
 Arthur Miller (1915- )
The Death of a Salesman,
All My Sons
 Neil Simon (1927- ) The
Odd Couple, Barefoot in
the Park
 Beth Henley –Crimes of
the Heart
20th Century Theatre
 Many contributions to theatre
came from around the world
 Bertholt Brecht (1898-1956)
in Germany released famous
plays like Mother Courage,
The Three Penny Opera, and
The Caucasian Chalk Circle
African American Theatre also
enriched society
 Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965) wrote A Raisin
in the Sun
 August Wilson (1945 - ) writing a play about
African Americans in every decade of the 20th
Century. Includes: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,
Fences, and Piano Lesson
 Charles Fuller (1939 - ) wrote A Soldier’s Play
Then there came
the Musical
Rodgers and Hammerstien –
Oklahoma!, Carosel, South Pacific
Kander and Ebb- Chicago, Caberet
Andrew Lloyd Webber – Evita, Cats,
Phantom of the Opera
Ted Turner Debate
Mr. Shane Cole
Oral Communication I
1
Speaker 1
Speaker 3
Speaker 2
Speaker 4
PODIUM
•Beginning of speech teams are seated on opposite sides of the podium
•At this point you will be allowed to prepare with your partner while the
judge is preparing to score you.
2
Speaker 1
Speaker 3
Speaker 2
Speaker 4
PODIUM
•Speaker 1 delivers 4 minute speech. The judge will only give a thirty
second window on either side.
•Speaker 2 is listening to speech as well as preparing for his/her own
speech
•Speakers 3, 4 are taking notes on speech.
3
Speaker 1
Speaker 3
Speaker 2
Speaker 4
PODIUM
•Speaker 2 delivers 4 minute speech. The judge will only give a thirty
second window on either side.
•Speaker 1 is listening to speech as well as preparing for CROSSFIRE.
•Speakers 3, 4 are taking notes on speech.
4
Speaker 1
Speaker 3
Speaker 2
PODIUM
•Both speakers CROSSFIRE. Q & A period of 3 minutes.
•Speakers 3 and 4 prepare for their speeches.
Speaker 4
5
Speaker 1
Speaker 3
Speaker 2
Speaker 4
PODIUM
•Speaker 3 delivers 4 minute speech. The judge will only give a thirty
second window on either side.
•Speaker 4 is listening to speech as well as preparing for his/her own
speech
•Speakers 1, 2 are taking notes on speech to prepare for Summaries.
6
Speaker 1
Speaker 3
Speaker 2
Speaker 4
PODIUM
•Speaker 4 delivers 4 minute speech. The judge will only give a thirty
second window on either side.
•Speaker 3 is listening to speech as well as preparing for CROSSFIRE
•Speakers 1, 2 are taking notes on speech to prepare for Grand Crossfire.
7
Speaker 1
Speaker 3
Speaker 2
Speaker 4
PODIUM
•Both speakers CROSSFIRE. Q & A period of 3 minutes.
•Speakers 1 and 2 prepare for their speeches.
8
Speaker 1
Speaker 3
Speaker 2
Speaker 4
PODIUM
•Speaker 1 delivers Summary Speech (2 minute rebuttal)
•Speakers 2, 3, 4 all take notes in preparation for Grand Crossfire.
9
Speaker 1
Speaker 3
Speaker 2
Speaker 4
PODIUM
•Speaker 2 delivers Summary Speech (2 minute rebuttal)
•Speakers 1, 3, 4 all take notes in preparation for Grand Crossfire.
10
Speaker 1
Speaker 3
Speaker 2
Speaker 4
PODIUM
•GRAND CROSSFIRE– 4 minute Q and A between all four
debaters.
11
Speaker 1
Speaker 3
Speaker 2
Speaker 4
PODIUM
•Speaker 3 delivers LAST SHOT, a 1 minute speech concerning
the main point you feel will win the case for your side.
12
Speaker 1
Speaker 3
Speaker 2
Speaker 4
PODIUM
•Speaker 4 delivers LAST SHOT, a 1 minute speech concerning
the main point you feel will win the case for your side.
THEN YOU ARE DONE!!
And a Jury of your peers decide who will win the debate
and receive the five bonus points.
Introduction to Character
Analysis and Development
A.K.A. “How in the world do I figure out what I’m
doing?”
Mr. Shane Cole
Oral Communications I
So you want
to be an
Actor???
Why Act??





To entertain
To educate
Evoke emotion
Encourage Thought
Provide an escape
So what is the big deal?? Acting
is just fun. There is no real
work involved right??
But what about before you have
a character? How do you
prepare yourself??
Allow yourself to be stupid, funny, crazy,
embarrassed, in love, in hate, or any other
emotion a character could have
• Warm-ups
• Physically
• Vocally
• Mentally
Actor John Lithgow once said…
 “I’m a reasonably
calm and quietspoken person, until
I’m onstage, at
which point – to the
moon!”
ACTIVITY: SIT, STAND,
KNEEL
 This will test your
improv skills as well
as your ability to play
a character
 3 actors needed to
play scene
 At all times one actor
must be sitting, one
standing and one
kneeling
Actor Jason Alexander said:
“Acting is very clearcut. You have to answer
four questions: Who am I speaking to?
What do I want from them? How am I
going to get it? And What is standing in the
way of what I want? But it’s not just
answering them—you have to answer them
incredibly specifically.”
So what is this line of questioning called?
So what is needed for an actor’s
GOTE SHEET
 Demographics
 Questions
 Motive
 Descriptions
 Small paragraph
But what does GOTE stand for???
 G – GOAL– the
character’s principal quest
which the actor assumes
 O – Other – person or
persons with whom, for
whom, or from whom you
seek your goal
 T – Tactics – a means
of trying to achieve goals,
how a character goes after
the goal
 E - Expectation
what the the character
expects to happen after
the goal is achieved
Assignment #1 in portfolio
 Each actor in the scene will create a GOTE
sheet for their character.
 I will supply you with an example GOTE
sheet to use as a guideline
 It MUST contain all elements!
 REMEMBER before you can work on your
GOTE you must read the script.
So do it now
 You have ten minutes
to read through your
script with your
partner!!
 After you read discuss
your character with
your partner
 Remember—you are
in this together!!
Units and Beats
 What is a Unit??
 What is a Beat??
– A unit is a portion of
– A beat is a thought or
the script that is
engulfed by one idea
– When the idea or
focus changes the
UNIT changes
– Units are different for
each character in the
scene.
action in the script
– Each different beat has
a cause and effect
– There are multiple
beats in a unit.
– These are also
different per actor
So how do I mark units and beats?
 For Units underline or use different color
highlighters for different units (it
sometimes helps to make more than one
copy of your script)
 For Beats draw a vertical line between the
beats
 “Do you want some gum? You know what
your problem is?”
My acting portfolio will include…
My
Movie
 GOTE Sheet for your
character
 Units and Beats
marked on script
 Given Circumstances
 Blocking
 Costuming
 Props
And the award goes to….
Insert your name here
So how do you define
Interview??
Interview– an interactional
communication process between
two parties, at least one of whom
has a predetermined and serious
purpose, and usually involves the
asking and answering of questions
An Introduction to
the Interviewing
Process
Teacher: Mr. Shane Cole
So how many types of
Interviews are there?
7!!!
Information
Gathering
Information
giving
Selection
Problems of
Interviewer’s
Behavior
Persuasion
Problems of
Interviewee’s
behavior
Problem
Solving
Information Giving Interviews
Includes those in which the primary function is
giving information, data, direction,
instruction, orientation, or clarification
• Orientation (new job, new school, new member)
• Training, Instruction, Coaching (computer use)
• Job-related Instructions (incoming and outgoing
nurses)
• Briefings (informing president of nightly
activities)
Information Gathering
Interviews




Surveys and polls
Exit interviews
Research interviews
Investigations
(insurance, police, etc.)
 Medical, Psychological,
case history, diagnostic,
caseworker, etc.
 Journalistic
Selection Interviews
 Include those in which the primary
function of one party is to screen, select,
and place job applicants, employees, and
members of organizations
 Screening (American Idol Auditions)
 Determinate (hiring a new manager)
 Placement (decide where a member
should go)
Problems with Interviewee’s
Behavior
 To perceive accurately
a person’s behavior,
problem, or
performance
 Appraisal, evaluative,
review
 Separation, firing
 Correction, discipline,
reprimand
 Counseling
Problems of the Interviewer’s
Behavior
 Primary Function is •Receiving complaints
for the interviewer
•Grievances
to receive
• Receiving Suggestions
complaints,
grievances, or
suggestions, and to EXAMPLES: customer
work out solutions complaints, student complaints,
acceptable for both employee grievances, and patient
complaints
parties
Problem Solving Interviews
 Designed to analyze and
resolve a problem of
concern to both
interviewer and
interviewee
 Types
– Discussing mutually
shared problems
– Receiving suggestions for
solutions
Persuasion Interviews
Interviews in Which
the primary
function is to change
the interviewee’s
ways of thinking,
feeling, or acting
•Selling Products and Services
•Recruiting Members
•Fundraising and development
•Changing the way a party
feels, thinks, or acts
So how do you go
through the
Interviewing
Process???
An Interview Must have Two
Parties
Interviewer
Interviewee
What should be involved for a
positive interviewing environment??
 Similarity- share something like cultural norms,
values, experiences, etc.
 Inclusion/Involvement- both parties desire to be
there
 Affection/Liking- Liking and respect for one
another
 Control/Dominance- enhanced when both parties
share control and neither seeks to dominate
 Trust- both parties trust one another
Interviewer and Interviewee
should switch roles.
Interviewer
e
r
r = Interviewer
Interviewee
r
e
e = Interviewee
Three approaches to
Interviewing
 Directive ApproachER establish purpose,
control pace, climate,
formality, etc.
 Nondirective
Approach- allow the
EE to control the pace
and formality
 Combination of
Approaches
Homework Assignment
 Decide on what type
of job to apply for
 Research that
company, and bring
information to class
 Each student will
interview and be
interviewed by
another person in the
class
So what do I look up??
•Position
•Demand
•Company
•“What do I
have that they
need?”
•History
•Qualifications