Download Niya Johnson English 1102 Julie Wright 11 a.m Draft 2 Theatre

Niya Johnson
English 1102
Julie Wright 11 a.m
Draft 2
Theatre derived from the word “thiatron” which translated into the English
language as “seeing place”. Its earliest forms were song, dance and poetry. William
Shakespeare and Aristotle greatly influenced theatre and how people interpreted it. Today
they are widely known as the founding fathers of theatre. Aristotle was not just the
founding father of theatre, but a plethora of subjects including writing, philosophy and
even psychology. Without the intellect and influence of Shakespeare and Aristotle, we
might not have the opportunity to enjoy what is now known as poetry slams and def jams
for poetry. Upon attendance at a poetry slam, you will see poets perform spoken word
pieces that they have crafted themselves or learned from someone else. The rehearsal and
practice that poets dedicate to their piece is useful for memorization as well as stage
awareness, yet some artists don’t feel as though it is as necessary. Often times, they are the
ones who arrive in stage, paper or script in hand. Those who stand on stage with their paper
in hand are only mimicking poetry and are not considered poets. Considering the required
practice, no artists, actor or poet should be allowed to go on stage and read off of the paper.
In theatre, whether you are performing or participating as a member in the
audience, it is extremely important that you interact with those around you. A silent
audience makes the performers feel unappreciated thus reflects in their continued
performance. This often occurs when something like a paper has distracted the audience
members. A performer on stage, reading off of the script, depreciates the art of poetry in its
theatrical field. The best plays and spoken word pieces are when the audience and
Niya Johnson
English 1102
Julie Wright 11 a.m
Draft 2
performer are fully engaged with one another. Part of the emotion that people feel when
they are engaging in an art form is due to their own experiences, beliefs and thoughts. This
is lost when an artist (who is not considered a poet) simply reads on stage.
In theatre, there is a such thing called aesthetic distance in which a real, almost
tangible distance exists between the artist and the work. This distance is inescapable and
exists in every theatrical form. When a distance is created, there is a bit of detachment to
the art form and to the characters that have been crafted in the work. Once a poet is called to
performer, comes out with something that builds a barrier between themselves and the
audience, it creates even more of a distance than the persistent aesthetic one. The audience
is made to feel like an observer rather than a participant of what is taking place. And when
the people who have most times paid money to see a performance, take the role as just
observers, they are then mute, detached figures. They, along with the performer lose their
individuality because they are simply being read to instead of being entertained.
In the interview that I conducted with Kyra Webber, a local poet and actress, she
stated that “Those who read off of their papers on stage are not true poets, they are
wanna-be’s” She would not be the first poet to say something similar to this as others
whom I have spoken with, Webber’s closest partners in theatre and well-renowned poets
have agreed. She believes that writing and properly performing poetry is a gift. Acting is a
gift. And memorization and rehearsal are key components to claiming and mastering the
talent.
Niya Johnson
English 1102
Julie Wright 11 a.m
Draft 2
There is never a reason for directors to deliberately create a distance between the
audience and the work unless they need to be shielded from some type of information.
There is an entity in theatre called an aside in which the audience knows something that one
of the on-stage characters doesn’t know. This is very similar to aesthetic distance; creating
a dramatic affect to what is happening on stage. It is also a distance between the artist and
the work, but one that creates a relationship between the audience and the work. There are
many other aspects of theatre besides just aesthetic distance and asides. They are purposely
put into place to avoid situations where an actor or poet would need to read on stage, yet we
still see this occurrence in theatres, poetry slams and other theatrical performances.
As a performer and frequent audience member myself, I can speak for the feelings
of inadequacy and embarrassment felt when I enter the stage and have to read off of the
paper. Once, I was in a summer program and decided to write a poem for the talent show
that we would have later in that same week. I wrote a really long poem and knew that I
wouldn’t have time to fully memorize it. I contemplated not even going on stage because I
never wanted to stand before my peers and read. But, everyone looked forward to my piece,
so I did it anyway. I did a great job, but I know that my performance would have been much
better had I fully prepared. I vowed to never disgrace the art of poetry in such a way again
and since that day, I haven’t. My peers in the audience who were not accustomed to the art
of poetry didn’t seem to mind the fact that I was reading. But those who write poetry, and
have seen performances before agreed that it would have been much better if I had
Niya Johnson
English 1102
Julie Wright 11 a.m
Draft 2
rehearsed and memorized instead of reading off the paper.
Niya Johnson
English 1102
Julie Wright 11 a.m
Draft 2
Works Cited
"Brendan's Electronic Voice: Aesthetic Distance (bet u don't know what it means)."
blogs.setonhill.edu. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2013.
<http://blogs.setonhill.edu/BrendanMeany/002113.html>.
directly, those who have reflected upon its nature. It emerges. "Aristotle (Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy)." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. N.p., n.d.
Web. 27 Feb. 2013. <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle/>.