Download FINAL Review (TH 105C) Theatre Appreciation

FINALReview(TH105C)TheatreAppreciation
Chapter7—TheatreTraditions:EastandWest
Sinceatheatricaleventtakesplaceinrealtime,theatreexistsinthepresentmoment.Butthroughitsrevivals,
adaptations,parodies,continuedtraditions,andtheinevitablecomparisonsmadebetweennewandearlier
plays,theatreisalsodeeplyrootedinthepast.Althoughtheexactoriginsoftheatrearelostinthemistsof
prehistory,existingevidencesuggeststhatitgrewoutofacombinationofritualandstorytelling.
Thefirstextant,recordeddramaistheancientEgyptianAbydosPassionPlay(atleast2500B.C.)
IntheWest,theancientGreeksproducedavigoroustheatre.
TheRomanswouldcopyandadapttheGreekcreations.
Medievaldramabeganaspartofchurchliturgy,butwouldgrowintocommunityfestivals.
WiththeRenaissance,professionaltheatresemerged.
WriterslikeWilliamShakespeareadvanceddramaticwriting.
TheroyaltheatreoftheEnlightenmentconsolidatedandrefinedpriorachievements.
Neoclassicaltheatreattemptedtoregularizewritingandproductiontoadefinedsetofrules.
TheatreinAsiacontainsmanyrichtraditionsthatdiffergreatlyfromthoseintheWestandfromeachother.
Sanskritdance-dramabeganbefore200B.C.andremainedpopularfor1000years.
Amorerecentcreation,Kathakali,isthemostpopulardance-dramaforminIndiatoday.
JapaneseNohtheatre,theoldestcontinuouslyperformeddramaintheworld,ishighlyrevered.
Japan'sKabukitheatrebeganasandcontinuestobeapopularform.
InChina,Xiqu("tunefultheatre"),knownasChineseOpera,wouldbranch,overhundredsofyears,into
approximately360differentvariations,thebestknownofwhichisBeijingOpera.
ManyofthesetraditionsoftheEastandWestcontinuetoday,andthosethatdonotstillexertaninfluenceon
moderntheatre.
Dionysus
Aeschylus
Sophocles
Euripides
Orchestra
Theatron
Skene
Tragedy
Comedy
Plautus
Terence
Seneca
QuemQueritas
Mysteryplays
mansions
CorpusChristi
WilliamShakespeare
GlobeTheatre
Chapter8—TheModernTheatre
RoyalTheatre
Calderon
PierreCorneille
JeanRacine
Moliere
Neoclassicism
Romanticism
J.W.vonGoethe
FriedrichSchiller
Sanskrit
Kathakali
Noh(No)
Kabuki
Xiqu(ChineseOpera)
Bunraku
Themodernperiodanditsdramawereshapedbyworld-changingforces,suchasindustrial-technological
revolution,democraticrevolutions,andanintellectualrevolutionthatwoulddisruptearlierconceptionsoftime,
space,thedivine,humanpsychology,andsocialorder.Asaresult,atheatreofchallengeandexperimentation
emerged.
Realismwasconceivedasalaboratoryinwhichtheillsofsociety,familialproblems,andthenatureof
relationshipscouldbe"objectively"presentedforthejudgmentofimpartialobservers.TheplaywrightHenrik
Ibseninitiatedtherealisticperiod.Whilerealistplayswouldaddresswell-definedsocialissues,naturalistplays
offeredasimple"sliceoflife"freefromdramaticconvention.Acounterforcetorealism,initiatedbysymbolism,
beganinthelatenineteenthcentury.Themovementspreadquicklyandaffectedeveryaspectoftheatrical
production.Itgaverisetoaneraof"isms."Suchantirealistictheatredoesnotdiscardrealitybutenhancesit
withsymbolandmetaphor.
Brieflyexaminingelevenofthesemovementsmakesthediversequalitiesandperspectiveswithinantirealistic
theatreapparent.Fromtheemotionaland"irrational"perspectivesofTheatreofCrueltytotherationaland
thought-provokingnatureofIntellectualComedy,pre-WorldWarIIantirealisticapproachessuchas
Expressionism,Theatricalism,andtheFrenchAvant-Gardechallengedandextendedthelimitsoftheatricalart.
FollowingWorldWarII,TheatreofAlienationwouldintroducenewtheatrepracticesandreawakentheatre's
senseofsocialresponsibility,whiletheTheatreoftheAbsurdwouldexpressthefutilityofallactionand
pointlessnessofalldirection.
PhilosophicalMelodramaacceptedtheAbsurd'spremisethathumansarealoneinasilentuniverse,buttakesit
asachallengetocreatinganeffectivelife.TheComedyofContemporaryMannerswouldunmaskthe
ridiculousnessofsocialconvention,whilePoliticalSatireruthlesslyrevealsthehypocrisiesandexploitationsof
politicalandeconomicsystemswithinacomedicandoftenhighlystylizedframework.TheCaseStudyuses,
mostoften,medicalproblemsasaperspectiveforphilosophicalinvestigations,frequentlytakingtheaudience
intoandbackoutofthe"patient's"experience.Bycontrast,theostensiblerealismofSuprarealismisactually
suffusedwithamenacingobscurityandmythicsymbolismthatseeksoutpatternsbelowsurfaces.
I.
REALISM
II.
NATURALISM “Slice-of-life”-EmileZola-AugustStrindberg-MissJulie
III.
ANTIREALISM TheSymbolistRebellion(1880s)-PaulFort-Théâtred'Art
Maeterlinck–TheIntruder(1890)-PeterPan(J.M.Barrie)
IV.
Eraof"Isms" theatricalism-futurism-Dadaism–idealism
impressionism-expressionism-surrealism
V.
Stylized
Ibsen–Shaw-ThéâtreLibre-AndreAntoine
AntonChekhov-MoscowArtTheatre
TheFrenchAvant-Garde(Surrealism):UbuRoi(1896)byAlfredJarry
Expressionism:TheHairyApebyEugeneO’Neill(1921) Metatheatre:SixCharactersinSearchofanAuthor(1921)byLuigiPirandello
TheatreofCruelty:JetofBlood(1925)byAntoninArtaud
PhilosophicalMelodrama(Existentialism):NoExit(1944)byJeanPaulSartre
TheatreoftheAbsurd:WaitingforGodot(1953)bySamuelBeckett
TheatreofAlienation:GoodPersonofSzechuan(1943)byBertoltBrecht
ComedyofContemporaryManners:BedroomFarce(1975)byAlanAyckbourn
PoliticalSatire:SeriousMoney(1987)byCarylChurchill Chapter10—TheTheatreToday
Thetwentiethcenturywasparticularlyviolentandthetheatrereflectedandrespondedtoitstensionswitha
dramaturgicalviolenceandabandonsthatbroughttheageof"modernism"toacrisisandperhapsconclusion.
Asthetwenty-firstcenturybegins,aneweraappearstobeemerging.Threemajormovementscharacterize
theatretoday:
1)Postmoderntheatretendstorecycleand"quote"fromculturalformsandintellectualmovements
fromthepast.Itisself-referentialandcontainsitsowncritique,parody,ordeconstruction.Itstems
fromantirealistmovementsandmostsignificantlyfromthephenomenonknownasDada.Suchworks
alsooftenrejectchronologicallinearity,sothatflashbacks,scenesinreversechronologicalorder,and
quickshuttlingbetweentimesarecommon.Postmodernexperimentshaveemphasizedthesenses
throughtherealityofnudityintensionwiththedramaticfiction,orscene,lighting,andsounddesigns
thatmaybespectacular,semi-autonomousfromtheplay'saction,blatantlytechnologicallyenhanced.
2)Today'stheatreisalsoanopentheatre,openandopeningtovoicesunheardormuffledinthewhite,
Western,male-dominatedtheatreofyesterday.Atheatrebyandaboutwomennowfeatureswomen
asleading,internationallyacclaimeddirectorsandprize-winningplaywrights,whilefeministtheatre
ensembleshavebroughtwomenforwardasagentsofchange,indramasandsociety.Atheatreofethnic
diversityfeatures,mostvisibly,astrongandgrowingpresenceofAfrican-Americans,Latino-Americans,
andAsian-Americansbothininterracialtheatricalproductionandethnicallyidentifiedtheatres.Since
the1960s,sexualpreferenceissueshavebecomeprimaryorsecondarytopicsofanumberofplaysand
haveemergedasadefiningissueformanytheatregroups,festivals,andpublications.Lastly,theatrehas
becomeopeninthelevelofriskattemptedandacceptedintherealmsofdangerouspolitics,language,
andsexualrelations,althoughexternalattemptsatregulationandcensorship,successfulandfailed,are
stillarecurringfactoflifeforthetheatre.
3)Atheatreofrevival,meaningremountingtheplaysofthepast,includespostmodernproductions
thatseektobringfreshlifetopreviouslywrittenworks.Suchatheatrehasbroadandlegitimateappeal
andconstitutesmosttheatricalactivityintheworld.Theatretodaycanbefoundinamoreplacesand
moretypesofplacesthaneverbefore.Broadway,Off-Broadway,Off-Off-Broadway,andnonprofit
theatreinAmericaoffermostoftheprofessionaltheatre'srevivals,stagingsofnewworks,and
experimentation.Amateurtheatreinacademicandcommunitysettingsinmanywaysreflects
professionalpractices,butoffersafinanciallysaferenvironmentforexperimentation.Thetheatreis
vitalinternationally,withEngland,France,andGermanyprovidingparticularlyrichmixesoftraditional
andoriginalwork.
Chapter11—TheCritic 1)Whatarethecriticalperspectivesthathelpviewersfocusontheirresponse?
2)Whatarethecharacteristicsofnewspaper,scholarlyandstudentcriticism?
3)Whatarethequalitiesofaneffectivecritic? Professionalcriticismusuallytakesoneoftwoforms.
Productionreviewsgenerallyappearinnewspapersandareanimmediateresponsetotheplay.
Scholarlycriticismoftenappearsinjournalsbypersonsmoreknowledgeableabouttheatre.
Studentcriticismusuallyadoptsoneoftheseperspectives,butdifferentstandardsapply.
Wearethecritics.Theatredemandsmutualandactiveparticipation;therefore,weareallcritics.We
canuseourroletoholdtheatretohighstandards,bydevelopingourawarenessofqualitiesofthe
theatre.Weneedtobeobservant,informed,sensitive,demandingandarticulate.Thebestcriticsare
knowledgeable,fairandopen-minded.
Terms: dramaticcriticism
aestheticjudgment
entertainment Additionalmaterialfromthissemester
REPRESENTATIONAL/PRESENTATIONAL
productionreviews
scholarlycriticism
studentcriticism
THEATRECONFIGURATIONS:Arena–Thrust–Proscenium–Other
SOUTHPACIFICbyRichardRodgersandOscarHammersteinII;JoshLogan;JamesMichener
CREATINGCLAIREbyJoeDiPietro