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th 20 Century Modern 1915-1945 Time of Unrest World War I (1915-1918) 8.5 million deaths Russian revolution (1917) Establishment of Soviet government Inflation and Depression in Europe and America Rise of Totalitarianism A form of government under which the individual is totally subservient to the state – dictators Adolf Hitler in Germany Benito Mussolini in Italy Francisco Franco in Spain Joseph Stalin in Russia Prime Minister General Hideki Tojo in Japan Fascism Believed in dictatorial government and forcible suppression of opposition Nation and race were more important than the individual Theatre of Unrest Theatre mirrored the general unrest of the world Many movements defined by their political, social or economic ideologies Artists rebelling against commercial theatre Artists rebelling against realism Expressionism Futurism Dada Surrealism Theatre of Cruelty Epic Theatre Expressionism Movement in art and literature in which the representation of reality is distorted to communicate inner feelings The goal of Expressionism was to evoke the subjective responses that the artist has to objects or events. Expressionism did not attempt a realistic portrayal of the world. The artist's response to the environment was so intense that it affected the form of the art Surface elements are distorted or exaggerated by subjective pressures Expressionist painting tended to be vivid and violent, with jarring images. Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh The Scream by Edward Munch Expressionism in Theatre Because we are losing our roots in nature and agriculture, were losing our soul We need to find an artistic way of expressing an inner state and it has to involve our sense of loss over the way in which we’ve been damaged and industrialization Often highly subjective – dramatic action as seen through the eyes of the protagonist and therefore seems distorted or dreamlike Opposed to society and family Protagonist journeys through a series of incidents that are often not casually related Structure of Expressionism Characters are emblematic Characters are not realistic characters, but abstractions, symbolic One main character A man (a cog, a gear, a wheel, a part of the industrialized society, one part of the machine) Disrupted spiritually Most often by a woman who represents spirituality, morality, virtue ***Quest for the Spiritual Core*** Protagonist is destroyed in the end Everything is from the view of the protagonist – world is skewed The Hairy Ape by Eugene O’Neill The play tells the story of a brutish, unthinking laborer known as Yank, as he searches for a sense of belonging in a world controlled by the rich. At first Yank feels secure as he stokes the engines of an oceanliner, and is highly confident in his physical power over the ship's engines. However, when a weak but rich daughter of an industrialist in the steel business refers to him as a "filthy beast," Yank undergoes a crisis of identity. He leaves the ship and wanders into Manhattan, only to find he does not belong anywhere; neither with the socialites on Fifth Avenue, nor with the labor organizers on the waterfront. Finally he is reduced to seeking a kindred being in the gorilla in the zoo and dies in the animal's embrace. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919) Futurism (1905-1914) The world is changing because of industrialization – the pace is quicker, more violent, so let’s embrace it Celebrate noise, speed, violence, the clanking of machinery “We will fight with all our might the fanatical, senseless and snobbish religion of the past, a religion encouraged by the vicious existence of museums. We rebel against that spineless worshiping of old canvases, old statues and old bric-a-brac, against everything which is filthy and worm-ridden and corroded by time. We consider the habitual contempt for everything which is young, new and burning with life to be unjust and even criminal.” – Umberto Boccioni in Manifesto of Futurist Painters (1910) – Every work of art should destroy the past and replace it with speed and energy and power Celebrate masculine energy – blowing things up because it’s COOL! Very fast, very loud, an “assault upon the senses” and mock things from the past, anything to create noise and energy Dada They were opposed to everything – anti-art Was based on the principles of deliberate irrationality, anarchy, and cynicism and the rejection of laws of beauty and social organization Dada sought to fight art with art - For everything that art stood for, Dada was to represent the opposite Where art was concerned with aesthetics, Dada ignored aesthetics If art were to have at least an implicit or latent message, Dada strove to have no meaning — interpretation of Dada is dependent entirely on the viewer If art is to appeal to sensibilities, Dada is to offend A Complete and utter rejection or rules, balance, harmony, logic, politics, responsibility, morality, religion – all systems have been proved pointless by WWI They hoped to destroy traditional culture and aesthetics Seen in performance art – happenings – whatever happens, happens and it becomes works of art Ms. Franklin’s Dada Play Curtain rises to an empty stage. A man enters, pushing a chalkboard. He wears all white with a stethoscope around his neck. He looks around and runs his fingernails down the board. Then he exits. He returns pushing a large fish tank that contains a mannequin. The man begins to dismember the mannequin, throwing the pieces around the stage. He takes the arm and runs the mannequin’s hand down the chalkboard. Out of frustration, he throws it into the audience. He takes the torso of the mannequin and holds the stethoscope to its “heart.” Polka music is heard. The man then begins to dance the polka with the torso around the stage. The music stops abruptly and the man drops the torso. Curtain. Problem with Dada: It has to turn into SOMETHING – turned into expressionism and surrealism Bicycle Wheel by Marcel Duchamp (1913) Cut with a Kitchen Knife by Hannah Höch (1919) Excerpt from a Dada Manifesto You are all indicted; stand up! Stand up as you would for the Marseillaise or God Save the King.... Dada alone does not smell: it is nothing, nothing, nothing. It is like your hopes: nothing. like your paradise: nothing. like your idols: nothing. like your politicians: nothing. like your heroes: nothing. like your artists: nothing. like your religions: nothing. Hiss, shout, kick my teeth in, so what? I shall still tell you that you are half-wits. In three months my friends and I will be selling you our pictures for a few francs. - (Manifeste cannibale dada by Francis Picabia, read at the Dada soirée at the Théâtre de la Maison de l'Oeuvre, Paris, 27 March 1920.) - Surrealism The subconscious was the highest plane of reality and attempted to re-create its workings dramatically Plays set in a dream world, mixing recognizable events with fantastic happenings Liberation of the human mind, and subsequent liberation of the individual and society, can be achieved by exercising the imaginative faculties of the "unconscious mind" to the attainment of a dream-like state different from, or ultimately "truer" than, everyday reality Surrealists believe that this more truthful reality can bring about personal, cultural, and social revolution Theatrical Surrealists declared the inner world of symbol the highest plane of truth. Their focus was in bringing to dramatic life the deepest workings of the dream state, boldly melding fantastic elements within recognizable situations. Surrealists tried to break the bonds of familiar reality with the introduction of a theatrical form uninhibited by the restraints of the ego. Surrealist Thought The subconscious is the real repository of truth The need to distinguish between the conscious and the subconscious led to the exploration of the conflict between the two in the belief that truth is most apt to surface when the ego's "logic" and the superego's "censorship" have been neutralized. In moments of truth, life's contradictions and paradoxes are transcended. Truth and falsehood are aspects of the same thing. The Persistence of Memory by Salvator Dali Epic Theatre Bertolt Brecht – Communist/Marxist and believed that all the problems in the world were caused by private ownership of property Marxism – Based on the wish for equality and dislike of social classes and the difference in wages between factory workers and owners, this political theory said that the factories and farms should be owned by the people. Government should be a dictatorship by the Communist Party. Communism would spread from country to country by revolution. When all countries were communist then nations and governments and classes and possessions would not be needed. Epic Theatre assumes that the purpose of a play, more than entertainment or the imitation of reality, is to present ideas and invite the audience to make judgments on them. Characters are not intended to mimic real people, but to represent opposing sides of an argument, archetypes, or stereotypes. The audience should always be aware that it is watching a play, and should remain at an emotional distance from the action Epic Theatre Elements Entertainment Abstract, intellectual, robotic, unrealistic is wrong and not enjoyable and fun Artificial alienation Acknowledge at all times the artificiality of the piece; set should be playful, cartoonish, fun, lighting should be visible, anything to remind us that we are seeing an artificial, conscious creation Series of competing emotional engagements – when you feel a normal response, Brecht throws in an unusual feeling Epic Theatre Elements Music Heightens emotional states – easier to communicate for the actors BRECHT DOES NOT DO THIS! Death scene with an upbeat tempo trying to ruin the conventional mood on purpose to evoke change Historicism Should take place in the past, in a time different than our era, to promote objectivity Watching a piece in an unconventional way – makes the audience ask “Why is this wrong? Why is this not good?” Epic Theatre Elements Episodic, non-causal Each scene for itself, doesn’t lead into each other At times, it seems a little random Announces scene’s title, labels, captions, so you focus on the why and not the how Gestus/Gestic Acting Style Acting that is built upon physicality, specific body language Building a character around a physical choice Acting in epic theater requires actors to play characters believably without convincing either the audience or themselves that they are truly the characters Actors often address the audience directly out of character ("breaking the fourth wall") and play multiple roles The Caucasian Chalk Circle During a civil war, the infant son of the deposed governor is forgotten by his mother, Natella, in her haste to flee the new regime with her wardrobe intact. The child, Michael, is rescued by Grusha, one of the palace maids, and carried beyond the mountains for protection. This proves to be a deed of kindness filled with enormous risk for Grusha, who is ultimately charged with kidnapping and brought back to a court presided over by Azdak, a corrupt and drunken rascal of a judge who devises a scheme to decide who should be awarded custody of the child; should he return to his actual mother, who abandoned him, or to his adopted mother, who loved and protected him? The judge chooses the selfless commitment of Grusha acting over the natural right of Natella, the selfish biological mother. Mother Courage and Her Children It follows the fortunes of Anna Fierling, nicknamed "Mother Courage," —a wily canteen woman with the Swedish Army who is determined to make her living from the war. Over the course of the play, she loses all three of her children, Swiss Cheese, Eilif, and Katrin, to the same war from which she sought to profit. His work attempts to show the dreadfulness of war and the idea that virtues are not rewarded in corrupt times. He used an epic structure so that the audience focuses on the issues being displayed rather than getting involved with the characters and emotions.