Theatre
Notes
Chapter
1
Performance
tradition:
staging,
music,
dance,
characterization,
masks,
and
acting
are
passed
from
generation
to
generation
as
a
totality
of
expression
-rooted
from
values
and
beliefs
(religion
ritual
and
community
participation
Play
text:
not
tied
to
original
concepts,
time,
or
place
and
can
be
passed
down
for
reinterpretation
by
future
generations
of
performers
Theatrical
Convention:
behavioural
norms
of
social
values
(movement,
speech,
appearance)
Style:
the
manor
in
which
a
performance
depicts
the
world
Universal
Properties
of
Theatre
1)
Theatre
is
live
in
the
present
moment
and
requires
the
presence
of
a
live
actor
and
an
audience
2)
Theatre
is
ephemeral
in
that
no
performance
can
ever
be
totally
duplicated
or
captured
3)
Theatre
is
collaborative:
it
requires
the
efforts
of
many
people
working
together
4)
Theatre
is
a
synthesis
of
many
arts
Postmodernism:
late
20th
century
ideas
and
trends
impacting
theatre
-poses
world
of
contradiction
(no
universal
understanding)
-truth
of
past
is
people
in
power
(Eurocentric,
white
male)
-considers
construction
of
equal
validity
(openness
to
other
cultures)
Globalization:
traditional
theatre
adapts
or
does
not
survive
if
cultural
values
change
and
audience
can
no
longer
relate.
Ancient
forms
forced
to
adapt
-others
became
more
aware
and
appreciate
the
theatre
created
by
others
Multiculturalism:
Pride
in
identity=
expression
(Women,
elderly,
sex
preference)
-allowed
all
voices
to
be
heard.
Postcolonialism:
seeking
understanding
of
ones
indigenous
culture
Interculturalism:
blending
of
traditions
-ex:
orientation=
exoticizing
of
Asian
Arts
in
Western
Culture
Performance
Studies:
expansion
of
narrow
view
of
theatre
-construct/deconstruct
identity
Chapter
two
The
House:
theatre
term
for
collective
audience
-no
two
performances
are
exactly
alike
-Each
audience
perceives
theatre
differently
(Age,
culture,
gender,
education)
Empathy:
the
capacity
to
identify
emotionally
with
characters
on
stage
Convention
of
audience
Response=
cues
of
actors,
special
arrangement,
directional
concept,
lighting,
set
design
-In
Western
culture:
expect
silence,
hold
applause
until
the
end
-Once-Active
Audience=
outdoor
performance,
social
interaction,
eating/drinking
(ancient
Greece)
-you
could
walk
out
whenever
-Middle
Ages:
people
gathered
around
players
(community
Affair)
Catharsis:
emotional
release
others
may
adapt
(Aristotle)
Agitprops:
early
form
of
political
theatre
(1920s)
in
Russia-
living
newspaper
-models
for
political
theatre
-combination
of
the
words
agitation
and
propaganda
Bertolt
Brecht:
playwright
and
director
-Distancing
or
alienation
effect:
separation
of
audience
emotionally
from
the
dramatic
action
Augusto
Boal:
Brazilian
theatre
theorist
and
practitioner
(Barriers
are
destroyed)
-theatre
of
the
oppressed=
forum
theatre,
invisible
theatre,
legislative
theatre
Martin
Esslin:
coined
the
term
theatre
of
the
absurd
=his
way
of
criticizing
theatre
was
understood
by
the
public
Jan
Katt:
wrote
book
Shakespeare
Our
Contemporary
-illuminated
hidden
meaning
of
play
text
Antonin
Artaud:
The
Theatre
and
Its
Double-collection
of
essays
-theatre
of
cruelty=awareness
-a
dynamic
poetic
world
of
images,
sounds
and
movement
Chapter
3
Story:
includes
all
the
events
that
happen
or
are
mentioned
in
the
text
Plot:
the
ordering
or
structuring
of
the
events
that
actually
take
place
on
stage
-conflict
(struggles
and
obstacles)
-Euripides
(Hippolytus)
and
Jean
Racine
(Phedre)
-used
some
story
and
change
plot
Dramatic
Structure:
the
scaffolding
on
which
a
playwright
plots
a
tale
to
frame
or
shape
the
action
(Score
and
progression)
Climatic
Structure:
form
that
limits
the
scope
of
events,
the
time
they
transpire
and
the
number
of
characters
-Aristotelian
Plot
-Point
of
attack:
place
where
action
begins
-Exposition:
where
events
are
revealed
(soliloquy
and
monologue)
-complication:
cause
and
effect
leading
to
climax
Climax:
point
of
highest
emotional
intensity
-Denoument:
resolution
-Deus
ex
machina
(a
god
from
the
machine):
used
to
bring
play
to
resolution
Well-made
play:
Scribe
and
Sardou
-variation
of
Aristotalian
PlotEpisodic
Structure:
early
point
of
attack
in
the
story
and
a
proliferation
of
characters
and
events
-when
there
is
one
main
plot,
less
important
action
is
called
SUBPLOT
-Parallel
Plots:
action
of
main
plot
echoed
by
a
minor
plot
that
gets
across
the
central
idea
the
first
time
it
was
started
Circular
Structure:
Albert
Camus-
made
from
Greek
Mythology
of
Sisyphus
-Ex.
The
Bald
Soprano
Sensua
Structure:
composed
of
scenes
that
dont
follow
one
story
line
or
characters
-flashbacks
Protagonist:
lead
role
Antagonist:
desires
to
be
the
protagonist
Archetypal
Characters:
speaks
across
culture
and
centuries
Psychological
Characters:
character
s
in
depth
we
understand
emotions
and
what
they
do
Stock
Characters:
defined
by
externals
(ie.
status)
rather
than
individual
characteristics
Dominant
trait,
Depersonalized
characters,
Deconstructed
characters
Advancing
the
Plot:
how
each
line
shows
how
plot
develops
Expressing
Character:
way
f
using
voice
to
express
thoughts
and
emotion
(subtext)
Provoking
and
Embodying
Action,
Compressing
Emotion,
Setting
Mood,
Tone,
Style
Chapter
4
Tragedy
-documents
the
struggle
between
our
desires
and
the
necessities
of
conscience
-embodies
a
moral
lesson
Satyr:
a
burlesque
of
mythic
legends-provides
comic
relief
after
a
day
of
tragedies
Ancient
Greece
and
Rome
-tragedy
grew
from
conflict
between
duty
to
society
and
duty
to
family
and
self
in
a
world
governed
by
Gods
who
decided
destiny
-Hubris:
describes
the
overwhelming
pride
that
leads
a
character
to
believe
triumph
over
a
God
is
possible
-Prologue:
provides
exposition,
parados
(entrance
of
dance
and
chant
by
chorus)
-5
episodes
punctuated
by
choral
odes,
and
exodus
(exit
of
chorus)
-Chorus:
provides
exposition,
comment
on
action,
engage
with
characters,
represent
the
citizenry
Aristotles
Poetics:
describes
tragedies
from
5th
century
B.C.E.
and
model
for
a
tragedy
Revenge
Plays:
ghosts
demanding
vengeance
for
their
death
with
murder
and
mayhem
(Seneca)
Neoclassical
Tragedy:
-starts
in
14th
century
-political
and
economic
changes
in
Europe
-Renaissance
(rebirth)-
brought
to
Italy
-limited
3
unities
to
1
day,
one
location,
one
climatic
plot
-introduced
verisimilitude:
the
appearance
of
truth
(idealized
truth)
-elimination
of
chorus
(replaced
with
characters
that
speak
inner
thoughts)
Elizabethan
and
Jacobean
-England
-Combination
of
renaissance
questioning
human
responsibility
and
medieval
ideas
and
expansive
theatrical
forms
-Era
of
William
Shakespeare
-Natural
phenomena
and
God,
monarch,
patriarch
-usually
effects
political
and
family
order
-focus
on
characters
of
high
status
elevated
poetic
language
Bourgeois
and
Romantic:
middle
and
lower
class
characters
are
central
(not
people
of
high
rank)
-The
London
Merchant
(first
one)
-Johann
Wolfgang
von
Goethe:
German
Romanticism
and
Weimar
Classicism
Modern
Tragedy:
no
fixed
value
system
-Arthur
Miller
said
tragic
experience=
independent
from
morals
European
Medieval
-Church
banned
theatre
but
used
the
elements
-Liturgical
drama:
teaches
religion
-Mansions-scenic
structure
-Cycle
Plays:
Mystery
plays
-Took
place
on
pageant
wagons
-Passion
plays
(passion
of
Christ)
-Saint
Plays
and
Miracle
Plays:
lives
of
saints
-Morality
Plays:
moral
lesions
Spanish
Golden
Age:
genero
chico
(one-act
plays)
-Eventually
became
comedies:
cloak
and
dagger)
-Autos
sacramentales=
Christian
religious
drama
-Contains
elements
from
cycle
and
morality
plays
Comedy:
serves
as
a
social
function
-Greek
old
Comedy
-Surprise,
Exaggeration,
obsession,
slapstick,
transgression
language
-Satire
(always
topical)
-Situation
Comedy:
eternal
social
problems
(business)
-Farce-
slapstick
humour,
superficial
characters,
extreme
situations
-Romantic
Comedy:
Sympathetic
young
lovers
overcoming
obstacles
-Comedies
of
Manors:
makes
fun
of
social
moves
(Moliere)
Tragicomedy:
basically
breaking
neoclassic
genres
-Modern
Tragicomedy
-Existentialism=
senseless
world,
no
communication,
meaningless
Melodrama:
emotions
and
simplistic
moral
world
(Characters
not
complex)
Chapter
5
Natyasastra:
means
authoritative
text
on
the
theatre
Rasa:
tastes
or
flavours
that
contrast
and
complement
each
other
-each
rasa
represents
a
different
mood/feeling
-Sanskrit
play
offers
all
8
(love
mirth,
sadness,
anger,
heroism,
fear,
disgust,
wonder,
and
sometimes
peace
-one
should,
however,
dominate
-Natyasatra
says
best
theatrical
events=
combination
of
text,
acting,
music,
and
dance
to
reach
emotional
experience
Sanskrit
Performance
Conventions:
-benediction
to
a
god
-body
into
parts-
eyes,
head,
hand,
limbs
(with
positions)=
emotional
states
-Dance=
drums,
cymbals,
flutes=
mood
characters
-3
kinds
of
stages=square,
rectangular,
triangular
Sanskrit
Plays
-written
in
poetic
verse
-main
action=
heros
struggle
to
attain
an
object
of
desire
and
leave
audience
with
sense
of
well-being
-dharma
(duty),
kama
(controlled
sensual
pleasure),
artha
(wealth)
Ex.
The
Little
Clay
Cart
Kutiyattam=
oldest
continuous
performance
traditions
in
India
(10th
Century)
-Direct
descendent
of
Sanskrit
play
Kathakali=
vigorous,
performed
by
members
of
the
warrior
class
-own
language
of
hand
gestures,
vibrant
stage
make-up
and
costuming
Mime:
200
years
before
the
first
written
ancient
tragedy
-is
a
popular
unscripted
theatrical
performance
form
of
Ancient
Greece
-were
a
spoof/comic
relief
of
intensity
of
rituals
honouring
the
god
Dionysus
-Atellan
farce:
resembles
Greek
mime
with
masks
and
stock
characters
-Roman
pantomime:
resembled
silent
story
telling
dance
(distinct
from
mime)
-Mime
driven
underground
due
to
making
a
farce
of
Catholic
church
in
Middle
Ages
Commedia
dellarte
(16th
Century)
form
resembling
Ancient
Mime
and
Atellan
Farce
(masks,
stock
characters,
improvisation)
-was
first
called
commedia
allimproviso
-used
scenarios
(outline
and
description
of
scene)
that
are
simple
-Iazzi:
an
actor
turning
for
comic
effect
(across,
poems,
speeches,
slapstick)
-used
leather
half-masks
and
language
is
secondary
to
expression
-women
and
young
lovers
not
representation
by
masks
-travelled
from
town
to
town
in
a
wagon
-Catherine
de
Medici
brought
the
show
to
France
(Moliere)
-Was
not
liked
in
England
at
first
(Popular
in
Europe
17-19
centuries)
Evolution
of
the
Commedia
-1760:
no
Italian
born
commedia
players
in
France
(therefore
French
refinement)
British
descendents
loved
it
100
years
after
its
emergence
-English
pantomime
form
(18th
century)
-2
story
lines=
traditional
commedia
or
narractive
dancing
of
mythological
tale
-popular
for
a
century=
liscensing
Act
of
1737-
restricting
plays
but
did
not
apply
to
pantomime
-Greatest
English
pantomime=
Joseph
Grimaldi
(clown)-
traditional
circus
clown
-French
Revolution=
liscensig
low
prohibits
spoken
word
on
stage
(where
MIME
started)
-Jean
Gaspard
Deburau=
hero
of
working-class
-White
chemise,
loose
pants,
fitted
hat,
white
make-up
-Then,
immersed
in
music
halls,
vaudeville,
circus
and
silent
films
-Charlie
Chaplin
and
Buster
Keaton=
heirs
to
commedia
tradition
Japense
Traditions
-Noh
Theatre:
highly
ritualistic-
few
pages
of
text
take
hours
to
perform
-includes
dance,
movement,
vocal
patterns,
masks,
costuming
-poetry
and
distinct
staging
and
reflects
Buddhist
and
Shinto
religions
-yugen=grace,
pillars=
monomare
(dramatic
imitation)
-only
male
actors
-Ghosts
in
play
caught
between
realities
(living/dead
or
past/present)
-plays=
visitations
from
Gods,
demons,
or
human
spirits
Noh
Plys:
5
categories=
god
plays,
warrior
plays,
women
plays,
demon
plays,
and
miscellanous
plays
-each
vary
in
sensibility
and
dynamics
-each
category
refers
to
the
main
character
-they
are
usually
sad
and
involve
death
-Kyogen:
means
mad
words
and
engages
concrete
world
with
every
day
issues
(is
comic)
-usually
performed
between
Noh
plays
and
improvised
-ordinary
people=
stock
characters
and
have
no
written
scripts
originally
-exclusive
to
male
actors
only
-Kabuki:
explicit
and
extroverted
(men
only)-
goal
is
entertainment
-centered
merchant
class
when
wealth
and
power
became
important
-came
from
Okuni
(female)
who
wore
mens
clothes
and
had
signations
with
prostitutes
-Kabuki
original
mean
is
tilted
or
off-kilter
-black
dressed
assistance
-onnagata=
female
role
type
played
by
a
male
-mie=
physical
poses=
high
points
of
play
close
association
of
actor
and
audience
-hanamichi=
flower
path
fans
sit
near
to
get
close
to
actor
Chinese
Theatre:
-Xiqu:
theatrical
forms
developed
in
China
-melody=
important-
lines
are
mostly
sung
-forms=
Xiqu,
kunqu,
jingju=
popular
-4
basic
role
types=
male,
female,
painted
face,
clown
-sub
categories:
social
status,
age,
temperament
and
martial
skills
-there
is
not
much
of
a
set
-music
and
actor
training
-is
a
collection
of
tunes
to
choose
from
to
form
Xiqu
-basic
training
of
voice,
foot
work,
gesturing
and
movement
(starts
in
childhood)
-cultural
revolution=
outlawed
Xiqu
-yangban
xi
(model
opera)
was
created
Carnival
Traditions
-Latin
America
means
farewell
meat
-Christian
Ritual
-Challenged
authority
structures=
choreographed
mime
routines
-lasted
from
1
day
to
2
weeks
-dance=
semba
and
polka=
samba
(Dance,
parade,
and
sing)
-social
release
for
the
poor
Puppets:
hand,
string
marionettes,
road,
shadow
(the
kinds
of
puppets)
-can
be
4-5
feet
tall
and
80
pounds
(found
in
Sicily)
-began
when
god
Shiva
and
wife
Parvati
possessed
wooden
figures
and
made
them
dance
-Japans
bunraku=
combonation
of
puppets,
manipulation,
ballad
singing
and
3-stringed
shamisen.
Chapter
6
Chapter
7
Universal
Qualities:
energy,
control,
focus,
purpose,
dynamics,
enlargement,
and
transformation
Energy:
physical,
mental,
and
emotional
-directed
energy=stage
presence
Control:
consciousness
oversees
emotion
-do
physical
and
vocal
exercises
for
flexibility
-mastery
of
components
of
expression=
controlled
performance
Focus:
body
in
on
alert
and
attention
cannot
wonder
-primary
focus
is
onstage
action
Purpose:
all
action
onstage
is
purposeful
and
meaningful
-Acting
teacher
Eugenio
Barba
said
its
decided
action
(determined
and
directed)
Dynamics:
has
dynamics,
rhythm
and
temp
(like
music)
Enlargement:
must
fill
large
theatre
with
movement,
vocals,
and
energy
Transformation:
put
on
a
mask
(you
can
become
anyone)
-Western
theatre=the
self=
body,
mind,
and
feelings
Representational
Acting:
the
living
of
the
emotions
and
is
more
realistically
styled
Presentational
Acting:
artificial
reproduction
of
emotion
and
is
more
theatrical
styled
Denis
Diderot:
The
Paradox
of
the
Actor
(Dual
Consciousness
-actor
presents
Ideal
Model
of
the
truth
Hypocrite=
original
word
for
actor
in
Ancient
Greece
Thespis=
first
actor
in
Greece
(stemmed
from
the
word
god)
Holy
Actor:
religious
inspiration-uses
trance,
meditation,
and
ecstatic
dance
-India=
Katyasastra
-Ramlila
Cycle
(life
of
Rama
and
Krishna)
Elizabethan
theatre:
banned
women
from
stage
(1640-1660)
Restoration
period:
Nell
Gwynn-
female
actor
and
prostitute
Jerzy
Grotoqski:
Polish
director
with
holy
acting
and
spiritual
techniques
Line
Of
Business:
actors
hired
to
play
a
particular
type
of
role
Francois
Delsarte:
First
attempt
at
training
method
(for
public
speaking)
-gestural
and
vocal
voce
Stanislavski
System
Given
Circumstances,
Imagination
and
the
magic,
objective
or
task,
psychophysical
action,
ada
