Theater test 3 study guide PDF

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Theater test 3  

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Shakespeare Renaissance: rebirth o Culture  Prior to renaissance, much of the text that was important to greek and roman culture, recirculated.  Rebirth of ancient legacy of rome and Greece o Religion  Catholic church had been dominant in the 1500. Martin luther and the rise of Protestantism  Protestantism challenges the idea that the priest is the middle man between you and God. Questions church authority. Expanding how the human can think o Politics  Expanding of nation states  King began to have more authority than the Pope. o Economy  Emergence of capitalism  Take goods and sell them for profit. Get a few ships and go somewhere else and bring back spices to make money  Merchant class.  Social mobility – anyone can change their social class. Anyone could get rich. o Geography  The new world is opening up  Keep having to redraw the map o Science  Scientific method  Galileo in conflict with church. Earth or sun center. Science wins. o Sense of freedom. Suddenly can be anything. You can rely on yourself. Huge potential. But…. So many choices. You don’t know where the ground is. Lots of uncertainty and anxiety that comes with it. Everything keeps changing. th 16 century London o you wouldn’t have a theater until mid century o could see them at some local places though  boy’s schools (st. pauls)  part of an educational program. Like seeing something at high school.  Inns of court  Law school.  Train to be lawyers. And they would practice plays. They would practice rhetoric and being able to make

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arguments. You have to be able to manipulate an audience.  Inn yards  Like a hotel  They would rent out the parking lot  Thrust theatre – rooms on three sides. Could stand at the entrance and then charge admission The theatre 1576 o First professional theatre o Built by James Burbage o The theatre was in the heart of London proper. It lost its lease because there was a lot of puritan backlash (they didn’t want them to have a theatre there). Banned theater from city proper o They rebuilt it: the Globe theatre 1600  Most associated with Shakespeare’s plays King’s men o Kind himself was the aristocrat that vouched for shakespeares men o Shakespeare was an actor himself. He knew who was really good at what. He would write parts for specific actors o Lines of business  Particular specialty  Juggling, clown bits o Aristocrat had to vouch for you Physical stage o Trap. He knew the stage so he could write for this stuff. o He used the resources that were already there. o There was a canopy that expended over the stage a little bit. This was called the heavens. This would have stars and the moon, etc. to look like the sky o Canopy - heaven o Boards – earth o Pit – hell o The higher up, the more you’d pay – be lifted up to the heavens. Didn’t want to be with the stinky people in the pit o The tiring wall – this is how they would exit to go change etc. Social divisions o Higher up, the more you’d pay o Shakespeare’s plays known for being able to entertain both high class and low class o Groundlings (stenchards)  People who had to stand – couldn’t afford much Viewing experience o Not like today.

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o You’d show up, pay your penny. Stand around the stage. They thought that bathing was dangerous to your health. You’d buy an orange and eat the orange… then hold the peel to your nose so you wouldn’t have to smell your neighbor o Rollicking affair. Like a blockbuster movie. Actors would yell to the audience. Could pay extra to sit on the side of the stage. o Lots of sword play. Have prosthetics. Would fill pig’s bladder with wine and then when you got stabbed, it would bleed wine. Bankside o Location of theatre o Banned from London proper so they had to go across the river o wanted a wild, naughty time, then you’d go to bankside o bourbon street of London o dangerous part of town o brothels, taverns, bear and bull baiting – bet on how many bulldogs it would take to kill the bear o the clink – about half a block away from the globe theatre use a flag to signal if there was a play or not hangings, clipping ears for stealing, etc. was also just as popular as theater 1642 Puritans o puritans took over the country o they never liked theatre o antitheatrical prejudice comes from this o theatre was banned o no more theatre in England until 1660 o they went all around London and tore down the theatres. Shakespeare today o In his own time, he wasn’t considered a genius. There were other’s that were more famous than he was. He was just considered a good successful playwright. o Come 1800s, he was viewed as a genius. o Use of Shakespeare, teach theatre, he’s part of the canon of western literature  Used to reinforce certain ideas of literature o Cultural hero o Like elvis. Charisma cache that gets attributed to him o Can tour his home. o Theatre in London makes more money than all of the sports combined. WOW Rebuilt Globe theatre o American actor – Sam Wannamaker  Wanted to pay tribute to Shakespeare’s globe. Just a parking lot. Started a campaign to rebuild the globe. Got all of this money to rebuild it. Unfortunately, sam died before it occurred. His

daughter is fairly famous and she performed in the first play in the new theatre 

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Godspell o Concept – catholic – st. Matthews high school  Homecoming dance with the banner and the band Proof o Tony – broadway only award o Turned into a film as well o Lived in Fayetteville for a bit. Started out doing shampoo commercials. o Way plays operate  Start – its her birthday. The next day is her father’s funeral.  What holds your attention?  Is there anything of value in his journals?  Is Catherine going to go insane as well?  Catherine different than Claire o Claire – fiancé, lives in new york o Catherine – didn’t finish school, depressed  Hal o Working on his PhD o Father was his mentor o Wants to see if there’s a flash of genius o Why win the Pulitzer?  Intense emotion  Family dramas  Fascination with science that can unlock secrets  Cognitive science  Did you ever feel manipulated?  Beginning, you think the Dad is alive and suddenly he’s dead. o Peripeteia  Sudden reverisla  Oedipus rex is a good example of this  First scene, talking to her father and then realize he’s dead  When she says it’s her notebook o Themes/questions  If you’re a physicist or mathematician, are you really going to make a difference  You peak in your mid 20s  Family love  Trust  Hal doesn’t believe that she wrote it  Math is elegant, pure  Art and mental illness  Do you have to be crazy to be great  What is the title proof about then?

The notebook is a proof Proving she wrote it Broader questions… o What in life is certain? How can you prove trust, love, what is most valuable? o What does make someone happy? o Happy moments  First flashback sequence  Note from her dad. You were a great daughter, saved my life, love you so much.  This is the day that he wrote this. Is this the happiest day in catherine’s life? Theatre is like a lab o Test human relations, ideas, values, etc. Hegemony o Control through consent. Not force o Dominant political/social system in any culture at one time o Think of relations of power, structures of power o In democracy, important that those in power maintain control by consent, not force Ideology o Competing world view  Religion vs. science  Conservative vs. liberal o The help  Good movie with liberal values embedded in it o Modern Family  Liberal o Last Man Standing  Conservative show The greeks o City states o Battle of marathon  Ran and told that we defeated the Persians and then he died o Constantly under siege from the Persians o 490 BCE o defeated the Persians o allowed for the flowering of culture o founding of democracy, voting o golden age – Athens  questions  move from having only blood lines being in leadership  how do we do this better  sharing power   

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 role of government  status of women  treatment of foreigners Democracy o Public speech  Lay out all the arguments, then we can come to an agreement o Courts/theatre  Emphasize law rather than taking things into your own hands o Logos – reason and logic  Frame of mind that emphasizes reason and logic o Law, philosophy, and science o Thales – all is water  Example of logos  Tried to use logic  Where does the world come from  All of the world is water and everything becomes condensed or solidified… so if you break it down, then it’s all just water o Mythos – religion and the sacred  Struggle between logos and mythos  Appealing to religious frame or sacred understanding  Party to some sort of spiritual divinity  Water vs. religious conviction Dionysus – god of wine o Theatre was performed because of Dionysus o Appealed to people not in strong positions of power o Followers of Dionysus  Maenads  Women followers  Go into mountains  Wear fur, ivy in hair, eat berries, dance in circle until in hypnotic state  Run down mountain side. First man, bull, goat they found they killed and ate the insides  Kill emblem of Dionysus and then ingest the insides so they can ingest the soul  Trying to get close to the life force Institutionalized o Taken over by men o Energy becomes controlled o More formal celebrations celebrating Dionysus o Dithyrambs – hymns to Dionysus o Thespis 534 BC – first actor o Chorus singing the hymn and one person becoming the character o Thespian – follower of thespis the first actor City dionysia – festival acropolis (central mountain in Athens)

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o Orchestra circle – performers would perform in the orchestra circle o Skene – backdrop o Beama – centerpoint  Greeks believed that the beama was the centerpoint of the universe  Reverence for theater o Hoist at the top of the skene  Mechane – hoist  This is how they lower a god onto the stage  Make the god appear  God Three actors (mask) o Only three actors that could speak at a time o Wouldn’t actually see their faces o Mouth openings serve as a megaphone o No women Contest (trilogy of tragedies and satyr comic play) o Submit four plays o Be performed and then there’d be a vote for the best playwright at the end Most tragic playwrights o Aeschylus (the euminides) o Sophocles (Antigone) o Euripies (Medea) Civic promotion Religious o Still honoring dyionisys o Celebrate glory of Athens o Cultivated, civilized, promote city Political debate o Different ideologies contested Audience experience o Day or two before play – religious ceremonies and parades o Get up at dawn on the day of the play o See three tragedies by afternoon o Go eat lunch, come back and watch a comic play o Most everyone could come to the play o Hierarchical – men sat together o Free game for sex – 9 months later assign babies to families when they didn’t know the father Proof o Design, acting  Didn’t like the girl actress  Acting was strong

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Opening scene was awkward Catherine – she did choices  Display her character  Convey state of stress – were moments where she went into a highly emotional state  Hal was very in control – seemed very straightforward. played as a good guy Strange delivery of dialogue – emphasized different parts of the wording so it didn’t feel as natural Hurt that we read the play before – knew the surprises Know the play then what you watch for is how it’s executed instead of what the story is Experience reading vs seeing  Set design  Viewing experience  Clairea was funnier than expected – really uptight sister  Contrast, o Catherina was in a bathrobe and Claire was in a nice sweater – looked good. Pj’s were nice. Work suit, heels – painted fingernails – Catherine had no makeup Is the set naturalistic or realistic  Naturalistic – leaves, trash,  Set – real leaves, tree trunk branch with the leaves  Under the porch – watering can, hose, bottles, ladder  Plants – dead  Wire going across  Opened the door – coatrack, mirror, not just painted  Leaves hanging from the top – not real leaves and then real leaves on the ground Seduction scene  Weird, awkward,  Kissed – immediately turns her back and acts like she’s shy 12 years old  Show she’s college but not yet adjusted to the world – having to deal with emotions Most emotional moment of the play  She was trying to say it was her proof  When the father is talking about his inspiration has returned – just gibberish Why go to theatre where we’re expected/set up to feel intense emotions  Sad moment – father lost sanity  Why do we want to pay to see this?  Everyone has some experience or relationship with sadness – can’t escape it. Recognize it.

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Insulated – catharsis – fear what’s happening but identify at the same time Halloween movies – why do we celebrate, primal origin, things die and get cold in winter o Envoke spirits and chase them away. Scared of stuff. Inoculation – take it in small dose. Get close to fear and yet contain it Debate going on in the play o Mathmatetian – gender battle in the play o Role of offspring – sacrifice life to be able to take care of parent o Taboo – f word on stage  Pretty safe show. Not much transgression.

Next Tuesday – test The Eumenides – female furies o By Aeschylus – one of the three best playwrights o Eumenidies  Furies  Represent spirit of the Earth o Last play of the trilogy o Gender politics o Celebrate Athens  Law, court system o Earlier plays:  Stories of Orestes – killed mother  About the trial of Orestes  Early on, has parents who don’t have a good marriage  Dad – greek warrior, mother – queen  Dad is called to fight in Trojan war  No wind, so gods said youhave to kill the daughter in order to get good winds  Dad leaves for 10 years. Wife has taken on a lover  He comes home and they tell him to take a bath. Then the wife and the lover kill him.  Is your father or mother more important? Orestes problem  Argument for killing mother o Avenge his father’s death  Argument for not killing mother o Mother’s actions are justified because father killed the daughter/sister  Finally does kill the mother o Third play  Being chased and tormented by female furies

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Goes to Athens and asks for a trial – celebrating that Athens is advanced and has a court Argues why he killed his mother Furies arguing against him as to why he shouldn’t have Deadlocked jury Athena – patron goddess of wisdom – decides she has to decide the tie  Side with mother or father?  Sides with males.  Her logic: Athena was birthed by Zeus. So the father is more important. She’s using her one case to assert male privilege. Way to assert male privilege and male dominance Play shows politics

  Gender bias o Bathrooms in a theater  Equal number of stalls  Or more for women  Walton arts center has more female restrooms o Outfits at half time  Twirlers o BC and reproductive rights Playwright Eugene O’Neill o First great American playwright o Focuses on family history o Great play  A long Day’s Journey into Night  Argued as the greatest American play  About his own family  Father was an actor – made a lot of money but never really strained to be a great artist  Focuses on mother – traveled with father and ends up getting addicted to morpheme  Family dealing with mother relapsing Current American o Tony Kushner o Political history o Angels in America o Lincoln o Interested in politics of American culture o Focuses on how individuals work in communities rather than individualism o Dynamics of groups and how group identities work in American culture Playwright

Wright – builder One who builds plays Dialogue and language are just a small part of it Agon - agony Want to create an event that is a struggle Create as a writer  Action, collisions, turns  Exercise = 2 choices  Something happens.. then another thing happens  Bad to worse o Catch boyfriend cheating. Then realize it’s with your best friend.  Next  Bad to worse to really good  Ex. Harry Potter Common place book o Notes and observations o Overhear conversations o Sitting on a plane – hear the wildest stories o Telling jokes – did you hear the one about the crazy man naked wrapped in cellophane walked in the psychiatrist’s office. Then the psychiatrist’s office and he says “I clearly see your nuts.” Scenario o Outline of action Voice o Unique to you o Use your own voice o Individual voice o Singer – know just by hearing her/him Playwrights o Work in isolation o Work in your study then send your script off o Can maybe come in for rehearsal etc. o Can be involved or most removed from the event Have a new script: o Table reading (actors)  Sit around with group of actors. Hear how it sounds. o Staged reading  Script in hand with audience  Sit around and read it o Showcase/workshop  Like if you were in kimpell blackbox o Full production o Rehearsal o o o o o o

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 Watch actors  Helpful for you  Actors can ask you questions – learn from them  Sharpen the play The run  Learn where your script is working and not working  Does your ending work, etc. Post run  Go back and do revisions  Revise the script Dramatists’ Guild  Professional support for the playwrights Dramatists’ Sourcebook  Like the Bible for playwrights  List of theatres, grants, competitions etc.

o Playwright  Thesema Doren – british, raised in London. Mom is a historian  She started at a comedy writer  Worked for BBC  Moved to NY  Worked as a playwright and written for TV – boardwalk empire o Company that first did the play  Playwright’s Horizon  One of the top theatres for new work  Give support to playwrights trying to get work out there  Done in 2011  If it runs for a month, you make maybe $15,000  Really hard to make it as a playwright financially – stage, because they love it… tv because it makes money o Right in the play  Real world problem of what is love  Focused on human relationships in a contemporary world  Stage version of modern family  Confusing with all of the characters  Good pace – short scenes  Director – lots of scenes between ana and sean, so it was boring so she took all of those out  Get a sense of them through dialogue with others- in relation to other characters o Structure of the play  Series of 2 person scenes  Mosaic, montage o Figures  Linda

 Seans mom  In Ireland  Max  Mom’s brother  Helped raise sean Ana   English teacher  Book  Sean  Boyfriend  From Ireland  Personal trainer  Kay  Adam’s mistress  Dying  Adam  Ana’s dad  In military  Helena  She’s a mess  Ana’s friend  Wannabe actress  Spacey  Simon  Professor Gideon   Scares away the bear  Rachael  Sean’s former girlfriend  Still has feelings for her  Can’t commit until he settles it with her o Great scenes  Breaking up with Rachael in first scene  Helena – trying to bury dead dog in central park  Sean and his mother – phone – mom is incapacitated  Mother had been raped o Themes  Love  Mental illness  Weird family dynamics  Broken families  Ana finds journal  Mother doesn’t love father  Father cheats  Rachael and sean

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 She’s an alcoholic  Dysfunctional relationship  Deep fears of the future  Ending of the play  Marriage  Linda talking to Ana o Mother in law – worlds apart how can we be close  Adam – wants him to be her support  Wedding  Stage directions  All characters have to be on stage  Kin – weird bonding  Even very fragmented, they’re still kin  Notion of what is a modern family Diversity and Performance DV8 London Dance Group “Cost of Living”...