td 301 part 1 notes
TRANSCRIPT
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January 17What is theatre?Preserves and comments on culture, represented.Required: actors, audience, (someone doing and watching)Some type of actions can be inaction you need a location.
Definitions of theaterActor, audience, and an empty space- Peter BrookMagic born out of the desire to recreate shared experiences in order to experience community
-Robert Edmund JonesYou experience levels of things as individual in response to everyone around you and experiencelife as a collective.
Theater seeks to bring magic of a collective experience.Definitions of Theatre: Community and shared experienceDO YOU NEED AN AUDIENCE?
Some of the ways we use theater to discover and test our identities.
Role playing
January 20ndTheatre and Society
Theatre reflects the values, morals, and beliefs of the society in which it performs
o Greek theatre reflected obedience to a strict hierarchical system PLOT IS MOSTIMPORTANT
o Elizabethan Theater explored the power struggles of the crown and then search tounderstand humanity. Use others historiesin Europe in reworks them on printingout the usurpations of the crown.
o The Beijing Opera reflected the tradition and formality of the Chinese society
until political Agitprop Theatre in China helped Mao Zedong usher inCommunism.
Agitprop- agitated propaganda sloganizes communismo Because theatre is made by people in a society it inevitably reflects what it means
to be part of that societyo Often stories written in the past are reborn in future
Greek Theater and Waro Lysistratao 411 BCEo Comedy- Aristophaneso Creates a battle of the sexes when Lysistrata withholds sexual privileges from
men until they agree to end the Peloponnesian War.o Debate exists over whether play promotes feminism or absurdity of war!
Lampooning (parody)o Comedy at hear of Greek comedyo Criticize using ridicule or sarcasmo Often targeted individuals but also targeted ideaso Reducto ad absurdumo Literally reduction to absurdity
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o Take common idea, break down into essential elements.
Lysistratao Feminist
Women increase their patriarchal rule and influence political decision Assert control over their sexuality
Women show greater restraint over desires than meno Not Feminist
Women are impacted because they are being deprived of their men Women in original play are shown to be conniving and manipulative The original actors were men
Lysistrata
o Comedy about waro Aristophanes wrote several comedies about waro A employ divisional chorus which unites at the end to potentially signify the
reunification between Athens and Spartao All actors would have been men, including Lysistrata whose asexual nature could
serve to represent reason and logic Lysistrata Today
o Lysistrata Project 2002 Prevent War in Iraq Presented several readings and performance of Lysistrata with focus on
anti-war and feminist Grown international call
o Lysistrata 1969- Rude Mechanicals at Capitol Fringe in July 2013
Reimagination of Lysistrata to create parallels between 1969 anti-
Vietnam protest and 4th
century Greeceo Lysistrata Jones
Musical comedy Cheerleaders refuse to have sex with boyfriends until they win a
basketball game after a 3 year losing streak
Takes away the feminism in it
Elizabethean power struggles of crown through the use of others histories
Shakespeare and societyo Hamlet 1601o Tragedy- usurpation crown in Denmarko Hamlet father (King killed by uncle Claudius)
Claudius marries Hamlets mother (Gertrude) then becomes King. Hamletstruggles with conscience over whether to seek revenge.
o Most performed Shakespeare Playo Most quoted
Appropriations of Hamleto Hamlet Machine- Muller
Postmodern drama based loosely Explores existence under German totalitarian rule
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Actors regularly step in and out of roles preventing the audience frombecoming lost in the action because empathy is equated with control
Staging is intentionally difficult in order to force director to engage with
the piece as it suits the occasion
Rosecrantz and Guildenstern are Dead
o
Tom Stoppard 1966o Tragic comedy that questions existence through the use of 2 peripheral characters
form Hamleto Characters presented as clueless, merely stumbling through life with no real
understanding of the consequential events surrounding men.
Al Hamlet Summit
o WrittenAl-Bassam in 2002o Loose adapt Hamlet in Arab autocratic stateo The setting is a summit meetingo Hamlets confused identity represents confusion of an Arab citizen who must
choose between violence created by neo-liberal economic system or the violence
created by religious extremism.
January 22ndLecture 3:Analyzing Plays:
What the play means should not be the first consideration. For the theater artist or
technician it is more important to know what makes the clock tick than what time it is.And you cant begin to find a plays meaning until you comprehend its works. - William
Ball
You cant ascribe something until you give it some meaning
The PoeticsWith the Poetics Aristotle talks about the forms: comedy, tragedy, and epic.What sets tragedy apart from tragedy from comedy- comedy isnt taken asseriously whereastragedy is more dire and more serious.Tragedy possesses magnitude greatness - it needs to be about something enormous in its
spectrum. Comedy is just miniscule/every day.Tragedy - higher class are the subjects - Oedipus-you look at the life of someone whose life matters. If someone great can have
something like this happen to them something like that or worse can happen to me as alower classes: it basically keeps the hierarchal structure. Even the highest receivepunishment.
PlotCharacter
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ThoughtDictionSongSpectacle
Unity of time: a good tragedy it occurs within 24 hours
Unity of action: one singular focus- ONE PLOTUnity of place: Everything has to occur at the same locationPlotThe arrangement of incidents
Not the story itself, but how the story is arranged and told to the audience To Aristotle the best plots are self-contained set of cause effect events Must have a beginning, middle, and end
o a good beginning would be in the middle of the action (maybe crisis)and from that point you travel in that story
Must be significant in size and scope May be simple or complex, but Aristotle considers complex superior
o
complex meaning that you have small cuts and actions you arent just travelingfrom point a and pointb there is some action and complexity. OBSTACLES toepiphany
Character Those written to carry out the plot To Aristotle characters in tragedy must
o be goodo true to typeo realistico true to themselveso necessaryo ennobledo characters have a purpose
The reason you need good characters in tragedy is because we wouldnt care-- they haveto be responsible for their actions.
Diction The expression of meaning in words Aristotle placed high value on metaphor
Thought Generally the theme or idea of the play Meaning
Music Should be fully integrated into the plot and support the action
Spectacle Last and least important to Aristotle. The amount of spectacle is inversely proportional to
the strength of the plot.
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Critical TheorySelf-Reflexive examination of literature, art, music, and theater that seeks to understand theformation and transfer of knowledge and, when necessary, to challenge to circulation ofknowledge when it marginalizes a population.
How does it marginalize specific populations?
Cultural StudiesFeminist TheoryGender and queer theoryPost colonialismRace Theory
1/27/14
She Kills Monsters
By: Qui Nguyen
Backwards/Forwards
Statis- Inaction
Dramatic Intrusion-Reactive Force
Dramatic Climax-Breaking Point
Think of Newtons 3 Laws
o Objects at rest will stay at rest and objects in motion will stay in motion until
acted on by an opposite force
o The acceleration of a body is directly proportional to, and in the same direction as
the net force acting on the body and inversely proportional to its masso To every action there is an equal opposite reaction. Good plot is about conflict
In a circular plot structureobstacle you never actually anywherethe desire that you
want and the path leads you back to where you started
Could be a double linear structureimpact between one world from another they have
their own separate entity. The reason it is not circular because of the polar character.
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o Polar character throughout one course of the play transverses from one side to the
other side (Agnes) She starts out with this one preconceived notion of what her
sister is and her relationship and then she travels this entire plot and that idea of
what her sister was and her idea of what herself transforms changes from one
thing from another. TRANSITION
Usually the protagonist
What is the opening stasis-
o There is a prologue going on everyone dies except for Agnes
The family is alive and they are separated by a lot of years and not a great
understanding between Tilly and Agnes. And the death of her sister leads
to her packing etc.
What is some of the smaller conflicts-
o A small conflict is each conflict is a big conflict.
Real world conflictsthe cheerleaders they bully Tilly (in back story )
Right afterwards they come to her and try to sell an ad and kicksthem out
There is mental conflict- Agnes is battling with herself to try to come to
grips what she actually thought about her sister and herself
Democrat etc. how does she react negatively that her sister is
interested in women and she didnt know about it
Miles and the relationshiphe is not at the point of committing and Agnes
not being sure she wants to commit and Vera not understanding why they
are still together then.
Singular Linear Plot the dramatic climax would be when she flips the table when she gets
mad Internally comes to grips
o In the game it would be fighting the final monster (the dragon)
She Kills Monsters- Character
o What are the characters social status?
o Agnes and Veraolder established not really inside the teenage angst
going on
Geeks(D&D) Tilly Chuck and Orcus
Disabled
Sexuality
Popular Crowd (Normative Population)these are ways that have beennormalized by society. We need to have this normalization so we can
understand the marginalized
Lilith- She crosses dates football player popular and at the same time
she questions her sexuality she is included in the narrative in the game so
we also include her in that geek culture she admits to have experimented
with each other sexuality she was Tillys first kiss
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o What power does each character have over events in their lives?
Cheerleaders power structure in the real world the real they bullied Tilly.
In the game world she does have a lot of power. She does still fear them in
the game world even though towards the end she still beats them. Even
though in the world she is creating she still deals with the power structures
that she doesnt like.
Power structure between Cheerleaders and Agnes- Agnes is more
powerful because she has authority (teacher) over cheerleaders older
not in their social clique. They also want her to buy pictures bestows a
power upon Agnes. Throughout the course of the semester you want to
really look at how this power plays between different characters and how
does it change
o What is their diction? How do they speak?
Colloquialgame speakingRelaxed
How does it change from relationship to relationship? She can seed authority to Miles or Chuck her diction is towards
authority in her children but as she gets into the game as she
realizes he is the key to learning about her sister she changes her
speech towards etc.
Give Circumstances
o Circumstances that exist prior to the start of the action
o Can apply to whole play or one scene
When?
o Time of the Action
90s they say it --- Must see TV- References
o Dramatic Time (How much time passes within the play)
A year from accident
A couple of weeks through action of her opening the boxes etc.
You are not dealing within the context of one day like Aristotle normal
denote
Where?
o General Locale
Athens, Ohio
o
Specific Localeo Social norms, politics, economic system, religion
At the time that this play was written 90s Clinton Economic situation
(still prosperous)
Closed Reading
o First Step:Selecting Quotes from Text/Moments from a Performance
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o Ask yourself what are moments that I found particularlybeautiful, intense,
strange, revealing, hard to understand, unusual, etc.?
o Things I tend to look at: first lines, last lines, sections rich in metaphor, things that
get repeated a lot,, things that stick out from a text or performance, what
happened around interesting things...
o
Next Step:Pulling Out text from quotes/elements from moments
o With scripts: look at diction (silence- some context or meaning that is left out that
will give you a clearer picture of what is going HISTORICAL), syntax, figurative
language, details, allusion, and imagery.
o With performance: look at staging, design elements, movement/gesture, facial
expression, vocal inflection, etc.
Representation
o What is the playwrights subject position?
o How are the female characters represented?
PowerfulTilly is a badass, she is also in some forms masculine but sheis also a woman. Female masculinityare represented as attractive as well
they are wearing skimpy clothes etc. Changing the normative structure of
masculinity
o How are geeks represented?
o How are non-geek represented?
o Trope- a common or overused theme or device
What are some of the tropes represented in this play?
1/29/2013
The Playwright
Crafter of a plays plot
Can be one person or a collaborative effort
Performed as an individual with no outside influence OR can be commissioned as part of
a collective
librettist in musical theater
THE PLAYWRIGHT TASK
Subject matter Define focus and emphasis
Establish purpose of the play
Establish a point of view
Dynamic characters
Develop the dramatic structure
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AUGUST WILSON
Playwright is discovering life and your own place in it
Born in Pittsburgh PA 1945
o Much teen life living amongst working class white population where he subjected
to threats and violence
Influenced by the blues singer- Bessie Smith
Also influenced heavily by the Black Arts movement of 1960s &70s
o After the death of Malcolm X
Most known for The Pittsburgh Cycle (Century Cycle)
o Consists of 10 plays
o Each play represents a decade form 1900-1990
Died October 2, 2005
BESSIE SMITH
Bought one of her records in a thrift store and struck by the music Wait a minute. This is mine theres history there- August Wilson
Nobody in town can bake sweet jelly roll like mine Bessies Lyrics
o He hears the language of the people around him through the blues
AMIRI BARAKA
Figure in the Black Arts Movement
Born LeRoi Jones in 1967 he changed his name when he joined the Nation of Islam
Dutch man (1964)tackles issues of race, appropriation, injustice, and violence against
the black body.
ROMARE BEARDEN
Mill Hands Lunch Bucket (1978)
Bearden and Wilson shared geographical background
His artwork is about the great migration into steel towns
We can see some of Joe Turners characters in this artwork Jeremy with the big hands
o Seth sitting in the char etc.
GIVEN CIRUCMSTANCES
Time period 1911
o Great migration of African Americans from the South to the North was just
beginning
o Written in 1984- context put by playwright:
Reagan administration
Neoliberalism- Taxes are decreasing the property of the wealthy is bigger
there are cuts in social welfare programs etc.
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Location
Boarding house in Pittsburgh
What do we know about the location?Where migrants came to stay at
Socio economic status of characters
o Seth and Bertha- working class African Americans
Seth had some sort of education
o Jeremy, Byrum, Mattie, Mollytransient
o Harold, Zonia, Martha Loomis- sharecropper to transient
o Rutherford Selis- white traveling salesman
He represented the capitalist economy he was opportunist $$$
o Reuben?- maybe child August Wilson as an spectator
o Joe Turner- represents the chain gang
Historical Context-
o Civil War ends 1865, Reconstruction
o
Civil Rights Act 1866, granted equal rights to all meno 2ndIndustrial Revolution- ushered building transportation and infrastructure
Many new roads were built near the turn of the century
o New roads and railways this means an increase in urbanization
o Pittsburgh became largest US Steel Producer by 1911
o New technology began to replace skilled workers with unskilled labor to run
machines
o Immigration from Europe and Asian increased dramatically
o Great migration of African Americans from South to North at the turn of the
century
Joe Turner
o Actually Joe Turney
o Brother of Tennessee governor Pete Turney
o Responsible for delivering black prisoners from Memphis to Tennessee State
Penitentiary in Nashville
o Would often sell the prisoners to labor farms for personal gain
o Most convicts arrested for minor offenses like shooting crabs
o Joe Turney became the symbol for turn of the century chain gangs
Joe Turners Blues
Linear Ploto Stasis: Normal day in boarding house
o Louiss disappearance initial dramatic intrusion
o Some conflicts: Seth and Loomisdoesnt trust him
Jeremy arrested & relationship with women in boarding house
o Most dramatic part was Loomis has his vision
o Climax- Martha comes in and reconnects Loomis life
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o Resolution- Loomis handing over Zonia to Martha
Becomes shiny man
Dramatic Devices
o Literary elements allow playwright to build tension and influence the action of the
play into desired direction
MysticismByrum
JUBBBAAAA
Describe the actions
Connects back to African American origin
Helps us understand duel conscious
o Tied to America but cant get back to Africa
In between liminal spacepull between both
worlds
MondayFebruary 3rd, 2014Acting
What is acting?o Art of representing a character on a stage or before a camera by means of
movement, gesture, and intonation. Intonation- indescribable sounds etc. why of saying things
o Many Theories that more specifically define acting William Archer (1856-1924)
Acting is imitation Lee Strasberg (1901-1982)
Acting is creating and expression, a response to imagined stimuli. Double Representation- there is a person on stage who is representing a character and at
the same time they are being a character they are still themselves. They dont seize to bethemselves. As an audience you might forget that is an actor in stage. The actor neverforgets that, always self aware. You still represent yourself while representing thecharacter. (i.e. unique gestures etc. )
o can you use that to break the audience's empathy of the character Representation
o actor projects a sense of character lifeo
also maintains sense of selfo this leads creates a double representationo in some cases the actor imagines self through the gaze of the audience leading to a
third form of representation.o Identity representation
Double/Triple Representationo Anna Deavere Smith -
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all through physical changes she needs to have a sense of self in order toshift into these characters because if you lose yourself in a character thenyou wont be able to make shift in characters.
Actors Responsibilities-o to study the texto
memorize lines and blockingo be present, open, and creative at rehearsalso maintain healthy physically and vocallyo constantly consider and refine charactero TAKE RISKS!!!
February 5th
Acting Recap
o
acting is presenting/representing charactero double/triple representation
portraying a character but also yourself there is two consciousness Triple- idea that the actor has the double representation but they are
putting themselves in the position of the spector whether the director oraudience thinking of how the audience is looking at the motion andmovement along stage
o actors responsibility Agenda
o actors toolso actor in the production process
o
approaches to acting Actors Responsibilities
o to study the text By reading the script over and over again. Knowing what the playwright is going through when writing it and it ties
in with script. Researching the characters- historical, documentaries, fictional, the basis
of historical characters (live in the world of your play) Reading it without blocking as a story you can understand better what the
through line is and how your piece fits better with it.o memorize lines and blocking
blocking in the initial stage directions and productions - how to stage andmove around- the director is going to assign characters to go from onespecific direction to the other. MOVEMENT in script
choreographyo be present, open, and creative at rehearsals
acting is reacting - you have to expect something different every nightso you can react!
o maintain health physically and vocally
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rehearsals are gruelingo constantly consider and refine character
never become stale in your character- or else the action also becomesstale the audience becomes bored
o TAKE RISKS!!!
The best moments in a play are discovered unexpectedly. Actors Tools
o Vocal Technique Diction- pronounce your words/intonation
Accent (i.e.) Southern Volume- What is the space youre taking you have to adjust your voice
whether the house is big or small (project or intimate volume) Clarity- Even with diction still have to maintain clarity no matter what
dialect or diction is audience needs to understand! Portray dialect anddiction while still making sense.
Character specific
Not only dialect but personality does your speaker speak fast,think about every single word, a tick, Healthy
Take care of your voiceo Physical Technique
Energy every single part of your body has to be engaged but the
audience has to see the energy Posture
Understand posture of your character Gesture
Talk a lot with your hands etc. grand gestures no gestures Mutable
an actor has to know when to be forward and when to step back.Have to know when to change in their dynamics
Healthyo Mental Capacity
Focus (most important) bouncing back from prop fails and dropped lines
Endurance It is tiring to be on constantly on focus for however long the
performance is Critical Analysis
how your character on stage is affecting another character etc. toknow that you cannot portray irresponsible
Research You have to do your research on the play whether it be historical
Production Processo Audition
monologues
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one person speaking a piece (60-90s) not a big audience cold reading
Call back- they might give you a script and partner you up withsomeone and do a side (script) - cold reading you arent familiarwith the script and you are expected at that moment to perform that
script with another person casting call (cattle call)
where lots of young actors (just out of college) where you willhave a number in 1-600 wait in line and come up on stage and doyour monologue say thank you and get off its a constant rotation
audience are smaller summerstock have a huge audience ofdirectors etc.
o Rehearsal play reading
everyone comes together and read the play and may have adiscussion
table work - sometimes omitted all right you read through the play several and lets talk about what
your characters are going through etc. - happens early on blocking
every person has a script on hand and on line blah blah move stageright the directors takes a look and tells you where to movespecific
scene work once you get through your blocking you start working scene by
scene you could work a scene per night
run-thru from start to finish you go through the entire play regardless of
mistakes - to get pacing of the play - how the scenes meet together more you run through the better the pace
technical rehearsals This is the for the designers lighting directors...etc.
previews Is supposed to be show conditioned no stopping costumes
involved ...can be open to an audienceo Performance
ACTING IS REACTING!!!o you have to lead but you have relinquish that leading
February 10th Approaches of Acting
o Marathon Mano Internal
Often (mis)labeled Method acting or the method
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Idea in order to understand what is happening to the character youhave to get in the psychology of the character know what ishappening to them emotionally and you have to make a specificway to connect to that emotion. Experience what the character isgoing through. Projecting from inside out
Involves creating the character through personal identification Developed primarily through methods taught by Konstantin Stanislavski
(1873-1938) Building character through understanding the characters motivations,
feelings, desires, and ambitions Subtext Actors:
Marlin, Brando, Al Pacino, Barbara Streisant Hoffman is the internal actor - on a surface you cant distinguish what
style they carry. Its how they approach it not the final product (to buy into
the character) . Regardless of internal or external is to get the
believability. Approaches of Acting
o External Building character by constructing the outward manifestation of the
characters emotion How does the person speak?
Emphasis on vocal construction as the key to a character Developing posture, gesticulation, movement, etc to drive character Does not mean discard the inner
You dont discard the opposite they use the internal to get to the
external both elements in the final product have to be part of thatcharacter to produce the believability
ACtors: Anna Deavere Smith, Denzel Washington, Paul Newman GOTE- Method of Building a Character Building a Character through GOTE (Acting One- Robert Cohen)
o Goals- I want (_____verb_______)o Obstacles- What is standing in the way of me achieving my goal?o Tactics- What can I USE to get what I want?o Expectation- How good are my chance to get what I want
Lets you focus on the intentions of a particular scene because every time that obstacle
changes.
REPRESENTATION AND STEREOTYPE Stereotype- Representations of idealized character types that are not based on
observation, but on previous representations, which themselves were often based onprevious representations. The chains of representation are often not refreshed with newobservation. Over time these stereotypes tend to become widely accepted standards ofreference.
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o Socially constructed and can be socially deconstructed you can destroy andremake your own identity. How his representation through media representednotions of identity
Early African -American Image Stereotypeso The Nativeo
The Tomo The Coono The Piccaninnyo The Tragic Mulattoo The Mammyo The Buck
Password : CheckhovChapter 5 Quiz Due Tomorrow by 9am
February 12, 2014
Directing What is Directing:
o Creation of a theatrical language, a language of space and movement and soundthat coherently communicates the ideas of the production to the audience.
o Illumination of the play for the audience.o Sit in our seat and look back as an audience member make sure that the play
looks good to the audience.
o
Director filled an interest in more detailed representation of place and characterhistory the movement of realism and the profusion of theatre styles that arosein realism.
Historyo In classical Greek and Roman Theatre the actor guided the chorus
head choral actor (choregus) Kinda like a choral conductor that keeps it in rhythm but they
arent telling the other actors what to do.
o In Renaissance role become more administrative Actor/Manager (1500s-1600s)
Less about keeping a chorus in line someone to make sure that the
various cast that those actors show up on time and ready to do theirjob. Very administrative but not very creative
o Duke of Sake - Meiningen, George II (1826-1914) Historically cited as first Director
In response to indulgent actor based on a star system in which all elementsof production dedicated to show off talents -_-
Specialized in historical drama with focus on accuracy Actors hired to be part of an ensemble
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costumes and settings were carefully detailed and researched -unified
o Konstantin Stanislovski (1863-1938) Moscow Art Theatre Internal psychological approach to character development
Believed that ensemble acting would tive the lives of all the charactersequal weight and interest rather than having the dramatic material bedominated by the performance of a star.
Focus on Realism small details of inner lives of characters i.e. objects held by actors
Spine of the play Central action or central idea that draws together all the smaller
plot incidents and all the separate character actions an overarching metaphor
o i.e. Joe Turners Come and Gone it can be - the Road Created a method of directing that relied on deep analysis of play
including actions, actor placement, sketches of setting, etc.. Takes this metaphor and he spreads it to every aspect of theater
o Jerzy Grotowski Train actors to use their voices and bodies in astonishing ways to
communication a heightened expression of human experience. Stretching vocal and physical capacity to extraordinary limits Creating theatre performances that explored myths and archetypal
characters as they confronted or illuminated the experiences of themembers of his theater company , audiences and people of Poland.
Director becomes author when he meshes multiple plays .. source ofimagination and foundation on stage
poor theater- stripped down basic materials and bare lights incorporated PRIMARY CREATIVE ARTIST
o Ping Chong- Set out to address contemporary issues with contemporary forms, unafraid
to integrate ancient story telling devices with the most recent technology Two kinds of storytelling
Highly theatrical and symbolic through scenic arrangement andpuppets
Actual words of people who appear on stage PRIMARY CREATIVE ARTIST
o Vsevolod Meyerhold (1874-1940) Dictatorial style - Theater of Straight Line
Every thing he says or does has to be filtered down cant do itwithout Meyerhold telling you what to do
Actor does become an expert in the control of their particular tool Actor - clay Director- sculptor
Theater should transcend everyday reality through exaggeration anddistortion
That the audience could feel transcended magical
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In reaction to Stanislavski Biomechanics - physical character of the actor
Training in gymnastics, circus movement, and ballet Certain muscular movement patterns elicit specific emotions in
actor - Formulaic
External approach Momentum, posturing, muscular movement etc.
The Directors and the Determination of Styleo Contemporary Approaches to Directing
Just as many approaches as there are directors Some general models
Director as partner/collaboratoro Works equally with playwright, actors, and designerso Horizontal power structureo actos have room to explore and take riskso changes to text are mutual decision between playwright and
directoro Ex. Stanislavski, Clinton Turner Davis (Joe Turners Come
and Gone) , Elia Kazan Director as Visionary
o Director is the center of the productiono Material is created or altered to fit the Directors Visiono Actors have little freedom of exploration outside of
Directors Guidanceo pyramid power structureo Ex. Grotowski, Ping Chong, Robert Wilson
Director as Facilitatoro More collaborative with Director acting as guideo Director poses questions or prompts to actors who then
improvise in response during rehearsal doesnt maintain any authority at all they simply pose questions
o often called devised work The facilitator has spend time asking questions and
do some impro around answers and through improthe entire team creates a play that is put on for anaudience so the audience can then react in dialoguewith the show . the actor breaks away fromcharacter and approaches the audience and asksquestions The audience comes on stage
o mostly horizontal power structure with Directorrepresenting the collective eye
o Ex. Elizabeth LeCompte (Wooster Group) , Voices AgainstViolence
Playwright as Directoro Puts the Playwright/Director at center of production
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o Focus is on the crafting of the text through experimentingin rehearsals
o More importance is placed on the play text as finishedproduct rather than a individual production
o Relatively Vertical power structureo
Ex. Bertolt Brecht, David Mamet, Marie Irene Fornes, andAdam Rapp The finished product is not really put in front of the
audience the first time. Everything was gearedtowards crafting and finishing the script. Thedirector becomes very possessive of their play.
February 17, 2014Theatrical Design
Theatrical Spaceo Stage type
Theatrical Design Areaso Scenic Designo
Costume Designo Lighting Designo Sound Designo Propertieso Multimediao Stage Management
Proscenium Stageo Rectangular stage construction with one side of the rectangle (4th Wall) open to
the audience Proscenium Arch - Frames the 4th wall for the audience Imaginary barrier from audience and action going on stage
o
More traditional form of stageo Allows for masking from audience
Everything forced into a two dimensional perspective the front
everything in a box Stage - back of arch Apron - in front of arch Proscenium Arch Upstage- away from audience
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Downstage- close to audience Left and right determined by actor on the stage
the wings is where costume changes are going on etc.o PHYSICAL 4th wall
Thrust Stageo
Stage constructed to allow audience to sit on three sides of the stageo No physical 4th wallo More intimate connection between audience and actiono Audience are aware they are watching a play
there is the the notion that the 4th wall is metaphorical that its the beliefthat the audience and action to carry it out
you can shorten the dept of the audience to get the action in closer does limit some of the design possibilities
o There is no backstage areao The actors have several different entrance areas
Arena Stageo
also called Theatre in the Roundo Audience surrounds the stageo Stage can be round or squareo Most intimacy offered between audience and actorso Presents acting and design challenges
No more huge scenic and lighting elements Constantly know where you are playing your body because there is four
different sides so at every moment your back is at some sides Theatrical Design
o Theatrical Design is done collaboratively with director and other designerso Unity of Concept- All designers are guided by central concept or spine of the
playo Unity of Style- All designers are guided by aesthetic/historical period or style
Designer Responsibilitieso Read and analyze the playo Research time periods, design style, and conceptual resourceso collaborate with director and other designers to created production concepto Prepare appropriate breakdown of design elements (area dependent) so that
technicians can bring design to life .o attend rehearsals and production meetings to insure maximum integration with
collaborative teamo Supervise design implementationo Insure integration of design into production during technical rehearsals
Big deadline for design and technical team is this rehearsal the designersthis is the most important to take entire project to get the timing anddisplay correct
Scenic Designo Creates the physical environment of the playo can be as minimal as a bare stage or as extravagant as fully realized turn of the
century opera house
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o Most impacted by stage typeo driven heavily by metaphor
spine of this metaphor this idea when you read the play one central themeor metaphor . ie joe turner that metaphor is the road
o Designer creates design. Scenic construction crew implements design
Technical director - drafts build plans and oversees all technical areas master carpenter- oversees buildings of all scenery carpentry crew - builds scenic elements scenic painter(s)- provide the finishing touches
Costume Designo Creates the look for characters with fabric, color, and textureo Driven mostly by adherence to time period or stylistic unityo Help define the characters psychology through presentations
clothing reflects personalityo Works close with actorso Costume Shop Supervisor - Oversees costumes buildo
Assortment of technical specialist: drapers, stitchers, etc Scenic Designer most important thing is knowing what type stage they are in . Spine of the Metaphor- Central idea of a image Stands in place for something else.
The meaning of the play and distill all of that in a single image. Design- how does that imagine manifest through that particular metaphor area All Design elements are budget dependent Lighting Designer
o Sculpts the production with lighto helps direct focus to specific areas of the stage
If this entire stage is lit where is the focus? NO focus but lighting can
place focus on stage Lighting works helps the audience understand
better where they need to look. Sculpts the actor in the space.o establishes mood and atmosphereo driven mostly by concept
Two staple tools: the light and you wanna color the light you need to putsomething in front of it to give color called gel
They work with texture they will put patterns in the light to project a forestrain etc. a distorted image. GOBO used!
o does not see manifestations of design until late in the processo Master Electrician - implements the lighting design
light hanging is the most dangerous job.o Electrician team includes: light board operator, follow spot operator , intelligent
lighting operator, etc. Costume and lighting designer work together how they affect costumes
etc. lighting that is capable of moving by using a board etc. - intelligent
lightingo Sound Design
Two functions create soundscape of play
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reinforce actors and instrumentations for play Driven by conceptual metaphor and logistical demands Can help establish three dimensionality that draws audience into middle of
productions Environmental soundscapes that can draw audience into it
Sound Engineer- manifests reinforcement design Sound crew consists of : board operator, microphone, technicians, and
sometimes foley artists. foley artists make sound out of found material
o Other important Design and Tech Functions Multimedia Design - focus in on projections, intelligent lighting , and 3D
sound as an integrated system Properties Design - works between scenic Designer , costume designer,
and director to create props for use during performance craft work creates things on stage etc.
Stage Manager
manages entire production team and actors during rehearsals Insures show maintains high productions quality during run Calls all technical cues during performance