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theater is global and universal
performative activities: theatrical events in everyday life such as weddings, funerals, graduations, etc.
performative arts: ceremonies and presentations that tell a story
theatrical arts: dramatic presentation by actors on some kind of stage before an audience
Bernard Beckerman: "Theater is nothing if not spontaneous. It occurs. It happens. The novel can be put away,
taken up, reread. Not theater. It keeps slipping between one's !ngers. Stopping, it stops being theater. Its
permanent features, facets of activity, such as scenery, script, stage, people, are no more theater than the two
poles of a generator are electricity. Theater is what goes on between the parts."
theater !lm
LIVE special e'ects
give and take with audience can have multiple takes
always changes (mistakes) easier to pick who to look at
can show actors appreciation
group experience: a+rmation from collective laughing
creates a temporary community
relationships among others in the group
individual experience: your own experiences in,uence your perspective
aesthetic distance: ability to see big picture
changes perception (objectivity)
drama therapy: using role playing to cope
no audience
Illusion may be initiated by the creators of theatre, but it is completed by the audience.”
realistic elements: re,ects everday life
sitcoms
resembles observable reality
nonrealistic elements: musical theater
ghosts, abstract scenery
pantomime
willing suspension of disbelief: audience ignores doubts
allowing imagination
children are best at this
believing that what is occurring on stage is in fact reality
important factors that shape our theater experience:
1. knowledge and personal memories of individual members of the audience
2. awareness of the social, political, and philosophical world in which the play was
written or produced (link between theater and society)
3. speci!c information about the play or playwright
4. individual experiences concerning the event-what each person anticipates will
happen at the performance
Greek theater: mostly auditory
stories are very bloody but that isn't seen
really valued balance, bad things happen but do not need to be indulged in
Elizabethan theater: shifting from place to place and time period to time period
expansive in numbers of characters and in terms of action (show blood)
modern theater: questions traditional values
heterogenous
everything is SO focused on individualism and being di'erent
Broadway: plays performed in large theaters in the district near Times Square
o'-Broadway: smaller than Broadway theaters and located outside of Times Square
cheaper
critic:A critic is someone who observes theatre and then analyzes and comments on it.
knowledgeable and highly sensitive audience member
knows what each person's job is to determine who succeeded and who didn't
questions include, What is being attempted? Have the attempts been achieved? Was it
worthwhile?
dramaturg: literary advisor that might work with a director
focus on research
duties include discovering and reading new plays, working on new scripts,
conducting research, preparing reports on the history of plays, researching
criticism, etc.
proscenium: fourth wall
arch
large backstage and wings, ideal for large sets
better aesthetic distance
audience on one side
arena: theater in the round
audience on all sides
can't have large set at all
no backstage
intimacy with audience
thrust: large backstage so can have backdrop
intimacy with audience
audience is on three sides
changes movement
found/created space: non-theater building
unconventional
creative and inventive
blackbox: ,exibility
audience on three sides
house: where audience sits
rake: slanting of stage
orchestra: main ,oor
boxes: horseshape tiers
,y loft: above stage to hold scenery
utilizes counterweight system
stage house/skene: provides entrances and exits for performers in thrust stage
platform stage: popular arrangement for outdoor performances in Europe
wagon stage: platform on wheels
corrales: thrust stage in Spain
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