Theatre Exam 1
Terms
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- Realistic Techniques: Language
- Ordinary dialogue or conversation
- Non-realistic Techniques: Language
- Poetry
- Realistic Techniques: Scenery
- Rooms of a real house
- Non-realistic Techniques: Scenery
- Abstract forms and shapes
- Realistic Techniques: Lighting
- Light onstage appears to come from natural sources -- a lamp in a room, or sunlight.
- Non-realistic Techniques: Lighting
- Shafts of light fall at odd angles; also, colors in light are used arbitrarily
- Realistic Techniques: Costumes
- Ordinary street clothes
- Non-realistic Techniques: Costumes
- Bright crazy costumes of a chorus in a musical comedy
- Realistic Techniques: Makeup
- The natural look of characters in a domestic play
- Non-realistic Techniques: Makeup
- Masks worn by characters in a Greek tragedy
- Realistic Techniques: Acting
- Performers portray people as they behave in daily life
- Non-realistic Technique: Acting
- Performers portray animals
- Realistic Technique: Characters
- Recognizable human beings
- Non-realistic Techniques: Characters
- Unreal figures (ghosts)
- Realistic Techniques: Structure
- Action is confined to real places, time passes normally
- Non-realistic Technique: Structure
- Arbitrary use of time
- Realistic Technique: Story
- Events that the audience knows have happened or might happen in everyday life
- Non-realistic Technique: Story
- Events that do not take place in real life but occur only in the imagination
- What are audience expectations?
- -To be entertained -To be moved emotionally -To be challenged to think
- African American Theatre
- Written by and for black Americans, and performed by black Americans; includes western theatre tradition and other tradition that traces its origin to theatre in Africa and the Caribbean; the 1950s saw an explosion of black theatre.
- Hispanic Theatre
- a. Nu Yorican Theatre (New York predominantly) b. Cuban American Theatre (Florida [Miami] predominantly) c. Mexican American Theatre (American Southwest predominantly)
- Asian American Theatre
- a. American Northwest predominantly b. Pan Asian Repertory has national presence
- Feminist Theatre
- Not radical feminist but woman's point of view changed writing dramatically
- Lesbian and Gay Theatre
- a. almost 50/50 split of gay viewpoint in mainstream b. Other half of 50/50 split intended for gay audiences
- FRINGE THEATRE - Avant-Gard & Experimental Theatre
- a-Gaia-Gaea b-Performance Art
- Crossover Theatre
- a-La Cage aux Folles, Angels in America (Gay to Mainstream) b-M Butterfly (Asian American Theatre to Mainstream) c-Plays by August Wilson
- The Purpose of Theatre
- ⬢ To entertain ⬢ To probe the human condition ⬢ To provide an escape for audience ⬢ To prompt the Audience to Think (High Quality production will be balanced close to 25% in each category.)
- In comedies an audience often thinks...
- that the entertainment value is out of balance with other areas until after they leave the theatre and think more about the meaning behind the comedy.
- To Find Fault (Criticize)
- What John Q. Public in general thinks the word Criticize means.
- To understand and appraise (Criticize)
- It is far more important for the Theatre Critic to use this approach to their work.
- "3" Criteria for Criticism
- a – What is the Production attempting to do? b – How well has it been done? c – Was this attempt worth doing?
- Descriptive Criticism
- explains and describes the event and generally offers an opinion of quality and worth to the theatre goer. (Local newspapers, magazines, media)
- Prescriptive Criticism
- 2A - Ideally trained background history and understands production values 2B - Mel Gussow of the New York Times writes criticism not just reviews 3 – NY Times Critical reviews can often (not always) make or break a show
- Value of Audience Judgment
- Audience must also be allowed to decide for itself.
- Proscenium Theatre
- A-Not the most common-BUT due to Movie/Road House similarity - it seems so B-Allows for Large Scale Stage Spectacle C-Some Audience too Close - Some Audience too Far Away
- Thrust Theatre
- A-Most Common throughout history B-Greatest combination of intimacy and stage spectacle
- Arena Theatre
- (Audience surrounds the action/playing space on all four sides) A-Intimacy not possible in other large spaces B-common to numerous Athletic Arenas throughout history
- Flexible Spaces
- A-Set up in whatever configuration is most appropriate for the play B-Typically smaller capacity for audience C-Often referred to as “Black Box Theatresâ€
- Deus ex Machina
- God from a machine
- Symbol
- Sign, token, emblem, that signifies something else
- Soliloquy
- When a solitary character speaks to the audience, expressing words in a hidden thought
- Pantomime
- Performers pretend to use objects that aren't actually present
- Theatre of Fact
- a movement that involved reenactments of material gathered from actual events
- 4 Things Audiences Bring to an Event
- 1.) Personal memories of individual members of the audience. 2.) Their awareness of the social, political, and philosophical world in which the play was written 3.) Their specific information about the play 4.) Their individual expectations
- "Repertory" Companies
- Companies that perform several plays on alternate nights, rather than one play every night
- Off-off-Broadway
- Shows that are produced wherever inexpensive space is avaliable - churches, lofts, warehouses
- Avant-Garde Theatre
- Theatre that breaks away from mainstream tradition
- George Bernard Shaw
- British critic and playwright. Reviewed the London theatre for several years in the 1890s and wrote about theatre for 50 years after that.
- Dramaturg
- A person who serves a theatre company as a resident or in-house critic and literary manager
- The House
- The auditorium itself
- Rake
- The slant of an auditorium or stage floor
- The Orchestra
- The main floor where the audience sits
- Fly loft
- Located above the stage, holds the scenery
- Counterweight System
- system devised in which weights hang on a series of ropes and pulleys to balance the scenery
- Wings
- Side scenery