Intro to Theatre 4

the Restoration

the return of Charles II to the English monarchy

comedy of manners

a 17th century play which mocks the pretentiousness of the upper class

proscenium doors

allowed for entrances and exits in front of the proscenium arch

drame bourgeois

18th century French dramatic form, depicting the middle class

"sturm und drang"

"storm and stress" - 18th century German dramatic form

act drop

the use of curtains to indicate the beginning or end of an act

box set

Italian staging; an onstage "room" made up of three walls

mise en scene

French term for the arrangement of actors and scenery

presentation style

the performance style which ACKNOWLEDGES the audience

representational style

the performance style which IGNORES the audience

David Garrick

English actor/director; banned the audience from the stage

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

German forerunner of the modern director

Romanticism

19th century German dramatic form, highlighting the primacy of the individual

melodrama

"song" or "music" drama

exposition

contextual information revealed (through dialogue) at the beginning of a play

obligatory scene

the melodramatic "showdown" between the hero and the villain

repertory company

a troupe of actors who perform a rotating roster of plays

Edwin Booth

first "star" of the American stage

Richard Wagner

German director; first to dim the house lights

George II

German director; known for intricate crowd scenes

the Six Elements of Composition

line, shape, measure, position, color and texture

three 19th century innovations in moving scenery

elevator stage, revolving stage, fly system

the seating arrangement which replaced pit-box-gallery seating in 1876

continental seating