UNIT 2

group dynamics

people become less rational and more emotional when in a group, more likely to react with a crowd

house

auditorium, place where audience sits

paper the house

give away tickets to make it seem like the performance is well attended, makes for better reviews

willing suspension of disbelief

we admit what is happening is not real. we suspend our reality and buy into the plays reality

aesthetic distance

audiences ability to remove themselves from a work just far enough to be semi objective but not indifferent

presentational theatre

actors acknowledge the audience, not realistic illusion. ex. rocky horror

representational theatre

actors never acknowledge the audience, most movies and tv shows

realism

attempts to portray life as accurately as possible. ex. a dolls house

fourth wall

imaginary wall between actors and audience, very intentional choice if ‘broken’ or not

road house

theaters where touring companies perform, usually broadway shows

league of resident theaters (LORT)

regional theaters who hire professional actors for their season’s rep

will call

window for those picking up tickets

curtain

time show starts

preview performances

open to public and happens before show officially starts, fixes issues before critics see the show

directors/playwrights note

in program, explains the intention and goals of the show and explains historical contest and stylistic choices

souvenir program

program with other photos and info about the show, for sale

curtain speech

member of the production team/staff will make general announcements before show

talk back

post show discussion with actors/team to ask questions and discuss show’s content

reviews

(aka notices) evaluation of a production

dramatic criticism

scholarly interpretation and analysis of a show

genres

categories that shows are sorted into based on things like subject matter and style

censorship

altering, restricting, or suppressing info in a society

licensing act

1737 England, king censored any plays that talked bad about the royals

bowdlerize

remove any ‘bad’ material from plays before publication

Who came up with the concept of willing suspension of disbelief?

Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)

Brect’s types of theatre (1898-1956)

alienation effect, culinary theatre, epic theatre

culinary theatre

easy as eating out, not engaging the brain, etc.

alienation effect

tighten emotions and them comment on it, be intellectually involved but not emotionally involved

epic theatre

less popular now but still produced

presentational theatre is more…

abstract

representational theatre is more…

realistic

sitting silently in the dark

realism, silent except laughter

not sitting quietly in the dark…

interactive, improv, audience participation, etc.

closed shop union

union for playwrights where employees are recognized by their sole, closed bargaining agent. all employees are in this so they can strike together. non equity

writers guild of America (WGA)

closed union for TV and screen writers

open shop union

membership is optional, strikes are meaningless, no real management, usually equity actors, broadway

dramatists guild of America (DGA)

play writes union, can do little to get higher pay, open shop union

dialogue

spoken text of the play, words the characters say

parenthetical

in script, short descriptions of how line should be performed

stage directions

notes that indicate physical movements of the characters

theme

playwrights statement about life, central idea of the play

action

characters deeds, responses, and circumstances in the context of the story

subtext

hidden meaning beneath the words, reading between the lines

plot structure

logical sequence of play’s events

exposition

(back story), lets audience know what happened to the characters before the play

protagonist

central character who pushes the play’s action

antagonist

opposer of action, stands between goals and protagonist

event

unusual incident or special occasion for the characters

point of attack

protagonist makes decision that results in conflict

disturbance

balance that must be disturbed to keep action rolling

major dramatic question (MDQ)

hook that keeps people in, creates suspense, what does the play ask us?

conflict

struggle of opposing forces in a play

crises

events that force the characters to take action

complications

roadblocks in the way of success

rising action

conflict gets more dramatic, follows path of most resistance

dark moment

protagonist fails, can’t go on, seems impossible

enlightenment

protagonist figures out of to defeat antagonist, overcome

denouement

falling action, leads to final outcome of the play

Edwin Booth

celebrity in 1900s. one of the best Shakespearian actors, painted in Carter art museum. associated with assassination of Lincoln

theatre jones

used to be a theatre critic site, now reviews mystery boxes

goal of review

help reader decide whether or not to attend, consumer advice, low bar

goal of dramatic criticism

help reader better understand and appreciate both the production and art form

theatre critics

George Bernard Shaw, Brooks Atkinson, Harold Clurman, Walter Kerr, John Lahr

diversity theatre critics

hilton als, rhoda fang, vinson cunninham, helen shaw, Sara holdren

Johann Wolfgang von Göthe questions for critics

what is the artist trying to do? how well has the artist done it? is it worth doing?

3 levels of criticism

descriptive, interpretive, evaluative

descriptive criticism

objective. looks at 2-3 components of show and describes it

interpretive criticism

no evaluation, what is the goal of the artists? most important part of criticism

evaluative criticism

option and less objective

Aristotles 6 elements of tragedy

plot, characters, thought, diction, spectacle, song

censorship

altering, restricting, or suppressing info, images, or words within society

defamation

allege facts that are false, intends to hurt someones reputation

breach of the peace

law that you cannot yell fire unless there is a real fire

sedition and incitement to crime

hate speech is not free speech

separation of church and state

religious ideas should not be political

wright of playwright

means maker

traditional play content

theme, action, conflict, language

moliere

French Shakespeare, playwright

playwrights example of language

Tennessee williams