MIDTERM

Viola Spolin

creator of theatre of education, performer, and teacher

Shakespeare

English poet and dramatist considered one of the greatest English writers

Stephen Sondheim

composer and lyricist, one of the most prominent figures in 20st century theatre, reinvented the American musical, concept musicals, wrote Into the Woods, wrote lyrics for west side story

Aristotle

Greek philosopher, creator of Greek drama

August Willson

American playwright, referred to as theatre's poet of black America, influences on his depiction of life for African Americans during the 20th century

Eve Ensler

creator of vagina monologues, playwright, performer, feminist, and activist, documentary theatre

Augusto Boal

creator of theatre of oppressed, Brazilian

Tectonic Theatre Project

dedicated to developing theatre works that explore theatrical language and form, dialogue with audience

Leonard Berstein

composer of west side story, conductor, pianist, music educator, author, humanitarian, one of the most important conductors of his time

David Belasco

American designer, his remarkable contributions to theatre came in the field of design and technology, father of naturalism, made a natural sunset for theatre production

Jessica Blank and Erik Jensin

two of the most powerful forces working in American theatre today, activists, writers, actors, and directors, documentary theatre

Rodgers and Hammerstein

theatre-writing team of a composer and lyricist, made influential American musicals like the Sound of Music

Guerilla Girls

a feminist theatre girls' group, fought sexism and racism within the art world

Andre Antoine

French actor, theatre manager, film director, author, and father of modern mise en scene in France

Anton Chekhov

Russian playwright, wrote four classics that are produced all over the world, The Seagull, The Three Sisters, Uncle Vanya, and The Cherry Orchard, realism theatre, one of the first playwrights that wrote in realism

Antonin Artaud

French writer, poet, dramatist, visual artis, essayist, actor, and theatre director, developed the theory of the Theater of Cruelty

August Strindberg

Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, and painter, father of modern Swedish literature, wrote the Red Room

Henrik Ibsen

Norwegian playwright and theatre director, father of realism, founder of modernism in theatre

Anna Deveare Smith

dramatist and actress, creator of verbatim theatre

Samuel Beckett

Irish novelist, dramatist, short story, theatre director, wrote Waiting for Godot, absurdism, anti-realist

Absurdism

a movement where theatre was less concerned with a plot that had a clear beginning, middle, and end, but dealt with the human condition

high comedy

comedy using sophisticated wit and often satirizing the upper classes

low comedy

comedy in which the subject and its treatment border on farce

farce

a comic dramatic work using buffoonery and horseplay and typically including crude characterization and ludicrously improbable situations

black comedy

morbid humor

romantic comedy

light, comic movie or other work whose plot focuses on the development of a romantic relationship

engaged theatre

theatre used to bring social justice and promotes dialogue through performances

applied theatre

using theatre-based techniques as tools to discover and learn, to explore issues of concern to communities, to identify problems and actively rehearse solutions, and to provoke and shape social change

documentary theatre

theatre that uses pre-existing documentary material as source material for stories about real events and people

immersive theatre

The audience in some way plays a role, whether that is the role of witness or the role of an actual character

feminist theatre

theatre that provides an alternative not just to the male gaze but also to the normative gaze by intervening in cultural assumptions about identity, dismantling binaries, and creating equality

theatre of the oppressed

stimulates critical observation and representation of reality, envisioning the production of consciousness and concrete actions

melodrama

focused on exaggerated plots rather than characterization

book musical

based off literacy, the book is the script, a story that is beginning, middle, and end, story and musical

concept musical

focused on exploring an idea or theme, often non-linear, Into the Woods

rock musical

musicals that have rock music, original rock music or crafted music

jukebox musical

makes a show from pop music, performance elements from things that already exist, Mama Mia, jersey boys, Jackson 5 musical

mega musical

composed and use a combination of pop/rock music and music in the style of musical theatre, extravaganza, sensational experience, ex: Lion King, Cats, Phantom of the Oprea

naturalism

theatre that attempts to create an illusion of reality through a range of dramatic and theatrical strategies, rejection of realism, goes farther than realism

realism

a movement that aimed at performances that were more life-like

theatre in education

a process that uses interactive theatre/drama practices to help aid the educational process

theatre of cruelty

aims to shock audiences through gestures, images, sound, and lighting

modern tragedy

A play written after the 20th century

traditional tragedy

A play written before the 20th century

"willing suspension of disbelief"

have to be willing to believe in the impossible for sake for enjoyment

aesthetics

the nature and appreciation of theatre arts

antagonist

a person who actively opposes or is hostile to someone or something, an adversary

arena stage

type of theatre space where the stage is in the center and the audience can sit on all four sides

audience

people who watch the performance

black box theatre

experimental theatre, can be configured any way, most of the time walls and floors painted black, flexible, no built-in seats

climax

tensions reach a turning point

collaboration

working together with people to create something

conflict

serious disagreement or main problem in a story

convention

rules by which the play is performed

decorum

principle of classical poetry and theatrical theory concerning the fitness of a style to a theatrical subject

denouement

means "unknotting", when the conflict is finally resolved

drama therapy

uses role play, voice work, movement and storytelling to help clients explore and solve personal and social problems, use of theatre in a therapeutic context

exposition

opening to a story, normally filled with important background information

falling action

the period after the climax

genre

the type of story being told

imitation

act of copying something, foundational concept, theatre is an act of imitation

immediate ephemeral

does not last forever

Moscow art theatre

founded by Stanislavski and Nermirovich-Danchenko, experimental studios

non-realism

exaggerated plots, for example direct address to audience, song and dance, mask and costume

plot

the main events of a play, novel, movie, or similar work, devised and presented by the writer as an interrelated sequence.

point of attack (episodic v. climatic)

The point in the story of a play where the plot begins

pretense of self

presentation of character

proscenium theatre

stage and audience in front on one side

protagonist

the leading character or one of the major characters in a drama

rising action

serious of events that create suspense in the narrative

soliloquy

an act of speaking one's thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any hearers, especially by a character in a play

theater libre

theatre company, founded by Andre Antonie, naturalism style

theme

what the story is about at its core

thrust stage

a theater stage that extends out into the audience's part of a theater and has seats on three sides