Theatre Review

Arthur Miller

Highway to the Soul: Art is past, present, and future.

Aristotle’s insights

The Poetics: A Timeless Exploration

Aristotle’s insights (2)

Seeking pleasure through learning

Action

singular action

Time

singular passage

Place

singular setting

Plot

life and soul of the drama (most important)

Character

makes the action possible (no plot without)

Thought

deeper meaning that transcends the story

Diction

crafting language and thought

Music

everything you hear, a symphony of emotions

Spectacle

everything you see, a visual tapestry

Comedy

laughter, happy ending, reaffirms values

High comedy

witty dialogue, sophisticated characters, concerned with manners

Domestic comedy

embarrassing turned funny

Low comedy

physical and exaggerated actions

Farce

fast tempo, stereotypical characters, funny violence, release from real life

Drama

serious play, audience becomes sad, reaffirms values, the world is not as it should be

Tragedy

profound truth is exhilarating, calmer and wiser, awe for central character, ‘super’ characters exist

Tragedy is

Greek and means Goat Song

Melodrama

focus on plot, simple moral lesson, life as it should be

Tragicomedy

funny is serious and serious is funny, uncertain human condition, frustrated and anxious

Style

all theatre imitates reality, artists make choices

Realism

determinism, logic over God, studying and imitating apparent reality, naturalism, reality check

Theatricalism

we see ourselves as part of the performance, multiple levels of reality, reality check

Subjective Reality

late 19th century, Sigmund Freud, unconscious or irrational, feelings over thinking

Expressionism

analyzing dreams, subjective reality in objective form

Surrealism

subconscious reveals truth, searching beyond dreams, casual vs. associative logic

Classism

powers of reason can create an ideal world, proportion

Romanticism

unique individual/freedom/experience, perfection based on emotions

Professionals

reviewers and critics, scholars

Reviewers

stick to journalism and facts

Critics

through critics and analyzing themes

Review elements

synopsis, themes, artists, interpretation, evaluate, compare, assess success, explain opinions, recommend attendance

Critique elements

themes in depth, illustrations, historical context, link to contemporary culture, be interesting 

Scholars

research theatre and contribute academic writing

Amateurs

write for pleasure, not as a profession

Goethe’s three questions

What was the artist trying to do? Did they succeed? Was it worth doing?