Intro to Theater Final Exam

Arena Stage

aka “theater in the round” oldest type of stage originating from greeks where audience sits on all four sides of the stage

Thrust Stage

developed in Greece, audience sits on three sides of the stage

Proscenium Stage

developed during Italian Renaissance, audience sits on one side of the stage, most popular stage style

Traverse Stage

recently developed style, catwalk style stage, audiences sits on two sides facing each other with stage in between them

Flexible Stage

environmental/experimental style, audience can move during the performance

Black Box theater

usually square/rectangular shaped, painted black, minimal seating/intimate performances

Elements of Drama

plot, character, theme, diction, spectacle, music

plot

series of actions and events that unfold in front of the audience (opening scene, obstacles, complications, crises, climax

Character

refers to the agents of actions that unfold that plot one decision at a time (protagonist, antagonist)

theme

subject matter and universal message as supported by the unfolding of the plot and the development of the characters

diction/dialogue

how the plot, character development and revelation of the theme are all manifested with the written text of the script

music/melody

refers to anything heard from the performance space (instrumental music, songs, sound efects, volume of actions, pauses and silences

spectacle

anything seen in the performance (scenery, lights, costumes, make-up)

modern theatre elements

characters, plot, theme, dialogue, convention, genre, audience

convention

techniques and methods used by the playright or director to create the desired sylistic effect

genre

refers to the type of play (comedy, tragedy, drama)

audience

group of people gathered to watch a performance

initial incident

the event that gets the story going

preliminary event

whatever takes place before the actions of the play that is directly related to the play

rising action

a series of events following the initial incident and leading up to the dramatic climax

climax

the turning point or high point of a story, when events can go either way

falling action

the series of events following the climax

denouement

conclusion

commedia dell’arte

comedy of art, comedy of skills, italian comedy, comedy of professional artists, artistic comedy

characteristics of commedia

1. improvised performances based on scenarios

2. consistent themes

   • money, love food

3. mime, acrobatic tricks, music and masks were commonly used

4. stock characters

5. lazzi: short comedia physical acts of comedy within a scene

battute

set dialogue that always happens between two specific characters

burla

improvised comic bit or practical joke done by the servants, often involving 2 actors

concetti

a set character speech, something that a certain character always says

lazzi

a physical comic bit in the middle of the play unrelated to the plot

stock characters

commedia characters that are set and never change from play to play

zibaldone

reference book holding lazzi, concetti, battute, and stock phrase for a single character

three commedia character categories

clowns (zani), villains (vecchi), lovers (innamorati)

pantalone

• rich & greedy

• gullible

• wears red pants and top with flowing black cloack and money bag

• long point nose, has a mustache and busy eyebrows

  • hunch back, bent knees

arlecchino

• servant who wants money and food

• stupid and smart at the same time

• colorful patchwork on costume

• black mask with small eyes and cat like face

• very quick paced

  • leads with knees and is very active

innamorati

• romeo and juliet

• dont wear masks but do wear make up

• italian renaissance prince and princess style costumes

  • glide instead of walk - lead with chest and head

columbina

• servant

• quick witted character

  • moves with quick strong steps

II Dottore

• not usually a real doctor

• spouts knowledge but never has good timing

• always wrong and makes no sense

• never stops talking

  • movement is slow, character is large

brighella

• tough servant

• arrogant

• dressed as a servant in a white costume

  • movement is cat like

II Capitano

• a soldier/warrior who brags about his success

• all talk and little action — hes cowardly

• wears military garb

  • long pointy nose on the mask

pulcinella

• hates all others

• works alone

• mostly a servant but could be a master as well

  • dresses in floppy clothes and floppy hateg

characteristics of melodrama

• music was used to increase emotions or to show characters

• episodic form: the villain poses a threat, the hero or heroine escapes

• simplified moral univers; good and evil are embodied in stock characters

• many special effects: fires, explosions, earthquakes

  • almost never five acts — usually 2-5

realisim

everything on stage is made to resemble observable everyday life

naturalism

extreme or heightened sense of realism

popular theatre

mainstream theatre

absurdism

based on the philosophy of existentialism

who was the founder of naturalism

Zola

true or false: realists believed that plays should be as much like real life as possible

true

gestures

movement of the arms or hands to communicate

blocking

large movements from one part of the stage to another in a performance

pantomime

non-verbal acting or acting without the use of props

stage whisper

a type of specialized speaking to simulate soft speech on stage, but be heard by the audience

cue

prompts a sound effect to play, lighting to change, or an actor’s entrance

rendering

a colored to scale representation of a design from the audience’s point of view

what is Stanisklavski most remembered for

acting

internal traits

make up a character’s personality

when did absurdism become popular

after world war II

En SL X SR, sit at ch, st, EX, SR translates to:

enter stage left cross stage right, sit at chair, stand, exit stage right

melodrama is

a play that is exaggerated

stake

level or degree of importance in meeting an objective

beat

a change in emotion or topic in a scene or monologue

sense memory

an actors memory of sight, sound, smell, taste, texture

stage presence

actor’s ability to command the audience’s attention through an actor’s energy on stage

ground plan

a diagram drawn to scale that shows the walls door windows and other props

given circumstances

information provided by the script that relates to the world of the play

external traits

characteristics that make up physical appearance - posture, gestures, mannerisms, clothing

flexible

stage that can be proscenium for one performance and a thrust for the next one

examples of time that the stage designer has to deal with

• historical time

• season

• time of day

Shakespeare wrote in

iambic pentameter

Shakespeare was born in

Stratford upon avon, 1564

the theater

first permanent theatre in England

how many times did the globe theater burn due to cannon fire

twice

in naturalism, stage time is equal to

real time

SL

stage left (audiences right)

SR

stage right (audiences left)

DS

down stage (closer to audience)

US

upstage (further from audience)

Greek Theatre; a festival

• 5-6 days

• 14,000-15,000 people

• outdoor performances

• lines were chanted or sung

parts of a greek theatre

• orchestra

• skene — setting for plays

  • proskenion — frame around a wide shallow stage

thespian

greek word for actor

how many plays & sonnets did William shakespeare write

• over 36 plays

• 154 sonnets

how did Shakespeare become successful

when he became a member of an acting company between 1564-1613

What was The Globe

• a theater financed by Shakespeare and men from his company

who did Shakespeare perform his plays for

Queen Eilizabeth