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January 17What is theatre?Preserves and comments on culture, represented.Required: actors, audience, (someone doing and watching)Some type of actions can be inaction you need a location.

Definitions of theaterActor, audience, and an empty space- Peter BrookMagic born out of the desire to recreate shared experiences in order to experience community

-Robert Edmund JonesYou experience levels of things as individual in response to everyone around you and experiencelife as a collective.

Theater seeks to bring magic of a collective experience.Definitions of Theatre: Community and shared experienceDO YOU NEED AN AUDIENCE?

Some of the ways we use theater to discover and test our identities.

Role playing

January 20ndTheatre and Society

Theatre reflects the values, morals, and beliefs of the society in which it performs

o Greek theatre reflected obedience to a strict hierarchical system PLOT IS MOSTIMPORTANT

o Elizabethan Theater explored the power struggles of the crown and then search tounderstand humanity. Use others historiesin Europe in reworks them on printingout the usurpations of the crown.

o The Beijing Opera reflected the tradition and formality of the Chinese society

until political Agitprop Theatre in China helped Mao Zedong usher inCommunism.

Agitprop- agitated propaganda sloganizes communismo Because theatre is made by people in a society it inevitably reflects what it means

to be part of that societyo Often stories written in the past are reborn in future

Greek Theater and Waro Lysistratao 411 BCEo Comedy- Aristophaneso Creates a battle of the sexes when Lysistrata withholds sexual privileges from

men until they agree to end the Peloponnesian War.o Debate exists over whether play promotes feminism or absurdity of war!

Lampooning (parody)o Comedy at hear of Greek comedyo Criticize using ridicule or sarcasmo Often targeted individuals but also targeted ideaso Reducto ad absurdumo Literally reduction to absurdity

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o Take common idea, break down into essential elements.

Lysistratao Feminist

Women increase their patriarchal rule and influence political decision Assert control over their sexuality

Women show greater restraint over desires than meno Not Feminist

Women are impacted because they are being deprived of their men Women in original play are shown to be conniving and manipulative The original actors were men

Lysistrata

o Comedy about waro Aristophanes wrote several comedies about waro A employ divisional chorus which unites at the end to potentially signify the

reunification between Athens and Spartao All actors would have been men, including Lysistrata whose asexual nature could

serve to represent reason and logic Lysistrata Today

o Lysistrata Project 2002 Prevent War in Iraq Presented several readings and performance of Lysistrata with focus on

anti-war and feminist Grown international call

o Lysistrata 1969- Rude Mechanicals at Capitol Fringe in July 2013

Reimagination of Lysistrata to create parallels between 1969 anti-

Vietnam protest and 4th

century Greeceo Lysistrata Jones

Musical comedy Cheerleaders refuse to have sex with boyfriends until they win a

basketball game after a 3 year losing streak

Takes away the feminism in it

Elizabethean power struggles of crown through the use of others histories

Shakespeare and societyo Hamlet 1601o Tragedy- usurpation crown in Denmarko Hamlet father (King killed by uncle Claudius)

Claudius marries Hamlets mother (Gertrude) then becomes King. Hamletstruggles with conscience over whether to seek revenge.

o Most performed Shakespeare Playo Most quoted

Appropriations of Hamleto Hamlet Machine- Muller

Postmodern drama based loosely Explores existence under German totalitarian rule

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Actors regularly step in and out of roles preventing the audience frombecoming lost in the action because empathy is equated with control

Staging is intentionally difficult in order to force director to engage with

the piece as it suits the occasion

Rosecrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

o

Tom Stoppard 1966o Tragic comedy that questions existence through the use of 2 peripheral characters

form Hamleto Characters presented as clueless, merely stumbling through life with no real

understanding of the consequential events surrounding men.

Al Hamlet Summit

o WrittenAl-Bassam in 2002o Loose adapt Hamlet in Arab autocratic stateo The setting is a summit meetingo Hamlets confused identity represents confusion of an Arab citizen who must

choose between violence created by neo-liberal economic system or the violence

created by religious extremism.

January 22ndLecture 3:Analyzing Plays:

What the play means should not be the first consideration. For the theater artist or

technician it is more important to know what makes the clock tick than what time it is.And you cant begin to find a plays meaning until you comprehend its works. - William

Ball

You cant ascribe something until you give it some meaning

The PoeticsWith the Poetics Aristotle talks about the forms: comedy, tragedy, and epic.What sets tragedy apart from tragedy from comedy- comedy isnt taken asseriously whereastragedy is more dire and more serious.Tragedy possesses magnitude greatness - it needs to be about something enormous in its

spectrum. Comedy is just miniscule/every day.Tragedy - higher class are the subjects - Oedipus-you look at the life of someone whose life matters. If someone great can have

something like this happen to them something like that or worse can happen to me as alower classes: it basically keeps the hierarchal structure. Even the highest receivepunishment.

PlotCharacter

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ThoughtDictionSongSpectacle

Unity of time: a good tragedy it occurs within 24 hours

Unity of action: one singular focus- ONE PLOTUnity of place: Everything has to occur at the same locationPlotThe arrangement of incidents

Not the story itself, but how the story is arranged and told to the audience To Aristotle the best plots are self-contained set of cause effect events Must have a beginning, middle, and end

o a good beginning would be in the middle of the action (maybe crisis)and from that point you travel in that story

Must be significant in size and scope May be simple or complex, but Aristotle considers complex superior

o

complex meaning that you have small cuts and actions you arent just travelingfrom point a and pointb there is some action and complexity. OBSTACLES toepiphany

Character Those written to carry out the plot To Aristotle characters in tragedy must

o be goodo true to typeo realistico true to themselveso necessaryo ennobledo characters have a purpose

The reason you need good characters in tragedy is because we wouldnt care-- they haveto be responsible for their actions.

Diction The expression of meaning in words Aristotle placed high value on metaphor

Thought Generally the theme or idea of the play Meaning

Music Should be fully integrated into the plot and support the action

Spectacle Last and least important to Aristotle. The amount of spectacle is inversely proportional to

the strength of the plot.

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Critical TheorySelf-Reflexive examination of literature, art, music, and theater that seeks to understand theformation and transfer of knowledge and, when necessary, to challenge to circulation ofknowledge when it marginalizes a population.

How does it marginalize specific populations?

Cultural StudiesFeminist TheoryGender and queer theoryPost colonialismRace Theory

1/27/14

She Kills Monsters

By: Qui Nguyen

Backwards/Forwards

Statis- Inaction

Dramatic Intrusion-Reactive Force

Dramatic Climax-Breaking Point

Think of Newtons 3 Laws

o Objects at rest will stay at rest and objects in motion will stay in motion until

acted on by an opposite force

o The acceleration of a body is directly proportional to, and in the same direction as

the net force acting on the body and inversely proportional to its masso To every action there is an equal opposite reaction. Good plot is about conflict

In a circular plot structureobstacle you never actually anywherethe desire that you

want and the path leads you back to where you started

Could be a double linear structureimpact between one world from another they have

their own separate entity. The reason it is not circular because of the polar character.

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o Polar character throughout one course of the play transverses from one side to the

other side (Agnes) She starts out with this one preconceived notion of what her

sister is and her relationship and then she travels this entire plot and that idea of

what her sister was and her idea of what herself transforms changes from one

thing from another. TRANSITION

Usually the protagonist

What is the opening stasis-

o There is a prologue going on everyone dies except for Agnes

The family is alive and they are separated by a lot of years and not a great

understanding between Tilly and Agnes. And the death of her sister leads

to her packing etc.

What is some of the smaller conflicts-

o A small conflict is each conflict is a big conflict.

Real world conflictsthe cheerleaders they bully Tilly (in back story )

Right afterwards they come to her and try to sell an ad and kicksthem out

There is mental conflict- Agnes is battling with herself to try to come to

grips what she actually thought about her sister and herself

Democrat etc. how does she react negatively that her sister is

interested in women and she didnt know about it

Miles and the relationshiphe is not at the point of committing and Agnes

not being sure she wants to commit and Vera not understanding why they

are still together then.

Singular Linear Plot the dramatic climax would be when she flips the table when she gets

mad Internally comes to grips

o In the game it would be fighting the final monster (the dragon)

She Kills Monsters- Character

o What are the characters social status?

o Agnes and Veraolder established not really inside the teenage angst

going on

Geeks(D&D) Tilly Chuck and Orcus

Disabled

Sexuality

Popular Crowd (Normative Population)these are ways that have beennormalized by society. We need to have this normalization so we can

understand the marginalized

Lilith- She crosses dates football player popular and at the same time

she questions her sexuality she is included in the narrative in the game so

we also include her in that geek culture she admits to have experimented

with each other sexuality she was Tillys first kiss

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o What power does each character have over events in their lives?

Cheerleaders power structure in the real world the real they bullied Tilly.

In the game world she does have a lot of power. She does still fear them in

the game world even though towards the end she still beats them. Even

though in the world she is creating she still deals with the power structures

that she doesnt like.

Power structure between Cheerleaders and Agnes- Agnes is more

powerful because she has authority (teacher) over cheerleaders older

not in their social clique. They also want her to buy pictures bestows a

power upon Agnes. Throughout the course of the semester you want to

really look at how this power plays between different characters and how

does it change

o What is their diction? How do they speak?

Colloquialgame speakingRelaxed

How does it change from relationship to relationship? She can seed authority to Miles or Chuck her diction is towards

authority in her children but as she gets into the game as she

realizes he is the key to learning about her sister she changes her

speech towards etc.

Give Circumstances

o Circumstances that exist prior to the start of the action

o Can apply to whole play or one scene

When?

o Time of the Action

90s they say it --- Must see TV- References

o Dramatic Time (How much time passes within the play)

A year from accident

A couple of weeks through action of her opening the boxes etc.

You are not dealing within the context of one day like Aristotle normal

denote

Where?

o General Locale

Athens, Ohio

o

Specific Localeo Social norms, politics, economic system, religion

At the time that this play was written 90s Clinton Economic situation

(still prosperous)

Closed Reading

o First Step:Selecting Quotes from Text/Moments from a Performance

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o Ask yourself what are moments that I found particularlybeautiful, intense,

strange, revealing, hard to understand, unusual, etc.?

o Things I tend to look at: first lines, last lines, sections rich in metaphor, things that

get repeated a lot,, things that stick out from a text or performance, what

happened around interesting things...

o

Next Step:Pulling Out text from quotes/elements from moments

o With scripts: look at diction (silence- some context or meaning that is left out that

will give you a clearer picture of what is going HISTORICAL), syntax, figurative

language, details, allusion, and imagery.

o With performance: look at staging, design elements, movement/gesture, facial

expression, vocal inflection, etc.

Representation

o What is the playwrights subject position?

o How are the female characters represented?

PowerfulTilly is a badass, she is also in some forms masculine but sheis also a woman. Female masculinityare represented as attractive as well

they are wearing skimpy clothes etc. Changing the normative structure of

masculinity

o How are geeks represented?

o How are non-geek represented?

o Trope- a common or overused theme or device

What are some of the tropes represented in this play?

1/29/2013

The Playwright

Crafter of a plays plot

Can be one person or a collaborative effort

Performed as an individual with no outside influence OR can be commissioned as part of

a collective

librettist in musical theater

THE PLAYWRIGHT TASK

Subject matter Define focus and emphasis

Establish purpose of the play

Establish a point of view

Dynamic characters

Develop the dramatic structure

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AUGUST WILSON

Playwright is discovering life and your own place in it

Born in Pittsburgh PA 1945

o Much teen life living amongst working class white population where he subjected

to threats and violence

Influenced by the blues singer- Bessie Smith

Also influenced heavily by the Black Arts movement of 1960s &70s

o After the death of Malcolm X

Most known for The Pittsburgh Cycle (Century Cycle)

o Consists of 10 plays

o Each play represents a decade form 1900-1990

Died October 2, 2005

BESSIE SMITH

Bought one of her records in a thrift store and struck by the music Wait a minute. This is mine theres history there- August Wilson

Nobody in town can bake sweet jelly roll like mine Bessies Lyrics

o He hears the language of the people around him through the blues

AMIRI BARAKA

Figure in the Black Arts Movement

Born LeRoi Jones in 1967 he changed his name when he joined the Nation of Islam

Dutch man (1964)tackles issues of race, appropriation, injustice, and violence against

the black body.

ROMARE BEARDEN

Mill Hands Lunch Bucket (1978)

Bearden and Wilson shared geographical background

His artwork is about the great migration into steel towns

We can see some of Joe Turners characters in this artwork Jeremy with the big hands

o Seth sitting in the char etc.

GIVEN CIRUCMSTANCES

Time period 1911

o Great migration of African Americans from the South to the North was just

beginning

o Written in 1984- context put by playwright:

Reagan administration

Neoliberalism- Taxes are decreasing the property of the wealthy is bigger

there are cuts in social welfare programs etc.

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Location

Boarding house in Pittsburgh

What do we know about the location?Where migrants came to stay at

Socio economic status of characters

o Seth and Bertha- working class African Americans

Seth had some sort of education

o Jeremy, Byrum, Mattie, Mollytransient

o Harold, Zonia, Martha Loomis- sharecropper to transient

o Rutherford Selis- white traveling salesman

He represented the capitalist economy he was opportunist $$$

o Reuben?- maybe child August Wilson as an spectator

o Joe Turner- represents the chain gang

Historical Context-

o Civil War ends 1865, Reconstruction

o

Civil Rights Act 1866, granted equal rights to all meno 2ndIndustrial Revolution- ushered building transportation and infrastructure

Many new roads were built near the turn of the century

o New roads and railways this means an increase in urbanization

o Pittsburgh became largest US Steel Producer by 1911

o New technology began to replace skilled workers with unskilled labor to run

machines

o Immigration from Europe and Asian increased dramatically

o Great migration of African Americans from South to North at the turn of the

century

Joe Turner

o Actually Joe Turney

o Brother of Tennessee governor Pete Turney

o Responsible for delivering black prisoners from Memphis to Tennessee State

Penitentiary in Nashville

o Would often sell the prisoners to labor farms for personal gain

o Most convicts arrested for minor offenses like shooting crabs

o Joe Turney became the symbol for turn of the century chain gangs

Joe Turners Blues

Linear Ploto Stasis: Normal day in boarding house

o Louiss disappearance initial dramatic intrusion

o Some conflicts: Seth and Loomisdoesnt trust him

Jeremy arrested & relationship with women in boarding house

o Most dramatic part was Loomis has his vision

o Climax- Martha comes in and reconnects Loomis life

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o Resolution- Loomis handing over Zonia to Martha

Becomes shiny man

Dramatic Devices

o Literary elements allow playwright to build tension and influence the action of the

play into desired direction

MysticismByrum

JUBBBAAAA

Describe the actions

Connects back to African American origin

Helps us understand duel conscious

o Tied to America but cant get back to Africa

In between liminal spacepull between both

worlds

MondayFebruary 3rd, 2014Acting

What is acting?o Art of representing a character on a stage or before a camera by means of

movement, gesture, and intonation. Intonation- indescribable sounds etc. why of saying things

o Many Theories that more specifically define acting William Archer (1856-1924)

Acting is imitation Lee Strasberg (1901-1982)

Acting is creating and expression, a response to imagined stimuli. Double Representation- there is a person on stage who is representing a character and at

the same time they are being a character they are still themselves. They dont seize to bethemselves. As an audience you might forget that is an actor in stage. The actor neverforgets that, always self aware. You still represent yourself while representing thecharacter. (i.e. unique gestures etc. )

o can you use that to break the audience's empathy of the character Representation

o actor projects a sense of character lifeo

also maintains sense of selfo this leads creates a double representationo in some cases the actor imagines self through the gaze of the audience leading to a

third form of representation.o Identity representation

Double/Triple Representationo Anna Deavere Smith -

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all through physical changes she needs to have a sense of self in order toshift into these characters because if you lose yourself in a character thenyou wont be able to make shift in characters.

Actors Responsibilities-o to study the texto

memorize lines and blockingo be present, open, and creative at rehearsalso maintain healthy physically and vocallyo constantly consider and refine charactero TAKE RISKS!!!

February 5th

Acting Recap

o

acting is presenting/representing charactero double/triple representation

portraying a character but also yourself there is two consciousness Triple- idea that the actor has the double representation but they are

putting themselves in the position of the spector whether the director oraudience thinking of how the audience is looking at the motion andmovement along stage

o actors responsibility Agenda

o actors toolso actor in the production process

o

approaches to acting Actors Responsibilities

o to study the text By reading the script over and over again. Knowing what the playwright is going through when writing it and it ties

in with script. Researching the characters- historical, documentaries, fictional, the basis

of historical characters (live in the world of your play) Reading it without blocking as a story you can understand better what the

through line is and how your piece fits better with it.o memorize lines and blocking

blocking in the initial stage directions and productions - how to stage andmove around- the director is going to assign characters to go from onespecific direction to the other. MOVEMENT in script

choreographyo be present, open, and creative at rehearsals

acting is reacting - you have to expect something different every nightso you can react!

o maintain health physically and vocally

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rehearsals are gruelingo constantly consider and refine character

never become stale in your character- or else the action also becomesstale the audience becomes bored

o TAKE RISKS!!!

The best moments in a play are discovered unexpectedly. Actors Tools

o Vocal Technique Diction- pronounce your words/intonation

Accent (i.e.) Southern Volume- What is the space youre taking you have to adjust your voice

whether the house is big or small (project or intimate volume) Clarity- Even with diction still have to maintain clarity no matter what

dialect or diction is audience needs to understand! Portray dialect anddiction while still making sense.

Character specific

Not only dialect but personality does your speaker speak fast,think about every single word, a tick, Healthy

Take care of your voiceo Physical Technique

Energy every single part of your body has to be engaged but the

audience has to see the energy Posture

Understand posture of your character Gesture

Talk a lot with your hands etc. grand gestures no gestures Mutable

an actor has to know when to be forward and when to step back.Have to know when to change in their dynamics

Healthyo Mental Capacity

Focus (most important) bouncing back from prop fails and dropped lines

Endurance It is tiring to be on constantly on focus for however long the

performance is Critical Analysis

how your character on stage is affecting another character etc. toknow that you cannot portray irresponsible

Research You have to do your research on the play whether it be historical

Production Processo Audition

monologues

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one person speaking a piece (60-90s) not a big audience cold reading

Call back- they might give you a script and partner you up withsomeone and do a side (script) - cold reading you arent familiarwith the script and you are expected at that moment to perform that

script with another person casting call (cattle call)

where lots of young actors (just out of college) where you willhave a number in 1-600 wait in line and come up on stage and doyour monologue say thank you and get off its a constant rotation

audience are smaller summerstock have a huge audience ofdirectors etc.

o Rehearsal play reading

everyone comes together and read the play and may have adiscussion

table work - sometimes omitted all right you read through the play several and lets talk about what

your characters are going through etc. - happens early on blocking

every person has a script on hand and on line blah blah move stageright the directors takes a look and tells you where to movespecific

scene work once you get through your blocking you start working scene by

scene you could work a scene per night

run-thru from start to finish you go through the entire play regardless of

mistakes - to get pacing of the play - how the scenes meet together more you run through the better the pace

technical rehearsals This is the for the designers lighting directors...etc.

previews Is supposed to be show conditioned no stopping costumes

involved ...can be open to an audienceo Performance

ACTING IS REACTING!!!o you have to lead but you have relinquish that leading

February 10th Approaches of Acting

o Marathon Mano Internal

Often (mis)labeled Method acting or the method

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Idea in order to understand what is happening to the character youhave to get in the psychology of the character know what ishappening to them emotionally and you have to make a specificway to connect to that emotion. Experience what the character isgoing through. Projecting from inside out

Involves creating the character through personal identification Developed primarily through methods taught by Konstantin Stanislavski

(1873-1938) Building character through understanding the characters motivations,

feelings, desires, and ambitions Subtext Actors:

Marlin, Brando, Al Pacino, Barbara Streisant Hoffman is the internal actor - on a surface you cant distinguish what

style they carry. Its how they approach it not the final product (to buy into

the character) . Regardless of internal or external is to get the

believability. Approaches of Acting

o External Building character by constructing the outward manifestation of the

characters emotion How does the person speak?

Emphasis on vocal construction as the key to a character Developing posture, gesticulation, movement, etc to drive character Does not mean discard the inner

You dont discard the opposite they use the internal to get to the

external both elements in the final product have to be part of thatcharacter to produce the believability

ACtors: Anna Deavere Smith, Denzel Washington, Paul Newman GOTE- Method of Building a Character Building a Character through GOTE (Acting One- Robert Cohen)

o Goals- I want (_____verb_______)o Obstacles- What is standing in the way of me achieving my goal?o Tactics- What can I USE to get what I want?o Expectation- How good are my chance to get what I want

Lets you focus on the intentions of a particular scene because every time that obstacle

changes.

REPRESENTATION AND STEREOTYPE Stereotype- Representations of idealized character types that are not based on

observation, but on previous representations, which themselves were often based onprevious representations. The chains of representation are often not refreshed with newobservation. Over time these stereotypes tend to become widely accepted standards ofreference.

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o Socially constructed and can be socially deconstructed you can destroy andremake your own identity. How his representation through media representednotions of identity

Early African -American Image Stereotypeso The Nativeo

The Tomo The Coono The Piccaninnyo The Tragic Mulattoo The Mammyo The Buck

Password : CheckhovChapter 5 Quiz Due Tomorrow by 9am

February 12, 2014

Directing What is Directing:

o Creation of a theatrical language, a language of space and movement and soundthat coherently communicates the ideas of the production to the audience.

o Illumination of the play for the audience.o Sit in our seat and look back as an audience member make sure that the play

looks good to the audience.

o

Director filled an interest in more detailed representation of place and characterhistory the movement of realism and the profusion of theatre styles that arosein realism.

Historyo In classical Greek and Roman Theatre the actor guided the chorus

head choral actor (choregus) Kinda like a choral conductor that keeps it in rhythm but they

arent telling the other actors what to do.

o In Renaissance role become more administrative Actor/Manager (1500s-1600s)

Less about keeping a chorus in line someone to make sure that the

various cast that those actors show up on time and ready to do theirjob. Very administrative but not very creative

o Duke of Sake - Meiningen, George II (1826-1914) Historically cited as first Director

In response to indulgent actor based on a star system in which all elementsof production dedicated to show off talents -_-

Specialized in historical drama with focus on accuracy Actors hired to be part of an ensemble

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costumes and settings were carefully detailed and researched -unified

o Konstantin Stanislovski (1863-1938) Moscow Art Theatre Internal psychological approach to character development

Believed that ensemble acting would tive the lives of all the charactersequal weight and interest rather than having the dramatic material bedominated by the performance of a star.

Focus on Realism small details of inner lives of characters i.e. objects held by actors

Spine of the play Central action or central idea that draws together all the smaller

plot incidents and all the separate character actions an overarching metaphor

o i.e. Joe Turners Come and Gone it can be - the Road Created a method of directing that relied on deep analysis of play

including actions, actor placement, sketches of setting, etc.. Takes this metaphor and he spreads it to every aspect of theater

o Jerzy Grotowski Train actors to use their voices and bodies in astonishing ways to

communication a heightened expression of human experience. Stretching vocal and physical capacity to extraordinary limits Creating theatre performances that explored myths and archetypal

characters as they confronted or illuminated the experiences of themembers of his theater company , audiences and people of Poland.

Director becomes author when he meshes multiple plays .. source ofimagination and foundation on stage

poor theater- stripped down basic materials and bare lights incorporated PRIMARY CREATIVE ARTIST

o Ping Chong- Set out to address contemporary issues with contemporary forms, unafraid

to integrate ancient story telling devices with the most recent technology Two kinds of storytelling

Highly theatrical and symbolic through scenic arrangement andpuppets

Actual words of people who appear on stage PRIMARY CREATIVE ARTIST

o Vsevolod Meyerhold (1874-1940) Dictatorial style - Theater of Straight Line

Every thing he says or does has to be filtered down cant do itwithout Meyerhold telling you what to do

Actor does become an expert in the control of their particular tool Actor - clay Director- sculptor

Theater should transcend everyday reality through exaggeration anddistortion

That the audience could feel transcended magical

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In reaction to Stanislavski Biomechanics - physical character of the actor

Training in gymnastics, circus movement, and ballet Certain muscular movement patterns elicit specific emotions in

actor - Formulaic

External approach Momentum, posturing, muscular movement etc.

The Directors and the Determination of Styleo Contemporary Approaches to Directing

Just as many approaches as there are directors Some general models

Director as partner/collaboratoro Works equally with playwright, actors, and designerso Horizontal power structureo actos have room to explore and take riskso changes to text are mutual decision between playwright and

directoro Ex. Stanislavski, Clinton Turner Davis (Joe Turners Come

and Gone) , Elia Kazan Director as Visionary

o Director is the center of the productiono Material is created or altered to fit the Directors Visiono Actors have little freedom of exploration outside of

Directors Guidanceo pyramid power structureo Ex. Grotowski, Ping Chong, Robert Wilson

Director as Facilitatoro More collaborative with Director acting as guideo Director poses questions or prompts to actors who then

improvise in response during rehearsal doesnt maintain any authority at all they simply pose questions

o often called devised work The facilitator has spend time asking questions and

do some impro around answers and through improthe entire team creates a play that is put on for anaudience so the audience can then react in dialoguewith the show . the actor breaks away fromcharacter and approaches the audience and asksquestions The audience comes on stage

o mostly horizontal power structure with Directorrepresenting the collective eye

o Ex. Elizabeth LeCompte (Wooster Group) , Voices AgainstViolence

Playwright as Directoro Puts the Playwright/Director at center of production

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o Focus is on the crafting of the text through experimentingin rehearsals

o More importance is placed on the play text as finishedproduct rather than a individual production

o Relatively Vertical power structureo

Ex. Bertolt Brecht, David Mamet, Marie Irene Fornes, andAdam Rapp The finished product is not really put in front of the

audience the first time. Everything was gearedtowards crafting and finishing the script. Thedirector becomes very possessive of their play.

February 17, 2014Theatrical Design

Theatrical Spaceo Stage type

Theatrical Design Areaso Scenic Designo

Costume Designo Lighting Designo Sound Designo Propertieso Multimediao Stage Management

Proscenium Stageo Rectangular stage construction with one side of the rectangle (4th Wall) open to

the audience Proscenium Arch - Frames the 4th wall for the audience Imaginary barrier from audience and action going on stage

o

More traditional form of stageo Allows for masking from audience

Everything forced into a two dimensional perspective the front

everything in a box Stage - back of arch Apron - in front of arch Proscenium Arch Upstage- away from audience

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Downstage- close to audience Left and right determined by actor on the stage

the wings is where costume changes are going on etc.o PHYSICAL 4th wall

Thrust Stageo

Stage constructed to allow audience to sit on three sides of the stageo No physical 4th wallo More intimate connection between audience and actiono Audience are aware they are watching a play

there is the the notion that the 4th wall is metaphorical that its the beliefthat the audience and action to carry it out

you can shorten the dept of the audience to get the action in closer does limit some of the design possibilities

o There is no backstage areao The actors have several different entrance areas

Arena Stageo

also called Theatre in the Roundo Audience surrounds the stageo Stage can be round or squareo Most intimacy offered between audience and actorso Presents acting and design challenges

No more huge scenic and lighting elements Constantly know where you are playing your body because there is four

different sides so at every moment your back is at some sides Theatrical Design

o Theatrical Design is done collaboratively with director and other designerso Unity of Concept- All designers are guided by central concept or spine of the

playo Unity of Style- All designers are guided by aesthetic/historical period or style

Designer Responsibilitieso Read and analyze the playo Research time periods, design style, and conceptual resourceso collaborate with director and other designers to created production concepto Prepare appropriate breakdown of design elements (area dependent) so that

technicians can bring design to life .o attend rehearsals and production meetings to insure maximum integration with

collaborative teamo Supervise design implementationo Insure integration of design into production during technical rehearsals

Big deadline for design and technical team is this rehearsal the designersthis is the most important to take entire project to get the timing anddisplay correct

Scenic Designo Creates the physical environment of the playo can be as minimal as a bare stage or as extravagant as fully realized turn of the

century opera house

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o Most impacted by stage typeo driven heavily by metaphor

spine of this metaphor this idea when you read the play one central themeor metaphor . ie joe turner that metaphor is the road

o Designer creates design. Scenic construction crew implements design

Technical director - drafts build plans and oversees all technical areas master carpenter- oversees buildings of all scenery carpentry crew - builds scenic elements scenic painter(s)- provide the finishing touches

Costume Designo Creates the look for characters with fabric, color, and textureo Driven mostly by adherence to time period or stylistic unityo Help define the characters psychology through presentations

clothing reflects personalityo Works close with actorso Costume Shop Supervisor - Oversees costumes buildo

Assortment of technical specialist: drapers, stitchers, etc Scenic Designer most important thing is knowing what type stage they are in . Spine of the Metaphor- Central idea of a image Stands in place for something else.

The meaning of the play and distill all of that in a single image. Design- how does that imagine manifest through that particular metaphor area All Design elements are budget dependent Lighting Designer

o Sculpts the production with lighto helps direct focus to specific areas of the stage

If this entire stage is lit where is the focus? NO focus but lighting can

place focus on stage Lighting works helps the audience understand

better where they need to look. Sculpts the actor in the space.o establishes mood and atmosphereo driven mostly by concept

Two staple tools: the light and you wanna color the light you need to putsomething in front of it to give color called gel

They work with texture they will put patterns in the light to project a forestrain etc. a distorted image. GOBO used!

o does not see manifestations of design until late in the processo Master Electrician - implements the lighting design

light hanging is the most dangerous job.o Electrician team includes: light board operator, follow spot operator , intelligent

lighting operator, etc. Costume and lighting designer work together how they affect costumes

etc. lighting that is capable of moving by using a board etc. - intelligent

lightingo Sound Design

Two functions create soundscape of play

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reinforce actors and instrumentations for play Driven by conceptual metaphor and logistical demands Can help establish three dimensionality that draws audience into middle of

productions Environmental soundscapes that can draw audience into it

Sound Engineer- manifests reinforcement design Sound crew consists of : board operator, microphone, technicians, and

sometimes foley artists. foley artists make sound out of found material

o Other important Design and Tech Functions Multimedia Design - focus in on projections, intelligent lighting , and 3D

sound as an integrated system Properties Design - works between scenic Designer , costume designer,

and director to create props for use during performance craft work creates things on stage etc.

Stage Manager

manages entire production team and actors during rehearsals Insures show maintains high productions quality during run Calls all technical cues during performance