Theatre History Final

Founded Theatre Libre, Paris, 1887, Odeon Theatre Censorship rules prohibited many topics from being addressed in theatre, so he opened theatre libre as a private club to circumvent the laws by allowing members only, not selling tickets. As a director, he often put on Ibsen plays. Ibsen’s realism lent itself to Antoine’s style of intimate human behavior, not actors spouting off speeches. To promote realism in the theatre, Antoine would let his actors rehearse in a room without telling them where the audience was until dress rehearsal. He would frequently shift the fourth wall so that actors were more focused on connection and personal interation. He used realistic settings (detailed rooms with real furniture) He favored an involved, committed ensemble, which was inspired by Sax Meiningen.

A standard character at the Bowery theatre.             His blue collar persona reflected the primary audience of the Bowery theatre. Mose is the main character in A Glance at New York, which was neve perfrmed at the Bowery. Frank Chanfrau played Mose in A Glance at New York for 12 years! *Mose had a frau

Dublin,Ireland             First government subsidized theatre in the English speaking world. Fostered development of writers of the Irish Literary revival, who helped found the theatre and staged plays there. Nursed leading Irish playwrights and actors of the 20^th c., including William Butler Yeats and John M. Synge.

Concept developed by Antonin Artaud in Theatre & its Cruelty and Theatre & its Double. (1930s) It explains that theatre serves a tool for shattering the false reality that shrouds our perceptions. Artaud did not use the term “cruelty” as meanness, but instead as a piercing force of reality. “The theatre was intended to drain society’s abcesses.” Influenced Amiri Baraka, and Artaud was the most influential of the avant-gardists. Ritual is the oldest activity that can respond to both the knowable and the unknowable. 

Contrasts the elements of Dramatic theatre Characteristics of epic theatre: Narrative story (as opposed to active), spectator observes, confronts spectator directly, progress occurs in curves—not linear(suspense in process)

Founder of Theatre of the Absurd Absurdism given its name based on Camus’ use of the term from the Myth of Sisyphus.             It is a movement that lacks a single leader or unified cause.             Absurdist writers examine the irrationality of human existence. His Perceptions of Absurdist writers They write about episodes unified merely by mood instead of cause/effect continuum. This parallels the chaos of the universe. Juxtapose incongruent events, producing serio-comedy and irony. Exploit language because it is traditionally a rationalist tool.             Trademarks of Absurdism                         Anti-Aristotilian features:                                     No narrative, no action                                     Generic characters                                     Language fails to represent meaning                                     No psychological motivation

Nigerian play, famous for its topic of colonization. It dramatizes a true story of the ritual suicide of a famous chief’s horseman that was stopped by British colonial authorities. The play also questions the horseman’s conviction to die for the ritual. Written by the first African Nobel lit prize winner and best known Nigerian playwright, Wole Soyinka, who was exiled and condemned by the dictator for being a revolutionary writer, and later demanded that Nigeria become a democracy. 

A French literary movement Emphasizes the use of symbols to represent ideas and emotions It does not make a realistic presentation. Example: Maeterlinck, The Blind

An original play of New York’s African Grove Theatre             It was the first play written and produced by African Americans             Influenced by Shakespearean works             James Hewlitt was the star             It dealt with the uprising of black islanders in 1796 against the English Navy
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Gave rise to acting Gurus including Stani and Chekhov            The Seagull, which had been previously dismissed as a poor piece of literature, premiered at the MAT, prompting Chekhov’s acclamation as a brilliant playwright.

A famous group of four controversial performance artists. 1) Holly Hughes, 2) John Fleck, 3) Karen Finley (smeared her body with chocolate), 4) Time Miller Their funding from the National Endowment of the arts was revoked because of alleged indecency. They took the NEA to court, and received their funding back.

Developed by playwright Hubert Ogunde in Nigeria.             It featured traditional Yoruban music and dance styles.             Alawada Theatre was another popular Yoruba theatre. Moses alaiya Adejumo: Popular Yoruban comedian; His plays were improvised satirical comedies that centered on Baba Sala, an ingenious poor man who exposed, accidentally or on purpose, those who prospered through dishonest means.

Book by Edna Ferber & Hammerstein II             Music by Jerome Kern             Premiered in 1927: 1^st Great musical, ran for nearly 600 performances.             Dealt with miscegenation, race, marital tension, yet Americans loved it!             The songs, plot and movement were all seamlessly integrated to advance the plot. 

The title implies the author: HamletMachine=HM=Heiner Mueller (German)             Postmodern play loosely based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet Like absurdist theatre, it does not revolve around a conventional plot; instead it unfolds through a series of monologues, 5 acts, 2 by Hamlet, 2 by Ophelia, and a dumbshow in the middle. It explores references that are not necessarily in shakespeare’s play, but could be. It also has Ophelia present a monologue as Electra, wherein she blames men for her downfall. Personally, I viewed the characters Hamlet and Ophelia as the same characters as in Shakespeare’s play, only presented as if they had been subject to the totalitarian regimes of the mid 20^th c. 

15 minute dramas of controversial, obscene topics The Stronger  by August Strindberg             A product of the Free Theatre movement                         At Antoine’s Theatre Libre in Paris, 1887 Before then you would not have seen an evening of 1-acts. At the theatre libre, a bill often consisted of 4 1-act dramas in an evening.