Search for notes by fellow students, in your own course and all over the country.

Browse our notes for titles which look like what you need, you can preview any of the notes via a sample of the contents. After you're happy these are the notes you're after simply pop them into your shopping cart.

My Basket

You have nothing in your shopping cart yet.

Title: All You Need to Know About Theater
Description: Ranging from the most important people on theater, such as Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, to the most important types, such as Morality, Mystery, and Miracle, to the important historical moments, such as, Fall of Constantinople, Spread of the Printing Press, and Rediscovery of Seneca's Tragedies. Also includes, the different types of props, stages, and theater genres. Discusses Japanese Theater and Greek Theater. Touches on types of lighting equipment and uses. Includes types of Rehearsals and what they're used for, as well as other famous people in Theater such as Constantin Stanislavski, Lee Strasberg, and Uta Hagen.

Document Preview

Extracts from the notes are below, to see the PDF you'll receive please use the links above


Intro  to  Theater  101  at  Holyoke  Community  College  

 
The  House  –  where  the  audience  sits
...
 
 
Mimetic  Instinct  –  urge  to  copy  someone
...
   
-­‐ After  WWII,  breaks  away  from  familiarity  
o Desire  o  make  things  real  
-­‐ more  intimacy  than  Proscenium  
-­‐ no  frame  or  barrier  
-­‐ no  exits/entrances  (other  than  aisles)    
o no  “big”  reveal  
 
 
 

Thrust  Stage:    
 
-­‐
-­‐
-­‐

-­‐
 

¾  audience  stage  (U  shaped)  
generally  backstage  area  
best  features  of  Proscenium  Arena  
o intimacy  
o immersion    
o single  background  
Globe  was  a  thrust  theater  
o Until  burned  down  &  rebuilt  

Aristotle’s  6  Elements  of  Tragedy  
 
Aristotle  describes  six  elements  as  essential  for  tragedy:  plot,  character,  thought,  
dialogue,  melody,  and  spectacle
...
Plot  
The  most  important  element  of  a  play  according  to  Aristotle,  is  the  
framework  within  it  occurs  the  scope  of  the  action
...
Character  
Character  is  the  major  ingredient  for  the  advancement  of  the  
action
...
   Characters  need  individually  to  cone  across  as  
believably,  yet  similarly  to  others  in  order  to  arouse  feelings  of  
empathy  or  identification
...
Thought
...
 The  play  itself  should  be  both  
specific  and  general  –  the  stay  of  an  individual  but  with  universal  
appeal
...
Dialog    
Also  commonly  referred  to  as  diction
...
 It  should  suit  the  characters  and  help  establish  the  tone  
of  the  play,  as  well  as  the  changing
...
Melody  
Refers  to  the  rhythm  and  flow  of  the  language,  which  should  
reflect  the  emotional  content  of  the  situation
...
Spectacle  
The  least  important  element  according  to  Aristotle,  is  the  scenery  
and  background
...
 In  creating  such  characters,  a  playwright  takes  certain  traits  
we  can  observe  in  friends  or  relatives  and  heightens  them
...
 Most  
exposition  is  presented  through  the  dialogue
...

2
...

4
...
 A  play  that  relies  on  theme  for  
unity  often  is  episodic;  it  does  not  build  toward  a  single  turning  point  and  climax
...
 Such  plays  are  thematic  as  well
...
 
This  gives  comfort  and  a  sense  of  continuity,  a  feeling  that  the  world  is  ordered
...
 They  may  start  with  a  character  or  with  a  theme
...
They  examine  something  important  or  relevant  in  their  lives
...
They  begin  by  examining  their  feelings
...
They  chose  to  write  about  something  that  arouses  their  curiosity
...
They  choose  a  subject  or  a  situation  that  is  haunting
...
They  begin  with  a  real  person,  current  or  historical
...
They  begin  with  a  set  of  circumstances
...
They  begin  with  a  setting
...
They  adapt  a  play  from  another  medium
...
   
 
Constantin  Stanislavski  
 
-­‐1st  person  to  develop  system  of  acting  
-­‐Russian  born  
-­‐Focused  at  first  on  psychological  realism  
-­‐  1898  developed  the  Moscow  Art  Theatre:  Teaching  system  of  acting  
-­‐1927  came  to  the  U
...
:  created  Group  Theater  along  with  Lee  Strasberg,  Stella  Adler,  
and  Samfurd  Meisner  
 
 
 
 

Uta  Hagen  
 
-­‐Play  the  obstacles,  not  the  emotion  
-­‐Using  an  actable  objective  
-­‐Believed  in  “doing”,  engaging  mind/body  in  a  goal  
-­‐Learn  everything  you  can  about  the  character’s  world  
-­‐Emphasized  script  analysis  
-­‐No  one  “just”  does  anything
...
 
 
Lee  Strasberg  
-­‐Emotional  recall:  emotional  memory  
-­‐Sense  memory  
-­‐Awakening  your  inner  temperament  
 
Stanford  Meisner  
-­‐The  reality  of  doing  
-­‐Revolves  around  spontaneity-­‐impulse  
-­‐Listening  and  responding  
-­‐Memorize  lines  without  emotion  to  allow  for  impulse  and  realistic  reactions  
onstage  
-­‐More  focus  on  the  other  character  than  oneself  
-­‐Behaving  with  instinct  
 
Stella  Adler  
-­‐Imagination  
-­‐instead  of  an  actor’s  personal  past  or  emotional  memory,  actors  are  to  rely  on  their  
imagination  
-­‐Drama  depends  on  doing,  not  feeling
...
 
-­‐“The  play  is  not  in  words,  It’s  In  you
...
   
 
Different  Types  of  Rehearsals  
 
Reading  Rehearsals:  
-­‐ Table  work  
-­‐ For  both  actors  and  the  director  is  to  come  to  an  understanding  of  
the  basic  action  an  motivation  
-­‐ Read  through  
-­‐ The  director  may  show  sketches  and  floor  plans  to  the  actors  so  
they  can  better  visualize  the  action  
 
Blocking  Rehearsals:  
-­‐ Stage  movement  
-­‐ Gilbert  and  Sullivan  in  the  1900s  
-­‐ Add  blocks  
-­‐ Set  up  model  on  stage  

-­‐

Tells  visual  story  of  the  play  

 
Character  and  Line  Rehearsals:    
-­‐ Director  usually  encourages  the  actors  to  experiment  in  building  
their  roles  
-­‐ Characters  begin  to  come  to  life  
-­‐ Projecting  lines    
 
Finishing  Rehearsals:  
-­‐ Action,  interaction,  delivery,  and  interpretation  are  refined    
-­‐ Discuss  inconsistencies  
-­‐ Director  concentrates  on  the  three  broad  aspects  of  movement  
o Pace  
o Timing  
o Rhythm  
 
Technical  Rehearsals:    
-­‐ The  director  will  devote  attention  to  the  technical  aspects    
-­‐ Correcting  minor  details  with  the  various  stage  technicians  
-­‐ Two  to  three  tech  rehearsals  
 
Dress  Rehearsals:    
-­‐ Tryout  of  the  production  
-­‐ Two  rehearsals  in  full  costume  
-­‐ Actors  can  get  accustomed  to  playing  to  an  audience  
-­‐ Call  rehearsals  to  correct  inconsistencies  that  have  crept  into  the  
performance  
 
3  Types  of  Props  
 
Hand  Props:  
-­‐ Things  used    
-­‐ Held  in  hands  
-­‐ Common  examples:  cigarettes,  pens,  pencils,  etc
...
 
 
Set  Dressing:  
-­‐ Decorations  
-­‐ May  move  or  may  not  
-­‐ Frames  with  pictures  and  etc  
 
 

Lights  
 
Episoidal:    
-­‐
-­‐
-­‐
-­‐
-­‐
-­‐

Spot  light  
Many  different  looks  
Manipulate  to  look  like  leaves  &  etc
...
 

-­‐
-­‐
-­‐
-­‐

Looks  like  fog  light  in  light  houses  
“Fill  light”  
Blends  spotlights  together  
Gel  frames  still  applicable  

 
Frenzel:    

 
Japanese  Theater:  
 
Drama  in  Japan  evolved  from  ritual  dances,  increasing  in  importance  after  the  
seventeenth  century  A
...
   
 
Kabuki:  
-­‐ The  name  Kabuki  comes  from  the  deogrpaphs:    
o Ka  meaning  song  
o Bu  meaning  dance  
o Ki  meaning  prostitute  
§ Or  later,  due  to  ninettenth  century  objections,  skill  
-­‐ Early  on,  the  troupes  were  made  out  of  women  
o Due  to  lose  morals,  banned  in  1629  
§ Then  came  the  troupes  made  up  of  men  
• Banned  in  1652  on  the  same  grounds  
-­‐ Evolved  into  the  prevalent  form  between  1675  –  1750  
o Consists  of  improvised  sketches  introduced  into  
performances  of  dance
...
   
-­‐ Dance  is  the  basis  of  Kabuki  and  is  expected  to  mirror  the  verbal  
text  by  distilling  emotions  and  actions  into  stylized  movement  and  
posture
...
   
 
Greek  Theater:    

 

 

 

 

 

Dithyrambs:    
-­‐ The  origin  of  western  theatre  
-­‐ Began  some  time  before  the  6th  century  B
...
   
o With  dithyrambs,  or  hymns  
§ Sang  to  Dionysus,  the  god  of  wine  and  harvests  
§ Related  episodes  from  his  life  
 
Greek  Chorus:    
-­‐ Introduction  of  an  actor  added  dialogue    
Satyr  Play  and  Tragedy:    
-­‐ Came  out  of  the  ecclesiastical  part  of  the  celebration    
-­‐ Ribald  form  of  comedy    
o First  appearance  of  folkloric  figure  of  Silenus  
§ A  water  spirit  
§ Accompanied  by  the  satyrs    
o Written  by  a  playwright  to  be  presented  in  the  afternoon  of  
the  day  on  which  his  tragedies  also  were  to  be  produced
...
C
...
C
...
   
o Central  character  always  has  a  tragic  flaw  that  brings  about  
his  or  her  downfall
...
C
...
   
The  chorus  is  of  much  less  importance    
o Serving  largely  as  a  mouthpiece  for  the  playwright  rather  
than  as  a  part  of  the  action  

Greek  Comedy:    
-­‐ Developed  after  tragedy    
-­‐ Considered  inferior    
-­‐ Plots  were  more  complicated  than  those  of  tragedies  
o But  were  more  episodic  
-­‐ Comic  characters  were  ordinary  people  
 
In  essence,  tragedy  dealt  with  what  human  kind  should  be,  while  comedy  dealt  with  
what  it  actually  was
...
C
...
 This  is  the  form  that  began  in  the  church,  but  later  moved  
outdoors
...
 These  dramas  emphasized  such  things  as  
miraculous  power  and  divine  intervention  in  people’s  lives
...
   
 
Morality  Plays:    
These  were  most  popular  between  the  fifteenth  century  and  the  mid-­‐sixteenth  
century
...
 Morality  plays  were  
popular  in  England  more  than  anywhere  else,  although  they  also  were  presented  on  
the  continent  of  Europe
...
   

Three  Important  Drama-­‐Related  Events:    
 
Fall  of  Constantinople:    
First  is  the  fall  of  Constantinople  to  the  Turks  in  1453
...
 
The  middle  class  had  begun  its  rise  and  guilds  and  academics  were  becoming  the  
lifeblood  of  culture
...
   
 
Rediscovery  of  Seneca’s  Tragedies:  
The  third  change  occurred  in  1429  when  Michaela’s  of  Cusa,  a  young  graduate  in  
law,  discovered  twelve  Senecon  tragedies,  hitherto  known  only  by  name
Title: All You Need to Know About Theater
Description: Ranging from the most important people on theater, such as Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, to the most important types, such as Morality, Mystery, and Miracle, to the important historical moments, such as, Fall of Constantinople, Spread of the Printing Press, and Rediscovery of Seneca's Tragedies. Also includes, the different types of props, stages, and theater genres. Discusses Japanese Theater and Greek Theater. Touches on types of lighting equipment and uses. Includes types of Rehearsals and what they're used for, as well as other famous people in Theater such as Constantin Stanislavski, Lee Strasberg, and Uta Hagen.