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Theater Appreciation Midterm Study Guide

QUIZLETS

PROFESSOR NOTES

The midterm covers my lectures starting with “Why Theater?” all the way through “The Craft of Acting parts 1 & 2” as well as Billa Bowers’ guest lecture video.
The 2 playwrights you should focus on the most are
August Wilson
- William Shakespeare
  - You should be familiar with the other playwright’s names, but your primary focus should be on Wilson and Shakespeare.
I recommend watching Bill Bowers lecture video again before the midterm, just as a refresher.
Here is the breakdown for the number of questions per lecture:
Why Theater? 3
How to see a play 3
Theater Spaces and Contracts 8
The Playwright 7
The Director 4
The Craft of Acting 10
Bill Bowers 5

__________________________________________________________________________________________________Bill Bowers’ guest lecture-Mime

Mime is a type of action that uses your body to create a character without words
Silent storytelling
Bill Bowers is a mime from montana he is shy, gay and doesn’t like to talk much
His idol is Charlie Chaplin, a famous mime/ person that don’t talk in show
Bill Bowers and Charlie Chaplin have the same birthday
Plays his show that is called the silver dollar saloon
He likes it because it is collaborative
Apparently some got paid more the more people laughed
- Predolino is a character has white face
Perio the white face servant represents the masses as it kind of represents regular people
Art form of mimes is from paris as that was the place that has people to study miming
The movement is a click means you are touching something
Space between your hands= fixed space
Marcel Marceau is a famous mime
A type of acting that involves taking away words to use your body to create character and to also put a mirror up to the word
Mime comes from the word Mimos (greek word)
Uses your body to create imaginary objects, settings, and environment

CLASS NOTES

Why Theater?

People go the theater for many reasons
The theater has immediacy, relevance, and engagement.
The theater is social. It’s a good place to be a part of a great event.
Theater pleases the senses through
The spectacle of its visual display such as:
Scenery
Costumes
Lighting
The Sensation of sound:
Language
Music
Special Effects
Engages the imagination with its stories and characters
Offers experiences we don’t have
Exotic yet familiar
Good vs Evil
Funny and Sad
Theater appeals intellectually by engaging audiences with relevant issues
TheatER or TheatRE
No difference can be used interchangeably
Some consider the craft to be theatRE and the actual space to be theatER
Both Versions are used around their world
Theater=Actors+Audience+Space
Without an Audience it would be a rehearsal;
Without Space, it would be a radio performance
Without Actors, it would be a group of people in a room
The theater is an action, not just a location that can happen anywhere
The theater is a performance and an art
Theater as a performance
Performance: an activity where some people do something while other people watch
Happens in everyday life
Job Interview
Students and Teachers
The theater is not confined to just the arts
Religion
Religious services and weddings
The predetermined sequence of events
The predetermined sequence of words
Certain types of “costumes” are worn
Sports
The predetermined sequence of events
Audience watches
Time constraints to be observed
“Costumes” are worn
Politics
Politicians speak from a stage
An audience watches and listens
Dressing up to create an image of the politician. In essence, a costume
Shared traits of performances
People that do something (performers, actors)
Something is done (a speech, ritual, or play)
Watchers (spectators, audiences)
Performance space (Stadium, Church, Theater)
Time (beginning and ending)
Theater is immediate and ephemeral
Theater is live, now
Theater is also fleeting
You will never see the same performance twice
Differences among performances
Purpose
Church services so that people can worship
Sports so that someone can win
Politics to inform or rally a group of people
Differences among performances
Relationships between audience and performers
Sports fans or spectators interact with each other
They also indirectly interact with players by screaming and cheering
These could also happen in a campaign rally, but probably not in a play or some church services
Organizing principles
Church services follow a schedule determined by custom, symbolism and doctrine
Sporting events determined by schedule, record, playoffs
Political events determined by voting schedules, important dates, unexpected national issues
Theater as Art
Many different kinds of art
Poetry
Painting Sculpture
Music
Dance
Theater

Shared traits of arts
Art is artificial- an artist makes art, it doesn’t just happen
Art stands alone- does not need a practical purpose in life
Art is self-aware- artists know in a general way they’re trying to do something
Art produces a kind of response an aesthetic response, an appreciation of beauty that goes beyond merely intellectual or entertainment
Differences between arts
Relationship with time and space
Sculptures, Paintings, Architecture
Exists in space
You walk around it, look at it from different side and angles
Music, Theater, Books
Takes time to move from start to finish
Differences between arts
Audience
Solitary- sculpture, paintings, books
Groups- operas, dance, theater
Theater has actors
A person who impersonates someone other than themselves
They also perform live in front of a live audience
Theater is immediate and ephemeral
Theater is here and now and will never be repeated exactly the same way
Theater uses a performance space
Usually has artificial settings
Unlike film where the camera can take you around the world
Can’t do car chases!
Theater moves at its own pace through time
No rewind or fast forward like a movie or TV show
Can’t set it aside and pick it up later like a book or downloaded movie
Theater is lifelike, but it is not life
Theater is artificial - it is created by artists
Can be used as metaphors
“All the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players”- Shakespeare
This world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel” - Horace Walpole

How to see a Play?

Arrive 30 minutes before start of show and don’t forget tickets
Theater is a social event, so dress accordingly
If it is a opening night performance, some require that you wear a grin or tuxedo
Turn off cell phone and have common sense
There is an unwritten agreement between actors and audience
You can respond or react lower you feel like

Laughing a characters who are crying or a nervous laugh
Clapping when a character you like stands up for themselves

You can respond or react however you feel like
Silence
Curtain Call

Applause
Standing ovation if warranted

Preliminary work
The play or musical itself

Take a little time to familiarize yourself with the play, by either reading it or reading reviews and articles about it
Have a general idea of what you are about to see
Don’t assume you know what the play’s about from the title

The program or playbill you receive when you go to your seat

Look for “Director’s Notes”
Look for indications of time and place that the play will take place within
Get familiar with the character names and sometimes their relationship with each other
Find out if there’s an intermission

The physical surroundings within the theater

Setting the mood of the show
The theater itself might be ornately designed
The set, if visible, can give a sense of time, place and social class
Lighting may establish mood
Sound/Music- Bach says something different than country music
Actors doing things on stage or in audience before start of show

Taking it in
The visual aural spectacle

Lighting
Sound/Music
Costumes
Acting

Language of the play

Shakespeare?
David Mamet?
Are the actors speaking in a dialect?

Characters

Who do you identify with the most?
Who do you identify with the least?

Plot

Does it keep you engaged?
Is it plausible or absurd?
Reactions of the audience?

Performance Analysis
Explaining why you “liked it” or why you were “bored”
Watching while participating
Participating in the performance

Engaging in the action
Empathizing with the characters

Watching while participating
Watching the performance

“Standing back” to observe how effects are achieved

Story and Character

How are they intertwined?
Do you identify with the story?
Do you identify with any of the characters?

Idea-specific choices made by the actors and designers

An actor’s appearance
A looming set piece or stark set design

Understanding Specific Performance
Given Circumstances- Everything that delineates or defines the special world of the play
There are 3 kinds of Given Circumstances

Previous Action-Any action mentioned in the play’s dialogue that reveals any incident or action that took place BEFORE the current action of the play. This is also known as EXPOSITION
Environmental Facts- 6 types
Geographical Location- where the play takes place
Time- Date, year, season, time of day
Economical Environment- The character’s relationship the death or poverty and their class in the play’s society
Social Environment- The character’s moral values and social beliefs
Political Environment- The character’s relationship with the government they live under
Religious Environment- Religious beliefs, if any

Conventions vs Common Sense
An agreement between artist and audience to do things in a certain way for the good of all
Ex: Time can pass between acts of a play and the scenic design can change.
An agreement between artist and audience to do things a certain way for the good of all
Ex: Musicals- actors sing their emotions
Style
Abstraction how weird is the production
Ex: Set Design, Costume Design and Lighting and Sound Design

Types of Theater Spaces

Proscenium Stage
Identified by having a “proscenium arch”
The action of the play fits within a frame
Rigging system behind arch and possibly trap flooring
Wings
Most have an area that extends a few feet in front of arch
Audience areas
Orchestra seats
Balconies
Sightlines can sometimes be bad
Thrust Stage
Audience on 3 sides of stage
No arch
Actors can enter from the aisles
Actors can enter from the vomitories (or voms) that come from beneath the audience
Relies on acting, costumes, props rather than elaborate sets
Proscenium thrust stage
Defined arch but with a larger amount of stage space extending into the audience
Arena Stages
Stage is surrounded on all sides by the audience
Also called “Theater in the Round”
Actors bring on props and set pieces
Entrances are through audience
Scene changes are done either in blackout or in full view of the audience
Can sometimes have trap floor
Environmental Stage
Theater done in or at specific (usually outdoor) spaces
No traditional stage
No arch
The audience can be anywhere and can sometimes physically move with the actors from scene to scene
New York Classical Theater
A production can take over an entire building
Sleep No More
A play can take place in a car
Alley Stage
Audience on opposite sides of the stage
Actors perform between them
Booth Stage
Temporary stage
Erected curtain
Perform in front of curtain
Popular with educational tours

Types of Theater Venues

Broadway
- Highest level of American Theater
- Falls under a production contract negotiated by The Broadway League
Defined by how many seats it has -500 +
There are about 40 Broadway theaters
Only theaters eligible for Tony Awards (except for the Regional Theater award)
Is professional theater at its best
Distinguished stars
Elaborate sets and costumes
Sophisticated musicals and plays
Expensive!
Cost a lot to produce - salaries and material costs
Ticket prices
Lion King tickets start around $130
Hamilton tickets start at around $400
TKTS
Half-priced tickets for Broadway shows on the day of the performance
Producers use this to fill seats for performances that are not sold out
Only found in NYC
Broadway Tours
Seldom use original starts
Helps recoup losses from broadway flops
Brings broadway to people that might not ever see it
Off broadway
Originally named so because of the actual theater’s location, on a street just off of Broadway
Falls under an Off Broadway contract negotiated by the Off Broadway League
Now defined by number of seats - 100 to 499
Some shows “transfer” to Broadway
Rent - New York Theater Workshop 1993 &1996
Avenue Q - Vineyard Theater 2003
Hamilton - The Public Theater 2015
Serves as a showcase for new talent
Off-off broadway
Started in late 1950s as a place for experimental, anti-commercial theater
Defined by 99 seats or less
Performed in various spaces
Coffee houses
Cellars
Churches, etc.
Often socially, politically, or artistically alien to current American values
Natasha, pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 started at the Off-Off broadway theater arts Nova
Regional Theaters
Usually not for profit
Can be more adventurous with
Play selection
Production style
Personnel decisions
5 major benefits that regional theaters offer:
Provide a place where new and classic plays can coexist
Developing new audiences for live theater
Training ground for theater artists
Help to stretch an actor’s craft
Provide more jobs
Can fall under different kinds of contracts
LORT - League of Resident Theaters
A consortium of 70+ non-profit regional theaters
5 categories: A+, A, B, C , D based on weekly box office gross which dictate salaries and ratio of Equity an dNon-Equity actors
SPT- Small Professional Theater
Commercial or non-profit theaters smaller than 350 seats outside NY or Chicago
10 salary categories, or tiers, determined by number of performances and max weekly hours set for rehearsals
LOA- Letter of Agreement
Individually negotiated
Often reference other contracts such as LORT D
Dinner Theater
Broadway shows from past seasons
Quality varies
Less of these theaters than in 1970s
- dsakfjk
Simplified sets and costumes
Entertain rather than instruct
Amateur Theater
Educational Theater
Rutgers Mason Gross is an Example
First theater degree in 1914 at carnegie Institute of Technology
After WWII, more colleges created theater undergrad and graduate degrees
Undergrad programs tend to be Liberal Arts programs or conservatory programs
Graduate programs tend to parallel regional theaters in function
More than 2,000 programs in the U.S.
Whole range of plays offered
Sometimes have Guest Artist contracts
No more than 2 per production
3 tiers based on number of performances
Community Theater
Found throughout the country
In towns where there’s no professional or educational theater, they introduce new audiences to live theater
Very little pay, if at all
Rely on volunteers
A mix of amateur and professional actors and designers
Sometimes have guest artist contracts
No more than 2 per production
3 tiers based on number of performances
Children’s Theater
Created to produce plays geared toward young audiences to instill a love of theater
Can vary in content
Creative retellings of fairy tales, myths, and legends
Plays that discuss social issues like
Drugs
Divorce
Sexual abuse
Bubbalonian Encounter
Blackbox theater
Versatile: can place any type of stage within it
The audience can be place anywhere
Painted all black so that focus is on the performance
Often used in schools for classrooms as well as performance spaces
Most theater studios and college theater departments have one or more
Rutgers’ Levin Theater is a blackbox theater
Examples
Thrust
Arena
Proscenium stage
Angeled thrust
A Play from start to finish
Playwright - writes the play
Producer - willing to produce the play
Director - hired by Producer to direct the play
Designers - chosen by Director, approved by Producer
Actors - auditions are held and play is cast by Director
Designers - begin building sets and costumes
Rehearsals begin
Tech rehearsals begin
Preview performances begin
Opening night
Closing night and strike

The Director

The director came into being in the late 19th century
Directors are considered the dominant figure in a theatrical production
The Nature of Directing
When the director came into being, they took over the tasks normally done by several people
The director unifies and binds all elements of a production together into a cohesive whole, in interpretation and presentation
Interpretation- the actors and designers all understand the play in the same way
Presentation- All the elements that the audience will see and hear
Text
Actors
Scenery
Props
Costumes
Lighting
Sound
Director’s Control
The degree of control the director has over a production depends on the situation
Broadway Production
Overall artistic vision may rest with the producer rather than the director
Routine details of rehearsal and performance would fall to the stage manager
The degree of control the director has over a production depends on the situation
HighSchool Production could mean that most tasks fall to the director and possible supervise and execute, almost every aspect of a production
A director needs to have many abilities
They need to make decisions and be a problem solver
Need sensitive interpersonal skills
Must have stamina and concentration
2 Extreme approaches to the test
The Worshipful Director
Believes nothing should stand in the way of the script as written
Will often stage a production:
Without cuts to the script
Male roles played by males
No attention to diversity in casting
The giveen circumstances will be meticulously followed
Sets
Costumes
Props
Plays under copyright
Licenses for plays have a clause that productions present the play “as written”
Roles must be cast in the gender the playwright intended
The Heretical Director
Director-centered
Director is equal to the playwright
Believes the author’s script is only the starting point
2 possible results
May lead to innovative and exiting productions
People may find production offensive or meaningless
Bowdlerizing: Censorship and/or removal of material from a text that is considered vulgar, improper or offensive like Sexual Content, Curising, Racism, Religion or politics
The Director at Work
7 Steps that all directors follow, but may not all follow in the same order
Selecting the play
Community and educational theaters often have directors pick the play
Directors might find themselves matched to a play by a commercial producer
Directors can study the script before accepting the position
Interpreting the play
Determining potentials and challenges
As the director begins to read the script, they might have both positive and negative thoughts
Two lists could be made
Potentials (strengths)
Challenges (weaknesses)
The director will ask many questions white analyzing the text
What’s the tone, mood or key of the play?
Funny or serious? - tone
Cheerful or sad? - mood
Light or heavy? - key
What are the 6 parts of the play?
Plot- the order of incidents in the play
Character- how do they fit into the plot?
Idea - the meaning of the play
Language - ie. Shakespeare vs. a contemporary play
Music - rhythms in non-musical language or the music in musicals
Spectacle- design aspects
Creating the Production
Finding a springboard
A taking off point for a creative leap
A combination of concept and image
Working with designers
Meetings between directors and designers can happen months in advance
Once a director establishes interpretation designers bein translating that interpretation
Developing a Ground Plan
A map of the playing area
Director sets down what they need
Number and location
Entrances and exits
Seating elements
Objects
Visibility
Special requirements of the script
For a variety, the director may specify
Differences in levels
Separate playing areas
Seating Areas
Casting and Coaching Actors
Producer or director puts out of casting notice
Casting
Finding the right person for the role
Balancing act between real and ideal
Casting is 80% of the play’s interpretation
Coaching
In rehearsal, the director advises, Inspires and encourages the actor
Directors involve themselves closely with the actor’s creation of role
Staging the Production
The process of putting the play on its feet blocking
Creating pictures onstage
Creating rhythms pace and timing
Creating focus points for the audiences to see important aspects of the play
Planning, Coordinating and Rehearsing and Polishing
Director goes through same rehearsal process as actors do, from first rehearsal to opening night
Director coordinates between designers, producers and actors
Training the director
No one path leads to directors
Many started as
Actors, Choreographers, stage managers, designers
Others went to college for directing and many professional directors are part of the stage directors and choreographers society, a national union

The Playwright Part 1

Why not “Playwrite”
“Wright” means “Maker” like Wheelwrights make wheels
Playwriting
Playwrights create copies of human life by creating a “language” for characters
Creates a dialogue for characters to say to each other that: Forwards the plot, Reveals Character, Express Ideas
Playwrights must write words that are: More active, intense, selective than everyday speech and novelist words
Imitate life on how humans might react in life
Through playwright we give characters dialogue
Helps express Ideas
Playwrights are more
Active and intense
It has to be more because it has to be acted out in the stage
Actors bring the words to life
Where do playwrights get their ideas?
Ideas can come from anything
Conversations
Current events
New Headlines
Injustice
How long does it take to write a play?
7 days - 7 yrs, Depends on the playwright
There is 24 hr play festivals that happen every so often
Playwrights work in various ways
Some playwrights work alone and some collaborate with theatrical colleagues
For musicals:
book-writers: write for musicals
librettists: write the words for the music
Playwrights can work in teams
Some playwrights are solo and do it all
Where do playwrights come from?
Most work within the “theatrical world”
Some could have been actors or were previously
Perhaps they write for his/her own theater troupe
some come from outside the theater world - “newcomers”
have the gift of ignorance and might not follow the traditional:
form
style
length
subject matter
some come from the theater world - “insider”
social insiders write about specific topics
examples:
African American playwrights that write about social issues that pertain to the Black community
LGBTQ playwrights that write about issues within their community
feminist playwrights that write about women’s rights
The career of the playwright can have its ups and down. It is not easy
Review the peoples: The Playwright Part 1.pptx

The Busy Body

The busy body by Susanna Centlivre in 1709
The busy body is directed by Kathrine Wilkinson
Restoration Comedy
English comedy during the “Restoration” period between 1660-1710
Also known as “Comedy of Manners”. Which it made fun of the fashion, manners, and views on life in the society of the time
In the 1660, theaters were reopened by King Charles II after 18 years under a Puritian government
Important theatrical milestones for women during the Restoration Era
The first professional actress: Margaret Hughes
The first professional female playwright:: Aphta Behn
King Charles II loved the theater, especially the more racy shows. He had a mistress who was an actress by the name of Nell Gwynn