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| the most traditional form of plotting, begining with exposition and building through a series of minor crises to a major crisis and climax. Linear plots are usually based on causality, that is, one event "causes" another to happen. |
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| A plot leading up to a climax moment. |
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| A story in which each incident leads to the next |
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| A story in which events are loosely connected and not cause and effect. |
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| Falling Action (denouement) |
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| The events of a dramatic or narrative plot following the climax |
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| species of comic drama that holds human follies and institutions up to ridicule and scorn; the use of wit, irony, or sarcasm to expose vice and folly. The Importance of Being Earnest is a satire |
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| Structure with rhythmic structure vs. natural flow of speech in no rhythmic structure |
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| an attempt to re-create actual life onstage in a manner that employs the details and routines of daily dress, speech, environment, and situations. Ibsen's social dramas typify realism |
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| a particular form of realism that emphasizes environment; naturalism was also a philosophical movement that saw humans as products of their heredity and environment |
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| one of the principal dramatic genres, in which a central character is in conflict with an external, as well as internal, force; the conflict ends disastrously for the character and provokes pity and fear in the audience. |
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| comic genre that depends on an elaborately contrived, usually improbable plot, broadly drawn stock characters, and physical humor. Most farces are amoral and exist to entertain |
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| A comedy having gloomy or disturbing elements, especially one in which a character suffers an irreparable loss |
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| a form of comedy that depends exclusively on physical humor such as beatings, chases, and pratfalls. The term is derived from a prop devised by actors in the commedia dell'arte that was used to administer beatings. The films of the Three Stooges epitomize slapstick comedy. |
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| form of theatre in which the improvisational actors/improvisers use improvisational acting techniques to perform spontaneously. Improvisers typically use audience suggestions to guide the performance as they create dialogue, setting, and plot extemporaneously. Improvisational theatre performances tend to be comedic, although some forms, including Playback Theatre and Theatre of the Oppressed, are not necessarily intended to be comedic. |
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| one of the principal dramatic genres, which blends serious and comic elements; frequently the serious is treated comically, while the comic is given a more somber treatment. The plays of Anton Chekhov and Samuel Beckett typify tragicomedy |
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| is a professional position within a theatre company that deals mainly with research and development of plays. |
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| a follow-up after an audition or a casting, in which directors can further audition candidates for a position or part. |
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| George 2, Duke of Saxe Meiningen |
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| He is particularly known for developing the Meiningen Ensemble using his court theatre. Using his knowledge of art history and his drawing skills, he designed highly detailed, historically accurate scenery, costumes, and properties. In addition, he choreographed large crowd scenes that stunned audiences across Europe. He and his ensemble toured Europe extensively, and had a profound effect on theatre production across the continent. |
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| a French philosopher, art critic, and writer. He was a prominent person during the Enlightenment and is best known for serving as co-founder and chief editor of and contributor to the Encyclopédie. |
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| one who has overall responsibility for stage management and the smooth execution of a production. |
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| the movement and positioning of actors on the stage/the process of selecting, designing, adapting to, or modifying the performance space for a play or film |
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| a comic parody of a serious work; 2. a theatrical entertainment comprising broadly humorous skits and short turns ("blackouts"), songs, dances, and frequently striptease acts. |
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| an established technique or device which the audience agrees to accept as "real" in a performance; the "ground rules" under which a particular play will be performed. Examples include asides, soliloquies, the use of mime, and shifting scenery in view of the audience. Conventions change from age to age, from production to production. |
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| a reading aloud from a script or other text without any rehearsal, practice or study in advance. It is also sometimes referred to as sight-reading |
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| that moment nearest the beginning of the play in which the major conflict to be resolved occurs; sometimes called the inciting moment. |
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| essential information that an audience needs to know about a character or events (particularly those that happen prior to the first scene). Usually exposition is found in the first act or scene, but distributed exposition may be found throughout the play |
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| the resolution of the protagonist's principal conflict; the climax usually grows out of the crisis and brings about a play's denouement, or falling action |
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| the playwright's instructions to the actors, designers, and directors concerning setting, motivations, and characterization |
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| the exchange of speeches by two or more characters in a play. Also, a generic term referring to the words in a script. |
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| a lengthy speech spoken by a single character, usually to other characters |
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| within any story who tells the story to the audience |
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| a primary dramatic genre that usually ends happily and treats its subject matter lightly |
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| a group (usually 12-15) of singer-dancers in Greek drama participating in or commenting on the action of the play; in other ages (e.g. the Elizabethan theater) the chorus was a single figure who speaks the prologue and epilogue and comments on the action |
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| was a French musician and teacher. Though he achieved some success as a composer, he is chiefly known as a teacher in singing and declamation. He went on to develop an acting style that attempted to connect the inner emotional experience of the actor with a systematized set of gestures and movements based upon his own observations of human interaction |
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| an actor formed a theatre company, chose the plays he wanted to produce, played the leading roles in them, and managed the company's business arrangements |
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| popular improvised comedy performed by street entertainers during the Italian Renaissance; it featured such characters as Harlequin and Pantalone, and relied on physical or "slapstick" comedy (beatings, pratfalls, etc.). |
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| Italian term for comic stage business (e.g., a beating, a pratfall). |
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| Projection and articulation |
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| the acoustic phenomenon that gives sound a penetrating quality/The elaboration of articulate, sharp, clear speech or literary composition |
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| A trial performance, as by an actor, dancer, or musician, to demonstrate suitability or skill |
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| Russian actor and theater director who trained his actors to emphasize the psychological motivation of their roles |
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| Affective Memory/Emotional Recall |
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| an element of Stanislavski's ‘system’ and of Method Acting, two related approaches to acting. Affective memory requires actors to call on personal memories of situations similar (or more recently a situation with similar emotional import) to those of their characters/a tool used to help performers achieve a sense of emotional truth onstage through recollection of past memories in sync with those demanded by the script. |
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| use of the actors personal observation to recall actually sensory experiences on stage |
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| Open Audition/ Cattle Call Audition |
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| Auditions opened to anyone/mass audition where actors don't usually get to perform. |
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| in the Greek theater, the "teacher" of the chorus; the forerunner of the modern choreographer and choral director. |
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| actions performed by actors, such as drinking, smoking, comic beatings, and the like |
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