Term
| What sparked the big pick-up for Realism and Naturalism in theatre? |
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Definition
| Darwinism, and the writing of "The Origin of Species. It raises the question of Heritage vs. Environment. |
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Term
| Where was Naturalism started, by whom an how? |
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Definition
| Naturalism was started in France by Emile Zola. It began as a case study of human behavior. It developed into plays, one of the most popular being The Vultures in 1882. |
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Term
| Why was the Independent Theatre Movement started? |
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Definition
| It was based on a ban of plays in France, and brought the necessity for creating and producing new works. |
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Term
| Who was Andre Antoine and what did he do? |
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Definition
| Andre Antione started the Theatre Libre, a subscription based theatre for members only. Explored foreign works, such as Ghosts by Ibsen. Always observed the 4th wall, and made intricate sets. |
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Term
| What was the Freie Buhn Theatre? |
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Definition
| With Otto Brahm as president, it was set up as a Democratic Organization. Performances were on Sunday, when professional actors were available in spare time. |
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Term
| What was the Independent Theatre in England? |
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Definition
| Set up by JT Grein, this theatre was subscription based and held performances on Sundays. It was short lived of only six years. |
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Term
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Definition
| An English playwright, he wrote plays with the ideas that humans are perfectable and that there is a freedom of choice. He wrote play such as Pygmalion and Arms and the Man. |
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Term
| Who was Herbert Beerbohm Tree? |
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Definition
| He founded the Royal Academy of the Dramatic Arts. He also presented a production of A Midsummer Night's dream with real nature and animals. |
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Term
| What was the Moscow Art Theatre? |
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Definition
| Started by Stanislavski and Danchenko, the theatre was focused on finding the next great playwright-Anton Chekhov. |
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Term
| Who was Constantin Stanislavski? |
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Definition
| Author and creator of a popular acting system. Including: training the voice and body, stage technique, observing reality, given circumstances and the illusion of the first time. |
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Term
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Definition
| The middlemen for Producers and Company Directors. Believed public taste is infallible. Monopolized many rights on shows and companies. |
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Term
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Definition
| David Belasco broke the Syndicate. He was known as a star-maker and for staging realism. |
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Term
| Who was Richard Wagner and what did he do for theatre? |
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Definition
| Believed dramatists should be "mythmakers." Wanted theatre to be a cross between Shakespeare and Beethoven, yet without dialogue. Wanted theatre to be classless, and thought of art as appearing from nowhere. Did not want to acknowledge art being made (no applause or pre-show tuning). |
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Term
| What sparked the beginning of Symbolism? |
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Definition
| In France, S. Mallarme wanted to combine the works of Poe, Dostoevsky and Wagner. Believed in novelty, experimentation, subjectivity and spirituality. Supported theatre of symbols, myths, legends and moods. |
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Term
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Definition
| Started the Theatre d'Art to put on symbolist productions. Put on Pelleas and Melisande, a symbolist play with few props, gauze curtain and staccato chanting dialogue. |
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Term
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Definition
| A symbolist, surrealist and absurdist, he wrote King UBU and became more popular after WWII. |
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Term
| What did Adolphe Appia do for theatrical design? |
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Definition
| Thought of actors, perpendicular scenery and horizontal floors as conflicting elements. Created 3D units, steps, platforms and ramps that would be transitioned. Thought of light as a musical score and believed in the unity of a production. |
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Term
| What did Gordon Craig do for technical theatre? |
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Definition
| Wrote "The Art of Theatre." Believed that directors should be Master Artists without text. Believed in seeing a play rather than hearing it. Wanted to rid the stage of actors, and instead use large puppets. |
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Term
| Who was Max Reinhardt and what did he do? |
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Definition
| A German theatrical philosopher, he built the Kammerspiek Theatre. Believed there was no single approach to a play, and that a play was a problem to be solved. Thought of plays in physical arrangements. Left behind a Regiebuch, or a fully fledged production book of the plays he directed. |
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Term
| What was Bertolt Brecht known for? |
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Definition
| Writing Epic Theatre, Brecht was known for showing the wires in theatre. He wanted he effect of alienating his audience, or the "verfremdungseffekt." Wants the audience to leave the theatre and change the world. |
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Term
| Who was Miss Horniman and what did she do for Irish Dramatists? |
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Definition
| Gives the Abbey Theatre to Irish Dramatists to put on Indigenous Irish Drama. |
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Term
| What did Vsevelod Meyerhold do for German theatre? |
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Definition
| Developed bio-mechanics, an acting method based on the combination of gymnastics, ballet and circus techniques. Believed in created a machine for acting with wheels, platforms, ramps and trapezes. |
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Term
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Definition
| The idea that reality is alterable with a focus on inner qualities, distorted lines, and abnormal color. In a play, it is mechanical movement and telegraphic speech. |
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Term
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Definition
| Organized by Tristan Tzara, it was introduced as a program of insanity and calculated madness. A simultaneous performance of chance poems, dances, visual arts and scenes. |
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Term
| What is Surrealism and its identifying factors? |
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Definition
| Brought about by Andre Breton's manifesto, it is the questioning of the existence of the origin of real thought. Backed up by thoughts of Sigmeund Freud who believed that dreams revealed true thoughts. |
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Term
| What was August Strindberg's contribution to Surrealism? |
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Definition
| Wrote plays based on the recreation of dreams. |
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Term
| What were Artaud's views on theatre? |
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Definition
| Wrote "The Theatre and Its Double." Wanted to explore the division of people. Created the "theare of cruelty." He wanted to operate on the nervous system by placing theatre in a non-traditional space, including the audience in the action, having shrill voice and purging prejudice. |
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Term
| What was the German idea of "Bauhaus?" |
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Definition
| It was the arts and crafts movement with the idea that everyday things should be useful and aesthetically pleasing. |
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Term
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Definition
| German designer who designed the "Total Theatre" in 1927. He was an advocate for one building to host all forms of staging. |
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Term
| What were the characteristics of the Old Vic in England in the Early 20th Century? |
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Definition
| By 1880, the Old Vic was about family-friendly entertainment. In 1914, it produces Shakespeare. in 1937,Tyrone Guthrie takes over the management and makes the Old Vic very successful. Becomes the finest theatre. |
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Term
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Definition
| Started the Birmingham Repertory Theatre outside of London. Also founded the Malvern Festival, making it a regular occurrence to present a series of plays in the summer. |
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Term
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Definition
| Respected actor in Great Britain, he was known for being a journeymen actor. |
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Term
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Definition
| A famous British playwright who wrote plays such as Private Lives and Blithe Spirit. |
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Term
| What are the United States' Little Theatres? |
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Definition
| The Little Theatres were small playhouses that began to open all over the US in the Early 20th Century. Famous ones being the Toy Theatre and the Provincetown Players. The number of theatres creates the Drama League of America. |
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Term
| Who is George Pierce Baker? |
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Definition
| He is the first recorded professor to teach a college theatre class-play writing at Radcliffe College. He then went on to begin the Yale School of Drama. |
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Term
| What was the first college to offer a degree in theatre? |
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Definition
| The Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1914. |
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Term
| What did Robert Edmund Jones write? |
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Definition
| "The New Stagecraft." Develops the idea of simplified realism: the paring down of sets into platforms, steps and lighting. |
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Term
| What happens when the Moscow Art Theatre tours the US in 1923? |
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Definition
| Richard Boleslavsky and Maria Ouspenskaya take residence in America and begin the American Laboratory Theatre. |
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Term
| What is The Group Theatre? |
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Definition
| Developed by members of the American Laboratory Theatre, it has such members as Lee Strasberg, Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford. Gives classes to students such as Stella Adler and Elia Kazan. |
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Term
| What was the Federal Theatre Project? |
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Definition
| Founded by Hallie Flanagan Davis, the program makes sure that artists are employed and that the public receives entertainment. Approximately 10,000 art events were presented, 1,000 being theatre. 65% was free to the public. |
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Term
| What is the "Living Newspaper?" |
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Definition
| A form of theatre where stories were projected on stage, and actors interpreted the problems on stage. |
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Term
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Definition
| A Famous American playwright who wrote 25 plays, including The Hairy Ape, Desire Under the Elms and A Long Day's Journey Into Night. The content of his plays delves into people looking for their own happiness. He mastered the art of the interior monologue. |
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Term
| What are Reves/ Musical Comedies? |
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Definition
| The Florenz Zigfield Follies are acts of singing and dancing between pretty women. |
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Term
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Definition
| The idea that God is dead because there cannot be a god. We are trapped by choice and that man becomes what he chooses to be. Must be politically engaged and always re-assessing your standards. |
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Term
| Who is an existentialist playwright? |
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Definition
| Jean-Paul Satre wrote "No Exit" in 1944. |
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Term
| Who is Albert Camus and what did he do? |
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Definition
| Albert Camus developed the theory of absurdism: hoping in an irrational world. Absurdists do not believe in beign politically engaged. The plays are chaos from order and are episodic with incongruous events and non-verbal action. |
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Term
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Definition
| An absurdist playwright, he believes that we should rebel against organized society because deviation is necessary to achieve integrity. There is no meaning without its opposite. |
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Term
| What did Josef Svoboda do? |
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Definition
| Svoboda took screens and projected moving images with actors in front. Also experiments with moving platforms and steps with actors on them. Also experiments with mirrors, plastics and netting. |
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Term
| What happened to theatre in Germany post WWII? |
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Definition
| Theatres were restored and in 1949, the Berliner Ensemble was restored. Modellbuchs were created, containing 600-800 photos of Brecht's plays. Peter Weiss writes Marat/Sade. |
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Term
| What was the English theatre scene like post-1950? |
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Definition
| Frustration and anger post the war scene created a demand for new plays. In 1968, censorship is eliminated on the English stage. The English Stage Co. wants to present new plays, send George Devine to seek out new playwright John Osborne. Sparks the "Angry Young Men" movement. |
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Term
| What did Joan Littlewood do to English theatre? |
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Definition
| She created the Theatre Workshop which made theatre for the working class. Also put theatre in Stratford East, the working section of town. Mixed Brecht, Music Hall and Stanislavski. |
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Term
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Definition
| A British playwright, he focused on the unexplained happenings of everyday situations. His plays contained careful dialogue, unspoken subtext, and was thought as a cross between Beckett and Chekhov. |
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Term
| What were the beginnings of the Royal Shakespeare Company? |
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Definition
| It was founded on doing classical and experimental work. Led by director Peter Brooke, who directed Marat/Sade and A Midsummer Night's Dream-set was entirely white with trapezes. |
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Term
| What was the National Theatre known for? |
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Definition
| It was known as the actor's theatre. It was also famous for putting together a new team for every show. |
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Term
| What were the beginnings of The Actor's Studio? |
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Definition
| Founded by Elia Kazan, Sheryl Crawford and Robert Lewis, it used Emotional Memory combined with the methods of Strausberg. |
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Term
| What sparked the Off-Broadway movement? |
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Definition
| In 1952, Tennessee Williams' play "Summer and Smoke" was a flop on b'way, and was taken to a different local and called off-b'way. |
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Term
| What are some Off-Broadway theatres? |
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Definition
| Circle in the Square, The Phoenix, The Living Theatre-created for shock value. |
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Term
| What is considered the beginnings of Off-off-b'way? |
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Definition
| Joe Cino from the Cafe Cino lets people read scripts and scenes in his shop. Also, La Mama Experimental Theatre Club started by Ellen Stewart. |
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Term
| What theatres did The Ford Foundation give money to? |
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Definition
| The Alley Theatre, The Arena Stage, Actor's Workshop, The Guthrie. |
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Term
| What did Jerzy Grotowski do? |
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Definition
| Created the Polish Laboratory Theatre. Boiled down theatre to two essential elements: actors and audience. No machinery or spectacle, and no traditional spaces. Believed actor should have total control over physical, vocal and psychological. Headed the UC-Irvine in 1983. |
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Term
| What was the Theatre du Soliel? |
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Definition
| Led by Ariane Mnouchkine, it performed in an abandoned factory. By 1990s, it was one of the most respected companies in the world. It had actors from over 21 countries. |
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Term
| What are "Fringe" groups? |
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Definition
| IT is the English sense of off-off-b'way. They performed in colleges, pubs and playgrounds. |
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Term
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Definition
| A female playwright who focused on power vs. no power. Wrote "Cloud 9" and "Top Girls." |
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Term
| What is Environmental Theatre? |
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Definition
| Coined by Richard Schechner, it's theatre performed in found space. Spectators are watchers and makers. Focus is flexible and text is not a goal, merely a starting point. |
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