Introduction to Theatre: Key Terms and Concepts

Posted on Sep 15, 2024 in Arts and Humanities

Terms

Given Circumstances

The who, what, where, when, and why during a particular scene of a play.

Stage Terms

Stage Left/Right: From the point of view of the actor on stage.
House Left/Right: From the point of view of the audience.
Upstage: The back of the stage, away from the audience.
Downstage: The front of the stage, near the audience.
Center: Center of the stage.
Full Front: Facing the audience.
Full Back: Facing away from the audience.
Cross: Movement from one area of the stage to another.
Open Up: Facing as much towards the audience as possible.

Blocking

The placement and movement of the actors on stage moment by moment, usually planned by the director.

Stage Business

Detailed action performed by the actor, such as filling and smoking a pipe or setting a table; often prescribed by the script but may be invented by the actors or the director to clarify or enrich action or characterization.

Director’s Concept

The director’s vision for the production; defines the focus of the production by articulating what the director will try to realize on stage and communicate to the audience; the director must first read, understand, and analyze the play and then form a concrete and specific way of expressing that on stage to the audience.

Agit-Prop

Agitation and propaganda for a political cause or issue.

Actos

Short, political, Spanglish, comic plays to educate farm workers; their intent is to educate and encourage social action.

Sex

Biological makeup (male or female).

Gender

Refers to characteristics that a society or culture delineates as masculine or feminine.

Concepts

Character Analysis and Levels of Characterization

The evaluation of a character’s traits, their role in the story, and the conflicts they experience.

Biological: What does the script reveal about the character’s gender, age, physical appearance, and condition of health?
Sociological: What does the script reveal about the character’s profession, social class, economic status, family background, and standing in the community?
Psychological: What does the script reveal about the character’s attitudes, likes, dislikes, general emotional makeup, motivations, and goals?
Ethical: What does the script reveal about the character’s system of values and choices when faced with crises and conflicts?

Neo-Classical Theatre

The dominant form of theatre in the 18th century. It demanded decorum and was characterized by its grandiosity.

The costumes and scenery were intricate and elaborate.
The acting is characterized by large gestures and melodrama.
Sought to rule out fantasy and supernatural elements.
Favors socially accepted norms.

Characteristics of Realism

Influenced by Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species.
Spectacular or picturesque background.
Character is determined in large part by heredity and environment.
Demanded that settings play an enlarged role as representations of the environmental forces that have shaped the characters and the dramatic action.
Setting conceived as environment and not just as appropriate or impressive background.
Realists wrote primarily about contemporary subjects.
The need to understand human behavior in terms of natural cause and effect.
Many plays dealt with unsavory social conditions (poverty, disease, etc.).
Depicting conditions truthfully and they were acting morally.

19th Century “Revolution of Thought”

Shaped Realism.

Second half of the 19th century during the Industrial Revolution; demographic shift to suburban; mass production of goods; changed the family structure.
Emergence of a working class, full of unskilled laborers.
Introduction of evolution; changed humanity’s view of how they fit into nature.
Rise of socialist issues discussed by Karl Marx.
Shift of faith from theology and philosophy to science and technology.
Emphasis on direct observation as the path to truth.
Strong emphasis on credibility.
On stage actions were portrayed as realistically as possible, with as few illusions as possible: actors would actually smoke cigarettes, eat, etc.

Colorblind Casting

Ignoring race and ethnicity during casting.

Would not be used for plays where race is essential, such as Fences.
Allows for more variation in how you cast the chorus/ensemble and non-essential roles.

Color-Conscious Casting

Recognizing racial differences and making casting decisions based on race.

Role of the Director

Makes sure everyone is working on the show with the same vision and keeps the team aligned.

To bring about a unified vision within the finished production.
To lead others toward its ultimate actualization.

The director must organize the realization of his or her vision. The director must decide upon the interpretation to be given the play; work with the playwright (if possible), designers, and technicians in planning the production; cast and rehearse the actors; and coordinate all elements into the finished production.

What Makes a Good Director:

They communicate well and are perceptive.
Have a perspective but are open to hearing ideas from others.
Knowing when to exercise authority and when to be collaborative.
They need to understand the play and characters.

Three Waves of Feminism

1st Wave: Refers mainly to the women’s suffrage movements (extending the right to vote to women) of the 19th century and early 20th century, especially in Britain and the United States.
2nd Wave: Associated with the women’s liberation movement and the struggle to end discrimination; mid-1960s through the late 1970s. Second-Wave feminists saw cultural and political inequalities as inextricably linked and encouraged women to understand aspects of their personal lives as deeply politicized as well as reflective of a sexist structure of power and stereotyping.
3rd Wave: Began in the 1990s resulting from perceived failures of the second wave. The second wave was more focused on white, middle-class women, so a huge part of the third wave was making it more global and inclusive.

Three Branches of Feminist Theory

Liberal: All people are created equal by God and deserve equal rights; oppression exists because of the way in which men and women are socialized; women have the same mental capacity as their male counterparts.
Radical: Want to free both men and women from the rigid gender roles that society has imposed upon them; the sex-gender system has created oppression and the radical feminist’s mission is to overthrow this system by any possible means; radical feminists sometimes believe they must wage a war against men.
Materialistic: Liberating women by improving their material condition; revolved around taking the burden off women in regards to housework, cooking, and other traditional female domestic jobs.

Theatre of Representation

The actor immerses him or herself in the circumstances of the play and responds ‘naturally’ and ‘organically’ to them.

The Plays

The Misanthrope and the French Court

The play satirizes the hypocrisies of French aristocratic society, but it also engages a more serious tone when pointing out the flaws which all humans possess.

Examples of Heredity and Environment in A Doll’s House

Heredity is blamed for passing on physical traits.

Dr. Rank’s disease passed on from his father. Heredity also blamed for passing along moral traits: Krogstad’s dishonesty, Nora’s mismanagement of money like her father.

Nora is a Victim of Environment

She is treated like a doll in a house; treated as a child.

Mrs. Linde is a Victim of Social Environment

Unfortunate woman who is deprived of money.
Forced to sacrifice her young love and marry a man with money to help her mother and her brothers.

Los Vendidos Title and as Example of Political Theatre

Four guys are embodying the most common stereotypes and making money off of it. Focuses on the prejudices faced by Mexicans in America.

Action and Inspiration of Ruined

Lynn Nottage inspired by the chaos, conflict, and violence committed against women in the Eastern Congo.

Wants her audience to become educated about the global sexual violence issue and be compelled to act upon it.
Set in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.