Question | Answer |
Imitation | To simulate or copy behavior observed in real life |
Heart of theatre experience | partnership btw actors & audience |
2 examples of acting in daily life | imitation & role playing |
role playing | in everyday life, the acting out of a particular role by copying the expected social behavior of that position |
2 categories of role playing | social & personal |
social roles (role playing) | father, mother, child, police officer, store clerk, teacher, student, physician. Expect certain types of behavior from these people |
conscious raising | making people aware of sexist social attitudes towards women |
personal roles (role playing) | roles w/ family & friends - boasting, bragging, embellishing truth, conspirators, dominant-submissive-passive |
*3 challenges of acting | 1) make characters believable (inner truth), 2) physical acting (voice/ body), 3) synthesis & integration (inner/outer skills) |
*realism | an attempt to present onstage ppl & events corresponding to those in everyday life |
*Stanislavski System | relaxation, concentration/ observation, specifics, inner truth, action onstage (what, why, how), through line of role, ensemble playing |
*Stanislavski's relaxation | state of freedom & relaxation w/ fluid & lifelike movement that seems effortless. |
*Stanislavski's importance of specifics | emphasis on concrete details, character must exist w/ given circumstances. Feel the moment |
*Stanislavski's inner truth | internal or subjective world of characters - thoughts/ emotions |
*Magic if | Stanislavski's acting exercise, which requires performers to ask "How would I react if I were in this character's position?" |
*Stanislavski's Action onstage: What? Why? How? | all action onstage must have a purpose. Attention must be focused on physical actions linked together by circumstances |
*Superobjective/ through line of a role | What the character wants above all else during the course of the play |
*Stanislavski's through line of a role | to develop continuity in a part, actor must find superobjective of character. Their driving force |
*Stanislavski's ensemble playing | playing together of all performers |
*ensemble playing | acting that stresses the total artistic unity of a group performance rather than individual performances |
*Stanislavski's psychophysical action | 2nd phase: Rather than seeing emotions as leading to action, this was purposeful action to fulfill a character's goals - for emotions |
emotional recall | Stanislavski: helps performer to present realistic emotions. Feels emotion by thinking of conditions surrounding event in own life |
*Lee Strasberg | founder of actor's studio in NYC, emphasized Stanislavski's emotional recall techinique |
*biomechanics | Russion director Vsevolod Meyerhold's program emphasizing physical exercises & full control of the body |
*centering | way of pulling everything together& allowing performer to eliminate any blocks impeding body or voice |
outer aspects of character | walk, posture, vocal delivery, hairstyle, or makeup |
inner aspects of a character | feelings & emotions |
Onstage acting vs acting in everyday life | Stage: always observed by audience, playing roles which may not have direct experience w/ like might in life |
poetic devices | meter, imagery, alliteration |
*director | person responsible for overall unity of a production & coordinating work of contributing artists. |
*American director is equivalent of British______ & French ______ | producer/ metteur-en-scene |
*3 approaches to directing | traditional, auteur, & postmodern |
*traditional approach to directing (duties) | text-based method: chooses script,spine of play, style, concept & period-image-purpose |
*spine | aka main action, determined by goal, or primary objective, of characters in play collectively & individually |
naturalism | attempts to put on stage exact copies of everyday life; sometimes also called "slice of life" |
style in theatrical production | the way a play is presented |
heightened realism | aka selective realism: refers to plays in which characters & their actions resemble real life but a certain license is allowed for other elements in the play |
realism | middle ground btw naturalism & heightened, or selective, realism |
nonrealism | departures from realism: fantasy, poetic drama, musical theatre, absurdist theatre, symbolism |
allegory | nonrealism: symbolic representation of abstract themes through characters, action, & other concrete elements of a play |
expressionism | nonrealism: attempt in drama to depict the subjective state of a character or group of characters through shush nonrealistic techniques as distortion, striking images, & poetic language |
2 things essential when director arrives at a style for production | 1) should be appropriate for the play, 2) should be consistent throughout every aspect of the production |
*directorial concept | controlling idea, vision, or point of view that the director feels is appropriate for the play; it should create a unified theatrical experience for the audience |
*shape of time | rhythm, movement, pace of play |
*Duke of Saxe Meinengen | 1st director in the 1800's |
auteur | French term for author. When describing director, suggests one who makes drastic alterations & transformations to a traditional script |
modern production aesthetics | organic unity, single view, single viewer approach, shared values of audience, metaphorical or representational, linear, closeness, time is singularly staged, space is unified |
postmodern production aesthetics | interdisciplinary, no single view can predominate, multiperspective - multifocus, multicultural, presentational, nonlinear - simultaneous, distance, multiple time frames presented simultaneously, space fragemented simultaneously conceived. |
*casting | fitting performers into roles |
typecasting | when performer closely resembles in real life the character to be enacted |
casting against type | deliberately putting someone into a role who does not appear right for part |
*audition | actors read scenes from play or perform portions of script |
*blocking | pattern & arrangement of performers' movements onstage w/ respect to ea other & to the stage space, usually set by director |
visual composition & stage pictures | physical arrangement of performers onstage |
Director gives shape & structure to play in 2 ways | space & time |
*"time" | movement, pace, & rhythm |
*technical rehearsal | rehearsal that focuses on running through the production w/ scenery, props, lighting, costumes, & sound for 1st time |
*dress rehearsal | 1st full performances of a production b4 performances for the public. |
*previews | tryout performances of a production b4 an audience, preceding the official "opening" performance |
*producer (american) | person responsible for business side of production, including $. |
*producer (british) | equivalent to american director |
managing director | in nonprofit theatre orgs, individual who controls resources & expenditures |
*commercial producer responsibilities | raising $, securing rights to script, dealing w/ agents, hiring, dealing w/ unions, theatre space, supervising those running theatre, supervising advertising, overseeing budget |
executive director or managing director in noncommercial theatre | person w/ many of same responsibilities as producer |
front of house | portion of theatre reserved for the audience; sometimes called simply "house" |
*proscenium stage | arch or frame surrounding the stage opening in a box or picture stage w/ audience facing 1 direction - KCKCC theatre |
*arena stage | stage entirely surrounded by the audience; aka circle theatre or theatre-in-round - Sprint Center |
*thrust stage | stage space that thrusts into the audience space; a stage surrounded on 3 sides by audience seating - Barney stage |
*black box | theatre space open, flexible, & adaptable, usually w/o fixed seating. Audience configuration can be moved around. |
*fourth wall | convention, in a proscenium-arch theatre, that the audience is looking into a room through an invisible 4th wall |
*rake | 1) to position scenery on a slant or at an angle other than parallel or perpendicular to curtain line, 2) upward slope of the stage floor away from audience |
*orchestra | 1) in American usage, ground-floor seating in an auditorium, 2) Circular playing space in ancient Greek theatres |
*box | small private compartment for group of spectators built into walls of traditional proscenium-arch theatre |
stage house | stage floor & the space around it to the side walls, as well as the space above it up to the grid |
*arena stage | circle stage or theatre-in-the-round; audience surrounds the stage area on all sides |
*platform stage | elevated stage w/ no proscenium, sometimes called a trestle stage. |
*wagon stage | low platform mounted on wheels or casters by means of which scenery is moved on- and offstage |
*corral stage | theatre building of the Spanish golden age, usually located in the courtyard of a series of adjoining buildings. |
*site-specific companies | theatre groups that create productions for specific nontheatre locations |
*multifocus theatre | an environment in which there is more than one playing area |
*play a large part in setting the tone of an event | atmosphere & environment of theatre space |
*5 basic stage & auditorium arrangements | proscenium, arena, thrust, created or found space, & all-purpose or "black box" spaces |
*affect the environment of a production | size & location (indoors/ outdoors), along w/ shape & character of a theatre building. |
*scene designer | creates the visual world in which a play unfolds. Decides colors, shapes, visual style. |
*scene designer's objective | set tone/ style, establish locale/ period, develop design concept, provide central image or metaphor, ensure scenery coordinated, solve practical design problems |
realism | an attempt to present onstage ppl, places, & events corresponding to those in everyday life |
nonrealism | aka departures from realism; all types of theatre that depart from observable reality |
*5 elements of scene design | line, mass, composition, texture, color, rhythm, movement |
*Line (scene design) | outline or silhouette of elements onstage |
*Mass (scene design) | overall bulk or weight of scenic elements |
*Composition (scene design) | balance & arrangement of elements, way they are arranged |
*Texture (scene design) | the "feel" projected by surfaces & fabrics |
*Color (scene design) | shadings & contrasts of color combinations |
ground plan | blueprint or floor plan of the stage indicating placement of scenery, furniture, doors & windows, & various levels of the stage |
stage right | right side of the stage from the point of view of a performer facing audience |
stage left | left side of the stage from the point of view of a performer facing audience |
stage area near audience, front of stage | downstage |
stage area away from audience, back of stage | upstage |
everything out of sight of the audience | offstage |
stage area in center | centerstage |
wagon | low platform mounted on wheels or casters by means of which scenery is moved on & offstage |
turntable | circle set into the floor of a stage, rotated mechanically or electronically to being 1 set into view as other disappears |
*fly loft | space above stage where scenery may be lifted out of sight by ropes & pulleys |
*flat | scenic unit consisting of canvas stretched on a wooden frame often used w/ similar units to create a set |
*scrim | thin, open-weave fabric which is nearly transparent when lit from behind & opaque when lit from front |
prop | properties; objects that are used by performers onstage or are necessary to complete a set |
*rendering | complete drawing of a set, usually in color |
CAD | computer-assisted design. Designs created by computer. |
*technical director | staff member responsible for scheduling, construction, & installation of all equipment. Executes designs as specified. |
property designer | creates & executes all props |
scenic charge artist | responsible for seeing that sets are built & painted according to specifications of scene designer |
paint charge artist | person in charge of painting set |
*everyday forms of scene design | planned decor of restaurant, hotel lobby, apartment |
special effects | elements of scenery, lighting, costumes, props, or sound that appear highly unusual or miraculous. |
*Things that clothes signal or indicate regarding wearer | position/ status, sex, occupation, flamboyance/ modesty, independence/ regimentation, work/leisure/special event |
*objectives of costume design | establish style, indicate period, indicate nature of character, show relationships, convey significance, meet needs of performer, consistent w/ production |
*stitchers | technicians who sew all of the costumes for a production |
*drapers | technicians who pattern, pin, & drape fabric to fit the actors in a production perfectly |
*pull | to choose a costume from inventory owned by a theatre co or costume wearhouse |
*build | to create a costume from scratch in a costume shop |
distressing | making a costume look weathered or worn |
*Properties of stage lighting | intensity, color, distribution, movement |
*motivated sound | sounds called for by the script like guns, or dog howling |
*environmental sounds | noises of everyday life that help create a sense of reality in a production, like rain or wind |
* sound reinforcement | amplification of sounds produced by a performer or a musical instrument |
*lighting design is intended to provide | illumination onstage, establish time & place, help set mood & style, focus action, establish rhythm of visual movement |
*rehearsals | After casting, director supervises all rehearsals and help guide performance. |
*found space stage | Found space - street, building, etc. |
*triple threat | sing, act, dance |
*method acting | like Stanislavski, actor drums up a time where they experienced similar emotions to bring up the emotions needed in role |
*technical acting | actor becomes the person they are playing and gets emotions from how character would feel at that particular time |
*the paradox of the actor | Diderot - different than method or technical, should render emotions from a parallel character to role |
*dramaturg | literary manager that finds or helps develop new plays for director |
*stage pictures | physical arrangement of performers onstage |
*run-through | full performance from beginning to end w/ all props & scene changes |
*Non-commercial Theatre | nonprofit theatres |
*Commercial Theatre | for-profit |
*Stage manager | production: director & technical assistant, performance: responsible for production and cues |
*Artistic director | responsible for creating the artistic vision |
*theatre in the round stage | audience surrounds the stage area |
*aesthetic distance | space between audience and actors |
*collaborators for scene design | playwright, director, scene designer, technical director, scenic design, stage mgr, design assist, technicians |
*process for scene design | Gets ideas from script & develops ideas, director/designer meet compare ideas, thumbnail sketches, when agree - rendering (color), CADs |
*costume designer | designs/ selects appropriate costuming for actors |
*elements of costume design | 1)line, shape, silhouette, 2)color, 3)fabric, 4)accessories |
*related elements of costume design | makeup, hairstyles and wigs, masks |
*lighting design in theatre history | used daylight 1st 2000 yrs, then candles, then gas lights, then lighting. Most technical last 100 years. |
*lighting designer's resources | various stage lights, lighting controls, technical equipment, collaborators |
*floodlights | used singly on in groups, provides general illumination for stage or scenery. Can be blended, to set tone, or illumination |
*cue | any prearranged signal that indicates to performer or stage mgr that it is time to proceed to next line or action |
*blackout | all lights shut off at once |
*fade | one set of lights dim slowly, changing scene from brighter to darker |
*cross-fade | one set of lights comes down while another comes up |
*split cross-fade | lights coming up are on different fade count from ones going down. Most common |
*backlighting | light placed behind actor or object |
*followspot | powerful stage light typically used to highlight actors |
*light plot | like an architectural blueprint for the stage lighting |
*gobo | "go before" a light, breaks light to form patterns - like a cutout to produce a shadow of vines or |
*focus | sharp or diffused |
*dimmers | dim the lights |
*composition of lighting | designer uses lighting to paint a picture on stage |
*sound reproduction | amplification and sound effects creating sounds |
*purists (sound) | those that object to sound amplification in theatre |
*sound design process | reads script, determines where sound might be needed, finds the sounds, determines need for microphones, consults w/ director & other designers |
*types of microphones in theatre | body, head, shotgun, general |
*shotgun mike | highly directional & aimed from a distance at a specific area |
*general mike | picks up sounds in general area toward which it is aimed |
*body mike | wireless microphone attached to performer's body or clothing |
*sound designer/ engineer must | 1)prepare soundtrack, 2)place microphones & speakers, 3)mix recorded & live sounds during performance for effects |