Lecture / Outline: Theatre 1875-1915                                                               Theatre Arts 5

                                                                                                               Terrin Adair-Lynch

I.                    Political / Social / Economic

a.   Set back in Idealistic Nature of Man

b.   Downfall of Napoleon (1815)

c.   Political conditions in some European Countries Oppressive

d.   Living Conditions created by Industrial Revolution Worsen

e.   Dreams of Romanticism and Idealistic Abandoned for Systematic inquiry in actual Conditions – Solutions sought based on facts not Romantic

f.    New Goals based on Observation, Prediction, Control of Behavior

g.   Charles Darwin – Heredity and Environment

h.   Auguste Comte – Positivism (all knowledge used for improvement of man-precise observation and experimentation- phenomena experienced through the five senses)

II.                 Theatre Additions Etc.

i.    Note:

j.    Note:

k.   Note:

III.               Genre / Form: (Styles, Modes, Ism’s)

l.    Realism

i. Truthful depiction of real World

ii. Write About Society with objectivity

iii.            Emphasizes details of contemporary life

iv.            Accuracy of details of dress and settings

v.            Written in “Well Made Play” Structure

1.   Clear Exposition of Situation

2.   Careful Preparation for Future Events

3.   Unexpected but Logical reversals

4.   Continuous mounting suspense

5.   An Obligatory Scene

6.   Logical Resolution

vi.            Playwrights of Realism

1.   Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) Norwegian

      A Doll's House (1879) - Ghosts (1881) - Hedda Gabler (1890)

      -stage action everydaylife-subjects taboo onstage (economic injustice-sexual double standards-unhappy marrage-veneral disease-reigious hypocrisy-conflicts between individual and restrictive society-no simple judgements.)

2.   Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) Russian

      The Sea Gull (1896) - Uncle Vanya (1899) The Three Sisters (1900) The Cherry Orchard (1904)

      important variations in realism-moved away from melodramatic elements like suicides-full gallery of characters 12/14 - stories of characters overlapped and echoed eachother- developed a blend of tragedy and comedy creating a genre referred to as trgicomedy-everything happens and nothing happens.  

3.   August Strindberg (1849-1912) Swedish

      The Father (1887) Miss Julie (1888)

      indivduals at war with themselves and each other- war between sexes - attempt to dominate each other in the end one is destroyed- characters subject to neuroses and anxieties. - closer to naturalism - no intermission- dialogue interupted and fragmentary-

2.   Naturalism and Naturalistic Drama

                  Subdivision of Realism- extreme form of realism. Everything on stage-characters, language, properties, settings, costumes lifted from everyday life. Dramatic action never seem contrived - should look like a "slice of life" - subject matter lower class- sordid and seamy aspects of society in order to confront audiences with social problems and instigate reforms. - showing stark side of life action cannot be shaped by same kind of artistic techniques- realisms uses symbols and can structure events

i. Emile Zola (1840-1902) French theorist and playwright

3.   Alterations in Realism / Early Departures

i. Symbolism

Leading antirealistic movement between 1880 and 1910- major proponents were French-influenced playwrights and practitioners in other countries. Drama should avoid the mundane, day to day activities- present mystery of being- qualities of the human spirit. Poetic theatre- Symbolic images to communicate with audience- Take place in a dream world - not to tell a story but rather evoke atmosphere and mood.- no individual characters- Characters are figures who represent the human condition. - No realistic stage picture - only the bare essentials necessary to evoke dramatic universe.

1.   Wedekind, Ibsen, Strindberg.

2. Eclecticism

   Some theater artist in the early twentieth century tried to bridge the gap between realism and antirealism- argued that each play should define its own form.

1.   Max Reinhardt (1873-1943) Austrian

iii.            Commercial and Popular Theatre

iv.            Ragtime

IV.              Directors and Acting

o.   Realistic Acting: Konstantin Stanislavski (Moscow Art Theatre)

p.   External Antirealistic Movement: Vsevelod Emilievich Meyerhold

V.                 Theatres of Note

q.   The Independent Theatre Movement

i. The Theatre Libre / “Free Theatre” France (Andre Antoine)

ii. The Freie Buhne / Germany (Otto Brahm)

iii.            The Independent Theatre /  English (Jacob Thomas Grein)

iv.            The Moscow Art Theatre / Russia (Konstantin Stanislavski & Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko

v.            Theatre d’Art and the Theatre de l’Oeuvre (Symbolist Plays)

VI.              Physical Theatre

r.    Box Set (Realism)

s.    Symbolic Representation

t.    Designers- Scene designers who contributed to the antirealistic movement-able to present many of the symbolists theories visually-great significance for the twentieth-century scene design-argued against photographic reproduction as a basic goal of scene design- setting suggest local but not reproduce it- levels and platforms- spaces functional for the performer- took advantage of electricity and used lighting as an integral visual element- designs are extremely atmospheric-stressing contrast between light and dark- shapes and levels

i. Adolphe Appia (1862-1928) Switzerland- shapes and levels-lighting and scenery.

ii. Edward Gordon Craig (1872-1966) English- unit setting for all locales

VII.            Commercial and Popular Theatre

u.   Note:

v.   Note:

w.  Note:

x.   The Theatrical Syndicate

VIII.     Summary: The beginning of modern theatre was marked by the advent of realism and naturalism.  The most realistic playwrights were Henrik Ibsen, August Strindberg, George Bernard Shaw, and Anton Chekhov; among the naturalist were Emile Zola, Gerhart Hauptmann, and Maxim Gorki.  The controversial works of these playwrights were produced by independent theatres, which included Andre Antoine’s Theatre Libre, Otto Brahm’s Freie Buhne, J.T. Grein’s Independent Theatre, and Konstantin Stanislavski’s Moscow Art Theatre. One of the earliest reactions against realism was symbolism, and theatres like Theatre d’Art and the Theatre de l’Oeuvre were independent producers of symbolist plays. Among the designers who broke with the conventions of realistic theatre were Adolphe Appia and Edward Gordon Craig; directors who experimented with antirealistic staging included Vsevolod Meyerhold and Alexander Tairov.  Eclectics, such as Max Reinhardt, strove to reconcile the contrasting styles, which were emerging in early modern theatre.  Some writers like Ibsen and Strindberg, created both realistic and nonrealistic drama.  America and English theatre, though primarily commercial in orientation, did have some experimenters.  African Americans had a significant impact in the United States as members of stock companies and in popular theatre. Increased contact between Asia and the western world led to cross-cultural influences in theatre.