...Greek Theatre The actual staging in which the actors and chorus perform on is very specific and similar in most ancient theaters in Greece. The orchestra (which translates to “dancing space”) is normally a circular level space positioned in front of the skene. This space is typically used by the chorus for dancing, singing and to interact with the actors whom are positioned by the skene. Early orchestras were made of heard earth patted down however during the classical period some orchestras got paved with marble and other grander materials. In the majority of orchestras positioned was a thymele, or altar. The spectators sat in the theatron (translated to “viewing place”), which is the terraced seating positioned on the sloping part of the hillside. The theatron usually wrapped round the majority of the orchestras giving the audience a better view of the performance. The audience would sit on cushions and boards until the fourth century when many Greek theatrons had marble seats. Behind the stage and the orchestra lies the skene (translated to tent) which is a large building used mostly for the actors to make exits and entrances. The skene also allowed actors to change into different costumes and masks without the audience seeing them. The skene also had a path up to the roof actors could take in order to portray the character of a God, the roof is called theologion (theos= Gods). The theatres were built where the sunlight would hit difectly and cast different shadoews since...
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...Executive summary Theatre is one of the oldest and most intriguing forms of performance arts. Since time immemorial, it has served as a source of recreation that has delighted as well as inspired audience in equal measure. It has also made immense contributions to other industries, not in the least, the incredibly popular movie industry which owes not only most of its best actors, but its very identity as a whole to the field of theatre. However, with increasing and more easily available avenues for entertainment and rampant commercialisation, the theatre industry has been crowded out and faces a tough challenge for survival as of now. We at ITDB have a dream to revive Indian Theatre to its glorious past and we wish to achieve this using data analytics and IT services to theatre community - producers, Playwrights, customers as well as aspiring actors - so that they have an easy one stop destination for all their theatre needs; and producers have a better understanding of what to play, where to play it and whom to play it for. Products/services Primarily we plan to offer a website itdb.com, which would contain services such as: - * Database of Theatre plays, Artists, playwrights etc. (Similar to that of IMDB). * Data analytics and visualization capabilities for producers and playwrights, who would like to forecast the script, revenue and viewership of their future...
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...Lauren Martin Elements of Directing Monday 2:30 – 5:20 December 12, 2011 Performance Observation- The Good Soul of Szechuan The fall Theatre Production Workshop presented this year at Marymount Manhattan was the play The Good Soul of Szechuan by Bertolt Brecht and was directed by Dayna Kimball. This play was an interesting choice because of the theory that Brecht uses to write his plays. He believes that the audience should know they are watching a production. This is why he adds musical numbers, over the top characters, and distinctive differences between social classes. Kimball did a great job at following this theory through the characters’ actions, the costumes, and the set. Dayna Kimball obviously followed the tradition that Brecht has set for his plays. She followed Brecht’s technique that the spectator is watching a representation of reality, not actual reality. The audience should be well aware they are watching a production. Kimball made very specific decisions for this technique. She had the cast sing the musical numbers loud and directly to the audience, with the accompaniment clearly shown onstage. The acting involved extreme vocals and over the top actions. Often, the characters would directly talk to audience members and even move around the auditorium. Kimball had the cast sitting onstage while not performing, watching their fellow cast members perform. Kimball picked costumes for the characters that showed the differences in their social class....
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...concerns about acting classes on the college level for undergraduate students. I found this topic particularly interesting since I often wonder about theatre programs and plays productions on large universities and the opportunities for female students in these productions. After reading this article, I learnt that the field of theatre is taking different initiatives to promote female actors in the playwright productions since the field was more for male actors before. Male actors tend to have more opportunity to be involved with different playwright productions and to be constantly challenged with different roles to practice and perform, which help their acting careers tremendously. However, these opportunities are not so widely available for female actors. I like this articles in particular to these factors because I have not considered about the difficulties of college female students who is majoring in theatre before. As a business student with a finance major, I often became oblivious with other major in college but this article put me in a new lights and gives me a more well rounded understanding about students with theatre major and playwright productions. In regards to the actual writing in the article, I find it boring to read. The articles ideas are not well organized. It starts with information on Boston University’s theatre department and then ends with popular playwright productions. It does not provide in-depth analysis on any particular topic but more on a general...
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...Fatima Pootrakul – Theatre Management 1- How will you go about obtaining property? What will you need to obtain this property? We would need to acquire the rights to produce the play “Ghetto Klown”. Team awesome would contact John Leguizamo himself and his attorneys. This would be easy to obtain since our good friend Luis Guzman worked closely with John in the past and has kept in contact with him since. We would need small rights since it is a non-dramatic play. If “Ghetto Klown” has musical intros or segways then we would have to obtain a license from either ASCAP, BMI or SESAC. At the end of the day, we will obtain grand rights to avoid any law suits or injunctions with copyright infringement. Even though we will have the assurance from Mr. Leguizamo himself in that he controls the rights we need to produce the play, Team Awesome trusts no one and can easily fall into a false sense of security. Better safe than sorry! 2- Will you need actors? Dancers? Or both? If so what performers-related unions will you have to deal with? Provide some examples of rules and regulations the union dictates. Since we are using the one-man show “Ghetto Klown” all we would need is one actor. The Actors' Equity Association (AEA) is an American labor union representing the world of live theatrical performance, as opposed to film and television performance. However, performers appearing on live stage productions without a book or through-storyline (vaudeville, cabarets, circuses) may be...
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...Definition and Beginnings of Theatre Arts Theatre or theater is a branch of the performing arts. While any performance may be considered theatre, as a performing art, it focuses almost exclusively on live performers creating a self contained drama. A performance qualifies as dramatic by creating a representational illusion. By this broad definition, theatre had existed since the dawn of man, as a result of the human tendency for storytelling. Since its inception, theatre has come to take on many forms, utilizing speech, gesture, music, dance, and spectacle, combining the other performing arts, often as well as the visual arts, into a single artistic form. The word theatre means "place for seeing". The first recorded theatrical event was a performance of the sacred plays of the myth of Osiris and Isis in 2500 BC in Egypt. This story of the god Osiris was performed annually at festivals throughout the civilization, marking the beginning of a long relationship between theatre and religion. Elements and Principle of Theatre Arts There are six elements necessary for theatre: Plot, Character, Idea, Language, Music, and Spectacle. Script/Text, Scenario, Plan: This is the starting point of the theatrical performance. The element most often considered as the domain of the playwright in theatre. The playwright’s script is the text by which theatre is created. It can be simplistic, as in the 16thcentury, with the scenarios used by the acting troupes of the Commedia dell’ arte...
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...Ethics in Theatre Theatre is a form of communication that has been influencing the world for thousands of years. At its most basic form, theatre is story-telling. However, today’s modern society has pushed theatre to be bolder and bigger in order to stay above the waters. Much of this has come with the sacrifice of morality in order to have the most “shock factor”. This brings about the question, can theatre maintain Christian principles without hindering communication and the development of art, especially in a modern society? With a deep analysis on different aspects of ethics in theatre such as community, technology, duty, and propaganda it is very clear that in order to be true theatre, it must always chose art over morality. Although most theatres find it hard to follow Christian philosophy, they do not have to sacrifice the practice of being ethical in order to remain effective communicators. The idea behind ethics is developing an idea of what is “right” and what is “wrong” within a community and an individual. Ethics differ in different communities because they are based on the values of each community. This is why it is hard to have true Christian ethics in theatre. Because we were created by God, humans are called to be virtuous and tell the truth. By studying what is good, just and beautiful, one will become good, just and beautiful. Sometimes theatre focuses on themes that are far from what is just and good. Plato was worried that the idea of free imagination took...
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...“Australian theatre reflects the changing artistic, social, political and personal issues and concerns of our nation.” Theatre performance has existed in Australia for around 200 years and the subject of Drama has been taught since the 1970’s. This is with the exception of Aboriginal corroborees, a form of dance drama which have been around for around 40 000 years. Australian theatre began officially on June 4th, 1789 with the production of ‘The Recruiting Officer’ months after the first fleet Arrived in Australia. The production was comedy that had been very successful in England. In Australia it was performed in a mud hut by convicts and had an audience of around sixty people. In the intermission things such as wheat, rum, tobacco and fowls were sold, as this was all that the convicts could afford. Theatre performance gained a new perspective in Australia in 1796 when Robert Sidaway, a convict, opened the first theatre in Australia, which seated 120 people and had an admission of one shilling. This theatre was closed due to pickpocketing and burglary, however another one was opened by Sidaway in 1800 though it did not last very long either. The main focus of Australian theatre has been on bushrangers and convicts. For over a century stories of Michael Howe, who was shot and killed in Van Dieman’s land in 1818, have been the types of stories that Australian plays have been written about. The very first play in Australian theatre was written by David Burn and was entitled...
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...Finally, we used Total Theatre. Total theatre is a style of theatre mainly used by Antonin Artaud, however the theory behind Total Theatre is key to Berkoff’s style. The aim of Total Theatre is to create extreme moods to shock, scare, amaze, or amuse the audience. This idea is used to detach and alienate the audience to make them think about what the message of the performance is. To form a minimalistic set design, we placed two blocks next to each other to form the snooker table and three blocks with the end two, two blocks high to form a trough shape bar. Other elements we made with our bodies such as a rubbish heap for a stage, two massive beer taps, and two broken windows. I formed my set piece which was a beer tap by leaning forward over the edge of the block and holding my hand high above my mouth and...
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...rules by which the production team works. Currently, producing Shakespeare does not mean that it has to be done in Renaissance England. Indeed, artists have found that updating the location and time of a Shakespearean play makes it more believable, and in a sense, breathes new life into it. Moreover, advances in technology have also strongly influenced this period and its theatrical spectacle. The use of plastics, steel, aluminum, advanced lighting control, and sound recording equipment drastically changed the face of theatre production and quality. This is also a period of open experimentation both in design and production and has resulted in the development of the minimalistic and fractured realism styles. Minimalism is a style, which reduces the design elements to the least number necessary to produce the production. Fractured realism uses limited realistic elements separated in a fractured nature. Furthermore, a division of the theatre workforce into separate specialized artisans increases both operational efficiency and overall quality. The development of the technical director to oversee the production elements further organizes the modern theater. However, this specialization requires a great amount of trust and collaboration between the director and other artists on the production team. The advent of director/designer teams like Eli Kazan and Jo Melziner are in response to this emerging need for collaboration. Historical Background Obviously, the...
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...I viewed a play from the Oliver National Theatre in London broadcasted on the 31st of January 2015. The name of this play is ‘A Small Family Business’. It began at 7:30pm at the Eileen L. Auditorium in Paraquita Bay. The play as written by Alan Ayckbourn. The designer is Tim Hatley, the lighting designer is Paul Anderson and the sound director is Gareth Fry. The main actors are Jack McCracken, played by Nigel Lindsay, Poppy McCracken, played by Debra Gillett, Samantha McCracken, played by Alice Skyes, Desmond Ayes, played by Neal Barry and Benedict Hough, and played by Matthew Cottle. The play is about Jack McCracken and his entrepreneurial greed after taking over his father-in-law’s business. Upon his takeover he is approached by a private detective named Mr. Benedict Hough, who has knowledge of some compromising information. He later then realizes that his extended family is known thieves and adulterers who plunders the business from their home. It then concludes with a small housewarming party with their trouble, Mr Hough, dead. The acting was a little more developed than I thought. It was on-point in some areas and in others not so good. At first I thought Niky Wardley, the character Anita McCracken, was over acting but u then realized that that was supposed to be the kind of character she was; boastful. At some point in time Poppy’s back was shown to the audience. I liked the character Samantha McCracken. Her part was played very well. I noticed in the end and beginning...
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...Shakespeare has written some of the most memorable plays in history. It was probably the most important structure in Shakespeare’s career. Throughout its history the Globe Theatre has hosted the very best of Shakespeare’s productions or works of art such as Hamlet, and the Twelfth Night were written to be performed on the stage of the Globe Theatre. The Globe Theatre was a theatre located in London, England. The Globe Theatre is commonly associated with William Shakespeare. The theatre was built in 1599 by the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, which happened to be William Shakespeare’s playing company (Linda Alchin). The land that the theatre was built on was owned by Thomas Brend and was later inherited by his son Nicholas Brend and then later on his grandson Sir Matthew Brend. On the 29th of June 1613 the theatre was destroyed by a fire during a performance of Henry the Eighth (Linda Alchin). The Globe Theatre was rebuilt in June of 1614 and was closed in 1642. There is a modern reconstruction of the Globe Theatre in London called Shakespeare’s Globe and it opened in 1997 (J.M Presley). The Lord Chamberlain’s Men were actors who were shareholders in the Globe Theatre. The Globe Theatre was divided into shares of ten percent each with two brothers, Richard and Cuthbert Burbage having a double share or twenty-five percent each (Linda Alchin). Originally there was supposed to be a seventh shareholder, William Kempe but he sold his share to the four minority shareholders...
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...The History of Theatre Alanna Leon Effective Essay Writing/COM/150 May 27, 2012 Michael Macbride The History of Theatre Theatre is a fantastic, entertaining, and very old art form. An evolution of storytelling, theatre is an expression of life. The history of theatre can be traced all the way back to the time of Ancient Greece. The art of theatre has survived many years and has evolved greatly during those years. A performance you would have seen in Ancient Greece is not at all what you would see in a performance today. Many things in theatre have changed, from the dialogue and costumes, to the sets, themes, and the playwrights themselves. Just as the human race has had to adapt to changes in order to survive over the years, theatre has done the same. There is one thing that has not changed all that much and that is that people still use theatre as an escape. While theatre was originally used as a form of worship to the Greek god Dionysus, the art of theatre has greatly evolved over the years and is now mainly used as a source of entertainment. There is not much history pertaining to the origin of theatre. Most research comes from wall paintings and hieroglyphics. One of the first dramas was performed in Egypt and is said to be the beginning of theatre. This drama was the Abydos passion play, involving the story of Osiris (Robinson, 2002). Most of the first recorded examples of theatre come to us from Ancient Greece. Ancient Grecians had four festivals honoring...
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...Theatre in the Round became increasingly popular in the late 1960s in the UK and Europe, with initially the format proving popular in smaller venues and studio spaces. The first “Theatre in the Round” theatre in the UK was the formed by Stephen Joseph in 1955, now called the Stephen Joseph Theatre. However, a permanent location was not found until 1988 by artistic director and playwright Alan Ayckbourn. The first large Theatre in the Round was built in a disused corn exchange in Manchester in 1976 and was named “The Royal Exchange Theatre”. The Royal Exchange is now one of the country’s most well known theatre outside of London. The first Theatre in the Round in America was the built at The University of Washington in 1940. Theatre in the Round offers the audience a closer intimacy with the stage than proscenium theatre, and it also puts the audience in direct view of each other. A 360 degree sight line means that large scenery is out of the question unless it is suspended above the actors’ heads and out of the audiences’ view. Theatre in the Round tends to be a format chosen for intimate productions, although some large scale operas and theatre productions have also used the format. Below Is a sketch/Diagram of The In the Round Theatre : Traverse is a form of catwalk - though in its purest form it does not have the stage and back wall area that a fashion catwalk has - the purest form of traverse is illustrated above. Traverse offers an intimate setting and has also...
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...Globe Theatre In Elizabethan England, plays were extremely important to culture. Many theaters were built to present plays. No theater around was more important than the Globe Theatre. The Globe Theatre was an important part of society. The history of the Globe Theatre is very rich. It was originally built in 1598 by Cuthbert Burbage, who was very involved in the acting scene in his time. In 1613 it was accidentally burned down by a canon in a show there. The next year it was reconstructed only to be destroyed by puritans, who believed plays were evil, 30 years later in 1647. In 1997 a working replica was opened. The Globe Theatre’s structure was unlike any other of its day. Its wood was taken from another theater because Cuthbert Burbage owned that but not the land. “He therefore had the theatre, a timber building, taken down and reassembled at a new site (Boyce 218). It was roughly cylindrical and three stories high. Each floor had seats that looked into open galleries. It held 2,000-3,000 people at a time. Shakespeare was a paramount figure not only in playwriting, but in the Globe Theatre as well. It was built specifically for the great acting troupe, Chamberlain’s Men, which Shakespeare was a part of. Some of Shakespeare’s most magnificent works of art were performed originally at the Globe Theatre. Shakespeare himself was also a part owner of the Globe Theatre. The Globe Theatre was a place where many different types of social classes went...
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