Modern Theatre

Before Modern Theatre

 Previous ages include –
 Classical (Greece and Rome)
 Medieval (Mystery and Morality Plays)
 Renaissance (Italian, England, Spain and France)
 The Restoration
 The Romantic Theatre
Introduction
• This is the period of theatre that we are currently in.
• This period of drama dates back to the late 1800’s.
• The industrial revolution was on its way.
• Public communication and transportation had huge
advancements.
• City life grew exponentially and with this, populations
around the world were in need of theatre.
Introduction
• Intellectual curiosity in the sciences and regions was also on
the upswing. The intellectual revolution was taking place.
• The Copernican theory made it clear that humans do not
stand in center of the universe.
• These ideas and many others challenged traditional thinking.
• Theatre of this time paralleled what was going on in the
world.
Introduction
 Playwrights of the past seemed simplistic and did not fulfill
the intellectual needs of modern playwrights and audience
members.
 The chaos and confusion of the time was directly reflected in
the modern theatre.
 Within modern theatre, many different movement evolved.
Realism
• This is by far the most popular and longest standing
movement of modern theatre.
• This form of drama has a “likeness to life” without any
abstractions.
• Realism was a reaction against romanticism, sought to
develop an aesthetic that was not abstract, rather, one that
was “like life.”
• The idea was, instead of actors representing characters, the
actor would become the character.
Realism
• Think of realism as a laboratory. Everything that exist in
society is shown as an objective performance in front of an
impartial audience.
• Everything is to be as real as possible.
• This form of theatre would expose
– The nature of relationships
– Society
• Realism gives the audience a large amount of real life
“evidence” that allows them to arrive at their own conclusion.
Scenery of Realism
 The proscenium stage was modified
 No longer raked
 Accommodates box sets (real walls)
 Real bookcases, walls, doors and dressing.
 The audience should feel as if they are looking into an actual
environment.
 The 4th wall now being utilized.
Pioneers of Realism
Henrik Ibsen, 1828-1906 Ibsen’s play are about ordinary people
“Father of dramatic realism” with ordinary issues that are relevant
to society. These are issues that are still
relevant today.

A Doll’s House (pictured)

Hedda Gabler
Ghosts
An Enemy of the People
George Bernard Shaw (1856-
1950)
 Created a comic realism and addressed such issues as
 Prostitution
 Urban poverty
 Slum landlordism
Anton Chekhov (1860-1904)
 He created deeply complex relationships between his
characters.
 Famous plays include
 The Three Sisters
 The Cherry Orchard
 The Seagull
 Uncle Vanya
Naturalism
• An extreme form of realism.
• Began in France in the 19th century.
• Everything presented on stage should have been lifted
directly from the real world.
• Dramatic action should never be contrived. It should look
like a “slice of life”
• Naturalists believed that the most appropriate subject matter
for this form of drama is the lower class.
• Despised climaxes and characters as heroes.
Pioneers of Naturalism
 Emile Zola (1840-1902)
 Chief theoretician
 Believed that humans were merely biological phenomena
whose behavior was determined entirely by genetic and
social circumstances.
 Remove all theatrical conventions.
Emile Zola (1840-1902)
Antirealism
• Around the same time other movement were on their way.
• Theatrical realism is seen as having some serious limitations.
• Realistic theatre excludes several very effective theatrical
vices.
– Music
– Dance
– Symbolism
– Poetry
Symbolism
• Leading the antirealistic movement between 1880 and 1910.
• Its major proponents were French, but it influenced theatres
around the world.
• Drama should not present non mundane, everyday activities,
but the mystery of being and the infinite qualities of the
human spirit.
• Focused on symbolic imagery instead of concrete actions to
communicate with the audience.
Symbolism
• Symbolist plays often take place in a dream world.
• Most important goal is to not tell a story, but evoke
atmosphere and mood.
• Focus upon inner realities that cannot be directly perceived
• Leaders in this movement include Paul Fort (1872-1960)
Theatre d’Art.
• This movement spread rapidly. Designers and authors were
excited by the possibility of a theatre free of rigid realistic
constraints.
Designers of the Time
 Adolph Appia (1862-1928) and Gordon Craig (1872-1966)
were huge supporters of anti-realistic theatre.
 They believe a setting should suggest a locale but not
reproduce it.
 Both designers were huge into multi level sets. Also they
incorporated electricity heavily into their designs.
Vsevolod Meyerhold
• Realistic directors like Antoine and Stanislavsky were challenged
by scores of new directors.
• Vsevolod Meyerhold (1874-1940) was a leading Russian
antirealist.
• He frequently experimented with theatricality (making the
audience aware that they are watching theatre.)
• He liked to explore how stage machinery worked in front of the
audience.
• Experimented with found spaces and use of multimedia on stage.
• Created a style of acting called biomechanics. (machine like in
motion and emotions could be represented externally.
 THE ERA OF “ISMS”
• FUTURISM
• DADAISM
• IMPRESSIONISM
• EXPRESSIONISM
• CONSTRUCTIVISM
• SURREALISM
...ALL ARE FORMS OF
STYLIZED THEATRE
Constructivism
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, 1920
 Expressionism
• Flourished in Germany during WWI.
• The representation of reality was distorted in order to
communicate inner feelings.
• Plays are highly subjective. Dramatic action is seen through
the eyes of the protagonist and can seem distorted and
dreamlike.
• The protagonist character is usually a Christ like figure who
travels though a series of incidents that are not related.
• Characters are often given the titles such as man, woman,
clerk.
Expressionism
• Major German playwrights include Ernst Toller and
Georg Kaiser.
• Included exaggerated scenery, bright lights and piercing
sounds.
• American expressionist writers addressed the growing
concerns that country’s rapid industrial and financial
growth was crushing human freedom.
• American writers include Elmer Rice (1892-1967)
• Plays include Subway,The Adding Machine, and Street Scene.
Futurism & Surrealism
• Futurism originated in Italy around 1909.
• Idealized war and the machine age.
• Attacked ideas of the past. “museum art”
• They believed audiences should be confronted and
antagonized.
• Surrealism began in 1924 in France.
• They argued that the subconscious is the highest plane of
reality.
• Their plays seem to be set in a dream world.
Theatre of Cruelty
 Originated in France in the 1930s.
 Developed by Antonin Artaud (1896-1948).
 This was a revolt against realistic theatre.
 Antonin believed that the viewers senses should be
bombarded.
 This idea is based on magic and ritual which would evoke
deep, violent and erotic impulses.
 He wanted to organize the theatre space so the audience was
the center of attention.
 He spent most of his later life in mental institutions.
 He only published one play Jet of Blood, 1925.
Epic Theatre
 Developed by Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956)
 His theories influenced many contemporary playwrights and
directors.
 A form of theatre aimed at intellect rather than emotions in
order to affect social change.
 Play were episodic in nature, they cover a great deal of time
and change locations frequently. They also have complex plots
and large casts.
 The goal of epic theatre is to instruct.
Epic Theatre
 The audience should always remain emotionally detached or
alienated from the action on stage.
 The audience must always know that they are in a theatre.
 Existentialism
 An idea started by Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) and Albert
Camus (1913-1960).
 This idea was in reaction to WWII.
 Existentialist believed
 Existence has little meaning
 God does not exist
 Humanity is alone in an irrational universe
 The only thing a person can do is accept responsibly for his or her
actions.
Theatre of the Absurd
 A small unorganized movement in the 50’s and 60’s.
 Absurdist playwrights believe
 Our existence is futile and nonsensical
 Nothing seems to happen in the play
 The plot moves in circles
 No climatic action or episodic plot
 The characters are not realistic
 Setting are sometimes unrecognizable
 Language is sparse and characters fail to communicate
effectively.
Theatre of the Absurd
 Pioneers of this movement include
 Samuel Beckett (1906-1989)
 Eugene Ionesco (1912-1994)
 Edward Albee (1928-)
 Harold Pinter (1930-2008)
THEATRE OF THE ABSURD
 Edward Albee (1928-)

 Seascape
 Premiered on Broadway in 1975

SCCC, 2010
Summary
• Today’s theatre is and can be anything and everything. As
styles merge, blend, morph, reconfigure—all theatre remains
essentially one of two forms:
• Representational (realism)
• -or-
• Presentational (stylized)
• Individual artists will continue to explore old and new forms
so long as audiences come.