Study Guide Theatre History II

Exam 2
Genres and Styles:
Romanticism
Exotic settings, glorification of the rugged individual, a yearning for an
idealized past, an appeal to the concept of a higher truth
Music: Ludwig van Beethoven, Fredric Chopin
Literature: Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Emily Dickenson, Lord Byron
Realism and off-shoots:
Poetic realism
Myth, dreams, and symbolism
Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung
Playwrights: William Synge, W.B. Yeats, Lady Augusta Gregory, Eugene
ONeill (The Harry Ape, Phaedra, Desire Under the Elms)
Social realism
Realism with a political conscience
Jack Kirkland, Sidney Kingsley, Maxwell Anderson, Clifford Odets
Naturalism The idea of portraying real life on stage
Sturm and Drang an experimental movement of young men in revolt against the
eighteenth century rationalism; reached its peak in the 1770s.
Weimer Classicism drama should transform ordinary experience rather than create an
illusion of real life
formal conventions of Greek Tragedy served as useful devices to distance the
audience from the plays events
blank verse, conventionalized structural patterns, simple but harmonious
settings and costumes, precise rhythmic speech
attempted to lead spectators beyond normal perceptions into the realm of Ideal
Truth
The Aesthetic Movement
Oscar Wilde, Immanuel Kant, Benjamin Constant
 Art for arts sake art should not be concerned about morality or utility or the
pleasure it might bring to the audience; contradiction to Victorian standards.
Supported by Goethe in Germany and Samuel Taylor Coleridge in England
Independent Theatre Movement
People:
George II: Duke of Saxe Meiningen The Theatre Duke
Meiningen Players: greatest respect of any company in the world; toured with 41
plays.
Begins the idea of the director
Some of the most historically accurate works; gave full recognition to the script,
designed all the scenery and costumes for his troupe and maintained complete
control over all aspects of the productions
Any works from Ibsen onward are influenced by him.
Caroline Neuber and Johan Gottsched
Formed their own theatre company in 1727: Royal Polish and Electoral Saxon
Court Comedians
Allowed to play at the Leipzig festival (intellectual capital of Germany at the
time)
Agreed to work together to reform the theatre in Germany, an alliance between a
literary figure and an acting troupe for the first time in Germany
Developing a repertory
Improvisation and burlesque after-pieces eliminated
Translated or imitated the French Neoclassical plays (the ideal form of drama)
Raised the level and quality of theatrical performances, insisted on careful
rehearsals
Abandonment of improvisations
Actors had additional duties: painting scenery, making handbills, sewing
costumes
Policed their personal lives as an attempt to overcome the moral
prejudices against actors
Gotthold Lessing Storm and Stress movement; first truly significant dramatist in
Germany
 Miss Sara Sampson, Medea myth set in England, Minna Von Barnheim
Focused on new rationalism:
Universe ruled by a benevolent god, man is essentially good, human mind
is capable of solving all problems by exercising reasoning
Spurred the movement away from neoclassicism
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Greatest literary figure Germany has ever known universal genius; interest
ranged through almost every field, significant contributions to the Storm and
Stress movement; later rejected the movement for the classical mode
Settled in Weimer and became managing director of the Weimer Court Theatre
Freidrich Schiller
Playwright and later professor of history near Weimer who became good friends
with Goethe and reformed the Weimer Theatre
Alexander Sumarakov wrote plays on Russian subjects in the Neoclassical form,
beginning the Russian Classical School
Fyodor Volkov
Founder of the first Russian professional theatre
Maxim Gorky political struggles of the day, activism caused him to be exiled
August Comte considered the father of sociology, developed a theory known as
Positivism; encouragement for understanding the cause and effect of nature through
precise observation
Charles Darwin
Published The Origin of Species; suggested that people were controlled by
heredity and environment, behaviors were beyond our control, and humanity is a
natural object rather than being above all else
Karl Marx espoused a political philosophy arguing against urbanization and in favor of
a more equal distribution of wealth
Sigmund Freud
The only human instincts are aggression and sexuality, self-preservation and
procreation; to become members of a community, humans must undergo
socialization
The Romantic Poets:
Coleridge
 Woodsworth
Shelly
Lord Byron member of Drury Lanes managing body; the most successful
Sir Walter Scott wrote plays, best known for novels adapted for stage
Philip Kemble and Sarah Kemble Siddons
Edmund Kean first actor with star status
Madam Vestris (three key ideas)
Bring order to theatre
1. All elements of a production
2. Spectacle
3. Introduction of box set
William Charles McReady (three key ideas)
1. Actors stage positions
2. Full out rehearsals
3. Attention given to all details of production
Samuel Drake circuit theatre; series of theatres in communication
James Caldwell
Junius Brutus Booth tragic acting
Mary Ann Duff acclaimed by Kean and others as the greatest tragic actress of her day
Edwin Forrest established American School of Acting
Charlotte Cushman opera singer who turned to acting when her voice failed
Andre Antoine unrestricted presentations, Naturalism
Ira Aldridge left US to perform Shakespeare
Eugene Scribe
Henrik Ibsen sets the standard for the Well-Made Play form
Anton Chekhov
Stanislavsky
David Belasco opposed the syndicate; single play principle; sets up own theatre,
advanced technology
Nemrovich-Denchenko
Specific Focus Items:
The Well-Made Play
Plot based on a secret known to the audience but withheld from certain characters
Revelation of secret in climactic scene unmasks fraudulent character
Good fortune of suffering hero restored
Pattern of increasingly intense action and suspense prepared by exposition and
assisted by sudden and contrived entrances and exits, letters, and other devices
Series of ups and downs in heros fortunes, caused by his conflict with an
adversary
Reversal and obligatory scene marking respectively the lowest and highest point
in heros adventures and caused by revelation of secrets
Central misunderstanding which is obvious to audience but withheld from
character
Entice audience by adding twists and turns to the plot
Foreshadowing
Inciting incident - bomb with a lit fuse
Fan the flame or try to defuse
Cliffhanger - end of an act
Crisis - height of action - drives the resolution
Obligatory scene - whodunnit

Seven things every play must have

Inciting incident, protagonist, antagonist, a beginning, a middle (the journey), a
climax, and an end (denouement)
Effects of Industrialization and Urbanization on Theatre
Industrialization leads to competition among nations for raw materials and
markets, many again are looking oversees for resources; increased nationalism
and imperialism
Urbanization: overcrowding, poor living conditions
Theatre centers: Philadelphia and New York
Chestnut Street Theatre first in the world to light stage in gas lights
Moscow Art Theatre emphasized theatrical production rather than neglected plays,
ensemble acting; absence of stars
The Syndicate gains control of American theatre, controlled stars and offered full
season, dealing with one agent
Burletta and Comic Operas
Melodrama: Topics and Characters