Theatre Final, Dr. Green, Davidson College

Ballet emerges from the theatrical practices of the Royal Courts of Europe, in Renaissance Italy. Specifically, to the Intermezzi, which happened in between acts of Operas.

New role of Court Dancing Master: had a significant role in serving royal families, organizing the steps of the dances, and teaching dances. Very little self expression in early ballet: discipline, knowledge, order. From these court dances, a series of rules were made in how they were supposed to be performed, according to an idea of beauty. Pursuit of beauty.

Italian court spectacles 1519-1589: Catherine de Medici. Became the Queen of France. Her practices led to the birth of ballet practice. She integrated Italian ideas of dancing into French society. She loved movement, and became to understand the political and social uses for the form.

Movement was indistinguishable from the social dances: it was only different because of its theatrical setting. There was a narrative context in which the dances were being performed.

Le ballet comique de La Reine: The first ballet for which we have a complete score (aka considered the first one). 1581 to celebrate Catherine de Medici's sister's marriage. Staged by Balthazar de Beaujoyeux It integrated the music, dance, story, and décor. Dance was integrated into the narrative. It became the new genre of ballet.

The first ballet was inspired by classical themes, and lasted at least 5 hours. Its plot comes together to suggest that passions could be subjugated to reason, that discourse could be resolved through peaceful means, the King and Queen can overcome all enemies. Performed by Aristocratic amateurs. Performed in a huge salon in the palace, ¾ in the round, and the people sat above. People saw mostly the spatial patterns on the floor (which made the ballet very much centered around the use of the space).

During the reign of Louis XIV, ballet solidified into a real dance form that we recognize. He brought us the most spectacular court ballet's that were also the most connected to the philosophies of the monarchy. Louis was an accomplished dancer himself, but also understood the political possibilities of the dance form. Through the ballet, the narratives of his production, as well as his appearance in them, he emphasized his divine right to rule. He is often discussed as attractive and well proportioned. He was trained from a young age by his ballet master Pierre Beauchamps. He danced roles in at least 40 productions. He used the dance to win his court over and establish authority. It was a strategic method of control. He made dance even more central to court life.

In modern ballet: Ballet is still tied to ideas of grandeur and luxury Upper class Ballerinas still want to reach the top. Desire for etiquette and gracefulness Louis literally determined the form Le Acadamie de Dance: first institutionalized school for dance. Rules for what is to be done and how its done are quite literally written down. Controls its form and where it goes. 5 positions of ballet, and turnout are established (never turn your back to the King). In the beginning it was only men that performed. Not changed until the Romantic period/pointe shoe

Resulted from the translation of Aristotle's poetics. They didn't want to venerate the Greeks, but they did recognize that they were rational beings that trusted their reason. This inspired a French notion that there is a right way to to everything, and one just needs to figure out what that right way is. Verisimilitude, and Decorum: both very insistent in Neoclassicism

Moliere (comedy), Corneille (tragicomedy), and Raicine (tried to eliminate greek tragedy).

The Founding of the French Academy: 1629: originated as a small group gathering to discuss literature. Then in 1637 they received a charter. Louis VIII came to power young, so there were lots of powerful aristocrats that slyly controlled the government.

Cardinal Richelieu was obsessed with making France the cultural center of Europe. Wanted to emulate Italian neoclassicism. (Also at this time the two big public theatres are performing)

Corneille: Le Cid. It's production, and controversy, solidified neoclassicism and rules. Adapted from a Spanish novel: you see the Spanish themes of honor, love, and monarchy. The play was popular and successful, but met with protest and critique. Mostly Scudery. What we read was only a small part of the letter writing that went back and forth between Scudery and Corneille. There was too much argument, so the Academy stepped in to not only decide if Le Cid was a good play, but also what a good play is.

Corneille claims adherence to all of the neoclassical precepts, including the three unities. The instructive aspect of tragedy, the questions of probability and necessity, the unities (unity of action, unity of danger) and so forth. Reference Moliere? Thought the rules of neoclassicism were shackles to be broken for the sake of the audience.

Question at hand: did Le Cid live up to the rules of neoclassicism? Le Cid is historically important because the rules of drama came out of The Academy's ruling.

Tragedy must have one principle action, to which all the others converge as the radii of a circle coverage at its center. Gives "evidence" that the plot is worthless, but every statement he makes is simply and opinion. Rule of Plausibility: Argues that although the Spanish history states that the daughter marries the murderer of her father, it is not appropriate for poetry because it is not plausible. Who would do such a thing? Must stay within 24 hour period to follow Neoclassical rules. Le Cid is 3 years crammed into a 24 period. Pushes us towards evil.

The French academy agrees that Scudery has "missed the mark" when he tries to prove the worthlessness of the plot. Aristotle claims that there are two types of plausible: the ordinary and extraordinary. The first is normal events. The second is fantastical events that seem to be almost contrived. This play falls under that idea. I do not violate the concept of consistency because although Chimene is virtuous, she is not perfect, and human nature is fallable. This decision gives her character depth, not ingenuity. Says that Scudery is wrong when he claims that Corneille is not allowed to change the events of history to fit his plot. This has been done for centuries.

Unity of Action, Unity of Time, Unity of Place

bawdy sense of humor, 18th century England

someone who commits an act that is wrong should be punished

There is a retreat from bawdy comedy Also see a series of minor forms emerging: ¼ of all plays performed in 1780s were Shakespeare. Emblem of national culture. Increasing development of minor forms, and butchering of Shakespeare.

Pantomimes: after pieces, calm, comedic, allegorical stories, familiar characters. 18th Century England

Ballad Opera: alternated spoken dialogue with song, often had songs that were set to popular tunes. The Beggar's Opera 1728. 18th century England

Satirical Burlesque: Henry Fielding: Influenced by Moliere. Topical satires written on political events. John Oliver of his day. Fielding's plays are often credited with being the catalyst that motivated the 1737 Licensing Act.

1737: Licensing Act: 1. Anything that was going to be performed on a London stage had to first pass through a censoring body. 2. Regular drama, meaning 5 acts spoken word dramas, were restricted to the two patent houses, Covent Garden and Drury Lane. This lead to the minor forms (forms that don't rely on spoken drama). In 1843: Parliament retracted part of the licensing act which said that only certain theatres could put on dramas. As a result, the development of English playwrights and playwriting was further supported.

Samuel Foot: manager of Haymarket Theatre, began producing entertainment called "Cup of Chocolate" or "Cup of Tea" and they bought their drink and watching a show. Didn't actually pay for a ticket, so the licensing act didn't affect him.

Louis and William Hallam: 1750s: thought they had a better chance of making a living in the colonies. They left because of the Licensing Act

Diderot: popularized the domestic drama. A play that took on as characters people from the newly emerging bourgeoisie or middle class. Thought that drama should be geared towards the audience that was coming to the play.

Lekain: 18th century France. considered by Voltaire to be the greatest tragic actor of his time. Voltaire took him on as a student and started coaching him (Did this often with actors). He wasn't the normal body type (tall, lean, chiseled face). Yet, it was in those roles that he excelled. He is held responsible for forms that Garrick introduced on the English stage. Because of the decreasing depth of the apron, Lekain stayed within the action of the play to deliver his speeches. Helped to reform acting to be more realistic.

Marie-Francoise Dumesnil: 18th Century France Responsible according to Diderot, the more eratic performer. Her performance would have these tremendous highs where she would be super filled with the emotions of the character, but also choppy moments.

Mademe Hyppolite Clairon: 18th Century France She was extremely consistent, got the high every single time in every single play in the same way through the same action. She wrote a memoir and told Dumensil that her way was better. She knew how to "act sad" rather than being sentimental/sensible. The actor isn't supposed to feel the emotion: the AUDIENCE is supposed to feel sad.

Aristotelian rules were applied to try and make art beautiful and perfect, an expressive tableau. Living pictures of Voltaire: a level of grace and fluidity and beauty. Idealized

Comedie-Francaise. Started in the French Revolution: very emotionally heightened. He was said to be able to put things together that shouldn't have fit together. Very good friends with Napoleon. Pantomime was super important. Beginning of the more natural uses of the body in theatre. Conduit of Garrick's style Shut down for anti monarchy messages

Direct Theatrical Contributions: Costume design and authenticity: Thought that theatre should be a history lesson Because of that, costumes needed to be authentic. Introduced the Neoclassical hairstyle Acting Style: Disagreed with Diderot. Sensibility trumps self-mastery. Sympathetic model of acting: prototype of method acting Excelled in physical movement and pantomime Simplicity Allowed for a smooth transition from the classical stage to the romantic stage

John Philip Kemble (aka handsome devil) England 1757-1823 Came from a large family of well known, famous actors. Tall, statuesque, handsome, excelled at tragic hero roles. Did really well with characters that were pressing on to a goal. The portrait of him as Richard III was just like David Garrick's. Used his hands a lot in acting

OP Riots of 1809: 1808: Covent Garden was destroyed by a fire. He had the theatre rebuilt. He elevated the interior of the theatre and made it more plush. He also converted one area of the theatre that used to be a standing area into privately owned boxes, which could be rented on an annual basis for a very high fee. Rioters eventually started protesting and demanding the "old prices" (OP). Eventually Kemble had to give back the original prices. The working class was gaining a voice

Edmund Kean: 1797-1833 Debut as Shylock, 1814 He was everything that Kemble was not. He was short. His physicality was the antithesis of the neoclassical standards. He was not handsome. He rejected the notion of idealized gestures. We don't even really see his hands. Lack of grace in his physique Beginning of romantic period: Very passionate. Excelled at portraying sporadic characters. He was an alcoholic and drank himself to death.

(1729-1781): credited with being "first dramaturg"; put the middle class in center of play's actions (much like Diderot) as opposed to the royalty; plays were set in contemporary times (also at the same time as Diderot); as a theatre critic he begins to originate role as dramaturg; from 1767-1769, Lessing worked at Hamburg national theatre, wrote unrelated essays, which were critical analyses and reactions to series of performances, but when put together, they created cohesive arguments and a sense of thematic critical engagement, for example a reinterpretation of Aristotle--claimed the French had misinterpreted Aristotle (Shakespeare tragedies were better than Racine); essays create a kind of critical engagement with performances to create a greater contextual understanding for the context of the play; dramaturg AS EXPERT ON CONTEXT

Goethe (1749-1832): BEST GERMAN PLAYWRIGHT EVER

Sturm und Drang (1767-1787): artistic movement in Germany which was a revolt against neoclassicism--influenced literature as well as theatre; self-identified artists who saw lack of honesty in neoclassicism championed nature over artifice, human feeling/individualism, rejected neoclassicism and enlightenment structures --was not necessarily successful --few of their plays were ever produced, but were highly read F. Schiller: Goethe's bestie; wrote "The Robbers" (example of Sturm und Drang principles)

*Hugo argues principles of Romanticism: grotesque equals everything that has been left off the stage in neoclassical drama; art should reflect nature (e.g. the beautiful and the grotesque), not just a heightened form of nature; a leap toward more realistic stage pictures; the unities of time and place are dumb and restrictive (they "clip the wings"); THIS IS MANIFESTO; rejects Aristotelian unity; nature/truth/inspiration should be the only things restricting a poet, not Aristotle; the "exactness" of locales is very important -Specificity of local and historical accuracy

1830: Hernani sparks debate over art, ushers in Romantic theatre Hernani: asked Martignac (Minister of Interior); goes to King Charles X and is denied; everyone was kind of against it at first *plot of Hernani: love plot of escaped nobel/bandit from Spain; play ends in a double suicide with Hernani and his lover *The controversy/ "The Battle of Hernani": Petit Cénacle (supporters of Hugo and Hernani in the claque) vs. traditionalists; Mlle. Mars was famed actress to play Doña Sol; Latouche most vicious critic of Hernani; results: people said the language was "intimate and idiomatic," as well as parodies, death threats, and July Revolution (dethroning of Charles X); people attributed already tenuous state with Hernani's artistic change

Baron Taylor, theatre director, begins to introduce Romanticism to Théâtre Française; Romanticism aligned with the republican cause; claque (state-paid audience used to keep fist performance positive); classicals (traditionalists theatre goers)

We have to accept the grotesque/mixed genre blending/violence/ heightened passions

Pixereroux: playwright that wrote a wide variety of plays. Made decisions like a director/designer. Many of the innovations he made helped to popularize melodrama

Melodrama: poetic justice, virtuous hero (things end happily because of him), suspense, just in the nic of time, onstage violence, spectacle, musical score functioned as an underscore for the emotional parts of the scene, also feature events in a wide variety of locals (secret lairs, etc). Melodrama was not just about the particular structure or characters, but more about creating opportunities for spectacle. Paris: most popular form England: we see more varieties of Melodrama. For example: equestrian melodrama (featuring horses). Dogs did that too! Lots of lighting and sound effects. Nautical Melodramas: boats on real water.

Sadler's Wells: minor theatre that wanted to make it. They installed 50,000 gallon water tank for real life water for shows. You can have a waterfall, ships, mermaids, etc. Became the most popular theatre of its time because of its emphasis on spectacle.

Characteristics of a Well Made Play: 1. Plot is based on secret that is known to the audience, but not known to characters 2. Centers around young lovers 3. Carefully crafted exposition 4. Trifles: There is a small mistake or event that strongly effects the plot of the play (mis-delivered letter). 5. Neat endings: in which the status quo is reaffirmed in some fashion. 6. Sacrifices character development for exciting plots. 7. They were typically set indoors, with well dressed people, in elegant costumes, lived in nice homes, ate good food, luxury items strewn across the stage, which distinguishes them from Melodramas, which had exotic scenery. 8. Logic is the guiding principle of the well-made play. 9. The Well Made play introduces movement/blocking as an important element of the scenes.

Social Dramas: Became popular in the mid-1800s. took on important and pressing social issues of the time.

Eugene Sardou: "King of the Well Made Play." Valued plot over characterizations

George Bernard Shaw: hated Sardou because he thought that he was lulling audiences into enjoying plays that didn't value good acting/characterization

White people, blacking up with burnt cork, to portray caricatured versions of Blacks. Also black troupes. Was popular in the 18th century on into the 19th century. Eradicated by the Civil Rights Movements. This genre often reflects the racial tensions of American history which is why its important to study. First exploitation of black culture by American whites.

1820s: TD Rice plays character of Jim Crow, credited with starting the tradition of minstrel performance. 1843: Dan Emmett and the Virginia Minstrels debut in NYC, first minstrel show. Christy Minstrels

Characters of Minstrel Show: Endmen: Tambo and Bones Interlocutor Others: -Mammy -Discuss characters you researched

She begins to write under a pseudonym so that she could write about anti slavery without being killed or lynched. Lane Seminary splits over the question of abolition. Domesticity Cult: family wanted you to give a Christian testimony before you died. That was very common. Hell= anywhere off the map. George's committed suicide. Its very troubling and hard to process for Harriet. It through her into doubt. She wondered who would die next. She can't help but read this event as God punishing her. She can't deal with that knowledge and moves really far from her parent's original faith and philosophy. Samuel Charles Stowe: her son dies at one-year-old. He died of cholera, very painfully. She focuses on the separation of children from parents. She learned how a slave mother feels when her child is torn away from her.

Fugitive Slave Law: 1850: part of the Missouri Compromise. If you are black, Northerners are obliged to return you to your master. This is what Stowe thought was incredibly wrong.

There was a way to argue based on biblical texts that slavery is ordained by God... is arguing against that. She makes Tom like Jesus. She shows him as a suffering servant. She shows that slaves are people; they have feelings. At key moments, Stowe addresses the reader. Enslaved people have families, feelings, connections, friends, faith. The first chapter's name refers to Tom. He appears within the context of his family. She believes in women being pious and domestic, black women too, and they can't do that if their children are taken from them. Very motherhood centered vision of how the world should work.

American Variety Entertainments: late 19th-early 20th Century People were going to America to perform because of the Licensing Act. The Hallum family were the main people. They rehearsed their whole show on the boat over, and then dominated when they got there. Theatres started to be built in the country. Philadelphia, Charlestown, and eventually New York. Melodramas rule the stage. Many of the melodramas are ones that have been imported or adapted from Europe.

The Dock Street Theatre: burnt down, rebuilt and used as an inn, and then in the 20s they started using it again.

Tragic Mulato: the character is able to pass as white, but the law considers that person to be black. They always die.

Dion Boucicault: one of the most popular playwrights of this time. Would adapt his plays to fit the location in which it took place. Would edit the title and play to have landmarks from the location it was performing in.

Star System: People went to a show to see a specific actor. Companies would often rehearse a show and a really well known star actor would just step into the show right before they went on.

Showboats would go down the rivers and provide entertainment to those settled in the towns along a river's bank. They had melodramas and minstrel shows. They were extremely elaborate and large. They would float down the Ohio River and stop anywhere that there was a big population of people.

Vaudeville: takes over for minstrel shows. 1881: Tony Pastor stages first performance of "clean" vaudeville in NYC Pastor built on the tradition of variety performances popular in France at the time, but transformed form into a family friendly performance. He gave away free hams to lure in middle class women into the shows. Prohibited the sale of alcohol, limit any questionable material, insured it would be a place for social gathering. Established tiered performance circuits for acts in major cities. There were different levels and circuits with differently priced tickets and bigger and smaller theaters. Just like America's Got Talent. Like a talent show.

Meiningen Players: 1866-1890 Leading to Realism! Director is introduced: person in charge of integrating all the artistic elements. Duke of Saxminogen: he was very interested in culture and artistic production, and paid attention to the court theatre he sponsored. (helped introduce Realism) They also influenced Stanislavski. The whole company was talented. Detailed staging of crowd scenes The star system is rejected!!!!!! SUPER IMPORTANT

Ludwig Cronegk: Started his career as an actor. He was hired by the Duke to direct the Meiningen Players. Largely responsible for the innovations. They toured to numerous European capitals. He was interested in creating a more ensemble based style, where attention was paid to all actors and not just the stars. He was famous for staging crowd scenes in a realistic way. He wanted to create historical accuracy in his shows, consistently, in every area. Importance of international touring as a means of influence. Their staging took people by storm.

Moscow Art Theatre: 1898 Leading to Realism! **branch off of Meiningen Players Constantine Stanislavski, and Vladmir Nemirovich-Danchenko They sat down for a 17 hour long meeting, discussed all the failings of Russian theatre, and decided to do something about it. From this emerged the Moscow Art Theatre. Improve overall artistic quality of productions Increase emphasis on the literary aspects of plays, and do justice to the text High-quality, ensemble style acting Stanislavski always continues to evolve his ideas about acting The first famous play was the Seagull. Really important Most influential theatre of the 20th century

Isben's career: This is where realism truly comes to be. First play, Romantic Drama, Catiline, 1849 followed by others including the epic Peer Gynt. (1867) Best known plays from mid career include: Ghosts (1881) Wild Duck (1884) Dolls House Late career turn towards symbolism in plays like Rosmersholm (1886) and When We Dead Awaken (1899). It's a mistake to associate him only with Dolls House and realism because the last several plays he wrote were seen as the the inspiration for Symbolism (a part of the avant guard movement)

A Dolls House: 1879, Royal Theatre of Copenhagen Shaw found Isben to be a breath of fresh air in contrast to Sardou (sardoodledom). He introduces a portrayal of psychological depth (which is a contrast to the two most popular form of this time, Melodrama and The Well Made Play). Melodrama is known for plot, not depth of characters. Meanwhile, Isben was introducing deep characters with deep characterization. The first performance of a work that heralded a breakthrough of modernism in American theatre.

He is influenced by the Well Made Play structure: 1. There is a secret at the heart of the play that the audience knows but not all the characters do. The stakes have to be very high for the person who knows the secret. She borrowed money and she took out a loan. The secret is kept from her husband Torvald. We are let inside a marriage. She used the money to take him to Italy to get better, which is insulting his manhood. He was unable to play the role of husband (be financially responsible, taking care of her). Nora understands the role of playing wife (looking pretty, taking care of the children, playing the role of the lark, pretending to be helpless). She is very intelligent and knows how to manipulate him. The stakes of them finding out about borrowing the money is that Torvald might lose his job. 2. Exposition is filled in by the arrival of an old friend whom Nora has to fill in on her life, this makes us realize that she is not as helpless as we think. 3. The obligatory scene is when the characters react to the secret (the ending) 4. The object of significance: The letter is trifling, but it has disproportionate consequences. 5. Domestic setting: it's set in a drawing room. 6. Luxury items: Nora is eating macaroons, its time for Christmas, and Torvald has been promoted to the head of the bank. 7. Young Lovers at the center of the play. There is some sexual passion between the two of them. But their marriage falls apart.

Principles of Naturalism: Primarily influenced by the ideas and theories of Darwin (Heredity and Environment influence human behavior). They saw that characters and character's behavior could be traced back to heredity or environment. They were interested in utilizing theatre to do a scientific study. People behave the way they do, because of things like the clothing they wear and the surroundings in which they live. If they are influenced by their environment, then their environment must be depicted accurately onstage. This idea translated into realistic scenery (using real kitchens and laundry machines etc). Interest in real environments and depicting interiors with excruciating detail.

Edwin Booth: He has a theatre named for him on Broadway His brother murdered Abe Lincoln. Afterwards, he lived the life of a recluse for a while.

Emile Zola: novelist/playwright in this time. He advocated a manifesto style for Naturalism in his first play preface (pattern: Victor Hugo introduced Humanism in the preface to Cromwell).

Ghosts: Ibsen. Darling of the Naturalists. A play about a young man who returns home after many years, his father has passed away, he comes to deal with familial stuff, and finds out that he has inherited two things from his father, cephalous, and taking advantage of low class women. Heredity affects us in duel ways

Andre Antoine: founded the Teatre Libre (Free Theatre) "Free Theatre": the first of several significant independent theatres to spring up in Europe. Several more followed. They started opening because artists wanted to explore more ideas, that eventually would become mainstream ideas They rejected the increasing commercialization of theatre. They were interested in existing outside of the commercial efforts to please an audience.

Andre Antoine: he wants to experiment with new ideas, but there is still a censoring body in Paris. Therefore, he opens up a small club. Produced evening of performance. Started to experiment with Slices of Life: attempts to look at human behavior closely. Dedicated to the replication of real life.

when the world stopped making sense through the lens of Realism, they started making theatre match that. WWI Artaud Dada

Edward Gorden Craig/Adolphe Appia: designers. Founders of non-realistic based scenic design. EG Craig was born to Ellen Terry (really famous English actress). He started out as an actor, but became frustrated with acting. (Wanted to argue that we should get rid of actors and replace them with puppets. He argued that predictability of actors was not good). Idea is that scenic design should capture the feeling, mood, and idea of a piece, but not literally. Three dimensionality. Something that is evocative of the world. Appia: Theatrical Lighting: created the mood, supported the spirit of the piece, etc. Advocated for the idea of being able to create a sense of mood.

Symbolism: a movement that emerges in the late 18th century that was a direct reaction against Naturalism and Realism. Symbolists were interested in dreams and spirituality as a source for artistic inspiration and a kind of vagueness to what you see onstage and referencing to something larger that looms beneath the surface. The Truth of the characters behaviors not just come from the world in which they live, but from the ideas of subconscious. Largely influenced by Freud How have things influenced Nora's subconscious?