Shared Flashcard Set

Details

Theatre 100
FINAL
68
Other
Undergraduate 1
05/08/2007

Additional Other Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
"Machinal"
Definition
-written by Sophie Treadwell
-Expressionism play
-Episodic structure
-girl is forced to marry her boss by her mother, eventually she kills her husband and gets trapped in the justice system
Term
"Waiting for Godot"
Definition
-written by Samuel Beckett
-Absurdism piece, first major success
-Two men in the void, tree is the only piece of scenery.
-a being or person
Term
Samuel Beckett
Definition
-Irish, expatriated to France
-wrote in French to challenge himself to simplify
-Resistance fighter during WWII
-"Minimalist with language to let actions speak for themselves"
Term
"The Bald Soprano"
Definition
-written by Eugene Ionesco
-Absurdism play
-couple eating dinner having a banal conversation...simple english sentences
-guy as girl, girl as guy
Term
Eugene Ionesco
Definition
-Romanian father, French Mother
-Denounced oppression
-Accused of "hate language"
-"It's not a certain society that seems absurd to me, it's mankind."
Term
"The Decade Plays"
Definition
-written by August Wilson
-a play written depicting the African American experience during each decade, 10th play finished months before his death
Term
August Wilson
Definition
-Major contributor to African American theatre
-leading American playwright of the late twentieth, early twenty-first century
-loved music/storytelling
Term
"Top Girls"
Definition
-written by Caryl Churchill
-About women of magnitude, distinction, and from different times
-Touches on class, politics, women, and their choices and lack thereof
Term
Caryl Churchill
Definition
-British, wrote 24 plays so far
-plays tend to be nonrealistic
-technique of putting down on paper the way people really speak
Term
Realismo
Definition
things that seem mysterious, impossible, spiritual. can be difficult to stage
Term
Minstrelsy
Definition
-19th century racist style of performance. in which white performers in blackface denigrated African American culture
-Slave entertainments, played for the master
Term
Paul Robeson
Definition
-lawyer, Rhodes Scholar, Artist, Activist
-appeared in "Showboat", "Othello"
-first black actor to play Othello on an American stage
-longest running actor as Othello
Term
Ira Aldridge
Definition
-brilliant Shakespearian actor, first black actor to play Othello EVER.
-African Grove Theatre in NYC
-then moved to England
Term
Lloyd Richards
Definition
-Actor and director
-first black director on Broadway
-Head of Yale School of Drama
-August Wilson's director
Term
Aphra Behn
Definition
-questionable marriage
-wild life
*supported herself
-First PROFESSIONAL playwright
Term
Margaret Cavendish
Definition
-English gentry sent to court
-Desired to be recognized as an intellectual, but was mocked
-Interest in natural sciences and women
-wrote 26 plays
-First PUBLISHED playwright
Term
Lillian Hellman
Definition
-wrote "The Children's Hour"
* first play to explore possibility of a lesbian relationship
*shows women are vulnerable
-wrote "The Little Foxes"
*powerful female figures in conflict with each other
Term
Elements in Character Analysis
Definition
1) Given Circumstances
2) Super Objective
3) Tactics/Actions
4) Motivation
5) Values
Term
Given Circumstances (character analysis)
Definition
-facts, NOT OPINIONS, about each major character
-includes
*gender
*age
*occupation
*physical condition
*relationships
Term
Super Objective (character analysis)
Definition
-What a character wants or needs
-Drives them through all or most of the play
Term
Tactics/Actions (character analysis)
Definition
-What the character is willing to do to achieve a goal
-State as an active verb
Term
Motivation (character analysis)
Definition
-Why?
-Must be interpreted at times
-Many characters do not openly discuss motivations
Term
Values (character analysis)
Definition
-What a character believes to be true and important
-No characer has "no" values
-Our job is to articulate without judging
Term
Machismo
Definition
-The basic idea that two adults, a man and woman, are essential to the survival of the family
-Only if both parents work at full capacity can the children survive
*men do physical work
*women bear the children and
home based work
Term
"Magic or Expanded" Realism
Definition
-Embraces the world of playwright and actors
-EX. Realismo
-can be difficult to stage
Term
Expressionism
Definition
-Subjective, no single correct reality
-Anti-Realism
-The "Dream" play, everything is possible
-Image

-EX. Strindberg's plays after "The Inferno" and Edvard Munch "The Scream"
Term
Types of Stages
Definition
1) Proscenium
2) Thrust
3) Arena
Term
Theatre of the Absurd
Definition
-After "The Great War" and The End of the Second World War
-based on the sense of existential despair
-nothing at the core of one's existence
-creatures of free will
-create meaning! -laughter & kindness
Term
Proscenium
Definition
-Lighting comes from "over house" to prevent shadows
-Audience in front of upstage, frame forms a picture box
-limited points of view, but only audience side matters
-CHALLENGE- costumes detailed for the back as well as the front
Term
Thrust
Definition
-Pavillion Theatre at PSU
-3/4 round stage
-longer and narrower
-intimate stage, everyone is close to actors but at different angles
-everything must be completely finished because audience can see the whole stage
Term
Arena
Definition
-Audience is all around the stage
-Scenic designs must be short to not block view
-environment is smaller, yet more intimate
-floor is the essential focus
-Sounds and sense of time are challenging
Term
Musical Theatre
Definition
a show with musical numbers where the primary entertainment is found in those numbers
Term
Libretto
Definition
spoken word, story, or book in musical theatre
Term
Lyrics
Definition
words to sing
Term
Score
Definition
music to the play
Term
Composer
Definition
writer of the score
Term
Choreography
Definition
designs of dance and movement
Term
Origins of Musical Theatre
Definition
1) Vaudeville
2) Burlesque
3) Minstrel Shows
4) Opera
5) Operetta
Term
Vaudeville
Definition
variety entertainment, family oriented
Term
Burlesque
Definition
variety entertainment, adult oriented
Term
Minstrel Shows
Definition
combine storytelling, music, and dance
Term
Opera
Definition
thru-sing (little or no spoken word)
requires full chorus and orchestra
lavish costumes and sets
Term
Operetta
Definition
"little opera"
light musical romances
Term
Gilbert and Sullivan
Definition
-12 successful operettas
-"Pirates of Penzance"
*fast lyrics*
Term
George Cohan
Definition
-wrote musicals that are remembered for their great music
-"Yankee Doodle"
Term
Irving Berlin
Definition
-1st song at age 19
-Annie Get Your Gun
Stop, Look and Listen
-"Alexanders Ragtime Band" first major hit
Term
"Showboat"
Definition
-first fully matured American musical
-paved the way for the great Book musicals
-addressed serious issues
Term
George and Ira Gerswhin
Definition
-influenced by black musicians
-"Girl Crazy"
"Of Thee I Sing"
"Porgy and Bess"
Term
Cole Porter
Definition
-peculiar, had "all the money in the world"
-genius witty lyrics, frivolous libretto
-"The Gay Divorcee"
"Anything Goes"
"Can-Can"
"Kiss Me, Kate"
Term
"Pal Joey"
Definition
-transitions into the great "book musicals"
-by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart
Term
The Great Book Musicals
Definition
-emphasized libretto/storyline
-issues are more complex, richer, darker
Term
"Oklahoma!"
Definition
-considered by most to be the first Great "Book" Musical
-Rodgers and Hammerstein
Term
"Kiss Me, Kate"
Definition
-by Cole Porter
-a play within a play
Term
Frank Loesser
Definition
-wrote "Guys and Dolls"
Term
Lerner and Lowe
Definition
-"My Fair Lady"
"Camelot"
"Brigadoon"
Term
"Guys and Dolls"
Definition
-two subplots
gambler and salvation girl
Adelaide and Nathan
Term
"My Fair Lady"
Definition
-Henry Higgins makes girl a dutchess by changing her voice
-by Lerner and Loewe
Term
Rodgers and Hart
Definition
-"Pal Joey"
-transitioned into the book musicals
Term
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Definition
-contributed to "Great Book Musicals"
-"Carousel"
"South Pacific"
"The King and I"
"Flower Drum Song"
"The Sound of Music"
Term
Jerome Robbins
Definition
-director/choreographer of "Fiddler on the Roof"
Term
"Fiddler on the Roof"
Definition
-called by some critics, the last of the great book musicals
-about a milkman in a jewish town
Term
Concept Musical
Definition
unified around a central idea, theme or motif
-episodic script, contemporary popular music
Term
"A Chorus Line"
Definition
-about actors/actresses auditioning for a show
-Hamlisch and Kleban
Term
"Cabaret"
Definition
-by Kander and Ebb
-takes place in the "Kit Kat Club"
Term
Kander and Ebb
Definition
-"Cabaret"
-"Chicago"
Term
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Definition
-Composer
-"Jesus Christ Superstar"
"Evita"
"Cats"
"Phantom of the Opera"
Term
Stephen Sondheim
Definition
-Composer/lyricist
-experimentation with subject matter and innovative musical numbers
-"Gypsy"
"Sweeney Todd"
"Into the Woods"
"Assassins"
Term
"Ain't Misbehavin'"
Definition
-African American Musical
-by Fats Waller
Supporting users have an ad free experience!