Chapter 6: From Romanticism to Realism

Attitudes toward Neoclassicism began changing toward the end of the 18th century

Writers of the Sturm and Drang (Storm and Stress) school in Germany began writing serious plays that experimented both with bold subjects and dramatic form.

Neoclassical ideals reversed almost completely by early 19th century, resulting in the development of Romanticism

Romanticism

Romanticism:

Truth is to be found in

the Infinite Variety

of Creation

The Romantics valued Variety over Unity

Neoclassicism:

Truth is to be found in

the Universal

Romanticism

The less a thing deviates from its natural state the more truthful it is

Shakespeare’s plays became an argument for ignoring the rules of neoclassicism

Mysterious and supernatural became common occurrences

Historical accuracy in settings and costumes was favored

Melodrama The popular-culture manifestation of Romanticism

• Melodrama = “music drama”

• Action accompanied by musical score that enhanced emotional tone

• Emphasized clear moral tone and suspenseful plots

• Set pattern of action: Good are rewarded and Evil are punished = poetic justice

• Characters were stereotypes (Good, Evil)

• Elaborately staged spectacle

Melodrama

Created variety through use of:• Exotic locales• Special effects• Latest inventions• Dramatizations of popular novels and

notorious crimes• Horses for “equestrian melodramas”• Water tanks for “aquatic melodramas”

Melodrama

• With advent of electricity (1880s), electric motors were used with treadmills to stage horse or chariot races

• Panoramas were rigged on spools and moved in time with the treadmills; panoramas = long cloths on which continuous scenes were painted

• Efforts to make action as realistic as possible by using machinery and special effects

Monte Cristo

Adapted from Dumas’s novel Plot: many incidents, but simple pattern

• Goodness is victimized• Evil is triumphant for a time• Evil is exposed and punished• Goodness is vindicated

Characterization: 3 categories of characters• Good• Evil• Functional

Monte Cristo Attempted realistic/authentic costumes and settings 8 settings required

• Performed on a flat, sectioned floor• Emphasis on 3-dimensional pieces, including furniture• Elevator traps raised and lowered heavy scenic units

Developments in lighting• Gas table = a central location from which all gas lines

ran and from which the supply of gas to any part of the theatre could be controlled; enabled lights to be brightened or dimmed

• Limelight = calcium + compressed hydrogen and oxygen along with gas flame; heated to incandescence; bright spotlight

The Advent of Realism

Darwin’s theories (1859)

1. All forms of life have developed gradually from a common ancestry

2. Evolution of species explained by “survival of the fittest”

Implications of Darwin’s theories1. Heredity and environment as primary causes for everything

humans are or do2. People cannot be held fully responsible for their actions since

heredity and environment cannot be fully controlled3. Progress4. Humans are like other animals; not separate from nature5. Change, rather than fixity, as the norm

The Advent of Realism

Freud’s theories

1. Basic human instincts = aggression and sexuality

2. Without intervention, humans would seek to satisfy own instincts without regard for others

3. Need for socialization: rewards and punishments teach acceptable behavior and develop a superego

• Superego = an interior, subconscious censor or judge

4. Right and wrong are not absolute; relative to individual, family, society

Realism and Naturalism

• Grounded in scientific outlook: need to understand human behavior in terms of natural cause and effect

• Pursuit of truth: knowledge that can be verified through the 5 senses

• The highest form of morality = truth

• Playwrights wrote primarily about contemporary subjects

• Introduced topics such as unsavory social conditions

A Doll’s House

• Written by Henrik Ibsen (1879): Ibsen often called the “founder of modern drama”

• Basic assumption that heredity and environment determine character and action

• Play was considered controversial because it seemed like an attack on the family

• Dramatic construction: cause-to-effect, with late point of attack

A Doll’s House

• Single setting used throughout play

• Box set = set that fully encloses the acting space on 3 sides like the walls of a room, with one side removed

• Box sets enabled more realistic representations of indoor spaces; extensive use of furnishings and props

• Actors sought realistic behavior; interacted with setting and furnishings

Zola and Naturalism

• Unlike Realism, Naturalism was not successful in the theatre, possibly due to its extreme demands

• Chief advocate was Emile Zola (1840-1902)

• Zola believed that the dramatist should expose social ills so that their causes could be corrected

Zola and Naturalism

• Naturalists believed that many Realists were more concerned with theatrical effectiveness than with truth

• Play as a slice of life = a segment of reality transferred to the stage

• Naturalism as short-lived movement that produced few plays of significance

The Emergence of the Director

• Prior to late 19th century, staging plays was the responsibility of the playwright, the head of the company, or the lead actor

• Growing need for someone to unify all production elements, which were becoming more numerous and more complex

• 2 key figures in the development and acceptance of the modern director:

• Richard Wagner (1813-1883)

• Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen (1826-1914)

The Emergence of the Director

Richard Wagner

• Sought to create a “master artwork” through a fusion of all the arts

• Opposed Realism

• Chose stories from German myths

• Set his dramas to music

The Emergence of the Director

Richard Wagner• Wanted audience to be transported from

everyday existence into an idealized, communal, near-religious experience

• Seating as democratic = fan-shaped pattern• First to darken auditorium during performance• Strong “unity of production” = all elements

of production filtered through a single consciousness to achieve a unified artistic effect

The Emergence of the Director

Georg II, duke of Saxe-Meiningen

• Considered 1st director in modern sense

• Exerted complete control over all aspects of production: designed everything himself

• Long rehearsal periods

• Convincing crowd scenes, staged with precision

• Total stage picture worked out carefully from moment to moment

The Independent Theatre Movement

• Throughout most of Europe, plays had to be approved by a censor prior to performance for public audiences

• Performances done by a group for its members only were considered private performances; not subject to censorship

The Independent Theatre Movement

By the late 1880s, a number of small independent theatres exploited this loophole

Products of the Independent Theatre Movement

• Playwright George Bernard Shaw

• The Moscow Art Theatre

• Playwright Anton Chekhov

• Konstantin Stanislavsky and

• The Stanislavsky System of acting

Konstantin Stanislavsky and The Stanislavsky System

The most pervasive influence on acting during the 20th century

Contains basic premises of what is necessary for effective acting:• Body and voice must be trained and flexible• Be a skilled observer of human behavior• The “Magic If”• Understand each character’s motivations and

relationships• Concentrate moment by moment