Chapter5 10ed Show

8/2/2019 Chapter5 10ed Show

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Chapter 5:Creating a Professional Theatre

Elizabethan England, Italian Commedia dellArte, andSeventeenth-Century France

Renaissance: revived interest in classical theatre of Greece andRome

English Decree of 1558: plays on religious and political subjectsbanned

New subjects: classical literature, historical chronicles, legend Patronage: church and state withdraw support; theatre becomes

commercial enterprise


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Elizabethan Theatre

Professional Groups:

Had to perform often

Had to have a large stock of plays to sustain audience interest

Had to play in space large enough to accommodate sizeablepaying audience; had to be able to control access to space

Had to control all production elements

Had to assemble company that could work full time


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Elizabethan Theatre

Professional Groups:

Acting was not considered an acceptable profession

Because acting did not fit into the guild system, actors wereconsidered masterless men

Companies petitioned noblemen to serve as patrons

Patronage legitimized companies to an extent

Patrons provided little financial support Companies had to be licensed

Plays had to be approved


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Elizabethan Theatre

Prominent Playwrights:

William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

Thomas Kyd (1558-1594)

Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593)

Ben Jonson (1572-1637)

John Fletcher (1579-1625) John Webster (1580-1634)


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Elizabethan Theatre

Companies:

Always 2 to 4 active companies in/around London (1580s-1642)

Performed 6 days per week in the afternoon

Usually changed bill every day

During the 1590s, a London company averaged a new playevery 17 days

Average life of play = 10 performances over a season or two Writers sold plays to companies for one-time fee


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The Globe Theatre

Used by Shakespeares company after 1599

Round with exterior diameter of 99 ft.

3 levels of roofed galleries enclosing open space

The yard = open space enclosed by galleries; 74 ft. indiameter

The stage = 41 ft. 3 in. wide x 24 ft. 9 in. deep x 5-6 ft. above

yard; extended to middle of yard; viewed from 3 sides Roof sheltered stage = the heavensorthe shadows

Back of stage platform = multilevel faade with2 doors


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The Globe Theatre

Theatrical Conventions:

Properties brought onto stage when needed (throne, bed)

Faade served as backdrop for all performances; location clarifiedby dialogue: spoken dcor

Most characters were costumed in contemporary Elizabethan dress

Companies composed of approximately 25 members:

Shareholders Hired men

Apprentices


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The Globe Theatre

Theatrical Conventions: All roles played by men

Performance style somewhat realistic

No use of masks, except as disguises All lines spoken

Musical elements:

Marked entrances of royal characters

Called attention to important announcements

Served as signal in battles

Accompanied songs and dances

Most performances concluded withjig= short, lively music-and-dancepiece


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The Globe Theatre

Theatrical Conventions:

Admission fee determined viewing location

Cheapest = yard

Moderate = galleries

Expensive = boxes, lords rooms

No intermissions

Circulating vendors sold wine, beer, ale, nuts, playing cards

Atmosphere similar to modern sports event


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Hamlet

Includes main plot and related subplot

All main characters drawn from nobility or aristocracy

Hamlet is among the most demanding roles ever written for tragicactors

Writing:

Blank Verse: dramatic poetry that retains flexibility of normal speechwhile formalizing it

Iambic Pentameter: Speech rhythm in an unstressed-stressed pattern,that makes up 5 feet per line:

to BE or NOT to BE that IS the QUEStion

Prose: used mostly for lower class characters

Figurative Language: sets up direct or indirect comparisons


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English Theatre

English public theatres were closed in 1642 dueto civil war, and did not reopen until 1660


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The Theatre Experience in Renaissance Italy

TheRenaissance, begun in the 14th century, revived interest inclassical theatre of Greece and Rome

Early 16th century, plays imitating classical forms were written in

Italian Performed at court festivals

Reliance on classical sources, especiallyDe ArchitecturabyVitruvius

Describes theatre layout Describes settings appropriate to: tragedy, comedy, pastoral


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Principles ofperspective drawing(developed in 15th century) added toscenery (in 16th century)

Signaled movement away from formal, architectural stage torepresentational,pictorialstage

Picture broken up and painted on 3 separate scenic elements:side wings, backdrops, overhead borders

Floor of stage rakedupwards towards back

Introduction ofproscenium arch, which framed the painted

elements to complete the picture Resulted in need for mechanisms to shiftscenery


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Intermezzi = interludes performed between the acts of regularplays

Suggested parallels between a mythological figure and the

person being honored at the festival Major features = music and dance

Elaborate special effects

Opera = combined drama, music, dance, spectacle, special effects

Originated in the 1590s


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Commedia dellArte

Commedia dellArte = comedy of professional artists

Actoras most essential element of form

Adaptability: could perform in virtually any space, with or

without scenery

Scenario = summary of situations, complications, outcome;functioned as script

Improvisation: distinguishing feature of commedia

Lazzi: bits of comic business


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Commedia dellArte

Stock Characters1. Lovers:

Most realistic roles Only characters that did not wear masks

Dressed fashionably2. Masters: 3 recurred most often

Pantalone: elderly Venetian merchant Dottore: lawyer or doctor Capitano: braggart and coward

3. Servants = zanni Minimum of 1 clever and 1 stupid Most popular =Arlecchino (Harlequin)

Acrobat, dancer, and used slapstick Wore black mask and hat


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Commedia dellArte

Troupes averaged 10-12 members

Performers were both male and female

Troupes traveled frequently

Most popular from 1575 to 1650, but continued into late18th century

Numerous scenarios have survived


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Commedia dellArte

Activity:

Read each of the commedia character descriptions below.

Think of characters from TV sitcoms that possess qualities similarto each commedia character.

1. Lover: young and handsome; stylish

2. Pantalone: an elderly, would-be lover; very frugal

3. Dottore: lawyer or doctor; supposedly intelligent, but easily

tricked4. Capitano: boasts about prowess in love and war, but cowardly

when challenged


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The Servant of Two Masters

Written in 1745 by Goldoni, from last days of Commedia dellArte

More than a scenario, so lacks most of commediasimprovisational elements

Conveys other key elements of commedia Characters:

2 pairs of Lovers

2 Masters

3 Servants

Plot relies on disguise, coincidence, misunderstanding

Divided into 3 Acts, with a total of 10 scenes; requires 5 settings


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The French Neoclassical Ideal

Firmgenre restrictions: tragedy and comedy should not mix

Tragedy must be about royalty and nobles

Comedy should deal with middle and lower classes

Characters should exhibit decorum All plays should be written in5 acts

Neoclassical Unities:

Time: all plays action should occur within 24 hour period

Place: all plays action should occur in one location

Action: there should be only one plot

Ending of play should upholdpoetic justice

Purpose of drama = to teach and to please


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Molire and Seventeenth-Century FrenchTheatre Practice

Unlike Elizabethan Theatre, French companies included both maleand female actors

Each actor played a limited range of roles, eventually organizedinto lines of business

Actors had to furnish own costumes; blend of contemporaryfashions and some historical dress

Plays were set in one place; no scene changes; generalized scenery

Plays performed indoors, using candlesand oil lampsfor lighting


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Tartuffe

A comedy of character, written by Molire

Shares some characteristics of Commedia dellArte

5 stages of plot:

1. Demonstration of Tartuffes hold over Orgon2. Unmasking Tartuffe

3. Tartuffes attempt at revenge

4. Foiling Tartuffes plan

5. Happy resolution

Written in verse: alexandrine = 12-syllable lines, with each pair ofadjacent lines rhyming

Neoclassical unities of time and place are observed


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The Elizabethan, Italian, andFrench Traditions

Although Shakespeare and Molire were separated intime by only a few years, they worked in differenttheatrical traditions

When the English theatres reopened in 1660, theinfluence of Commedia dellArte was clearly evident inthe new style of plays written

By the 18th century theatres throughout Europe sharedthe same basic conventions


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Making Connections

Consider the ways in which English, Italian, and Frenchtheatre practices of the 17th century are similar and theways in which they are different.

Make a list describing those theatrical conventions fromthe 17th century that you see today being used intheatre, television, or film.

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Chapter5 10ed Show