Complete List of Terms and Definitions for theatre test one

Terms Definitions
masks ...
Skene Stage house.
le balcon balcony
Café La Mama ...
Andres Serano Piss Christ
criticism analysis, interpretation, or evaluation of a play or production
Lazzi, Concetti stock physical gags
ludicrous ludi- meaning play or game
Catarsis purging of emotions; emotional release, achieved by exciting pity and fear in the audience
During the elizabethan period, groundlings paid the most for admission to the theatre as they were nearest the stage. False
Source material Science fiction and B-movies
protagonist the central character that pushes fowars the action of play
Henrik Ibsen Norwegian playwright, first fully realized realistic plays. Plays harshly criticized for their subject matter. Adaptation of melodrama and well-made play to achieve unexpected results. Doll house, Ghosts
1862 What year were the slaves freed?
Private Theatres indoor theatres in Elizabethan England
Opera Only Italian Renaissance form to survive
Admiral's Men Patron: Charles Howard (Lord Admiral)
$ Man: Philip Henslowd
Lead Actor: Edward Alleyn
Elizabethan Some larger situation affecting the state as well as individual conflict- reflection of his cultures --- world view- when human society is troubled the universe is troubled as well
Off-Off Broadway Mostly downtown Manhattan alternative to the above. Features cutting-edge performance groups, plays, and alternative forms of theatre. House is often very small, may be under 100 capacity, in some cases.
convention a rule, method, or practice established by usage; custom:
Konstantin Stanislavski Russian director/actor, inside out and outside in characterizations, Truth and Objective, created Moscow art theatre
representational realistic form of theatre where actors ignore the audience and make use of the "fourth wall"
constructivist theatre often associated with the director Meyehold. used more abstract 'constructions' on stage
given circumstances Information about the character such as age, upbringing religion, social standing, and also what happened to this character immediately before they came onstage:
Musical Theatre broad category that includes opera, operetta, musical comedy, and other musical plays (sometimes called lyric theatre)
cold reading auditoning with material you have never seen before
Where did another one take place? Rural Dionysia
Lord Chamberlain's Men Patron: Henry Carey (Lord Chamberlain)
$ Man: James Burbage
Lead Actor: Richard Burbage
Shakespeare was a sharer; Became The King's Men; First at The Theatre then The Globe
Cameron Mackintosh became most successful producers in modern history- billionaire by producing musicals, want to go see a big and flashy spectacles, tours them worldwide (globalizes world theatre), single logo advertising. Marketing of musicals- BRANDING- his most radical innovation- marketing pieces for the shows had no critics quotes, only the logo
• What kind of theatrical historical movement is associated with Samuel Beckett? Absurdism)
Heart of english renaissance theater, theatre mostly public
Technical Approach Acting from the outside in, concentrating on physical details
wings areas out of the audience's sight from which actors make their entrances and in which sets are stored
Aside Words spoken by a character that are intended to be heard by the audience but not by other characters. Traditionally delivered directly to the audience. Most asides are brief.
Director-Centered (Director) Puts director on par with the playwright (director can rewrite the play)
Two-fold A stock scenic unit which two flats are hinged together and the seam is dutchmaned over. Often used as a masking device.
Glengarry glen ross the greatest play of the 1980s
Who did the music and lyrics for FOLLIES? Sondheim
The Masque Shows that were mainly for the Nobility that was created just for a one time show
symbolism a design style or theatre genre in which a certain piece of scenery, a costume or light represent the essence of the entire environment
Revolving stage - 17th century in Japan
- Bunraka
- Kabuki: emphasize spectactle
Aristotle wrote about the components of a play,
Poetics: of of the greatest
thrust stage where the audience sits on three sides
this theatre theorist said that A performs B for C Eric Bentley
american musical theatre ragtime, jazz, big band, bway, pop, rock&roll, blues, country, gospel
Sam Shepard's plays His characters deny and escape their past. He used the American west (openness) and the cowboy to contrast the characters locked lives. Characters escape but can't always outrun their past. Famous plays: True West, Buried Child.
What are postcolonial perspectives? covers all culture affected by imperial process from moment of colonization to present day.
Who did the music and lyrics of GODSPELL? Stephen Schwartz
character parts role in which an actor portrays traits that differ from his/her own, to produce a desired character
Realism (4) A style of theatre that attempts to seem like life, with authentic-looking sets, "honest" acting, and dialogue that sounds like everyday speech
Cannon 1613 how and when did the globe theatre burn down
Moscow art theatre is a theatre company in Moscow that the seminal Russian theatre practicioner Constantin Stanislavski, together with the playwright and director Vladimir Nemirovich Danchenko, founded in 1898. It was conceived as a venue for naturalistic theatre, in contrast to the melodramas that were Russia's dominant form of theatre at the time
Moscow and St. Petersburg Where were most of the theatres located?
method of physical actions an actor works to express actions based on his or her characters OBJECTIVES in the play.
What is a Complex Plot? Plot that has many different stories
Famous example of a musical play Showboat, 1927. By Oscar Hammerstein and music by Jerome Kern. Set in the 1880s. Produced at the Ziegfeld Theatre. Serious plot about interracial marriages (illegal at the time). It completely changed the way the musical was written and the seriousness/complexity of the plot; first book musical
• In contemporary theatre, when a play is a historic/literary adaptation, what are the two things it could derive from? Literature or real historical events/people)
Sophocles stopped acting in his plays because claimed he had a weak voice
What is a Dramatic Question? Asked fairly early in the play, this is what the audience waits to be answered
• What is a "Trap Room"? Room under the stage that allows for people or pieces of scenery to appear and disappear during a production)
What is the role of Shakespeare in the American theatre? remains the most produced playwright in the u.s.there are more than 150 Shakespeare festivals in the u.s.
plot sisu
Structure See Plot
theatron seeing place
costume designer designs costums
Director leadership, inspiration & unification
textual interpretation
artistic conceptualization
coordination of visuals
acter coaching
thrust disadvantages blocking difficult
costumes difficult
no fly/wing system
low comedy or slapstick labane jant
Burlesque Musical entertainment featuring bawdy songs, dancing women, and sometimes strptease:
zeus had sex with who? semele
neoclassicism rejected shakespeare's use of soliloquy - wasn't realistic
credibility capable of being believed; believable:
Performance Art Usually one-person or first-person shows that purport to make the artist the subject of the performance.
Minstrel Shows -example of Lineage
-white performers in blackface performing their ideas of AA dance, music, dialects, etc
-so popular that eventually AA performers also performed in blackface
-very racist
Guys and Dolls Written by Frank Loesser
anachronism when something is chronlogically out of order
Dan Emmett (1815-1904) The Virginia Minstrels (acting company).
HAIR musical features (60's) rock music, bunch of hippies, commune, member is drafted, Vietnam, sexuality, age of aquarius
soliloquies lengthy speeches through which a character reveals stage of mind and dazzling poetic monologues
Types of Stages -Arena Stage-Arco Arena basketball-Proscenium-Theatre class stage-Thrust Stage-3 sided stage-A black box space(chamber music ) can be made into all three
Off-Broadway Commercial theatre in New York City with fewer than 500 seats in Manhattan, not located in the "Broadway District", the term dates from 1955.
Absurdist Playwrights Samuel Beckett, Eugene Ionesco and Harold Pinter thought that what happens in life can't be explained logically. Relationships (etc.) are meaningless.
Stage-Pin Connector A flat electrical connector used almost exclusively in theatres. It is more rugged than many other electrical connectors.
Annie Get Your Gun written by Irving Berlin
whitefriars orivate theatre used by prince henrys men
play/script a written text indicating the dialogue the characters speak and some of the physical action
John Cage United States composer of avant-garde music (1912-1992)
farce a comedy characterized by broad satire and improbable situations
Vaudeville a popular form of stage entertainment from the 1880s and 1930s, descended from burlesque. Programs included slapstick comedy routines, song-and-dance numbers, magic acts, juggling, and acrobatic performances
emotional/affective memory focusing on the sensory stimuli surrounding an event in the actor's personal life that was similar to the situation in the character's life in order to evoke an emotional response
Soft-Edged Spotlights Creates a soft-edged beam of light
subtext is the hidden meaning behind the words the real reason a character chooses to speak
Promptbook A notebook kept by the director and stage manager of a production containing the text of the play, detailed stage directions, lighting and sound cues, and noted on production practices.
jidaimono the 4-6 act history section of KABUKI theatre
character flaw Bad choices made because of inner conflict; also called Fatal Flaw/Tragic Flaw:
compression condensing a story that takes place in days or years in a theatrical frame
The Four Cohans a late 19th-century vaudeville family act that introduced 20th-century Broadway legend George M. Cohan to show business. It consisted of father Jeremiah "Jere" Cohan (1848-1917), mother Helen "Nellie" Costigan Cohan (1854-1928), daughter Josephine "Josie" Cohan Niblo (1874-1916), and son George Cohan (1878-1942).
black box Type of performance space that is small, created out of a room, painted all black.
Special rehearsal a rehearsal for a special element, such as fight scenes, musical numbers, dance numbers, or dialects.
warm up relieve tension that could block the emotional flow and to get centered and focused
Style of performance seeking to give illusion of reality. Denies any suggestion of theatrical. Takes place in a proscenium. Representational Theatre
American Melodrama The Indian Princess, Nick of the Woods, The Drunkard: or the Fallen Saved (anti-drinking play), Fashion, and Davey Crockett
Comedy of idea A subgenre of comedy organized around thought.
ekkyklema a low platform used to roll objects or bodies from the skene doors onto the stage in Greek theatre
Female Pulitzer Playwrites Paula Vogel- How I Learned to Drive
Suzan Lori Parks- Topdog/Underdog
Beth Henley- Crimes of the Heart
Marsha Norman- 'Night Mother
Wendy Wasserstein- The Heidi Chronicles
producer or producing director someone who financially backs the theatre or orchestrates funding through grant money and ticket sales
Costume construction crew Assists the costumer in building the costumes
screen image picture printed on wall of screen of set
Romantic comedy A style of theatre that examines the funny side of falling in love-often with sympathetic young lovers kept apart by complicated circumstances, who in the end surmount any obstacles and live happily ever after
The Mind Character Analysis •1. Characters grow out of action within the text. Characterization is a means to an end, not an end in itself.
•2. Actors make choices in creating a character. Making choices is the actor's way of seeing his world through the character's relationships with other characters and philosophical beliefs. Choice is an active way for the actor to enter the character.
non tradition casting casting of a race different from that of the character is written
Simplified, or suggested, realism a design style that suggests rather than exactly duplicates the look of a period.
What musical was first awarded a Pulitzer Prize? Of Thee I Sing
What is a dalij? an attempt to give form to dream life.
What is a Front Elevation? A scale-drawing of a flattened 2D front-view of the scenery
paper the house to give away a lot of free tickets to the cast's family and friend to make the theatre look well attended
Who are some important writers in Gay/Lesbian theatre and what plays did they write? The Children’s Hour by Lillian Hellman: 1934The Ritz, Terrence McNally: 1975Last Summer at Bluefish Cove, Jane Chambers: 1980Torch Song Trilogy, Harvey Fierstein: 1983The Normal Heart, Larry Kramer: 1985As Is, William M. Hoffman: 1985The Baltimore Waltz, Paula Vogel: 1992Angels in America, Tony Kushner: 1993-94Love, Valour, Compassion, Terrence McNally: 1995Take Me Out, Richard Greenberg

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 




Technical rehearsal A rehearsal in which light, sound, and set changes are added to a show. Also a specific rehearsal in which the stage manager, actors, and run crews practice putting all elements (except costumes) together in a complete run of the show

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 


Librettist person who wrote the spoken part of the play