Representational and Presentational drama
Representational, realist drama
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Realism (and Naturalism)
Stanislavski – naturalism and realism
Realism: Trying to present the world as it really is – like a photograph Plain and sensible account of action, rarely sentimental or emotional Realists make us believe the world they show us, done by filling works with believable details, facts. Eg. specific dialects “Everyday” important – not extraordinary people in fantastic situations Writers would write about places they lived/grew up to get that everyday feeling Often celebrates an individual, struggle moral victory/realization. Lots of internal action, what is going on in the character’s mind. Single humans most learn, grow and change their world, or face the consequences Plot driven: conflict to be solved. Often with protagonist and an antagonist.
Naturalism: Outgrowth of realism Like realism: portraits “real life” as accurately as possible, facts and details, plot driven. Not as interested in individuality, individuals won’t change the world. “Individual human beings are at the mercy of uncontrollable larger forces.” – eg. instincts like need for food, sex, shelter, social dominance. Point is that it is inevitable, makes it pretty grim. Naturalists are more likely to be political. Might want to expose “cruel forces”, like the capitalist economy – money crush poor people. More likely than realist works to deal with the extraordinary, in desire to show the control external forces have over people. Deal with causes the middle class, won’t find part of their life: war, violence, crime, natural disasters, poverty.. shock readers
Realism: Trying to present the world as it really is – like a photograph Plain and sensible account of action, rarely sentimental or emotional Realists make us believe the world they show us, done by filling works with believable details, facts. Eg. specific dialects “Everyday” important – not extraordinary people in fantastic situations Writers would write about places they lived/grew up to get that everyday feeling Often celebrates an individual, struggle moral victory/realization. Lots of internal action, what is going on in the character’s mind. Single humans most learn, grow and change their world, or face the consequences Plot driven: conflict to be solved. Often with protagonist and an antagonist.
Naturalism: Outgrowth of realism Like realism: portraits “real life” as accurately as possible, facts and details, plot driven. Not as interested in individuality, individuals won’t change the world. “Individual human beings are at the mercy of uncontrollable larger forces.” – eg. instincts like need for food, sex, shelter, social dominance. Point is that it is inevitable, makes it pretty grim. Naturalists are more likely to be political. Might want to expose “cruel forces”, like the capitalist economy – money crush poor people. More likely than realist works to deal with the extraordinary, in desire to show the control external forces have over people. Deal with causes the middle class, won’t find part of their life: war, violence, crime, natural disasters, poverty.. shock readers
TASK
Focus on one character in Louis Nowra's Cosi: Act I scene III.
Develop the diary entry of this character, the character that you will be acting and
Answer Stanislavski’s Fundamental Questions below;
Character building and ways to approach a character and how to create REALISM in the situation.
Stanislavski’s Method will inform your creative choices to ensure you make effective decisions regarding your NON-VERBAL (proxemics, space, levels, music, costume) and VERBAL choices whilst acting.
One of the key parts to Stanislavski’s Method are his “Fundamental Questions”.
These are questions to ask yourself when you are creating your character's actions
(who, when, where, why, for what reason and how)
Who am I?
Think about what your character is like in terms of personality. Look in the script to find the answers (interdialogic)
What are my given circumstances?
Think about your recent past and how this has affected you and brought you to where you are.
What are my relationships?
Think about your relationship with other characters, events and things that surround you.
What is my objective? Why?
This is what you want, your motivation or reason for action is.
What must I overcome?
This is the problem that is stopping you from getting your objective; this is what you need to overcome to reach your goal.
What is my action?
This is what you do to overcome your obstacle and attempt to reach your goal.
What is my super objective?
This is your main or overall goal throughout the whole play.
What is my through line of action?
This is the links in all of your objectives that drive it to the super objective.
The through line, sometimes also called the spine, was first suggested by Constantin Stanislavski as a simplified way for actors to think about characterization. He believed actors should not only understand what their character was doing, or trying to do, (their objective) in any given unit, but should also strive to understand the through line which linked these objectives together and thus pushed the character forward through the narrative.
Through line is increasingly being used in other contexts as substitutes for words like thread
In class
Document their characters motivation, driving force, relationships etc
Then discuss this as the characters objective for this scene
Discuss super objective for the whole play.
Plot the through-line, (spine/thread) and how the character will journey through this and where the end point is.
Research
Stanislavski Investigation
Please answer at least three of the following
1. What is the importance of the Stanislavski System?
2. What is the idea at the heart of the Stanislavski System?
3. Why did Stanislavski develop his System?
4. Explain the difference between units of action and beats.
5. Explain the connection between units of action and the through-line.
6. Summarise the purpose of the Fundamental Questions?
7. Where should an actor look for answers to the Fundamental Questions?
8. Why is the actors life experience and creative imagination important?
9. An actor needs to be relaxed on stage and yet also needs to be alert. What does the actor need to concentrate on and be aware of on stage?
10. Why is it so important for an actor to be aware of the other actors on stage and to interact with them?
Focus on one character in Louis Nowra's Cosi: Act I scene III.
Develop the diary entry of this character, the character that you will be acting and
Answer Stanislavski’s Fundamental Questions below;
Character building and ways to approach a character and how to create REALISM in the situation.
Stanislavski’s Method will inform your creative choices to ensure you make effective decisions regarding your NON-VERBAL (proxemics, space, levels, music, costume) and VERBAL choices whilst acting.
One of the key parts to Stanislavski’s Method are his “Fundamental Questions”.
These are questions to ask yourself when you are creating your character's actions
(who, when, where, why, for what reason and how)
Who am I?
Think about what your character is like in terms of personality. Look in the script to find the answers (interdialogic)
What are my given circumstances?
Think about your recent past and how this has affected you and brought you to where you are.
What are my relationships?
Think about your relationship with other characters, events and things that surround you.
What is my objective? Why?
This is what you want, your motivation or reason for action is.
What must I overcome?
This is the problem that is stopping you from getting your objective; this is what you need to overcome to reach your goal.
What is my action?
This is what you do to overcome your obstacle and attempt to reach your goal.
What is my super objective?
This is your main or overall goal throughout the whole play.
What is my through line of action?
This is the links in all of your objectives that drive it to the super objective.
The through line, sometimes also called the spine, was first suggested by Constantin Stanislavski as a simplified way for actors to think about characterization. He believed actors should not only understand what their character was doing, or trying to do, (their objective) in any given unit, but should also strive to understand the through line which linked these objectives together and thus pushed the character forward through the narrative.
Through line is increasingly being used in other contexts as substitutes for words like thread
In class
Document their characters motivation, driving force, relationships etc
Then discuss this as the characters objective for this scene
Discuss super objective for the whole play.
Plot the through-line, (spine/thread) and how the character will journey through this and where the end point is.
Research
Stanislavski Investigation
Please answer at least three of the following
1. What is the importance of the Stanislavski System?
2. What is the idea at the heart of the Stanislavski System?
3. Why did Stanislavski develop his System?
4. Explain the difference between units of action and beats.
5. Explain the connection between units of action and the through-line.
6. Summarise the purpose of the Fundamental Questions?
7. Where should an actor look for answers to the Fundamental Questions?
8. Why is the actors life experience and creative imagination important?
9. An actor needs to be relaxed on stage and yet also needs to be alert. What does the actor need to concentrate on and be aware of on stage?
10. Why is it so important for an actor to be aware of the other actors on stage and to interact with them?
"Nineteenth-century acting was much akin to human-robot
interaction today. According to the prevalent method—known
as the DelSarte system—behavior was analyzed and separated
into discrete action tokens, which were stringed together
into a performance [31]. Modern acting—usually called
the Stanislavski Method, or simply “the method”—takes a
decidedly different approach, in which surface actions are,
in fact, representations of continuously evolving sub-surface
developments in the arc of a performer.
Sonia Moore, author of the definitive book on the
Stanislavski method, quotes Eugene Vakhtangov saying “[a]
unit in a role or a scene is a step in moving the through-line
of actions toward the goal,” [21]. This as opposed to the unit
being a single line of dialog or a stage direction by itself.
The method also encourages actors to not memorize the
lines, but instead to focus on analyzing a scene in terms of
moving powers, objectives, obstacles, and intentions, leading
to choosing actions.
Other teachers share this view. Michael Chekhov speaks of
“Psychological Gestures” that draw on the character’s “definite
desire” in a scene [4], and Augusto Boal, too, stresses that any
particular action results from the character’s desires, will, and
needs [2].
This then leads to the concept of the inner monologue,
which is heavily emphasized by Moore’s method.
“[Your inner monologue] is more important than
memorizing your lines [...]. The right inner mono-
logue will bring you to your lines, and you may have
entirely different intonations.” [21]
The actor’s inner monologue must carry on the whole time
the actor is on stage, whether they say something or not. This
inner monologue should usually be laid out in detail while
preparing for a role, and lends the actor credibility of an
internal process while they’re on stage, leading up to the lines
and thus preventing the lines to be uttered in a void." (Retrieved on 15th May 2015 from http://guyhoffman.com/publications/HoffmanRSS11Workshop.pdf).
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Presentational, non‐realist drama
Bertolt Brecht 1898-1956
This unit focuses on presentational, non‐realist drama. Students explore techniques of role and/or character through different approaches to text interpretation, particularly those based on the work of Brecht and other presentational drama.
Bertolt Brecht – an introduction
- Brecht was a playwright, a director (of his own plays and other peoples) and author of a lot of commentary on how theatre should be created.
- His theories changed during his lifetime.
- Brecht was born in Ausburg, Germany in 1898 and lived there until the early 1920s.
- He was born into a fairly affluent family and studied medicine at University of Munich before returning to Augsburg and serving in an army hospital during the first world war.
- Developed an ‘anti-war’ sentiment in response to the horrors he saw.
- He had an ‘anti-bourgeois’ attitude that reflected his anger at the way society had experienced war.
- He had an interest in Marxism as a way forward for the stability of Germany
- He developed an interest in the movement in art and literature known as Expressionism
- In the second phase of his writing Brecht started to explore the ideas of ‘ Epic Theatre ’ and the notion of instruction through plays.
- He became a fully fledged Marxist and spoke out against the Nazi party
- 1933 Brecht was forced to go into exile to escape the Nazis.
- (Switzerland, Denmark, Hollywood)
- In Germany his books were destroyed and his citizenship withdrawn. It was during this exile that he wrote most of his great plays, further developing the idea of Epic Theatre.
- In 1949 Brecht returned to a divided Germany where he formed his own company the Berliner Ensemble.
- His contributions to theatre and his significance as a theatre practitioner were eventually recognised in the 1950s.
- Stanislavski work was concerned with empathy, feelings and the heart.
- Brecht could be considered as someone concerned with distance, thinking and reason
- Audience relationship :
- The Verfremdungseffekt
- (The alienation effect)
- He wanted his audience to both engage emotionally in a scene but be able to stand outside it to think about it and make a judgment on it.
- He felt his actors should ‘demonstrate’ rather than ‘become’ a role.
- He saw them as storytellers, who could play many parts and have a view of the characters they were playing.
- He saw character being determined by circumstances.
- The story itself could be fragmented, non-linear, episodic.
- He showed how theatre could be like expressionistic art or film.
- Brecht wanted the mechanics of the theatre shown to his audiences.
- He did not want the audience to ‘suspend their disbelief’ but to always know that they were watching ‘fiction’
- Placards and Projection was also used to change scene quickly
- Lighting was only used to illuminate not to create mood.
Theory
Brecht loathed the theatre of realism he likened the realistic theatre to the effects of a drug, in that a realistic performance pacified its audience Brecht’s plays were didactic and aimed to teach or instruct their audience
Brecht used the term ‘Lehrstück’, meaning ‘learning-play’ social activist theatre wanting the spectators to make change in their own world outside the theatre walls in 1926 Brecht embraced Marxism and his theatre techniques after this point served his Marxist beliefs Brecht’s umbrella title for a range of non-realistic techniques is ‘verfremdungseffekt’ verfremdungseffekt, or V-effekt (German) / A-effect (English), short for ‘alienation-effect’ misleadingly translated over the decades as ‘distancing effect’ recent and more accepted translation is ‘to make the familiar, strange’ or ‘estrangement’ ‘epic’ borrowed from the great poems of literature (The Iliad, The Odyssey, The Mahabharata, Ramayana) Brecht was influenced by (German) expressionism and had an interest in the cabaret scene in Berlin - See more at: http://www.thedramateacher.com/epic-theatre-conventions/comment-page-1/#sthash.1A9dK5TQ.dpuf
Brecht loathed the theatre of realism he likened the realistic theatre to the effects of a drug, in that a realistic performance pacified its audience Brecht’s plays were didactic and aimed to teach or instruct their audience
Brecht used the term ‘Lehrstück’, meaning ‘learning-play’ social activist theatre wanting the spectators to make change in their own world outside the theatre walls in 1926 Brecht embraced Marxism and his theatre techniques after this point served his Marxist beliefs Brecht’s umbrella title for a range of non-realistic techniques is ‘verfremdungseffekt’ verfremdungseffekt, or V-effekt (German) / A-effect (English), short for ‘alienation-effect’ misleadingly translated over the decades as ‘distancing effect’ recent and more accepted translation is ‘to make the familiar, strange’ or ‘estrangement’ ‘epic’ borrowed from the great poems of literature (The Iliad, The Odyssey, The Mahabharata, Ramayana) Brecht was influenced by (German) expressionism and had an interest in the cabaret scene in Berlin - See more at: http://www.thedramateacher.com/epic-theatre-conventions/comment-page-1/#sthash.1A9dK5TQ.dpuf
Brecht workshop ideas
Learning Objectives
Group work: With an excerpt from "Oh What a Lovely War".
END OF TASK
* * * * * * * * *
- To consider how performances could have been influenced by other plays, practitioners or key events in the world.
- To develop an understanding of Epic Theatre
Group work: With an excerpt from "Oh What a Lovely War".
- In your groups decide what set, staging items or props you will use in advance.
- You may choose to use no props at all but create and indicate the locations with members of your group forming shapes.
- Improvise the story using dialogue and action only, with each member of your group playing a different character.Do this without your script/excerpt.
- You must now build on your initial improvisation by adding narration. Each of your group must add a narrative speech to introduce their characters and describe some element of the action.
- Give each of your characters an opportunity to present their thoughts and views with a short monologue. It may only be one or two sentences long.
- You must now build on the previous step by allowing each of your characters an opportunity to speak in the third person, to indicate the attitudes and feeling of the character they are beginning to demonstrate. You could perhaps introduce and/or close their monologue with this.
- Create a number of placards with pens and card that do a number of things. Use some placards to introduce location, time and/or character. Use other placards to indicate the attitude and internal thoughts of the characters. Statistics about the war and so on.
- Choose a moment, a scene or even a character and create a movement/body language sequence that demonstrates who they are and how they are feeling. This can be as simple as marching forwards three times, backwards three times.
- Choose a song or a piece of music that you think could introduce or comment on some action of the play. Be as topical as you want – choose a piece of current music from the charts or a film, or use something more traditional. Think about what you want the music to say when it is juxtaposed against a particular scene or movement.
END OF TASK
* * * * * * * * *
Further workshop ideas
Learning Objectives
Group work: Stage 1 - The Accident.
- To consider how performances could have been influenced by other plays, practitioners or key events in the world.
- To develop an understanding of Epic Theatre
- Brecht in Practice.
- In order to understand Brecht’s EPIC THEATRE and concepts unlike exploring Stanislavski where you had small exercises to explore his system you will be set three separate practical tasks that explore epic theatre as a whole.
Group work: Stage 1 - The Accident.
- In groups 3-4, There has been a road accident, and as a passer-by you have been a spectator to it.
- Agree the facts of the story and then each of you work out your version of events.
- Show these versions to each other to see how different they can be from varying perspectives.
- Imagine you are telling the story to a group of people who did not see the accident.
- Tell the story and include all of the characters within it. Feel free to impersonate them or caricature them.
- Try to use gest, narration, dialogue and third person, descriptions and even token costumes to bring the story to life.
- This exercise allows the actor to demonstrate the characters within the story and use devices to make the story fresh and strange to the audience. It also supports the anti-illusionary aspect of epic theatre, in that the audience is aware that the passer-by is just telling the story and is not really any of the characters within it. However, it also gives the audience an insight into the attitude and judgement of the storyteller.
- In groups 4-5, Choose a story that you all know. For example The Three Little Pigs.
- Decide what set, staging items or props you will use in advance.
- You may choose to use no props at all but create and indicate the locations with members of your group forming shapes.
- Improvise the story using dialogue and action only, with each member of your group playing a different character.
- You must now build on your initial improvisation by adding narration. Each of your group must add a narrative speech to introduce their characters and describe some element of the action.
- Give each of your characters an opportunity to present their thoughts and views with a short monologue.
- You must now build on step three by allowing each of your characters an opportunity to speak in the third person, to indicate the attitudes and feeling of the character they are beginning to demonstrate. You could perhaps introduce and/or close their monologue with this.
- Create a number of placards with pens and card that do a number of things. Use some placards to introduce location, time and/or character. Use other placards to indicate the attitude and internal thoughts of the characters.
- Choose a moment, a scene or even a character and create a movement/body language sequence that demonstrates who they are and how they are feeling. This can be as simple as the wolf arriving at each of the houses with the expectation of a meal.
- Choose a song or a piece of music that you think could introduce or comment on some action of the play. Be as topical as you want – choose a piece of current music from the charts or a film, or use something more traditional. Think about what you want the music to say when it is juxtaposed against a particular scene or movement.
- You must now build on step seven by rearranging the chronology and structure of the story. You must create a series of episodes that are no longer in chronological order. You could perhaps begin with the ending. The episodes must also shift between different modes of presentation, such as scenes of monologue, extended narration, dialogue, action, song and gest.
- Perform your piece, and discuss whether you have found a way of making the story strange and fresh to the audience. If so, in what way?
- Write up detailed notes from the lesson.
- Include all of the activities we have done together, including key words and their meaning.
- Distance/Alienation effect
- Marxism (economic – capitalists Vs workers – class struggle)
- Chorus
- Placards
- Gest, or Gestus.
- To retell a News Story, making it strange to the audience so that they can view the crime with fresh perspective.
- To practically explore elements of Brecht’s Epic Theatre.
- Take your news story that deals with a serious crime.
- Create a piece of EPIC THEATRE using montage and episodic scenes to retell the story of a serious crime.
- Try to make the piece dialectical (To create an argument with all sides shown, and with the audience incited to play an active role in making their own mind up during the play) rather than didactic (To teach lessons and make points).
- Try not to suggest or impose answers and judgements, but set out problems and questions for the audience to think about and decide upon.
- Perform
- plot: has a beginning a middle and end and issues raised in the play are resolved
- Dramatic Theatre
- forces the audience to take decisions: makes it clear that there are problems to be solved
- Epic
- turns the spectator into an observer, but suggests that the spectator can question what she or he is seeing
- Write up detailed notes from the lesson.
- Include all of the activities we have done together, including key words and their meaning.
- Distance/Alienation effect
- Marxism
- Chorus
- Placards
- Gest, or Gestus