Bertolt Brecht

NOTES:

• Bertolt Brecht wrote Mother Courage
• Loved to do Epic Theatre versus Dramatic Theatre
• Aspects of Epic Theatre:
• not always orderly 
• argumentative
• serious issues
• Communistic
• Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, theatre director, and Marxist
• a practitioner during the 20th century
• wrote about aspects of war
• lived during World War 2
• Cold War

Practitioner Projects

Anne Bogart

• Lucy and Hwa and Mrs. Moon did a play about monkeys and post-modernism. It was very interesting and comical. It showed aspects of Anne Bogart in that it was not very controlled. The imagination from actors were required. The play chosen was also very creative and different. It used a lot of comical aspects and allowed the actors to think instead of being very controlled.

Constantin Stanislavski

• Toby, Lauren, and Josh did a play for Constantin Stanislavski. It was run through twice in order for us to see the difference between realism and surrealism. The audience is first seen as just an audience and in the second time through, the actors really became the characters. Toby, Lauren, and Josh made it much more realistic the second time through and really made us feel more like spectators rather than an audience.

Robert Wilson

• Robert Wilson was done by William and I. We did our play called Long Ago and Far Away. It dealt with a couple fighting over what exactly reality is. William and I used lights to give it a Robert Wilsony feel. We also brought in many props and made them specific to the scene. The story itself was very Robert Wilson like as it questioned reality and raised more questions to the audience than answer. I had a really great time with it and it was a whole lot of fun to act out as Robert Wilson actors/directors. 

Sources for Drama Project

Here are my sources for my Project :)

Websites:

• "Robertwilson.com." Robertwilson.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Nov. 2013.
• "Robert Wilson." Encyclopedia Britannica. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Nov. 2013.
• "World Socialist Web Site." The Work of Theatre Director Robert Wilson and Other Documentary Films -. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Nov. 2013.
• "Robert Wilson (Director)." Robert Wilson News. N.p., 01 Nov. 2013. Web. 01 Nov. 2013.

Books:

• Shevtsova, Maria. Great Britain: Routledge, 2007. Print.
• Cole, Susan L. "Robert Wilson Directs The Golden Windows and Hamletmachine."Directors in Rehearsal. New York: Routledge, 1992. 144-69. Print.

B

B

ROMEO & JULIET : Mis en Scene

So.... My school, SFS, performed the one and only ROMEO AND JULIET! And yes, if you're wondering, I was so excited to take part. :) But, no, I did not get a "main" character. I was the fabulous, Rosaline. With exactly the same amount of lines as Servant 12, none. But I was still so grateful to be able to say that I helped take part of this amazing performance. Let me just say that it was absolutely enchanting to be a part of this cast and play. I was quite amazed at how quickly we were able to pull this together and how hard the actors were working to memorize and perform one of the greatest love stories in the world.

(Our Romeo and Juliet)

In this post, I will be talking over...

Actor's Performances:

• individualized or typical acting style
• actor's relationship with groups:moves, blocking, trajectory
• text/body and actor/role relationships
• gesture, mimicry, make-up
• voice:quality, effect of hearer, relationship to diction and singing

(Mercutio in the left; Romeo in the front)

The individualized or typical acting style of the actor's were very dramatized in a way. Besides Romeo and Juliet being either crazy happy and then moving on to worry some depression, the other characters were mainly rather normal with their emotions. Romeo sounded a bit too much like the typical emotionally unstable "Romeo" you see in every movie. The way our Romeo was different was that he was able to add some of his character into the character. The original actor already being on the sensitive side, it was not very difficult to imagine him as the "perfect" Romeo. Juliet was quite amazing. She portrayed that innocent yet desperate state all teenage girls are in. She was able to seem perfectly careless and free and yet taking every news in as if her life depended on it. 

There was only Mercutio and Tybalt that seriously stood out in their character as side characters. The actors' relationship with the rest of the cast was quite amazing, in my opinion. How the actors were able to play with the other characters in the cast AND read their hundreds of memorized lines of Shakespeare. It seemed almost effortless for them, even though, I did in fact see the tears, sweat, and blood of the actors memorizing during practices. They played very well off of each other. For example, climbing on each other's backs, running, bumping into each other, dancing and freezing, pushing, pulling, fighting, crying, dying, laughing, limping, helping, and stabbing. Everything was just done so fluidly. I was so proud and honored to be a part of it.Watching backstage, I am not completely positive of how the audience heard or saw or reacted, but I know they must've been just as enchanted as I was.

IMPROVEMENTS FOR QUARTER 2: IB Theatre Class Is No Joke

Mrs. Moon, our IB Drama teacher, has seriously sat us down and talked to our class of the need to really improve in our participation, devotion, and work in class. I am not gonna lie, sometimes I did put Theatre work to the last minute, thinking that it was not of my top priority, but listening to her speak, looking at my grade, and reading other exemplary blogs, I started to really realize the areas in which I could improve. Here are a few notes in which I kept in my mind to remember in order to really improve.

• I really need to improve on my blog. My blog was not exactly my BEST, nor even close to my best.
• I need to pay more attention take notes during class.
• I need to take notes and have a better eye over the certain characteristics and aspects of a play I may go to watch.
• I need to try to really improve myself and see in which area I can grow (as an actor, director, designer).
• I need to learn some theatre terms to use in my blog and in class.
• I need to prioritize this class and remember it is still an IB class.

To be completely honest, sadly, my Theatre test grade came out as an embarrassing 75%. This is not only a sign of a lack of determination, but also a sharp reminder to stay focused on the task at hand during IB Theatre. You get what you worked for, so if I gave only 75% of myself in Theatre class, well, that's pretty much what I should expect to see in my grades. Overall, what I learned, IB Theatre class is no joke. 

IB THEATRE TEST

Allie Ahn

IB Theatre Test

October 21, 2013

1.     Theatre is a passion for so many different people for a variety of reasons. It is a way of expressing, creating, and conveying. Because there are different issues and ideas today, theatre is headed towards more modern themes. The world is becoming more advanced technologically, and, therefore, is allowing people around the world to unite. Not only is there unification in the world, but also in theatre and its themes. A huge theme that I believe will start spreading not only in music and books, but also in theatre, is New Age-ism. The New Age theme is really focused on nature and unification. I do not think that theatre will ever come to be just on the big screens or in technology because live theatre has been a part of history for hundreds of years. There may be different ways of performing or showing, but watching something in movies or technology cannot compare to the unified excited feeling of live theatre. I completely disagree about the lack of need for live theatre and its effectiveness in post-modernism. Live theatre brings on a different feeling and mood than any movie or TV show. Live theatre is needed in order to convey the “realness” of the actors and the emotion, action, feeling, message, and connection that they are trying to convey and have with the audience.

2.    Five characteristics of Postmodernist theatre performance:

·      Technology was greatly used in the Hi-Seoul Festival. There was one show in which the people were tied to ropes and swinging around and dancing. It was extremely technological in that the actors would also play with the set and music, which was all done through technology.

·      Symbolism was very much used in the Hi-Seoul Festival. It was in the first show we saw with the French Dancers/Actors all in a circle running and dancing. There was not an actual set with actors acting, but the theme was about the aspects of society. They used their bodies to convey that message.

·      The French play in the very beginning was very multi-cultural. Mrs. Jefferson asked them if the group was practicing from France, but it was amazing to see how there were Koreans and Americans all a part of the play as well. They had all joined in Korea, but were already practicing mainly in their native countries. It did not focus on one cultural theme, but helped to expose the aspects of society through their dance and movement. The painting show also was multi-cultural in that there were French painters/dancers/actors conveying the story of Japanese War victims.

·      The plays with the cranes were surreal. The actors were playing with the cranes and dancing/acting/singing at the same time. It was very interesting to watch and was quite bizarre and out of the ordinary. I am not positive of what message they were trying to convey, but it was still interesting and out of the ordinary to watch. It was almost like a circus as the music, setting, actors, and scenes seemed almost unreal.

·      Mixing Ideas and Images were greatly seen in the French painting show. The painters were using chords, brushes, and many other unknown things in order to perform their show. It was interesting to watch as the whole show was not made up of words or acting, but mainly just using paintings and dancing to make up the performance. The painters were drawing many different images to convey the message and point of their show.

33.   Peter Brook was very definitive about Holy and Deadly Theatre. He stated the importance of Holy Theatre and greatly warned against the dangers of deadly theatre, but what exactly is Holy and Deadly theatre? Deadly theatre is theatre just for the sake of performing. It is all just a performance without any depth behind the play, actors, and atmosphere. It is simply a loud, big event with wild colors and spotlights. These aspects are not technically the reasons why it is Deadly Theatre, but just relying on these aspects to perform a play is. Peter Brook describes Holy Theatre as something with a strong message. A play that is willing to get a little dangerous with their message and go to the inner depths of society and its problems, a play that can relate to the audience and become a part of their lives. He even stated that just having an empty room with one actor walking across could be defined as Holy Theatre.

44.    I read the play “The Exonerated” and there were many different 21^st century aspects to the play. Recontextualism was greatly used in the play. It starts with the narrator talking to the audience and slowly the scene sets as he joins the court for the opening scene. He pretends to be starting the show, but it was so interesting to later find that he was actually just in a scene. Virtuosity is an aspect that can be seen in the play. The actors do not really rely on just their acting to make the play “real”. The actors must be able to talk to one another or even just at the audience. They must play with the set, even though it never changes. They are really relying on the connection with the audience to make it “real”. Extreme symbolism is also used in the play. The actors and set do not seem or act very dramatically. They are not required to move around the whole set or act wildly, but each and every prop and word is very important as it symbolizes a lot of the social issues that they must try to convey. Not only do they talk of the prison issues, but also the issues between race, status, and language.

Plays Seen!

As it was required for my IB Theatre class, I was excited to go watch my first two theatrical shows in Korea. Sure, I have seen some in America, but I was excited to see what Korea has to offer....

• King Lear by: Suzuki
• Costume - the costume was very ornately designed, it was very big and colorful
• Actors - the actors were very stiff; lots of control over their actions and talking; spoke solely from the diaphragm; they mixed their languages between Korean and Japanese
• Set - there wasn't a huge set; there was not a variety of sets; the actors acted out the scenes and props
• Technology - there wasn't a variety of spotlights; the lighting was very simple with only one solid color at a time
• Hi-Seoul Festival
• Actors - the actors in the plays were all different, but to focus on the first one with the french dancers... the actors did not have a set scene; they were running in an organized chaotic motion

Daniel Foley

So... two weeks ago, Daniel Foley came to give us a lesson on Shakespearean Theatre.

DANIEL FOLEY

• As an actor, Keep posture straight
• pretend a string is pulling you up
• someone is always watching YOU
• Vocalize YOUR voice
• make your presence known
• let the audience know when you enter
• Keep a rhythm
• Shakespeare script is written with a beat
• watch the tone, volume, and emotion in voice
• emphasize the main words (usually at end of sentence)

WHAT WE DID:

• walked to the rhythm and beat of Shakespeare phrases
• acted out a few Shakespeare monologues
• studied words, languages, and history of Shakespeare
• repeated lines with more emotion, volume, spead

La Veronal

Marcos Marau

• A new choreographer of the field of dance theatre
• never took a dance lesson
• uses not only dancers, but also photographers, actors, writers, and film makers

• These "dancers" do things that are out of the ordinary
• does not always dance to music
• dress in random costumes and outfits (eg. fencing clothes)

(Performed in the Seoul International Dance Festival this past Monday)

“We are working on the body language and vocabulary and we think that the music is inside the movement,” the choreographer said. “In my pieces, dancers often work with the rhythms and they are trying to fight the silence. Our goal is to find a rhythm without the music.” 

“I like to put abstraction of movement in a context that you can read and find a new meaning.”

Chapter 16 and Contemporary Play Reaction Questions

How is the play a reflection of contemporary theatrical styles?

It was very interesting because it moved away from the traditional way of theatre and moved on to where there was only one set scene and the actors would come to the scene and all talk at the audience. The actors were the storytellers of their own story.

Can you identify an -ism for your play? Multiple -isms? Create your own. 

It is modernism. It portrays a modern situation and issue. The play touches very sensitive and controversial topics of the prison system in America. It also briefly touches racism, sexism, and corruption in the American government.

Brook speaks about authors being alive. Is your playwright alive?

Yes, the play is very alive in my opinion. It is willing to be "dangerous" and have a deeper meaning behind the words and actions. The play was very interesting and stayed alive throughout it. It did not always involve a huge set with many different props, but yet the actors and meanings behind the play was really deep.

Can you see your plays connection with today's society? Or do you feel that your play is art for art's sake? Explain.

This play definitely touches and connects with today's society, more than just being art for art's sake. It involved people in everyday situations getting stuck in the worst problems and issues being convicted wrongfully. There was racism, sexism, and injustice, which is still shown today in our society. It really helped to portray the corruption as well. 

If you were to choose to produce this play which style would best fit? Or do you think it would be a good idea to mix styles, periods, and cultures like Brook often did?

I really like the play the way it is now. It has just the right amount of darkness and emotion that would require this play to have impact and a deeper meaning. It is good just the way it is and mixing different styles into it could potentially obscure the deeper meaning behind the play. 

After looking over the chapter, reflecting on the type of theatre you have seen recently and reading this new play where do you think theatre is headed? What will be the new -ism?

I think that the New Age- ism is a great potential for forming the next -ism. The New Age is catching on and people are listening more to New Age music and beliefs. It based off of being very accepting to all people of all races, cultures, beliefs, and ethnicities. 

SHADOWLAND

Recently, in Korea, the Shadowland group came to show their performance. The video above is a little taste of who this amazing group is.

It is quite interesting in how they are using the ancient Indian shadow puppet form of theatre to create a new modern take on it. They make it new and exciting.

All the performers are so talented and so muscular. They use their bodies to create images, characters, and scenes. This group of people not only work with shadows, but they often perform just in their natural state. The actors are all extremely muscular and fit and healthy. They perform many different acts and show many examples of post-modernist characteristics. There actual theatre group is called the Pilobulus.

WHICH PLAY SHOULD WE CHOOSE?!

These are the choices among the plays that we are to choose from for our IB performance:

• Eurydice by Sarah 
• Eurydice is actually a greek mythology, but in this play, you will see the modern version of it. 
• The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
• Last Days of Ballyhoo 
• Ordinary People

I had thought that I had wanted to do a comical play, but after reading through the plays I think that Ordinary People would be the best choice based on the number and storyline and characters.

Peter Brooks: The Deadly Theatre

Is theatre nothing more than entertainment?

• No, in today's day, we see theatre as something wildly entertaining and extremely loud and glamorous. But we realize that theatre is something much deeper with meaning. Theatre can be made with just an empty room and only one action happening. It can be done in anytime anywhere. 

How does the deadly theatre take easily to Shakespeare?

• Just like I mentioned before in the above question, I believe that theatre today tries to be like a big circus show. It must be wildly loud, bright, and entertaining. Shakespeare is obviously a huge influence today in entertainment. So whenever directors and actors perform and do Shakespeare, they try to imitate it in the "original way". It gets rather boring and people try to imitate past performances. It gets repetitive. Therefore, Shakespeare plays have been doomed to repeat over and over again and has set itself into a pattern of deadly theatre.

Is "boringness" a certain guarantee of a worthwhile event?

• No, not always. Obviously in every event, there will be moments that seem a bit dull or "boring", but it does not guarantee that it will be worthwhile. It also depends on one's definition of "worthwhile". To me, a worthwhile event does not require every second and moment to be fun-filled, it has to be meaningful and purposeful.

What role does mediocrity play?

• Mediocrity seems like such a boring aspect to have in a play, but in reality, because of the mediocre moments you can look forward to the climax and it more emphasizes the climaxes of the play in theatre. It gives you something to hope for and helps to give more purpose.

What is the difference between passing down "meaning" and "manner"?

• Passing down manner is a physical aspect that you can see. It is passing down a physical way someone has interpreted a play. It has more to do with the actors, setting, lighting, makeup, music, and technology. Passing down meaning is more of a mental or emotional aspect that you feel or take. It is more to do with the moral and seeing the play in a different perspective.

Is it true that "the best dramatists explain the least"? Can you think of some examples from plays you have seen or read?

• Yes, the best dramatists do not have the need to explain every action and reason for why they acted and said the things they did. People can just immediately see and receive the action and interpret it in their own way. 

How can you go from Deadly Theatre to Living Theatre as an actor?

• You need to realized the importance of theatre and read this book by Peter Brooks to see what exactly deadly theatre is. It will show you how to avoid being an actor of deadly theatre and transition to living theatre. You also need to realize that theatre is not just a big show, it is an actual form of art and a way to express yourself and take responsibility for your actions. It is about being dangerous and voicing out your emotions and opinions.

How did Peking Opera lose its connectedness to the life of society around it?

• Because Peking Opera was focused on the ancient traditions and cultures. It was unable to relate to the audiences of the modern society. It held on so tightly and strictly to the ancient times. 

At the heart of the meaning of Living Theatre: "theatre is always a self-destructive art, and it is always written on the wind." What is your interpretation of this?

• Theatre is self-destructive in that it does not lose its meaning or interest because of what people feel or what people think. It is not based on publicity nor is it based on popularity. It is based on its ability to relate and connect with the audience. It is self-destructive in that it depends on the art if it will stay connecting or if it will get old and not relate to later audiences.

• It is written in the wind in that it does not always stay current or consistent. It really depends on how well it is at staying current and close to the hearts of the people.

According to Brooks, what should be influencing theatre at all times?

• Theatre should always be influenced by the time and occurrences and by the opinion and voices of the people living at the time. It should be influenced by imagination and expression.

Other Questions:

• How do actors fix themselves from performing dangerous theatre?
• Do all or most actors agree with Peter Brooks about there being a dangerous theatre?

Stuff About Peter Brooks

Peter Brook has been writing

an experimental designer and practitioner,

influential

experimental stagings of classical dramas

• greek
• shakespearan
• ex: midsummer nights dream into a circus theme

Introduced a new approach to Shakespeare

wrote many essays about the dead holy and rough theatre

his goal is immediate theatre

• he does not like talking or referring to the past, he believes theatre is in the moment and created through a improvisation

1971, he walked away from the British Theatre

international center of theatre research

he wanted to see what would happen if he got people from all over the world to become a theatre company (africa, england, india, united states) all in French 

started creating theatre and experimenting with theatre

not all could speak english but were able to communicate and express through physical theatre

a way he improvised and created

took the troupe to africa and went to different villages and perform improvised performances and some audiences even joined in

he made a 9 hour play with his troupe and used only natural elements (rivers, fires, chariot wheels, torch light, mud) use anything to create play

He was very much into the natural environment

the setting is also very natural and yet extremely characteristic and strong

he turned the mahabarata into a play and created the first play which was an Indian classic

• the  coat

He includes the audience into whatever he performs

Actor/audience relationship

• The Suit

Staging form adopted

• not a cluttered stage: minimalism
• not a lot happening to the set but focused on the characters
• very emotional lighting
• very natural setting with many open spaces

Interpretation/production style

• every aspect is planned but is unfolded as it is rehearsed
• the director becomes a part of the ensemble

Design Elements

• very natural
• use of natural elements
• heavily researched designs

Role of actors and performance style/audience response

• actors are encouraged to search within themselves
• trained, and equipped to prepare for any given show

Technical Elements

• white light is extremely important
• maximum use of minimum means
• little/to no use of technology (yet powerful)

Audience Response

• invited to be part of the reaction 
• encouraged to use your imagination

Post-Modernist Theatre

Post-Modernist Characteristics

• They raise more questions than they answer
• Taking something old and turning it upside down
• Andy Warhol

• Formed from anti-realistic art and into symbols
• Its not about the art or place or scene it is mainly about the person that is creating that scene and art and deconstructs to make us think of the idea of art than the art itself
• Instead of looking for the ordinary or the surface, but the disorder or the missing piece
• Instead of finding the message or the idea, it is about appreciating what the conclusion was in itself
• ex: breaking dancing, hip hop, djing, speed surfing, rap, commercializing
• The first real post-modernist performance was in sweden called Dadaism.
• Theatre of the Absurd was based on the pessimism of people.
• Theatre became almost a ironic metaphor.
• Instead of having perfect order or hidden subliminal objects or messages, many times it is right out there for people to interpret.
• Non-linear theatre
• ex: Angels in America, Invention of Love
• Open theatre: reflecting humanity, and not limited to a certain time or place, you are creating roles and not the character itself
• Diverse Theatre: bringing out ideas and elements that might have been otherwise unacceptable
• The Vagina Monologues: Eve Ensler
• helped to voice women's issues and racial issues
• Global Theatre and Macaronic Drama
• Globalization of the world
• Macaronic Drama is thrown together (like pasta) different languages and influences in one play and multiple perspectives being represented
• Theatre of Difference
• has to do with sexual differences
• Non-Traditional Casting
• Patrick Steward- a white man playing the black Moor Othello with his black wife Desdemona
  
• Cross-Color Casting
• Spectacular Theatre
• Cirque de Soleil/Performance Art
  
• Verbatim Theatre
• People that go and interview people and listen and embody the person and act out the person's story and turn it into a theatre
• Dangerous Theatre
• Theatre of Community
• Clifford Odets/ Group
• Theatre waiting for lefty
• Movement Art and Dance/ Theatre

• Stomp/Blue Man Group/Pina/Bausch/Matthew Bourne
• Leaders Today in the Theatre World
• Peter Brook/Rober Wilson

Types of Theatre

• Asian American Theatre

• Hispanic Theatre

• Native American Theatre

• Feminist Theatre

• Gay and Lesbian Theatre

• Performance Art

• Postmodernism

• International Trends:
• African Theatre and Drama
• Latin American Theatre
• Theatre in the Middle East
• Asian Theatre
• Alternative European Theatre

3 Truths About Drama

1. Theatre reflects culture.

• ex: You can understand what was going on in people's minds through the arts and find out their   spirits, philosophies, feelings, and beliefs

2. Artists must be "dangerous".

• ex: Artists expose the hearts of the matters and they have the power to create something that is risky and dangerous.
• ex: In Russia, poetry can be dangerous because the people who reads them were in danger of death.

3. The origins of theatre is not Western Theatre, but World Theatre.

• ex: We often believe that Western Theatre is the origins of all theatre, but in reality, there is World Theatre which helped create and become the influence of Western theatre or just theatre all together.

Other Notes:

• The church first banned theatre because of the gladiators and the olympic games that tortured Christians.
• The church then reopened theatre because the people did not all know how to read latin so the church brought back theatre to help the common people understand the Bible stories more easily.
• War can twist theatre and art and instead of reality plays, they go through disillusionment and led to modernism.
• Then post-modernism came afterwards and is art with no rules or boundaries.