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.