In-Yer-Face Theatre Scene Analysis

The triviality of melodrama is so often the theatrical scapegoat that boils the blood of the modern-day critic: the sentimental monologues, the martyred young lovers, the triumphant hero, and the self-indulgent imagery. Melodrama would seem the ultimate taboo; another failed Shakespearean staging or even worse, an opera minus the pretty music. Ironically, Bertolt Brecht, dramatic revolutionary and cynic of all things contrived found promise in the melodramatic presentation. Brecht examined and manipulated the various superficial and spectacular aspects of theatre, establishing a synthesis of entertainment and social criticism as his fundamental goal. Bertolt Brecht employs various facets of melodramatic technique in The Jewish Wife,

“Audiences today want a real experience in their live performance, because they can get great script based entertainment at home, through various new media sources. Traditional theatre, which appeals on a mental, and hopefully also emotional level, has not been enough to compete with other media, and audiences have been declining. Physical theatre, by contrast appeals to the audience on a physical and emotional level, providing a much more immediate experience than traditional theatre” ~ (Artmedia Publishing in Zen Zen Zo’s “The Tempest” Teacher’s Notes)

Leigh’s statement that ‘The edge of the stage is not an invisible boundary over which the actor must never step but a garden wall across which the actor gossips and flirts with the public as if they were neighbours’ seems to have captured the very essence of audience acknowledgement that is so present in the play Pseudolus. Neither cast nor script of this comedy by Plautus seems particularly bothered by any notion of the fourth wall, and the play is rife with both blatant and subtle character acknowledgement of the audience. Indeed the notion that the fourth wall is some sort of impenetrable barrier between performer and audience seems absurd when one examines the aims of theatre and performance as a whole, and Pseudolus circumvents and breaches this supposed barrier with a variety of means

How Brecht achieves producing this state of consciousness is more subtle and elegant than the previous technique of having actors walk out with blatant placards to remind the audience that they are watching a play. One of the marks of Brecht’s epic theater is his alienation effect, or “a representation which allows [the audience] to recognize its subject, but at the same time makes it seem unfamiliar” (Brecht 1948, 8).

During the 19th century, theater adopted a realistic viewpoint by romanticism but also a rise in modern nationalism to give people a sense of belonging in a community or culture (Carlson 2014: 21). In the 20th century, realism in theater was challenged and plays were now easier to attend due to the improvements of communication and the ability to reach other areas of the world by travel (Carlson 2014: 23-24). Theater is another addition to the world of art that is continuously evolving and adapting to the world and cultures influencing its

As regards the delineation of the characters on stage and outside, the spectator is invited to pay attention to what is said and what is left unsaid, to what is revealed consciously or what is betrayed by the delivery of each of them, their gestures whether coordinately or impulsively performed.

“Social Issues in Theatre” How has theatre reflected social issues throughout time? Olivia Little W.B. Ray High School Candidate Number: 006241-0009 Session: May 2015 Category: Theatre Supervisor: Mr. James Stroud Word Count: 3,092 Citation Style: MLA Abstract

Such as were they would stand or have in their hands while talking. Being able to watch the play version of this play made me see someone else’s point of view. The director stated that because the play was happening in a school that had students and people that cared about the theater it helped more with the success of the play.

As a style of presentational theatre, epic theatre is crafted to exact its purpose; to challenge and instruct the audience to assess models of power and society

The theater is the attempt to bring together various human experiences and to project onto ourselves and others. Theater can range be dark, funny, and thought-provoking. It emphasizes human interaction, which in turn helps people can express themselves. Furthermore, it encourages public speaking and brings people together. I enjoy theater because it influences the way we think and feel about our own lives. In addition, it encourages us to take a look at our values and behavior. Participating in the Open Doors Theater Scholarship gives me the excellent opportunity to explore theater arts, learning more about communications, human relation skills, and the world around us. I am passionate about extending my experiences and taking advantage of

The Alienation effect, commonly referred to as the ‘A-effect’, encourages the audience “to question [a topic’s] … preconceptions and look at the familiar in a new and different way[s]” (Unwin and Jones, 2014) detaching and estranging the audience “so they [can] remain objective and learn from the message being portrayed” (Student Resource Pack, 2018). Conventions of Epic Theatre that are evident in the production, Troll, includes: directly addressing the audience/breaking the fourth wall, actors performing as multiple characters, and incongruent humour. As a school performance, the actors introduced themselves prior to the performance, introducing the audience to the first alienating epic theatre convention: breaking the fourth wall. By breaking this fundamental ‘wall’, the audience endures a discomfort that is not seen in Stanislavski’s method of acting, realism, alienating the audience, “crush[ing] traditional realistic/naturalistic conventions” (Thedramateacher.com, 2018). This technique is utilised when Nicole freezes the scene and directly speaks to the audience, narrating, giving context to the scene or to her character’s relationship with the other character.

Before I set out to find performances to write this paper about, I wanted to make sure that I was experiencing something entirely new and foreign to my long list of plays and performances that I have already seen. I was fortunate enough to attend two new shows that I had not seen before. The first performance was at the Dietrich Theater at Sierra College where I saw Sierra College Theatre Arts’ production of I Never Saw Another Butterfly, written by Celeste Raspanti and directed by Debra Hammond. The second was Little Shop of Horrors: The Musical, written by Howard Ashman and directed by Steve Gold and Mike Mechanick, performed by Rocklin Community Theatre at the Finnish Temperance Hall in Rocklin. Both performances offered a unique and inviting

In the words of Gay McAuley, “for an activity to be regarded as a performance, it must involve the live presence of the performers and those witnessing it…” (McAuley, 2009, cited in Schechner, 2013, pp.38). This statement recognises the importance of both the actor and the audience for something to truly function as a performance. In addition, Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones highlights the significance of the theatrical space and how it can influence an audience stating that “on entering a theatre of any kind, a spectator walks into a specific space, one that is designed to produce a certain reaction or series of responses” (Llewellyn-Jones, 2002, pp.3). The relationship between actor, audience and theatrical space is no less important today than it was at the time of theatre during the Spanish Golden Age and the creation of Commedia dell’arte in Italy. Despite being very close geographically with theatre thriving for both in the same era, sources that explore the social, cultural and historical context of these countries and the theatre styles will bring to light the similarities and differences. This essay will analyse the staging, the behaviour of the audience as well as the challenges the actors faced, and how this directly influenced the relationship between actor, audience and theatrical space.

The above example illustrates not only how the theatrical performance affects the audience, but also how the audience influences its dynamics, development and the characters within it. The actors feel a certain level of acceptance from the viewer, who demands a certain way of depicting the character. Theatre is not just entertainment, itís something much more than that ñ itís education. Theatre should always represent things, rather than

Academic and artistic interest in something is usually a sure sign that matters are unclear, conceptual boundaries are blurred and that old certainties are anything but that. There is also little doubt that the major challenges we face: the media revolution, globalization and migration, climate change, the erosion of public finances and services (to name just a few) – have all in some way a bearing on the public sphere, the realm where issues are debated and where citizens are free to enter and engage in discourse. As the public sphere is primarily a discursive arena located outside and between state bureaucracies on the one hand and economics and business on the other, it occupies a crucial role in the functioning of so-called free societies. The question to be explored here is what role theatre and performance in practice play in this realm and how performance and theatre theory can contribute to the debates.” (Balme