The American Musical And Dramatic New York

A very important aspect to Stanislavski's methods was subtext. He really wanted actors to pick up the underlying text of the dialogue being said. He wanted the actors to not say the subtext but show it through body movements, pauses in speech, gestures, etc. This is what was the main element for speaking to the audience, the subtext was something the audience could not read, it was something they had to pick up from viewing. In Chekhov's plays silence was one of the main forms of subtext, as it would enrich the scene. This also builds a connection with the audience because the subtext is almost as if there is a secret between the audience and the character and no else knows it but them. Thus heightening the audience's interest in the

In his book, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, Goffman (1959) focuses on the self as a staged production in which people actively present themselves to different audiences one encounters. To bolster his conceptualization, Goffman used an interesting metaphor of “all the world’s a stage” (1959, 254). This, he terms as a “dramaturgical approach” (Goffman 1959, 240) in which an actor puts on a show for others; drawing analogies between human behaviors and the theater. Goffman (1959) likens the individual to an actor on stage performing for and with other individuals involved in the situation. Three types of space exist for the actor to perform on, to enact the self, and to interact with others: the front stage, the backstage, the outer region. Goffman (1959) utilizes specific dramaturgical terms such as performance, teams, front and back regions, sign-vehicles, and highlights the process of dramatic realization. These terms will be discussed in the following sections.

Constantin Stankislavski and Uta Hagan are considered to be two greats in the art of acting. After reading the excerpts from the packet, and the chapters in the book it is really understandable as to why they are so respected in this art. When taking a look into their work there are some similarities about their craft and technique, however there are also some differences, as Utah Hagen branched out as did many others. In this paper, I’ll be taking a look at where these pioneers of their craft share similar methods, and where they differentiate in the use of their technique.

the audience there a product of there environment and giving his emotional response to the

The Given Circumstances and the Magic If in the Stanislavski System One of the most fundamental principles of the Stanislavski system is that an actor must always strive to achieve a sense of psychological and inner truth. They must have a clear understanding of the internal thoughts and emotions of their character, so that they are able to think and act as the character would to any given situation. He also believed that all action on stage should be done with a purpose, and that an actor must be aware of the motivations of the character and their overall objective with in a play, in order to make a performance as truthful and believable as possible: "All action in theatre must have inner

Broadway was one of the first forms of entertainment. Before there were television programs, or movies, there was Broadway. Broadway originated in New York in 1750, when actor-manager Walter Murray built a theatre company at the Theatre on Nassau Street. A musical would show about once every weekend. The shows were very male based, and would commonly show a relationship between young boys and their fathers. Women were slowly integrated into Broadway, and as society changed its point of view on women, so did theatre.

Which is quite a clear illustration of the purpose or 'role' of stanislavskian actors. Stanislavski set out a way of preparing for a role so that the actor could fulfil his role of pure imitation. He started off by asking the actor to explore the character. He wanted to know what their objective was in each unit of action and what their super objective was. The super objective was the sum of all the units and their objectives.

== == == == Stanislavski believed that theatre was about working together, he recognized the need to improve the theatre practice of his time and saw actors needed methods to help them act well and consistently.

Two great writers of American musical theatre, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, had one idea in common. They wanted to present to the American public a new and revolutionary musical that would stand out above the rest. They wanted to make an impact on the societies of the era. They wanted to be creative and do something that was considered rebellious. When they finally combined their ideas together they created an American masterpiece in musical theatre: Oklahoma!. It was the first Rodgers and Hammerstein collaboration, starting the most successful creative partnership in the history of American musical theatre.

An Actor Prepares is quite an undertaking. Stanislavski strives to communicate to his audience the highly theoretical and, therefore, obtuse concepts of acting. Theoretical concepts are many things, not the least of which is accessible to a broad audience. Stanislavski attempts to remedy this dilemma by formatting his book as a fictional class with fictional characters who explore and learn about the theoretical concepts that he possets are essential to truthful art. This classroom format makes the book particularly accessible for acting students who can recognize themselves in the various students of the book as well as the trials, tribulations, and eventual successes that these fictional students experience along the way. This fictional classroom follows a similar progression to our own Acting 101 class because like Stanislavski’s imagined students, we have begun with the most elementary, sophomoric aspects of acting and built up from there. Many of the exercises that the students in An Actor Prepares

Furthermore, Stanislavsky expresses that although he believes acting should come from within, the actor should not be too carried away in the moment as he wouldn’t have a variety of emotions produced making the performance watchable at first, but then slowly dragging; a bit like someone repeating the same joke over, and over again. Furthermore, if the actor is carried away, in a realism production, he will jump right to the end emotionally and textually, a bit like revealing that Macbeth is killed by Macduff in the first act of Shakespeare’s Macbeth.

The magic if is best described in the Stanislavski method as using given circumstances to create the most realistic portrayal of a character. Asking the question of “if” allows the actor to better

Russian practitioner Constantin Stanislavsky is renowned for his work in naturalistic theatre and his focus on the process of character development for the actor. I have found his techniques extremely useful when trying to create believable characters. This essay will explore elements of Stanislavsky's system including emotion memory and the magic 'if', looking at how he implemented the techniques and how I have used them in practice, in specific relation to the play Mine by Polly Teale. I will also explore how effective each of the techniques can be and when individual ones are perhaps more appropriate or accessible to actors when exploring characters.

The musical film in the United States is largely associated with Broadway theatre. Broadway is an area in New York City where the biggest theatres are located, accommodating at least 500 people. Smaller theatres are said to be located Off-Broadway and even smaller theatres are called Off-Off-Broadway. Some notable musical films such as Chicago (2002), My Fair Lady (1964) and West Side Story (1961) were adapted from musical plays and trace their origins to Broadway where they first started their production. Some Off-Broadway productions also enjoyed a surge of popularity that warranted their expansion to film such as Rent (2005) and Fame (1980). Some musical films were adapted from West End productions which is the British counterpart of Broadway in London. Examples of such films are The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), Oliver! (1968), and Mamma Mia! (2008).

assembled the audience will attach a specific meaning or emotion to it’ (The Kuleshov Experiment