The Unnatural Theatre

My viewing of the One Man, Two Guvnors production in 2013, and the feelings of chaos, shock, anarchic laughter and anticipation sparked my interest of exploring this play, and why its lazzi and improvisation added to the heightened experience I had, whist viewing this performance. I became interested in how much the One Man, Two Guvnors play written by Richard Bean, was based of the traditional Commedia dell’Arte play The Servant of Two Masters written by Carlo Goldoni. I planned to explore the extent of how much the play was improvised and the extent of how much it was scripted and planned. I looked at why Commedia dell’Arte used improvisation and the approach of incorporating improvisation and lazzi into a performance. I went about doing so by comparing the characters and the scripts of Bean’s One Man, Two Guvnors to Goldoni’s The Servant of Two Masters. I researched the role of Improvisation and Lazzi in traditional commedia dell’Arte and compared it to its role in One Man, Two Guvnors. I decided to carry out my research by surveying audience members who had viewed the production of One Man, Two Guvnors , and finding out how the incorporation of improvisation and lazzi heightened the experience for the audience and impacted them.

During the midst of the Great Depression, Americans were struggling in a fight to live. Factories all around the country were shutting down, causing people to be jobless, even homeless, unable to provide for their families. But the Factories were not the only ones affected. The theatre industry struggled to live on just as much, causing any enjoyment in life to be rare; which brought brilliant idea to the table, the Federal Theatre Project (FTP). This would not only bring jobs to those who are jobless, but bring back a scarce source of life, enjoyment. An Ideal Government funded theatre program the provided “free, adult, uncensored theatre,” as stated by the secretary of commerce, Harry Hopkins. And for 4 years, the FTP was actively trying to provide what it promised, but had a tragic downfall.

For decades people found theatre one of the most enjoyable form of entertainment all across the world. With every play comes a cost. A value which somebody's story is told. Obviously it can be comic drama or despairing,. Each second of these plays are genuinely delightful and exceptional. Where the performing artists show a totally distinctive side of characters to the group of onlookers where they demonstrate to them something new and pleasurable. And behind the theatre and its plays is one person who keeps it all in check and that is the director. The director is like the heart of a person. You don’t see the heart but you know if it’s doing its job correctly

According to Boal if you desire your play to be great, then theater should be about becoming. If on the other hand, your wish is to be a terrible play writer, then yes you should make theater about being. When the flaw or error of the character is presented right from the beginning, the audience does not feel much of an effect. There is virtually no conflict and no story. When a play portrays the current state of a person all throughout, the audience is being told what to do, similarly to being instructed directly, and as a result, the spectator disregards the information after the show is over. However, when theater is about becoming, they audience member is figuratively taken through a ride. As the character changes from a state of happiness

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.

All art, specifically theatre, is created to understand human existence. It is a search for how and why we feel and do the things we do. It’s scavenging for why things happen and the relationships we have to others. It looks for the truth and the calm in the whirlwind that is life.

At the age of fourteen, I was then granted the good fortune to study at Interlochen Arts Academy the traditional techniques of acting and performance. Throughout my time studying at Interlochen, I enjoyed growing as an actor but I always felt that there was something missing. I was lacking the joy of creation. It was at Interlochen that I discovered my passion lied in performance art and in the creation of experimental styled theatre.

Individual responses of various people attending the same performance of a play differs due to their personal experience, education, and profession. When a playwright watch the trope's performance, he or she sees his message disseminate into the audience. On the other hand, someone from a business background recognize opportunity for profit or expansion. The point is, everyone is entitled to our own unique perspective. Our education's, environment's, and experience's forms the foundation to the basis of our viewpoint.

An accomplished American lyricist and composer, Stephen Sondheim, once said: “All the best performers bring to their role something more, something different than what the author put on paper. That’s what makes theatre live. That’s why it persists”. Through my experiences in musical theatre, both in elementary school and high school, I have come to realize that the script is the backbone, or the base with which the actor begins to create. All of the words written down on paper are one dimensional; they are flat. It is only when an actor gives those words a voice that the character begins to come alive. An actor adds all of the other essential layers to the backbone, and suddenly, there are movements, expressions and emotions to fit with the

“In the theatre the actor and the audience both know that the actor is not who she is playing…the matter is, of course, nicely complicated because in some methods of realistic acting, actors are taught how to use their own selves to construct theatrical roles”. (Schechner, 2002, P. 177). Stanislavski and his approach to theatre taught the actors to consume the realities of their everyday lives and embark on an emotional journey to devise their characters for performance. This technique feeds from the practicalities of everyday life; "Verbatim theatre is a form of documentary theatre which is based on the spoken words of real people"( www.dramaonlinelibrary.com), this style of performance is dependent on the use of everyday life. In this case, everyday life has a huge impact on

It is interesting to think about the relationship between the audience and the performance/performer when it comes to watching a play. The borderline of what the audience is supposed to do and not do when watching a performance it depends on the type of the theater that spectator is watching. It is why some theaters establish a fourth wall, in order to show that the borderline between the audience and the performance and it is a borderline that helps to isolate the audience from the performance/performer. However, the idea of a fourth wall does not fulfill every spectator’s expectation of enjoying a performance in the theater. Therefore, there are different types of ways to approach theater. Three Dramatic theorists that reveal different visions in regard to the relationship between the audience and the performance are Emile Zola, Bertolt Brecht and Augusto Boal. In

When the nursing staff and doctors are in the theatre with the individual during the operation, it's important for anyone to ensure they follow strict guidelines to ensure there is a very low risk of an infection to the patient by taking every precaution.

In theatre Actors, Directors, and Designers all play a very unique and significant role in making a performance successful. Each of them are responsible for different aspects of the play which is what makes their role and contribution artistic. Since their roles will differ each uses different techniques or ways to prepare, practice, and improve their contribution.

I had not developed any real research methodologies to find a placement. It was some voluntary work that culminated into a placement as I had a very few if not none contacts with professionals in creative media industries in England. This was an opportunity for me to figure out my choice of major, Identify my interests and figure out the links between my academic majors and future careers, and to test out these interests and connections through the placement. This placement helped me build up early professional experience, and apply what I learnt in “real world’ environment, and begin to develop a network of people in the fields that interest me.

It is no doubt that the film industry has grown exponentially and changed drastically since Pittsburgh enjoyed its first theatre dedicated to motion pictures in 1905 (McNulty). Where graceful starlets and noble gentlemen once ruled the silver screen, we are now subjected to crude, juvenile humor, an endless pool of remakes, and as much action as writers can fit into a two-hour feature. +After having read excerpts from Roger Ebert’s “Great Movies” and Richard Corliss’s essay on films, I am going to analyze the current status quo of theatre going/film watching. *A good portion of filmgoers nowadays lack the awareness of “classic” films; dramas with male and female leads are almost extinct, seen as corny, old-fashioned, naïve or outdated; super hero or “frosh/frat house”/”bromance” type films (Hangover, et al) films dominate the marquis since the main target audience now seems to be teenage boys.