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What Are The Theatrical Conventions Of Acting In Elizabethan Theatre

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A quote by Ian Mckellan discusses the convention of presentational acting in Elizabethan theater, “They invite us momentarily into their world, like characters on a stage sometimes do, breaking the fourth wall illusion.” This onstage connection between the audience and the actor is rarely seen in modern theater. Yet, it was a major component of all Shakespearean plays. In this essay, I will discuss the theatrical convention of acting style in the play King Lear by William Shakespeare that was performed during the early 15th-century Renaissance. I will also describe how the artistic choices of heightened speech patterns, dramatic gestures, and conventions in which the actors address the audience are all informed by the theatrical conventions of the Elizabethan Era. Although King Lear is still performed during the 21st century, it still focuses on artistic choices that are informed by the theatrical conventions of the presentational acting style of the 15th century. …show more content…

The plays performed were a “performance” for the audience, who knew the actors were aware of them. The acting itself was dramatic with grand gestures and personalities that were not considered realistic or natural. This is quite different from the realistic perspective, we expect from performances today to help us relate to the characters in a performance (Elizabethan Theater, 2015). There are many artistic choices that maintain the conventions of acting style in the Elizabethan Theater in the adapted performance of King Lear, directed by Andrew McCullough as well as the textual script written by William Shakespeare. The most important being the heightened speech patterns, dramatic gestures, and speech conventions addressing the

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