Modern Theatre

Influences on Realism

- Darwin — His theory on natural selection and evolution made playwrights and actors take into consideration the environment and heredity of a character

- Freud — His analysis on the human mind sparked a desire to show whole and complete characters whose conscious and unconscious motivations were justified

- Marx — His writings on the negative aspects of capitalism inspired playwrights to write realistic stories that spotlighted human oppression

Influences on Realism

Problem Plays

Problem Plays

- Problem plays were realistic plays that pointed out an issue but offered no real solution.

- This was based on the idea that before a solution could be found, the problem must be understood.

- If the audience felt distressed by it, they should work to solve the issue instead of complaining about the play (attack the message, not the messenger).

Box Sets

Since realism in writing and acting was big, it was important that the sets showed the same amount of realism and the audience understood how the characters were affected by their environments

Box sets were true-to-life interiors that contained one room or multiple rooms

Box Sets

The Fourth Wall

The fourth wall of the box set was removed so that the audience felt as though they were seeing into the private lives of the characters

Fourth Wall

Example of Breaking the Fourth Wall in Media

Examples of Realism in Modern Theatre

Playboy of the western world (1907) by John Millington Synge

Sweat (2015) by Lynn Nottage

Cake (2018) by Bekah brunstetter

Henrik Ibsen :

Father of Realism (1828 - 1906)

Henrik Ibsen

• Romantic writer
• Norwegian history and folk literature
• Not realistic

• Turning point
• Became impressed after he saw one of his historical plays being performed realistically instead of the very dramatical, traditional way

• Began writing plays with everyday language portrayed by ordinary people

George Bernard Shaw:

Cerebral and socially Relevant

(1856-1950)

George Bernard Shaw

• British playwright

• Poverty and corruption which exposed the abuse of the higher class

• “High Comedies”
• Socially relevant plays that had an intellectual scope so vast that it forced audiences to reassess their values

• Shavian Comedies
• Plays that included characters who can’t resist an argument about social issues
• Politics, morals, art, and religion

Anton Chekhov:

The lazy Chaos of life (1860-1904)

Anton Chekhov

• Earlier plays were unsuccessful (ex: The Seagull [1896])

• Joined the Moscow Art Theatre, under Stanislavsky
• Stanislavsky restaged The Seagull and the play became successful

• Argued against the idea of protagonists winning against impossible odds

• Included characters who lived day-to-day lives with unordinary happenings
• No heroes or villains
• Similar to shows such as Friends, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Drake and Josh

Rise of Avant-Garde

• Avant-Garde- can be interpreted as any artists or work of art that is experimental , innovative, or unconventional

• This new type of theater was breaking the boundaries of realism and naturalism (draw the audience back to the live stage)

Symbolism to Expressionism

• Symbolism: in rebellion against the ideas of realism and naturalism; truths can be hinted at only through symbols

• Expressionalism: a form of theatre in which the artist imposes their own internal state into the outside world itself

• “A subjective account of a subjective perception.” (p.375)

Symbolism to Expressionism

Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway

Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway

• Off broadway: small theatres coming up in the streets of Manhattan, putting on productions about current day issues.

• This term was not introduced until the 1950s; before it was called off broadway, it was called the little theatre movement, which staged inexpensive versions of significant plays in small theatres.

• As production costs grew, it resulted in more alternative and experimental theatres called off-off broadway. These small theatres usually took place in basements, cafes, and any space that could be transformed into a theatre.

Bread and Puppet Theatre

- using giant puppets and actors to denounce the Vietnam War and materialism.

Bread and Puppet Theatre

Living Theatre

founded in 1946, this is theatre that dedicated itself to social issues and highly political plays.

Living Theatre

Commercial Theatre

• Commercial Theatre- “show business” leads plays to only stage the “safe” plays

• Regional Theatre- they are permanent professional theatres that are located outside of New York City

Historical Theatre

• Productions by playwrights like Sophocles and Shakespeare are staged in theatres across the country in theatres, high schools, colleges, and communities.

Experimental Theatre

• Is “flourishing” because “playwrights, directors, designers, and actors want to test their premises and reinvent their art.”

• Performance art- a term used to describe performances that mix theatre, visual arts, music, dance, gesture, and rituals