Theatre History Exam Three Notecards Flashcards
Group Theatre
1931-1941.
- At the American Laboratory Theatre
- Came out of Stanislavsky Techniques
- All students from the biggest theatres came together and became an acting company
- They were all better teachers than actors
- Had big personalities and got in fights
- All about finding the American voice
- Dedicated to realism, but did some stylized productions
- The Group theatre ended of disputes
Richard Boleslavsky
Founded Group theatre, came from the Moscow Art Theatre, taught Stanislavsky’s methods
Maria Ouspenskaya
Founded Group theatre, came from the Moscow Art Theatre, taught Stanislavsky’s methods
Harold Clurman
Member of the Group theatre
Cheryl Crawford
Member of the group theatre
Lee Strasberg
Primary director of the group theatre
Clifford Odets
Wrote “Waiting for Lefty” and “Awake and Sing” (1935), playwright and minor actor in the group theatre, perfect american voice
Stella Adler
leading actress in the group theatre, more important as acting teacher than actress
Morris Carnovsky
actor in the group theatre, character actor
Robert Lewis
Actor in the group theatre
Mesiner
Actor in the group theatre
Elia Kazan
Director of streetcar and death of a salesman, actor at the group theatre, gave names up to the house of un-american activity
Stanislavsky and Vakhtangov
both actors in the group theatre
The Actors Studio of 1974
created by Kazan and Crawford, branched off of group theatre
Who was “Beggar on Horseback” (1924) written by?
Kaufman and Connelly, it is a satire of expressionism
Who was “Our Town” (1938) written by?
Thornton and Wilder, influenced by Japanese form, wanted to translate that into american theatre
What are some examples of African American Revues and Musicals?
“A trip to Coontown” (1898) and “Shuffle Along” (1921)
Who wrote “A Trip to Coontown”?
Bob Cole and Billy Johnson
Who starred and wrote the lyrics to “shuffle along”?
Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle starred in it, Adelaide Hall wrote the lyrics, it has an all black cast
Who is Eubie Blake?
A famous african american revue actor
Who is Josephine Bake?
A famous african american actress who tried to be a star in america but didn’t make it, so she went to Paris and became a star
What are two famous black revues?
“Chocolate Dandies” (1924) and “Blackbirds Revues” (1928+)
What is a “Folk Play”
Plays written by white playwrights, and performed by black casts
What are some examples of “Folk Plays”
“In Abraham’s Bosom” (1926) by Paul Green
“Green Pastures” (1930) by Marc Connelly (retelling of the old testement)
“Porgy” (1927) by Dorothy and DuBose Heyward (source play for Porgy and Bess)
Who is Rose McCledon
famous black actress, died very young
Who is Jack Carter?
Famous black actor, did film, played Porgy
What is the Harlem Renaissance?
The acceptance of African American culture into mainstream society
Who is Zora Neale Hurston?
Harlem Renaissance playwright. Wrote “Color Struck” (1925) and “Polk County” (1944) (a musical)
Who is Langston Hughes?
Harlem Renaissance Playwright. He wrote “Mulatto” (1935)- white producers didn’t trust the material so they cut many lines for being “too insensitive to white people, he has to censor his own play, did a production of “Macbeth” set in Haiti, all black cast
Who wrote “Tambourines to Glory” and “Mule Bone” together?
Hurston and Langston, but they ended up hating each other
Who is Charles Gilpin?
A black actor who performed in “The Emperor Jones” by Eugene O’Neill, the first mixed cast play, he also performed with Uta Hagen in Othello
What was “All God’s Chilliun Got Wings” an important play?
Paul Robeson and Mary Blair, it had the first mixed race couple
Who is Lorraine Hansberry?
She wrote “A Raisin in the Sun” (1959), She used traditional structure/realism, Lloyd Richards directed it, SIdney Poitier and Ruby Dee acted in the first production. She also wrote “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window” (1965) and “To Be Young and Gifted and Black” (1969)
Who are Douglas Turner Ward and Robert Hooks?
They created the Negro Ensemble Company (NEC) (1968-1902)
They had a production of “Day of Absence” (1968) where the black actors wore white face
They also did a production of “The River Niger” (1972)
Who is Leroi Jones?
He wrote “Dutchman” (1964) about a woman serial killer who kills black men and he wrote “Slaveship” (1969), He included smells in his production, it occured in the belly of a slave ship, dark
He created the Separationist ideology: the movement to create separate institutions for themselves.
Who is Adrienne Kennedy?
Author of “Funnyhouse of a Negro” (1964), used fun house mirrors
“A Movie Star Has to Star in Black and White” (1976)
“Sleep Deprivation Chamber” (1966)
“Ohio State Murders” (1992), woman is raped by white teacher, gets pregnant, children are murderers
Very Avant-garde
Semi-autobiographical, indirectly about own experience
Who is Ntozake Shange?
wrote “For colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf” (1975)
- the show is a choreopoem, combines poetry and dance
Uses language as you pronounce it, instead of how it is actually spelled
“spell #7” (1979)
Deconstructed black-face minstrelsy
Shows were performed at the public theatre
Who is August Wilson?
Wrote the American Cycle, 10 plays for 10 decades in the 20th century.
Who is Lloyd Richards?
August Wilson’s director until he died
