6 - Theater & Literature

Question 1

theater & storytelling in the narrative triad

Answer 1

• between acting and narration (narrative and performing arts)
• static and dynamic (can be acted out)

Question 2

two ways of conveying stories and when are those used (just terms and usage)

Answer 2

Narration = Literature
Acting = Theater

Question 3

Narration

Answer 3

• story told my narrator (voice)
• he is external/not part of story
• characters are described in words (by narrator) -> using third person
• talking about past tense
• (long) monologue

Question 4

Acting

Answer 4

• character speaks -> own voice -> part of the story
• character is embodied (no verbal description, it is visible) -> first person perspective
• present tense
• dialogue (theater represents conversation)

Question 5

Plato - combining narration

Answer 5

mixed; narrated story and talking characters

proactive; narrater uses different voice for each character -> monologue and dialectic

Question 6

personal consequentiality

Answer 6

story has consequences for person; often having complications component

Question 7

fictionality is an …

Answer 7

… art-specific function
- conversation (factual) to theater (fictional) -> recreation of conversation
- storytelling (factual) to literature (fictional) -> developing literally forms
-> fictionality is art specific (learning through others)

Question 8

levels of telling a story

Answer 8

1. description = facts, no story
2. event sequence = causally linked event sequence
3. narration = involves characters, affecting each other, causally linked, experientially of a character
   (contemporary view; not q story when there is no character)

Question 9

semantics

Answer 9

the meaning of words -> conceptual categories

Question 10

syntax

Answer 10

rules for word combinations -> purely about the parts of speech (not caring about meaning) (ex. singular and plural for a word)
-> contains intrinsic narrative (whig did what to whom)

Question 11

MAWA - syntax/semantics

Answer 11

semantics first, no syntax -> has build in storytelling structure later

Question 12

phonology

Answer 12

sound properties of language
-> phoneme = syllables
-> applied to single words

Question 13

prosody/intonation

Answer 13

• sentence level
  1. linguistic prosody; stressed words within sentence & intonational melody (rising and falling pitch; statement or question)
  2. affective/emotional prosody; expression of emotion via voice (applied to whole sentence)

Question 14

language vs speech

Answer 14

• language is semantics and syntax
• speech used to externalize language (using voice) -> speech = one part of language

Question 15

origin of language - theories

Answer 15

• gestural: language began as gesture (later replaced by speech)
• vocal: language began as vocalization
  + prosodic: speech evolved from vocal expressions of emotion
  + syllabic: speech evolved from visual-facial communication (lip smacking); opening/closing mouth -> speech

Question 16

2 major components of a story

Answer 16

plot + character

Question 17

the narrative arc

Answer 17

Beginning …
1. Establisher; present elements of story
2. complication; introducing protagonist

Middle …
3. attempt; protagonist overcoming complication
4. climax (drops suddenly)

Ending …
5. resolution/outcome

-> series of causally related events
-> two dimensions; timeline & emotional intensity/protagonist emotion (tension)
-> somewhat a problem solving cycle

Question 18

types of central conflict

Answer 18

• person vs nature
• person vs person, person vs society or person vs self (most common ones)
• person vs technology
  -> we can learn from those stories (storytelling as route for vicarious learning); connecting to own experience

Question 19

1. plot classification (based on valence at ending)
2. prospectives (classify plot based on beginning)

Answer 19

1. • positive valence -> happy ending
   • negative valence -> sad ending
2. • hopeful beginning -> thriving story
   • negative beginning -> coping story

Question 20

valence beginning/end … story types

Answer 20

1. striving + positive outcome = rise/fall/rise
2. coping + positive outcome = fall/rise
3. striving + negative outcome = rise/fall
4. coping + negative outcome = fall/rise/fall

[story’s are told retrospectively, but are told from beginning to end -> convey causal structure]

Question 21

narrative thinking

Answer 21

• everyday cognitions (we are own protagonists in our life, having goals and need to cope) -> it is ongoing (not storytelling)
• internal narrative, future events

Question 22

autobiographical narrative

Answer 22

• communicate narrative about past events -> told story (plot is fully established)
  -> retrospective

Question 23

mental time travel

Answer 23

past; retrospective; episodic memory

future; prospective; episodic future thinking

Question 24

episodic future thinking

Answer 24

1. simulation - mental representation of future
2. intention - setting goals
3. planning - organize steps to achieve goal
4. prediction - analyze outcome dependent on taken way

Question 25

4 conceptions of self

Answer 25

- ecological self: fundamental, we exist in environment/world as entity - interpersonal self: personas; different interactions require different feelings of self - extended self: beyond presence,mental time travel (simulation/projection) - conceptual self: socially defining categories (conceptual self, defunded by society) -> the self is very multifaceted

Question 26

1) egocentric vs 2) allocentric

Answer 26

1) internal self reference, own eyes 2) external reference, the other (perceiving others)

Question 27

others-as-self (egocentrically) and it’s benefit

Answer 27

perceiving others is processed as perceiving oneself (jumping into that’s person brain) = mentalizing (intersubjectivity; understanding others) (think about what others think/belief) -> predict behaviors of others (especially in relation to self)

Question 28

two systems of causal inference (how did it happen? vs why did she do so?)

Answer 28

1. scientific mode: physical explanations -> forces; applied to any object & humans -> folk physics 2. narrative mode (MAWA): intentional explanations, emotions/beliefs/intentions of person -> folk psychology

Question 29

self-as-other (producing others egocentrically)

Answer 29

- representing another person using own body -> acting = personal mimicry (predicting others egocentrically (replacing ourselves with others)) - everyday role play (adjusting to situation) -> having own personas or pretend to be someone else at times (proto-acting; evolved but personal mimicry) -> united vocal imitation and gestural imitation

Question 30

proto acting

Answer 30

- mostly quotations in conversation (quotation verbs) ~ impressionist; multiple characters, one at a time ~ ventriloquist; one character in dialogue with self (in exchange, back and forth) ~ storyteller; multiple characters in dialogue

Question 31

mentalizing vs mimicry - summarized

Answer 31

mentalizing - conceptual - perceiving others as self mimicry - production - producing self as others

Question 32

3 aspects of self & other (social dramas)

Answer 32

- everyday role playing - proto-acting - dramatic acting

Question 33

theatrical thinking

Answer 33

= social behavior as dramatic performance - relates to display thinking -> social behaviors displayed to people around -> using different personas (variants of self) (stagecraft having static (background and such) & dynamic (posture and such) aspects)

Question 34

impression management

Answer 34

- the impression that is fostered before them; matters are what they appear to be -> let people see the role we playing as we see (form is social display thinking)

Question 35

1) scripts 2) friends/foes -> theater as analogy for social life

Answer 35

1) protocols of (social) interactions 2) friends as supporters, antagonist as obstacle (social drama) -> both present in life

Question 36

Acting is an ___ function

Answer 36

art-specific

Question 37

misrepresentation

Answer 37

- licensed = allowed to pretend, everyone is aware; actors representing themselves as someone else - unlicensed = impostor, not aware that person is playing someone else -> every day role playing

Question 38

double consciousness (audience)

Answer 38

perceiving the actor in real world & perceiving the character in storyworld -> character and actor at same time and in same body (when viewing theater)

Question 39

actor getting into character (2 ways)

Answer 39

1. gestural acting: - externalize character; mimicry of their gestures -> outside in (surface first approach) [traditionally used more] 2. psychological acting: - internalize character; self-identification, getting into characters mind -> inside out (inside first approach) [yields better performance ] -> narrative gestures affect emotional/partial circumstances while acting