Midterm Flashcards
1
Q
Abbey Theatre:
A
- also known as the National Theatre of Ireland first opened its doors to the public in 1904.
- performances played to a mainly working-class audience rather than the usual middle-class
- The Abbey was the first state-subsidized theatre in the English-speaking world; from 1925 onwards it received an annual subsidy from the Irish Free State.
2
Q
Beaumarchais:
A
- experimented in writing short farces for private audiences, but he now had ambitions to write for the theatre
- plays are indicative of the change in social attitudes before, during, and after the French Revolution
- dramatic and comedic style
3
Q
Georg Buchner (1813-1837):
A
- Wrote Woyzeck
- German Novelist and Playwright
- considered part of the Sturn and Drang Movement
- died with two unfinished plays (one was Woyzeck)
- remained in manuscript until 1870’s but likely known to other authors
- not performed until 1913
- all version require someone to “finish” the play
4
Q
Anton Chekov (1860-1904):
A
- Russian
- grandson of serfs
- Doctor and Writer - jokes and short stories
- major bread winner for family - became a doctor to support himself
- closely tied to Moscow Art Theatre
- players where “nothing happens”
- very aware of social change
5
Q
Covent Garden:
A
- an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London.
- The large building is often referred to as simply “Covent Garden”, after a previous use of the site of the opera house’s original construction in 1732.
- It is the home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House.
- Originally called the Theatre Royal, it served primarily as a playhouse for the first hundred years of its history.
In 1734, the first ballet was presented.
6
Q
Hannah Cowley:
A
- wrote Belle’s Stratagem
- well respected
- comedic
- 1780 had trouble getting the show up
- equal following of men and women
7
Q
Diorama:
A
a model representing a scene with three-dimensional figures, either in miniature or as a large-scale museum exhibit.
8
Q
Domestic Tragedy:
A
- little “high” tragedy; middle class replaces Kings and Queens
- In English drama, a domestic tragedy is a tragedy in which the tragic protagonists are ordinary middle-class or lower-class individuals.
9
Q
Drury Lane Theatre:
A
?!?!?!
10
Q
William Dunlap:
A
- one of the forefathers of American Theatre
- Wrote Andre in 1798
- first political tragedy
11
Q
Expressionism 1900-1930:
A
- artistic movement of the early 20th century intended to show reality from individual (subjective) points of view
- truth lies in humanities spiritual qualities not external appearances
- like a dream-nightmare reality
- modern social and political conditions mechanize and distort the human spirit
Represented by:- mechanical movements and speech
- episodic, sometimes, disconnected action
12
Q
Forestage:
A
- the part of a stage in front of the proscenium or the closed curtain, as the apron or an extension of the apron
13
Q
David Garrick (1717-1779):
A
- most famous actor of the age
- manager of the Drury Lane for nearly 30 years
- skilled in both comedy and tragedy
- staged the “Shakespeare Jubilee” in 1769
- respected as writer/manager; loved as an actor
14
Q
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe:
A
- gained him enormous fame as a writer in the Sturm und Drang period which marked the early phase of Romanticism
- German writer
- the novel The Sorrows of Young Werther, book is often considered to be the “spark” which ignited the movement, and can arguably be called the world’s first “best-seller”
15
Q
Hamburg National Theatre:
A
- wanted to be a native and German National Theatre
- set up actor training program
- subsidized by the state
- wanted to stop imitations of French Writers
- contemporary German setting based on classical stories
- 1st ever Dramaturg
16
Q
Hanswurst:
A
- a popular coarse-comic figure of German-speaking impromptu comedy.
- He is “a half doltish half cunning partly stupid partly knowing enterprising and cowardly self indulgent and merry fellow who in accordance with circumstances accentuated one or other of these characteristics.
17
Q
The Independent Theatre Movement:
A
- non commercial (little theatre)
- players were very exclusive so it was membership-based
- no censorship; although there were censorship laws
- founded by Jacob Grein
- produced modern/realist plays
- allowed authors to experiment
- lasted 5 years
- first show was Ibsens Ghost
18
Q
Samuel Johnson:
A
- wrote the first dictionary (1755)
- the first dramatic critic
- Wrote the prefaces to Shakespeare in 1765
19
Q
Edmund Kean:
A
- 1814-1833 on stage
- “To see him act is like reading Shakespeare by flashes of lightning”
- emotional performance
- known alcoholic
- major influence on the gyrations that followed
- represented the break from company system to a star system
