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Selective Realism In American Theatre

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“The theatre, for all its artifices, depicts life in a sense more truly than history, because the medium has a kindred movement to that of real life, though an artificial setting and form.” George Santayana
Drama is one of the genres of theatre where comedy, tragedy or actions may be other genres. While drama refers to the written texts, prose or verses composition, which become theatre only when it is performed on the stage with actors performing the role of characters in the text in front of the audience i.e. it is abstract and subjective, theatre is a live performance that meant to be seen, it is physical and concrete.
The renaissance period was considered the rebirth of several inspirational …show more content…

One of the distinctively American form that came out of the Post-War Era in America is what has been called “selective realism” it is simply what is said to be realism but very selective one , it only shows what needed to be seen. Modern playwrights used to focus on Realism and to use it as the mainstream .One of the leading proponents selective realism is the American playwright Arthur Miller in The Death of the Salesman (1949), as well as the selective realist Tennessee Williams whose plays focused on the society’s dilemma that was restricted in an antagonistic …show more content…

These dramas varied significantly from various - isms; that is from Realism to Naturalism, Expressionism, Symbolism, Marxism, Psychoanalysis, Surrealism and towards the Epic Theatre of Brecht and Absurdist Drama of

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The Seagull does this, but only to a short extent- there is a small play performed within the play, and there is talk about the relevance of theatre and art to modern life. In contrast, SFB is a veritable motherload of meta. The characters know that they’re characters, and that they happen to be performing for you. They even know that they’re specifically in an adaptation- in our specific production vision, we like to see it as our characters taking the story into their own hands to retell it. The audience see two overlapping worlds: the reality the characters face in the plot of the play, and the constructed reality of a theatrical

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How free is free? The purpose of realism in the 1800s was to get people’s attention. The authors did that by relating to real life situations or adding in things people wanted or needed. For example, Frederick Douglass wrote My bondage And my freedom and Kate Chopin wrote “ The story of an hour”.

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The Greeks were the first to introduce the concept of theater. As a matter of fact, one performer, Thespis, created the idea of a chorus, which was a group of people that expressed opinions, gave advice, and had the author’s point of view. The chorus would be the equivalent to the “score” in modern theater. The International Thespian Society, an organization formed to honor student’s success in the theater, was named after Thespis. In Greek theater, the place that the actors performed was called the “paraskene,” while in modern theater it is called the stage.

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This essay helps us really examine American theatre and where exactly it grew from. It would or does not surprise me that American theatre is more based in the people that truly build this land, the natives, slaves, and working class. This article describes not only the basis of theatre as we know it and as it was back in the olden days, but how the same roots that theatrical art grew out of also provided the foundation for the culture of America as a whole that only progressed with time. For example, the article speaks about dancing and about “rag” dancing which eventually became the lively classic jazz dance we commonly associate with the 1920s era as a whole, not just for blacks but for white too. It’s no surprise that in that time, the

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1185 Words | 5 Pages

For example, the use of supernatural beings, violence on stage and even tragedy, Therefore Playwrights such as William Shakespeare could be a good example of such a technique. For the English Renaissance to be a success differently theatres were built. Some were public others were private. Some of the public theatres were; -

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“The Empty Space”, a book written by the director Peter Brook outlines his four theories of theatre each that evokes a different meaning, Deadly, Holy, Rough and Immediate. In his opinion, Deadly Theatre is the most common type of theatre, which fails to modernize, instruct or even entertain. This style concentrates on the act of imitation by mimicking successes from the past and relying on old schemes instead of exploring the deeper meaning from the text (Brook, Peter). However, Shylock, a character from the Merchant of Venice a play written by Shakespeare, has had various interpretations from actors through out time, causing tendentious reactions from its audience. This thought fueled my inquisitiveness to investigate the importance on how

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Moreover, it represents the renewal of the spirit of both Rome and ancient Greece and for literature, a new meaning in the analysis of famous writers of classical literature. The Renaissance did not only affect many nations in Western Europe, it also affected other nations, cities, and regions internationally. Dramatists revitalized and reinventing the classical traditions

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Oxford dictionary defines the word “play” in relation to theatre as “a dramatic composition which is represented or performed in a theatrical performance or film” . Also known as drama, a play is principally meant to be performed on stage rather than be read as it brings a more active form of presentation. It also “provides an extra dimension of dynamism as the readers can visualise the characters enacting the dialogue and action of the play while the audience can see the actors perform live on stage” (Tutorial notes-Unit 1, 2017). As a short story or novel, a play especially tragedy, according to Aristotle (384-322 BC) contained six vital elements. It includes (in order of importance)

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Moreover, it represents the renewal of the spirit of both Rome and ancient Greece and for literature, a new meaning in the analysis of famous writers of classical literature. The Renaissance did not only affect many nations in Western Europe, it also affected other nations, cities, and regions internationally. Dramatists revitalized and reinventing the classical traditions

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“Imagination no longer has a function”, says Emile Zola in his essay, ‘Naturalism in the Theatre’. Many of the ideas which Zola has discussed in this essay have been taken up by modern theatre, both in theory and practice. Modern theatre, for instance, is aware of the fact that analysis and not synthesis should be the basis for theatrical production. It is with this theory at the back of his mind that Bertolt Brecht has discussed theatre’s role as an educator only if the elements associated with spectacle are removed from theatre.

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As a result, the experience of Shakespeare’s plays in the theater took a populist turn” (Octane 1). This shows that Shakespeare brought many new elements to playwriting, which seemingly improved plays because “Audience members engaged with the events taking place on stage, becoming vocal and often raucous” (Octane 1). This suggests that the new elements in Shakespeare’s writing sparked emotion in audience members as if the events were real. If an author can spark emotion in so many audience members, it shows that their writing style is extremely effective. Additionally, “Shakespeare is also credited as having invented genres that mixed both tragedy and comedy.

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From Colonial Williamsburg Theatre to Broadway, theatre is ever-changing. The differences in each era of theatre are vast; the costumes, staging, acting techniques, and audiences all vary drastically from each other. The major eras and genres of American theatre include the colonial era, the Post-Revolution era, the Civil War era, Broadway, and Post-Modern—all with unique and varying aspects to them. Although the first permanent English settlement occurred at Jamestown, Virginia in 1607, according to Richard Hornby’s article The Crisis in the American History, the entire 17th century passed with no mention of theatrical productions or performances in the Colonies (Hornby).

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738 Words | 3 Pages

In the twenty-first century, the plays of William Shakespeare may at first appear dated and irrelevant: they use archaic language, are set in the age of Kings and Queens, and the Kingdom of England. However, it would be plainly mistaken to construe that Shakespeare’s works do not still remain integral to a twenty-first century society. Shakespeare’s plays gave the words and expressions one uses every day, revolutionized the art of theater as it was known, and forewarned about issues that would unknowingly still apply centuries later. Therefore, Shakespeare has had a profound effect on our lives by enriching our language and culture, as well as providing ideas that would still apply five centuries later, and it would thus behoove us to learn from his works and life.

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3481 Words | 14 Pages

Literature is a mirror of society. It has thousands of threads which can weave the beautiful piece of art. Each thread has its own importance in the creative work. In the same way there are different types of narrative techniques for the narration of literature. Realism, in literature, is an approach that attempts to describe life without idealization or romantic subjectivity.

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Drama is literature written for performance--or at least written in a style that would allow for stage performance. As a text form, drama can be thought of as story told though spoken remarks and stage directions(Kurland ,2000) .When we hear the term drama we think fun, excitement , expression of one’s self . A famous quote says that “play is not in the words, it’s in you” (Steller Adler). In the world of drama it is essential that we understand the difference between Process and Product Drama.

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