The Creative Spirit: An Introduction to Theatre

Preface     xxiThe Nature of Theatre     1The Impulse to Perform     3Personal Performance     5Community Performance     5Ritual Performance among the Hopi     8Kachina Performances     8The Hopi Performer     8Performance as Community Obligation     10Professional Performance: Four Stories     10Bill Irwin: Physical Humor     10Anna Deavere Smith: The Power of Words     12Neil Marcus: Storyteller and Dancer     13Frances McDormand: Creation of Character     15Why They Perform     17Summary     20Topics for Discussion and Writing     20Suggestions for Further Reading     20Theatre and Society     23The Power of the Theatre     24Society and Aesthetic Expression     25The Collective and Public Nature of Theatre     26Theatre as a Social Force     26Theatre and Religious Festivals     27The Greek Theatre: Athens, Fifth Century B.C.E.     28The Origin of Greek Theatre in the Worship of Dionysus     28Medea   Euripides     30Staging Conventions     31The Medieval Mystery Cycle     35Staging and Production: A Community Endeavor     36Aesthetic Expression: A Shared, Sacred Language     36The Role of the Mystery Cycles in Medieval Society     37The Professional Theatre     38The Elizabethan Theatre     39The Theatre in Society     39The Nature of Elizabethan Drama     40William Shakespeare     41Elizabethan Staging     43Acting in Elizabethan Dramas     45The Beijing Opera of China     45A Formal Society     46Playwrights and Plays     46A Language of Gesture     47Acting and Staging     48The Beijing Opera and the Communist Revolution     50Theatre as a Mirror of Society     51Theatre and Social Change     52The Sustaining Power of the Theatre: Waiting for Godot in Sarajevo     55Summary     57Topics for Discussion and Writing     58Suggestions for Further Reading     58The Nature of Performance: The Theatre Practitioners     61The Playwright's Vision      63Looking at Joe Turner's Come and Gone   August WilsonExploring the Text of Joe Turner's Come and Gone     66Plot and Characters: A Meeting of Two Worlds     67Historical and Cultural Contexts of the Play     68Theatre as History     69The Aftermath of Slavery: Peonage and Sharecropping     69Migration to the North     69The Metaphor of the Road     70The Oral Tradition     71The Playwright's Sources     71Bessie Smith and Romare Bearden     71Mill Hand's Lunch Bucket     73Folk Sources and W. C. Handy     73The Complete Text of Joe Turner's Come and Gone     76Producing Joe Turner's Come and Gone     115The Construction of Meaning Through Collaboration     115The Oregon Shakespeare Festival     115The Actors at Work     116Understanding the Play     116The Rehearsal Process     117Physical Characterization     119Staging the Juba     120Drumming and Dancing     120Text and Verbal Improvisation     121The Meaning of the Juba     122Expanding the Stage Image: The Work of the Designers      123The Set Design     124The Costume Design     125The Lighting Design     126Conclusion: History and Meaning in Joe Turner's Come and Gone     127The Quest for Self     127Family and Inheritance: The Way from the Past to the Future     128Summary     129Topics for Discussion and Writing     129Suggestions for Further Reading     130The Art of the Actor     133The Presence of the Actor     134The Actor's Craft     136The Work of the Actor     138Competing for Roles: The Audition     138Preparing for the Role     140The Rehearsal Process     141Approaches to Acting     146The Internal Approach     146The External Approach     147Acting Cordelia in King Lear     148Gestural Acting     150The Performance     153Theatre and Film     154Becoming an Actor     155Summary     156Topics for Discussion and Writing     157Suggestions for Further Reading     157The Director     159The History of the Director     160The Director and the Development of Realism     160The Director and the Determination of Style     163The Visionary Director: Jerzy Grotowski     164Ping Chong     166Approaches to Directing     170The Director at Work     171Choosing the Play     171The Director's Initial Response to the Play     173Creating Metaphors     173Working With the Actors     175Casting     175Nontraditional Casting     176The Work Environment     176Improvisation     177Staging the Play     178Focus     178Spatial Composition and Character Development     180Rhythm and Pacing     180Preparing the Play for Performance     181The Director's Training     182Summary     183Topics for Discussion and Writing     184Suggestions for Further Reading     184The Designers     187StageCraft and the Theatre     189The Theatrical Space     190The Proscenium Theatre     191Thrust, Arena, and Black Box Stages     191The Implications of Theatre Architecture for Designers     191Three-Dimensional Space     194Meetings and Interactions     195The History of Scene Design     198Scene Design Today     200Designing The Grapes of Wrath     200Costume Design     203Stylistic Unity     204The Psychology of Character     205The Costume Designer and the Actor     207Lighting Design     208The History of Light in the Theatre     209The Lighting Designer's Materials     209Conceptualizing with Light     210The Light Plot and Light Cues     211Visibility     211Focus     212Mood and Atmosphere     212The Rhythm of Light     212The Growing Prominence of Sound Design     213The Integration of Sound into the Production Process     213The Sound Designer's Materials     213Environmental Sound and Sound Reinforcement     215Summary     215Topics for Discussion and Writing     216Suggestions for Further Reading     217The Musical Theatre      219Origins of Musical Theatre in America     220The Broadway Theatre     221Oklahoma!     221West Side Story     223My Fair Lady     224Cabaret     226Stephen Sondheim     228A Chorus Line     230New Directions for the Musical Theatre     232Savion Glover and Bring in da Noise, Bring in da Funk     232Jonathan Larson and Rent     234Julie Taymor and The Lion King     235Susan Stroman and Contact     238Summary     240Topics for Discussion and Writing     241Suggestions for Further Reading     241The Nature of Style: Realism and Theatricalism     243Understanding Style: Realism     245Introduction to Realism     246"Realistic Elements in Joe Turner's Come and Gone     246Realism in Film     247Origins of Realism     248The Social Background of Realism     249European Realism     250Henrik Ibsen     250August Strindberg     251Anton Chekhov     251American Realism     253Lillian Hellman     253Poetic Realism: Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams     254Konstantin Stanislavsky and Realistic Acting     256Summary     257Topics for Discussion and Writing     260Suggestions for Further Reading     261Expressing a Worldview Through Realism     263Looking at And the Soul Shall Dance   Wakako YamauchiExploring the Text of and the Soul Shall Dance     264Plot and Characters     265Personal, Cultural, and Historical Contexts of the Play     265The Play as Memory     265Personal History     268Prejudice, Discrimination, and Internment     268The Play as Social Document     269Evoking a World Through Detail     270The Complete Text of and the Soul Shall Dance     272Producing and the Soul Shall Dance     303Introduction to East West Players     303History of East West Players     303Location and Physical Space     303Staging the Play     305The Director's Prologue     305The Influence of Asian Theatre     306Staging a Period Play: The Work of the Director and the Actors      306Building Character Relationships     310Contrasting Productions: East West Players and Northwest Asian American Theatre     313Scene Design and the Physical Space     313Interpreting Family Relationships     313Sexuality and Gender     315Summary     316Topics for Discussion and Writing     317Suggestions for Further Reading     317Understanding Style: Theatricalism     319Exposing the Mechanics of the Theatre     321Expressionism     321German Expressionism     322American Expressionism: Eugene O'Neill     323Epic Theatre: Bertolt Brecht     325Brecht's Concept of Alienation     326Brecht's Approach to Acting     327Theatre of the Absurd     328A Revolution in Movement: Martha Graham     329A New Dance Vocabulary     329Costume and Set as Partners in Dance     331Total Theatre: Robert Wilson     331Wilson's Experience     332The Interior Landscape     332A New Meeting of East and West; Shen Wei     333From Opera to Modern Dance     333Choreographer and Designer      335Summary     336Topics for Discussion and Writing     336Suggestions for Further Reading     337Expressing a Worldview through Theatricalism     339Looking at Angels in America: Millennium Approaches   Tony KushnerExploring the Text of Angels in America: Millennium Approaches     341Plot and Characters: A World in Spiritual Collapse     341The Role of Roy Cohn     342The Shifting Point of View     342Influences on Kushner as Playwright: Bertolt Brecht and Caryl Churchill     342The Historical Framework of Angels in America     344The Character Roy Cohn as a Historical Figure     345Roy Cohn and the Plot of Angels in America     347Roy Cohn and Ethel Rosenberg     348The Complete Text of Angels in America: Millennium Approaches     350Producing Angels in America     398The Eureka Theatre and the Playwright     398The Role of the Dramaturg     398The Developmental Process     400Expanding Opportunities for the Development of New Plays     404Summary     405Topics for Discussion and Writing     405Suggestions for Further Reading     406The Nature of Drama: Structure and Genre     407The Elements of Drama and Dramatic Structure     409Fundamental Elements of Structure     410Character     410Plot     411Language     412Music     417Spectacle     417The Organization of the Drama in Space and Time     419The Duration of the Performance     419Building the Drama: The Internal Rhythm     420Conflict, Rising Tension, and Resolution     420Summary     422Topics for Discussion and Writing     423Suggestions for Further Reading     423Genre     425Introduction to Genre     426Tragedy and Comedy     427Origins in Greek Drama     428Aristotle on Tragedy and Comedy     428Tragedy: Catharsis and Awareness     429Plot Summaries of Selected Tragedies     429Common Themes of Tragedy     431Can Tragedy Exist Today?     432Melodrama     434Tragicomedy     436Farce     439Writing About the Theatre     440The Dramaturg      441The Critic     443Two Reviews of Medea     445Summary     450Topics for Discussion and Writing     450Suggestions for Further Reading     451Choosing a Genre: Comedy     453Looking at Dog Lady   Milcha Sanchez-ScottExploring the Text of Dog Lady     454Plot and Characters     454The Playwright's Sources: An Intersection of Cultures     455Characteristics of the Play     456Blended Language     456Magical Realism     457Reinterpreting Catholic Imagery: The Virgin of Guadalupe     458A Latina Identity     460The Complete Text of Dog Lady     461Producing Dog Lady     473Intar     473Set Design and Ming Cho Lee     473Pop Art and Forced Perspective     473Breaking the Illusion     474Staging and Acting     474Sight Gags     476Vocal Style     477Using Comedy to Shift the Worldview     478Summary     479Topics for Discussion and Writing     480Suggestions for Further Reading     480The Project      483Looking at Buried Child   Sam ShepardPreparing a Production     484Buried Child and Alternative Play Choices     484Introduction to Sam Shepard     485Alternative Plays     487Working on the Project     487Sequence of Work     487Topics for Group Discussion (Group Meeting 1)     488Group Decisions (Group Meeting 2)     488Project Assignments     488The Director     488Character Analysis     489Scene Design     489Costume Design     490Music     491Program Note     492Poster     492Conclusion     492The Complete Text of Buried Child     493Suggestion for Further Reading     532Guided Writing Assignments     533Notes     539Glossary     545Credits     551Index     555

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