1. Chapter 12 Modern Theatre

2. Western Influence on World Theatre Spoken Drama in Spoken Drama in India India China China Japan Japan The Arab World The Arab World Pre-colonial Africa Pre-colonial Africa

3. The Advent of Realism Antecedents William Fox Talbot (1800-1877) William Fox Talbot (1800-1877) Invented the photographic negative around 1840 Invented the photographic negative around 1840 Thomas Edison Thomas Edison Invented the incandescent light bulb in 1879 Invented the incandescent light bulb in 1879 Charles Darwin (1809-1882) Charles Darwin (1809-1882) Wrote about evolution in The Origin of Species in 1859 Wrote about evolution in The Origin of Species in 1859 Karl Marx (1818-1883) Karl Marx (1818-1883) Critiqued capitalism and other aspects of the Industrial revolution in Das Kapital in 1867 Critiqued capitalism and other aspects of the Industrial revolution in Das Kapital in 1867 Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) Wrote about the complexity of human psychology in The Interpretation of Dreams in 1900 Wrote about the complexity of human psychology in The Interpretation of Dreams in 1900 August Strindberg (1849-1912) August Strindberg (1849-1912) Problem plays Problem plays

4. Realism in the Modern Theatre Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) Father of Realism Father of Realism A Doll’s House (1879) A Doll’s House (1879) Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) Moscow Art Theatre Moscow Art Theatre The Seagull (1896) The Seagull (1896) Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) George Bernard Shaw (1856- 1950) George Bernard Shaw (1856- 1950) Pygmalion (1912) Pygmalion (1912) Box Sets and Fourth Walls Box Sets and Fourth Walls Olympic Theatre in London Olympic Theatre in London Oscar Wilde

5. Naturalism in the Theatre Emile Zola (1840-1902) Naturalism as a documentary of everyday life “Slice of life,” or photographic reality Maxim Gorky (1868-1936) The Lower Depths (1902) André Antoine, (1858-1943) Theatre Libre Comedies rosses

6. Avant-garde Theatre Definition To be ahead of To experiment with To break conventional expectations To explore new realities

7. Avant-garde Theatre Symbolism/Futurism Impressionism/Expressionism Symbolism – emphasized the suggestive and metaphoric over the literal and real Futurism – glorified power and speed of the Industrial revolution Impressionism – emphasized the subjectivity of perception over that of objectivity Expressionism – used subjective theatrical metaphors to create a sense of how a character experiences his or her subjective reality Elmer Rice’s (1892-1967) The Adding Machine (1923) Eugene O’Neill’s (1888-1953) The Hairy Ape (1922)

8. Avant-garde Theatre Dadaism and Surrealism Dadaism – made us of sound poems and nonliteral images to underscore the madness of their perception of the reality of World War I Surrealism – sought to portray the fantastic images associated with the unconscious mind as a way by which to reveal deeper realities Theatre of Cruelty Antonin Artuad (1896-1948) The Theatre and Its Double (1938)

9. Avant-Garde Theatre Absurdism Absurdism Fatalist Samuel Beckett (1906-1989) Waiting for Godot (1953) Endgame (1957) Existentialist Jean-Paul Sarte (1905-1980) No Exit (1943) Hilarious Eugene Ionesco (1912-1994) The Bald Soprano (1949) Rhinoceros (1959)

10. Avant-Garde Theatre Epic Theatre Epic Theatre Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) Emphasis on the underlining causes for a story rather than the story itself Alienation effect – distancing the audience from theatrical illusion so they can analyze and discuss the reasons for what is happening to the characters on the stage Understands that all art is fundamentally political and that the artist and his audience share responsibility for that fact of life The Three Penny Opera (1928) and Mother Courage and Her Children (1941)

11. American Theatre 1945- 1960 Arthur Miller (1915-2005) Arthur Miller (1915-2005) Death of a Salesman (1949) Death of a Salesman (1949) Mixes Realism with Expressionism Mixes Realism with Expressionism Tennessee Williams (1911-1983) Tennessee Williams (1911-1983) The Glass Menagerie (1945) The Glass Menagerie (1945) Poetic realism Poetic realism Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965) Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965) A Raisin in the Sun (1959) A Raisin in the Sun (1959) Employs Realism to dramatize the plight of an African- American family in Chicago in the 1950s Employs Realism to dramatize the plight of an African- American family in Chicago in the 1950s

12. American Theatre in the 1960s Little Theatre Movement Subscription audience based theatres that permitted American to see example of the “new stagecraft” artists from Europe and America Off-Broadway Staged noncommercial productions of artistically important plays in small theatres Off-off-Broadway Staged noncommercial productions that are often experimental in theatres of 99 seats or less Happenings Jerzy Grotowski (1933-1999) and the Polish Lab Theatre

13. Contemporary Theatre: Regional Theatre Alley Theatre in Houston First permanent professional regional theatre in the U.S. founded in 1947 by Margo Jones Others include: Arena Theatre in Washington, D.C. Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis Actors Theatre of Louisville Mark Taper Forum in Los Angles Alliance Theatre in Atlanta

14. Contemporary Theatre: Performance Art Characteristics mixes theatre, visual arts, music, dance, gesture and ritual Rejects traditional elements of drama such as plot, dialogue, characters and setting Most interested in conveying a state of being Examples of Performance Artists include: Laurie Anderson Tim Miller

15. Contemporary Theatre: Political and Cultural Theatre David Henry Hwang (b. 1957) David Henry Hwang (b. 1957) M. Butterfly (1988) M. Butterfly (1988) Caryl Churchill (b. 1938) Caryl Churchill (b. 1938) Cloud Nine (1979) and Top Girls (1982) Cloud Nine (1979) and Top Girls (1982) David Mamet David Mamet Glengarry Glen Ross (1984) and Oleanna (1992) Glengarry Glen Ross (1984) and Oleanna (1992) August Wilson (1945-2005) August Wilson (1945-2005) Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (1984) to Golf (2005) Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (1984) to Golf (2005) Sam Shepard (b. 1943) Sam Shepard (b. 1943) Buried Child (1978) and Fool for Love (1982) Buried Child (1978) and Fool for Love (1982)

16. Contemporary Theatre: Recent Nobel Prize Winning Playwrights Wole Soyinka (Nigeria) Wole Soyinka (Nigeria) Dario Fo (Italy) Dario Fo (Italy) Goa Xingjian (China) Goa Xingjian (China) Harold Pinter (England) Harold Pinter (England)