1. HISTORY OF THEATRE: The Rise of Modern Theatre
Wayne Davidson M.Ed
Theatre Arts Director
Da Vinci School for Science and the Arts

2. To consider some of the major influences on Modern Theatre
Lesson Objectives
To consider some of the major influences on Modern Theatre
To understand the origins of naturalistic theatre
To experiment practically with a variety of styles

3. Starter ( 5 mins)
Brainstorm in pairs everything you know about the following types of theatre: Melodrama Farce Naturalism

4. 19th Century Theatre
The main types of theatre during the later part of the 19th Century were:
Melodrama
Farce
Main characteristics of melodrama
Stock (Typical) characters
Stock storylines
An exaggerated acting style (grand gestures, dramatic voices and emotions)

5. Farce Main characteristics of Farce Slapstick style of comedy
Stock storylines
Stereotypical characters
Emphasis on action rather than dialogue

6. Naturalism/Realism
Towards the end of the 19th Century, there was a reaction to the popular styles of theatre (melodrama and farce) across Europe.
These practitioners wanted to create ‘real’ Drama dealing with everyday life and real issues
They also wanted to create staging techniques that reflected this style. This included settings, props, lighting etc that reflected real places instead of painted on backdrops and fake props
Their innovative plays and staging techniques were not initially well received by a British audience who were used to light hearted escapist drama

7. Konstantin Stanislavski
KEY PEOPLE
Henrik Ibsen (Norway)
‘A Doll’s House’
Anton Chekhov (Russia)
‘The Cherry Orchard’
August Strindberg (Germany) ‘Miss Julie’
Konstantin Stanislavski (Russia) practitioner, director, Actor
Anton Checkov
Henrik Ibsen
Konstantin Stanislavski
August Strindberg

8. Konstantin STANISLAVSKI
An actor who was frustrated by what he considered to be ‘mechanical acting’ – a performance which was learned by the actor and repeated night after night
He believed that an actor needed to ‘live’ the role in order to keep his/her performance fresh and spontaneous
Developed a system of training for the actor and for rehearsing a production.
Believed that the creation of a role should be actor led and not director led
Many of his techniques are still used for training actors today

9. Group Work PRACTICAL ACTIVITY
Task 1: Create a short scene which should last approximately 5 minutes entitled “The murder of sweet Sarah and the crooked finger Mystery” using the stock characters and style of Melodrama.
Task 2. Adapt this scene in the style of modern Naturalism . This scene should last 5 minutes.
Perform the work in both styles

10. Discussion Question: PLENARY
What have you learned today about modern theatre and its influences?
What are the major differences between early 20th century theatre and theatre of today?
What is your view of modern theatre today in relation to theatre through history ?
What influences still survive today?