Greek Theatre

*Other notes are on information worksheet.*

• Greek theatre is inextricably linked with ritualistic beliefs. Theatre originated from these rituals. 
• How do we figure out our lives? Myths. Understanding Gods and myths will help us deduce reasons to the meaning of life, nature of life etc. 
• Human beings are instinctively imitative (Aristotle, 4th century) 
• 1st definitive information of theatre (in the western world). Everything is very rooted in nature, the life cycle. Dionysus represented many of the world's unnatural events in life - have harmony with the forces to avoid destruction. 
• Dithyrambs - Aristotle wrote that this is where theatre emerged. Dithyrambs was an ancient Greek hymn sung and danced in honor of Dionysus. 
• Only 45 plays survive (32 tragedies, 12 comedies, 1 satyr play)
• Aeschylus first included and put emphasis on the second actor - face to face interaction. He was always concerned with the relationship between the Gods and the mortals. 
• Sophocles - credited with writing over a hundred plays, but only seven survive. He introduced the third actor. He was concerned with human relationships. 
• Euripides wrote 92 plays, only 17 survived. Not necessarily famous during his day. Interest was philosophical and psychological; he was skeptical about myth and religion. 

BTB: The Love of Three Oranges

The Love of Three Oranges is a zany, quirky play that incorporates many diverse elements of Commedia. It's Commedia in the 21st century! It incorporates, in my opinion, the elements and scenes that we find humorous in a day to day setting. There are always holes/comedic elements to different situations and stereotypical characters that exemplify and exaggerate different characteristics about themselves. I guess it is more modern in the sense that it allows for a set/stage, incorporates music and is very text heavy. It's also modernized in the sense that it allows little room for improvisation due to the presence of a text. The actors have to memorize and follow the instructions. It also adds societal differences between the King, the prince etc... The narrator also has such a great impact on the play and he himself had a character of his own, which I found to be interesting. 

YouTube links: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0GFyA_A0uE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyeiR-5pWMk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mg4uzD-REUw

BTB: Dream Masks

My mask would be made out of plastic as it is simple, flexible, multifaceted and easy to manipulate. It would utilize different colors, but would avoid flamboyance and exuberance - incorporate shades than color. I really like the idea of neutral masks. I think it allows for one to really delve into self and find their own way to characterize a character trait or personality. Rather than being given a character to depict, we are given the choice to character, physicalization and movement.

TBC

Unmasking the Actor  Through Mask Quotes:

"Putting on a mask paradoxically unmasks the actor. Being alienated from one's own body frees the actor to become 'possessed.'"

"Give a hypocrite a mask to wear, and he will be rendered incapable of living."

Commedia Dell Arte Notes

• A model for improvisatory and movement oriented performance
• The act of putting on a mask and being in a mask equalizes everyone. It doesn't matter if you are a nobleman, a farmer, you are equal. 
• Masks as a way to understand oneself. 
• Commedia roots from the 16th century. Anyone who practiced Commedia was a master of improvisation in physical training. 
• One stock character per actor. They represent archetypes. Archetypes - elements of character that we are all able to resonate with, characters we universally share. 
• The plot is set, but the actors embellish these outlines with physical routines known as LAZZI - comedic interludes, can take place anywhere (Food, social class, sleep, trickery Lazzi. They're about real life, relatable things). 
• Jealous boyfriend
• Angry father
• Lovesick daughter.
• Build around these characters and add on to the story. 
• Virtuoso linguistic digressions (verbal riffs of standup comedians) -> "You know what I love about Pizza" 
• Going back to Actor centered theatre (acrobatics, body training, improvisation, ensemble, staging techniques). Actors have a street awareness and is able to work off audience and off each other - street psychology. 
• Through comedy, we can glimpse tragedy (Charlie Chaplin) - Buster Keaton, Laurel and Hardy, Marx brothers, Charlie Chaplin. 
• Driving force is not what to play but how it should be played. 

FOUR PRINCIPLES FOR COMMEDIA ACTORS: 

• Stillness (maintain emotion and intention in a pose) 
• Awareness of your partners on stage (listening) 
• Communication with the audience as individuals 
• Ability to express feelings and thought through body 

QUALITIES NECESSARY FOR COMMEDIA: 

• The willingness to work as a team 
• The gift of being able to seize the moment of opportunity in improvisation. 
• The ability to act with truth and sincerity (Grantham). 

• The mask must not be touched. It separates the actor from the character presented. 
• Scenes TO audience rather than with each other. Attention is directed at the spectators.
• Nose must be eyes of the mask. 

• Pantalone - Chicken - Suspicious of others - MONEY 



Pantalone

• He is a middle aged or elderly, rich man. He is avaricious. Lecherous. Gullible. 
• Overly protective father guarding his young daughter from suitors. 
• Dottore - Pig
• He is an elderly gentleman, sometimes friend or rival of Pantalone. Similar to, but different from Pantalone. 
• Arlecchino/Harlequin - monkey and cat - Mischievous and curious
• Usually clever persuaders and schemers; excellent at ad-libbing and acrobatics. 
• Agile in mind and body. 
• Opposite of Pantalone (too hungry, too tired, not too smart) 
• No consequences to his action. 
• Definitely a Zanni. 
• Zanni - group of birds/penguins/fish 
• Proto clowns, preverbal, like animals, always sleepy or Hungry.
• Food, sleep and sex. 
• Ignorant
• Living in the present
• Often servants of the masters
• Innamorati/Innamoratae - Oratio and Isabella - less creature like
• They do not wear masks. 
• Beautifully dressed young lovers; speak a refined language. Pretentious. 
• Lead with chest -> utilizes breath and points of lightness
• Always happy and infatuated with each other.
• No physical contact - reactions
• Very well read 
• Drama queen, spoiled, no patience
• Capitano - Peacock - bloodhound, mastiff
• A boastful, cowardly Spaniard who brags of battles never fought and remances never experienced.
• Braggart, bullheaded, stupid, loud, bombastic
• Scared of women to a sense
• Pulcinella 
• Humpbacked, doltish, male character.
• He is awkward. 
• Pretends to be stupid, but clever or vice versa
• Like to quarrel
• Pedrolino 
• A simple, OCD, effeminate, tense, excitable character. 
• Example, Devil Wears Prada - Stanley Tucci
• A dreamer
• Tragic > comic
• Faithful but lonely
• Scaramuccia
• A mustached servant; sometimes clever; sometimes cruel 
• Very expressive bodily and facially
• Senora - No mask 
• Bossy, bawdy, offers herself in exchange for anything. 
• High status, vain, proud, goes after men 
• Stuck in the past
• She's a cougar 
• Fontesca/Columbina/Clarice - Fox 
• She's a maid; a clever and high spirited flirt
• Corresponds with Arlecchino
• Ballet-like movement
• Carried a basket and sometimes a tambourine
• Scapino 
• Also a zanni
• Rascally; always running away; clumsy
• Falls in love very easily - for the fun of it. 
• Schemer 
• Forgetful
• Brighella 
• Cunning 
• Corrupt; runs by fear and manipulation
• Kind of like Pulcinella
• Never below
• Another zanni

WORKING WITH THE MASK

• Cheat up - face is up 
• Use the phsyical characteristics of your mask - if you have a big nose, do it like a rooster 
• Mask -> alive
• Don't touch the mask; keep your hands away from the mask
• Don't be subtle. 

LAZZI 

• Moments of humor grabbed between scenes/during scenes
• "Something foolish, witty, or metaphorical in word or action" 
• Stage tricks
• Comic stage business
• Comic routines, planned or unplanned that could be performened in any one of dozens of plays. 

BTB: Theater Education Programs Are in Demand for Workforce Creativity

"These programs have shown me that enriching the nation's youth through drama is inextricably linked to preparing a robust creative workforce of tomorrow." I am so grateful to be in a community with a steel-toed drama program. We have the best facilities, great supplies and materials and a kick-butt team of dedicated students and teachers passionate in the realm of theatre. It seems to me that in the Asian environment we're placed in, too much of our attention is directed towards perfect test grades and a flawless GPA. We spend too much of our time centered on numbers that we often forget the importance of creativity. In theatre, whether it be IB or a play, we are exposed to skills that are not introduced in many classes. These skills, in the future, are going to buttress my workplace experience and help me function better in the environments I'm placed in. Yeah, sure Mr. Valedictorian, you may be really good at math and maintaining a perfect 4.0, but you will not have what I learned in IB theatre.