Enjoy!
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
History
A brief history of the art of theater
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| From http://www.ojccc.org/home/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Theater-acting-7007404-1200-9541.jpg |
Western Theatre most probably started in Athens, Greece at around 600BC.
-Theatre, then was not just used for entertainment, but also for politics, religious rituals, festivals, athletics, and funerals.
-Theatre of the Ancient Greeks mainly consisted of comedy, tragedy, and satyr
Western theatre then expanded and developed in the Roman era, ataround 400 BC.
- Theatre was a thriving diverse art form at this time
- This ranges from the street performances during festivals to nude dancing to acrobatics.
Fast forward a couple of centuries, and we have Medieval theatre and Renaissance theatre.
Medieval theatre takes place between the Roman and the Renaissance period.
-Mostly consists of liturgical drama, mystery plays, morality plays, farces and masques
Renaissance theatre derived from several medieval theatre traditions, such as the mystery plays that formed a part of religious festivals in England and other parts of Europe during the Middle Ages.
-This is when the higher class started watching in theatres, while commoners watched in public play houses.
-Playwrites and actors were either important to royalty as entertainers, or looked down upon or considered threats.
Fastforward again and you have your Modern theatre.
-Plays can be written in poetry or prose.
-There is no standard format to be followed
- Topics can vary from the traditional theatrical arts to new controversial and maybe even taboo ideas.
The origins of Eastern Theatre began even earlier than that of Western Theatre.
-Records of Chinese theatre date way back to 1500BC
-This was the Shang Dynasty theatre, which consisted mostly of dancing, musical performances, and clowning.
Then Indian theatre came into play
-Sanskrit theatre estimates to have begun at around 200 BC
- It addresses acting, dance, music, dramatic construction, architecture, costuming, make-up, props, the organisation of companies, the audience, competitions, and offers a mythological account of the origin of theatre.
-Sanskrit theatre was performed on sacred ground by priests who had been trained in the necessary skills (dance, music, and recitation) in a [hereditary process]. Its aim was both to educate and to entertain
Japanese Theatre is one of the Asian theatres, Japanese are one of the most well known for their traditional theatricals. The earliest known scripts were estimated to have been written in the 14th century.
- Most of the arts consisted of music, dance, and puppets.
HISTORY IN THE PHILIPPINES
1910- Theater groups already existed in the University of the Philippines
The first ever recorded performance in the history of theater in the University was Romulo’s “The Real Leader,” produced by the UP Dramatic Club and the English Department.
1930s- Jean Edades began teaching courses in playwriting, stagecraft, acting and directing; and holding theater forums.
Then they were already presenting original Filipino plays like Romulo’s “Leaves,” Teodoro M. Kalaw’s “The Filipino Rebel,” Jose Ma. Hernandez’s “Panday Pira,” and Vidal Tan’s “Souls in Torment.”
1940s- Wilfredo Ma. Guerrero presented the club’s first performance at the Old Abelardo Hall in Padre Faura entitled "Wanted a Chaperone"
1950s- considered as the "Guerrero era"
1962- The UP Mobile Theater, patterned after Puerto Rico’s Teatro Rodante, was founded at the instigation of UP President Carlos P. Romulo and Dean Tomas Fonacier of the College of Liberal Arts.
Before the 70s, theater was based mostly in schools and universities.
1968- Behn Cervantes founded the UP Repertory Company
With the rise of student activism in the late 60s and early 70s, the “theater of the streets” became a major vehicle of protest in the hands of Gintong Silahis (Samahang Demokratiko ng Kabataan) with Cervantes as director and adviser, and the Kabataang Makabayan Teater Group organized by playwright-actor Bonifacio Ilagan.
Among the activist theater were:
- UP Repertory Company
- PETA
- Babaylan Theater Company
- Bulwagang Gantimpala of CCP
After the declaration of martial law in 1972 all activist cultural groups were banned.
FORMS OF THEATER IN THE PHILIPPINES
Cenaculo- a theatrical presentation of the passion of the Christ
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| From http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3618/3437195171_ab10d25299.jpg |
Moro-moro/ Comedia- relates Christian and Muslim conflict
Zarzuela- a Philippine version of Spanish light opera
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| From http://i.ytimg.com/vi/1KQkkzhyOU0/0.jpg |
Carillo- a shadow drama usually shown after harvest
Sanghiyang (Cavite), Subli (Batangas), Turumba and Pasyon (Laguna)- exemplify the union of folk religion and Catholicism
Hello!
Hello! :)
This is our creative compilation in partial fulfillment of our requirements in Art Studies 1 under Ms. Sofia Guillermo.
Yours truly,
Sassja Cucueco
MP Cunanan
Rowanne dela Cruz
Jona Flores
Xavier Su
This is our creative compilation in partial fulfillment of our requirements in Art Studies 1 under Ms. Sofia Guillermo.
Yours truly,
Sassja Cucueco
MP Cunanan
Rowanne dela Cruz
Jona Flores
Xavier Su
Terms and definitions
Here are some terms and definitions that are connected to theater.
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| From https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha9mpmEn6PAU0cVotfTH6uba9MAqkJaYRFiTKGbGW68376ihGMZ7dHQILFCs0xrCtjwzO_mhcLBG-ot7tH81OqyRtdZOzmhfmmyLlFIUpqNK-8PnykEUGoKPmXsAlXp7rB6yOu4v-H4IKk/s1600/theater.jpg |
Act- a major division of a play
Action- the movement in the play from the initial entanglement through the rising action, climx, and falling action to resolution
Actor- one who performs a role or represents a character in a play
Antagonist- the character who provides the obstacle to the protagonist’s objective in the play
Auditorium/House- the part of the theater building that holds the audience
Backstage- the area behind the set or backdrop that is not seen by the audience
Blocking- the basic movements of the actors during a play
Cast- the actors who perform in a play
Character-a person or the personality of a role in a play
Cheat- to turn the body out, partially toward the audience, while appearing to talk to another character on stage
Collaborative Theater- a situation in which actors and directors work together to develop a script for a play
Company- the term used to call all those who are part of the play (actors, technicians, backstage people)
Copyright- a playwright’s legal ownership and control over production of his/her play in public
Costume- clothing worn by the actors in the performance
Dialog- speech between two or more characters
Director- the person responsible for the direction of the actors in a play; provide the play’s “vision”
Dramatic Irony- the form of irony in which the audience knows something that a character in the play doe not
Dress Rehearsal- the last rehearsal before the play; treated as a performance and is done in full costume and full tech effects
Elizabeth Theater- the theatre of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, usually associated with Shakespeare and Marlowe
House Manager- one who oversees the house
In Yer Face Theater- a term coined in the latter part of the twentieth century to group together plays by Marber, Kane and others to define the style and content as extremely challenging for the audience; often in gory detail
Melodrama- a style of performance developed in the latter half of the nineteenth century which had a major influence on the early days of British cinema. Melodramas were known for their ‘stock’ characters of villain, heroine and hero and they were often based on real-life characters
Monolog- a work written to be spoken by just one person
Plot- the events of a play; the story and not the theme
Presentational- a style of performance in which the actor recognizes and addresses the audience, in contrast to representational style in which the actors observe the convention of a fourth wall
Promenade- A style of theatre in which the audience moves amongst the action that takes place within a defined space with minimal props and that looks back at the medieval performances in town centres and through city streets.
Soliloquy: a speech in which an actor, usually alone on stage, speaks his/her thoughts aloud
Stylization- the shaping of dramatic material, settings, or costumes in a deliberately nonrealistic manner
Theme- what the play means as opposed to what happens
Tragedy- A style of theatre stemming from Ancient Greece and developed through the centuries by playwrights, most famously Shakespeare, in which the protagonist or hero suffers serious misfortune, usually as a result of human and divine actions.
Victorian- The period of theatre associated with the reign of Queen Victoria.
Kinds of Theater
There are four kinds of theater.
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| From http://www.fest21.com/files/images/National%20Film%20Theater,%20London.preview.jpg |
The first kind is the drama. Drama is a specific mode of fiction represented in performance. Examples of it are Long Day's Journey into Night by Eugene O'Neill and the classic Hamlet by William Shakespeare.
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| From http://blogs.citypages.com/ctg/images/Fontana0155.jpg |
Tragedy is form of drama based on human suffering that invokes catharsis, and deals with unhappy or tragic endings. Examples of it are Oresteia by Aeschylus and Oedipus Rex by Sophocles.
Comedy is another form of drama with happy endings, though comedies now are humorous in nature. A play in which the themes are taboo or issues presented in a humorous manner is called a black comedy. Examples of comedies are the classic La Divina Commedia by Dante and Boeing Boeing by Marc Camoletti, a French playwright.
Lastly, a musical combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. As opposed to the opera, a musical gives equal importance to music and dialogue. This is the most common type of theater we see nowadays. Examples of it are Wicked and The Phantom of the Opera from Broadway.
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| From http://thedestinationcenter.com/images/tourimages/59464100_1242853805.jpg |
Though it is not always considered as a type of theater, opera is an art where singers and musicians perform dramatic work combining text and musical setting. It is now mostly considered as under music, but since there is acting we can say that it is still under theater. An example is The Marriage of Figaro by Mozart.
Issues and Problems
Theater, as in any art form, is facing its own issues and problems, especially regarding its existence.
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| (From http://missmba.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/theater-big.gif) |
Its first problem lies on theater's competition with television shows, movies, among others. People are now more interested to mass produced shows, and unlike TV shows and movies, theaters are shown only to limited number of people. Artistic editing in these kinds of shows are also more appealing to the to audiences; theatrical acts are performed live, therefore, no editing/adding unrealistic effects are involved.
The next problem lies within the industry of theater itself. Actors are now abandoning theater because they are being offered larger productions like acting in movies, TV shows, in music careers, and many others. Some actors are leaving theater because of low salary, and choose to do other jobs.
Another problem for theater is the low funding for the art. We have to admit that the government prioritize arts less than other things. Producing theatrical plays also cost a lot; small-time theaters work on their own without support of others.
Last of the problems we see for theater is the general public itself. People think of theater as a joke, while others think of it as a "cheap" form of acting. We however believe that it is a higher form of art; which makes it less appealing to the "common" people.
As in all other problems, we must face these and immediately find solutions to each, or else we might have to see the day that the art of theater dies.
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