Transcript American Theatre

American Theatre
Gaby Carino
Johnny Wang
Brynn Michaels,
Randy Huang
 Many believe American Theatre started around the 1700s
when the Lewis Hallam troupe arrived in Williamsburg,
Virginia.
 Around the 1750s, state courts began to forbid plays and other “theatrical
entertainments” of any kind since it was thought to give bad examples to
children. This didn’t stop actors from performing.
 On April 15, 1865, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John
Wilkes Booth, a well known actor.

Massachusetts in 1750
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Pennsylvania in 1759
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Rhode Island in 1761
The Continental Congress banned plays in
most states during the Revolutionary War.

Broadway Theater is a play/musical that is performed in one of the 39 large professional theaters
located in the Theater District. Broadway Theater is not to be mistaken with The Broadway Theater
which is located in midtown-Manhattan.
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The Kodak Theater is a theater in Hollywood and is the home of the Academy Awards Ceremony. (also
known as The Oscars) It is also the home for American Idol since 2002.
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The Pantages Theater is located at Hollywood and Vine. (the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and
Vine Street) One of the recent production was of Broadway’s musical, Wicked. The theater also hosts
other performances that vary from Foo-Fighters to Shakira.
Locations
 Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin in
1852 and was turned into plays and musicals called
Tom’s Shows
• The Wizard of Oz is a children’s novel written by L. Frank
Baum and has been adapted into many plays and films.
Theatre House and Stage Area

The Proscenium Stage is commonly used in the west and includes a Proscenium Arch
at the front of the stage.
 Most of the play happens behind the Proscenium Arch and often has a curtain to hide the stage
when needed.
 The area in front of the curtains is the apron and the areas behind the left and right of the
Proscenium stage are the wings.
 The House’s seats are slanted downwards toward the performers and there are no audience
members on both sides of the stage – in other words, there is only one direction to view the
stage.
Minstrel Shows were a type of comedy act performed by whites in Blackface – white
performers used greasepaint and shoe polish to darken their face and exaggerate their lips.
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Many of William Shakespeare’s plays were often performed by American actors. Plays like
Romeo and Juliet had the men with baggy clothing and covered with a vest.
Baggy Clothing
Equals…
+
Vest
This dude’s
ugly…
Costumes for Females
 Female Burlesque performers created colorful costumes and performed firebreathing, dancing, comedy acts, and even the “Hootchy Kootchy" dance (better
known as the Belly Dance)
 Female actors in the 19th century wore big, elaborate, poofy dresses and were often
brightly colored (pink, orange, green, etc.)
Plays Written in this Time Period
 “Fools” is a Romantic-Comedy play by Neil Simon which lasted only 40 performances. (Neil Simon
wrote the play knowing this would happen)
 David Lindsay-Abaire received the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his drama, “Rabbit Hole”
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Gaby Carino
Michaels,
Johnny Wang
Brynn
Randy Hu