Transcript Actor`s Studio II 7 th Block

French Neo-classism
Actor’s Studio II
7th Block
A very brief lesson. . .
FRENCH HISTORY
French History & Theatre
1550-1620: war and civil strife
Not many professional companies
Theaters were rented and fees were charged
Farces became popular
1548: First permanent theater built in France
Hotel de Bourgogne – built by the Confraternity
of the Passion
1625: Cardinal Richelieu comes to power
1635: Cardinal Richelieu established the
French Academy – a prestigious literary
academy to maintain purity of the French
culture, language, and literature
French History and Theatre
1641: Cardinal Richelieu built the Palais
Cardina – the first proscenium theater in Paris
1642: Cardinal Richelieu died and the theater
was renamed Palais Royal and it became the
home of Moliere’s company
1645: Giacamo Torelli was hired to redesign
the court theaters
After this point in history there would always be at
least two professional theatre companies in Paris
(usually more)
With religious strife on the decline and the
French Academy being established,
educated men began to write plays
FRENCH NEO-CLASSISM
French Neo-classism
Neo-classism is still the determining factor as to
whether a play is “good” or not
Plays are usually written in rhyming couplets
(verse)
Five neo-classical rules:
Anything that happens on stage must be able to
happen in real life
Every drama must preach a moral lesson by
rewarding good and punishing evil
No mixing of dramatic styles – a play could be a
tragedy or a comedy…NO tragicomedies
Three unities must be observed: time, place, and
action
Dramas must be divided into five acts
French Neo-classism
Standards of Judgment
Developed by the French Academy
Verismilitude
Events of the play and the reactions of characters
to them must occur as they could in life
Bienseance
Never carefully defined but close the English word
“proprieties” – plays must not offend the
sensibilities of the audience
The Unities
Unities of time, place, and action – the play must
focus on a single action in a single location over a
period of no longer than 24 hours
French Neo-classism
No soliloquies
Soliloquy is a character talking to himself/herself and this is
not realistic
Types of characters in neo-classical tragedies
Characters must be drawn from nobility
Plot should address affairs of state
Example: Who will be the next king
Ending must be tragic
Example: Everyone dies
Poetic dialogue
Types of characters in neo-classical comedies
Characters should be drawn from middle and lower classes
Plot should address domestic affairs
Example: Love story
Ending should be happy
Example: Everyone gets married
Dialogue should be written in prose
FRENCH THEATERS AND
ACTORS
French Theaters
Public and private theaters
Usually placed in existing structures (example: tennis courts)
that were very narrow
Rarely had facilities for sets or scene changes
Performances took place two times a week at 2:00 or 3:00 PM
Several works would be performed: comic prologue, a tragedy, a
farce, and a song
Nobles sat on the side of the stage during a performance
Audience members were very vocal during performances
Parterre (area in front of the stage without seats) was reserved
for men but there were often mixed social classes since the
seats were the cheapest
Elegant audience members watched from the galleries
Princes, royal pages, and muskateers were allowed to attend
for free
“Honest” women did not go to the theatre until after 1630
French Actors
Style: highly oratorical and declamatory
Actors most likely supplied their own
contemporary costumes
Acting was not approved by the Church
– it was seen as morally wrong
Both male and female actors were
excommunicated
Actors generally took stage names that
described the type of roles they played