Transcript Plastic Theatre

Plastic Theatre
A Streetcar Named Desire
What is Plastic Theatre?
• In the early 1940s, when Tennessee Williams was
working on his first successful play, The Glass
Mengerie, he developed an idea he termed ‘plastic
theatre, an idea that he believed would launch a new
type of theatre, that would move away from what he
dismissed as ‘typewriter theatre’ by affording equal
value to the non-literary elements of stage production
and to the literary text.
?
Rationale
• To express his universal truths Williams
insisted that setting, properties, music, sound,
and visual effects—all the elements of
staging—must combine to reflect and
enhance the action, theme, characters, and
language.
Realism?
• Williams desired a form of drama that was
more than just a picture of reality: he insists
that his ideal theatre make use of all the stage
arts to generate a theatrical experience
greater than mere Realism.
Importance of Non-Literary Elements
• The visual and audible aspects of a Streetcar
Named Desire are as important as the
dialogue. Tennessee Williams uses these
‘plastic’ elements to convey to the audience
the psychological states of the characters as
well as develop the themes and ideas of the
play
Elements of Plastic Theatre:
• His vivid and evocative stage directions that
help the dramatist envision the scene.
• Symbolism
• Lighting
• Colours
• Costumes
• Props
• Sound Effects-Digetic and Non Digetic
Imagine….
• You are a playwright. You are writing the final
act of “A Streetcar Name A Level”…..hopefully
not a tragedy!?...definitely a melodrama!?
• Act 3, Scene 2: “ The Exam Room”
• What elements of plastic theatre would you
add to convey the psychological states of the
characters?
Close Analysis
How, and to what effect, does Williams use
elements of ‘plastic theatre’ in the following
scenes?
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Scene 3
Scene 4
Scene 6
Scene 10
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