Transcript Theatre as a Form of Art

劇場表演藝術
Theater Performing Arts
授課教授: 段馨君
Ph.D. in Theater from UCLA
Associate Professor
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences
National Chiao Tung University
[email protected]
Office Hour: Fri. 3-5 p.m.
Week One
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Things to do:
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Introduction to Theater Performing Arts
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Explain the syllabus
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Get the students’ English names
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Divide small groups for oral presentation
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Select a class representative
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Show the film clips
Phantom of the Opera
影片連結
Introduction
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Part One: Foundations (Ch. 1-3) addresses basic issues and features related to
the nature of theatre,
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To the role of audiences,
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To the varied criteria for judging theatrical performances,
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And to dramatic structure and style.
Preface
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Part Two: Varieties of Theatrical Experience
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Looks at various theatrical experiences from
theatre’s past and present.
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These experiences suggest that,
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as a vital form of creative expression,
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theatre changes to reflect the dynamics of the
cultures within which it exists.
Preface
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Part Three: Theatrical Production (Ch. 11-17)
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Provides an overview of theatre production today:
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The principles,
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practices, and procedures
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used in the creation of theatre.
Shakespeare’s The Tempest
影片連結
Features
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Discussions of theatre as a form of art
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Critical approaches to theatre,
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the role of an audience,
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and script analysis serve as a foundation for students
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Introducing students to the craft
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And encouraging students to cultivate an appreciation for
the theatre arts.
History of Theatre
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From the theatre of the ancient Greeks;
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To the major movements of the medieval,
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Renaissance,
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Enlightenment,
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And modern eras;
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To today’s diversity of stage performances is
covered.
Theatre Arts
How each of the theatre arts functions as a part
of the total production is covered in detail:
 The theatrical space and production design,
 Playwriting and dramaturgy,
 Directing and producing,
 Acting,
 scene design,
 Costume design and makeup,
 And lighting and sound design.
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Text and Course
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All discussions in the text and in this course are
supported by numerous interesting and
meaningful examples of plays, players, and
playwrights.
Textbook
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Buy the textbook at the 全民 Bookstore
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The Essential Theatre. 8th Edition. Oscar G. Brockett & Robert J. Ball.
U.S.A.: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2004.
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Any question, contact the Bookman Store (書林):
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陳建賓先生 團體訂書
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(02)2368-7226 ext. 111
TA
Name: 葉書豪
Institution: 交大資工所
Email: [email protected]
Cell phone #: 0963464558
Lab. #59284
Ch1. The Nature of Theatre
1. The Basic Elements of Theatre
2. Theatre as a Form of Art
3. Special Qualities of Theatre
4. Art and Value
Ch1. The Nature of Theatre
Early rites was only incidentally theatrical
Storytelling and mimicry
By theatrical terminology (play, show, acting) that
suggests that theatre is the product of grown-ups
Considered theatre not only an acceptable form of
entertainment but also a truthful reflection of human
behavior
The Basic Elements of Theatre (1/3)
What is performed (script, scenario, or plan)
Such events as street carnivals and parades types of
theatre
A performs B for C
Theatre does not require a script, dialogue, or conflict
Theatrical entertainments.
Whereas others find the essence of theatre to be its
capacity to provoke thought or action about significant
issues
The Basic Elements of Theatre (2/3)
Theatre’s second ingredient, the performance, is
equally complex
The performance takes place in space that can vary
from a building
A musical involves even more: composer,
instrumentalists, singers, choreographer, and dancers
Popular musicals as Phantom of the Opera, Les
Miserables, or The Lion King
Peter Brook in his book The Empty Space:
“I can take any empty space and call it a bare stage.”
The Basic Elements of Theatre (3/3)
The third ingredient of the theatre is the audience
This live three-way interaction is a distinctive
characteristic of theatre
Off-Broadway and regional theatres with lower costs and
ticket prices
These three elements – script, performance, and
audience
Responses to theatre are inescapably varied
Theatre as a Form of Art (1/4)
Theatre is a form of art
Not always comfortable or comforting.
It often insists on its right to look at the world in unpopular
ways
Challenge our ways of looking at ourselves and the
standards of the culture
Systematic application of known principles to achieve
some predetermined result
Divide the arts into two groups, “useful” and “fine”
Theatre as a Form of Art (2/4)
The word art has come to be used as a value judgment
Popular culture and elitist culture
Popular culture: encompass such forms of expression as rock
music, television sitcoms, advertising art, and musical
comedy
Elitist culture : encompass those kinds of music usually
heard in concert halls, the visual art shown in galleries and
museums, and many of the theatrical productions seen in
not-for-profit or regional theatres
Theatre as a Form of Art (3/4)
It employs easily recognizable character types,
situations, and dramatic conventions, manipulating
them with sufficient inventiveness
When Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot was first
performed in the 1950s, many spectators were
unable to relate to a play in which there was no
discernible storyline beyond two tramps waiting for
someone who never arrived.
“Nobody comes, nobody goes. It’s terrible.”
Theatre as a Form of Art (4/4)
Can imagined experience be a way of knowing and
understanding?
“All the world’s stage, / And all the men and women
merely players.”
Samuel Taylor Coleridge called a “willing suspension
of disbelief”
Esthetic distance
This feeling of involvement is sometimes called
empathy
Art and Value
Art is valuable for its capacity to improve the quality
of life – by bringing us pleasure, by sharpening our
perceptions, by increasing our sensitivity to others
and our surroundings, by suggesting that moral and
societal concerns should take precedence over
materialistic goals
One purpose of this book is to affirm the value of
theatre
Theater Films
Chekhov’s The Seagull
影片連結
Greek Tragedy Oedipus the King
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影片連結
The Best of Riverdance, Feet of Flames
影片連結
Assignments
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Make sure the weekly group presentations
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Preview if you can