Transcript Beyond Realismx - Uplift Summit Intl

Senior AP Literature and English 4
Tuesday
Agenda
We will take clarification notes on
the following in lieu of a quiz.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Symbolist Drama
Expressionism
Dramatic Flashbacks
Epic Theater
Theater of the Absurd
Anti-Heroes
Tragicomedy
Guerilla Theater
CFA Practice
• I will give you 2 identifying
sentence error passages as a
practice / preparation
opportunity.
• You will have time to begin
reading “Trifles”
• We will have a test on
“Trifles” Monday.
• Projects are due by 04:00
tomorrow
Beyond Realism
• Realistic theater remained popular for much of the 19th century
and well into the 20th century; however, a number of theatrical
movements were reactions against realism. These alternative
theater productions offered audiences an alternative to
traditional realism on the stage.
Beyond Realism  Experimental Theater
• Symbolist theater often contains the unexplained; symbolist did not
believe everything could be explained objectively and scientifically.
• Symbolists would stage productions and not feel like everything had to
be logically explained for it to be an integral part of the story.
Beyond Realism  Experimental Theater
• Another nonrealistic movement was known as expressionism.
• Expressionism was popular after World War I and through the 1920’s.
Expressionism was popular during the roaring 20’s and the time of
fictional Gatsby.
• These plays did not necessarily proceed in chronological order. The
expressionist play would depict the “emotional life” of a character
and often include flashbacks or flash forwards. Quentin Tarrentino
films will often be told in non-sequential order to illustrate the point
that a stage production or film does not have to be told sequentially.
Beyond Realism  Experimental Theater
• Death of a Salesman and The Glass Menagerie are really good
expressionist plays. The flashbacks of Willy in Death of a Salesman
reveal a lot about Willy’s emotional state as he moves through
life.
• A flashback on stage requires the playwright to provide clear
indicator for the audience – so they know that the actors have now
travelled into a flashback. A flashback is set in a time earlier than
the main story – in Death of a Salesman – the music was one
device that was utilized to indicate a flashback was forthcoming.
Beyond Realism  Experimental Theater
• Epic Theater – is very much like symbolist and expressionist
theater; it is far from the realities we see in A Doll House, which
was a realism play.
• Epic Theater often addressed chronic human problems such as
poverty, injustice, and war. Epic Theater would create a distance
between the actors and audience  this would prevent the
audience from getting too emotionally close to the actors;
therefore, audiences could be more objective when considering
social issues on the stage.
Beyond Realism  Experimental Theater
• Theater of the absurd was a reaction to 20th century’s loss of faith in
reason, religion, and life after the world wars.
• Theater of the absurd includes the chaotic and irrational. This type
of theater portrays human beings as the victims of the world, rather
than the makers of the world.
• Absurdism challenges the belief that life is ordered and meaningful.
Beyond Realism  Experimental Theater of
the Absurd
• What happens when human existence has no meaning or purpose and
therefore all communication breaks down? What happens when
logical construction and argument gives way to irrational and illogical
speech?
Theater of the Absurd
Waiting for Godot
• Waiting for Godot is an absurdist play by Samuel Beckett, in which
two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, wait endlessly and in vain for
the arrival of someone named Godot. Godot's absence, as well as
numerous other aspects of the play, have led to many different
interpretations since the play's 1953 premiere. It was voted "the most
significant English language play of the 20th century".
Theater of the Absurd
Beyond Realism  Experimental Theater
• Heroes like Oedipus and Hamlet retain their dignity despite their
defeats; whereas, an antihero in an absurdist play will seem
pathetic; they will often move from one destructive moment to the
next.
Experimental Theater  Guerilla Theater
• The dramatization of political and social issues, typically performed
outdoors, e.g. in the street or a park, as a means of protest or
propaganda has been called guerilla theater.
Beyond Realism  Tragicomedy
• In tragicomedy, the audience will often laugh at situations that are
tragic. When we joke about things that are tragic, we are searching
for a way to deal with it.
• If Nora were to appear in the final scene dressed as a doll and
starting mimicking a doll as the play closed, we might laugh at her
doll like behavior, but then realize she was defeated – and this is
tragic.
• Tragicomedy gets to laugh at the tragic; it is a type of satire where
we poke fun at the serious and maybe even laugh.
Homework to finish the Week
Thursday
Projects are due Friday by 04:00
Homework: Read “Trifles” on pages 1368 – 1378 and we will have
our test on this one act play Monday at the beginning of the
class.
The play is about a murder investigation and the role women
play in the investigtion!