Avant-Garde Theater Theorists (Notes)

1. Peter Brook
1. England, 1925-
2. Worked at Royal Shakespeare company in London 
3. Values simplicity and common sense 
4. Founded International Center of Theater Research in 1974
5. Also a movie director
6. Wrote The Empty Space
7. Four theaters:
1. The Deadly (constructivism)
2. The Holy (Theater of the Absurd)
3. The Rough (Brecht)
4. The Immediate (Clean slate audience reaction)
2. Bertolt Brecht
1. German; Lived through World War II 
2. Wanted to make political theater that made people want to take action in the real world
3. “Alienation effect”: don’t identity/sympathize with the characters (principle inspired by Chinese opera)
3. Theater of the Absurd
1. European existential fiction writers post WWII
2. Find the comedy in tragedy
3. Not much plot; gets you to think
4. Major theorist: Samuel Beckett
1. Irish novelist, playwright, theatre director, poet, and literary translator
2. Spoke French and English
3. Wrote black comedies like “Waiting for Godot” 
4. Jerry Grotowski
1. Born August 1933  died January 1999
2. Polish theater director
3. Went to Stanislavski’s school
4. His permanent company first appeared in Western Europe in 1966
5. Preferred to perform works in regular spaces rather than designated theaters
6. Audience seated around or even in the action
7. Emphasized physical movements, human connections, and vocal training
8. Actors used emotional memory
9. Method: The Poor Theater
1. Small groups of actors, small audience 
2. Simple staging, lighting, costumes, and special affects, putting more weight on the actors’ performances
3. Experiment with physical, spiritual, and ritualistic aspects of theater

Theater Terms and Concepts: A Review

   Doing the silent movies reminded me of the importance of facial expressions, posture, and clear actions when acting, to convey your character, even when you are not the focus of the scene at that moment. Having the videos be set to pre-made music helped teach me the importance of pacing, and gave me ideas about establishing the mood of a scene. There are ways other than music to establish mood on a proper stage, such as lighting, sound effects, and set design, which I will have to keep in mind for the future.
   Doing the tableaus reminded me of being aware of the audience when staging a scene. They don't necessarily have to see every actor at all times, especially if obscuring a character adds to their portrayal as being mysterious and secretive. However, in most cases, you'll want to keep the actors from having their back to the audience, and having the blocking allow as many audience members as possible to see the actor's gestures and expressions. For example, when we did the Sleeping Beauty tableau, the way we staged the first scene had to be tweaked multiple times to make sure that the princess and her parents were not blocked from view by the witch, or that Olivia and I did not have our backs to the audience the whole time.
   When it comes to the more directorial side of things, coming up with plots for the silent movies, and deciding how to stage the tableaus, showed me that simplicity can convey a message to the audience in a way that is not only easier to grasp and follow along with, but in certain instances, more impactful than something with multiple plot turns and complexities. At the same time, I also have to be sure that enough information is conveyed to keep the audience on the same page. This lesson came specifically from the Robin Hood tableau we did, where the transition between scenes two and three threw some people off. In my head, there had been a short confrontation between Robin Hood and the Wolf in between scenes, but all the audience saw was inconsistent staging. Deciding which information to share and which to leave out for the audience to think about for themself is something I am sure will be relevant for the Director's Notebook project. Another aspect which came into play when creating each scene was what genre the scene was going to be, as that affects both how the actors portray their characters, and all of the technical aspects.