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Production and Imagination

Emmanuela Bakola

in Cratinus and the Art of Comedy

Chapter 5 explores dramaturgical and stagecraft aspects of Cratinus' comedies. First it discusses the construction and use of dramatic space in Odysseis, Plutoi, Nemesis, and Seriphioi, especially ... More

Chapter 5 explores dramaturgical and stagecraft aspects of Cratinus' comedies. First it discusses the construction and use of dramatic space in Odysseis, Plutoi, Nemesis, and Seriphioi, especially in the opening scenes. It also explores Cratinus' dramatization of the literary topos of the storm, his large stage props, machinery and change of scenes. In Dionysalexandros it discusses the role of costume and disguise, arguing that it constitutes a major aspect of the comedy's enagagement with Dionysiac initiation ritual. Finally, by looking at Pytine and Dionysalexandros it explores how Cratinus' use of imagery and personification was realized in performance and shaped the stage action.Less

Exploring The History of Cardenio in Performance

David Carnegie and Lori Leigh

in The Quest for Cardenio: Shakespeare, Fletcher, Cervantes, and the Lost Play

This chapter discusses what was learned by the two directors of the first full production of Gary Taylor’s ‘creative reconstruction’ entitled The History of Cardenio. Performed at Victoria University ... More

This chapter discusses what was learned by the two directors of the first full production of Gary Taylor’s ‘creative reconstruction’ entitled The History of Cardenio. Performed at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, Taylor’s play cut some material from Double Falsehoodthat was obviously by Theobald, and added new writing in the style of Fletcher and Shakespeare, including a subplot based on Don Quixote and Sancho. The two directors discuss their rehearsal process with Taylor, especially the importance of props such as a coffin and spurs; the options for staging a new scene showing the rape or seduction only reported in Double Falsehood; and the implications of an open and fluid stagecraft in the early modern style for questions such as locale and use of an upper level.Less

The Magical Metropolis

Melissa Dickson

in Cultural Encounters with the Arabian Nights in Nineteenth-Century Britain

This chapter turns to the science of stagecraft, and to the endless recreations and adaptations of the wonders, magic, and treasures of the Arabian Nights that took place within the shows culture of ... More

This chapter turns to the science of stagecraft, and to the endless recreations and adaptations of the wonders, magic, and treasures of the Arabian Nights that took place within the shows culture of nineteenth-century Britain. These authorless, ownerless tales presented ideal theatrical opportunities to display the rich landscapes, domestic interiors and dazzling treasures of the East within the public spaces of Britain. In so doing, they facilitated a kind of ‘virtual’ tourism, whereby audiences might participate in the adventurer’s narrative of discovery, infiltration, exploration, and safe return, without ever leaving England. At the same time, however, such performances fostered a self-reflective, inward movement, as an imaginative destination of childhood became a physical space that might be stepped into, examined and explored. Performances of the Arabian Nights had a disturbing capacity to evoke and to disrupt childhood memories, as they were reliant upon a substantial amount of labour and technical expertise in order to realise fully the workings of magic and the apparently spontaneous eruption of the supernatural on stage. As a vehicle for exploring the material and technological limits of nineteenth-century stagecraft, the wonder and enchantment of the Arabian Nights thus became inextricably intertwined with the wonder of machinery and technical ingenuity, as new techniques were developed for representing fantasy and manufacturing magic.Less

Sets and the City: Staging London and Oliver Twist

Joanna Hofer-Robinson

in Dickens and Demolition: Literary Afterlives and Mid-Nineteenth Century Urban Development

This chapter tracks multiple ways in which Oliver Twist and London’s cityscape were adapted for the stage in the late 1830s. It argues that London was a flexible frame through which the audience’s ... More

This chapter tracks multiple ways in which Oliver Twist and London’s cityscape were adapted for the stage in the late 1830s. It argues that London was a flexible frame through which the audience’s reception of Dickens’s work was mediated in early dramatisations, but also that the novel was imaginatively mapped on to the built environment. For example, Sadler’s Wells emphasise the proximity of the criminal scenes by staging their adaptation as a local drama, while the Surrey Theatre presents their play as an opportunity for armchair tourism. In staging alternative versions of the city, theatres presented differently nuanced portrayals of its inhabitants and perceived social problems. The dynamic re-presentation of Oliver Twist in early theatrical adaptations is thereby indicative of the malleability of Dickensian afterlives in nineteenth-century improvement debates, and these plays were likewise supposed to have an effect on contemporary city-life. Playscripts, stagecraft, actors’ performances, music, and the perceived identities of theatres and their audiences each played a role in curating these representations, and so this chapter adopts an intertheatrical methodology.Less

The Opportunity of Boredom

Alva Noë

in Learning to Look: Dispatches from the Art World

This chapter analyzes the role of boredom in art. One might say that boredom is the besetting sin not just of art but also of the lecture hall and the classroom. What all of these have in common is ... More

This chapter analyzes the role of boredom in art. One might say that boredom is the besetting sin not just of art but also of the lecture hall and the classroom. What all of these have in common is the structure of detachment. Some artists, writers, and teachers see boredom as the enemy; in their effort to deviate from the baseline, from boredom, they engage the audience. At its best, they do this by, in effect, putting on display a thing of value—knowledge, a story, a sculpture, or a painting—while also providing the tools the audience needs to understand it. At its worst, the impulse to deny boredom finds its expression in mere stagecraft and manipulation, in the willingness to pander and entertain. There is another approach to boredom in the arts, one that is perhaps more common in the avant-garde. If boredom stems from detachment, and if some measure of detachment is unavoidable in art (and in life), then getting bored is not just an irritating state, it is an opportunity.Less

The Vilna Years of Jakub Rotbaum

Anna Hannowa

in Polin: Studies in Polish Jewry Volume 14: Focusing on Jews in the Polish Borderlands

This chapter discusses Jakub Rotbaum (1901–1994), artistic director and principal producer of the Vilna Troupe from 1929 to 1936. The Vilna Troupe was the best-known Jewish theatre company in Europe, ... More

This chapter discusses Jakub Rotbaum (1901–1994), artistic director and principal producer of the Vilna Troupe from 1929 to 1936. The Vilna Troupe was the best-known Jewish theatre company in Europe, and Rotbaum was its director and longest-lived artist. Rotbaum initiated the changes in the company's repertoire and artistic and ideological image, directed its groundbreaking performances of six plays, and won for the troupe the collaboration of the noted scenographer Andrzej Pronaszko. Critics of his own time considered Rotbaum a pioneer of social theatre and an innovator in stagecraft, as well as a transformative figure in Jewish literary theatre. The graphic quality of his stage conceptions and his use of pantomime and of rich musical accompaniments earned him public admiration and the acclaim of connoisseurs of both Polish and Jewish theatre.Less

Inscriptions on the Attic Stage

Julia Lougovaya

in Inscriptions and their Uses in Greek and Latin Literature

Over the last twenty years, the semantics and dramatic significance of references to writing in Athenian drama, on the one hand, and the importance of space articulation, on the other, have been the ... More

Over the last twenty years, the semantics and dramatic significance of references to writing in Athenian drama, on the one hand, and the importance of space articulation, on the other, have been the subjects of various fruitful studies. Drawing upon both approaches, this chapter explores the role of inscriptions in defining dramatic space, looking both at inscriptions that are physically present on stage and those that are simply imagined or alluded to by characters. Any writing implies a medium or object on which the words are inscribed, but the correlation between the type of writing and the type of object varies. Some media, such as papyrus rolls or wooden tablets, can be used for virtually any record; the medium or sub-stratum that carries these texts is often of little significance by itself. Other inscribed objects, however, have significance independent of their inscriptions, such as tombs or votives to the gods. Between these two poles, there are types of inscriptions that are usually associated with certain kinds of objects, and it is this customary linkage which allows the object to become a metonymy for the text. The text's accessibility and the accepted practice of its circulation also affect this interchange. Concentrating on the plays of Aristophanes and Euripides, the chapter demonstrates the wide range of connotations afforded by inscriptions on stage, from the physical instruments of governance that a comic hero manipulates to enduring records against which the fleeting actions of a tragic character are measured. It also examines the correlation between the inscriptional landscape of Athenian drama and that of the city of Athens.Less

Debuts and learning the craft

Janice Norwood

in Victorian touring actresses: Crossing boundaries and negotiating the cultural landscape

This chapter illustrates various routes into the dramatic profession in the Victorian period and analyses the potential advantages of different means of learning acting and stagecraft through ... More

This chapter illustrates various routes into the dramatic profession in the Victorian period and analyses the potential advantages of different means of learning acting and stagecraft through examination of the early performance history of selected actresses. Some commenced work as child performers while others began as adults after receiving private tuition from a professional, performing on the amateur stage or giving dramatic readings. Discussion of the strategy of gaining experience in provincial or minor London theatres before risking appearing on the more prestigious West End stages reveals multiple benefits in terms of skill enhancement and press and audience response. The examples are used to argue for the importance of British provincial theatres, not only as training grounds for performers but also as instrumental to the economic health and stability of both the actress and the theatrical industry.Less

Beginning at the beginning

Steve Sohmer

in Reading Shakespeare's mind

This chapter explains why Twelfth Night must begin with 1.2 rather than 1.1, and cites eighteenth- to nineteenth-century productions as conclusive evidence.

Give Compelling Talks

Dennis Meredith

in Explaining Research: How to Reach Key Audiences to Advance Your Network

This chapter will help you more effectively reach your peers, but it also aims to enhance your communications with lay audiences. Giving compelling talks means freeing oneself from text by sufficient ... More

This chapter will help you more effectively reach your peers, but it also aims to enhance your communications with lay audiences. Giving compelling talks means freeing oneself from text by sufficient practice in learning the talk, speaking from points rather than reading from text. It also means organizing the talk to engage the audience, designing slides that communicate effectively as a complement to your performance, using dramatic and professional visuals to enhance your presentation, and using engaging stagecraft. Also useful are memorable models such as molecular models, demonstrations, and pass-arounds; combining them with speech and stagecraft will create a multimedia explanation of your work. Managing questions is also important to clarify points, to be responsive to your audience, and to avoid unproductive confrontation.Less

A Great Place to Make a Show

Kevin Winkler

in Everything is Choreography: The Musical Theater of Tommy Tune

Tommy Tune’s skill in reassembling a musical’s various elements into a new entity was pushed to an extreme with Grand Hotel. He chopped up, or spliced, the book (by Luther Davis) and songs (by George ... More

Tommy Tune’s skill in reassembling a musical’s various elements into a new entity was pushed to an extreme with Grand Hotel. He chopped up, or spliced, the book (by Luther Davis) and songs (by George Forrest and Robert Wright) into a mosaic of melody, movement, and dialogue that conveyed the simultaneous urgent, heated activities of a hotel staff and guests. Tune workshopped Grand Hotel not in a rehearsal studio, but in a dilapidated hotel whose once-elegant ballroom evoked the ambiance of the show’s setting, 1928 Berlin. His desire for nonstop movement, with no waiting for set pieces to arrive, led him to utilize more than forty gold chairs that could be endlessly configured to create a suite of rooms, a hallway, or a bank of telephone operators. Grand Hotel’s direction and staging became inseparable from its book and musical program. It was more tightly choreographed than any previous Tune musical, with the theatrical equivalents of filmic quick cuts and dissolves. Tune was acknowledged as the last of the superstar director-choreographers, and Grand Hotel was one of the most strikingly staged musicals of its era. But there was grumbling that Tune’s dazzling stagecraft was in service of weak material and, moreover, that he preferred it that way, allowing him to come to the rescue and deliver a hit through his superior staging skills. The star of any Tommy Tune musical now appeared to be Tommy Tune.Less

‘Illuminated by the light of the sun’: Stagecraft, the Politics of Performance Conditions, and the Formation of Northern Broadsides

Helen Eastman

in Tony Harrison and the Classics

Harrison’s engagement with ancient drama is not just textual and thematic; Trackers of Oxyrhynchus, The Labourers of Herakles, and The Kaisers of Carnuntum strove to re-create elements of original ... More

Harrison’s engagement with ancient drama is not just textual and thematic; Trackers of Oxyrhynchus, The Labourers of Herakles, and The Kaisers of Carnuntum strove to re-create elements of original fifth-century Athenian performance conditions with one-off, ephemeral productions and open air-settings. This was a deliberate progression from Harrison’s Oresteia, directed by Peter Hall, which had explored the use of masks and an all-male ensemble, but in a conventional indoor setting, across a longer run. This chapter considers the stagecraft of Harrison’s early work, from the material setting of the productions to the performance style developed by the actors, including their vocal style, direct address, and the use of dance (particularly clogging). Drawing on interviews with original company members, including the subsequent work of director Barrie Rutter at Northern Broadsides, and the experience for actors of being involved in such ground-breaking work, it looks at the development of Harrison’s stagecraft, particularly when he began to direct his own productions. The political dimension of Harrison’s stagecraft, including the visibility of the audience, is explored. Inevitable compromises, such as the extended run of Trackers of Oxyrhynchus, initially designed as a one-off event, are considered, as are the tensions between Harrison’s artistic and intellectual project and the wider theatre community.Less

Moral Stagecraft

Karen Stohr

in Minding the Gap: Moral Ideals and Moral Improvement

This chapter provides an account of how social practices and conventions are used to build moral neighborhoods. It draws on Erving Goffman’s dramaturgical picture of human interaction to describe how ... More

This chapter provides an account of how social practices and conventions are used to build moral neighborhoods. It draws on Erving Goffman’s dramaturgical picture of human interaction to describe how moral neighborhoods are constructed in social and physical spaces with methods that have parallels in theater. Social practices and conventions generate scripts for enacting narratives in which participants take up roles as their fictive moral selves. Moral stagecraft consists of the tools employed to create and sustain physical, social, and normative spaces in which those narratives can be enacted. The skill of moral stagecraft requires being able to take up, adapt, and improvise social roles, conventions, and practices in ways that support and sustain moral ideals in the face of unequal power relationships and other problematic social conditions.Less